I’ve seen plenty of toy cars, jeeps and wagons but this is the first children’s plane I’ve encountered. Spotted in front of the children’s consignment store Snickerdoodles in Danville. How cool is this?!
I’ve seen plenty of toy cars, jeeps and wagons but this is the first children’s plane I’ve encountered. Spotted in front of the children’s consignment store Snickerdoodles in Danville. How cool is this?!
The new BART train cars are going on tour this month and will be available to view in Concord on May 9th and several other cities as well. Check out the complete city tour list here.
New features:
What they fail to mention on that page is that the number of seats will decrease by about 5 seats per car. Take a look at the rendering of the inside here. What happened to all the seats?
From the New Train Car Project page:
As ridership grows, finding a seat on peak period trains is becoming harder. The new cars have as many seats as can fit within the available space. Having thinner seat backs will help maximize seat count, but new buffer zones for crash safety at the ends of the car, and an extra door in the middle, are limiting factors.
As a result, seat count will drop by 4.6 seats per car on average. To increase the number of seats in the fleet, BART has set a goal to obtain funding to increase the fleet to 1,000 train cars. This would increase the number of seats in the fleet by about 37.6%.
So for this week’s question, what do you think of the new BART train car design? What’s your favorite new feature? Does the lack of seats concern you?
Democracy is Not for Sale
All four corners at Mt. Diablo Blvd. and N. Main St. in downtown Walnut Creek was packed with people from the Money Out! People In! coalition yesterday afternoon protesting the recent Supreme Court decision that eliminated the amount people can contribute to federal candidates in a two year election cycle.
Considering that the Supreme Court just issued this ruling yesterday this protest came together really quickly.
The Righteous Brothers Greatest Hits from 1966, spotted at Rainbow’s End thrift store in downtown Walnut Creek.
Unchained Melody:
“These trees are in a Tree Protection Zone (TPZ).”
From the Walnut Creek website:
A plan by PG&E to clear a pathway above its pipeline by removing thousands of trees throughout Contra Costa is drawing objection from Walnut Creek officials. In a March 20 letter, Mayor Kristina Lawson noted that PG&E has not sought the input of the community or its elected officials, and that more than 700 trees would be removed in Walnut Creek with virtually no exploration of whether the trees pose a public safety hazard, or exploration of whether other alternatives exist that would protect the public while preserving the trees.
For a list of tree types and a map of proposed tree removal in Walnut Creek, click here.
Based on the report dozens of trees are marked for removal on Locust St. in downtown Walnut Creek and elsewhere which would be a real shame but Walnut Creek Mayor Kristina Lawson notes in her letter to PGE that:
PG&E does not have the unilateral right under its gas franchise agreement with the City to remove trees in the public right of way. Instead, PG&E needs the City’s authorization to remove such trees.
Hopefully these trees will become part of Walnut Creek’s Tree Protection Zone (TPZ) and saved from PG&E.
Spotted near the Walnut Creek-Pleasant Hill border.
Now that the weather has cleared up and is getting warmer out brunch has been on my mind lately. My usual routine is to fire up the waffle maker on Sunday mornings with some freshly squeezed orange juice and a big pot of loose tea but it would be nice to go out for a yummy brunch somewhere nearby. Pizza Antica has started offering brunch recently and there are plenty of other eateries as well. So for today’s question, what is your favorite place for brunch?
Golden Gate Way, Lafayette
It may not be Buckingham Palace, but this fence sure does bear a resemblance to the one surrounding Buckingham Palace in London, England. Spotted in all places on Golden Gate Way in downtown Lafayette. I wonder what the story behind this is.
Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the British monarch. More information can be found here. Official website is here.
Check out the actual Buckingham Pace fence:
Photo by Flick user lorentey
Last month I made a Friday Question of the Day post asking whether you supported a ban on plastic bags in Walnut Creek (pretty evenly split) due to an impending vote in the Walnut Creek City Council and they have now voted for “banning single-use carryout plastic bags at all restaurants and retail stores, including supermarkets and pharmacies.” according to the Contra Costa Times. The ban will take effect this fall, September for retail stores and December for restaurants and there will be some exemptions such as bags for, “meat, produce, dry-cleaned clothes, prepared foods and prescription medications”.
As someone who has relied on Walnut Creek Target plastic bags to use for trash bags at home I guess I’ll just have to buy plastic bags in bulk at where else, Target, and remember to always bring my own bags for shopping as well. Just remember when grocery shopping to use cloth bags and wash them in a washing machine to remove germs as recycled bags can harbor some dangerous germs.
