Hey all - a pretty practical one this week.
Let’s just get right into it. A few useful things, a couple that are mildly annoying, and one that might save you some real money.
As always…Thank you for being here 😀
Napa’s State of the City, Recapped
Last Monday, March 16, the City of Napa held its annual State of the City at City Hall - basically City Hall’s big yearly attempt to tell us how Napa is doing, what got done over the past year, and what they want us paying attention to next.
I promised a recap of Napa’s own little State of the Union, so here it is - the useful stuff….
The city definitely pitched the whole thing in a pretty optimistic tone. Even though I think most of us would agree Napa is not exactly in its brightest or easiest moment.
But from the few people I know who were there, it sounds like there actually was a real feeling of togetherness in the room, and that kind of cut through the polished “everything is going well” veneer.
That, honestly, may have been one of the more meaningful takeaways.
Resident concerns
There was a fair bit of response from the community members who did show up.
Of course, kind of like a stereotypical Parks and Rec episode, it was usually more complaints than anything else. But here are a couple things that stood out:
1. Airport noise is clearly becoming a real issue for some residents
Multiple Napa residents stood up to criticize the flight path for planes heading to Napa County Airport, saying it has brought more destructive noise and more pollution over their homes.
2. People are, as always, frustrated with speeding and unsafe neighborhood traffic
This is one I personally do think feels worse here than in a lot of other places, probably because of the car culture in Napa. The city pointed people toward its Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program, where residents can submit applications for areas of concern.
Roads, Paving, Traffic
This ended up being a huge part of the discussion.
A lot of it came down to everyday infrastructure stuff, and instead of just pasting a list of dollar figures, I’ll give you the streets because that is probably what most of us actually care about.
The basic idea is that the city says is responding to the complaints of people who drive these roads every day.
$15 million in paving projects tied to roads like Solano, Salvador, California Boulevard, and Trancas
California Boulevard paving from Clay to Trancas starting Spring 2026
Lincoln Avenue getting more of a real redesign, not just paving, with lane reduction, buffered bike lanes, and bus boarding islands, also targeted for Spring 2026
Civic/Community Infrastructure
Again, I could copy and paste all the figures from the slides, but the bigger point is that there is at least some real money going toward parks and community spaces people actually use.
$1.2 million going toward playground and amenity work at Esther Deaver, Solomon, and Monarch Parks
$600,000 planned for Lake Park
$300,000 planned for Laurel Park
and Las Flores Community Center is already under renovation with $1.8 million, with work having started in December 2025
That was the broad gist of it.
A lot of optimism, a lot of money tied to roads and community infrastructure, and a reminder that even when the city is trying to pitch progress, the things people actually show up talking about are usually much more immediate - noise, traffic, safety, and the everyday stuff that affects their quality of life.
If you want to check out the full State of the city click the link below:
Looking Around? Here Are A Few Job Links
This one feels especially timely.
And you guys seemed to like the jobs section from last week. Those were a little more “career change?” focused - and yes, a few of those salary ranges definitely had me reconsidering my life for a second. If you want to look back at those, you can check them out here.
But I also wanted to share this more flexible option.
Napa County is hiring Vote Center Leads and Vote Center Clerks for the May 4 to June 2 election cycle, with the possibility of using the same pool again for the October 5 to November 3 election season too.
Pay is:
Vote Center Lead - $23.64/hour for new or monolingual hires, $25.49/hour for returning or bilingual hires
Vote Center Clerk - $21.42/hour for new or monolingual hires, $23.24/hour for returning or bilingual hires
My take: this is one of those nice local jobs that feels a little more meaningful than random temp work, especially if you like public-facing roles and want to help keep elections running smoothly.
Stop Mailing Big Tax Checks
If you mailed a property tax check recently, this is worth checking on.
The TLDR:
If you mailed a property tax check, check on it.
If you were planning to mail one soon…maybe don’t.
Napa County says several property tax checks were stolen in transit through USPS, washed, and then cashed fraudulently. County officials are now urging taxpayers to verify that their payment was actually received and, if they have not paid yet, to use the county’s online payment options instead.
Kind of annoying, because card payments come with a 2.32% transaction fee, and I know people have their own way of doing things. But I guess this is the price we pay to live in the modern world.
Hope this was the perfect kick start to your week!
If you spot something weird, useful, or very Napa, think of me!
I would love to make Friday a little more fun lol.
See you then. Callie.