The word is overused, and overuse leads to misuse. (Misuse leads to annoyance, and then we’re at a place where no one even understands or cares what you mean.)

But “empower” is not just another piece of jargon to be casually tossed around:

San Francisco, which in recent years had the biggest home-price gain in the U.S., was the country’s weakest market in the first quarter, with values falling for the first time since 2011.

With the increase in female representation across the homebuilding and homebuying spectrums, the building and real estate industries have an opportunity to target this growing market, which could shift the way homes are designed, built and sold.

Fred Palmer, who handles sponsorships for Sacramento Pride, recalls the festival’s 33-year journey from a gathering in McKinley Park to a larger event in Southside Park in Sacramento, finally making “a big, big leap” in 2010 to Capitol Mall, where about 13,000 people are expected to gather this year.

Kandace Mulvaney, a broker with boutique agency Miller Real Estate in Sacramento, offers her insight into a big trend happening in local real estate. For more from Mulvaney, check out “Homemakers” in our May issue. Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you when it’s available online.

Women’s desire to please can inhibit their ability to take charge. That is one of the many factors that contribute to women comprising more than half of the American workforce, yet only a small fraction of executives.

Stanford Youth Solutions, a Sacramento-based nonprofit organization, helps to support foster parents, foster youth and the families behind them through their foster care program.

Sometimes it’s better the second time around. At least, that’s what Sacramento artist and gallery owner Theresa Gutierrez, aka Lady Tee, believes. Recently retired as chief of the Centralized Operations Unit in the Center for Health Care Quality of the California Department of Public Health, Gutierrez has become a fixture in the local arts scene with her mural work and recent opening of the ARTners Collaborative in the heart of downtown.

With graduation gifts, it’s the thought that counts. The cash is nice, too. 

When Payam Fardanesh talks about his company, Silk Road Soda, he sounds as if he’s sharing stories about one of his children. In fact, Fardanesh deftly uses the analogy to describe his company, noting that he sees Silk Road Soda as an 11-year-old: The brand still needs his guidance; it’s not ready to leave the nest just yet.

The City of West Sacramento has started using mapping software to locate homeless camps as a way to monitor the local homeless population and direct them to public assistance.

In the Sacramento region, at least one major medical provider is already on the same page with the benefits of OpenNotes. Across the country, an estimated 13 million patients can now access their notes. This open-source movement, proponents say, represents a shift away from a paternalistic model of medical care and toward a model of fully-engaged and informed patients. And that, they argue, is better for everyone.

Marketing and branding is an inevitable part of your freelance business. For a marketing person, this is the fun part. For everyone else, this is the part that’s most likely delayed (or never done at all), and thus is a missed opportunity to promote yourself and your business.

OpenNotes Executive Director Catherine DesRoches gives her perspective on the movement to get patients more access to their medical information. For more from DesRoches, check out “The Open Patient” in our May issue. Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you when it’s available online.

What drives a small grocery store to grow? The answer is customer demand at Compton’s Market in East Sacramento, an established neighborhood with beautiful houses and tree-lined streets.

Groupthink is all too common when people work together in a brainstorming or planning session. This phenomenon can veer a team or company off course, or it can result in people stereotyping others, including their colleagues — neither is good for a company.

Comstock’s asked this year’s six Women In Leadership recipients to see how they prepare themselves for the day ahead.

Those recognized this month by Comstock’s as prominent women in leadership would likely attest to this. Each of them share one book that has impacted their professional thinking and life journey.