The “American Idol” program is famous for cut-throat competition among its singers and cutting criticism from its judges.

A newly formed partnership is expected to provide exciting opportunities for Napa singers of all ages: Jan Lanterman, director of the Napa Valley Chorale, has announced that her group is adding the Napa Valley Youth Chorus “to its family.”

More than 100 Napa High School students, staff and community members are in rehearsal for Meredith Wilson’s hit Broadway production “The Music Man.”

BERKELEY — Fernando Botero’s trademark fleshy figures exchange their voluptuousness and humor for tense, muscled torsos and gritted teeth in an exhibit of the artist’s Abu Ghraib paintings that opened Monday at the University of California.

Lincoln Theater’s stage will be transformed into a mix of high-tech laser magic and traditional vaudeville comedy when “Lazer Vaudeville” appears for one night, Friday at 7 p.m.

A beautiful widow’s fortune could mean all the difference for a tiny nation’s future, but a spurned lover’s arrogance threatens to get in the way in the “The Merry Widow,” which comes to the Opera House Feb. 10 and 11.

Entertainment at Copia continues in February with Community Spotlight concerts, a night of French cabaret, a tribute to the giants of jazz and a lineup of romantic movies.

Just in time for St. Valentine’s Day, Napa’s Dreamweavers Theatre is offering a special treat in its black box space: four performances of the Broadway hit “Love Letters,” by A.R. Gurney.

Napa student on Graceland dean list

Local man graduates from basic training

Crying. Spitting up. Nursing. These are not only accepted, but sometimes gently encouraged, in Jodi Earls' "Mommy and Me" class -- a yoga session designed for mothers with babies from four months to crawling age.

Ed Sbragia had been making wine at Beringer Vineyards for about 25 years when he made a big career move. At a time when some people might consider retirement, Sbragia took on even more winemaking responsibility — he formed Sbragia Family Vineyards to make and sell wine from his family’s property in the Dry Creek area of Sonoma County.

Lamb, long considered a harbinger of spring, too often gets a bad rap.

The promise of a relatively unknown fruit to boost the immune system and add a healthy component to the diet is driving several firms to prepare and market juices and sorbets that carry the unlikely name “açai.”

“Please try our new organic chipotle-mango-cranberry-coconut-lemongrass-sour cherry-ginger-garlic-walnut-pistachio-pomegranate-cilantro-olive-tomato-cumin-cocoa-lime-basil-pineapple dipping sauce. It’s made with sherry vinegar and agave nectar, with a hint of green tea.”

With Valentine’s Day looming, we’re always on the lookout for a romantic angle for the food page and I think we found one that beats them all.

Editor's note: A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a story about finding two rats who'd made their way into my kitchen, become trapped between the oven and the walls and subsequently, were baked. It provoked such a flood of responses, we concluded that this was not a lone event in Napa, and invited readers to share their own rat tales. It appears we may have as many rats and mice in the Napa Valley as we have grapevines. -- Sasha Paulsen

Here's a great way to spend a Saturday morning with a hot cup of coffee: Put pencil to paper to conjure up that fence, pergola, arbor or other decorative structures on your must-do list.

The ancient Romans were famous for their baths.

Unless it's a pet, nobody wants a rodent in the house. Rats can carry a dozen diseases and they contaminate about 10 times as much food as they eat. Mice may look cuter, but they carry many of the same pathogens as rats and one pair of mice can produce up to 87 children in a year.

As the suburbs creep closer to rural land and homes are built far up the hills, people have frequent close encounters of the natural kind. This goes beyond spotting Bambi and her babies chowing down on your roses. This is home invasion.

The often damp and dreary days of winter seem interminable, but they present opportunities to assess and plan for the spring and summer to come.

As the national housing market continues to weaken, prices of homes in the $1 million range are slumping in many parts of the country. In once-golden Sunbelt cities like Miami and Santa Barbara, Calif., as well as in major Midwestern cities like St. Louis and Chicago, prices fell in the fourth quarter of 2006 from a year earlier, in some places by as much as 7.2 percent. In other areas, prices rose slightly but appreciation was sluggish, with gains of 4.3 percent or less. Still, analysts say, the category is holding up better than the overall market, which declined 10 percent during the same period.

Andrew Balaguy and Jennifer Lodge were married Aug. 12 in Alexander Valley. Andrew is the son of Jennie Williams of Napa and Dennis Balaguy of Fallon, Nev. Jennifer is the daughter of Doug and Brenda Lodge of Rincon Valley.

CALDERON HERNANDEZ-YANEZ ORTIZ -- Jose Luis Calderon Hernandez, 22, Lincoln Avenue, Napa, to Maribel Yanez Ortiz, 22, Petaluma Hill Road, Santa Rosa.

St. Helena Hospital

EWING -- Ed Ewing vs. Charleen Ewing, Jan. 10, 2007