And…
Our editors take a look at this month’s regional business happenings; we chat with LaShelle Dozier, executive director of the SHRA, about our May buzzword; and an architect’s perspective on how tiny houses could be an answer to housing the homeless.
Recommended For You

Gettin’ Figgy With It
The peculiar world of fig traders and their trees
California fig farmers, who grow nearly all the figs produced in the U.S., harvested about 30,000 tons of fruit worth $22 million in 2015, according to the latest crop report from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. But of all those figs, there were just a handful of genetically distinct varieties. Meanwhile, almost uncountable heirloom varieties have fallen to the wayside or even disappeared.

From the Editors: May Business Recap
Comstock’s monthly look at the business news in the Capital Region. We fondly remember what happened in May.

Buzzwords: Empower
To make someone stronger and more confident; to give (someone) the authority or power to do something.
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:

Tiny Houses Offer One Solution for Housing the Homeless
Communities in the Capital Region are struggling with the increasing numbers of homeless in their streets and parks and have realized that the problem has to be addressed. Local programs help by providing meals and winter shelter. But the primary need is year-round, permanent supportive housing, because living in tents or on park benches is not a sustainable way of life.