Happy Monday, and somehow the last Monday of October.

This week is kind of the classic Monday Town Notes mix. A little civic, a little useful, a little random. Pretty much the whole point of this thing.

Anyway, no big drawn out intro for me this week I’m quite tired 😪

So let’s get right into the meat of this week’s town notes…starting with everyone’s favorite (trivia)!!!

Approximately how many people visited Napa Valley in 2025?

A) 1.4 million
B) 2.2 million
C) 3.8 million
D) 5.6 million

Alright, apparently there is an old garbage dump hiding in East Napa that I had absolutely no idea existed.

It is called Hidden Glen, and it sits on a little over two acres of City-owned land near Pascale Place and Glory Court, not far from Coombsville Road.

The site originally started as a quarry, and after that shut down, it was used as a private garbage dump until sometime in the 1960s.

Which is already kind of wild considering it now sits right next to a residential neighborhood.

The dump was eventually capped, but testing later found waste-impacted soil around the edges of the property, including elevated levels of lead, so the City has been working through a pretty substantial cleanup.

And that cleanup is not cheap.

The total project budget is now just over $1 million, mostly to bring in clean soil, properly cover the site and finish some additional remediation work.

I think the thing that gets me here is less the cleanup itself and more that there is this old landfill sitting in the middle of East Napa that most of us probably drive relatively close to without ever knowing it is there.

It is also another one of those reminders of how expensive it can be to clean up infrastructure and land decisions made decades ago.

The City is not building anything fancy here.

It is basically proposing to spend more than $1 million just to make sure an old dump is properly contained.

Alright, quick one for all the school parents.

Parent-teacher conferences have been going on, and next week is basically minimum-day week for NVUSD elementary and middle schools.

From Monday, October 26 through Friday, October 30, students will be getting out early for conferences, and Friday also marks the end of the first trimester.

So if you are wondering why there seem to be a bunch of kids wandering around Napa in the middle of the afternoon next week, that is probably why.

And while we are talking schools, open enrollment is already underway too.

If you want your child to attend a school other than their assigned neighborhood school for the 2027–28 year, NVUSD is accepting open-enrollment requests now through November 30.

New-student registration also opened earlier this month.

Nothing too exciting here, but one of those things we track for parent readers. For you all…minimum days all week, and if you are thinking about switching schools next year, now is the time to get that application in.

Alright, a few quick new-business and development updates to close us out.

There is actually a decent amount happening around town right now, so rather than give every one of these its own section, let’s just run through them.

If you have been wondering what is happening with that giant old Rite Aid on Imola, Harbor Freight is taking over the space.

You may have already seen the sign go up.

I actually was not super familiar with Harbor Freight before this, but it is basically a big tool and hardware store. Think kind of a Home Depot vibe, just much more focused on tools, equipment and garage/workshop stuff.

So honestly, pretty useful.

They are taking over the old 17,000-plus-square-foot Rite Aid space at 1203 W. Imola Avenue, and the company is currently targeting an October opening.

Mostly I am just happy to see something filling that giant empty storefront.

If you have driven up Solano Avenue and wondered what that big new project around 5091 Solano is, apparently it is about to become an entire new resort.

It is called The Elene, a new 50-room boutique hotel currently targeting a late-2026 opening.

The part that will probably matter more to most of us locals is the food.

The property will include Vetra, a new live-fire restaurant from chef Matthew Accarrino, along with a more casual all-day café that is supposed to be a little more approachable for locals and people coming off the Vine Trail.

So yes, another hotel.

But at least this one should give us a couple of new places to actually use without having to book a room.

The new Ross Dress for Less in South Napa is now open in the old

Office Depot space next to Target at South Napa Marketplace.

Which means Napa now has two Ross stores.

I am not entirely sure what that says about us, but apparently the first one was doing well enough that we needed a sequel.

Either way, another big empty storefront filled, which I will take.

And the answer to this week’s trivia is 3.8 million.

That is approximately how many people visited Napa Valley in 2025. Pretty wild number when you actually think about it.

Anyway, that is it for me, guys.

I know these last few issues have been a little shorter, so apologies for that. I am still pretty pressed for time right now. If you go back to some of the older issues, there were definitely weeks where I was doing some pretty heavy research and digging into things a lot more deeply.

I will get back to more of that soon for you guys.

One final question before I go: What do you think about Napa Lowdown merch?

Nothing crazy, and I am not trying to sell you anything.

But I would love to have some kind of little thank-you gift for the people who have been shouting out the Lowdown on Facebook, Nextdoor, Reddit, r/Napalocals and just generally helping spread the word around town.

Maybe a hat, sticker, tote, something else? Let me know what you would actually want.

And seriously, thank you to everyone who has been sharing this thing. It helps more than you probably realize.

Have a great week, and I’ll see you Friday.

Callie.