Local professionals making a difference in DEI

Cheers to another Friday, LinkedIn community. It was nice meeting many of you at our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Forum & Awards on Thursday afternoon.

Our annual event recognizes individuals and organizations making a difference in the DEI space locally.

These local leaders are committed to equity work, even amid a national backlash around DEI efforts.

We'll be publishing stories about this year's Champions for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion over the next several days. We've already posted articles about Sacramento Children's Home, City Year Sacramento and Renetta Garrison Tull.

Congratulations to all the outstanding honorees.

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Bulk of Kings' former arena property has new owner

In a major step toward redeveloping the former arena site in Natomas, Argent Development has acquired the bulk of the property from the Sacramento Kings .

That property, 183 acres already entitled as a master plan project called Innovation Park, should start seeing infrastructure work next year, representatives for the company said.

"We are excited to work with the City of Sacramento and the Kings to implement the vision and plan that has been many years in the planning stages." said Argent CEO?Stephan Elieff in a statement sent by email.

Read more in this article by Senior Reporter Ben van der Meer .

Your weekly restaurant roundup

Reporter Jacob Abbott covered three notable restaurant closures in the Sacramento region this week. Here's what you need to know.

First: Capitol Cafe and Bistro has permanently closed its breakfast and lunch restaurant in Downtown Sacramento after less than a year in business. Read more

Also: Aji Japanese Bistro, which has operated in the El Dorado Hills Town Center since 2013, will be permanently closing its doors later this month. Read more

Also: Red Lobster has closed its Arden-Arcade location. The local Red Lobster site is one of at least 48 to shutter across the U.S. recently. Read more

Latest on local Amazon Fresh grocery plans

Retail giant 亚马逊 appears to be working behind the scenes to open new Amazon Fresh grocery stores in the area, a year after pausing its expansion plans for the concept.

In early 2022, Amazon told the Business Journal that it would be?bringing its grocery store concept to the Sacramento area, but the company did not share additional details. Plans for new Amazon Fresh stores stalled last year when Amazon announced it was freezing its grocery store expansion to?tinker with the format.

But now, Amazon appears to be moving forward with its local grocery stores. The retailer filed plans this week seeking alcohol licenses for one of its Amazon Fresh sites in the Sacramento area. Read more

Sacramento area's biggest private-sector employers

We recently released our annual Largest Private Sector Employers list, compiling local employee counts from the region's biggest employers.?

The top 50 private-sector employers represent a diverse range of industries. Health care is prominently featured, reflecting its significance in the Sacramento economy. Other industries such as construction, engineering and leisure and hospitality also make appearances.

Of the 50 employers on the list, nearly 70% are based locally. While many reported growth, others indicated a reduction in their workforce.

Click here to see the largest private-sector employers in the Sacramento area.

As always, cheers to Data Reporter Mengyuan Dong for all the work she puts into our weekly lists.

Cal Expo water park won't reopen this year

The water park at Cal Expo will remain closed this summer, as the new operator prepares to turn the former Raging Waters Sacramento into a multi-attraction park complex called California Dreamin’.

After?signing a long-term lease?to operate the park in August of last year, Steven Dooner , principal of California Dreamin’ Entertainment Inc., said he and his investors planned to put $40 million into renovating the park.

In an email to the Business Journal, Dooner said they are still waiting for their demolition plans of the old park to be approved by Cal Fire, and that they hope to start demolition in June.

Learn more in this article by reporter Emily Hamann .

Thanks for reading our Weekly Edition, which was compiled by Managing Editor Sonya Sorich. Send feedback and news tips to [email protected].