As California lawmakers struggled this week to address an apparent new normal of epic wildfires, there was an inescapable subtext: Climate change is going to be staggeringly expensive, and virtually every Californian is going to have to pay for it.

State and federal labor laws give employees a wide range of worker protections, from overtime pay and minimum wages to the right to unionize. But those rights don’t extend to independent contractors, whose ranks have grown dramatically in the gig economy.

Jennifer Randlett Madden, partner at Delfino Madden O’Malley Coyle & Koewler, offers her insight into independent contractor classification. For more from Madden, check out “Classification Complications” in our August issue, and now online.

Employee classification is already murky territory for many business owners, and recent changes have further tightened requirements. Yet, with huge penalties attached to mistakes, the laws are critical to understand.

Sacramento’s effort to expand mobile food codes is part of a statewide push to legitimize California’s long tradition of sidewalk vending.

Daniel Conway, managing partner of Truth Enterprises, offers his insight into commercial cannabis real estate in the Capital Region.

Joe Devlin, chief of cannabis policy for the City of Sacramento, offers his insight into commercial cannabis real estate in the Capital Region.

The California Military Department headquarters in Rancho Cordova is one of the first large-scale efforts attempting to meet a California mandate regarding the energy efficiency of state facilities.

As the food court at a Sacramento mall buzzed with families on a recent summer day, Emily Wickelgren and her daughter Thea were enjoying lunch at Subway. The 7-year-old opted for water with her sandwich instead of soda or juice.

For advocates looking to curb disposable plastic use and pollution through regulation, California represents the benchmark. But for industry groups, the regulation is overly burdensome, going too far to restrict what businesses can do, which they argue would ultimately increase costs for consumer goods.

The Stanley Mosk Library and Courts building in downtown Sacramento was in dire need of a rehabilitative makeover to bring back its historic beauty.

Sacramento stands at a crossroads. Will it remain a place where teachers, firefighters, nurses and retail clerks can live in the same city as the people they serve? Will Sacramento maintain its identity as a diverse city; a place to put down roots and raise a family? Or will it succumb to the fate of other metropolitan areas, where the people who work to make our city run can’t afford to live here?

Economists agree that rent control leads to a decline in the quantity and quality of housing.

A little over two years ago, as Sacramento City Council put the finishing touches on one of the region’s first ordinances allowing short-term residential rentals via online platforms such as Airbnb, Councilman Eric Guerra offered some support.

Looking to boost Woodland’s downtown, streamline bus routes and combine transportation options, the community is evaluating a proposed $4.9 million transit center. The first step is figuring out just where to build the facility.

Giving ex-offenders a better chance at reintegration is behind the California Fair Chance Act, which took effect in January. With exceptions for a few types of jobs, the new law forbids businesses with five or more employees from asking applicants about criminal history until late in the hiring process — which could mean big changes in how many employers hire.

The political whirlwind raging around California’s “sanctuary” laws isn’t doing much damage to the laws themselves, according to many state legal experts. In fact, the brunt of any legal damage may be felt most by the small city that started the rebellion.

California’s major revenue sources have shifted over time. Until 1995, the biggest was property taxes. Today, it’s personal income taxes.

And California ranks fairly high in overall taxation: 10th highest both per capita and as a percentage of personal income, based on the latest available data from the U.S. Census.

Three companies found to have sold toxic lead paint for decades—despite knowing it posed health hazards for children—are waging a major battle to avoid paying the several hundred millions of dollars in liability that California courts have slapped on them.

And they’re asking you, the California voter, to help them get their way.

Businesses in California now have a new centralized directory with which to find information about relevant state and local incentives.