NIMBY in Napa

Things are getting nasty in Napa. 

On Monday 4 April the Napa County Planning Commission expected to make a decision granting a permit for planting a new vineyard. On its face, this was an action the commission has performed hundreds of times. But on that Monday it was anything but business as usual. 

Instead of a quiet, internal meeting, this one took place in a public forum. Protesters stood outside holding signs that read ‘Chainsaw Wine', ‘What about the Cancer?’ and ‘Enough is Enough'. They chanted in the shadow of a sign too big to carry that read ‘Walt Ranch...