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…
Pleasanton Police Work To Identify Body Found Near Where Philip Kreycik Went Missing
Pleasanton police Tuesday announced the discovery of a body found in the northern end of Pleasanton Ridge, in the area where runner Philip Kreycik went missing three weeks ago. At a press conference investigators announced they could not positively identify the body, located by a volunteer searcher 250 feet off an established game trail, and…
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…
Police Pursue Rolex Robbery Suspects From Alamo Into Lafayette/Orinda
Police in Alamo and Lamorinda are searching for a car, believed to be a white Accura TL with a rooftop bike rack, used in the armed robbery of an older man and his caretaker in Alamo Monday morning. Witnesses reported seeing as many as four black males, 18 to 20-years-old in hoodies and masks aboard…
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…
Health Officials Urge Immediate Vaccination; Issue Orders Requiring Use Of Face Masks
Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma, and the City of Berkeley Indoor Masking Orders Take Effect Tuesday Vaccination continues to protect against severe COVID-19 illness, but with the COVID-19 Delta variant now infecting a small percentage of vaccinated people as well as many unvaccinated people, eight Bay Area…
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…
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…
Ask Not For Whom The Road Tolls, It Tolls For Thee…
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission has announced that an express lane along an 11-mile stretch of southbound Interstate 680 from Martinez through Walnut Creek will begin charging tolls next month. Tolling operations will begin at 5 a.m. on Aug. 20 and will connect with the existing 11-mile express lane from Rudgear Road in Walnut Creek to…
Tales From Suburbia: Oddities Du Jour
All in all a bittersweet week in the semi-rural Badlands of the East Bay, with fair weather prevailing, cooks sharing recipes, gardeners comparing tomato harvests, and water mains giving out just as we declare ourselves in drought and in need of every precious drop. It’s all part of the irony of life, we suppose, attempting…