The team at Davis-based Gold Standard Diagnostics Inc., which sells disease test kits, automated instruments and regulatory services, noticed an opportunity in the medical laboratory industry to build an instrument that would automate not only the test kits it was offering, but those of other suppliers as well, allowing labs to consolidate to one instrument and improve efficiency, says John Griffiths, chief executive officer.

The market for social gaming in America will reach an estimated $1.25 billion in 2011, and social gaming startups — which didn’t exist three years ago — will account for about $835 million of that total, according to Inside Network Inc., a data collection firm that monitors Facebook, apps and the gaming industry. Sacramento’s own KlickNation Corp., a Facebook-game developer staffed by gaming addicts, techies and three former Marvel Comics artists, is one such small firm with big aspirations.

If a local economy is thriving and healthy, it may have the manufacturing industry to thank. If things aren’t so good, it’s probably because manufacturing jobs are leaving.

In November, after seven years of work, the U.S. Green Building Council passed construction guidelines for health care facilities. Some local building experts say it’s too early to tell what this means for Capital Region architects and builders; others say it’s too much too late for the region.

When California’s building industry began to crumble in 2008 — with 2009 producing the lowest number of homes built since 1954 — veteran contractors like Jim Bayless scrambled to reinvent themselves.

While most businesses are postponing investments and stashing cash, at least one expense is expected to grow this year: information technology.

For 15 years, the California High-Speed Rail Authority and its backers have discussed, planned, studied and lobbied for the kind of fast trains seen elsewhere around the world.

For companies needing data security and backup, the Sacramento region boasts some of the safest and most affordable data centers in the West. It’s so desirable, in fact, that Twitter has joined Yahoo Inc., eBay Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and a host of other Fortune 500 companies in storing its data in or near California’s capital.

In a year of job loss and company closures, Scott Blevins’ freight business is expanding, hiring and hauling in the cash.

An unemployed engineer and an e-waste recycler walk into a bar. The engineer takes the recycler’s electric bike for a spin. And, a year later, The Electric Bike Shop opens its doors in East Sacramento.