This story is part of our December 2025 issue. To read the print version, click here.
Joan Didion, who grew up here, gave the Capital Region a
backhanded compliment when she recalled that “Sacramento was the
least typical of the Valley towns, and it is — but only because
it is bigger and more diverse, only because it has had the rivers
and the legislature; its true character remains the Valley
character, its virtues the Valley virtues, its sadness the Valley
sadness.”
I’m sure there’s some sadness here, but I think it’s elusive and
individual — because for most of us who live and work here,
Sacramento, the once-called “cow town,” has grown with the region
into a thriving but manageable metropolis. I call it a backhanded
compliment because the late writer acknowledged (begrudgingly)
our impressive diversity, our magnificent rivers and, most of
all, our character.
If you’ve lived in or spent more than flyover time in some of our
country’s other cities and counties, you know that despite our
being a cultural melting pot, the people who live in our region
exhibit, by and large, a singular welcoming warmth to newcomers.
It comes from a genuine willingness to share our varied lives and
lifestyles — possibly because we’re not that many generations
removed from the ambitious, energetic pioneers and innovators who
settled the rough-and-tumble Gold Rush camps.
Yes, we have problems just like every other city in America — and
because we’re the capital of California (now back to being the
fifth-largest economy in the world after Japan surpassed us in
October), we also have challenges and concerns about the way our
state is being run. (I’ve certainly written about many of those
challenges in this column.) But that’s not this month’s message.
At a time of year when we count our blessings, let’s acknowledge
that where and how we live shouldn’t be taken for granted, and
our criticism should be constructive.
Related: The
Capital Region Is Not Alone in Its Challenges |
Opinion
Simply put, our region has it all. We have a marvelously mild
climate — even if when you’re reading this, it’s raining. We have
a highly trained and superbly educated workforce well-suited to
traditional, new and yet-to-be-created jobs. We have an enviable
overload of innovation coming from just about every county in our
Capital Region, with momentum in our tech sector defining the
word exponential development (yes, I’m thinking about AI, but
that’s only part of it). We’ve taken computer chip making to far
more than intuitive levels.
As you’ll read in this issue, we have health sciences and food
sciences. We have UC Davis’ new Aggie Square. In fact, we have
many university, community college and professional school
campuses within a 50-mile radius, including UC Davis, McGeorge
School of Law, Sac State, California Northstate University
College of Pharmacy, American River College, Cosumnes River
College, Sierra College, Folsom Lake College, Sacramento City
College, Jessup University, San Joaquin Delta College, Touro
University and University of the Pacific, among other private
institutions of learning.
Related: Aggie
Square Becomes a Reality for the Capital Region
Our nonprofit community, while currently facing the challenges
their cohorts are encountering elsewhere in the nation, continues
to demonstrate admirable perseverance: They believe in what
they’re doing.
And as those nonprofits know well, we also have a very generous
population in our Capital Region — people who are willing to not
only show up but step up when there’s a need or a vision needing
to be addressed. When I say “generous,” I don’t mean just
pocketbook kindness. I’m also talking about hundreds of thousands
of volunteers in our region who give their time to causes as
varied as elder care, museum docents, nature center guides and
helping children and adults with disabilities. Take a look at our
Capital Region Cares section
in this issue.
We have a lively, pulsating arts scene — the historic,
modern-and-traditional Crocker Art Museum (one of the art world’s
crown jewels) and dozens of art galleries throughout our
10-county region. We have professional orchestras, ballet
companies and theaters — as well as their “amateur” counterparts.
(“Amateur” doesn’t mean lesser quality. The word comes from
“amare,” Latin for “to love.”)
We remain the 20th-largest television market in the country, but
what many people might not realize is that we’re also the
launching pad for many entrepreneurs, innovators and even
show-business personalities (think of how many plays, concerts,
conferences, star-studded speaker events and festivals come to
our region). Fortunes are made here as well as films, commercials
and history. I continue to hope a film studio emerges in our
region.
Sports, anyone? What better place to have professional sports
teams (basketball, baseball, soccer) and enough college sports to
keep any fan’s weekend or weeknight roster full.
We’re a region of foodies, and we have a tasty cultural mix of
restaurants — from fine dining and Michelin-rated cuisine to taco
trucks and a wonderful assortment of ethnic eateries.
So let’s all dive into our region’s deep trove of delights this
season, as well as the promising year to come. From all of us at
Comstock’s, we wish you and yours a healthy, happy holiday —
along with our continued luckiness to live here! This issue is
chock-full of great content, so happy reading to all, and to all
a good night.
Winnie Comstock-Carlson
President and Publisher
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