Hundreds of artists from the worlds of dance, music and theater will appear on Zellerbach Hall stage to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Cal Performances on May 12 at 7:30 p.m.

di Rosa Preserve presents MFA works

LOS ANGELES -- Starz Entertainment Group is launching a movie download service that allows consumers to view full-length studio films, concerts and TV shows on portable devices powered by Microsoft Corp. software.

The Napa Valley Opera House will open its 2006 winter/spring season with an exclusive West Coast-production of A.R. Gurney's "Love Letters," starring Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker, Jan. 12 through 15.

Don't look now but "Follies" is back.

MIAMI -- The International Actor Formation Center Luz Columba is not your ordinary acting school. It grooms aspiring actors specifically for soap operas, and it trains them in Spanish no less.

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A VOENA CHRISTMAS -- VOENA, Voices of Eve 'N Angels, is the internationally acclaimed, multi-ethnic children's choir that combines inventive a cappella vocal arrangements with percussion, dance and theatrical elements. A joy for the eyes, ears and heart, and one you won't want to miss. Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 4 at 3 p.m. at Copia. $25 general/$22.50 member. Info, 259-1600.

Purchasing an entire new wardrobe will be costly, but New Tech High School senior Emily Read is more than anxious to be forced to shell out whatever that will cost her.

The world can be a very weird place. And some of its weirdest aspects are proudly displayed in two recent books.

NEW YORK -- It's time to get it together. It's time to do your family's financial and legal planning.

Size matters at a French village bakery or boulangerie.

Education

Rex Stults takes post with Napa Valley Vintners

Ivo Jeramaz, vice president of vineyards and production at Grgich Hills Cellar, went to his great-uncle, Miljenko ("Mike") Grgich, and told him about a lecture he had attended on biodynamic farming. It was, he told him, like going back to what our grandfathers did, farming without chemicals and pesticides.

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars names Pruss winemaker

PITTSBURGH -- Distinguishing fine wine from plonk is usually left to connoisseurs and winemakers, who rely on their senses, rough chemical measurements and the whims of nature to produce an exceptional tipple.

To us, a wine shop is a playground. We stop at almost every one we see and always enjoy strolling along the aisles. It's fun to see old friends -- "Look, they have a Bully Hill" -- and even more fun to see labels that are new to us. But we understand that many people find wine stores confusing, overwhelming or just plain annoying. All those wines, all those labels, all those neck cards claiming a 90-point rating from someone for just about every wine on the shelf (and often for a different vintage to boot).

If you're feeling under the weather this winter, before you head to your doctor's office, take a trip to your kitchen. When you feel the first signs of a winter-borne bug, a scratchy throat, a runny nose, an achy feeling, Women's Health magazine suggests it's time for some feel-good foods.

CONCORD, N.H. -- Last night I went on a bit of a bender.

Homemade Tortillas

Sonoma's the Girl & the Fig is a major find for frugal diners

Pollo Pulquero

Sopa de Tortilla

Winter storms made a mess in California's wine country, but the rains were not expected to wash out the region's valuable grape crop, officials said.

Europe's third largest bank by assets is working quietly behind the scenes to return a world-renowned Champagne operation to its founders.

All across America, parents are putting toys together and teens are hooking up shelves for racks to hold tons of CDs. Millions are having problems because there just aren't that many good screwdrivers out there. Some are using bent or broken tools or the wrong-sized ones, or worse, a coin or butter knife to do the job.

When it comes to New Year's resolutions, it's a good idea to include some home improvement resolutions that will save time, money and keep your home in good shape.

This time of year, a slice of Key lime pie is the next best thing to a trip to the Florida Keys. Okay, maybe not the next best thing, but good eating anyway.

Big apple trees

Cold, gray, wet January days give us the perfect excuse to be indoors planning spring and summer gardens. Is there a more pleasurable way to spend the time than looking at seed catalogs and imagining bright summer blooms and harvests from the vegetable garden? We have to avoid walking on soggy garden soil anyway, especially clay soil, so as not to compact it.

The floodwaters are receding, but it's still January -- gray, lifeless and cold. That is, unless you're Napa interior designer Thomas Bartlett, who can escape the dreary month with a quick plane trip and drive to his hacienda in La Penita de Jaltemba, Mexico.

Ehdaie -Kelly

Lawrence-Parker

Queen of the Valley

BALLIETT-BALLIETT -- Fargo Balliett III, 57, Paradise, Napa, to Carol Denise Balliett, 56, Paradise, Napa.

BARDESSONO -- Leslie Bardessono vs. Thomas Bardessono, Dec. 16, 2005