Disaster training offered

Store closures last year at Bel Aire Plaza to make room for Whole Foods Market were a boon for competing businesses in north Napa.

On Jan. 12, 2002, native Napan Garrett Van Scyoc was a passenger on an uneventful ride along Monticello Road when his life changed forever. The car he was riding it collided with a tree, and Van Scyoc suffered a debilitating spinal cord injury.

Wal-Mart received a new round of endorsements from the American Canyon Planning Commission in the effort to finish construction of the empty shell of its Superstore and open its doors.

The abnormally dry rainy season is taking its toll on St. Helena's water supply. The City Council imposed "Phase II" water restrictions on its residents and businesses last week, forcing residents to water their lawns or irrigate on alternating days and continuing to push for voluntary conservation efforts. Even tighter water restrictions may be on the near horizon.

To college or not? That's the decision that thousands of young people make after graduating from high school and on Saturday at Napa Valley College 250 or more high school and middle school students from all over the county were given several reasons to choose the former.

As March Madness fans know Saturday afternoon was college basketball's Final Four time. Coach K, Duke University's Mike Krzyzewski, and his team were not around this year, but a different Coach K was out patrolling the Napa Valley College sidelines, urging his team on to victory.

John Maddox says he knows how to motivate his 150 employees.

WASHINGTON -- A greater sensitivity of cats to a chemical found in plastics and pesticides could explain why they've died in larger numbers than have dogs after eating contaminated pet food, experts said Saturday.

An obituary made its way into the newspapers a few weeks ago announcing the death of a great athlete, a hard-throwing barnstorming showman named Eddie Feigner, at the age of 81 in Huntsville, Ala.

Don Fraser -- who relishes a good story and knows how to tell one -- is looking for accounts from children and adults with treasured memories connected to the Peanuts gang.

Sixth Grade

Sixth Grade

LOS ANGELES -- A wildfire that authorities say was ignited by two teenagers tore through the brush-covered hills surrounding the famous Hollywood sign Friday, putting a scare into the city but doing little damage other than coating the area in a thick blanket of smoke.

SAN DIEGO -- With warmer temperatures arriving, the giant tent that 150 veterans called home for the winter months is being packed away.

MODESTO -- A former employee of two Republican state legislators is accused of stealing the identity of a Stanislaus County Supervisor who came to her aid when she was in financial trouble.

SACRAMENTO -- The half-dozen lobbyists who crowded into a lawmaker's office here didn't come bearing slick pitches, campaign cash or votes to swap, just tales of high school torment as fresh as their faces.

LOS ANGELES-- Former President Jimmy Carter announced Saturday that Habitat for Humanity will build 30 homes in the Los Angeles area.

UNITED NATIONS -- In what the U.N. human rights chief called an unprecedented show of support to empower the physically and mentally impaired, 80 countries signed a U.N. convention enshrining the rights of the world's 650 million disabled.

SYDNEY, Australia -- The Sydney Opera House's gleaming white-shelled roof was darkened Saturday night along with much of the rest of Australia's largest city, which switched off the lights to register concern about global warming.