By Stephanie Grohs and Lauren Coodley In the Thirties, life expectancy in America was 58 for men and 62 for women. The average worker earned $1,368 per year, while 25% of them had no jobs at all. Milk cost l4 cents a quart and bread, 9 cents a loaf.  Rita Bordwell’s father had helped organize the original volunteer fire department here in the late l800s. She later wrote a history of Napa’s firemen. For the Register, she described the plight of jobless workers in Napa: John Steinbeck, when he wrote Grapes of Wrath, must have met some who came to Napa in broken down machines wired toge ..read more

By Craig Smith We’re all well aware at this point that the planet is in trouble, and desperately needs our help. We need to focus on what we can do about it, and Napa residents have an opportunity to do so. “City leadership is supporting Napa achieving net zero climate pollutants from public and private operations within the city by 2030, but what can local residents do to help?” said Erin Corona.  Corona is with the Environmental Education Coalition of Napa County (EECNC), the group that hosts Napa’s Earth Day Celebration. “At this year’s Earth Day event, we are going to showcase cli ..read more

By John Dunbar   |    Photos by Art & Clarity A sold-out crowd of nearly 400 guests attended the Napa Chamber of Commerce’s 134th Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon on January 19 at the Meritage Resort and Spa to honor and celebrate business excellence and community engagement exhibited by award nominees and winners in 2023. Jeri Hansen, CEO and President of the Napa Chamber, provided context to this year’s awards presentation. “One year and one week ago, I stood here on this stage in my first official duty with the Napa Chamber of Commerce. It’s been quite a year, and we ..read more

By Kathleen Reynolds Napan Daniel Eaton got the spark of an idea for a youth sports oversight committee when he was sent out of town to officiate a youth baseball travel tournament. “When I arrived, the field was muddy, almost flooded, and I didn’t think it was safe,” says Daniel, who is an assistant baseball coach at Napa High School. “After the game began, it became obvious that rules didn’t matter, and the team was playing against members of their own team. Parents were enthusiastic about seeing their kids play, not realizing that it wasn’t a legitimate tournament.” “I kept thinking that t ..read more

By Kathleen Reynolds With its picturesque mountains and tidy vineyards, we’re lucky to live in such a romantic place for Valentine’s Day. Add to that our vibrant Downtown Napa with bustling eateries, tasting rooms and cocktail lounges, and you’ve got a winning combination for a special Valentine’s evening. The traditional Valentine’s present for your sweetheart is, of course, chocolate and Napa is fortunate to have two delectable candy purveyors. Visit Anette’s Chocolates where you can find their special Valentine’s confections, classic boxed chocolates, salted caramels, truffles, brittl ..read more

By Linda Bausch When Mike Ali Musa, a native of Nazareth, opened the doors to Napa’s Small World Restaurant almost three decades ago, it came as a great and pleasant surprise how quickly the casual café would become the locals’ favorite Mediterranean restaurant. Featuring an eclectic menu selection, breakfast lunch and dinner options cross continents and cultures—as described on their home page—they serve “Foods from Nazareth and Around the World.”  The Ali Musa family had been in the restaurant business for generations before immigrating to America, and Napa is lucky to have the traditi ..read more

By Lisa Adams Walter Soon after the beginning of each year, bursts of yellow naturally paint the local landscape. Millions of tiny yellow blossoms bloom between rows of grapevines, scattered across hillsides, along paths and roadways, within bright green pastures and even in some neighborhood front yards. Several decades ago and for many consecutive years, a mustard festival was held in the Napa Valley. It culminated in a major weekend event featuring everything mustard, as well as wine, food, performing and visual art. Jessel Miller, a local artist and gallery owner, was a featured artist of ..read more

By Linda Bausch With the beginning of 2024 upon us, this seems an appropriate time to wish goodwill to Downtown Napa’s longest-serving advocate and leader. Craig Smith, Executive Director of Downtown Napa Association (DNA), ends a nearly three-decade span at the helm of the nonprofit organization which has been in existence since 1972. In 1996, Craig was brought on board as the first Executive Director of DNA. Craig probably had his hands full . . . as he told me in his usual dry-humor that, “I managed a staff of one—me. All these years later, same title, but the staff has doubled.”  How ..read more

A singing competition for Napa County students ages 12 -17 January 20 - 21, 2024 @ NVC Performing Arts Center For the Joy of Singing! E & M Presents is gearing up for IDOL NV 24, Saturday, January 20 at 2pm (semi-finals) and Sunday, January 21, at 2pm (finals). Both events will take place at the Napa Valley College Performing Arts Center.   Winning prizes include: three-day passes to BottleRock Napa Valley and the inaugural two-day Festival La Onda, plus cash and gift cards. Tickets can be purchased at Eventbrite.com.   The original American Idol reality series was created ..read more

By Kathleen Reynolds Photographer Suzanne Hawken wondered why the only dog portrait book in the Napa Valley was the one about winery dogs. “Why not have a book to celebrate rescued dogs and the people who rescued them?” asks Suzanne, who says she’s had rescued animals most of her life. “It’s also a meaningful way to give back to the animal shelters.” Suzanne says 10% of the book’s purchase price will be donated to the Napa Valley rescue organization of the recue dog owner’s choice. The book should be available mid-February and will contain portraits of 40-50 dogs. “For a nominal fee of $99, t ..read more