Mayor of Concord » Featured

Chico the Dog - Everyone needs a Chico

Concord Blogger — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:05:43 +0000

You haven’t seen Chico the Dog in the Contra Costa Times but he’s been featured in Eye on Blogs. He is the only dog with his own blog. Chico lives in the East Bay and needs a home.

I’m pretty big — about 100 lbs. I’m a cross between a German and an Australian Shep. I’m pretty sure my mom was the Aussie since my tail is cropped. I will protect you — and if you have gardeners with blowers, I’ll scare the compost out of ‘em. OK, I do have a few issues: I am an alpha male, and I really like cats (they taste good). So, if it’s just you and me, we’re golden! I’m an awesome dog. Really — just ask me. I’ll tell you…. I love people. I love to take walks. I know how to sit and lie down. Did I mention that I’m only 2 years old?

Chico was found near Clearlake and is being taken care of by a foster family with the Contra Costa SPCA, based in Concord. Chico started his blog after moving to the East Bay and finally having a broadband connection. I know the foster family and though they love Chico, they can’t keep him forever. I thought it was weird they had a dog with it’s own blog and they wanted to get rid of him but Chico deserves a full time family that needs a great dog around all the time.

Chico the Dog chats with people online and other than needing some love an play time he is happy laying on the floor and looking cute. Chico is good with kids and has a tendency to slobber on them with kisses. Here are some more great pictures of Chico the Dog.

If you are interested in bringing Chico the Dog home, contact the Contra Costa SPCA.

Contra Costa SPCA
P.O. Box 725
Concord, CA 94522
Phone: 925.825-5156

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MySpace and Esteban Nunez

Concord Blogger — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:29:49 +0000

Esteban Nunez the son of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez is all over the news for being arrested for the murder of a Concord resident Luis Santos.

Besides getting updates on this story from mainstream news, there is so much more to find online on Esteban Nunez. As with most people his age, he is a member of the social media community MySpace and since his profile is open for the public (for now), there are many pictures of him and his crew.

http://www.myspace.com/enunez89

This picture shows Esteban and his friends. Seems like they have the same fascination with the biohazard symbol since all of them are showing off their tattoos. These are the tattoos that join them together in the THC crew. THC is a chemical in Marijuana but in this case it seems that THC stands for “The Hazard Crew“. All the members of the attack were members of this THC crew and the police are looking into this as a gang crime.

Arrested in addition to Esteban Nunez were Ryan Jett, Rafael Garcia and Leshanor Thomas.

Esteban has Ryan Jett on his MySpace friends list and there is a L.T. which could be Leshanor Thomas but that’s not confirmed.

MySpace is a wealth of information for bloggers. Having an open profile makes everything you post and add to your profile free to anyone that wants to look. Here are some pictures taken from esteban Nunez’s profile.

I think his MySpace profile as well as the others involved witll be removed shortly. Once they realize that the news is digging through this.

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Concord Growing Homeless Problem Up for Debate

Concord Blogger — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 21:42:38 +0000

As if the Mayor didn’t already have his hands full with taxes, hookers, cranksters, and internet scandal. Bill Shinn is having to open up the debate on the land use plan of the Naval Weapons Station and making room for the growing homelessness problem. I though his “Quit Having Sex” policy was going to do the trick but I guess not.

City leaders are debating how to accommodate some of the county’s homeless population on the shuttered Concord Naval Weapons Station.

City Council members are trying to decide whether Concord should put $25 million into a trust for homeless services and housing throughout the county, or instead approve a plan for 260 “homeless” housing units on the former military base. The federal government, through its base closure laws, requires that communities overseeing a base closure dedicate part of the land or money made off it to homeless causes.

Required by law…Looks like Billy better figure something out quick. Nothing I heard about in the land use discussions had anything to do with the homeless. Lots of clustered villages, road construction and parks but nothing for the Concord homeless.

But the best quote from Bill Shinn came later in the article.

“Yet we have the experts here telling us that people only stop being homeless if they have permanent housing, so I’d just like more information.”

I don’t know about you Bill but that just sounds obvious and I wouldn’t need an expert to tell me!

I would think that creating jobs and putting these people into drug rehab and giving them other support mechanisms would be the key.

There are about 4,000 homeless people countywide, and in a given year 10,000 to 12,000 utilize services offered by soup kitchens, food banks or the like, said Councilman Bill Shinn.

“We have to be careful when we talk about the homeless — they’re not under bridges and peeing on trees,” he said. “That’s a stereotype.”

I’ve read many stories in the Contra Costa Times and on other local blogs about homeless people sleeping under bridges and peeing on trees. First off, under a bridge is a great place to sleep if you don’t have a home and where else are these people supposed to go pee? Sure we don’t have the issues like in cities like San Francisco where people are defacating in the streets but to say that homeless people don’t pee on trees is a bit ridiculous. People with homes pee on trees if their drunk enough.

This is going to be an interesting story to follow. What Concord decides to do is going to have a major impact on the city. You can throw the buzz word “World Class” into it if you want but I doubt it will be anything close.

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Great Photography in Claycord

Concord Blogger — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:07:40 +0000

One of the best things about running a local blog is all of the people I get to meet along the way and see what they do. Regardless of the type of event you need a photographer for like a party, a wedding or just a great set of professional photos, finding quality is difficult. I know when we were looking for a wedding photographer, it was a long task to qualify everyone. Just choosing a random photographer from the yellow pages is never good enough.

I was contacted through Facebook by a local photographer Wayne Miller in Clayton to be added as a contact. Once I saw that Wayne had a website, I had to check it out. There are many local photographers in the Claycord area but this site is one of the most professional and content rich I have seen in a while.

Wayne Miller Photography of Clayton, California, specializes in Portraits and Commercial Photography. Creative Innovation in Photography with an Avant-garde style as he always pushes the envelope in photography. HDR (High Dynamic Range) images, out of the box, and classic styles to meet client’s needs.

Wayne Miller Photography even has an programs for models building their portfolios. The apprenticeship model program is a chance to build your confidence as a model and learn what it takes to be a model in photography. The apprenticeship model program will help you build a portfolio and feel comfortable in front of the camera and people.

The program is on selective bases for the applicant that have the desire and commitment to model. You will be able to try different looks and styles to select areas that interest you in modeling. This is a TFP (Trade for Print or CD) program which means the both you and the photographer trade your time for either prints or a CD of the images.

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Eco-Friendly Divas Plant Roots on MuseGreen

Concord Blogger — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:18:44 +0000

Most people are concern about the environment. The National Green Machine is gaining steam and people on a local level are trying to inflict change. Some support Green initiatives by recycling more others by promoting alternative energies. The Divas over at MuseGreen take it a few steps further by running a blog sharing and discussing all things GREEN.

MuseGreen was started by five ladies that wanted to do more than just talk about ways to make the Earth a better place. MuseGreen is based out of Walnut Creek Ca. and uses the power of the internet and social media tools like Twitter to put a little bit of green all over the world.

Green Games

Play games on the site to have trees planted for real. Sow much for the planet!
Warm up those brain cells and do something great for the planet at the same time! For every 10 questions you answer correctly, we’ll plant a tree on your behalf. Login and we’ll keep your all time score!

Green Shopping

MuseGreen’s green shopping experience donates 2% of all proceeds to our hand-chosen environmental causes.

Now, of course, they’d love everybody to choose from their selection of eco-friendly, organic products, but we also know that life’s not always like that and sometimes that’s just not possible. So, whatever you buy through their store, green or otherwise, will result in a donation back to planet. They hope that this will also help to offset the carbon footprint of the products you purchase.

Your shopping will help support some great causes.

Green Writing Challenge

The MuseGreen Student Writing Challenge; the aim of which is to solicit input from our youth on critical environmental issues.

The MuseGreen Team would like:

to hear directly from students themselves since, let’s face it, they sometimes have the best ideas!
to know what they think and how they feel about issues such as climate change, renewable energy sources and sustainable living. Do they feel the environmental issues discussed in school and in the news are real problems or just a lot of hype? Do they see things in their lives that make them want to spring into action? Do they have good ideas for solutions to these problems or practical tips for changing behavior?
students to use their writing skills in a real world application that also makes use of their understanding of environmental issues. Each week, one student’s work will be selected to be published on MuseGreen.com. Not only will their work be seen by thousands but it will also look great on future resumes!

Students are always getting assignments from their English teachers to pick a topic and write about it. Now you don’t need to rack that brain of yours for something to write about. Just write something about how you feel about the environment and what you would do to improve it and kill two birds with one stone. Get an A+ on your paper and get featured at MuseGreen for your outstanding work. If you tell your teacher you wrote it for MuseGreen, you have a much better chance at that A+ since you are serving a better cause.

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Concord Sex Drugs and Craiglist

Concord Blogger — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:20:18 +0000

Some people like eHarmony.com, others like the more conventional method of going to a bar to meet people. When all else fails and you just want a late night booty call, just head over to craiglist.com and get a local prostitute for an hour or two. Hooker, prostitute, call girl, whatever you want to call them, they are offering sexual services for money.

*Warning* This post will have links of an adult nature and is Not Safe for Work. Also, if you are easily offended you way want to stop reading now.

by telethon - Actual picture from Oakland

Craigslist is great for finding jobs, free stuff and information about your area. There is a dark side to Craigslist few know about and one of those sides is the not so hidden list of available hookers in any given city. Why can’t they be stopped? The answer is pure volume. With the police being reactive to all the crimes they currently have, setting up a proactive group to stop people from selling sex in their city just takes the back burner. Am I being to harsh? There must be a reason for it, anyday of the week I can go to Craigslist in Concord and find a dozen or more “outcalls” (They come to you) being offered.

Sexual services terminology

Like most underwold activity, services and products are listed in codes. Drugs have specific names but the slang terms for them are used most often. Blow, ICE, Purple-Cush, Chronic, Speed, the lists goes on and on. The same applies to sex. Here are some basics.

When looking for services there are a few ways to slice the pie. W4M=Women for Men, M4W=Men for Women, then you have W4W and M4M and even T4W which is transvestites for women. Incalls are you go to them, outcall is when they come to you. It’s amazing to me that there are so many different abriviations being used online that just seem to go unchecked.

Sex for sale in Concord

Prostitution in Concord is nothing new. But the problem is growing. CPD doesn’t produce any information about this but online communities talk about sex for sale in Concord like you can get it at the local 7-11. With prostitutes making such a small effort to hide why aren’t the police bringing them in by the bus load? I have only a basic understanding of the law but if there is probable cause for an arrest or even an investigation then the police should have a green light. Here is the basic search I ran in Craiglist for Sexual Services focusing on Erotic Services W4M with the number (925) in the listing. There are literally hundreds to choose from.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/ers?query=w4m+925&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max

Let’s give an example of one I found as I started writing this post. By going to the craiglist section for the east bay and searching in their “Erotic Services“. Yes. Craigslist makes no attempt to hide this in their listings.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/ers/856962003.html

Clearly a call girl looking for some money. Even a nice photo of her showing her assets. Let’s focus on the short but sweet listing.

30 min 100
60 min 160

Looking for a Sexy Latina????

A TRUE Quality Provider!!!!!!!!!

one phone call away!!!!!!!!

offering full unrushed services!!!!!

925 555 6398

$160 dollars an hour for full hour of unrushed services. Could she be talking about laundry services or a massage? I assume since this is in the Erotic Services section it has nothing to do with clothing and only a little bit of massage. Clearly thjis is a solicitation of sex services. I’m not making any phone calls to the number for a few different reasons (greetings echelon) but the internet gave me a few ways to look into this to see what else I could find out.

Using a basic reverse number search I plugged in the phone number listed to see where it would point me. Reverse number services are typically free but there are other services that cost money and can give you additional information. You can see more services like this here. For this particular instance I looked at whitepages.com. The phone number dropped me right in the middle of Four Corners Concord which has been a hot spot for these type of activities.

Sex in Concord example two

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/ers/856935646.html

This is another listing that is right on top of the pile. Here is the listing.

THE RING OF FIRE: HOT HOT ASIAN WOMAN WAITING FOR YOU
Here is a sexy young Asian Beauty in her early 26’s. She is fully loaded that will set your heart on fire. She will provide the best GFE service that ever had and will light your fire. She is Sweet 26 years with a pretty face and a knockout hard body, a perfect 10, 34C-24-34, 110 lbs, 5′3″ tall. So come check out her incredible body, GFE service and a the ring of Asian ring fire. Don’t hesitate to give her a call now Burn, Burn into the Ring of Fire.

Incall Donation Rates:
$160 for 1 hour
Hours: 9 am to 11pm
Incall location near Pleasant Hill.

What is GFE? Those three letters can stand for a number of different things. Prostitutes use the term GFE to indicate they offer a particularly special level of service. It stands for GirlFriend Experience. Presumably a prostitute who offers GFE service will treat her customer as he could expect to be treated by his girlfriend.

How sweet. Hire a prostitute and get treated like you are their boyfriend. I can’t believe people look for these things specifically but if they didn’t there wouldn’t be a listing for it. Since I can’t imagine spending $160 to sit on the couch and watch my recent Netflix and this IS in the Erotic Services section, it’s safe to say she’s a hooker, not the girlfriend you are looking for.

Using Whitepages.com again, I checked the number and though I didn’t get an address, I did see that they are using a cell phone serviced by Metro PCS.

Solicitation, Phone numbers and addresses. What more do the police need. Maybe they need more posts like this highlighting the rampant criminal activity in their city. Even with the online sex services being offered, are they also out in the open walking the streets in your neighborhood?

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The Best Chinese Restaurant in Concord

Concord Blogger — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:34:00 +0000

Golden Willow has been identified with the Best Chinese Food in Concord by the Mayor of Concord dot Com. In my time in Concord, there have been and still are many Chinese resteraunts in Concord. Golden Willow may have been here the longest and if not, they are the only one I remember eating at since I was younger. Established in 1989 Golden Willow is run by Chef Dickey and Vance. On the Golden Willow website they make a point of saying Vance will remember their customers by name and what you last ordered. She has an impeccable memory and is always so happy to see new and returning customers.

Golden Willow’s food

Chef Dickey is a 5 star chef and his food is absolutely amazing. The Golden Willow Menu has everything you could possibly want from a great Chinese Restaurant. Their Mushu is my all time favorite and if you order it there, they will wrap up a few rolls for you right at the table.

One of the first things I look for at a Chinese restaurant is the chicken. Some Chinese restaurants use any part of the chicken they want and I tend to get grossed out by pieces of mystery chicken. Is it real meat or just slivers of chicken parts. If I can’t tell, I throw it out.

Golden Willow only uses good chicken. I have NEVER had a piece of mystery chicken in my orders. Always chunks of white chicken made to order. Lemon chicken is another personal favorite.

Golden Willow reviews

Golden willow has many 5 star reviews in Yelp and mostly contains 4 star reviews. Of all the lower stars, the complaints are mostly about being too expensive but If you want cheap Chinese food you should go to the Little China restaurant on Monument and enjoy the mystery meat.

I lived in Concord for many years and this was one of my favorite restaurants in the area. All of their dishes have distinctive flavors and very flavorful without being too greasy or too salty. The host/owner is so friendly and she will remember you after your first visit!

The dishes I’d recommend that you try are - Hunan Chicken, Chicken, Pork, or Vegetable Mu shu, Hot & Sour Soup, Beef Chow Fun, and well, try whatever sounds good to you, you won’t be disappointed!

-Yelp

GOLDEN WILLOW CHINESE RESTAURANT
www.goldenwillowrestaurant.com
1848 Willow Pass Road, Concord, CA 94520
p: 925.827.3228 f: 925.827.3298

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Best Indian Food in Concord

Concord Blogger — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 01:33:43 +0000

Good Indian food is hard to find in Concord. Swagat Indian Cuisine is my favorite. There are some great restaurants in Concord. I want to point one out that I happen to eat at more than most. One of the things I missed most about the short time I spent in SF was decent Indian food. It took a couple failed attempts until I found an Indian restaurant in Concord that left me wanting more regardless of how full I was.

Swagat, whose name means, “Welcome,” has taken over the space formally occupied by Cajun Café. Swagat is the only Indian place around that offers several specialties from Madras and the Southeast. These dishes have become the restaurant’s signature dishes; they are basically crêpes made from various lentil flours, such as moong bean, urad and cream of wheat occasionally mixed with soaked rice and in some cases spiked with onions and chilies. Crisp and flaky, tawny brown and full a foot long, they cantilever over the plate in a display of exuberant excess. Dosas are gigantic and filling, since most of them are lavishly stuffed with vegetable curry-including potatoes laced with ginger, mustard seeds, aromatic asafetida, turmeir, onions and green chilies-and come with a cup of spectaculaty coconut-rich, tamarind-laced lentil soup, known as sambar. In addition to the creeps there are several more versions of what is essentially street food: sethu vada, a rather bland, deep fried pastry-thick disks of crunchy beans that are all texture, no taste-and utappu. a marvelously spicy and buttery grilled pancake that resembles a great individual designer pizza.

Swagat Indian Cuisine is Amazing.

Of the other Indian restaurants I tried in the area, Swagat stood out. The Indian food is authentic and they have a good sized menu that fits most peoples tastes. We probably eat there a couple times a month and though my wife is a bit more adventurous than me, I always order the same thing, Chicken Masala. If you like Indian food or want to try it for the first time, I suggest going to Swagat and giving them a try. Don’t just take my word for it, here are other comments from people about the Indian food at Swagat in Concord.

This is my favorite Indian Food Place in Concord! I like the chicken masala the best! The food (especially the butter chicken)is better if you order a la carte from the menu. But, if you are feeling really hungry then go the buffet route and enjoy! The owner family members are so very very nice. They have often gone the extra mile for me and offered such gracious generous service. One time they brought me a special dish of chicken tika masala and didn’t charge me when the my companions chose to have buffet (which didn’t have my favourite dish). I didn’t ask for this at all and was perfectly happy to enjoy the variety of other dishes in their buffet. I do eat here fairly often and they even know my voice when I order take uot via phone!

The thing I like most is that they carefully trim and clean their meat. I hate biting into a grisly, unpalatable piece of chicken! It just ruins every thing! Too many places just throw it out there guts feathers and all! ewe!

-Yahoo Local

I just created my top restaurant list and couldn’t believe I only gave Swagat four stars..We eat there all the time these days! That deserves five stars alone, if the food wasn’t good we wouldn’t do that all the time. Just today actually went for their lunch buffet. Butter chicken and Nan, I could eat that till I burst at the seam. There’s not a bad dish on the menu and it’s awesome to have a buffet especially if you’re not familiar with Indian food, you can pick and try a little of everything..

-Yelp Review

The restaurant is currently doing some renovations to make the windows better and the restaurant nicer but the sitting is still comfortable. Take out is also an option if you want to bring it home.

Thank you Swagat for making such great Indian food. you have a customer for life with me.

Swagat Indian Cuisine

1901 Salvio St, Concord, CA 94520

(925) 685-2777

Swagat Indian Cuisine Menu

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
11:30am- 10pm	11:30am- 10pm	11:30am- 10pm	11:30am- 10pm	11:30am- 10pm	11:30am- 10pm	11:30am- 10pm

Swagat Map Location

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Concord Real Estate and Pepper Spray

Concord Blogger — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:57:22 +0000

The mortgage melt down and the foreclosure rate is hurting more than home owners. As more and more homes are being left vacant, squatters are taking over and this is hurting our neighborhoods. A squatter could range from transients that move into the abandoned home to kids that use the empty houses as their own personal party pad. There was a recent story in the Contra Costa Times about real estate agents that are becoming increasingly more fearful when they visit these homes and are appalled by the damage some of them contain.

Photo by respres

Realtors speculate that the souring economy is making the problem grow, as homeless or evicted people search for a shower, cool air, or a stove to cook on. Some leave by day, when agents may show up.

Occasionally, it’s neighborhood partyers who sneak into a vacant home for reckless fun.

Boarding up a Bay Point house where vandals kicked through the walls in several rooms and yanked out cabinets, rehab contractor Randy Rodriguez said he found the remains of a sordid party.

“You see a lot of gross stuff,” he said. “We see more squatters. They’re so aware these houses are abandoned.” Realtors often call police when they suspect a squatter — and that’s what authorities recommend neighbors do as well.

“We make contact with them and let them know, this is not your house,” said Pittsburg police Lt. Brian Addington, who acknowledged an increase. “More often than not, the banks are not interested in pursuing a trespassing charge. A lot of times, it’s people down on their luck, they are homeless, a drug addict. They’re looking for a place to stay for the night.”

A Pittsburg city ordinance requires property owners to board up vacant houses. Addington said banks often cooperate.

Luckily there have been no reports of violent squatters. They seem to use the homes at night and vacate during the day. There have even been reports of drugs and paraphernalia being found by the real estate agents during inspection. Besides the damage, alcohol and drugs being found is more than enough for Real Estate Agents to be extra cautious when visiting these houses. The report identifies Pittsburg and Antioch as the primary locations of the squatters.

Though the city ordinance requires the properties to be boarded up, this is not enough to stop someone or a group from gaining access.

This is a shame. Realtors now carry pepper spray and are taking self defense lessons just to do their jobs. I was interested to hear if any issues like this have happened in Concord so I emailed a couple local Realtors and asked. Here was a reply from a Concord Real Estate Agent.

Hi Koka,

We have run into this problem.. I have run into this problem myself.. in a house that was supposed to be vacant in Concord .. we rounded the corner to the bedrooms and in it were about 3 people sleeping with hefty bags all around (presumably their “stuff”). I approached a nice condo off Oak Road in Walnut Creek that had had its door kicked in. We do need to be more careful out there in vacant houses. Though the magnitude of the foreclosures and therefore vacancies, are not as great here.. I think its the only reason we don’t see it as much. In some areas of East County it seems every other house is boarded up, vacant, foreclosed so there is no “neighborhood” keeping any sort of watch. Here there are isolated pockets, i.e. off Solano that have a large number of foreclosed and vacant homes … but again, not “as bad” as East County from what I can tell…

…a house sold last year for 1.5 million dollars in Alamo. No one ever moved into it. It eventually went into foreclosure and the week before the foreclosure date there were trucks and banging and evident construction. my parents and neighbors “thought” that finally someone had bought it and were moving in… wrong… someone (maybe the owners) had stripped it… in Alamo… The problems are not isolated to only the “less affluent” areas.

Thank you for the reply. I am surprised to hear that you found people in the house. That must have been frightening. I know we hear about these problems more in some areas than in others. I don’t think any neighborhood is completely safe. In this day and age, having neighbors keep watch over each other is so important. I really hope this foreclosure mess isn’t going to turn nice neighborhoods into areas filled with crack houses and more crime. If you live in an area with foreclosed homes, you should feel some if not a lot of responsibility to keep the trash out. Once these homes are taken over and destroyed it brings down neighborhoods even more and lowers the overall housing prices. If you know of a local house being used by squatters, please make a call to your local police department and let them know.