Life often has been unkind to economic development directors since California put its redevelopment agencies out of business last year. Randy Starbuck tells it first hand.

High-speed trains linking Northern and Southern California have been a point of contention for more than a decade. For some, such “bullet trains” are the ideal solution to growing transportation needs; for others, they represent a boondoggle with enormous economic risk.

A town long known for its quaint historic authenticity, Truckee in the past five years has evolved from a sleepy hamlet to a city with the promise of vibrancy.

Roseville may be contemplating — again — plans to build a long-coveted conference center. The city has for years touted the benefits of a civic center, but such projects are notorious for their inability to bring in hefty, consistent revenue, and plenty of people are wondering if the right time for such a gamble is now.

In the Capital Region, it’s up to each county to reel in recovery by marketing to businesses that stimulate economic growth.

Jeff Michael, 42, is the director of the Business Forecasting Center at the University of the Pacific. 

Stan Atkinson could be described as a homebody these days. It’s not that he doesn’t like to go out occasionally, but Atkinson, like many other aging Americans, would prefer to stay in his home as long as possible.

Parts of the Capital Region are experiencing the hopeful signs of recovery, partly due to the re-emerging health of its eastern neighbors.

The Capital Region’s industrial real estate market is bouncing along the bottom, but local brokers are cautiously optimistic that signs are pointing to a steady, albeit slow, recovery this year.

Brian O’Hearn is an accidental landlord.

Like more and more homeowners caught in the descending mortgage spiral, O’Hearn and his wife, Juliet Williams, faced tough choices. Married in June, they owned his house in Folsom and her Sacramento condo — and both wanted to live in midtown.