It was in the early 1980s, while attending Napa Community College and Pacific Union College, that Karen Alvord’s parents became the full-time caregivers of her sister’s three daughters.

You won’t find work by Aaron Haynes featured in any Napa art gallery. But it can be seen all over town — on storefront windows.

The first time many folks hear about a business plan is when an investor or lender asks them to create one in order to get business funding. This process of presenting your vision in precise descriptive terms, and then quantifying it in a budget, is incredibly valuable. By having a solid business plan, you have a foundation that will provide you with the roadmap and the credibility to grow your business. A solid foundation will also eliminate confusion, barriers and keep you on track.

When sailing a boat, touching bottom is not a good sign. When the real estate market is plagued by a seemingly endless decline, touching bottom comes as a welcome indicator that things are soon to get better.

Main Street Trees is one of the most beautiful carbon-storing small businesses (and well-kept secrets) in town — a by-appointment tree farm where past and future meet under a canopy so lush and wide you’ll forget you’re downtown and suspect you’re in a Napa of long ago.

Dear Len & Rosie, I have a friend who is in her 70s. Her husband passed away three months ago. She and her husband got married in 2008, but had lived together for 30 years. He owned the house in his name alone.