Chicken Coop Heater Suspected Cause Of Moraga House Fire Sunday

Moraga-Orinda Fire Protection district firefighters battled fire at a home in the 200 block of Deerfield Drive in Moraga Sunday – believed sparked by a short-circuiting chicken coop heater. The blaze, which appeared to have started in the area of the adjacent coop, spread to the roof and attic of a home at 275 Deerfield,…

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Search Continues For Missing Boater

From the Office of the Sheriff: A marine search is continuing today in the Delta for a missing boater. On Friday, June 26, 2020 at about 8:25 pm, the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Marine Patrol Unit was dispatched to a report of a missing boater on Indian Slough in Discovery Bay. It…

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Life In The Age Of The Great Disconnect

Curiouser and Curiouser. It’s really the only way to sum up what’s happening to us as humanity splinters and surges toward bombast or mediocrity and their own reinforced truths. Keeping ourselves safely out of the mosh pit of opinion baiting, race hating, and tail-gating going on out there at the moment we can only say…

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Contra Costa DA Bans Use Of Carotid Holds By Her Investigators

Martinez, Calif. – Today, Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton issued a new policy for peace officers within the DA’s Office to ban the use of the carotid hold technique. The DA’s Office employs peace officers as senior inspectors within the Investigative Unit. The ban is effective as of June 23, 2020. “The use…

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Rescue Effort Atop Mount Diablo After Lone Bicycle Crash Thursday

UPDATE 11:55 a.m: Saddened to learn that the cyclist died in this incident. Unclear if crash or prior medical incident contributed to death. Park rangers and crews of firefighters responded to a call for help at the summit of Mount Diablo State Park Thursday after a lone bicyclist suffered critical injuries in a crash there.…

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Two-Alarm Fire Damages Pleasant Hill Homes Thursday

Fire broke out in the 100 block of Maxine Drive early Thursday, damaging homes and prompting evacuations. The blaze was first reported at approximately 12:50 a.m. with the first police and firefighters on the scene calling for support as the flames spread into adjacent vegetation and neighboring homes. A second-alarm was called at about 1…

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There Are Worse Places To Have A Pole Fire…

A PG&E transformer got a little sparky at around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, setting fire to the median at Camino Pablo and El Toyonal in Orinda before firefighters were able to put it out. Local Ron Simi was out and about and captured the moment, noting that the sign indicating “Moderate Fire Danger” at that…

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Armed Robber Steals iPhones From Victims In Orinda Wednesday

Police in Orinda are investigating an armed robbery which occurred early Wednesday morning at Orinda Way and Camino Pablo in the city. Two victims were relieved of their phones by an armed man who emerged from a passing car, brandished a pistol and left with the phones at around 12:29 a.m. Orinda Police Chief David…

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