Jennifer Mehrens of Vintage High School beat out a group of 25 last night to win the Napa Valley Junior Miss title.

A vehicle crash along Highway 29 in Calistoga has forced the California Highway Patrol to close a stretch of the highway for several hours Sunday while PG & E officials attempt to repair a power pole that was involved in the collision.

A preliminary study shows St. Helena's sewer rates may have to more than double in the next three years -- with additional hikes in subsequent years -- to finance improvements at the city's wastewater treatment plant.

Water service to the Lower Washington area of Calistoga is being shut down temporarily Tuesday to connect Solage resort's city water service.

Foreclosure

After years of planning, a major beautification project is about to begin along First and Second streets between California Boulevard and Jefferson Street.

Local math teacher Mike Willmarth got more than a checkup when he want to a local doctor's office 11 years ago. He got a new outlook on his role in the community.

Napa City Fire crews responded to a fire at Buckhorn Grill early Saturday morning.

A structure fire at an American Canyon mobile home park Friday evening destroyed a mobile home, sent a man to the hospital with burns and led to the bizarre arrest of a neighbor who struck a firefighter in the head.

Jason Angeles and Darrel Lee had a heck of a time figuring out which pair of high heel shoes to wear for Volunteer Center of Napa Valley's Race An Amazing Mile In Her Shoes event Saturday afternoon.

NORTENO, Panama — Dressed in sweaty surgical scrubs and grappling with a screaming 6-year-old girl as he pulled her abscessed tooth, dentist Jason Vogt didn’t look the part of a diplomat.

KE'EAU, Hawai'i -- Portraits in the school's library are not of U.S. presidents but Hawaiian royalty, from King Kamehameha to Princess Ka'iulani. Near the classroom door rubber slippers are tidily lined up by the students, who go barefoot. The calendar shows it's the month of "Malaki."

NEW YORK -- The charisma king of the 2008 presidential field. The world's best golfer. The captain of the New York Yankees. Besides superstardom, Barack Obama, Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter have another common bond: Each is the child of an interracial marriage.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The ethanol craze is putting the squeeze on corn supplies and causing food prices to rise.

DURANGO, Colo. -- The city has signed an agreement with its electric utility to boost the amount of wind-generated power it buys from 10 percent to 100 percent, officials said.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- A string of federal court rulings in recent weeks has gone against Bush administration environmental policies, and critics say they are proof that the White House regularly circumvents laws designed to protect the nation's air, water, forests and endangered species.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Newly released Justice Department documents included a scathing review of former U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan and reveal the Bush administration was considering replacements more than a year before he was ousted.

CARSON CITY, Nev. -- A last-minute amendment to legislation designed to ease Nevada prison overcrowding will prevent the early release of any current inmates, state prison officials said.

CAMDEN, N.J. -- Surgery on Gov. Jon S. Corzine's injured leg was successful Saturday, while state police said the driver blamed for the wreck that critically injured the governor had been found but didn't realize he was involved.

HONOLULU -- Legendary crooner Don Ho, who entertained tourists for decades wearing raspberry-tinted sunglasses and singing the catchy signature tune "Tiny Bubbles," has died. He was 76.

SAN JOSE -- A pregnant 17-year-old girl has been found safe, and her estranged boyfriend has been arrested, authorities said.

SACRAMENTO -- When Bernadette Chiang bought her ranch-style home in one of Sacramento's more popular neighborhoods, she loved the idea of being close to the Sacramento River.

STOCKTON -- Time is running out for diners who want to snack on rattlesnake, alligator and other exotic fare before it slithers away.

SHKODER, Albania -- The Catholic cathedral that communists turned into a basketball arena for two decades is now busier than ever, drawing more than 2,000 people to a single Sunday Mass. An ornate Albanian Orthodox church with three grand, peach-colored domes is readying for Easter celebrations and popular midnight candlelit processions. And a few days ago, the latest of more than 50 mosques in the area opened with fanfare and a call to prayer.

RABAT, Morocco -- Two brothers strapped with explosives blew themselves up near an American cultural center in Casablanca Saturday, and police arrested another three suspects -- including one wearing an explosives belt -- hours later, an official said.

JERUSALEM -- Felix Muller, 20, was born long after the Holocaust ended, but that doesn't diminish his sense of obligation to the victims.

MOSCOW -- Riot police beat and detained protesters as thousands defied an official ban and attempted to stage a rally Saturday against President Vladimir Putin's government, which opponents accuse of rolling back freedoms Russians have enjoyed since the end of Soviet communism.