Saturday is one of the annual “Free Fishing Days.” Sept. 23 is the other one. No license required on either day. Gather up the kids and just go do it. Here are some places where you can find some action:

Everyone involved with "All the King's Men" must have felt justified by the compulsion to create an important film, one that's pulsating with relevance, a film that has Something To Say.

Known best for its top-shelf wines, vineyard views and fine restaurants, the Napa Valley is also the home of a bustling — but mostly uncelebrated — live-music scene.

With a multi-octave voice equal to none, incredible scatting skills and ease of transition from a throaty whisper to high-pitched trills, vocalist Cleo Laine remains one of the jazz world’s fascinating attractions.

While he might not have been able to best a teenage yodeler as a contestant on the sketchy “America’s Got Talent” this summer, the Bay Area’s Shawn Ryan sure knows how to entertain a crowd.

The musical world of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart comes alive this weekend at the Napa Valley Opera House, with three family concerts and a free display of historical artifacts believed to be connected with the Mozart family.

A retirement party is in the works for Craig Bonds, the longtime and much beloved choir director at St. Helena High School, and organizers are trying to get the word out to the former students  — 13,060 in all — who passed through Bond’s classroom in his 33 years of teaching. His impressive statistics include 1,910 concerts presenting 30,000 songs in 157 cities and 15 countries.

Pearl Necklace ended the way it began: with a party.

LOS ANGELES  — Paris Hilton was charged Tuesday with driving under the influence.

If you haven’t seen the first “Jackass” movie, you’re likely to be hopelessly lost in the sequel’s plot.

BURBANK — Oscar winner George Clooney shrugged off suggestions Monday that he might run for political office — but he sure sounded like a politician doing it.

Dozens of current books, speeches and articles assail U.S. Christians — especially conservatives — for activism on the era’s hot political disputes. It’s sometimes said they seek to impose an American “theocracy.”

Family caregivers, baby boomers, seniors and all those interested in knowing what's ahead as we age are invited to attend Napa County's Caring Counts conference from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Oct. 7 at the Meadows, 1800 Atrium Parkway in Napa. The day, sponsored by the Napa Alliance on Aging, will feature 12 workshops, a keynote address by Nancy Powers-Stone of the Redwood Caregiver Resource Center and a luncheon honoring the Napa County Caregiver of the Year.

Education

They gather four times a year, always as night falls, always at a different location and by invitation only. The topic is usually murder, though it ventures just as easily into kidnapping, torture, poisoning or armed robbery.

Napan goes to National Young Leader Conference

he subject of the conversation with Janie Falk, was going to be: getting started -- or restarted -- in yoga.

It sounds stupid, I know: A "Star Wars" game in which everything is made out of LEGO blocks. But the first "LEGO Star Wars," which came out last spring, turned out to be a surprise hit.

The 2006 harvest is well under way with most of the whites picked and the reds getting ripe and full of flavor. The weather continues to please most of our correspondents, although the late harvest for the reds will compact the season in some of the AVAs.

Kirkland Ranch Winery, on Jamison Canyon Road, has filed for protection and reorganization under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, which essentially blocks an action to foreclose on a loan.

One of the most intriguing wine producers in Napa Valley is the joint venture between Hyde Vineyards and the de Villaine family, co-proprietors of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, one of the most famous wineries in Burgundy and the world.

It only takes a couple of weeks away from the Napa Valley to realize how good our wines are.

Jell-O salad, orange-colored cheese loaves rolled in nuts, mini-Swedish meatballs: There ought to be a marble vault somewhere for the party foods of yesteryear, where we could lay them safely to rest for all eternity.

It is an apparently incontrovertible truth that Chris Manning cooks better than anyone’s mom.

Domaine Chandon celebrates the harvest season from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7 at the Yountville winery. The event will include a pumpkin carving demonstration, festive music, a Magical Moonshine theater puppet show, a hay maze, face painting and caricature artist, animal friends and educational and interactive programs for children on sustainable farming and stewardship of the land. Children and their families will have the chance to make pumpkin soup with étoile Chef Chris Manning. They also can select a pumpkin from the Domaine Chandon pumpkin patch, which they can decorate at the crafts table or take home for Halloween.

Karen MacNeil launched her new cookbook, “Wine, Food and Friends” at a party last week at the Culinary Institute of America, Greystone.

TEL AVIV, Israel  — There’s a special quiet that descends on Jewish communities around the world on Yom Kippur, a feeling profoundly different from the noisy tumult of everyday life.

Making new plants from cuttings can be an enjoyable pastime if you don’t expect 100 percent success. Some plants root more easily than others.

Napa County Landmarks, the county’s nonprofit historic preservation organization, announced its annual list of Ten Threatened Treasures Sunday. These sites of historic and cultural importance are in danger of destruction, sometimes by developers and sometimes simply by neglect.

Rammed earth homes aren’t a new fad. In fact, rammed earth construction was taking place in 2,000 B.C. in Mesopotamia and ancient China.

Queen of the Valley Hospital

EDENBOROUGH-MURDOCK -- Michael Jon Edenborough, 42, San Benito Street, Richmond, to Jennifer Elaine Murdock, 34, Kathleen Drive, Napa

MONDAVI -- Mondavi, H. vs. Mondavi, T.

Jessica Lee Detwiler and Joel Kevin Potts, both of Napa, married on Aug. 26. The matron of honor was Rachel Marsh and the best man was Paul Potts. Groomsmen included Bryan Marsh, Ernesto Falcon and Michael Falcon, all brothers of the bride. The flower girls were Melia Tharp and Kaylee Potts and ring bearers were Jared Potts and Trevor Potts. The ceremony and reception were held at the Napa Valley Marriott. The couple will honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico.

Joanne Sundrud and Brian Powers, both of Napa, announced plans to marry on Jan. 14, 2007. The bride's parents are Gerald and Roberta Sundrud of Napa. The bride graduated from New Technology High School in 2003 and received her degree in theater arts from Cal Poly in 2007. She is a member of Napa Valley Baptist Church.

Mr. and Mrs. Albert Schloezer of Napa celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on Aug. 26 in San Francisco. The couple was married on Aug. 26, 1966, and they have been in Napa County for 28 years.

Diana Marie Eakle and Justin Gene Hawkins announced plans to marry on Sept. 23 in Pope Valley. The bride's parents are Patricia Villas of Napa and Samuel Eakle of Pope Valley. The bride graduated from St. Helena High School in 2001 and received her bachelor of science in agricultural business degree from Chico State University in 2006. She is a member of Alpha Zeta Sorority and is employed by Eakle Construction and Pope Valley Winery.

Audrey A. Tuthill and Ryan M. Johnson, both of Sacramento, announced plans to marry on Oct. 21 at Napa Valley Country Club.