No one asked Kachet Jackson-Henderson to create The Blog Bloc, a group that provides education, support, resources and networking opportunities for local bloggers. A veteran fashion blogger under the name Lipstick Giraffe and a self-styled “marketing strategist, content creator, lifestyle expert,” Jackson-Henderson simply saw that a disconnection existed—and created a connection.
If not for the financial crisis of 2007 and the resulting economic downturn, Kenny Hotchkiss might still be laying tile for a living. A longtime craft beer fanatic, Hotchkiss used his shrinking workload as motivation to pursue his passion project, a taproom and bottle shop that would showcase the best the beer world had to offer. “I kind of backed into it. And if the economy hadn’t taken a dump, I would have probably remained in construction,” Hotchkiss says. “It forced me to go after what I wanted.”
The sheer amount of paper spread out before us on the ottoman in the living room of Rona Commins’ Arden-area house is impressive. Brochures and flyers announcing concerts, contests, presentations and foreign excursions are visual reminders of how much work Commins does on a daily basis as a teacher, author and professional singer.
Upside, downside, P/E ratio, EPS, options, short sells, PERT, SSG, REIT—all foreign terms to me. But I am a little smarter now after attending a meeting of the Pocket Change Investment Association.The investment club was established in April 1994 by Pocket neighbors. Founding members Michael Fong and Dr. Helen Kwong considered the monthly $25 dues as “pocket change,” which fit perfectly with the name of their neighborhood. And so the Pocket Change Investment Association was born. It meets monthly.
Construction is ramping up again at Crocker Village. BlackPine Communities—the builder of other high-profile local infill projects like California Brownstones and The Creamery—will begin work on three additional villages in the next few months.
“It is a world-class ‘surban’ community,” says BlackPine president and COO Mike Paris. “The architectural style and design is uniquely different, with architectural influences ranging from the brownstones in Park Slope, New York City, to the classic genres of the historical ‘park’ neighborhoods throughout Sacramento.”
