Taking the Car to the Doctor

My check engine light has been on for about a month. I know what the problem is. I found out when I went in for my last tune up a couple months ago. My catalytic converter was bad and I would need to get a new one. My trusty mechanic explained to me that it would be a little pricey but I could hold off for a bit if I needed to. Since it was time for my SMOG  check too, I made an appointment and brought it in yesterday morning with the expectation it would be worked on. I was told he would run the SMOG and see if it passed or not, if not then he would work on the catalytic converter, since that would be the only reason it would fail. In the end, I expected too much.

I called after lunch for an update and there wasn’t one. “We haven’t had a chance to look at it”. At 4PM I called again and ‘the tests hadn’t come in yet’. (Maybe I was annoying the guy but I just wanted to know what was happening) The mechanic called me around 5:30 and said he had the results. He told me that my catalytic converter needed to be replaced.

I just about fell out of my chair. Was he really calling me to tell me something we both have known for months? I asked if the SMOG was completed, he said they hadn’t even checked. So, they’ve had my car all day and all they have is information we both have known for months. Even better is that the parts have to be delivered and it could be a few days. I’m not happy.

I don’t just drop my car off without notice. I called to make an appointment with the same person I always work with, he understood what I wanted to get fixed. If a part was needed and he knew it had to be ordered, couldn’t we just have made the appointment for a few days from now?!?

Concord Car Repair Recommendation

So, instead of writing about some story in Concord, I’m making a post asking for some help. I want to know what car repair places in the area you use and might want to recommend to me.

I’d prefer a place in Concord but feel free to let me know what repair shops you use in the surrounding area if they are a place you REALLY like to use.

Thanks for the help.

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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 an ambulance for him.

Good job Concord Police. This was the first time I actually heard a call that required so many police to respond. Other than the massive amounts of traffic being stepped on with all the radio chatter, you moved in and locked the area down pretty quick.

Just another example that you can’t outrun the CPD.

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The Benefits of Mulch
• Mulching is essential to the survival of your landscape during a drought. Mulch will reduce the amount of water that evaporates from your soil, greatly reducing your need to water your plants.

• Mulch improves the quality of your soil by breaking up clay and allowing better water and air movement through the soil. Mulch provides nutrients to sandy soil and improves its ability to hold water.

• Mulch acts as an insulating layer on top of soil, keeping it cooler in the summer. Roots like that!

• Mulch keeps weeds down, and the weeds that do grow are much easier to pull. Gardeners like that!

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Be sure to go check it out. There are a bunch of comments from other local bloggers also. Thank you Theresa for speaking with me about the topic and for putting out the article on local blogs.

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Years ago, after a big quake, a couple, fearing aftershocks, sent their young son to stay with his uncle in another town. A day later, they received this telegram: “Am returning your boy. Send earthquake.”

Seriously, though, we should do what we can to prepare our kids for a serious quake. Here’s a few suggestions:
1. Install bumper pads in cribs to protect babies during shaking
2. Show older kids the safest places to be in each room
3. Teach children what to do wherever they are during a quake (at school, in a tall building, outdoors)

Reach Larry Guillot, owner of QuakePrepare, a Bay area earthquake consulting, securing, and gas valve installation service, at 707-965-3299; visit QuakePrepare.com to receive QuakeTip e-mails and safety reports.

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The story in the Contra Costa Times really pulled my heart strings. Maybe that’s melodramatic but the article did touch me enough to do something about it. I wasn’t always the Mayor of Concord, I remember growing up with financial problems and I have made every effort to make sure my family and I don’t have to worry about food on the table or a roof over our heads. As I mentioned in the previous post about homeless students, kids should not be going without food and from the stories I heard while talking with Lori some of them don’t even have enough blankets to stay warm at night.Tragic.

This is the season of giving and I am asking the readers of this blog to give something to help support these kids.The MDUSD does not have an online system to receive donations which they really should look into, so in the meantime here are some ways you can help if you can’t drop off your gift.

Gift Card Mall is the company that serves Safeway gift cards as well as the other hundred stores you see filling those end caps at the grocery store. At Gift Card Mall you can purchase a card and have it mailed to the school district if you can’t drive it there yourself. (address at the bottom)

Since many of these kids don’t have warm clothes or even blankets, you can also get gift cards at Target.com, order one online and have it sent to the district as well.

Now you are always welcome to pick something up and drop it off at the MDUSD office.  I know that most of you are busy people and may not be able to get to the office before they close at night, that’s why sending them something is just as good.

Anything helps. Gift Card Mall can create a card as little as $5.00, Target starts at $10.00. So there is really no reason you can’t donate something. Sure, I’ll be going without my Venti Nonfat Mocha for a few days but somehow I feel better knowing that I just helped feed some people.

Here is the information again about how and where to donate.

Target, Safeway or other gift cards for homeless students can be dropped off at the Mt. Diablo school district office, 1936 Carlotta Drive in Concord or sent to James Wogan, Riverview Middle School, 205 Pacifica Ave., Bay Point CA 94565. Check donations, which will be used for homeless tutoring services, should be made out to the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, noting homeless and foster youths. Receipts available on request. Information is at 925-458-6858 or www.mdusd.k12.ca.us/hope.

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It’s time to get acquainted with your gas, electric, and water shut-offs. I’m finding in my earthquake consults that, even though most folks know where the cut-offs are, many aren’t sure how to operate one or more of them. Even worse: in more than half of my consults I discover that the gas valve is “frozen.”

So, here’s the deal:
1. know where gas, electric, and water shut-offs are
2. make sure every capable person in the house knows how to operate them
3. test the gas & water valves (slight movement to make sure they aren’t inoperable)

If valves are frozen, call PG&E (gas) or EBMud (water) and ask that the valve be replaced or repaired: they will take care of the problem with no charge.

Reach Larry Guillot, owner of QuakePrepare, a Bay area earthquake consulting, securing, and gas valve installation service, at 707-965-3299; visit QuakePrepare.com to receive QuakeTip e-mails and safety reports.

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I went through the schools in Concord and saw that some ratings go back to 2005. I can see where something like could be unpopular with some teachers. Here are all the schools Rate My Teachers has listed for Concord. Go to your school and add or rate your teachers.

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by Thomas Hawk

All the scanner does is cycle through a set frequency settings for radio traffic. Which made me wonder how I would ever go about finding the right frequencies to plug in for my area and listen to the Concord PD, Fire and CoCo Sheriff. It took a bit of looking but I think I found the right police, fire and emergency services for Concord. I am sure there are a bunch of people in the City of Concord listening to the everyday lives of Police and Firemen in the area. I would think there must be books of these things but I started looking online and found more than I was expecting. Not only did I find Concord Police Fire and Emergency but I found DVC Police and others.

Police

Fire

See: Contra Costa County Fire

Fire Station 5 – 205 Boyd Rd, Pleasant Hill
Fire Station 6 – 2210 Willow Pass Road, Concord
Fire Station 8 – 4647 Clayton Road, Concord
Fire Station 9 – 209 Center St, Pacheco
Fire Station 10 – 2955 Treat Blvd., Concord
Fire Station 22 – Crystyl Ranch Road, Concord

Schools

Fire/EMS

ConFire Central Dispatch: Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Concord, Clayton, Walnut Creek, and Lafayette.

ConFire East Dispatch: Pittsburg, Antioch, Oakley, Brentwood, Byron, Bethel Island, Knightsen, and Marsh Creek Canyon.

Confire West Dispatch: Moraga, Orinda, North Richmond, San Pablo, El Sobrante, Pinole, Hercules, Rodeo, and Crockett.

Information courtesy of CCCFPD Website.

I almost fell out of my chair when I found out I could listen to mall security.

HTML clipboard

Broadway Plaza – Walnut Creek

Sunvalley Shopping Center – Concord

Contra Costa Community College District

Diablo Valley College-Pleasant Hill

You can get these and police scanner frequencies from all over the area by going to http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?ctid=189#cid-1176

I guess only question left is Uniden base or portable? Oh…did I miss any?

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The FBI Uniform Crime Report

The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) contain official data on crime that is reported to law enforcement agencies across the country who then provide the data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). UCR focuses on index crimes, which include murder and non-negligent manslaughter, robbery, forcible rape, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. UCR is a summary-based reporting system, with data aggregated to the city, county, state, and other geographic levels. Crime statistics are compiled from UCR data and published annually by the FBI in the Crime in the United States series. To address limitations of UCR, the FBI has developed the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) system, which is slowly being deployed by law enforcement agencies.

Violent Crime in Concord

We hear about this more often than not in mainstream media. Murders, Rape, Robbery in any capacity is a violent crime. Concord’s numbers are low by comparison to the National Average. It would be great if these numbers were lower but at only 53% of the National Average we can feel fairly safe. We still need to be aware of our surroundings even though we don’t live in Detroit.

Property Crime in Concord

What was shocking was the amount of property crimes in the City of Concord. Concord is almost at the National Average in this category falling in at 94%. What seems to topple the number is the amount of vehicle thefts in Concord. I never would have thought that Concord had so many car thefts and am very thankful I have a car alarm and a kill switch.Maybe with these numbers I need to invest in a Lojack from my dealer.

Burglary and theft are high numbers also.

Most people do not think of burglaries until they happen to you or your neighbor. Home alarms are worth their weight in gold when used properly and have connections to all doors and windows. Having a sticker or sign on the exterior of your house is also a visual deterrent to would-be burglars. Lets be honest, if I were going to find a house to break into, I would look for the easy target and any house that looked like they had a home alarm would be skipped.

Concord California based on these numbers is a fairly safe city to live in. You can look at how we rate against our city neighbors Antioch, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek.

http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Concord&state=CA

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This is a map of the area of the Concord bank robberies labeled based on date of the crime. I highlighted the last 3 crimes because of their accessibility to multiple freeways. Why is that important you ask? Let me explain. In a bank robbery the idea is to get in and out with as much cash as possible before the police show up. Thankfully with modern technology this deters most would be bank robbers. Between the silent alarms, dye-packs with GPS, cameras and a few other treats, banks are pretty well covered. This is not enough to keep some criminals away thought. So when they plan their crimes, they try to do them next to a freeway. I’ll let a former bank robber explain.

We could rob a bank today. The sunroof is wide open, the windows are rolled down, and the car is speeding north on I-80. We’re hugging the rim of the East Bay . “Oh, I know a good one to rob,” Joe Loya is saying above the sound of the wind, pointing ahead. “I used to go there all the time. It’s a Washington Mutual on San Pablo . I’ll tell you exactly why we’re going to rob it. … You always want to pick a bank near a freeway, but more importantly, once you get back on the freeway, you want to be close to a junction, where it splits or crosses with another freeway. Again, contingency — very important. When you run, you always want to have as many options as possible.” – Joe Loya

Having a bank near a freeway is a double edge sword, for normal law abiding citizens we usually go to the bank on the way to work or home and that usually involves a freeway. Its a convenience factor but to bank robbers, our convenience is really their escape route.

What to do if you’re in the bank during the robbery.

Based on the FBI statistics there is a bank robbery approx. every hour in the US. But lucky for us, most bank robberies are in the form of note passing. You know, man walks up to the counter and hands over a note saying ‘give me all your money, I have a gun.’ or something to that effect. You may not even know the bank was robbed until the criminal leaves in this case.

If for some reason you are in the bank at the time it is robbed, you should try to remain calm. Don’t pull any ‘point break’ heroism and just drop to the floor. Yes, hit the dirt. Don’t make any sudden moves, just put your hands in the air and get to the floor.The less of a threat you seem to the robber, the better. Chances are they do NOT want to hurt anyone, they just want the money and to get out of dodge.

The best thing you can do is to get some information that you can tell the police when they arrive.

• Clothing – look for layers under the visible layer (the outer layer will come off)
• Physical characteristics – height, weight, eyes, hair, scars/tattoos
• Automobile description
• Direction of travel
• Weapons – the police need to know if the robber is armed

Recent Bank Robberies in Concord

06/27/2008

CONCORD — A Washington Mutual bank teller and a security guard were taken to a hospital after they were assaulted during a takeover style robbery Friday afternoon.

The robbery was reported at 4:06 p.m. at the bank at 4390 Clayton Road, Concord police Sgt. Matt Morrissey said.

Police said two men, at least one of them armed with a handgun, walked into the bank and attacked the security guard.

The robbers grabbed cash and then ran outside the bank and down Bel Air Drive, where they split up. Witnesses along the street told police they saw one of the suspects running down the street with a smoking backpack, “consistent with dye pack,” he said.

They got into two separate cars, a black Nissan and a gold Toyota Camry.

Both robbers were in their late teens or early 20s. The first robber was about 5 feet 10 inches, black, thin, wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and jeans. The second was about 5 feet 11 inches, black, thin, with a goatee and short-cropped hair. He also wore a dark hooded sweatshirt and dark jeans.

CONCORD — Police are searching for a man who robbed a Bank of the West Wednesday morning.

The robbery occurred at 11:44 a.m. at the bank at 1969 Diamond Boulevard. The robber walked inside and directly to a teller, where he demanded and received cash, Concord police Lt. Keith Whitaker said. He then walked to another teller, repeated the demand and got more money.

He walked out of the bank and possibly got into a waiting white van, police said.

The man did not display a weapon and no one was hurt during the robbery.

The suspect is described as black man between 25 and 33 years old, with a medium build and short black hair. He was unshaven and had thick eyebrows. At the time of the robbery, he was wearing a black baseball cap, white shirt and dark pants.

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by freefotouk

Concord Sex Offenders

Concord has 116 registered sex offenders living in the city based on the Meghan’s Law website. Based on the 2000 census Concord has 121,780 residence so if the numbers are right, we have a fairly low level of sex offenders living in the city, which makes me sleep a bit better at night. Parents and people living in the city should know everything you can about your neighborhood. I’m not suggesting that you spy on your neighbors but you should know if you have anyone living around you that has been convicted of a sex crime. Maybe you don’t want to know. Some say ignorance is bliss, I say ignorance is stupid.

Megan’s Law is an informal name for laws in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. Individual states decide what information will be made available and how it be disseminated. Commonly included information includes the offender’s name, picture, address, incarceration date, and nature of crime. The information is often displayed on free public websites, but can be published in newspapers, distributed in pamphlets, or through various other means.

At the federal level, Megan’s Law is known as the Sexual Offender (Jacob Wetterling) Act of 1994 and requires persons convicted of sex crimes against children to notify local law enforcement of any change of address or employment after release from custody (prison, psychiatric facility). The notification requirement may be imposed for a fixed period of time – usually at least ten years – or permanently.

Some states may legislate registration for all sex crimes, even if no minors were involved. It is a felony in most jurisdictions to fail to register or fail to update information.

Meghan’s law was passed through legislation for a reason. That reason is to keep the public informed for safety reasons. People in the City of Concord should be aware of resources available regarding Meghan’s law and check your neighborhood listing like you check your credit report. You do that too right?

*Quick disclaimer: People have been known to be arrested for sex crimes, convicted and released with no further acts committed.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) states on their website Bureau of Justice Statistics that “5 PERCENT OF SEX OFFENDERS ARE REARRESTED FOR ANOTHER SEX CRIME WITHIN 3 YEARS OF PRISON RELEASE” If that doesn’t make you cringe, I don’t know what will. The DOJ website has a list of statistics that I will not go into but you can read them all here.

Sex offenders of Concord currently in violation.

Out of the 116 registered sex offenders in Concord, 14 appear to be in violation. Which probably means they have skipped town or are hiding from the police.

• BARCLAY,RICKEY DUAYNE
• CHACON,OCTAVIO CRUZ
• DAVIDSON,STEVEN RICHARD
• DEFREZE,BERNARD L
• GOWER,RICHARD LEROY
• MARTINEZ,JOSE LUIS SALAS
• MATULOVICH,FRANK JOHN
• PETERSEN,ERIC CARL
• SCHLAEFFER,DON LEO
• SEYMOUR,ROBERT WAYNE
• SIMPSON,DONALD ANDREW
• TOWLE,PETER ALAN
• WALKER,JOHNNIE BENJAMIN
• YOST,MARTIN GEORGE

These people may have moved from the address listed on the site. The idea here is to point out the resource available for parents and community members to know what is going on in their neighborhoods. If you have information about any of these people you are asked to contact the Concord Police Dept.

Protect your family

I believe we live in a world of decent people. I have been to some bad places and can attest to the evils that are out there and that they take may shapes and forms. Though there are more good people than bad in Concord by a large number, you should still be aware of what is out there. Other than being constantly vigilant you have a risk of being a victim. All you can do is be prepared and ready.

When you are at public parks or play grounds notice who is around you and if anyone seems out of place. Be aware if you are being followed or if someone is hanging out and being suspicious. Contact the CPD if you think something is shady. It’s not a 911 call unless they are actually doing something illegal but the Concord Police has a non-emergency line that youcan call if you feel that something needs to be checked into. The CPD non emergency line is (925) 671-3220

**On a side note, I am wondering if information like this is of interest to my readers. I want to write about topics that you find informative. Leave me a comment if you would like more posts like this focusing on Safety and Crime in Concord.

Thanks for reading!

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