The Napa Valley Register publishes monthly statistics on arrests and convictions for driving under the influence in Napa County. Statistics are published the first Monday of each month.

The Napa Police Department has been busy over the weekend working a string of strong-arm robberies, and one attempted robbery, that began on Friday evening. Officers responded to three more robberies Saturday and one on Sunday morning, bringing the total to seven confirmed crimes.

Maya Weir listened closely as a Napa Valley Unified School District administrator proposed new enrollment boundaries for elementary schools in American Canyon. She heard pleas from parents whose children's futures would be impacted by the board's decision. She sat at her microphone, legs crossed, pondering the drawings, the enrollment numbers and arguments.

The city of Napa Planning Commission endorsed townhome projects on Pear Tree Lane and on First Street last week.

When it comes to promoting historic preservation, Napa Councilwoman Juliana Inman talks the talk, walks the walk ... and then some.

Napa Valley College's first paramedic program will have a home in American Canyon.

Visitors to the Jack and Bernice Newell Open Space Preserve, a 640-acre property east of American Canyon, could have a source of drinking water, thanks to a well the city plans to dig on the property.

WASHINGTON -- Breast cancer survivors may face increased risk of heart disease -- and doctors are debating if it's time to largely abandon a chemotherapy mainstay that is one reason for the problem.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- Looking high and low, Robbin Thorp can no longer find a species of bumblebee that just five years ago was plentiful in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon.

MEDFORD, Ore. -- High school English teacher Shirley Katz insists she needs to take her pistol with her to work because she fears her ex-husband could show up and try to harm her. She's also worried about a Columbine-style attack.

WASHINGTON -- Much of the stored blood given to millions of people every year may lack a component vital for it to deliver oxygen to the tissues.

LONDON -- Britain will halve its remaining troop contingent in Iraq next spring, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Monday. A British official later said they could not guarantee that any troops would remain in Iraq by the end of 2008.

PARIS -- He apparently traveled the world sexually abusing young boys, but remained unidentifiable -- until now.

BAGHDAD -- Three black GMC Suburbans -- each fitted with armored plates and bulletproof windows -- made up the heart of the convoy. The front and rear were protected by Blackwater USA gun trucks, known as Mambas, each mounted with two 7.62 mm machine guns.

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi authorities want the U.S. government to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater USA within six months. They also want the firm to pay $8 million in compensation to families of each of the 17 people killed when its guards sprayed a traffic circle with heavy machine gun fire last month.

UCCE Master Gardeners of Napa County present a free workshop, "Fall Fun in the Garden," Saturday, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Learn what to plant, including California natives, bulbs and winter vegetables. You can also get tips on how to prepare your garden for winter. Reservations are suggested. Connolly Ranch Demonstration Garden, Browns Valley Road and Thompson Ave., Napa. Reservations, 253-4221 or online at http://cenapa.ucdavis.edu./Register

I am pleased to report that my nefarious plan paid off. My poker earnings last week more than covered the cost of my plane ticket to Virginia.

CORONADO -- On a morning that shared the sunshine but none of the violence of that long ago Dec. 7, family members of Jackson Charles Pharris were reunited this week with the Medal of Honor he received for bravery at Pearl Harbor.