City of Sacramento Director of Convention and Cultural Services Jody Ulich

The Crusade for Art Infusion

Sacramento's art czar says it's a necessity, not a luxury

Jody Ulich has been Sacramento’s director of convention and cultural services for just over a year. A transplant from Fort Worth, Texas, the energetic Ulich has brought a fresh energy and perspective to the city’s efforts to stabilize and grow its diverse arts community. We sat down with her recently to discuss the arts and ongoing efforts to modernize the Sacramento Convention Center.

Jan 14, 2016 Rich Ehisen
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The High Cost of Cheap Food

The problem with calling the food movement ‘elitist’

Americans spend very little of our overall incomes on food, only 10 percent, allowing us more expendable income than people in many other countries. In France and Japan, they spend 14 percent on food, and in the Philippines they spend 40 percent. In a system where food jobs rely on the success of food sales, cheap food creates a vicious cycle of poverty. Not surprisingly, the adverse is also true: More expensive food can create better jobs.

Jan 13, 2016 Amber Stott
Yolo County's Fritz Durst has been using the no-till method for 20 years.   

From the Ground Up

No-till farming is still a hard sell in California — despite worldwide acceptance and cleaner air

At first glance, the concept of no-till farming seems a quaint relic of the past, a footnote in a history book, perhaps. Farmers in California’s central farmlands have been using large disks and tills to rip and turn their soil for almost a century. But no-till could have substantial human health benefits for Central Valley residents, as well as financial gains for farmers, according to some agricultural experts at UC Davis and across the country. 

Jan 12, 2016 Michael Bowker
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Jerry Brown Proposes Record $123 Billion California Budget

California Governor Jerry Brown proposed a $123 billion general-fund spending plan for the next fiscal year, a 6 percent increase over the current budget and the largest ever as state coffers overflow with surging tax revenue.

Jan 12, 2016 Alison Vekshin

The Endangered Blue-Collar Worker

While policymakers focus on the need for more grads with bachelor’s degrees, middle-skill jobs go unfilled

Douglas Stricker of Folsom, 58, knows all about the need for skilled laborers. In 1992, he launched Golden Development, a company that built storage tanks and other structures for refineries and chemical companies. He had a crew of between 20 and 40 workers but never could find enough reliable welders — even in jobs that paid up to $30 an hour.

Jan 11, 2016 Steven Yoder
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Return of the Single Female Homebuyer

For decades, single women played an important role in the U.S. housing market, buying more homes than single men. But after the housing crisis, lenders made it harder to qualify for mortgages, and the percentage of single female buyers dropped from 21 percent of purchasers in 2009 to 15 percent this year. Now, they may be poised to make a comeback.

Jan 8, 2016 Patrick Clark

Buzzwords: Authenticity

Don't fake it

There’s a whole lot of buzz lately about authenticity: authentic leadership styles, authentic brands, authentic values, authentic marketing and advertising … and on and on. By definition, something is authentic if it is genuine, real, of unquestionable origin, not faked or copied, verifiable and trustworthy.

Jan 7, 2016 MaryJayne Zemer