Strictly Professional
For the next generation, family-business survival rests squarely on formalized governance
There’s an old saying about family businesses: Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations. Grandpa hustles and creates the business,Dad takes the baton and then Junior goes down with the ship. According to the Family Firm Institute, just 30 percent of family businesses survive into their second generation, and only 10 percent make it to their third. Why do these firms fail?
NeighborWorks Paint the Town
Nearly 150 volunteers spent Saturday, September 19, sprucing up 10 homes in South Oak Park during the 26th annual Paint the Town event, sponsored by NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center Sacramento Region.
Fig Farmers Go Nuts
Are pricey almonds pushing out drought-friendly figs?
Kevin Herman sees his fig trees as his future. They require very little water and, even amid long-term forecasts of limited rain and increasing temperatures, the trees are likely to produce a comfortable living for the Madera County farmer.
Super-Earners Targeted in California Tax Push as Revenue Surges
Governor Jerry Brown convinced voters in 2012 they had to raise taxes if they wanted to avoid Draconian cuts to schools. It was temporary, he said. Now, as state coffers are heavy with surplus revenue, advocacy groups and organized labor want to keep the levies in place.
Opinion: California’s Wildfires Didn’t Have to Be This Extreme
“The Valley fire demonstrates what can happen when public and private landowners (much of the Valley fire is on private land) fail to manage their property.”
The Team Behind the Scene
B Street Theatre
“We are lucky to work with a great team here, because this is not always easy,” says set designer and charge artist for B Street Theatre Samantha Reno. “You have to be flexible, you have to be quick and you have to make good, solid decisions. The schedule can be grueling, but the show must go on.”
California Fears El Nino’s Dark Side Will Bring More Trouble
El Nino may likely not end the state’s 4-year drought. Imagine instead a darker scenario, where the weather-changing phenomenon adds another year of dryness in the north while ravaging the south with floods. “What do you say when the governor asks you what to do? ‘You prepare for flood and drought because there is a possibility you can get both,”’ said Mike Anderson, state climatologist.
Dog Days
Why one couple left behind the trappings of the corporate world to chase the growing industry of professional pet care.
Matthew and Arlette Woods were professionally unhappy and unfulfilled. One night, they both came home worn out from yet another long work day, and a seemingly innocuous comment sparked a decision that changed everything.
Sweet Succession
Jelly Belly CEO Lisa Brasher represents the 5th generation of her family to run the candy bean empire. So just what does it take to keep a company in the family for 146 years?
We sat down recently with CEO Lisa Rowland Basher, the fifth generation of her family to run the company, to learn a little bit about the Jelly Belly philosophy of sustaining a family business.
Hiding in the Shallows
As farmers switch from flood irrigation to drip, California’s water tables are falling
Agricultural groups and the federal government are actively encouraging growers to improve their irrigation systems to save water, usually by graduating from flooding, and farmers who haven’t upgraded have received stinging criticism. But drip irrigation is not necessarily a panacea for water shortages.