Gooooooood morning, Napa!

There is a ton to talk about this week - and honestly, even more I wish I could get to.

Feeling extra grateful this morning to live in such an awesome town - and for each and every one of you who cares enough to read these to start off your week.

So, without further ado:

The trivia question this week is this:
Which of the four major airports is actually closest to Napa by driving distance?

Your four options:
- Santa Rosa
- Oakland
- Sacramento
- SFO

But hold that thought.

One of the best parts of living in Napa is airport access.

Seriously - name another town that has pretty reasonable reach to four major airport options: Oakland, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, and SFO. And that is without even getting into the couple of smaller private-airport situations around us.

Pro tip: if you are booking flights and you are not already checking all four, you probably should be. That is one of the easiest ways to save money or avoid a brutal travel day.

What caught my eye lately is that Santa Rosa just got a real upgrade. Southwest officially started service at Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport this month, which is a pretty big deal for North Bay people.

Sonoma County says Southwest launched service there on April 7, and Southwest says Santa Rosa now has service tied into its network with nonstop service to San Diego, Las Vegas, Denver, and Burbank.  

So here is my revised ranking:

1. Oakland
Still my number one. Good balance of proximity, options, and relative ease. Usually quick, usually manageable, and still probably the best all-around move for a lot of people. Also best for cheaper flyers, since you are more likely to find the Spirit / Frontier type options there.

2. STS
Santa Rosa is now bumping up to number two for me. Not enough to pass Oakland, but close.

It is quick, cute, low-chaos, and about the same general effort level from Napa depending on where you are coming from. And now with Southwest in the mix, it just became way more feasible.

Sonoma County says Southwest’s arrival expands regional air connectivity, and Southwest’s launch announcement says the Santa Rosa service connects into its larger network, not just a one-off niche route.

3. Sacramento
I have done it a few times. Fine. Kind of a meh ranking for me personally, but useful when Oakland and STS are not giving you what you need.

4. SFO
This might surprise some people, but I personally have it last. It is busy, I always feel like I am getting lost, and it is the farthest one once traffic decides to get involved. But obviously, it still wins for a lot of international flights and certain long-haul stuff.

So no, this is not some huge breaking-news item. But it is one of those real-life quality-of-life things that actually matters if you live here.

Napa already had a weirdly good airport setup, and now one of the better options just got stronger.

Here’s one of the biggest questions locals keep asking: why do we keep building more hotel stuff?

A lot of people seem to have the same basic reaction: wait… if tourism is not exactly booming, and hotel occupancies are already high, then why are we still building more tourism infrastructure? Why does that keep being the answer?

That is the part that feels loud in real life and oddly quiet in a lot of media coverage.

And I’m sure there is a lot of behind-the-scenes context I’m not privy to. But this question came back up for me because another proposed 79-room hotel is set to go before the Board of Supervisors on April 28.

This is not some tiny little add-on either. It is called the Inn at the Abbey, and the proposal is for a 79-room hotel complex at Freemark Abbey, just north of St. Helena near Highway 29 and Lodi Lane.

The plan includes six new buildings, an underground valet garage, and all the usual upscale hotel pieces - spa, pool, fitness, lounge, retail - while keeping the winery side of the property going. Part of the tension is also the layout, with some of the rooms proposed on the other side of Lodi Lane, which is where a lot of the traffic and safety pushback seems to be coming from. 

This is not really just about one hotel.

It ties into that broader feeling a lot of locals seem to have right now - that more and more space keeps getting pushed toward hospitality and visitor use, while the amount of public-feeling, everyday local space does not exactly seem to be growing with it.

In short, it starts to feel like the same narrative on repeat. And I am genuinely curious when we are actually going to see that ship turn - or what is going on behind the scenes that keeps pointing Napa back in this direction.

A nice one to end on: the City says 91% of the first Napa Makers Accelerator cohort has landed new sales or retail placements since finishing the program, and more than half have already seen measurable revenue growth. Congrats to them!

If you do not know, the Makers Accelerator was the City of Napa’s first six-week business development program for local artisan makers. It was created with the Solano-Napa Small Business Development Center with the goal of helping local makers grow through better pricing, marketing, business planning, and sales strategy support.

Congrats to these local businesses that were specifically highlighted in the update:

And best of luck keeping that strong momentum up!

That’s all I’ve got for this week - though like I said, there is honestly so much going on I could probably do this 7 days a week. I wish.

I do not want to blow up your inbox with that, but let me know if you are liking the more pragmatic Monday notes versus the more event- and fun-driven Friday breakdowns - and if there are any broad categories you feel like I’m missing that you’d want more commentary on.

And the trivia answer: Santa Rosa, just barely. From Oxbow, I’m seeing Santa Rosa at 49 miles versus Oakland at 51.2 miles.

So yes - Napa’s airport setup stays weirdly strong.

See you later this week.
Callie