At 34, Assemblymember Matt Dababneh is one of the youngest members of the California Legislature. During his short stint in the Assembly, Dababneh has forged a reputation as a tech-savvy, pro-business lawmaker and earned himself the chairmanship of the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee. We sat down with him recently to talk about a few of his key agenda items.

When the economy serves people by allowing them to earn money, they can invest money back into the economy, thereby increasing economic health for everyone. We want an economy where full-time workers are self-sufficient and not dependent on government aid to supplement their wages. We want an economy that works for us. But here is a glimpse of our reality:

Large retail chains like Costco, Trader Joe’s, QuikTrip and Mercadona pay wages and benefits considered high for their industries. They also use four key operational strategies:

Calls for a minimum wage increase are growing louder, and these proposals are neither minor nor manageable for the city of Sacramento. Sacramento’s city-specific hike proposals range from $13.50 to as much as $15 per hour.

“The beauty of this partnership is our customers get to have it all, and I don’t have to do the things I don’t want to do,” says Jennifer Kaye. “Somebody can come in, grab a fresh sandwich or a salad and then pick up a little something for dessert.”

While sourcing my July feature for Comstock’s about the career journey of umpires, I learned just how much they give up and how many hours they put in away from home to reach the pinnacle of their profession.

Eckert served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1983 to 1989, traveling the world before suffering an injury to his torso during training. Upon returning to civilian life, the veteran infantryman found the skills he had gained in the marines translated to the business world.

Where are minimum wages higher? Who makes minimum wage, and who supports raising it?

State and local governments aren’t known for being cutting edge or tech savvy. But as the open data movement gains momentum, the private sector is becoming more empowered to usher valuable, though often archaic, institutions into the 21st century.

So-called expert consultants abound, but Alan Weiss’ Million Dollar Consulting: A Professional Guide To Building A Practice offers what many other how-tos don’t: modern, actionable tools for building a highly profitable enterprise.