Ethanol fuel is ethanol (ethyl alcohol), the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It can be used as a fuel, mainly as a biofuel alternative to gasoline, and is widely used in cars in Brazil. Because it is easy to manufacture and process and can be made from very common crops such as sugar cane and corn, it is an increasingly common alternative to gasoline in some parts of the world. California only has five of these stations, including the new one at Highway 4 and Willow Pass Road.

Last week there was news about a drive-by shooting in Concord. I don't hear about too many of these, in fact this is the first I know of in Concord. I hope this isn't just more escalation in the gang violence in the city but with the growing crime in general is enough to make me sleep with one eye open at night. I don't live in an area of Concord that would be considered high crime but I guess you never really know. Here is some information on the drive-by shooting that happened in Concord. A 16-year-old Concord boy who was shot three times early Monday morning in a drive-by shooting is expected to survive his injuries, Concord police Lt. Andrew Gartner said. Police received a call reporting a shooting shortly after midnight Monday at Grant Street and Olivera Road, near Hillcrest Park. When officers arrived, they found the victim with gunshot wounds to his left wrist, his right shoulder and possibly his left shoulder, Gartner said. According to witnesses, the boy had been walking along the street with some friends when a vehicle drove by and the right front passenger shouted out the window, asking if they "bang," Gartner said. The witness ...

Colton and Connor Gauer have a special dad. Some people just take home movies of their kids growing up. This dad goes a few steps further and makes movies with his kids as characters. So TGAUER (that's his alias) may not be the real Steven Spielberg but he has a bright future. This movie has his boys playing little wizards in a Harry Potter duel. Very creative movie with multiple cuts, FX and a script. It must have been fun for the boys. So the family is talented all around. Movie director and actors under one roof. I can't confirm it but this video was brought to my attention and I am told this family lives in Concord. If you know TGAUER tell him to keep up the great work!

The California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert this morning, asking the public to be on the lookout for a Kings County man who allegedly stabbed his wife and abducted their two children. Police in Lemoore say Jose Barraza Orellana, 36, fled with his two children after stabbing their mother, Roxana Arevalo, multiple times around 10:45 a.m. Thursday. She reportedly is hospitalized in critical condition. "We do have solid information which leads us to believe that the suspect is somewhere in the Bay Area," said CHP Sgt. Trent Cross. "We can't release that information because it could compromise the investigation." If you were watching the news this morning, then you would know what this "solid information" is. I guess the police put the kabosh on the key data after it was initially released. But be sure to take note of the vehicle information. There is a good chance he is in the East Bay. He was last seen wearing black jeans and a T-shirt and was driving a 2000 gray Toyota Tacoma pickup truck with a camper shell, California license plate No. 6E70253. Make sure you go to CodeAmber.org and get an Amber Alert ticker for your computer or website. UPDATE: The California Highway ...

Not Concord news but anytime I hear pipebomb in the bay area, I think it's worth passing along. SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco neighborhood was cordoned off early Friday as a remote-controlled robot carefully probed the cab of a truck following a pipe bomb blast and the arrests of two suspects during a traffic stop, authorities said. Officers responded to reports of either an explosion or shots fired at about 5:20 a.m. in the 1100 block of La Salle Avenue and found remnants of what appeared to be a pipe bomb, Sgt. Neville Gittens said. A description of a suspect vehicle was broadcast to authorities, and about five minutes later officers in the area of Eddy Street and Van Ness Avenue in the city's Tenderloin neighborhood saw a pickup truck matching the description. Police stopped the truck on South Van Ness Avenue between 14th and 15th streets in the city's Mission District. Two men in the vehicle were taken into custody and were being interviewed by police at about 8:30 a.m., according to Gittens. The bomb squad responded to search for any possible additional explosives or illegal materials, and about six residents of an apartment complex across the street were ...

Ohma's Cookies is a private bakery in Concord dedicated to bringing you the old-fashioned, handmade cookies, so well loved by everyone. Ohma's Cookies recently became my friend on Twitter and I was immediately compelled to check out their site because it had the word COOKIES in it. I'm a freak when it comes to cookies. So much so that I cant have them in the house because I will eat them with or with out milk and find myself going into a diabetic coma after not being able to stop stuffing my face of the baked treats. Besides just making yummy cookies in Concord, Ohma's Cookies has a delicious blog that gives recipes for you to make treats of your own. The cookie Blog has a cookie of the month. No surprise, this month is Halloween cookies. I tried the Bone Chilling Cookie recipe and they didn't turn out as pretty as the picture but I ate the entire confection in less than 24 hours. Yes, I know, I'm weird.

Coin show in Concord. Over 30 west coast dealers will be on hand to offer appraisals as well as to buy, sell and trade coins including U.S, World, and Ancient. Paper currency, medals, tokens, estate jewelry and watches, casino chips and coin hobby supplies will also be available. There will be prizes and free drawings for coins and the show will feature a youth coin exhibit courtesy of Boy Scout Troop #465. In addition, this year the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano will receive financial support from the coin show. A portion of all coin show admission fees will be donated directly to the Food Bank. Holiday Inn, 1050 Burnett Avenue, Concord, Ca. (exit #52 off highway 680) ;map>Saturday, October 11, 2008 from 10 A.M. to 5:30 P.M.Sunday, October 12, 2008 from 10 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. General admission $2.00, good for both days The Diablo Numismatic Society, a non-profit coin club, sponsors the Contra Costa coin Show. In addition to supporting the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano the club uses its show proceeds to benefit hobby educational programs. Contact Bill Green for additional information (925)351-7605 or visit the club’s web site at diablocoinclub.org

A few weeks back I wrote about how a new cause was created on Facebook for the election of Gary Eberhart and Sherry Whitmarsh for the MDUSD School Board. Speaking of that there is a great debate online that you can watch to understand more about the candidates running. I've been on Facebook for a while, there are few social media sites I am not on. (Is that Narcissistic?) Whatever. Either way, it was exciting to see that good people like Gary Eberhart had a profile already and was using his network to help in the campaign. After the Facebook cause was setup and got some attention, it looks like other people from Claycord/Concord made the move and joined Facebook to expand their networks. I have added a few people to my network and I'm always happy to have more people to chat with but don't make a habit of asking to be added to peoples networks that I don't know in some way or have a good feeling they will accept. Here are some people on Facebook that live in the Concord area that everyone should be friends with. Gary Eberhart Andre Gensburger Mayor O' Claycord Cowell Ca There are many people in ...

A video has surfaced from SurveyNation that was taken recently in Downtown Concord. Thank you Hans for sending this to me. Looks like Todo Santos Plaza with Peet's Coffee in the background. The video goes over both McCain and Obama and asks people in Concord what the Pros and Cons are for both presidential candidates. It's interesting to hear what people in concord think about the election in 2008.

Thanks Brad for passing this along. The video was taken by a couple guys Hub and Dan in Concord that obviously like to drink a lot. I can relate, I was pretty wild in my youth. How drunk do you need to be to sing along to Reading Rainbow? I don't know about you but I would have to be plastered. The video is funny and based on the profile of the owner, they are old enough to be drinking but maybe not enough to have internet privileges. Do you know these guys?

I don't party anywhere near what I used to. When I was younger, the occasional house party being hosted by a High School friend or a party that I hosted at my parents house when they were out of town. Parties were a weekly occurrence almost all the time from high school through my time at DVC. For the most part the parents had little to no idea that there was a party being hosted at their house while they were away. There were rare cases where the parents knew full well what the kids were doing and sometimes they just stayed on the opposite side of the house while the party took place. But with a new ordinance for Contra Costa County passes, the hammer may come down on parents in a big way. If a new ordinance passes today, Contra Costa parents could be held responsible for such parties involving alcohol. Parents would face a misdemeanor, up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, according to Supervisor Mary Nejedly Piepho's stringent social host ordinance. "No person shall suffer, permit, allow, or host a gathering at his or her place of residence or other private property under his or her ...

Most people trust the ones in authority to do the right thing. It looks like the deputy DA for Contra Costa County was not someone to be trusted. Michael Gressett, 51, of Martinez was being investigated and recently arrested for a  few charges including rape and sodomy. Authorities say the rape occurred a few months ago, but the victim went to her supervisor Sept. 26; the supervisor called Martinez police, Simonetti said. Police served a search warrant and found evidence that corroborated the victim's statements, police said. Gressett has worked at the District Attorney's Office since 1987. He ran three unsuccessful campaigns for district attorney, in 1994, 1998 and 2002. His campaigns pledged to crack down on violent crimes and "quality-of-life" crimes, and to allow public access to the office by putting all case results on the Internet. source: Times For a guy that was going after rapists and scum like that, WTF were you thinking? You were like SVU for the County and there you go getting arrested for it. Well, I hope you didn't leave a bunch of DNA because it already sounds like you're up against the odds. Last word was he is being held on $1 Million dollars bail. That's a ...