Person In Crisis Stacks Commute Traffic At 24/680 Split Wednesday
A distraught individual perched on a freeway stanchion at the critical 24/680 Junction for several hours Wednesday, prompting police to seal off the area and creating a massive traffic jam that stretched along the freeway for miles. Officers negotiated with the individual from a distance, starting from about 2 p.m. on until the unidentified man…
Taking Our Pulse: Abortion Rights
A leaked Supreme Court draft decision indicating the court’s apparent readiness to throw out the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide has generated a storm of controversy and protest across the country. While the court confirmed that the text, published late Monday by Politico, was authentic, court spokespeople said it did not…
24/680 Residents Using Alarm Roosters To Protect Cars And Property
Local lensman Gint Federas was out and about in Lafayette Sunday, catching the tail-end of that adrenalin ride from Moraga to Lafayette, when he noticed the latest in semi-rural alarm technology, currently in use in an apparent effort to curtail neighborhood crime. Approach the car and the cocksure, feathered alarm system creates enough of a…
Moraga Man Fights To Keep His Truck Sunday; Freeway Melee Ensues
A bold attempt to steal a truck from a Moraga household in broad daylight Sunday ended badly for at least one of the would-be thieves after his companion mistakenly ran him over during a freeway fistfight with the persistent, pursuing homeowner. The resident, whose name we’ve agreed to withhold in the interest of his family’s…
Sunday Percolator: Boutonnieres, Burglars, Bad Boys And Firebugs
Lovely weather for the weekend as we slide into post-prom Sunday morning, some local kids floating down to breakfast with stars in their eyes after a night out with classmates and romantic interests. If we squint real hard we can almost remember those nights ourselves. Hope you had as much fun as we did back…
Missing Kid, Drone Porn, Hot Ticket, And The Meat Market
Made it through the weekend, though it was touch-and-go at times. Let’s see (mumbling to ourselves as we leaf through notes we made at the time), it seems people are drinking heavily and running into things, check, and at times it appeared we were in the opening moments of M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Happening” as…
Sideshows Warming Up – Gunshots And Donuts
The traditional weekend cruising event for which some local cities became known appear to have given way to noisier, smellier, more mobile automotive happenings liable to pop up anywhere, draw dozens if not hundreds of participants and spell trouble for those who don’t appreciate the artsier elements of burning donuts in the middle of captive…
Car Fire Blocks Eastbound Highway 24 Onramp In Orinda Wednesday
A messy pickup truck fire closed the eastbound Highway 24 on-ramp from Bryant Way in Orinda Wednesday, police guesstimating the closure would be in effect until 12:15 p.m. The pickup was first spotted with flames visible on the undercarriage at about 10:25 a.m. The unidentified driver made it safely from the vehicle as it continued…
Winds Topple Bocce Shelters, Trees In The 24/680 Monday
A tree blocks the road after taking out a fence in the 4100 block of Rita Drive in the Vine Hill area of Martinez on Monday. At the Martinez Marina, bocce ball officials worked quickly to save shade structures after high winds tossed them around like parasols, snapping support poles like toothpicks. Trees were also…