Tucked in the back of a local restaurant in downtown Winters is a nondescript room revealing an enticing view: floor-to-ceiling shelves packed with 10-pound wheels of cheese.

A staffer in the office of Bonney Plumbing, Heating, Air & Rooter Service grew concerned after smelling alcohol on an employee headed out to a job site. The staffer immediately notified management, who met the man at the site and also detected the scent. This was enough reasonable suspicion to demand a drug test, which showed the employee had been intoxicated while driving a company vehicle.

The Capital Region’s industrial real estate market is bouncing along the bottom, but local brokers are cautiously optimistic that signs are pointing to a steady, albeit slow, recovery this year.

At Green Acres Nursery & Supply’s new Folsom location, pots of all sizes and hues greet gardeners at every turn. It’s nearly impossible to ignore the rainbow of colors and the assortment of finishes. And that’s precisely the idea.

Kate Renwick-Espinosa was weeks into a four-month maternity leave from VSP Vision Care when her boss called and asked to stop by.

In 2003, California’s workers’ compensation rates led the nation, setting off a debate about the cost of doing business here. Enter former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his sweeping 2004 reforms to the system — everything from disability payments to medical care guidelines to return-to-work benefits got an overhaul.

At first glance, the email appeared innocuous enough. All employees were being asked to change their passwords. Just click the link.

To sell a house in today’s market, real estate agents can’t simply shove a sign into the lawn, schedule an open house and expect offers to roll in. Competition is fierce. Increasingly, the agents who are successfully selling homes in this marketplace have embraced high-tech marketing, including videos.

When Sacramento-based Aerojet decided to convert part of a superfund site into a solar field, it sought bids from companies across the country. The project, after all, would be big — 35 acres ultimately generating six megawatts of power, making it one of the largest industrial solar projects in the country.

Like many couples, Grass Valley residents Kendra Delaney and Rob Riley are searching for the perfect home. They’d like the house to be fewer than 10 years old, have at least three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a spacious kitchen and room for Delaney’s 6-year-old son, Sam. One other detail: The house must also be able to accommodate Delaney’s 62-year-old father, Jim Delaney.

Liz Lum knew her 79-year-old mother, Anne Fong, wanted to live independently as long as possible, but Lum also knew that her mother’s Greenhaven house would need some modifications.