Do wine and pro basketball mix? We may soon find out

A small building about a block from the future downtown Sacramento arena would become a wine bar under an application with the city of Sacramento.

Whired Wine, in what’s now an empty building at 410 L St., would sell beer and wine alongside small plates of food, according to the project narrative in the application.

“I want to capitalize on the urban location, as with the opening of the new sports complex in 2016, the nearby area is currently transforming and will soon be a central area for dining,…

Riverpointe Townhouses, near Niagara U., sold for $5.65M

Real estate investor Jeff Williams has added to his portfolio of apartment holdings by acquiring the Riverpointe Townhouses, a 106-unit complex that neighbors Niagara University.

Williams, through his Riverpointe Properties LLC, paid $5.65 million for the complex, acquiring it from an investment group headed by businessman John Hutchins. The sale price was a near record for a multi-family property in Niagara Falls.

Riverpointe is located on University Court and literally adjoins the Niagara University…

Southern Co. Chairman Fanning’s total comp rises 36% to $11.5 million

Southern Co. (NYSE: SO) increased total compensation about 36 percent in 2014 for Chairman, President and CEO Thomas Fanning.

According to a proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Atlanta-based energy giant gave Fanning about $11.5 million in total comp last year, compared with about $8.4 million in 2013.

Salary — $1,192,067, up 3% Bonus — $0, N/M Stock Awards — $3,383,968, up 8% Option Awards — $2,255,999, up 8% Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation — $1,713,600, up…

San Jose's general plan imperiled by greenhouse gas lawsuit

When it was adopted in 2011 San Jose’s new general plan, Envision 2040, promised to limit sprawl by focusing growth in urban nodes and balancing the city’s jobs and housing mix.

So it’s something of an irony that it’s under fire for allegedly — you guessed it — causing sprawl.

Now the city of San Jose is being faced with defending the validity of its land-use bible after a little-known environmental advocacy organization scored a significant court victory earlier this year.

City officials…

Wall Street paying more attention to Valero’s stock these days

Valero Energy Corp.’s stock is being hailed by Zacks Investment Research as a strong pick because of its low price/earnings ratio, strong financial outlook and dividend pay-out, the investment firm said Monday.

Valero has a forward PE of 9.91, a P/S ratio of 0.24 and a dividend yield of 2.6 percent. However, Valero’s year-end earnings estimate consensus has risen by 9.7 percent in the past 30 days — due to six upward revisions in the past month, Zacks.com reported.

Zacks has a “buy” ranking…