There is so much going on around us, and we need to be more aware of it and how it impacts our future, writes Comstock’s President and Publisher in her January letter. Let’s bring decency back into the conversation in 2023.

The number of opinions we are exposed to daily has increased at a head-spinning rate in this digital age. Comstock’s President and Publisher considers the factors that are critical to building trust in our personal and business lives.

Reliable delivery of electricity has always been the foundation of economic development. That means we will need to generate more of it and beef up the grid system to deliver it. To that end, what solutions do we currently have?

A recent hike amid the Sierra Nevada mountains prompts Comstock’s president and publisher to consider what can be done in the wake of multiple wildfires and drought.

Disruptions come with a price, whether it be a disappointed customer, a lost market share, or high costs — inflation — when supply and demand are out of balance. Comstock’s president and publisher reflects on how inflation is impacting our communities.

Younger generations are rising to leadership positions as older people edge out of the workforce. To introduce the 2022 Young Professionals issue, Comstock’s president and publisher reflects on what makes these generations unique, and perhaps more importantly, what they have in common.

The shift to electric transportation is coming. Comstock’s president and publisher considers the benefits and challenges the transition may present the Capital Region.

Comstock’s president and publisher talks about bouncing back from adversity, recovering from a setback and staying on course to reach a goal.

To introduce the 2022 Women in Leadership issue, Comstock’s president and publisher reflects on her own ambitions as a young woman in business, and looks ahead to women’s growing impact on the Capital Region’s business landscape.

Comstock’s president and publisher encourages readers to meet challenges similar to the way our region’s farmers have — with optimism, strategic thinking and support from others.

Setbacks aren’t the exception, they’re the rule. Comstock’s president and publisher reflects on the challenges faced not only during the pandemic, but throughout a lifetime, and considers how they’ve strengthened her outlook. 

Comstock’s president and publisher advocates for developing hotels in downtown Sacramento to aid the city’s economic recovery. 

Comstock’s president and publisher considers the many shapes and sizes of family businesses in the Capital Region. 

Comstock’s president and publisher considers the many plans that businesses have cycled through over the past year and a half. 

To open the annual Young Professionals issue, Comstock’s president and publisher considers Capital Region innovation. 

Comstock’s president and publisher considers California’s forthcoming reopening. 

Comstock’s president and publisher considers the effects of COVID-19 vaccinations on the business environment of the Capital Region. 

Comstock’s president and publisher considers the ways women have been leaders throughout history. 

Comstock’s president and publisher considers the apparent exodus from California to states such as Texas. 

Comstock’s president and publisher considers the role colleges, universities and other educational programs can play in the economic recovery. 

Comstock’s president and publisher considers the difficulty of starting a new school year in the midst of the pandemic. 

Comstock’s founder and publisher shares her thoughts on new innovations that may ease the post-pandemic economic recovery. 

Comstock’s founder and publisher reflects on the coronavirus pandemic and the people who are working to lessen the blow in the Capital Region. 

One in four Californians is unable to perform basic reading skills, but illiteracy is even higher among the prison population. State prison systems across the country are investing in education programs to give inmates a better chance at rehabilitation.

There are many benefits to living in rural areas. But doing so comes with its own challenges. PG&E’s answer to the challenges of wildfires: Shut off power — a move that has hit rural areas the hardest.

Comstock’s publisher Winnie Comstock-Carlson on downtown Sacramento’s attempts to reinvent itself and how retail shopping was — and still is — one key element in its rejuvenation. 

Next year, voters will be asked to amend Prop. 13 through a ballot measure that will upset more than 40 years of that steadiness and a “no surprises” business environment. It’s a tax hit businesses can’t afford, especially in an economy with flat consumer spending and trade tariffs.

Late in October 1997, Comstock’s hosted a roundtable discussion on the future of McClellan Air Force Base, which was slated to be closed July 13, 2001. At that time, the entire business community was struggling with what to do about the upcoming base closure and its anticipated negative economic impact. There were many conversations, of course, but few ideas.

The July issue of our magazine has a very recognizable name across its masthead. Launching and publishing a magazine is not an easy quest, so I smile as I think that 30 years have passed. This month’s issue is the 360th edition of Comstock’s. 

In January, portions of the Sacramento Convention Center came tumbling down, the first phase of a remodel and expansion after two years of planning for a larger and more efficient facility. The Panattoni Building at 15th and K streets that houses the administration offices surrendered to the wrecking ball to make room for what will be a new entrance to a bigger and better convention center.

Ever since the Golden Spike was driven into the ground, 150 years ago this month, trains have played a critical role in Sacramento’s growth and identity.

“There’s no place like home” is a familiar phrase, evoking images of a warm hearth and family. For most of us, home is a place of refuge, where we feel safe and can rest and recharge from a long day. It’s something I’ve thought on extensively while producing this month’s issue on housing.

More open discussions on mental health are welcome. 

Growing up, we take our bodies for granted. Many of us expect that we’ll always be able to move with ease, or challenge our bodies with minimal punishment. But as age sets in or circumstances change, our bodies are quick to remind us — things won’t always work like they used to.

Lessons learned on the road of entrepreneurship.

Apprentices offer a much-needed path to quality, high-paying careers.

In leadership, critique itself matters less than what you do with it.

A new page on a new calendar is always a time of optimism. The pages are blank and I wonder what I will have written on them by the time the year has run its course. But right now, I’d like to slow down and appreciate the year we just enjoyed.

We are all affected by untreated mental illness, whether we are taxpayers, business owners or a person struggling to help a family member cope.

“Farm to Fork” is not just an advertising slogan: It reflects a big part of the region’s identity, and that reputation is growing. Wine has become one of California’s most recognizable crops and production has grown tremendously over the last two decades. California is home to 4,700 wineries and produces more wine than any other U.S. state.​

The first land to create the parkway was purchased in 1949. In 1961, Sacramento County adopted the Master Plan for the parkway as we know it now. Building out that plan took decades as it covers 4,800 acres with a modern bike trail, nine major parks, picnic areas and a nature center.

Infrastructure — roads, bridges and dams — is the backbone of any economy.  Business can’t function without it. The Association of Civil Engineers estimates that nationally, defective or failing infrastructure will cost the average family $3,400 a year over the next decade.

If you are like me, you hate being stuck in traffic. But most of us don’t have a hired driver and public transportation isn’t always convenient.

Carmakers are working on what they think is a better idea — let the car do the driving.  Autonomous vehicles sound very Jetson-like. But as futuristic as it sounds, many vehicles already on our streets rely on computers. 

Clearly, Sacramento is home to a lot of artistic talent and our holiday traditions are brighter because of it. And we’ve been fortunate to have venues to host these performances. These aged facilities have served Sacramento well for a long time — perhaps too long.

I was getting more hesitant as the hours passed. Would I run into unsavory people? How crowded are we talking? And, being inherently conservative, I wondered about the cost.

I’m talking about my decision to take light rail for the first time … and doing so alone.

The effort to keep the Sacramento Kings in town showed what a community can do when everyone rallies around a cause. Now that the Golden 1 Center is opening and fans are coming downtown to enjoy the Kings, it’s bringing many people together again — perhaps too closely.  

Across the country, generous donors contribute about $335 billion a year to support more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations, both large and small, according to recent surveys from Giving USA and the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

The best economic news in Sacramento lately is that jobs are back. A recent survey by the state’s Employment Development Department shows that the six-county Sacramento metro region has rebounded, gaining back jobs it lost during the recession — 25,000 in just the last year. But, while this is fantastic news, it’s not enough.

The Crystal Ice and Cold Storage building has been a part of midtown since a railroad spur line ran down the middle of R Street, servicing warehouses and distributors along the street that, at the time, was the center of Sacramento’s light industrial core. The plant sat unused since the mid-90s. Square and windowless, it was no architectural marvel. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Developer Mike Heller saw the inner personality of that bunker of a building.

For many companies, the post-holiday season often marks a return to business. But it’s not the time to forget about the nonprofit organizations that are so important to our community. They need our attention beyond the holidays and throughout the year.