Stockton and tourism are words that even the city’s most ardent supporters often have trouble associating with each other. Part of the Stockton Convention and Visitors Bureau’s (CVB) effort to change that is linked to a new tourism ambassador program that held its first test class April 2.

One of the clearest signs that the real estate market is beginning to show signs of life may be that professionals are once again returning to the industry.

California in general, and the Central Valley in particular, has suffered through a well-publicized crash in housing values. While it appears the market has bottomed out, the effects of the collapse can still be clearly seen on a variety of industries.

One of the reliable signs that winter has turned to spring is the beginning of baseball season. The Central Valley has two Class A Major League affiliates to satisfy area baseball aficionados.

Tracy’s business community celebrated some of its most prominent leaders and longtime businesses at the Grand Theatre Feb. 16. At its annual Winter Gala, the Tracy Chamber of Commerce honored three longtime area businesses, installed its board of directors and honored several of the city’s most high-profile businesses and people.

Bruce Davies believes in downtown Stockton. He believes in the area so much that he is trying what will be the third attempt to put a successful restaurant in the Hotel Stockton since its renovation in 2008.

Few sectors of the area’s economy have dramatized the area’s painfully slow overall economic recovery from the Great Recession like commercial construction.

Commercial real estate vacancies may not be the sexiest economic indicator, but it is an important barometer of whether businesses are starting up, expanding or contracting.

The Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce in 1981 was looking at ways to get people involved in improving the community when chamber officials came across a program in Denver that might serve as a model in Stockton. Leadership Stockton was born.

Emily Baime started her career among the palm trees and beaches of San Diego. Six years later, she is leading the Downtown Stockton Alliance and charged with promoting an area that is a far cry from one of the biggest tourist destinations in the state.