Editor's note: When the holidays come around, many of us go out of our way to help others in need. But some dedicated Napa County residents go to extraordinary lengths to help others year-round. This series of articles tells some of their stories.

Even though Napa County's jail is close to bursting at the seams, there are ways the county can avoid building a new jail or even undertaking major expansion of existing facilities.

There is a commitment on the part of Napa County officials to seek a lengthy extension of Measure J, but supervisors were hesitant this week to say just when they'd like county voters to take up the issue.

When word got out that the First Street bridge was opening Wednesday morning, city officials and Napa chauvinists came running.

Napa police served a search warrant on a Napa-based adoption agency Wednesday morning, seizing computer hard drives and boxes of files.

A Wednesday morning fire gutted a mobile home at Salvador Mobile Estates on Robin Street.

A veteran Napa police officer resigned Dec. 15 from the department following misdemeanor criminal charges filed against him by the Napa County District Attorney's Office on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON -- As Rep. Tom DeLay crossed the country to raise millions of dollars for himself and fellow Republicans, he also improved his lifestyle.

WASHINGTON -- Employers froze nearly one in 10 pension plans insured by the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. in 2003, according to a study released Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Supporters of an initiative to amend the state constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage said they didn't get enough signatures to qualify the measure for the June ballot.