Purchase Opportunities: Walnut Creek Affordable Homeownership Program
The City of Walnut Creek has current and upcoming new below-market-rate (BMR) homeownership opportunities over the next three to four months. The City’s BMR program helps very low to moderate income qualifying households achieve homeownership by offering homes at prices well below market value. The City of Walnut Creek contracts the Bay Area Affordable Home…
Social Media Tip Identifies Port Costa Jane Doe
A sheriff’s office social media request asking for public help identifying a young woman killed by a train in Port Costa earlier this year generated nearly 250,000 views and triggered the memory of a social worker who contacted investigators and provided her name. Acting on that information, Coroner’s Division deputies were able to positively identify…
Two-Alarm Fire Burns Through Martinez Rental And Hemp Building Wednesday
A devastating fire burned through a structure on Howe Road in Martinez Wednesday, growing to 2-alarms and eventually burning through the building’s roof. The Cresco Rental Store sustained minimal smoke damage while a commercial hemp business next door was thought to be a total loss. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known as…
Contra Costa Homeless Count Shows Small Increase, Still Below 2024 Levels
From Contra Costa Health: Contra Costa County’s annual survey documenting people experiencing homelessness found a modest increase in 2026 compared to 2025, though the overall count remained lower than 2024 levels, according to data released by Contra Costa Health’s Health, Housing and Homeless Services Division (H3). H3, with 188 volunteers, conducted the Point-in-Time Count across…
On The Night Beat: Brake Lights, Flash Lights, And Media Lite
When there were newspapers, and we worked for them, we called the graveyard shifts “The Lobster” or “Nightside.” The journalist gypsies who populated the shifts went by a variety of names: “Nighthawkers,” “Ghouls,” “Darksiders.” For some, it was a desirable gig. Little management oversight (most reporters are independent cusses to begin with), we had our…
FBI Searches County Assessor’s Office, Personal Residences Tuesday
A team of FBI agents executed a series of search warrants at private homes and the Contra Costa County Assessor’s office Tuesday. Agents declined to specify who or what they were looking for though a bureau spokesperson confirmed warrants had been served at the assessors office at 2530 Arnold Drive in Martinez, the home of…
Injury Crash Cripples Eastbound Ygnacio Valley Road In Walnut Creek Monday
A multi-vehicle crash in the eastbound direction of Ygnacio Valley Road in front Ygnacio Valley Center left 6 people injured Monday, one seriously, along with damaged and upended vehicles strewn across the critical commuter route. The crash was reported at 7:13pm. The crash ultimately involved four cars with firefighters moving in to stabilize three EVs…
Injury Crash Tangles Parkside At N. Main In Walnut Creek Friday
A complex traffic collision left a Walnut Creek intersection strewn with debris and damaged cars Friday morning. Two people were believed injured with one treated for a shoulder injury in the wake of the crash. Police worked to determine the cause of the crash, reported at 10:34am when a white car is believed to have…
One Injured In Walnut Creek Fire Thursday
One person was reportedly burned in a fire at an apartment complex in the 2700 block of Oak Road on Thursday. The blaze was reported at 6:41 pm. The extent of the injuries was not immediately known. Two apartments were ultimately involved with crews reporting heavy smoke and fire upon arrival at the scene. The…
Injury Collision In Walnut Creek Thursday
A serious-injury auto-versus-pedestrian collision was reported at Oak Road and Kingston Place in Walnut Creek Thursday with a person down and receiving care prior to their transport to a local hospital. Reports that the person down underwent life-saving measures at the scene were not officially confirmed. Their current condition is not known. Witnesses at the…