Say good-bye to Blue and hello to White as downtown’s newest luxury inn, theWhite House Inn and Spa prepares to debut.

Popping up at the busy corner of Highway 29, Highway 12 and Airport Boulevard, a Marriott Springhill Suites will soon become the only hotel in the Napa Valley Gateway business park, and the closest to the Napa County Airport.

As part of a new venture, Carbondale, Colo.-based Timbers Resorts and PlumpJack Group have reached an agreement to work in partnership on several current and future projects. Timbers Resorts has taken over management of the real estate operations at The Orchard, a private residence club located within PlumpJack’s renowned boutique resort, The Carneros Inn. Now a part of the Timbers Collection, The Orchard comprises 17 luxury cottages set within the resort.

Nalin and Kiran Patel, operators of Chardonnay Lodge at 2640 Jefferson St. in Napa, have received the 2007 IAHA Independent Hotel of the Year Award for setting high standards of excellence in quality, service and guest satisfaction

Redwood Credit Union, the largest credit union in the North Bay, recently re-elected three volunteer officials to the board of directors for the 2008-2011 term. They are incumbents Robert Steele, Debra Watts and Robert Wieck.

Joe Brasil a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Brokers of the Valley, finished in the top 1 percent of more than 116,000 Realtors in the Coldwell system internationally for sales production and was named to the company’s International President’s Elite. As a result, Brasil will be invited to attend the “Elite Retreat,” a three-day conference held exclusively for the company’s top sales associates. He can be reached at 319-1887 and www.OwnNapa.com

PHEZpark, a new industrial building especially designed for the smaller user, is nearing completion and the owners have announced the move-in of the first tenants. The 33,500-square-foot concrete tilt-up building is located in the Napa Valley Gateway Business Park, near the Napa County Airport.

Contrary to popular opinion, not every woman loves to shop, endlessly searching for the right shoe, bag or “must have” piece of clothing.

A job at Napa Pipe first brought Linda Orndorf to the area, but a love of fitness helped her shape a new career.

According to David Mercer, even as a kid, “I’ve always wanted to know how things work and take them apart.”

In the Information Age we often forget that technology isn’t defined as all those fancy new computers, GPS units and LCD television sets.

Today and tomorrow you are provided with a world of opportunities for home improvement right here in our Napa Valley.  

With winter behind us, people are starting to enjoy spring’s fresh produce.

There is so much economic gloom and doom in today’s communication. Granted, there is plenty of troublesome news. No one likes to pay $4 for a gallon of gas. No question that fuel prices are driving up nearly every commodity that we purchase. The U. S. dollar is currently quite weak, which exacerbates oil prices. The number of real estate foreclosures continues to mount and housing prices may not have hit bottom yet. Of course, the banks and financial institutions are still reeling from their poor sub-prime loan decisions.