In 2007, the Register launched a feature that has highlighted the lives of hundreds of heretofore unsung Napans.

On Jan. 15, the Napa Valley Unified School District is hoping to pass an initiative which would require all students to pass college preparatory classes — requirements as set forth by the University of California — in order to receive a high school diploma.

Leon Panetta is someone that almost everyone likes. It is interesting that Democrat Dianne Feinstein would be one of his main critics with Panetta's background, as he has been a very successful Democratic politician. She wants someone who has been in the intelligence community, the problem is that so many of them are tainted with the cowboy torture policies of the Bush administration.

At Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting there was an item on the agenda to approve up to $73,000 to pay the fees for a professional negotiator in the upcoming contract negotiations with the Napa County SEIU employees union. Their representative and a number of their members were there to protest this, saying it was a waste of taxpayer money and that the county was making the negotiations unnecessarily contentious by hiring a negotiator. He went on to say that the county should come to the table ready to agree if they didn't want it to be contentious.

This week, water experts from the city and county of Napa expressed confidence that residents will not have to prepare for rationing or extreme conservation measures in the near future.

Dear editor, War, by its very definition, is often a violent and aggressive goal to vanquish and emerge victorious.

Dear editor, I agree with Jeffrey Schulz that the California educational system — presuming there to be any such thing — is in a deplorable state (“In diverse land, a narrow-minded vote,” Jan. 4).

These are my favorite books for this year, in no particular order. I have my own particular standards, which include the fact that I hardly read fiction any more so these are all non fiction. Also, they may not have original publishing dates of 2008 but are all recent and I read them myself this year.

Happy New Year, now pass me the Xanax, two please. That’s how this year is starting out, but will it stay that way? Here’s how it looks to me.

Here is your chance to sound off on any topic that is not covered today by a Register.com article/opinion item.

If you had a magic wand, what store or business would you bring to the People of Napa?