A vehicle crashed into the Walnut Creek Post Office on Oak Grove & Citrus this afternoon.

The vehicle, which has Oregon license plates, had one occupant, who received minor to moderate injuries.

The Walnut Creek building inspector was called out to inspect the building for structural damage.

No word yet on the cause of the crash.

Thanks to Radar for the top four photos, and Daniel & Rebecca for the bottom ones! They are very much appreciated!

You can click on each photo for a much larger view.

{ 26 comments }

Tomorrow, Friday, September 3, is a Spare the Air Day in the Bay Area.

Concentrations of ground-level ozone pollution are forecast to be unhealthy tomorrow. Hot temperatures and light winds will combine to produce poor air quality for the Bay Area.

To help prevent smog tomorrow, please:

 - Carpool or vanpool with friends or co-workers

- Take public transportation

- Telecommute — work from home instead of driving to work

- Link necessary trips and postpone errands if possible

To plan your commute online, visit 511.org.

To monitor current air quality conditions, visit www.sparetheair.org.

This AirAlert is provided by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

Thank you for doing your part to Spare the Air!

{ 19 comments }

I’m sure many of you have seen the latest round of mailers saying unless the voters pass a sales tax measure in November, then the City of Concord will be forced to cut vital services.

Concord City Council candidate Edi Birsan emailed City Manager Dan Keen, and asked how many mailers were sent out, and how much the city paid to have them printed and distributed.

Below are the answers Dan Keen gave to Edi Birsan….

1. How many were mailed out? Response: 24,203

2. What was the cost in postage and the cost of preparation? Response: Total postage cost was $5,185. Supplies, labor and printing cost was $2,448.

3. How many more are planned? Response: None at this time.

The measure, which would need a 50% +1 vote to pass, would increase the tax on retail taxable goods, but not groceries, utility bills, medications or mortgages. However, it will increase the tax on automobiles purchased in Concord, but only if you register the vehicle within the Concord city limits.

{ 53 comments }

On August 19th of this year, Clayton Valley High School administration found Gonsalves Stadium broken into, and heavily damaged.

The following information is from an anonymous tipster from within Clayton Valley High School….

Vandals broke into the locked stadium where  they moved player benches to the center of the field.  The vandals  also broke into the Press Box causing over $2,500 worth of damages that included breaking video surveillance cameras,  breaking off the door locks, breaking the roof hatch and damaging the electrical panel cover. They also dislodged the contents of the fire extinguisher inside of the Press Box. The vandals left  the torn off video cameras strewn about and left the Press Box windows open.

Images of the alleged vandals (pictured above) were caught on tape that showed them moving two benches to the center of the field at approx. 8:42 p.m. on Wednesday evening (August 18th).  At approx. 9:00 p.m.,  the alleged vandals made their way up the bleachers to the Press Box where they ripped camera’s from their bases, but not before they were caught on tape flipping the bird and dancing. They climbed to the roof of the Press Box where they broke in and continued their rampage.

Anybody with information on this case is asked to contact Detective Tim Elsberry with the Concord Police Department at 603-5828. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the Concord Police Department Tipline at 603-5836 or the Bay Area Crimestoppers at (800) 222-8477 (TIPS)

You can also email anonymous tips to mayor@claycord.com. Your tip will remain 100% anonymous and it will be given to the Concord Police Department.

{ 56 comments }

If you didn’t expect to drink so much this coming holiday weekend, and find yourself in need of a ride home, then AAA has the answer for you….

As part of AAA’s ongoing commitment to provide safety and protection to motorists, the AAA Tipsy Tow Program offers a free tow home for drinking drivers in Northern California, Nevada, and Utah from 6:00 p.m. on September 6, until 6:00 a.m. on September 7.

Members and non-members alike can call 800-222-4357 (AAA-HELP) for a free tow of up to five miles.

Just tell the AAA operator, ‘I need a Tipsy Tow,’ and a truck will be on its way. Service is restricted to a one-way ride for the driver and his or her vehicle to the driver’s home.

Be sure to write the number down, just in case you need a ride home!

{ 23 comments }

A 26-year-old Pleasant Hill swim coach has been arrested for possession of child pornography.

The following is from the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office….

Detectives from the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Sexual Assault Unit this morning arrested 26-year-old Alex Bursch of Antioch for possession of child pornography.

The Detectives launched an investigation following a tip. This morning at about 8AM, a search warrant was served at Bursch’s residence on the 5000 block of Wagon Wheel Way in Antioch.

There, several computers and storage devices containing thousands of images of child pornography were confiscated.

Bursch is a teacher at the Los Medanos Elementary School in Pittsburg. He was arrested this morning at the school without incident. Bursch is also a coach and lifeguard for a local swim team, the Pleasant Hill Dolfins.

Bursch has been booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on three charges of possession of child pornography. His bail is set at $60,000.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with any relevant information on Bursch is asked to call the Office of the Sheriff at 925-313-2621.

UPDATE: To view Alex Bursch’s photo from the Pleasant Hill Dolfins swim team’s website, please click HERE.

{ 86 comments }

On Tuesday night, the Pleasant Hill Police received a call from authorities in Hercules saying a suspected murderer might be in Pleasant Hill.

Police investigated, and found the suspect.

Lt. Dan Connelly tells us the rest of the story….

On August 31, 2010, at about 7:40 pm the Pleasant Hill Police Department received information from the Hercules PD that a murder suspect, Efren Valdemoro, may be in the 100 block area of Cleaveland Road in Pleasant Hill.

Officers were told that the suspect may be driving a blue Acura and that he may also have a kidnap victim with him in the car.

When officers arrived, they began a search of the area. A short time later, officers located the vehicle in an apartment complex parking lot. As officers approached the vehicle, it backed out of a parking stall and began to drive away.

One officer fired one shot from a shotgun to disable the tires. The left rear tire was disabled but the suspect continued to flee the area in the vehicle. Officers could see that there was a female sitting in the front seat.

Officers pursued the vehicle south on to I680 at speeds of 80 -90 miles per hour. When the pursuit reached the interchange with I580, the CHP took over and officers from PHPD discontinued their pursuit of the suspect.

No one was injured during the incident in Pleasant Hill and investigators are trying to determine what, if any, ties Valdemoro had to Pleasant Hill.

The suspect was shot dead after the chase ended in the City of Richmond, and since then, authorities have discovered several dead bodies, and have linked the suspect to four murders throughout the Bay Area.

For the rest of the story, which is happening outside of CLAYCORD, click HERE.

{ 21 comments }

The turkeys were out in full force the other day in Crystyl Ranch!

About 25 of our feathered friends decided to go for an afternoon stroll through the neighborhood, before heading back to the open space.

Thanks to “Jacki” for these great photos!

{ 32 comments }

{ 11 comments }

Our city CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams) programs, in partnership with the Fire District, are conducting a multi-city CERT response exercise on September 11th, from 9am to 3pm, at the Fire District Training Center.

The premise of the exercise is a response to a local area after a large earthquake occurs. Our Fire District will be providing two on-duty crews to participate in the exercise.

This effort has been spearheaded by the Fire District’s Public Education CERT Program and the City of Walnut Creek CERT. There are still many positions to be filled for the exercise, particularly mock victims/patients.

The role of a victim can be performed by any citizen and no specialized training is needed to participate in this role. Participants will be moulaged to a particular injury and given instructions on how to act the part.

Children as young as fourteen years old may participate with at least one parent participating with them.

Participants do not have to be a graduate of the CERT program to play the role of a victim/patient.

If you know someone who would be interested in volunteering for this important exercise, or if you would like to volunteer, please go to www.walnut-creek.org/certdrill or call Marybeth Paris @ 925-260-5714.

{ 7 comments }

A Concord man woke up this morning to find a burglar inside his home on Linden Drive, just before 9am.

When the burglar realized somebody was home, he immediately fled with a dark skinned male, who was in a yellow pick-up truck.

No suspects were captured, and nobody was injured.

Lock your doors & windows!

map: yahoo! maps

{ 24 comments }

I received the following email from a reader near Santa Paula Drive, which is off Oak Grove Road in Concord….

This morning around 5am I was laying in bed with my eyes open and saw the headlights of a vehicle shining very brightly in my bedroom window.

I quickly got up and looked outside to see a woman running from my neighbors yard. She then went to another neighbors yard and shined a flashlight in their mailbox and ran back to her vehicle.

The woman was driving what looked like a gray or silver smaller Toyota pickup with a camper shell. I ran outside and drove around looking for her so I could get her license plate, but she was already gone from the area.

We’ve chatted about this in the past. It’s important to not leave your mail in your mailbox overnight, and don’t put anything out for the mailman to take, because chances are the thieves will get to it first.

{ 13 comments }

{ 46 comments }

{ 14 comments }