Cover: 24-Hour Scrabble People
The competitive Scrabble underground of word freaks, geeks, and just plain regular people is growing . . . tile by tile.

News: Hempsters Go to Washington
Promoting the industrial weed to a war-addled Congress.

Critic's Picks: A guide to the week's best arts, theater and music events.

Cineplex Lex: Infamous 'Survivor' cutthroat outwits and outlasts Madonna's abysmal new movie.

New Standards: Jazz artists are keeping it fresh.

Jazz It Up: The Frenzy Trio Quintet plays games with free jazz.

SiFT: Disco divas, hip-hop connoisseurs and salsa suaves to flannel-clad pinball players, jazz luminaries and more from the City by the Bay.

Poetic License: Being Poet Laureate is not all cheese cubes and wine in plastic cups.

Bars & Clubs 2002: Listings for Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties.

Wines Raise the Bar: Once just a haven of tasting rooms, the North Bay embraces wine bars in their many forms.

Twisted, Sister: Swanky yet comfy, Twisted Vines is a great place to go and a good place to eat.

Dark Days: A blind woman fights for her life in 'Wait Until Dark.'