At the Napa Valley College Small Business Development Center, we are frequently asked about grants to start a business.

Big Brother is a big issue these days. When USA Today revealed that the federal government had been tracking domestic phone calls, some cried out that it was an unprecedented invasion of privacy. Others countered that we're in a war against terrorists who have been known to live among us -- and that a citizenry as unified as the United States was in World War II would have made no bones of allowing such a search.

At a Napa social not too long ago, I noticed a woman at another table would now and then stare at me and when I'd make eye contact, she'd smile and look away.

Our streets are falling apart, yet we, the voters of Napa County, soundly rejected Measure H, the half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements.