Dear Bill, For our new terrace, we are looking for a shade tree that has the following characteristics:

Just as mid-April is tax time, mid-November is prime time to address the company or personal business plan. A year of activity to review and a year of growth and opportunity ahead.

Last Saturday’s Halloween parade was the fourth annual, and the largest to date. Trying to estimate how many children, adults and pets participated is futile. Sandi Perlman, owner of Napa Valley Emporium in the Town Center, said she gave away 3,800 pieces of candy — and still ran out. It’s probably safest to sum it up by saying that First Street and the Napa Town Center were a sea of smiling and costumed faces.

One of my pet peeves over the last decade has been the over-ripe flavors we seem to be saddled with in so many red wines — and not only from California but also many areas of the world.

One of my pet peeves over the last decade has been the over-ripe flavors we seem to be saddled with in so many red wines — and not only from California but also many areas of the world.

The other day while working on a story in the den, music from a CD player filled the room. Beautiful music from my time, the 1940s. Vaughn Monroe was singing "Cool, Clear Water" and that haunting refrain struck a familar note.

For the past 40 years, the outdoor tales of George Carl have delighted audiences in Napa and across Northern California.

If you suspect that you have a bottle of counterfeit wine, there’s a place you can go for help. Russell Frey, who found some counterfeit wine in his collection, has created a Web site that can offer some help in determining whether it’s legitimate or not.

What a sight Franklin Street is these days. A crane taller than any building in the city sits smack in the middle of the street, hoisting steel beams to frame the three-story Napa Square commercial complex.

Jancis Robinson has been writing and broadcasting about wine for more than three decades. She qualified as a Master of Wine, the first from outside the wine trade, in 1984, and regularly judges and lectures about wine around the world.

As our perennial and annual flowers fade and wither, it is time to get our bulbs in the ground. Sometimes it is hard to imagine that the ugly brown bulbs that we bury in fall will produce spectacular shows of beauty months later. How delightful it is to watch them emerge in the spring, heralding winter’s end.

Dear Len & Rosie,

It's been just about one year since I became Napa's city manager. It's been an eventful year, and there have been many changes made.

Copia presents its second annual forum on women in wine, Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Last week we saw some amazing swings in the stock market. One day it is way up. The next it is way down.