Amy Sieffert, a Stockton native, has been running a vintage clothing business since 2010 — but she had to leave her hometown to make a profit. On weekends, she would travel to Sacramento and the Bay Area because there were no local makers markets where she lived. To help turn this ghost town into a local hotspot, Sieffert and business partner Katie Macrae created the Stockmarket, a seasonal market that showcases Central Valley artisans.

The phrase “wine country” harkens to Napa, Sonoma, Calistoga. But Solano? Not so much. In fact, the Suisun Valley appellation was formed in 1982, less than a year after Napa’s. The local environment boasts much of the same benefits, too.

The historic Del Paso Country Club will host the 2015 United States Senior Open Championship during the week of June 22. This prestigious United States Golf Association event will be one of the largest and most significant sporting events to ever take place in Sacramento. Without a doubt, it will be Sacramento’s greatest golfing event.  

Jeannine English assumed the office of AARP president in June 2014. Previously, she chaired the AARP National Policy Council and served as president of AARP California. This year, she’ll be directing the organization in advocating on behalf of its 37 million members.

Attendance is up, and that’s translating to big bucks for the Capital Region and beyond. 

Can people who are cognitively intact today decide to put into place directives stating that, if they ever develop advanced Alzheimer’s disease in the future, they want to go without food and water? Can someone forbid their future caregivers and nursing home aides from extending that spoon, as Don Reynolds puts it, if Alzheimer’s strips them of their selves?

Sacramento is a thirsty region. From agriculture to restaurants kitchens, our food system slurps down a big chunk of our existing water supply. The looming question is how each of us can partner with these industries to conserve.

When 32-year-old Californian Brittany Maynard ended her life on Nov. 1 in Oregon under that state’s Death with Dignity laws, she gave the aid-in-dying movement new momentum across the country. California’s Senate Bill 128, recently approved by the California Senate Health Committee is modeled on the Oregon law.

Comic-themed conventions, or cons, have been around since the 1970s. Even the Capital Region has had its own Sac-Con since 1989. In those days, the events were small affairs attended by a hard-core smattering of lonely youth and middle-aged men speaking their own jargon-filled language. But in the past five years, something changed. Cons became cool.

As California’s banker, Treasurer John Chiang has the responsibility of managing the state’s investments and financing. We sat down with him recently to talk about the California economy and his calls for the state to increase affordable housing and for corporate boardroom diversity.