Independents’ Day
Look out 9-to-5, the freelancers are coming
Casey Marshall is hunched over his phone, furiously scrolling through his Twitter feed in search of a photo of Waste Management’s promotional robot, whose broken axle he fixed back in March. “Someone came into the Hacker Lab and needed his robot repaired,” he says, grinning, “and I was like, ‘I gotta do that.’”
Coming to a Sidewalk Near You
The one-stop resource for gleaning food from your own neighborhood
Thousands of pounds of urban produce are growing on trees and bushes all around you, and if you know where to look, you can gather enough fruits and vegetables to stock a food bank, plan a dinner menu and can a dozen jars of organic blackberry preserves.
Daddy Issues
Why aren't more men taking paternity leave?
On opening day of the 2014 baseball season, New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy was noticeably absent. He wasn’t benched. He didn’t have the flu. He simply took advantage of Major League Baseball’s paternity leave policy, which grants 72 hours off, to attend the birth of his son.
And all hell broke loose.
It’s Here.
Welcome to our new website — here's what you'll find
After much anticipation (and oh so many hours), the all-new comstocksmag.com has launched.
The changes we have made come as a result of paying close attention to how readers are using our magazine and website, so let us know what you think. Talk to us on Twitter and Facebook, post comments on our site, email us, call us or send a good old-fashioned letter. We’re listening.
Civically Minded
Civics are nine times wealthier than the rest of us, so how can you cash in?
If I wanted my 20-year-old son to join me for a late meal, I’d text him: “Buffet on me.” But I would never ever text my 86-year-old mother with a dinner invitation. For her, there would be a phone call with plenty of formalities and forewarning, a promise of a nice, sit-down establishment and a start time of 4:00 p.m. to take advantage of early bird specials. Why? Because each generation communicates differently.
Survey Says
Squaw Valley has enough water to move forward with village expansion
Squaw Valley Real Estate and KSL Capital Partners, the company that owns Squaw Valley Ski Resort, have received the critical report needed to move forward with a planned expansion of the resort’s village.
Tapped Out
Is Sac's craft beer bubble on the verge of bursting?
When downtown Sacramento’s Brew It Up poured its last beer in 2011, owner Michael Costello lost more than his business. “I lost everything,” he says. “Nobody really knows the whole breadth of it. It’s not an easy thing to go through.”
It’s Impolite to Squat
EV owners find it increasingly difficult to plug in
Long before it was widely accepted, Sacramento attorney Mike Polis bought his first electric vehicle. He got started with a Toyota Prius, later upgraded to a Nissan Leaf and now drives a white Chevy Volt. On average, he saves more than $3,500 a year over his gas-powered counterparts, he can use the HOV lane as a single occupant and he charges his car for free at work.
The Pitmaster
Chef Jacob Carriker helped turn a nightclub into a BBQ-lover's dream
The past two years have been remarkably unpredictable for long-time Sacramento chef Jacob Carriker.
The Big Squeeze on Small Credit Unions
They may be on the verge of extinction
On a hot, sunny morning last fall, 69-year-old retiree Pamela Chappell of Citrus Heights hit rock bottom. She was scraping by on Social Security checks and a tiny pension while paying for medication to treat her lymphedema, a painful swelling in her legs. Then she got a letter from the IRS warning her that it was about to empty her savings account of $8,000 — every dollar she had — for back taxes.