All posts by Jeff Schechtman

Clay Gregory talks about Napa Valley’s competitive advantage and why just being a world class destination is not enough to assure our success.

Sometimes the best ideas are the simple ones.  With so much talk about grandiose ideas for transportation and housing, Calistoga Mayor Chris Canning leapfrogs ahead with a simple idea.

There is a great deal of joy at NVUSD Headquarters as the  final vote count shows that the $269 Million NVUSD Bond has passed. 

CLICK HERE TO LINK TO THE FINAL CERTIFIED RESULTS 

With the defeat of Measure Y, what’s the County to do about a new jail?  Can we actually afford a new facility, or is a regional approach the best and only answer.  

A Conversation with Napa County Sheriff John Robertson:

BREAKING!

Sometimes a bad week is really bad.   Just days after voters overwhelming rejected Chris Malan and Vision 2050, Napa County Registrar of Voters John Tuteur, under the advice of County Counsel Minh Tran, has rejected as legally insufficient, their proposed WATER, FOREST and OAK WOODLAND INITIATIVE.

HERE IS MY CONVERSATION WITH JOHN TUTEUR.

Click here to link to our local results

With Chris Malan getting only 13% of the vote….a 3% increase from when she ran 16 years ago….you would think, it might put an end to the “Water, Forest & Oak Woodland initiative.”  The measure, if it ever does get on the ballot (unlikely at this point) it is going to go down faster than those trees it talks about. 

With the overwhelming defeat of Shepp, maybe we can begin to stop wasting time listening to Vision 2050 (now more commonly referred to Vision 1870.) However I guess the 2050 people don’t care about the election results, since they think we’re all dying of cancer anyway.  Time for them to Shepp out!!

The one surprise, I think, was the fact that Measure H, the NVUSD Bond, didn’t make it over the top.  The district ran an excellent campaign, had buy in across the district and still couldn’t get it done. Just how far down the list is education, as a priority in Napa?

What’s next for the Napa County Jail? Stay tuned for more information on this.

In the marquee race, in Supervisorial District 2, it’s going to be an interesting runoff between Ryan Gregory and Mark Luce.  Based on the numbers we’re seeing, we will go on record now predicting a win for Gregory.  For a Board of Supervisors that once, not all that long ago, had Mel Varrelman and Harold Moskowite, think what a refreshing change it is to look at a Board with Alfredo Pedroza, Belia Ramos and perhaps Ryan Gregory.  It’s truly the birth of a refreshing new generation here in Napa

Congratulations of course to Bill Dodd. While he’s still has to run, one more time, against Mariko Yamada, it should be an easy race.  It will be interesting to see if Mariko goes negative once again, with the help of her evil Benicia twin Elizabeth Patterson.

Another perfect Napa Valley event. Well done, well organized and reflective of the best that Napa Valley has to offer.  

It’s a reminder, especially as we come up to elections, that the Valley is doing so well.  Tourism has never been stronger, the wine business never better, restaurants, hotels and hospitality never stronger. Our economy, our environmental practices and our generosity are unparalleled.  So how come we still have complainers?   Didn’t see any of them at BottleRock!!