Penelope Spain had the good fortune to come from a supportive family and community. While attending Napa High School, she was in the band, and was also a longtime member of the Silverado Ballet Troupe, a nonprofit organization that tours abroad and performs for low-income communities and orphanages. When she went of to college she received various grants and scholarships from local groups and organizations.

Organizers of Bi-National Health Week in Napa are gearing up for a more than week-long series of events that will give many Latino families access to health care and will touch on women's issues, eating disorders and citizenship. Bi-National Health Week is comprised of six events beginning on Saturday, and extending until Oct. 21.

For the first time in dozens of visits over the years to the nation's capital, Napa flood control officials will have direct contact with Bush administration representatives in their quest to bolster federal funding.

Gasser Foundation's south Napa mega project, the city's biggest commercial and residential development in years, is about to undergo public hearings.

Napa County Fire crews contained a fire that began on Friday morning and burned 400 acres of brush in the hills west of Yountville. Full control of the fire is expected on Tuesday at 8 p.m., according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.