Today is Thursday, Feb. 23, the 54th day of 2006. There are 311 days left in the year.

Congressional art competition

LOS ANGELES -- Nick Lachey wants what's his, and maybe what's Jessica Simpson's.

BERLIN -- A film about the struggles of a single mother and her 12-year-old daughter in the cruel aftermath of the Bosnian war won the top prize at the Berlin film festival Saturday.

HANOI, Vietnam -- British glam rocker Gary Glitter will go on trial March 2 on charges of committing obscene acts with two underaged girls in Vietnam, the presiding judge said Monday.

The San Francisco Opera's rising stars will come to Napa Valley next week to perform in a first-time ever collaboration with the Napa Valley Symphony and the Napa Valley Chorale to present Mozart's "Don Giovanni," at the Lincoln Theater in Yountville.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- He was the smooth voice of sports history, a welcome companion who brought listeners Ted Williams' last home run, the first Super Bowl and dozens of other dramatic moments.

The Pacific Chamber Symphony will begin its first season of concerts at the Napa Valley Opera House with a performance of "Traditions" March 9.

Ailey II, the company universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country's best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today's outstanding emerging choreographers, performs two shows at the Napa Valley Opera House, Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m.

When the production team at Lincoln Theater sidestepped a near-booking disaster last Saturday night, a new wine country venue was born.

Despite the rain and chill of a February evening in old Napa town, the Dreamweavers Theatre production of "On Golden Pond" warmed the hearts and triggered the memories of an appreciative audience at the cozy theater on Imola Avenue.

There are sophomore slumps, and then there's Wayne Kramer's "Running Scared," the bloody, awful follow-up to his fairly engaging, terrifically performed theatrical debut, "The Cooler."

PORTLAND, Ore. -- You plop your can of pork and beans on the supermarket's checkout belt and move along past the tabloids bleating lurid details of the escapades of this or that starlet.

PARIS -- A Paris appeals court fined three photographers a little more than a dollar each for invasion of privacy by taking pictures of Princess Diana and boyfriend Dodi Fayed the night of their fatal 1997 car crash, officials said Wednesday.

NEW YORK -- Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and REM frontman Michael Stipe will headline a New York concert to urge the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

LOS ANGELES -- Ang Lee seems poised to go where even Japanese film master Akira Kurosawa never went: The winner's circle for best director at the Academy Awards.

The nightmare began in a theater-rama type classroom. I filed in with the rest of the students. Desks were backed up six aisles and I chose one closest to the door. A giant whiteboard spanned ten feet of wall space before me. In the center, a large letter D loomed. A nightmare? D for dread. D was the final red mark, the last letter grade I received in high school algebra. That morning's breakfast, buttered toast and coffee churned in my stomach. I fought an urge to flee as the professor stepped up to the podium.

Four years ago Makayla Harrison didn't know if she'd walk again, let alone cross a stage in performance. Today she's not only walking, she's dancing in hopes of becoming the next Miss Napa County.

Anthea Tolomei

The following 56 out of 102 students were named to the Napa Christian honor roll for the fall semester 2005-2006:

Obesity has become a national calamity for adult humans, as well as children. It's hardly surprising that obesity is also of major health concern for our animal companions. Nutrition in general has never been better AND worse for our pets.

Anthea Tolomei, fashion educator and consultant, will interpret spring fashions and demonstrate the best way to wear them when First Impressions holds its third annual tea and fashion show, Feb. 26 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Embassy Suites, in Napa.

Education

Winning cook

Steve Sando

Steve Sando, adapted from

Steve Sando

Soups and winter greens in the cold months. Red ripe tomatoes and juicy peaches in the summer.

This simple stir-fry dish brings together an interesting pair of main ingredients, and the winning trick is that it's a balanced, clean combination that lets you savor each flavor.

New flooring can be an excellent means of giving your kitchen a new look. The choices for kitchen flooring are almost endless, depending on what best suits your sense of style and your pocketbook.

Tree stewardship

After climbing steadily for a decade, the nation's homeownership rate appears to have leveled off.

The Home and Garden Network specializes in shows where an energetic team takes over someone's house, banishes the person and redoes the homestead. They always end with the homeowner being led, with eyes closed, back into the newly redesigned house, and going into transports of joy and incredulity. (Actually once I watched a show where the designer later admitted the man had hated the Greek island theme she'd redone his room in, and she had to repaint the bright blue walls plain beige.)

The making of a gardener

Jill Hammond and Christopher Jones, residents of Tacoma Wash., announce their engagement with a wedding planned for July 1, 2006, at Lakewold Gardens in Lakewood, Wash.

Patricia V. Malack and Chris N. Osborn, both of Fair Oaks, were married Sept. 17, 2005, at the groom's parents' country home in Napa.

ANDERSON-DAYTON -- David Larz Anderson, 52, Wales Street, Napa, to Laura Louise Dayton, 53, Rockwood Avenue, Napa.

Abigail O'Keefe and Christopher Edwards of Cedar Flat were married Oct. 2, 2005, at Fitzhaven Estate in an outdoor wedding ceremony overlooking Lake Tahoe.

Dr. Ryan Michael Crowley, formerly of Napa, and Monica Diana Batanero announce plans to marry on Sept. 23, 2006, in Laguna Beach.

Residents of Napa, Danielle Presley and Jack Harris announce their engagement with a wedding planned for Oct. 7, 2006, at St. Apollinaris Church.

Queen of the Valley

ARNOTT -- Jenner Arnott vs. Sean Arnott, Jan. 31, 2006