A witness in the murder trial of Napa dentist Michael Posey testified Wednesday that Posey may have been hiding hundreds of thousands of dollars from his estranged wife at the time she died of a gunshot wound during a domestic struggle at Dr. Posey’s north Napa home.

The first time most Napans heard of Peter Mott was in 2000 when he came out of nowhere to run for mayor.

If Congress passes a law imposing strict penalties and fines for employers of illegal immigrants, the damage to Napa Valley’s $9 billion wine grape industry would be substantial, according to people in all levels of the industry.

The governor signed global warming legislation Wednesday, yet at the same time people recrafting Napa County’s general plan couldn’t bring themselves to use those two words.

Only after 25 years of planting, pruning and picking grapevines did Ernesto Ayala ponder starting his own vineyard management company.

WASHINGTON  —  Iva Toguri, the American branded “Tokyo Rose” during World War II and imprisoned for making treasonous radio broadcasts but exonerated decades later, died Sept. 26 at her home in Chicago. She was 90. No cause of death was reported.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Anna Nicole Smith’s 20-year-old son died from a lethal combination of methadone and two antidepressant drugs, a U.S.-based pathologist who conducted a private autopsy said Wednesday.

SYDNEY, Australia — “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin always felt he would die early, but that he would be killed in a car wreck and not by an animal, his widow said.

TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough County vice officers spent $6,400 for more than 90 lap dances, drinks and tips in an investigation into nudity and liquor law violations at an adult bikini bar that spanned more than two years, county records show.

The wind storm last week damaged 46 street trees, resulting in their removal, said Gene Piscia, Napa’s interim Community Resources director reported.

The Napa County Transportation Planning Agency is holding three public hearings in October on proposed fare increases for VINE and VINE Go buses and vans.

A pit bull bit a 7-year-old girl in the stomach Saturday as she, her mother and aunt walked on Monticello Road to get coffee at a nearby market, according to police and the girl’s father.