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…
The Battered Batards Of The Digital News Zone
Apologies to any remaining Screaming Eagles for playing with their nom de guerre but it has been hard slogging in the trenches of Digital Journalism lately, with facts proving elusive and sources hard to find. To those who have written to us requesting information on a possible accident involving a piece of Moraga-Orinda Fire Protection…
COVID Cases Increase In Contra Costa As Locals Resume Normal Routines
The state Department of Public Health says it is keeping an eye on Contra Costa County after noting an apparent uptick in coronavirus hospitalizations. As of Friday, the county had 23 people hospitalized with COVID-19 – up from 13 people on June 1. County Health Services has reported 2,148 known cases of the virus and…
Things That Go “Boom” In The Night – A Prelude To The Fourth
Many of you have been writing or calling us about “loud bangs,” “gunshots,” “automatic weapons,” or “bombs” going off in once-sleepy suburban neighborhoods. Some have asked about inbound meteorites, plane crashes or military rocket shoots and we’ve been saying the explanation appears to have a more earthly origin. This little video snippet, shot during neighborhood…
Meanderings: Carving Out Our Personal Truths, As Things Get Curiouser And Curiouser
Where once truths were self-evident and identifiable we have found now, in these unsettled times, that people have closely held versions of the truth – the truth as they see it and, apparently, are prepared to defend to the death. It may be the American DNA, the way we’re wired, ready to clamber aboard the…
More Protests Planned In The 24/680 Wednesday
The wave of protests sweeping the county following the death of a Minneapolis man at the hands of police continues to roil Wednesday with planned demonstrations in Danville-San Ramon and other “actions” signaled for other areas. Local businesses have hardened their storefronts accordingly, as have many public offices and buildings, in advance of planned demonstrations…
PD Squares Off With Protestors In Clayton; Tear Gas Soccer Match Ensues After Crowd Ignores Curfew Order
Rumors of a planned confrontation in little Clayton were borne out Tuesday after a sizable group of demonstrators turned up, stayed past the recently imposed 6 p.m. curfew and refused police orders to disperse. A crowd of about 100 protestors, their number swollen by the arrival of others who had been marching in Concord, stayed…
Criminal “Whack-a-Mole” In The 24/680; Crooks Exploit Holes In Our Defenses
Aside from learning that we are required to shift descriptive phrasing from “protestors” to “rioters” in the middle of a breaking news story, we also found ourselves dispensing invaluable knowledge to those caught up in yesterday’s (Monday’s) seesaw street battle in Walnut Creek. Reader Duane Chapman wrote asking if we knew of a surefire way…
After The Convulsion: Monday Dawns In The 24/680 After A Night Of Sporadic Looting, Crime
Things we’ve learned since Sunday: That yesterday’s lesson in Hit-and-Run tactics and looting was at least loosely organized, with criminal gangs taking advantage of the chaos in order to strike; that there is an unusual amount of “gaslighting” – deliberate spreading of false and confusing messaging in order to further a specific agenda – in…
Police Shift Resources In Anticipation Of More Demonstrations Saturday
Police in the Bay Area moved to head off a repeat of yesterday’s protests and resultant rioting in Oakland and San Jose, mobilizing off-duty officers and sending them to areas likely to be the scene of any new demonstration. Reader Kim Miller was on Highway 24 in Orinda Saturday when her car was passed by…