From the parking lot that brought you reserved parking for Adults with Children, comes Hybrid Parking Only parking spots. Sorry Nissan Leaf and Tesla owners, your cars are not welcome at these spots.
From the parking lot that brought you reserved parking for Adults with Children, comes Hybrid Parking Only parking spots. Sorry Nissan Leaf and Tesla owners, your cars are not welcome at these spots.
Photo by Flickr user thepartycow
The Walnut Creek Police Association is reporting a larger than normal spike in home robberies in Walnut Creek, including those where residents are at home at the time of robbery, which is pretty disconcerting to say the least.
From their Facebook page:
We are seeing a fairly significant spike in residential burglaries around town. We are on track to surpass last year’s numbers and this does not even account for increases we traditionally see toward the end of the year. Most frightening is the number of burglaries occurring when residents are home. In the past few weeks there have been multiple incidents of “interrupted” burglaries where property owners come home and find one or more people inside their house. In some cases the residents have been physically confronted by the burglar but thankfully there have been no serious injuries. Last week we also had a case of a suspect breaking into a home to steal property as the residents slept. Most burglaries occur during daytime hours when residents are away so these trends are disturbing. Please remember to lock your doors and windows. Also remember one of the best defenses against a break-in is a close-knit neighborhood where people watch out for each other and call us when they see suspicious activity.
Props to the Walnut Creek Police Association for keeping us up-to-date on crime issues around town as well as providing crime-prevention tips. What would you do if you encountered a robber in your home? I’d call 911 ASAP and try to escape if possible.
Check out the new signage at Zebra Tatoo & Body Piercings in Walnut Creek. Look closely and you can see the sign itself has a piercing and is sporting a ‘sign’ ring, while above it is a hand-held tattoo machine used to create tattoos. How cool is that? Apparently this sign almost wasn’t approved by the city but the sign maker had some influence and so here it is.
Spotted at the Ygnacio Valley Shopping Center in Walnut Creek, I saw a woman getting out of a car at this spot “Reserved Parking – adults with children”, with a young teenager. I understand how this is thoughtful on the one hand, but is this really necessary? I mean, the sign shows a baby/toddler in a stroller. If they’re in a stroller, what’s the big deal strolling down a bit further in the lot?
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a sign before in my life, so props to the shopping center for creativity.
The jazz musician Wycliffe Gordon will be performing at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek on August 4th at 5pm. To purchase tickets click here. Tickets are $35. (The 8pm show is already sold out).
From the Lesher Jazz website:
Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon is universally recognized as one of the great performers on his instrument, past or present. A long-time member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet who has also performed with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Tommy Flanagan, Shirley Horn, Branford Marsalis and Joe Henderson, Mr. Gordon has earned a remarkable series of credits and awards:
- Jazz Journalists Association Award/Trombonist of the Year – 2012, 2011, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2002, 2001
- Member of Wynton Marsalis’ Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (including a performance at the Grammy Awards)
- “Swingin’ with the Duke” – PBS special documentary
- Featured guest on Billy Taylor’s “Jazz at the Kennedy Center”
- “Uptown Blues, Ellington at 100″ a collaboration with the New York Philharmonic, live from Lincoln Center
- A featured soloist in Ken Burns’ “Jazz”
- “A Carnegie Hall Christmas Concert”
- “Live from Lincoln Center: The Juilliard School at 100 Years”
- “Journey with Jazz at Lincoln Center” – BET’s 13-part series
- “Zin, Zin, Zin, A Violin” –Compositions by Wycliffe Gordon with Marvin Hamlisch and Angela Lansbury
Mr. Gordon is a hard-swinging artist with deep roots in the jazz tradition who, although musically sophisticated, knows how to give an audience a good time. His performance on August 4 will feature selections from his CD “Hello Pops!,” a tribute to Louis Armstrong.
Blues and swing vocalist (and Bay Area favorite) Lavay Smith will appear as guest artist at Mr. Gordon’s performances.
Other personnel: Robert Barics, clarinet; Aaron Diehl, piano; Marcus Shelby, bass; Lorca Hart, drums
The Walnut Creek Tennis Center at Heather Farm Community Park in Walnut Creek has 10 courts and provides lessons for both adults and children, as well as hosting adult leagues and a pro shop to boot. I needed to pick up a tennis racquet for my kid so I dropped by the pro shop and picked up a nice Wilson (they only have Wilson products) racquet for only $20.
The Walnut Creek Racquet Club is based here:
The Walnut Creek Racquet Club (WCRC) was founded in 1969 as a public courts tennis club and is sponsored by the City of Walnut Creek. The club’s purpose is to promote the game of tennis in Walnut Creek by providing a wide variety of tennis activities including league play, tournaments, clinics and special events. WCRC is open to both residents of Walnut Creek as well as non-residents as per its charter. Club membership, numbering nearly 800+ tennis enthusiasts, is comprised of players of all ages and skill – all sharing a passion for the game.
Check out some of the courts below. Notice the lights for night-play:
When I checked it out over the weekend it was buzzing with activity. If you live nearby and have any interest in tennis I’d definitely check this place out and consider becoming a member. It looks like it could be a lot of fun. Does anyone play here? How is it?
Sometimes impromptu performances are the best, as demonstrated by this guitar and cello playing duo in downtown Walnut Creek over the weekend. The man at left joined in as well, using the bicycle seat as an instrument!
If you’ve been to the downtown Walnut Creek farmers market you’ve probably seen Shelly’s booth offering face and arm painting to children’s delight. She’s been at it for over 6 years now, way back when the market was at the library (and she was starting college). I used to get harassed by my two year old to get painted years ago when Shelly first started, and even now she loves it. As does her younger brother. Her work is really amazing, and at $2 per painting is reasonably priced as well.
Check out her fun artwork below:
Apparently she’ll be offering a kids drawing workshop at the Lafayette Community Center at the end of July. Stay tuned for details…
Over the weekend I had my first ever parking-jacking incident at my favorite downtown Walnut Creek parking garage, the Broadway Pointe Parking Garage, off Duncan St (near Starbucks). I made it to the 2nd level when I noticed a family getting ready to leave in a corner spot. So I parked my car, turned the blinker on indicating I was waiting for the spot, and waited. And waited. After about five minutes, they finally pulled out. In order to let them exit, I needed to wait until they went first. As soon as they left, a car from the upper level zoomed straight into the spot, leaving me staring in disbelief. I made a feeble honk to let them know what I thought of their behavior. This was not a case of a few seconds difference where there could be some kind of misunderstanding. I was right next to the spot with blinker on for five minutes.
Luckily a different spot opened up nearby which I quickly snagged. However, I was somewhat close to the car that took the spot I had been waiting for, and pondered for a moment whether I should just leave, or approach them and ask them what they were thinking. I looked over, and nobody was there so I thought they may have left. I walked to the end of the garage about to open the door to leave when I took one last look. That’s when I saw one guy standing there, looking at me. If I were younger, with an older car, I might have approached and asked him to explain himself, but I know better now, and left nodding my head at the poor behavior of some people.
Has anyone ever taken a parking spot you’ve been waiting for? If so, what did you do?
Normally I make a late afternoon post about some local event taking place but yesterday I unfortunately skipped this because I sold my 10 year old Honda Civic. For an eternal pessimist like me this is easier said than done. I had visions of counterfeit cash, carjackings and kidnappings constantly running through my mind but I had to get rid of it somehow so I finally broke down and posted an ad on Craigslist.
Viewing other ads for the same Civic I chose what I felt was a fair price and then waited for the replies. Before the ad was even posted publicly I received my first reply somehow, and after answering some questions I asked that we meet at the Lafayette Safeway parking lot as I heard it’s not recommended to show it at one’s house, it’s better to show it in a public area. In the meantime I gathered up all relevant documents, got the car washed and then parked the car in the parking lot, waiting for the potential buyer. Checking my iPhone I received about 10 more inquiries so I felt pretty good, although I thought I may have underpriced it and to top it off I forgot to mention I had a car alarm installed in the ad.
I had no idea who to expect but it turned out to be a middle aged couple from the other side of the Caldecutt. They got out of their car and walked around the Civic, asking lots of questions. Eventually they asked for a test drive, and I said sure, as long as I could ride in the back. (That’s where the car-jacking/kidknapping visions reappeared.) We take off down Mt. Diablo towards Walnut Creek, and eventually the guy asks about seeing a mechanic. Since I usually take my car to Walnut Creek Honda for service, and we were headed that way, I asked them whether they would like to stop there where they could look up the records for the Civic. They agreed, and we head to the Honda service center in downtown Walnut Creek. Parking the car right outside, we go in and ask someone to look up the record. He noted that the timing belt was recently changed, and everything seemed fine. The couple liked what they heard, and after talking it over among themselves for a bit, they agreed to buy the car at asking.
The final issue that remained was payment. (This is where visions of counterfeit cash appeared.) Thankfully the guy said he needed to withdraw cash directly from Mechanics bank. So we headed a few blocks down, with me happily pointing out the new restaurant Opa!, as well as the new “fountain head” sculpture, and enter the bank. I witnessed as the teller counted out the cash, handed it over to me, and then we went to an empty spot in the bank and completed the deal and I handed him the title and other documents. The whole transaction was painless and I ended up in my favorite area, downtown Walnut Creek. They expected to drive me back to the Lafayette Safeway parking lot, but how could I not hang out for a bit since I was already in beautiful downtown? So I bid them good day, walked a couple of blocks to Wells Fargo to deposit the cash, then headed over to Peet’s and proceeded to drink a refreshing iced tea, followed by dinner at Boudin Bakery since dinner was not yet being served at Corners Tavern. (I wanted to get the burger.)
So that’s the story of how I sold my beloved Honda Civic, No counterfeit cash involved, no carjackings and kidnappings, just the familiar and friendly Lafayette and Walnut Creek that I know and like so well.