Napa Valley Register

19 hours ago | napavalleyregister.com | Barry Eberling

Cycling is a thread — make that a tread mark — running through T.C. Hulsey’s life. When Hulsey was a boy with a polio-weakened leg, cycling helped him to feel like any other kid. Today, Hulsey estimates he cycles about 5,000 miles annually. The 67-year-old doesn’t portray himself as superhuman. In fact, he uses a brace on his right leg to walk substantial distances. Most of his cycling power comes from his left leg.

1 day ago | napavalleyregister.com | Barry Eberling

“Less than significant" impacts – that’s what a recent environmental report concludes about building the The Inn at the Abbey boutique hotel in the rural Napa Valley north of St. Helena. Some people disagree. They say the planned hotel, one of the few that can be built in Napa's wine country outside of its five cities, could bring unwanted traffic increases, noise, lighting and other changes. Napa County is accepting comments on The Inn at the Abbey's draft environmental report through May 26.

4 days ago | napavalleyregister.com | Howard Yune

RUTHERFORD — Before there was a group called the Napa Valley Grapegrowers, there was a group of grape growers who were trying to ensure their livelihoods in the Napa Valley. Friday evening, before the wine industry nonprofit gathered for a banquet to celebrate its 50th anniversary, two of its founding members reflected on a very different Napa Valley that gave rise to the Grapegrowers – a community in which farmers struggled to have their voices heard.

4 days ago | napavalleyregister.com | Jennifer Huffman

Mary Simmons, general manager at Romeo Vineyards & Cellars in Calistoga, said it’s the people that she loves most about her job. “There’s something about wine that brings people together — whether it's around a dinner table, at a tasting room, or in a vineyard at sunset,” she said. “I love seeing guests relax, laugh, and make memories over a great bottle. It reminds me why I love what I do.”1. What was your childhood ambition?

5 days ago | napavalleyregister.com | Lila Seidman

Grizzly bears are extinct in California but still show up everywhere you look. The golden bruins emblazon the state flag and seal, live on in cartoonish effigy as university mascots, and roll off the tip of our tongue in place names like Grizzly Flats and Big Bear Lake. But what if the real ursine deal could be brought back? A new study indicates that they can be — roughly 1,180 of them — and Southern California mountains are among prime potential habitat for the apex predators.