Travis Credit Union Bank

Charter Oak Bank of Napa launched an environmental initiative called Green Fund, which will lend money to energy-efficient real estate projects, clean energy efforts, and eco-friendly businesses in Napa County.



Vacaville-based Travis Credit Union, which has a branch in Napa County, was recently approved by the Small Business Administration to be a part of the Preferred Lender Program.



Energy As part of $400,000 given to 75 economic and community development projects in Northern and Central California, PG&E awarded four North Bay groups grants, including $3,200 to the North Coast Small Business Resource Center, $9,000 to the City of Santa Rosa, $7,000 to the Sonoma County Economic Development Foundation and $10,000 to the Napa Valley Economic Development Corp.

Allen W. Wilkins, Deepwater

Allen Weston Wilkins, 6, of Deepwater, died Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007, at Children�s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. He was born Oct. 30, 2000, in Clinton, a son of Allen and Cindy Wilkin. Surviving are his parents Allen and Cindy Wilkins; four brothers, Austin, Caiden, Colton and Gavin Wilkins, all of Deepwater; a sister, Makenna Wilkins, of Deepwate; his paternal grandmother, Mabel Wilkins, of Walnut Grove; his maternal grandparents, Robert and Linda Hoffman, of Aberdeen, Wash.; and his maternal great-grandparents, Donald and Esther Hoffman, of Santa Cruz, Calif., Clifford McCune, of Aptos, Calif., and Joan Schulthies, of Nyssa, Ore. He was predeceased by his grandfather, Lavard Wilkins. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Friday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Clinton.

Crash claims 3rd child of Bliss soldier

DALLAS -- A Travis Elementary School student described as "bright" by his principal died last weekend adding to the tragedy suffered by a Fort Bliss family that now has lost three children to a rollover accident near Ozona, Texas.

Tyler Johnson, 9, died Saturday at Children's Medical Center in Dallas from injuries he suffered in a crash on Oct. 13 while Lisa Johnson and her children were traveling from El Paso to San Antonio to visit their father, Army Spc. John Austin Johnson. The soldier was being treated for a traumatic brain injury he sustained in Iraq during his second tour.

John Johnson is with the 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, which is based at Fort Bliss and is nearing the end of a 15-month Iraq deployment.

The couple's other two children, Logan, 2, and Ashley, 5, died at the scene of the accident and were buried late last month in Arkansas where the family has roots.

Developing Stories

On the city-making circuit this fall, something feels different. At events organized to address how Austin can best develop and grow – whether convened by the business sector, community nonprofits, or the city of Aus­tin – what's notable are the converging lines of conversation. Across old bipartisan and enemy-camp lines, advocates are coming together to craft workable solutions to specific community problems. Instead of draining their energies sparring, divergent groups are collaborating productively to get good things done. It's far from a perfect world, of course – plenty of adversarial battles rage – yet the noticeable migration to common ground is heartening.

Take the Zero Energy Capable Homes Task Force. Its mission: requiring homes so energy-efficient (consuming about 65% less energy than the average new home today) that, with the addition of solar panels, they could in principle consume zero energy.