Page 2 - Barry Eberling News Today

Materra winery won Napa County permission to add wine production, visitors, and winery building square footage.

Napa Valley Register Editorial Board A new report on how Supervisor Belia Ramos came to have an early COVID vaccine at age 42 is a political inkblot test — people see in it what they want to see. For the many who dislike Ramos, the report is Watergate, Iran Contra and the Teapot Dome combined, a scandal so discrediting that the second-term supervisor must pay the ultimate political price. For the many who like Ramos, it is one of those metaphorical nothingburgers, a witch-hunt ...

5 hrs ago Workers are busy renovating the Highway 12/Interstate 80 interchange to ease the evening Highway 12 backups through Jameson Canyon. Highway 12 Workers are building a bridge that will carry two lanes of traffic from Highway 12 to Interstate 80, eliminating a merge point that can back traffic up a mile into Jameson Canyon. Barry Eberling Highway 12 A pile driver is helping to create a new entrance for eastbound Highway 12 onto eastbound Interstate 80, Green Vall...

Napa County is sounding the alarm that proposed California wildfire hazard area rule changes could trigger costly road improvements for rural home construction and even minor winery expansions. The state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection is revising its Fire Safe Regulations that locally affect much of the rural county outside of the Napa Valley floor. It recently released a draft of the changes and could adopt them in June. Question marks remain. County officials said the proposed rule ...

After hearing from Cal Fire, Napa County will forego an offer from a private group to base two water-dropping Fire Boss planes here this fire season for early wildfire response. Growers/Vintners for Responsible Agriculture offered to pay $1.5 million to lease the planes and crew from Dauntless Air. But in the face of Cal Fire opposition, the Napa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected the offer for now. “This is an awkward spot for us, because we have people offering an incredi...

A selling point to commissioners — about 90% of the visitors arrive by bus or shuttle. “I think it’s also important to acknowledge that’s a business model we don’t see a lot,” Commissioner Anne Cottrell said. “And it really helps address traffic issues in the valley.” Madonna winery is located on 4.4 acres at 5400 Old Sonoma Road. It is along Highway 12, the main road linking southern Napa County with southern Sonoma County. “I can assure you we will...

Napa County is in no hurry to debate whether and under what conditions cannabis might someday be grown commercially in wine country. County Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht brought up the issue last week to the Board of Supervisors. He expressed concern that, if the county doesn’t act, supporters might pass a ballot measure. “I believe ordinances are a better way of governing than initiatives and that’s why I got into this at all,” he said. Support local news coverage and the peo...

Disasters come in distinct phases. First is the initial shot of adrenaline — fleeing from the fire, digging out of the rubble of the earthquake, trying to move belongings to higher spaces to avoid the flood. Then comes the anxiety — did our house survive? How are our friends and family? What do we do now? Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. After that, the reckoning with the new reality — the burn scars, the lost b...

Time is running out to keep this from being the rainy season that wasn’t. Napa County Airport as of Friday had 6.02 inches of rain since the rain year began on October 1. Though the airport bordering wetlands near San Pablo Bay is one of the county’s drier locations, that is only 40% of normal for the season-to-date. “That is about as pitiful as you can get,” said Mike Pechner of Fairfield-based Golden West Meteorology. Support local news coverage and the people who report i...

Napa County’s two longest-tenured supervisors say they won’t run for reelection and potential candidates are emerging for races that will help decide the future of world-famous wine country. Supervisors Brad Wageknecht and Diane Dillon will leave office in January 2023. The June 7, 2022 primary election will have no incumbents for the 1st District and 3rd District seats, the only ones on the ballot. “It is a huge-stakes election,” said David McCuan, a political science profe...