The di Rosa Preserve announces the appointment of Therese La Londe as director of education and public programs.

Blake Hanson has been named assistant director of human resources at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, in Sonoma. He is a graduate of Napa High School class of 1996.

Come tax time, some guests at Mark Diekroetger’s business find it hard to leave the reception room of his business. It’s not because they’re afraid of their taxes. It’s the crackling fireplace, comfy chairs and friendly dogs Soda and Harris. 

For just $1, the now dog-eared ticket offered the holder a chance to become the proud owner of a $7,800 “model home.” 

Working in Silicon Valley as a vice president and controller of a high tech company, Dawn Croft found financial success, but questioned the direction her career was going.

OK, that may be a bad choice of words, but the point is that Santa will be arriving for the parade next Saturday — drum roll, please — by helicopter.

Dear Len & Rosie, My mother was the executor of her parents’ estate, which consisted of little other than their personal possessions. Before she could get all of the items distributed, her parents photo albums were taken out of her parents’ home by her sister, and she has not been able to get them back to distribute the photos among the entire family. What would be the best legal action? We have been given a variety of advice including hiring a lawyer to write a letter demanding the return of the photos, reporting the theft to the police, and going through probate. What should we do? -- Laura

Napa’s California Pizza owners, Kathryn and Tom Kenney, have opened That Pizza Place at 1149 Main St. in St. Helena in the former Papa Murphy’s site near Sunshine Market.

My friend Bob Jergovic, chief investment officer for CLS Investment Firm, sent me an interesting piece of information. He quoted from a 2007 book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a professor of finance and a former Wall Street trader. The book is entitled “The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.”

The Hess Collection Winery is donating nearly $3,000 to The Land Trust of Napa County via the environmental charity 1% For the Planet.