Nearly two years after opening, Hot Italian received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification. The Midtown pizza parlor is the first restaurant in the city to achieve the high-ranking environmental designation from the U.S. Green Building Council. Mayor Kevin Johnson joined owners Andrea Lepore and Fabrizio Cercatore at Hot Italian Tuesday to announce the LEED Silver status. Johnson praised Hot Italian for its environmental efforts. “This is about pro-business, pro-environment and pro-pizza,” Johnson said. Co-owner Andrea Lepore pointed out the restaurant’s sleek black-and-white color scheme, saying that it was environmentally friendly but not the co

The good news is that sustainable or "green" home construction and remodeling -- and the businesses making it possible -- have been growing in Sacramento. The bad news is that the recession and other factors are making it hard for those businesses to stay afloat. Fledgling businesses that have taken off only within the last few years during a recent green building movement are being threatened by the virtual shutdown of housing projects and a lack of widespread support for ecologically friendly building materials. Businesses like Green Sacramento and GreenBuilt Construction also are suffering due to other types of income loss. "The economy is just taking its toll," said Green Sacramento