Retail Juggernauts Nordstrom And Apple Pay For Policing By Walnut Creek PD Officers

Faithful readers know we have been semi-documenting the blitz-style retail thefts impacting local businesses for some time, with brazen thievery triggering angry responses from store owners and private citizens for whom the experience has become so commonplace. Well-heeled local businesses are taking steps to make themselves less attractive targets – with the Walnut Creek City…

Read More

One Dead, Two Wounded In Concord Shooting Tuesday

Police in Concord are investigating a shooting in the 1500 block of Pine Street that left one person dead and two others wounded Tuesday night. Gunfire broke out just before 10 p.m. with someone opening fire on a vehicle in the area. Neighbors report several shots were fired, with one victim – a 22-year-old man…

Read More

Intruder Shot, Killed After Entering Pleasant Hill Apartment Tuesday

A man neighbors said had been “behaving strangely” in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Shadow Mountain Court in Pleasant Hill was shot and killed by a resident who reportedly opened fire when the man broke into his residence. The dead man was identified Wednesday as 46-year-old John Kruetz of Pleasant Hill. The…

Read More

Tips To Avoid Rental Scams

Martinez, Calif. – Today, the District Attorney’s Office is sharing important tips for consumers to avoid rental scams. What is a rental scam? Scammers will list properties for rent online (i.e., Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace) even though they do not own them or have authority to rent them out. The scammer will attempt to have a prospective…

Read More

Delta’s Bradford Island Catches Fire Overnight

We found ourselves covering the pending, early-morning evacuation of more than a dozen people off of Bradford Island near Antioch this morning, crews having trouble reaching the island due to heavy smoke from a fire burning there since about midnight. Eventually, three people were taken off the island with the rest opting to stay and…

Read More

Sometimes, The Best Rescues Are The Littlest Ones

There was a good rescue in Martinez today, perhaps not the most dramatic with buzzing helicopters or cast life rings, but nevertheless one pulled off by strangers who came together to do some good. It started with Orinda Reader/Runner Amanda Ferguson, one of those people who sulk all day if they haven’t run 30 or…

Read More

Overnight Grass Fire Chars 2 Acres In Lafayette Tuesday

An early morning grass fire burned through a hillside at Angelo Street and Reliez Valley Road in Lafayette early Tuesday morning, briefly threatening two homes on Hillside Terrace before it was brought under control. Firefighters got the call at approximately 1:30 a.m., and were hampered by the area’s steep terrain. In the end, no homes…

Read More