In September 2008, when Lehman Brothers collapsed and the municipal bond market froze, Sacramento International Airport had just begun constructing the biggest capital improvement project in the county’s history.

Doby Fleeman can feel the ground shifting. He can almost hear the low rumble of engines.

“The steamrollers are on the move,” says Fleeman, manager of the Davis Ace Hardware Co. “It’s like we’re on tectonic plates. There’s a change in the wind.”

I remember a time when Sacramento’s Downtown Plaza was a thriving mall, a leader in the city’s retail sales and tax revenues. And, back in the 1970s, its design was up to date: many malls were self-contained, with no connection to surrounding streets.

The day Clark Pacific won the bid to provide the concrete components for the 49ers’ new football stadium in Santa Clara was a day for much celebration. It was a $20 million award. It meant new jobs. It meant an economic boost for the region.

Due to its port connectivity and excess of freight companies, West Sacramento encounters a disproportionate amount of truck traffic.

Mike Wiley, 59, began his career at the Sacramento Regional Transit District as a service planner in 1978. In 2007, he was named general manager and CEO. He also serves on the executive committee of the California Transit Association.

The ports of West Sacramento and Stockton are betting that a $30 million public investment in new infrastructure will convince local importers and exporters to transfer their method of goods movement to the San Francisco Bay from trucking to barge shipping.

There are roads that the director of San Joaquin County’s transportation-planning agency forbids his teenage daughter from driving on.

As Bay Area businesses begin to regain their financial footing, the city of Tracy is aiming to capitalize on a growing need for industrial space in an accessible, affordable zip code.

With fewer discretionary dollars in their pocketbooks and more sensitivity at the gas pump, recession-era gamblers want to spend their quarters closer to home.