When you gather a group of people interested in bettering their neighborhood, I am pretty confident good things will come your way. While most neighbors are interested in preventing crime, some are interested in clean public bathrooms or more street lighting. All of these personal agendas make for a diverse to-do list. When it becomes personal, the vested interest grows stronger within the group.

So how does one go from making claims as a 5-year-old, to stumbling onto a trend, to becoming a mobile boutique owner that sells jewelry, gifts and home goods? 

Lampkin recently accepted a new position as the vice president of restaurant operations at Oak Park Brewing Company. We sat down with Lampkin to see what motivated her to make the move. 

Gail Bornhorst, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and Food Science and Technology at UC Davis, is trying to get to the bottom — or at least the bottom of the stomach — to figure out just what happens to food once it’s reached the belly of the beast.

When only 10 Girl Scouts nationwide are chosen for the National Young Women of Distinction award, “it’s a big deal” when two of those recipients come from the same regional council. “I don’t know if it’s ever happened before,” says Dr. Linda Farley, CEO of Girl Scouts Heart of Central California.

But it has happened now.

Jason Poole accidentally came across what would become his next career by way of a national contest. Poole submitted a Bloody Mary recipe, and before he knew it he was making his way to New York City as a finalist for the 2012 Absolut Best Bloody Mary in America contest.  

Sievent is a social experience app that helps event organizers and attendees stay connected with information before, during and after an event. The app is an end-to-end platform that handles all facets of an event such as promotion, ticketing, payment, event analytics and social media management.

In response to Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s new investment in the arts and creative economy, this is my open letter to Sacramento as a whole. To the creators. The developers. The decision-makers. The people.

What’s the main difference between the Art Hotel installation, held at the Marshall Hotel a year ago, and Art Street, opening Feb. 3 in a former lumber mill near Broadway and 1st Avenue? 

TrueNorth reflects the growing trend of studios and gyms offering stationary cycling — or spin, as the workout is also called — with dozens of these classes available throughout the Sacramento region.

Arlene Mordeno is a cyber security consultant by trade, who has also written a pair of pop songs that became major hits in international markets. Mina Alali is a 19-year-old musician from Davis, a precocious singer who organized and managed a girl group that performed the national anthem at Sacramento Kings games when she was only in junior high school.

Fifty-one percent of professionals have had a workplace romance, according to a 2015 survey from Vault.com, a career resource website. This includes couples like the Obamas and the Gates. In an online poll of Comstock’s readers, 80 percent admitted to having mixed business with pleasure.

Owners Julian and Ashley Perrigo-Jimenez opened their new business this month in Folsom, Julian’s hometown. The couple says they want to provide customers with a welcoming atmosphere, in an elegant interior, where they can enjoy the smells of baked goods and fresh coffee.

In 2012, Valenzuela Garcia helped form the Sacramento Urban Agriculture Coalition to change laws that impede urban farming by first identifying the political barriers to growing food in this environment. The long list included issues such as holding farm stands on residential sidewalks, raising chickens and keeping beehives.

Roseville City Manager Rob Jensen oversees the Capital Region’s only full-service city, a task that comes with managing a $500 million budget, 15 departments and over 1,200 employees. We sat down with him to talk about the challenges and opportunities facing one of the area’s fastest-growing cities.

An idyllic, family-farm community in south Placer County, Loomis is proud of its small-town heritage and quaint downtown dotted with unique shops and cafés. This rural village of about 7,000 residents caters to outdoor enthusiasts looking for a slower pace. Loomis has managed to keep its hometown feel for decades, jealously guarding its open space and passing on chain stores and malls.

Last year was one for the history books. But as we start the new year, we wanted to take one last look back at some of our best-performing and most-read articles of 2016. Take a look and see if you missed any of our greatest hits — or if something might deserve a second read.

The start of the year is resolution time, the season when gyms push special deals to lure new customers or pull in old ones. Jeff Rizzo isn’t trying to sell you a gym membership, but if you’re into technology and fitness, he does want to equip you with the latest gear for the lowest price.

Sacramento to Stockholm: It takes about a day to travel between these two capital cities. But they have more similarities than you might think, considering they are half a world apart. They also have lessons to teach each other.

Our whole team at Comstock’s is grateful for the past year of growth in our web users, paid subscribers and retail sales. We want to thank long-time readers for your continued support, and our new ones for helping us grow and evolve. You continue to show us that our message has teeth, and you drive us to always seek to do better