Monday Blathering: Hostage Homecoming, Ammosexual Angst, Glued Lips
Well now, stuff is happening. We have our rainwater collection system up and ready for today’s forecast gullywasher and the living roof garden topping the News24/680 Bunker is perking up and ready for the precip. Indoors, we’re spanking the Breville this morning in a carnival of do-it-ourselves coffee making and we’re circling the remnants of…
The Rising Curmudgeon: Crime Seens; Paperless Shilling; Tip’Er More
Contrary to our perceived public-facing scowl we’ve been in a pretty good mood lately. The News Thing is humming along. So is the coffee maker. Our lines of communication are open and thrumming. People seem to like us. Life is good – except for the Alabama Debt Collectors, occasional Mental Midgetry, and General Fumb Duckery…
The Descending Blue Curtain: Silencing The Public’s Right To Know
Like most stories of its type these days this one involves a congressman, a lot of money, a proposal drafted in a way that made it sound really, really good, and buy-in from city governments eager to trim costs and meet a federal obligation. When Congressman Mark DeSaulnier announced that Walnut Creek had been awarded…
OPINION PIECE BY THE LAFAYETTE CITIZEN’S TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
An Opinion Piece from the Lafayette Citizen’s Technical Advisory Committee 04/22/2025 EBMUD PLANS UNNECESSARY DEMOLITION OF HISTORIC LAFAYETTE RESERVOIR TOWER East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) is planning to demolish the historic tower that has stood above the Lafayette Reservoir for nearly 100 years, reducing the tower to a short stump protruding above the water.…
Music To March By; Rat F***er Blues; That Gun Thing…
Lots to tend to and think about these days as we wield our considerable power and clout to re-shape the landscape of the 24/680 and make our corner of California a more agreeable place in which to live. None of that will happen, of course, but we can dream. We have found that for every…
Wednesday Wander: Box Jobs; Watching The Resistance; Eggs And Insurance
Alright, let’s get into this national political situation for a moment – oh, put down your phones and molotov cocktails Angry Folk, we know better than to actually discuss what most of the country is talking about. Instead, we’ll focus our hyper-local laser light on the crossroads of the county and what’s happening in the…
The Monday Meditation: Muleskinner Blues; Mellencamp Rules And “Copenhagen, Here We Come!”
A pal sent an email with a gif attached, the snippet from Dances With Wolves where the muleskinner Timmons surveys the pierced, desiccated remnants of an unlucky Prairie Voyager and intones: “Somebody back east is sayin’: ‘Why don’t he write?'” We weren’t sure where our friend was going with the email and pinged him to…
Christmas Countdown: The Rising Oligarchy; Prop 36 Wake-Up; Forty Mike Mike And – Retail Joy?
We humans are a strange lot, capable of complex emotions, convoluted thinking and some genuinely strange behavior whilst engaged in ritual celebrations. Take Christmas, for example, which this year seems to have the Rodney Dangerfield tagline “… please,” appended to any mention. To be clear – we love Christmas. Favorite time of year and all…
A Word From “The Hounds…”
We’ve never felt the need to disparage local law enforcement in any way. It’s a tough, often dirty job we happen to have had a lot of contact with over the years. Many officers became personal friends, and we’ve had a lot of respect for many of them. But when a local police chief opts…
“Hello Lazy Fox… Controls Are Gone, Ship In Peril – Need Landing Instructions…”
If you’re like us you may be strapped in and watching the stellar Hanks/Spielberg effort “Masters of the Air,” currently streaming on Apple TV. This isn’t a series review so we’ll just say it’s really good. Watch it if you know anything about the air war in Europe during World War II or want to…