It's been a while since the last movie contest. When I gave away tickets to the Watchmen the response was great. So I wanted to give away another pair of tickets to a movie I am sure many of you are going to want to see. Sure I could have gone for Transformers 2 but I missed the boat on that. I figure Harry Potter and the half blood prince would be a nice one for families. A couple things I learned from the last movie contest will come into play with this one. First off, I am not going to say what theater you go to. This contest is open to everyone and anyone can win the tickets. I am giving away 2 tickets. You can enter to win in a few different places and increase your chances of getting the free movie tickets. Here are the rules. Chance to win on the blog: Leave a comment on THIS post for a chance to win. One comment per person. Valid email address must be provided. (So I can notify you as a winner) If you are a follower on Twitter, you can get another chance to win Tweet "@concord_blogger I want the free Harry Potter movie tickets" Can ...

Yes, I said it. Take a moment to think about it. Sure Transformers 2 is a blockbuster and who can't turn down watching Meghan Fox run around? One thing the Transformer movie doesn't have is an impact on the City of Concord or our schools. This project is a creative way of making money for the school district without just asking for a handout or raising our taxes.For $20. you can be a part of Concord history. The Concord Movie has released a new video about the Concord Movie. I already bought a pre-release of the movie. Actually I was so excited aout the idea of a movie being made in Conord with Concord talent that I didn't look too much into the people behind the scenes. I had exchanged some emails with Jeff Mosley the producer but figured he was just a member of the community wanting to make a difference. Well..he is that and after doing a quick search on him, he's a lot more. Jeff Mosley has a motion picture resume that is amazing. According to Jeff's IMDB page he's been a stunt man in some of my favorite flicks like the The Matrix Reloaded, The Siege, and The Net. ...

Happy Fathers Day to all of you dads out there. Being a father can be a thankless job. so on this day as a dad, treat it like it's your extra birthday and do whatever you want as long as it somehow involves your children. As a father you are looked up to by your kids in a way that is very special. History of Fathers Day The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Having been raised by her father, William Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910. In 1926, a National Father's Day Committee was formed in New York City. Father's Day was recognized by a Joint Resolution ...

A trust fund has been established to help the family of Hannah Spencer, a 2-year-old girl who died in a swimming pool accident last week. Hannah was discovered in the pool on the afternoon of June 11 by her parents. She was pronounced dead at a hospital later that evening. A neighbor, Brandy Leidgen, set up the fund to help the family pay for funeral expenses. Those interested in contributing to the fund can go to any Wells Fargo Bank branch and make a donation in the name of Bill, Felicia or Hannah Spencer, account no. 5585567646. As a parent these stories are terrible. I hope the family of this girl is doing alright.

Bad weather and Half Dome don't mix well. Over 40 people were in distress and one man fell to his death on Yosemite's Half Dome over the weekend. Between the rain the the hail storm, the rocky surface became very slippery. Yosemite Park Rangers are investigating the cause of death to see what happened just prior to Manoj Kumar, 40, of San Ramon to fall to his death.

CD Federal Credit Union was robbed. The crime was committed by a black man wearing a blue bandanna and carrying a blue duffel bag. He was seen running on foot. Witnesses saw the man get into a car and Concord Police started looking for the suspect vehicle. Initial reports was he got into a small dark green car being driven by another man heading towards the freeway. The robber had a small revolver as a weapon when he demanded the money. So far no one seems to be injured and the bank robber took the cash and split as fast as possible. Concord Police went searching for the two men in the car and started moving towards Pittsburg. Unknown why they started towards Pittsburg since nothing was said about seeing the vehicle but maybe the Concord police know something they weren't sharing with the rest of us listeners. *Update: Turns out there was a secret. [DETAILS REMOVED] Great work by the bank employees and the Police department! Suspects have been detained in Pittsburg.

I noticed some additional attention to the Swine Flu post I made about the El Monte Elementary School so I wanted to see if there was any information about how many people the H1N1 virus has infected here in the greater Claycord area. Well I couldn't find any city by city data but as I did a search on Twitter I found that the CoCo County has a profile just for the Health Services Dept. Sometimes I am surprised at the adoption of social media by government. I see some of the websites in the county and other media outlets but I wouldn't have expected the Contra Costa County to have a Twitter account. Good for you CoCo County! The Contra Costa Healt Department has a site set up specificaly addressing the H1N1 virus. The Director Dr. Walker even created a podcast addressing the H1N1 virus.

FIRST UFC GYM TO OPEN IN CONCORD, CALIFORNIA Las Vegas, NV (USA) – The UFC® Octagon™ isn't just for fighters anymore. Now, for the first time in the 15-year history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship®, anyone - no matter how young or old – can experience what it's like to train in the most exciting sport in the world thanks to the launch of the UFC® Gym™. UFC and New Evolution Fitness Company (NEFC) announced today that Concord, California will be the first home to the ultimate fitness destination, one that combines a complete UFC experience with mixed martial arts and fitness. "We are excited to open our first UFC Gym, it's going to have something for everyone in the family, from traditional mixed martial arts classes, to all-around fitness classes, personal training and a gym just for kids," said Dana White, UFC President. "We are going to redefine the fitness industry, and get everyone excited about fitness again, starting with the first UFC Gym in Concord, California." NEFC Co-founders, Mark Mastrov and Jim Rowley, both from the East Bay, believe that Concord, CA is the ideal location for the first UFC Gym. "Born, raised and now residing in the East Bay, we ...

Nick Montana, the son of legendary quarterback Joe Montana, has committed to the Washington Huskies, according to reports Wednesday. The younger Montana, a rising senior quarterback at Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, CA), selected UW over offers from the likes of Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, Washington, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, South Carolina, Florida State, Maryland, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Ohio State. As a junior, Montana, who stands 6-foot-3 and 186 pounds, threw for 2,404 yards and 33 touchdowns. He earned newcomer of the year, first-team all-CIF, first-team all-county, first-team all-state, and first-team all-league after completing 55 percent of his passes as a junior. Last season was his first year at Oaks Christian after spending two years at legendary De La Salle H.S. in Concord, CA, where he was the starting quarterback on the junior varsity team. Montana is considered a four-star high school prospect and the No. 12 pro-style quarterback in the nation, according to Rivals.com. He is the ninth commitment for new head coach Steve Sarkisian and is the most decorated recruit thus far. I hear Joe Montana pulled his boy out of De La Salle because they wouldn't be starting him his Senior year. Second string quarterback was not in Nick Montana's future. That's the ...

For great cakes, cookies and other yummy treats, there is only one place in Concord that has been around since the dawn of time. Well, in my time anyway. Alpine Pastry is celebrating their 40th birthday in Concord and I thought it was worth a special post all about them. Sure, Safeway has a bakery too but that would be like comparing a Pinto to a Mustang. Alpine has a selection of treats that most local bakeries do not have and they can do custom work that makes this small bakery stand out in a very professional way. I've gotten birthday cakes from Alpine as far back as I can remember. When I was fortunate enough to get a birthday cake. ;) From birthdays to special events like graduations and even weddings, Alpine can do it all. If you don't have a special event coming up you should stop in just for some cookies or one of their YUMMY Red Velvet cupcakes. and just stuff your face. Trust me, you can't make these cupcakes with some batter from the store, these are like heaven in your mouth. Now I'm hungry. I'm going to order a dozen cupcakes and tell my wife they ...

Around 2:40 a person called the Concord Police reporting a Hispanic man breaking into a car in the Concord BART parking lot. Something must have spooked the guy and he got into his truck and ran. Multiple Concord units were responding and the man ditched his truck and took off on foot. As CPD chased him, he jumped into a backyard and the set up a perimeter. It sounded like K-9 was going to get some action but a call came into the CPD from someone in a nearby office building that could see the the man hiding in the backyard from the police. Concord Police surrounded the house and slowly tightened the perimeter. I guess after pissing himself knowing he was about to go to jail, the thought of getting a gold tooth in his ass really freaked him out and he gave up. Approx 3-5 cars were broken into at the Concord BART lot and the man was found with items on him in the backyard. It's not rocket science that this was the stolen merchandise. The crook was so worked up after his little run from the law that he passed out as the Concord Police were arresting him. They called ...

A friend looking to move to the greater Claycord area sent me some links to real estate for sale. He wanted to know if these areas were "nice" and if he should go see them in person. With the real estate market at such a low point if you are fortunate enough to get the loan, you really can get a great house for a low price. One of the links he sent me was for a home in Concord. Interested to see what homes are going for in Concord I pulled up the link and almost barfed on my keyboard. Knowing that I just bought my first home in Concord about 3 years ago, seeing this really makes me sad. I don't really hate the house, I hate the fact that I could have gotten 3X the house for less than I paid. Click on the picture for the listing. This house has a living room the size of my backyard. Speaking of which, you could put a roller coaster in this backyard. The house is at the top of a cul-de-sac so if you have kids, they have even more room to run wild in. I may just call ...

Everyone in the Concord Ca. area has heard about Lexi the dog and the $10,000. reward Debbie Brown paid for it's return. The dog was stolen out of the owners car in the Elephant Bar parking lot. After a few days the dog thieves contacted the owners and sent a text message showing proof of life and the deal was arraigned. Who really cares about the stolen dog story? Is a dog really worth $10,000. I don't have 10 Grand but I think if it came down to it I would pay a reward to get my dog back. People seem to treat their pets like members of the family and can you put a price on your family? The owner recognized the thieves as people hanging around the Elephant Bar parking lot when they arrived. Debbie's boyfriend paid the crooks $10,000 in cash and brought the dog home safely. Concord Police wants to find out who the thieves were but the boyfriend is not talking and keeping to their word that they do not wish to prosecute. Is there more to this story? Claycord sent a message to the dog owners on his site. I have a message to the owners of the ...

After the recent news of Karen Perez being the first Swine Flu related death in Contra Costa County, it appears there are more cases of the H1N1 virus being reported from the El Monte Elementry School. Claycord is reporting that a message accidentally went out to parents of kids attending El Monte saying that other kids have been admitted to hospitals with Swine Flu symptoms. The message was meant for staff and not parents. In the most recent message from the principal, she said the two students were "rushed" to the hospital with swine flu symptoms, and also told her staff to call her on her cell if they didn't plan to come to school on Monday. The kids have not been confirmed cases of Swine Flu but it sounds like the school is preparing for the worst case scenario. If this turns out to be true, this would be the largest outbreak of H1N1 in Contra Costa County.

Autopia car wash is located at 4524 Clayton Road in Concord, CA. I typically get my car washed here when I am too lazy to wash it myself. The service is always good and I never leave wishing they did a better job. If you are familiar with Autopia of Concord then you remember that the first station you would drop your car off into was for vacuuming. It was convenient for me since I always have a Starbucks cup or half empty water bottle in the backseat that I need to throw away before they start vacuuming. I went today to get my car washed and the entire rack for the vacuuming station had been removed from the front and put right in front of the car wash building. It couldn't have been an easy thing to move since the posts holding the vacuum rack have to be implanted into the ground for safety. I asked the employee why they moved the enormous structure and he said the company was sued by some people that ran into the legs of the rack and the company had to move it to limit further liability. The reason for moving it to the front ...