It's all over the news. Over New Years there was a man fatally shot at the Fruitvale BART station. No one is debating why the BART Police responded to the station. There were many reports of a fight on the train and the BART Police responded to assess the situation and separate the groups involved. What BART didn't count on was that in the age of technology there would be video taken of the entire incident as it unfolded. OAKLAND — A BART police officer struggling to handcuff a 22-year-old man, stood up over the facedown Hayward resident and fired a single shot into his back while a handful of officers watched, a video taken by a train passenger apparently shows. - Mercury News Channel 2 News has released the video that was obtained by the people still on the BART train as they watched in horror as a man was being subdued by BART Police and then shot in the back. New Years day the story was that BART video cameras were unable to record the shooting but those weren't the only camera rolling. When I first heard the news on New Years day that there was an officer involved shooting at BART, ...

Army Pvt. Benjamin B. Tollefson, 22, Concord, Calif., died Wednesday in Balad, of wounds suffered from indirect fire in Ghazaliya. As of Friday, Jan. 2, 2009, at least 4,221 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The 'Peoples' Govenor Arnold Schwarzenegger made a statement about this soldier's death. Camp Anaconda is a large US base near Balad, spread over 15 square miles. As of late June 2004, the majority of the airfield's pre-existing bunkers have been abandoned by the US military. Facility Engineer Team 21 out of Ft Devens is the Department of Public Works for the basecamp. As of September 2003 the Team was working on a Master Plan for the base, which may get as big as 20,000 soldiers. As of May 2004 the base had 17,000 troops and was 12 1/2 miles in circumference. Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. Central Command, told the House Armed Services Committee in March 2004 that ". . . we are making Balad Airfield our primary hub in the region, and the idea of doing that is because we need to have the Baghdad International Airport revert ...

Between the news of murders and recent bank robberies in Concord, I wanted to share with you some news from some people in Concord that have become very aware of the criminal element at the Sun Valley mall. Be aware I was going into Sun Valley mall and this lady chased after me to tell me that my car was getting broken into. As soon as i let my guard down she snatch my purse. They are using these tactics to take advantage of people and rob them. Please be aware of your surrounding and do not believe anyone. Even if they tell you your house is one fire.:) Another citizen had this to add. I was parked at the Sun Valley Mall tonight around 7pm. I had already noticed a suspicious man walking through aisles of parked cars, but proceeded to find a space anyway. While I was unloading my stroller from the trunk, the man passed by my car and then looped around (from the front end) and started back towards me. He was hidden from other people by hiding in between 2 rows of cars now. As he approached me, he began to ask me a question. I held ...

Murder Investigation – Fry Way at Clayton Road, Concord CONCORD, CA (December 29, 2008). The Concord Police Department continues to investigate the shooting death of Sergio Pereda, a 37 year old Concord resident who was shot shortly after 9pm on Christmas night. The shooting occurred on Fry Way between Willow Pass Road and Clayton Road after a brief verbal exchange between Pereda and the occupants of a car travelling South on Fry Way. The suspect vehicle has been described by witnesses as being a 2000 to 2005 BMW 325 two-door or similar appearing vehicle. It is steel blue metallic in color and possibly a convertible with a black top. It may also have after market wheels described as chrome with gold center caps. A similar vehicle is pictured below. The suspect has been described as a Hispanic, Asian or Filipino male, 20 to 25 years of age with “chubby” cheeks and dark brown eyes. He was wearing a black beanie style cap and a dark colored hooded sweat shirt at the time of the shooting. The suspect may speak Spanish but not fluently as though it is not his primary language. A sketch of the suspect is pictured above. Anyone with information about this ...

The City of Concord is shutting down over the holidays. In an attempt to save money, the City of Concord decided it was prudent to close after the new year. "This action is being taken in light of the impact that the recession has had and will continue to have on the City budget,” said City Manager Dan Keen. "The holidays are typically the time of year when the City experiences the least demand for public services, so it makes sense to close." The closure is expected to save the City $300,000 to $500,000. Offices that provide necessary services will remain open. Police patrol, dispatch operations and City inspectors will not be affected by the closure. The Concord Senior Citizens Center, Concord Community Pool, Centre Concord and Willow Pass Community Center will be open as required. Truth is that even though these "necessary services" like the police department are open, they are scaling back. An email to me claimed that CPD is on a skeleton crew. The police department is only open for modified hours and is working with less people. Patrols are still active and if you call the police, someone will answer and be able to help. Now with the City of Concord ...

West Contra Costa Costa County School District released the names of schools they are closing and/or consolidating. Understandably, parents of the kids attending these schools are outraged.  But with the school district facing a multimillion dollar cut, they have little choice. (I guess) Why is it that private companies like Ford and Chrysler are able to stand before Congress and ask for billions of our tax dollars but a school that is supposed to be looked over by the State is getting the shaft?!? Is our government that diluted to think that helping a business that has made decades of bad decisions is better for the country than making sure we raise educated kids? Maybe there is something I am missing but it sounds like common sense to me. This got me thinking about my own backyard and if Concord and the Mount Diablo Schools District is about to announce something along the same lines. Our district is having problems too. Based on the "Approved Reductions" for the school district, our kids are in for some hurt too. Reduce contributions to summer school. - Will only be providing remediation class as well as classes for students to make up credits. So no more high ...

With the year coming to an end and all of the nominations being set for the Golden Globes featuring some of the greatest movies of the year. Some movies like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has not even been released yet but is up for Best Motion Picture, Drama. I did some searching for some movies in Concord and surrounding areas for videos of local directors that post their videos online. There are not a lot of people in the area uploading videos. Most of the videos I find are crap from real estate agents. No, I'm not hating on real estate but I would like to see more videos from people and not companies. Here is what I found. - Maybe these are not REAL Golden Globe quality but it's nice to promote some local talent.

County supervisors of Contra Costa County had a vote in joining the lawsuits challenging the petition of Proposition 8, the ban on gay marriage. Over 50% of Contra Costa County voted NO in the Novembers elections. A dozen more cities and counties — including Alameda, San Mateo and Marin counties and the city of Oakland — on Wednesday joined the petition challenging Prop. 8 in the state's highest court. Voters statewide passed the law Nov. 4, and the city and county of San Francisco, city of Los Angeles and Santa Clara County filed the petition the next day, claiming Prop. 8 violates the state constitution's equality provisions. In closed session Tuesday, Contra Costa supervisors voted 4-1, with Supervisor John Gioia of Richmond dissenting, not to join the lawsuit. Most other Bay Area counties have taken up the fight, with the exception of Solano, Napa and Sonoma, which have not decided what to do. Sonoma County supervisors plan to discuss the lawsuit in closed session Tuesday. - CoCo Times. Contra Costa County was very vocal on Prop. 8. There were people standing on corners for both sides holding signs in support or opposition of the ballot measure. The police even had to be called ...

I've been blogging for a while and if there is something that I was most misguided about in the past few months, it's this. Local blogging is very hard work. You look at some of the other bloggers in the Concord area and you can see that some are updating 4-5 times a day. It's amazing really. I have another blog that covers social media and in that niche, other bloggers that do this for a living may post 2-3 times a week and that's considered a lot. So my hat goes off to all of you that have a job and a family and still find the energy to keep the rest of us entertained and up to speed on our local world. This brings me to my gem of the day. I came across a local blogger that just happens to be a motorcycle cop. He has a blog where he talks about his work and the people he gets to deal with. I guess I should have known that cops can have blogs. I just never read one before and this one just happens to be in our back yard. Make sure you bookmark MotorCop. He doesn't post often ...

Martinez was hit with several burglaries over the past 30 days. The police eventually caught  two suspects as they got into a car with a pillow case of 'alleged stolen' property. Searches of the kids homes turned up more 'alleged' stolen property as well as a few guns. Claycord has more information from the Martinez PD. The kicker is that these kids did not live in the area and were attending school near the scene of the crime. The juviniles picked homes to break into based on their proximity to the bus stop they use. Just like how bank robbers choose their targets based on access to freeways for an easy get away, these kids that attend a continuation school were smart enough to time their heists to the bus schedule. Police believe that the two boys, a Bay Point resident and a Pittsburg resident who attend a continuation school on Glacier Drive near Arnold Drive, were burglarizing homes after school while they waited for the bus, which stops on Arnold Drive. The burglaries appear to have stopped the week of Thanksgiving when school was not in session.-Source I live in a house next to a County Connection bus stop. I've always been wary of ...

The City of Concord appointed Laura Hoffmeister as the new Mayor last night. I don't know why we can't get any new people in the council. I'm not one for politics but I know there are other Concord residents that would bring new blood and ideas to the City. I am glad that Helen Allen didn't take over and we have someone that actually lives in Concord looking over the city. From Laura Hoffmeister's profile, I don't see anything that makes her unqualified. She has the opportunity to make an impact for the community and I hope she does. The City of Concord was quick to add Laura's new position to their website but I don't see an update to "Message from the Mayor". I can only hope that she is writing it now and it will be updated soon. I really hope that her message is not the same as Shinn's and just reformatted. Mayor Hoffmeister, embrace the people. Give us something to believe in for the city we call home. As a Veteran, I appreciate all you have done for the people in uniform. I don't know if you have family in the military but having public support is always welcome. You ...

The best part of having a local blog is being able to post information in support of great causes. In November I posted about a few eco-divas from MuseGreen. They contacted me again introducing me to a local non-profit group called the Peter Pan Foundation. The Peter Pan Foundation was founded in 2006 and is dedicated to using theatre arts, fundraising, and community service to teach teens, children, and young adults in our community about the importance of philanthropy. Founded by actress and philanthropist Leslie Noel, the vision is to instill selflessness, community awareness and service, as well as to help discover their own talents and build confidence through the expression of these talents. Noel established her nonprofit foundation to recognize Steffen Ryge, who had been one of Noel’s dedicated students and played Peter Pan in a revue. Ryge was killed in a car accident two months after his Acalanes High graduation. Noel was devastated, but when Ryge’s parents asked her to sing at his funeral, Noel agreed to perform—and realized that Ryge would have wanted the foundation to exist. - Diablo Magazine The Perter Pan Foundation is having it's annual Christmas musical "Twas the Opening Night Before Christmas". It’s on Dec 20th at 1:30pm ...

I was drinking my morning coffee and reading through my other local blogs when I saw a new post from Claycord saying the Pittsburg is better than Concord. This was a statement by the Mayor of Pittsburg Nancy Parent. Nancy Parent says that Pittsburg is closer to Walnut Creek than it is Concord regarding crime. At first I was thinking "WTF!", how can the Mayor of Pittsburg begin to say they have less crime than Concord. I have lived here my entire life and Pittsburg has ALWAYS been known as a city stuck with crime issues.So I figured I would look at the data and see what the deal is. Lets look at some crime data about Crime in Pittsburg. Lets look at Concord Crime Data So what does this mean. By looking at the data, I have a higher chance of being murdered in Pittsburg but my house has less of a chance of being burglarized. Then again, Concord has an higher violent crime number according to aggravated assaults and robberies. Should I be concerned? According to the research there were 107 registered sex offenders living in Pittsburg, California in early 2007. The ratio of number of residents in Pittsburg to the number of ...