Trick Or Treat, EastBayDazers! Have Fun Out There...

Candy is stocked, fog machine is ready... fresh graves dug in the front yard. We're ready.

Snapshots of your favorite ghoul always welcome at EastBayDaze!

What's Happening To San Francisco? Sanctuary For Alien Criminals - "Call A Friend" Privilege For Unlicensed Drivers - What's Up With That?

It has been said that watching government at work is akin to watching a butcher make sausage - and lately, what passes for government in San Francisco has been busy making hash out of things back in the butcher shop.

First out of the box was the Bored of Supervisors decision NOT to turn illegal aliens caught slinging crack or worse over to immigration authorities - a practice even Mayor Gavin Newsom saw was right and needed in a city wracked by an influx of foreign gangs.

And now comes the unstated practice not to confiscate the cars of unlicensed, uninsured - usually undocumented - local drivers. Police and supporters of the idea say giving these folks a chance to "dial a friend" prevents the "Fire Drill" effect - where unlicensed drivers abandon their vehicles after an accident and head for the hills or lead police on unsafe chases rather than risk being pulled over.

Wags are calling the practice "Sanctuary on Wheels."

What will it mean for lawful drivers? Very little recourse against motorists who now know they have nothing to lose if they drive badly, without a license, and without insurance. Driving in San Francisco, already a crapshoot, just got a lot dicier.

And who's behind this idea? Some flaky pro-immigration group? Well, yes, but also Police Chief George Gascón. Oh.

Laws and practices like this... and a host of other things, sadly made it easy for us to leave the city we were born in. We have to wonder what they're thinking about over there... and who exactly is in the kitchen, making the sausage.

Serial Flasher Appears In Danville - Again - Man Wanted For Similar Crimes in Moraga And Orinda

Danville police responded quickly but were unable to locate a man who exposed himself to several children on a trail near Los Cerros Middle School Friday.

Descriptions of the man were nearly identical to those given by victims in Moraga and Orinda in separate incidents last month. In all cases the man involved was described as a white man in his mid-40s, a little over 6 feet tall, 165 pounds, with short brown hair, a white T-shirt and jogging shorts. In Friday's incident he was wearing a baseball cap and was described as in his mid-30s. Police believe the man may be driving a dark gray Infinity G35.

In an e-mail to parents, Los Cerros Middle School Principal Phyllis Roach said the incident was the second to occur in the last few weeks at the school. She asked students to program the Danville Police Department's phone number into their cell phones in the event the flasher returns.

How Are We Perceived By The Rest Of The Country? Apparently, Lamorinda Is "Left-Leaning..."

EastBayDaze couldn't help but note how an Associated Press writer described our collective villages Friday in a story on the C10 Congressional Race:

"The district primarily stretches across Contra Costa and Solano counties to the east and north of San Francisco, and includes small sections of Alameda and Sacramento counties. Nearly 70 percent of the district's voters are in Contra Costa County, which includes the wealthy and left-leaning suburbs of Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda and Walnut Creek..."

So that's why we're constantly walking in left-handed circles... LamoRussians are a bunch of lefties!

It's Official: Newsom Throws In The Towel On Gubernatorial Bid

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom formally ended his bid Friday to be governor of California.

Stocks Nosedive On Weak Economic Data - How's Christmas Looking For Your Family?

Stocks plunged Friday in the face of weak consumer data, erasing a powerful rally the day before and stonewalling a pattern of monthly gains.

By the end of trading, the three major stock averages had more than given up the 2 percent gains they made on Thursday, when enthusiasm over economic growth data sent stocks surging.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 249.85 points, or 2.5 percent, to 9,712.73, according to preliminary calculations. The Standard and Poor’s 500-stock index was off 29.93 points, or 2.81 percent, to 1,036.18, and the Nasdaq composite showed a decline of 52.44 points, or 2.50 percent, to 2,045.11.

EastBayDaze WhistleBlower Takes On The U.S. Postal Service

We marvel at the U.S. Postal Service and what they do. We are also aware of a growing number of complaints against the service - which has fallen on hard times of late.

Here's a note from reader "HawaiianEye" about some disparities they uncovered recently at the main post office in Walnut Creek, and how the staff there handled a problem brought to their attention:

"A few weeks ago, I was shipping a few international first class parcel packages at the Walnut Creek Post Office located on Broadway. I ship these international type packages almost daily and because a custom form is required and has to be processed at the post office.

I was at the post office counter mailing my letters, not paying close attention until I was walking away with my receipt I thought that the amount I paid was high. I looked at the receipt and noticed that all my letters were listed as over one ounce. I always ship the same type of item, so I am very aware that the items are less than 1 ounce. This may not seem like a lot but the difference for an item for this type of mailing cost me 80 cents per item.

If I had been mailing a priority mail non flat rate item the amount I would have been overcharged $5.00 and up depending on if it was domestic or international.

The next time I went in I mentioned that I was overcharged and the scale was incorrect. I was told that the scale was calibrated every morning and it was correct. I told them that my items were not over 1 ounce and everyone of them had been charged for over the one ounce price. Of course no report was made, I was blown off, and that the scale is correct and that was the end of that.

I stayed away from that window until yesterday, I knew my packages were under an 1 ounce and I was watching the price come up. Sure enough, they were weighed as the 1.1 ounces and of course it kicked first class parcel up to the next level.

I mentioned this and that scale was wrong, of course I was told the same story that scale is correct and it is calibrated every morning. I took the item out to the self serve machine and weighted it, sure enough it was only .8 ounces.

I brought it back and told the clerk it weighted on .8 ounces from the scale in the lobby, after sticking to my guns, he requested another clerk to check the item on his scale .8 ounce. That clerk told my clerk to override the machine and charge the .8 ounces instead of 1.1 ounce.

It was clear the 2nd clerk was aware that the scale that my clerk was using was not stable and went out of whack. Of course that scale was not taken out of service, they just said next!!!

How many people have been overcharged by the post office in Walnut Creek and for how long? The scale that is not weighing correctly is the located at the very first postal clerks location.

Who polices the Post Office - themselves?"

Don't Count On The Bay Bridge - Maybe This Afternoon, Maybe Not - Our Readers Tell Us How They're Doing

EastBayDaze thanks all you commuters out there who are Tweeting and FaceBooking us (whatever happened to phoning in a tip from some pissy phone booth?) - there seems to be a lot of commuter angst on the highways and byways these days.

CalTrans says the bridge may be open for the evening commute but that won't help those who have committed to BART and the ferries and kayaks hundreds of thousands have turned to while the span is down for the count.

Some samples:
BART blows. Packed in like sardines and a kid with a nose ring pulls a three day old burrito out of his backpack - stank up the whole car, and me, in seconds. - Brad/Orinda

Took the ferry for the first time and fell in love with it. Hope to do it again but as soon as the bridge is up again I'll probably be back in the Volvo, slugging it out with everyone else - Trish/Lafayette

Save me. Someone please save me. On Bart and the guy in front of me is talking to himself... oh god, he's looking at me!! - Raphael/Orinda

Thirty-Year-Old Scribbler Busted In San Jose - "Tags" Known In Contra Costa County

Ever wonder who the recto-cranially inverted bozos are who come through your community at night and leave their inky scrawls behind - only to have some other bozo come along and layer another scribble over that? And so on, and so on...

Every once in awhile the police bust someone for this and we can thank San Jose police for ending the career of one local "writer," a guy named Steven Free, 30, of San Francisco.

Yes, that's 30-years-old.

San Jose police took Free's crayons away Tuesday, arrested him on an outstanding $100,000 warrant and charging him with 10 felony cases involving $40,000 in damage done in their city.

Free's tag is a cute little drawing of a giraffe and the scrawl "Girafa," police said. If you'd like to further ruin this miscreant's day and know the whereabouts of one of his tags in CoCo Land, drop a dime and let San Jose PD know.

Anyone with information about Free's antics is asked to call San Jose police officer Dave Bonillas or Tim Harden at the department's graffiti unit at 408 277-4044.

Fifth Suspect Arrested For Rape Of Richmond High School Girl

Richmond police arrested a fifth suspect Thursday night in connection with the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl outside Richmond High School's homecoming dance Saturday.

Jose Carlos Montano, 18, was arrested shortly after 5 p.m. by Richmond police detectives near his San Pablo home in the 1800 block 16th Street, police say.

Montano was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on felony charges of rape, rape in concert with force, penetration with a foreign object and a special enhancement requesting life in prison. His bail was set at $1.3 million.

San Ramon Man's Body Found In Frank's Tract, His Dog Also Recovered

Sheriff's divers found the body of a San Ramon man who had gone duck hunting in Franks Tract State Recreation Area near Bethel Island and never returned.

Family members reported Tim Murray, 45, missing at 4:20 p.m. Wednesday. They told police that Murray had gone duck hunting with his dog in unincorporated Contra Costa County and that they hadn't heard from him since 10:30 a.m.

The sheriff's office's Marine Patrol Unit, the U.S. Coast Guard and the State Parks Police searched the area and found Murray's boat capsized in the water.

They also found his dog, unharmed. The search for Murray continued into the evening, but was called off at about 10 p.m., according to a sheriff's spokesman.

Crews resumed their search this morning and found Murray's body near where his boat was found.

An autopsy is scheduled for Friday morning.

Commuter Alert: Don't Count On The Bay Bridge Tonight, Find An Alternate Route!

EastBayDaze BrainBuster Challenge: What In The World Are You Talking About?

"If the (...) should become permanent in such a peaceful setting, surely most controversial world affairs could not help but be settled peacefully."

For major props and the unending respect of your peers: What is the above speaker talking about... and where was the "peaceful setting?"

Classmate Of Richmond High Girl Pleads "Not Guilty" To Allegations Of Rape Outside Homecoming Dance

Wearing body armor and a worried look, 15-year-old Cody Ray Smith of San Pablo pleaded not guilty Thursday to an enhanced charge that could mean life in prison if convicted for his part in the gang rape of a classmate during a homecoming dance.

The Richmond High freshman made his first courtroom appearance along with three others charged in a case that has captured national attention. Three other alleged attackers delayed entering a plea and will return to court on Nov. 5th.

Prosecutors said they decided to charge all four as adults because of the “high degree of callousness and viciousness" involved in the attack. Police say the suspects are among as many as 10 young men who raped the girl for more than two hours in a remote courtyard on the campus, while others watched and took cell-phone photos.

Smith and two other suspects, James Marcelles Peter, 17, of Pinole and Ari Abdallah Morales, 16, of San Pablo, are juveniles being charged as adults. They all face felony counts of rape in concert, and penetration with a foreign object. Morales is also charged with felony robbery for allegedly stealing the girl's jewelry.

The boys are being held at juvenile hall in Martinez on no bail holds.

The fourth suspect, 19-year-old Manuel Ortega of Richmond, is charged with rape in concert, robbery and assault causing great bodily injury. He is being held in county jail on $1.2 million bail.

Court observers noted that Morales' left eye was blackened, as if he had recently been struck. Relatives of suspect Peter tearfully told reporters the boy had been singled out because he is black.

Finally. Thank You, Mr. President...

Walnut Creek Police Issue Advisory For Three Holdup Artists - One With A Scatter Gun

Our friends at the Walnut Creek Police Department are asking residents and visitors to be extra careful in town after a trio of holdup men robbed a resident Wednesday as he was sitting in his car in the 1500 Block of Sunnyvale Avenue.

Police say the victim was approached by three black males as he sat in his parked car. The suspects knocked on the vehicle window and as the victim rolled the window down one suspect pointed a shotgun at him and demanded money. The victim was punched once in the face by another suspect and had his money taken from his pocket. The suspects fled on foot and were last seen heading westbound on Sunnyvale Ave.

Suspects:
#1: Black male 17-19 yrs, short, thin, close cropped hair, wearing dark colored jeans and a dark hooded zip sweatshirt with numerous designs on the front.

#2: Black male 16-19 yrs, approx 5’10, thin build, wearing dark colored jeans and a dark zip hooded sweatshirt over a white t-shirt.

#3: Black male 16-19 yrs, thin, close cropped hair, thin facial features, dark colored jeans, black jacket over a gray hooded sweatshirt.

Anyone with additional information is encouraged to call the Walnut Creek Police at (925) 943-5844.

Nation's Economy Swells By 3.5 Percent In Third Quarter, Ending Full Year Of Decline - Or Did It?

Output of goods and services grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate, faster than economists expected, according to preliminary figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Even so, the nation's best analysts and forecasters all agree it will be months before job-seekers begin to feel the benefits.

How are you all doing out there? Judging from our impromptu "Job Board" - it is touch and go.

Okay To Light The Home Fires Tonight!

Ah, Suburbia... Rolling Hills, Fresh Air, Gunfire... Car Chases

When you think of San Ramon you're not thinking car-to-car gunfire and dope dealers.

But that's what the supposedly sleepy bedroom community got Monday night when a couple of pot-slinging cowboys traded shots with an armed "client" who had just ripped off their supply.

The result? A rolling gunfight, a collision between participants and a huge turnout by police who used dogs to hunt down and capture the responsible parties.

Two men, Steven Houngviengkham, 26, of Pinole and 27-year-old Eefiao Saelee of Fairfield were booked into County Jail in Martinez on Tuesday, while the as-yet unnamed buyer was in the hospital recuperating from injuries suffered when his car was rammed by the pursuing pot peddlers.

Police say the two suspects allegedly met with the buyer and one other person on Bellas Artes Circle about 10:30 p.m. Monday. Instead of ponying up their money for the pot the buyers snatched the grass and drove off with the sellers in hot pursuit.

The chase took them to Adelaide Hills Court where the buyer fired several rounds into the pursuing car and Houngviengkham and Saelee crashed head-on into the buyer's car. When police arrived, both cars had been abandoned. Officers found a pistol and the grass hidden in a nearby park.

Houngviengkham and Saelee were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, possession of marijuana for sale and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

No charges have been filed against the bed-ridden buyer. Yet.

Bay Bridge Closed - Traffic Pandemonium Reigns

If you didn't get the word that an infrastructure failure on the Bay Bridge has sent
engineers back to the drawing boards and riggers back up into the superstructure - it's too late now.

Traffic is already at nightmarish proportions and it appears the bridge will be closed indefinitely.

Apparently the thought of a ton of cable and Eye-Bar randomly raining down on unsuspecting motorists does not thrill those minding the span.

More later as it develops. BART has been a smooth alternative to the morning commute freak-scene, users tell EastBayDaze.

Richmond Gang Rape Shocks The Country, Reward Posted, Five In Custody - West County Cruelty Continues With News Of Dog Immolation

What kind of person would join in the pack rape of a young girl, beating her for two hours while she was assaulted in turn - several of his pals recording the atrocity on their cellphones?

Here's one of them, arrested while running from the scene, police in Richmond say. A second suspect, 15-years-old and a schoolmate of the victim, has also been arrested and three more alleged attackers were arrested late Tuesday as police posted a $20,000 reward for substantive information.

This - person - calls himself Manuel Ortega. He's 19, a graduate of Richmond High but apparently hasn't quite severed ties with the school as he was on the premises during a homecoming dance the teenage girl was attending.

A 21-year-old man, Salvador Rodriguez, was arrested Tuesday near the corner of 26th Street and Humphrey Avenue, according to police. A 16-year-old boy was also taken into custody in San Pablo.

A 17-year-old boy later turned himself in to police after he learned a search warrant had been executed at his Pinole home.

The case has attracted international attention for its barbarism. But just to show that there are more than a few - persons - with issues in Richmond, the Contra Costa County Animal Services Department asked for help in locating a group of - boys - who set a dog alight near the intersection of West Grove Avenue and Opal Court the evening of Oct. 14.

The animal, a pit pull, was severely burned and had to be put down.

If you have knowledge of this crime call Sgt. Cedric Williams-Kane at 925 335-8300.

She Prowls By Night, Cleans Soccer Cleats By Day - She's "Moraga Maven:" Episode II Posts In Sunday's EastBayDaze

A Lamorinda Mama With An Edge...

NEXT EPISODE:"Hoisin Plum Sauce, Steamed Buns... and Losers"

Sunday... Only in EastBayDaze!

Lamorinda's Future Look Being Decided Now - How High Can We Go? Exactly What Is A "Vibrant" Downtown?

If you live in one of our three hamlets and have more than a passing interest in what the future will bring you should know that the future is being decided now.

Height restrictions, Downtown Specific Plans, setbacks, site densities, scenic corridors are all issues currently being discussed by our respective Town Councils and the multitude of commissions and committees assigned to look into the problem are coming up with plans of concern to all Lamorindans as we are moved into the future.

What EastBayDaze is seeing, though, is that not every Lamorindan wants to be brought into the future, and talks of building new, "vibrant" downtown areas - already on Town Council agendas in all three towns - is sparking sharp debate about our past, our present lifestyle, and our collective future.

For many, attempts to develop our downtown areas into bustling, revenue producing centers of commercialism have a hollow ring to them. More buildings, more business - more traffic, more noise. All things many of you who moved here sought to escape.

EastBayDaze cannot help but remember back in caveman days when Orinda's Theatre Square was going in. There was bitter debate then and, eventually, legal action taken to prevent destruction of arguably the single most identifiable Art Deco landmark in town - the Orinda Theatre, and adjacent bank building in order to make way for what many regard as a rather "plain Jane" commercial development which, to this day, has proven unable to hold tenants.

Lafayette's vision for its downtown is also sparking controversy as residents and developers square off over revisions to their Downtown Specific Plan and discussion about the height of buildings under which traffic flows.

"If you approve the height and density restrictions proposed in this (revised draft) plan, you might as well shrink lap Lafayette and hand it over to the Lafayette Historical Society, because nothing will change for decades," developer Chris Watson - who owns the property along Lafayette Circle near Chow - told council members in Lafayette recently.

Residents attending the meeting had an entirely different view, it seems: "Why are we doing this?" a person in the audience asked. "Nobody wants this plan!"

Another pointed out that "there are already two highways already running through Lafayette - Highway 24 and Mt. Diablo Boulevard..."

That level of bustle irks many Lafayette residents and scares people living in Orinda and Moraga - where architect's drawings of multi-storied buildings in remarkably traffic-free environments are surfacing.

Many of those people responded to our story and to The Chronicle when their architecture man, John King, suggested it was time for Orinda to embrace the "vibrant" downtown concept and lift height restrictions - and set them at 57 feet.

To be honest, we didn't think anyone but EastBayDaze would notice. We were wrong.

"I am a 5 year resident of Orinda," one of our readers wrote. "My wife and I moved out here after many years in SF. We are 40 years old. So I probably fit John King's younger demographic that wants a "vibrant" downtown...but he is dead wrong. I like Orinda just the way it is. If I want "vibrant, I head into SF."

So there you have it. The battle lines are being drawn. The Lafayette City Council will discuss the subject of height and density limitations in the weeks to come and forward their plan to an environmental consultant for analysis. The community would then have three or four months while the EIR is being prepared to continue to debate and hopefully resolve these issues. Then - next spring - the plan, EIR, and community input, will all be delivered to the City Council for final discussion, resolution, wrap up, and approval.

Moraga is moving forward with its own plan, so far without any significant opposition although a few EastBayDaze readers don't sound too happy about it.

Many of the comments we've gotten echo the sentiments expressed by Linda and Jeff Byberg, of Lafayette, in a letter to their Town Council:

"Our family moved here for the small town atmosphere and quaint charm. We did not come here for large buildings, huge apartment complexes, tunnel like streets, with impossible traffic," they wrote. "That is what the proposed plan would do to this town."

Next meeting of interest to Lafayette residents for whom participation is a part of the process for change:
November 19
Subjects scheduled to be discussed:
Downtown Character, Land Use, Circulation, Downtown Districts (including height and density)
7 pm, Lafayette Community Center

Lose A GPS System, iPhone Or Laptop To Car Thieves? Check Craigslist...

If you've been victimized by the Visigoths plundering unlocked cars and trucks - and apparently homes - throughout Lamorinda in recent weeks, you may want to do a little surfing on eBay and Craigslist, police say.

EastBayDaze can't imagine leaving anything more expensive than a three-week-old stick of gum in our car, but some people are comfortable leaving company laptops, music systems, guns, and more.

Apparently, people in our hamlets think nothing of leaving the car door unlocked at night as it's parked on the street. Why not just put a big "Steal Me!" sign on it, too.

Anyway, thieves who realize that Lamorindans have cool things in their cars have taken notice and are doing a little early Christmas shopping. Moraga police reported 13 car breakins - or "let-them-ins" in the first two weeks of October alone. Another car was taken from in front of its residence, driven to another location within the same neighborhood, and looted.

This is happening in Orinda and Lafayette, too, and police are finding themselves having to say: "Take all valuable from the car and lock the doors." Well, duh, as the kids like to say. If victimized, you may want to cruise for your pilfered items on the e-Fencing sites e-bay and Craigslist, where a lot of the gear is turning up.

If you do find your stuff, alert the law and they will help from there - don't attempt to recover the goods yourself.

California's First Lady Having A Little Trouble With The Vehicle Code

First, she was caught on tape wheeling the Escalade around Sacramento, cell phone plastered to her head.

Now, First Lady Maria Shriver has been tailed by the paparazzi traffic police and filmed parking at a red zone - for an hour or so.

Two weeks ago Shriver, wife of, well... you know, apologized after the Web site TMZ.com posted photographs and a video of her violating the state's hands free cell phone law.

Der Guvernator promised "swift punitive action." But on Monday, more video surfaced of Shriver walking toward the Escalade - which is clearly parked in a red zone. The site says Shriver parked there nearly an hour while visiting a doctor's office in Santa Monica.

"I regret that I made a mistake. I take responsibility for it," Shriver said in a statement issued through her office.

Vampires In Lafayette - Suburban Town Hall Theatre Pre-Selected By Indie Rockers - Will Traffic Nightmare Ensue?

When EastBayDaze first reported that popular Indie-Rock band "Vampire Weekend" would be gigging in Lafayette Nov. 7 our Internet lit up - with requests for tickets.

"For real?" our Man/Boy said when we mentioned that we had promoted the event on the site and had actually heard of the band - thereby raising our "coolness" quotient a hundred-fold. "Can you get tickets?"

We tried but anyone who has followed the Vampires and knew they were coming to Lamorinda quickly pounced. Ducats to the 200-seat Town Hall show were as hard to come by as a parking space at the 24-Hour Nautilus sweat palace in Rheem.

Lafayette's finest are planning adjustments to traffic in the area the night of the show, which just so happens is on the very night the city is holding a gala for its new library - an event expected to draw hundreds.

Mt. Diablo Boulevard will be closed from Golden Gate Way to First Street and the police are planning to have a few detours in place to keep things moving smoothly - hopefully.

But even with the potential of traffic congestion, crowded sidewalks and suburban groupies hoping to score a last-minute ticket - Lafayette's coolness factor just went up several notches.

Last Days Of "The Ink-Stained Wretches" - Or Is It?

Much has been written about the decline of "traditional media," with people abandoning newspapers in favor of electronic iterations of their daily rag.

We saw it happening firsthand in the early 90s, when the "consultants" arrived to tell us how to target stories to specific demographics, blah-blah-blah. By then the handwriting was on the wall and we abandoned "The Blessed Old Rag" in favor of New Media and the lure of high-paying jobs in cyberspace.

And that has been fun. A thrill ride, at times, but fun. Meanwhile, the decline in newspaper circulation and sweeping layoffs involving people we love is accelerating as the industry struggles with continued defections to the Internet and tumbling ad revenue.

Figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show that average daily circulation dropped 10.6 percent in the April-September period from the same six-month span in 2008. That was greater than the 7.1 percent decline in the October 2008-March 2009 period and the 4.6 percent drop in the April-September period of 2008.

Sunday circulation fell 7.5 percent in the latest six-month span. The Wall Street Journal has surpassed USA Today as the top-selling newspaper in the United States. The Journal's average Monday-Friday circulation edged up 0.6 percent to 2.02 million — making it the only daily newspaper in the top 25 to see an increase.

Of the top 25 dailies, the San Francisco Chronicle saw the worst circulation decline, falling 25.8 percent to 251,782. After years of battling "The Chron" and eventually watching our flag transfer from The Examiner to its tower, we greet this news with mixed emotion.

We battled for our respective newspapers for years, shedding tears, sometimes blood in search of an exclusive. To see it all end is tough to take because the work gets into you. We still remember the thunder of the presses beneath our feet, the cry of "Copy!" and the joy of watching your paper go into the news rack - your byline on the front page.

But now we have this dynamic. People still read, apparently, they want to know what's happening in their hometowns and they aren't shy about expressing their opinion on a given subject.

EastBayDaze likes that, and hopes to keep it that way - even if it is a digital experience and you can't smell the ink on the paper anymore.

Thanks for reading.

San Francisco's Napoleon: Memories Of "The Hat"

Napoleon Hendrix was my first Homicide Inspector.

By that, I mean, he was my first contact with the San Francisco Police Homicide Unit, then on the fourth floor of the Hall of Injustice on Bryant Street. He was every inch of six-foot-five, a vision of sartorial splendor in Tony Lama cowboy boots, cashmere overcoat and drop-brim Fedora. My forehead came to his diamond horse-shoe stickpin, turned upside down because "luck had run out for most of the people I meet..."

I was about seven, and I made the mistake of coming on to him seriously and asking about "the murder weapon" in a no-account dope hit in the Bayview District.

"Gun..." Napoleon breathed, his voice deep like approaching thunder, letting the next question hang there...

"What kind of gun?" and he fixed me with those world-weary, St. Bernard eyes, rolled a toothpick over to the south side of his mouth and said: "The kind that worked." He was standing under a sign that read: "San Francisco Homicide: Our Day Begins When Yours Ends" at the time. I never forgot it.

I came out sweating, the guy had that effect on you. Around the insane Hall of Justice he was "Nap" or "Slim" but in the crack-slinging projects of Bayview-Hunters Point he was "The Big Man" or "The Hat." He was partnered with Earl Sanders then, Earl later going on to become chief, and no slacker when it came to the clothes, himself.

Napoleon liked to say appearance was important in the circles he ran in, good clothes set the tone for the meeting and established respect - from the Double Rock housing projects to Pacific Heights. I later had a couple of hats made by a milliner whose name he gave me.

He was a good guy and I liked him, even when he was driving us crazy with his word games and "guess what I know" mental jousting. A black man, he was deeply moved by the almost daily drive-by's and ambushes the city was seeing in the 1980s. I remember him standing over the body of a kid gunned down in the Bayview, hands in pockets, rolling that toothpick around - eyes sad and weary.

Napoleon passed this week in Oakland. He was 78.

He was my first real homicide cop, and became the standard by which all others have been measured since.

Take it easy, Slim, you were one of the good ones.

"Moraga Maven" Sounds Off - Mom Seeking Signs Of City Life In LaBorinda

Here I am, standing in the horribly mis-named "Express Checkout" line at Safeway, trying to shield the kids from Enquirer headlines and pictures of the latest bimbo to have a reality show handed to her.

It is, I decide, hell on earth - the woman in front of us struggling to come up with enough money to buy a bottle of Vagisil, the buff young gals in the St. Mary's sweats behind us struggling to contain their disgust. I think I hear one of them mutter "breeder" under her breath.

I pray my 10-year-old doesn't suddenly ask what "Vagisil" is.

My past flashes, scrolling like the action movie trailers my son loves so much - quick bursts of memories: college, my first job in the city, a second job, that night at Johnnie Loves, meeting my soon-to-be husband, kids, that night in the courtyard at the Legion of Honor - finding out how much divorce attorneys make.

"I know I have another dollar here somewhere..." VagiGal hunting for pennies in a bottomless purse, the Buffettes taking up a collection for her.

Life has settled into a series of never-ending deadlines - work, the kids' sporting practices and games, the car piling up with Kid Trash and door dings from the grocery store parking lot. I struggle to remember it all. Soccer game at 11 a.m., football at 12:15... remember to get sweaty socks out of back of car ASAP.

Shit. What has happened to me? I was glamorous once - well, I still am, I'm just wearing these crappy jeans and tennies 'cause it's Saturday, but dammit, I still have a life.

"Ma'am... ma'am?" A finger tapping my shoulder. I look behind me, prepared to obliterate the insufferable git who dared call me "ma'am." But I end up saying "Thanks," and smiling politely as ever, as Vagisil Gal has finally completed her financing and the checkout lane yawns before us. I push the kids forward, lay our pitiful goods on the counter and come to grips with the laser scanner, it's all-seeing red light flashing over a dozen bar codes and summing them up in an instant. How symbolic.

In the parking lot the phone goes off and I take it, the tanned and toned St. Mary's gals flowing around us like water around a rock, on their way to the rest of their lives. On the phone, bless her heart, is Dru - perfect, forgiving friend since college, bon vivant and part-time realtor.

"Va de Vi," she says cryptically. "Tomorrow night..."

"I can't," I say, wanting to grasp the invitation with both hands. "I've got the kids..."

"Sell them."

We laugh together. She has two of her own. "Bring them over here tomorrow at seven," she says, throwing me a life line so pure and sweet I can almost see it snaking out over the waves to me. "I have a sitter."


NEXT WEEK: "Hoisin Plum Sauce, Steamed Buns... and Losers"

"Like A Hurricane Before Landfall" - President Obama Declares H1N1 A National Emergency

The White House Saturday said that President Obama had signed a proclamation allowing medical officials to bypass certain federal requirements and declared the spread of the H1N1 virus a national emergency.

White House officials described the move as similar to a declaration ahead of a hurricane making landfall.

So Far, No Takers For Deep Discount On Opening A New Business In Moraga

The challenge is deep: how to lure new business to currently vacant space in Moraga's two shopping venues?

For the Moraga Town Council, a possible answer to the steady erosion of businesses was to declare a waiver of fees for any new business relocating into a currently vacant space. The waiver will extend to October of 2011.

Town Manager Mike Segrest says that could represent savings of "500 to $3,500 depending on the type of application" but that, so far, there have been "no takers."

Business owners departing the area for greener pastures almost universally cite steep rents and a lack of foot traffic in the area as their main reasons for leaving.

On a hopeful note, Mike reports at least one new business is looking into setting up camp in Moraga.

We'll see. EastBayDaze has its fingers crossed it's a high-end grocer!

Building A Cyber-Community One Lamorindan, A New Yorker, Londoner - And A Deployed Soldier - At A Time

EastBayDaze is growing. And the people who have found us keep coming back.

That's high praise. Thank you.

We spend most of our time actually writing stuff we hope may be of interest to you, but we took time recently to look at the "back end" of EastBayDaze and noted that fully "72.82 percent" of our readers are returning visitors. This group includes a number of locals, as you might expect, but we have also been honored by visits (and some nice emails) from expatriate Lamorindans who once lived here and are trying to stay in touch.

At least one of them is currently serving in Afghanistan and a big EastBayDaze "hoo-ah" to that trooper. Thanks.

We've also heard from folks in London and New York, either living there now or travelling and looking for a little news from home. And then there was the Chicago PD officer who found us - how exactly, we're not sure - but it was nice to "talk" with him, too.

So, thanks for reading, and writing. Our community is growing and appears robust. Now, if we could just find a way to ship some Millie's coffee cake and a cappuchino to that FOB in Afghanistan - we would.

Campus Paper Says Dorm Beating Suspect Was Interested In Mixed Martial Arts, Drug Known As "DMT"

A day after one of his suitemates allegedly beat another to death with a baseball bat, Sacramento State student Spencer Dirrim gave the college newspaper State Hornet an interview in which he described Scott Hawkins, the deceased victim, and offered insight into Quran Jones, the suspect.

In a copyrighted story by student journalists Adalto Nascimento and Natalie Flynn, Dirrim alleges Jones had shown a lot of interest in the hallucinogenic drug DMT.

"... He'd been talking extensively about DMT ... not entirely sure of what that was, some hallucinogen, and he had been talking about that a whole lot over the last couple of weeks," Dirrim said.

Locally, police sources say there have been parental inquiries about the drug (suggesting perhaps that their children have either asked about the drug or have used it) but that they have never actually encountered anyone on the drug.

Minor Moraga Mystery: Who Was Counting Traffic On St. Mary's Road? And Why?

Eagle-eyed EastBayDaze readers are asking about those traffic counting devices on St. Mary's Road in front of SMC - the ones with the pneumatic hoses stretching across the roadway.

They're gone now, but it seems no one - the town, the police, the college, know who put them there or for what purpose.

If you know, clue us in and we'll clue everyone else in. EastBayDazer's want to know!

Police Issue BOLO (Be On the LookOut) For Serial Residential Burglar Working Central County

The Walnut Creek Police Department is advising all Central County residents to be-on-the-lookout for a residential burglary suspect responsible for several home burglaries throughout our part of the county recently.

This man is believed to be driving:
A Plymouth Breeze (similar to this one), GREEN, unknown year, with a FADED GREEN HOOD and ROOF. (License plate number is unknown)

Suspect: WMA, shaved head, possibly has a goatee.
If you see this vehicle, please contact the Walnut Creek Police Department at (925) 935-6400.

Traffic Alert: Fender Bender - St. Mary's At Rohrer

Minor fender bender at this location this morning tied up commute traffic.

No injuries. Drivers exchanging info and no punches thrown... that our roving traffic reporter could see!

Thanks "Eagle1."

From The "America Has Been Very, Very Good To Me" Files...

A word of advice to Lotto-playing Lamorindans: "Check your own Lottery numbers."

Police in Texas say a 25-year-old Nepalese convenience store clerk palmed a winning $1 million ticket a customer brought to his store to check and - they believe -promptly cashed the ticket and "Dixied" back to Kathmandu.

Pankaj Joshi was indicted in September on a single count of claiming a lottery prize by fraud. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison - but authorities have got to find him first.

Investigators say they believe a customer at the Lucky Food Store near Dallas asked Joshi in May to check his tickets for winning numbers, and that Joshi pocketed the $1 million ticket and gave the unknowing customer the "no luck, pahdnuh" shrug-off.

Joshi claimed the $750,000 after-tax prize in Austin and disappeared. Co-workers told authorities they never saw Joshi actually play the lottery. He shouldn't be too hard to spot, however. With nearly a million dollars in American greenbacks he'll either have the biggest house in Kathmandu or a chartered getaway jet.

EastBayDaze Sends A Big "Thank You" To Our Gutter Bustin', Tree Clearing DPW People

Interesting mix of weather we've had lately, and with all that comes with it.

EastBayDaze wanted to take a moment and salute the "silent warriors" of our Public Works departments who braved rain, wind, downed power lines and more to keep the roads open and the gutters flowing during a significant storm period.

We call them the "someone" people, as in: "The road is blocked, someone should do something about it..."

Orinda Police And Miramonte High School Officials Looking Into Racist Graffiti Found On Campus

Orinda police were called to Miramonte High School early Tuesday after racist graffiti was found scrawled in marker on a bathroom wall.

Police Chief William French said his investigators photographed the scrawls and are investigating.

"The school is undertaking their own investigation and I'm sure they'll be doing something to address the issue with the student body," French said.

Although unsettling, graffiti of this type has turned up at area schools in the past. Chief French said there appears to be no connection between this incident and the recent discovery of a KKK-style "hate cross" found recently in the driveway of a home on Wandel Drive in Moraga.

Moraga police are conducting an investigation of their own into that incident.

Lafayette Resident Disrupts Burglars In The Act - Police Called But The Thieves Get Away, Acalanes High And Springhill School Locked Down

Two burglars had the fright of their lives Tuesday afternoon when the owner of the Lafayette home they were attempting to loot arrived in the nick of time - and called 911 for The Troops.

Lafayette police and Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies turned out with K9 search teams and extra manpower, sealing off a neighborhood in the 1200 block of Pleasant Hill Road and conducting an extensive hunt after the owner phoned for help at 12:30 p.m.

Both burglars apparently fled, one in a car and the other on foot. Acalanes High School, just to the south of the search scene, and Springhill School, were both locked down and a "shelter in place" order put out until police gave the "all clear" at 1:50 p.m.

Music For A Rainy Day In Lamorinda: Bryan Adams At Slane Castle - Darling Irish Lass Alert At 2:44!

Why? Because it's raining and because it's at Slane Castle. One of the catchiest rock 'n roll "hooks" in the "biz."

Enjoy... EastBayDaze.

Orinda Woman - At Center Of Medical Marijuana Debate - "Amazed" By Federal Shift On Prosecutions

Our little part of Northern California has more than a passing familiarity with marijuana, this being Northern California after all. But Orinda resident Angel Raich, who has actually sued for the right to use the herb in her treatment of several ongoing medical conditions, was stunned by today's news from Washington.

"I was actually shocked ... absolutely amazed that it happened," Raich told ABC News today. "It's one of the things I wanted to see in my lifetime, that I didn't know I'd see before I die."

Diagnosed with a brain tumor, chronic pain and scoliosis, Raich, 43, says she uses marijuana to help her survive. She has filed and lost multiple court cases, including one that went all the way to the Supreme Court, to keep from being arrested and to continue using the one thing, she says, that seems to work.

California is one of 14 states where it's permissible to use marijuana for medicinal purposes. But even though it's permitted for sale there, it still violates federal law, which bans any use of marijuana. And in the previous administration, authorities targeted medical marijuana sellers under federal laws even if they complied with state laws.

Under the Bush administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration had conducted enforcement operations against a range of dispensaries in California. That position, for now, seems to be softening...

Breaking News: Justice Department Softens Its Stance On Medical Marijuana - Orinda Man Shot While "Guarding" Medicinal Use Patch

Patients who use marijuana to ease medical conditions should not be targeted for federal prosecution in states where medical marijuana is allowed, prosecutors were told Monday in a new policy memo issued by the Justice Department.

Sanctioned suppliers will also not be targeted under new guidelines established for Justice by the Obama administration.

In related news, Harry Harris and the Oakland Tribune are reporting that a 43-year-old Orinda man who was asked to guard his friend's outdoor medicinal marijuana crop was shot four times Sunday morning by thieves who made off with one the plants.

The unidentified man was listed in serious but stable condition at a hospital this afternoon. He had gunshot wounds to his stomach, thigh, shin and arm, police said.

The shooting happened about 6:50 a.m. Sunday in the 700 block of 53rd Street. Police said a resident who lives on the block has a medical marijuana license and has pot plants growing in her backyard for personal use.

Because of attempted thefts of the plants in the past, the woman asked her friend to guard to the plants, police said. While on guard, the man apparently saw four people attempting to take the plants. When he tried to stop them, he was shot four times, Sgt. Rebecca Campbell said.

Best Restaurant In The Bay Area And It Looks Like Our Grandmother's Place! Three Stars For French Laundry...

It's cool to see restaurants where creative cooking, organic foods, and a sublimely understated but elegant ambiance come out on top - four times now to be precise.

That's how many times Yountville's saliva-inducing "French Laundry" has gained the coveted three star ranking in Michelin. Quite an achievement.

EastBayDaze has made it there once, but not for lack of trying. If you've been, tell us what you thought of Mssr. Keller's vision. Only 71 restaurants in Michelin's 110-year history have ever earned a three star ranking four times. Quite an achievement.

On the local front, our own Artisan Bistro, Chevalier and Metro in Lafayette were singled out for their "small plates," as was WC's Va da Vi and Prima (also favorites of ours when we venture out from Lamorinda.)

Two Star Restaurant's We Like: Cyrus in Healdsburg and the Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena.

Street Signs Don't Work, Stoplights Are Ignored - Is It Time For "Naked Streets" In Lamorinda?

(EBD: Click on the picture for a larger image. Check out the faces... they tell the story)

There are some in our fair hamlets who might say that the concept of "Naked Streets" - that is, streets swept clear of signage and traffic lights - is actually already in place here in Lovely Lamorinda.

Judging by the number of red light runners, California-stoppers and other Road Warriors we see out there on a routine basis, our streets may as well be bereft of day-glo cautionary placards advising us all to slow down or watch out for children.

At least some of the visual clutter would go away. Lest you think EastBayDaze is pulling your collective legs, consider that forward thinking cities in Europe and the U.K. are already experimenting with the Naked Streets approach.

The idea is that drivers and pedestrians are forced to slow down and watch carefully to navigate roundabouts stripped of any cautionary signs. Drachten, Netherlands, removed traffic lights from a major intersection and installed a roundabout and accidents there fell from 36 in four years to two in two years.

We have another name for it: "Taiwan Rules" - which friends who have driven there say describes the perfect storm of traffic anarchy there. Drive quickly and confidently and if you get there, good on you - if you have a smashup, bad luck.

Naked Streets is an interesting concept, especially when you consider how little attention some of us pay to signs. EastBayDaze is reminded of the time Moraga rolled its mobile radar sign into the Rheem Valley Manor neighborhood, posted for 25mph, and had to haul it away after someone ran into it.

So we will probably just stick with what we already have - lightning-fast traffic, overconfident pedestrians and the unspoken belief that somehow, some way - the two will not collide.

Taiwan Rules.

FBI Hands "KKK" Hate Crime Back To Moraga Police

The San Francisco field office of the FBI will not actively pursue an investigation into the discovery of a KKK-style cross found outside a Wandel Drive home and has handed the case back to Moraga police.

No formal reason was given though such cases must pass an internal review before it is undertaken. A lack of immediate leads and extreme pressure on FBI resources is believed to be behind their decision.

Moragans were pained to hear that a small cross, wrapped in cloth and with KKK scrawled on it, had been found outside the home where an inter-racial couple from San Francisco - in town to visit relatives as they had many times - had been staying Sept. 8.

Tni and David Newhoff, who spent the weekend at David's parents' home on Wandel, awoke to find the cross in their driveway. Tni Newhoff later filed a report with the FBI's hate crimes division.

LamoRinda-Reverie: Misty Sunday Mornings, Nail Polish, And A Dozen Little Girls Lining Up For Pancakes

Our morning started around 6 a.m., not unusual except several of what turned out to be a household full of hard-partying, super texting, 11-year-olds decided to take their sleeping bags out onto the dewy back lawn, wrapping themselves inside and jumping around for no other reason except that it was fun.

Apparently we made it through the night without incident, a few makeup spills, a simmering conspiracy or two and a high voltage movie soundtrack kept things interesting. Food disappeared at an alarming rate and my wife kept glancing back at the assembled group hovering around her griddle and adding more pancake batter.

They'll be leaving for their own homes soon, to the girl-child's relief or chagrin we haven't figured out, yet.

Once we make it through breakfast we'll lay out plans for the rest of the day - and maybe wrap ourselves in our sleeping bags and head out onto the lawn so we can bounce around.

Why not? It's Sunday after all.

Loma Prieta: "One Helluva Ride..."

Twenty years. Has it been that long?

EastBayDaze won't play the "where were you?" game unless you want to check in and remember the "Quake of '89."

We were in The City that day, just off work at the then-San Francisco Examiner and getting ready for the K-Line ride back out to Stern Grove.

Then the rolling started, and the jolt, and things got serious and the Californians around us knew we were in for a real ride and not some namby-pamby 4.0 roller. Downtown turned off like someone had switched the light and everything came to a halt.

We searched for friends on California Street and found them, comfortably ensconced in a candle-lit bar not far from the Tadich Grill, singing and having a great old time over a great bottle of Merlot while people from back East ran around outside - shouting that they'd never come back - and the dust cloud was still rising in the air.

While never personally threatened by Loma Prieta, we knew a few people who were and they wanted to celebrate the escape a little. Remember that? The parties after the City cleared out and we could walk into our favorite joints and dance and sing because we had just dodged a big one? It felt good - the city was ours again, at least for a month or so.

But on that first night we looked back and saw the first telltale plumes rising out of the Marina, and gathered around a transistor radio some stockbroker had to listen to the World Series - and we heard the Bay Bridge was "down."

This shot was one of my favorites to come out of the '89 Quake, not just because it was shot by an old colleague, Mike Macor, then of the Tribune, but because it captured the hard-hitting tension of that moment - when things rocked and The City rolled - just as it always has.

"Falling Trees And Wasted... Lives": Update To Lafayette Police Action

Sharp-eyed EastBayDazers reported "significant" police activity at Pleasant Hill Road and Condit tonight, but were unable to get a fix on the cause.

Turns out LPD officers Pliler and Britton put down a flare pattern to divert cars around a fallen tree in the area when around 9:30 p.m. a 61 year-old Walnut Creek woman drove her car into the flare pattern and then stopped at the intersection, next to Officer Pliler’s car.

The police had their emergency lights on and should have been fairly easy to spot. Wondering if the driver needed assistance the officers approached the car and, after repeated attempts, succeeded in getting the driver to roll her window down.

When the police asked her to turn off her car she replied, “I’m fine" and held to that answer when the officers asked her twice more. Pretty soon the odor or something other than fine perfume wafted out and the lady was invited out of her car. According to police she did not comply and appeared confused and disoriented.

After failing a series of Field Sobriety Tests, the driver was arrested and taken to the police department. She completed a breath test that revealed her blood alcohol level was .14 percent.

At least she was able to stop in time.

Lafayette Man Arrested After Armed Robbery Of Concord Market

An 18-year-old Lafayette man has been arrested in connection with the armed robbery of a Concord market.

Jeremy Robinson of Lafayette and Gregory Mills of Oakland were arrested by Concord police at a BART parking garage shortly after the robbery attempt Wednesday night.

The men, both 18, allegedly entered the Concord market, pistol-whipped a clerk and fled when a second clerk began swinging a machete at them. Both were arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery, burglary and assault with a deadly weapon.

Robinson's FaceBook page espouses a predisposition to the "gangsta" lifestyle, a desire to "get paid" and "be famous." However, in this alleged robbery attempt, Robinson and Mills fled without any money.

Town Of Moraga Calls For - Another - Public Hearing On Rancho Laguna II

Late opposition to Rancho Laguna II - a 180-acre single-family residential subdivision east of Rheem Blvd. between Via Barcelona and Fernwood Drive - has spurred the Town of Moraga to hold the latest in a series of public hearings on the 27 lot project.

The Town Council will hold its public hearing on the project Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School Auditorium.

Rancho Laguna has undergone a number of reviews and revisions since it was first brought to the town for review as "Rancho Laguna de Los Palos Colorado," the name of the original landholding, in 2006.

Some residents have said the project would have too great a visual impact and would negatively affect the ridge line and a nearby creek.

The development's project manager has said the environmental impacts are minimal and opponents are mostly those who live in the hills above the development site.

EastBayDaze Rant No. II - The Sequel: "Just What Does It Take To Get A Driver's License Pulled Around Here?"

Forgive us another of our moments but we're just wondering: what does it take to get a driver's license pulled around here?

We ask because of the number of high-profile cases we've seen of late in which people of doubtful mental stability and equally dubious driving skills have been unleashed on an unsuspecting public - with often tragic results.

Now, we know that folks who suffer from siezure and other debilitating conditions are restricted from driving virtually from the day of their occurrence. Why then, would a convicted drunk driver or someone arrested and charged with gross vehicular manslaughter - and who then pleads not guilty by reason of insanity - be allowed to drive?

We don't get it. Sure, we know that in the case of David Caspillo, the Tracy man facing an upcoming trial for a March 22, 2007 incident which left one man dead and five others injured, is innocent until proven guilty. But why is a man charged in connection with the death of another and who has of his own free will and volition declared himself - dare we say it - insane, still allowed to drive?

The man Caspillo is alleged to have killed with his car in Lafayette that day is gone, no more Thanksgivings, no more Chistmas holidays with his family. Mr. Caspillo has had the luxury of spending two of those gatherings with his family, and has been seen driving to the few court appearances he has been required to attend since the accident.

Witnesses say he sped through a residential neighborhood, through a stop sign and past a school and appeared to be speeding up when he rear-ended a car driven by Dale Zenor of Martinez, pushing it 50' over other cars patiently waiting for a light to change at Pleasant Hill Road. Innocent until proven guilty, okay, but Caspillo was arrested and charged and he's intimated he may not have been thinking clearly while behind the wheel. Why is he still driving?



Photo Credit: Marin IJ

We would ask the same of Edward John Schaefer, the Rhodes Scholar who blew through an intersection on his Harley in Marin County earlier this year, killing a little girl and maiming her father as they dared to cross the street - in a crosswalk. Schaefer kicked and screamed like a child as bystanders attempted to care for him and his victims that night. Melody Osheroff died at the scene. Her father lost one leg and has his other due to the skill of the surgeons who attended him.

Schaefer had a blood alcohol level of .16 that night. He also had six prior drunk driving convictions - the most recent issued in the state of Nevada, which sadly does not have the ability to share such information with its neighbor to the West, we're told, or his license would have be revoked. Whether or not that would have stopped such a committed Hell Hog remains to be seen, but at least it would have laid the legal groundwork for his incarceration.

Schaefer's looking at charges of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, mayhem and causing injury while driving under the influence. He could face 17 years to life in state prison.

Caspillo's case comes before a Contra Costa County Superior Court judge again on Monday. His trial may start later this month. As it stands, there's nothing preventing him from driving himself to the courthouse each day.

Itinerant Magazine Gangs, Er, Salespeople Getting Meaner - Lamorindans Shutting Their Doors

He was a strapping kid, six-foot-one or so and he was dressed in dialed back Hip Hop attire. He was on our doorstep late at night and his pitch was well-rehearsed.

"Hi, I'm Mike, Jane's son. We live on Donald - you've probably seen my mom, she's the one walking the Golden Retriever every morning - and I'm selling magazine subscriptions for the Moraga Bandits baseball team..."

We asked him where he lived again and he pointed vaguely up the street - in the wrong direction. "I'm selling these subscriptions... if I sell enough the team gets to go to Sacramento." Holding out his order pad.

None of it smelled right, and we asked him to break out the ID. He showed us a lame, peeling, Kinko-laminated card with someone else's picture on it and "OverAchievers USA" at the bottom and it all came together.

"You're with the group that killed the woman in Lafayette," we said and he looked like we'd hit him with a two-by-four.

"Dude..."

"Let's go talk to your mom... up there on Donald. If she can vouch for you, we'll support the team."

That's when it all fell apart, and he began to prance around, muttering veiled threats and finally breaking when we told him to hit the road. He went by a few minutes later in the van they use to bring the kids in, flipping off the house.

OverAchievers has changed its name, of course, after one of their "salesmen" raped and killed a Lafayette woman a few years back, and we were surprised the kid was still using one of the old IDs. The game is to recruit kids, pump them up about selling, give them a thinly veiled but outwardly believable cover story and send them into "well-to-do" neighborhoods to pick off what money they can.

With the economy being what it is there is no end of "recruits" and the "companies" that recruit them are getting even more ruthless.

Two boys working as itinerant magazine salesmen were beaten with baseball bats and golf clubs on Monday night when they told their bosses they wanted to quit, the police in Lakewood Wash., say.

The victims remain hospitalized, and six men were charged in the attack and are in jail, police said.

The Washington state attorney general’s office said Thursday that it was considering civil penalties against the magazine sales company, Fresh Start Opportunities.

As usual, there were quite a few complaints lodged against "Fresh Start" (don't you just love the irony in these names?) which has said it is a charity working to help at-risk youth get work experience, even though the company is not registered as a charity.

Consumers have also reported never receiving the magazines that Fresh Start Opportunities sold them, and last October a member of one of the crews was charged in a robbery and assault on a customer.

EastBayDaze did a little digging and found that these magazine sales companies recruit young people to travel the country living in motels and selling subscriptions, often with a pitch tied to a charitable cause. In 2007, The New York Times reported that many sellers find that their wages are withheld by the company once they begin traveling.

Many sellers also faced physical threats or violence if they asked to leave or were abandoned penniless and hundreds of miles from home.

A request for comment from National Field Selling Association, which represents many of the magazine sellers went unanswered. The phone number for Fresh Start Opportunities has been disconnected.

You may want to keep that in mind the next time a fresh-faced kid turns up on your doorstep... and they will.

Lots Of New Road Repairs In Lamorinda Thanks To Stimulus Package - But Is It Saving Jobs?

Early numbers on the overall effect of the government's plan to save/create jobs are not all that impressive.

It's nice to see all the repair work being done around Lamorinda these days, but the jury is out on whether or not all that government money was well spent.

Here's a nice commentary on the situation from the Wall Street Journal.

Daly City Cab Driver Killed In Orinda Crash

The California Highway Patrol is investigating an early morning crash on Highway 24 in Orinda which claimed the life of a cab driver and jackknifed a truck trying to avoid the crash scene.

A CHP spokesman says cabbie Adimas Kassie, 33, of Daly City was travelling westbound just east of Camino Pablo at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday when for reasons unknown his cab struck the center divider. Witnesses said Kassie was attempting to steer back to the shoulder when he was struck by a tractor trailer, which jackknifed and overturned.

EastBayDaze Rant Of The Day: ADDING Noise To Quiet Cars

This one has our heads shaking at EastBayDaze. Again.

The public at large has been demanding quieter, more efficient cars for years - and automakers, some of them at least, have tried to comply with that market demand.

But it turns out that our Hybrid vehicles (EBD Disclosure Alert: We have one, looking for another...) are too quiet.

Apparently we're mowing down pedestrians, particularly blind pedestrians and those dumb enough to plug up their senses like "see-no-evil" monkeys with the multitude of gazmoes available to them these days, at an alarming rate.

Actually, there hasn't been an incident, but people are worried that because our cars are quiet that some members of society could come to harm.

Allow me to quote a very old, very wise man we know who has taught us much of what we know about life and how to live it: "Horseshit".

We'd say it again but he counseled us against unnecessary repetition. So automakers are now thinking of adding noise to our cars that would be emitted through their bumpers.

Paul Scott, vice-president of Plug In America, strikes a sane chord when he says, "Quiet cars need to stay quiet — we worked so hard to make them that way. It's the driver's responsibility not to hit somebody."

We haven't hit anyone in our Killer Prius. But if they make us add noise to it so someone can feel safe - they can have it back.

What say? Are you with us?

Tax Cheats Sign Up For IRS Amnesty - 7,500 Of Them

The promise of no jail time and reduced penalties for tax cheats has met with a favorable response from the cheats themselves - more than 7,500 of them have come forward to take advantage of the amnesty so far.

IRS officials say the tax dodgers were hiding money in more than 70 countries and on every continent except Antarctica. Accounts ranged from just over $10,000 to more than $100 million.

Fewer than 100 people apply for the program in a typical year, in part because the penalties can far exceed the value of the hidden account, depending on how long the account holder has evaded U.S. taxes.

But in March the IRS began a six-month amnesty program that sweetened the offer with reduced penalties for people with undeclared assets. The program was extended once, until Thursday. The IRS said it will not be extended again.

The program is part of a larger effort by the Obama administration to crack down on Americans who evade U.S. taxes by hiding assets in overseas accounts. In August, the U.S. and Switzerland resolved a court case in which Swiss banking giant UBS AG agreed to turn over details on 4,450 accounts suspected of holding undeclared assets from American customers.

The IRS is still processing applications for the amnesty program. It is too early to know how much money will be recovered, he said.

Accounts included money from inheritances, profits skimmed from U.S. companies, and profits earned overseas. Some of the tax cheats had single accounts while others had multiple accounts in different countries. Some set up corporations to make it harder to identify them, he said.

Video Vigilantism - YouTube Becomes A Force For Change When Wrongs Are Caught On Tape

Have you noticed? Things which many of us just took for granted - violence on Muni buses, low-flying aerial stalkers, ACORN employees gone bad - are suddenly taking on new import and finally getting the attention of authorities.

After they are captured digitally and put up on YouTube for all to see, that is.

EastBayDaze rode Muni in San Francisco for 12 years and saw confrontations along the lines of those captured on cell phone cameras every other day or so. We called Muni, talked with police. Nothing was ever done.

But after two incidents - one of them involving two women arguing over a seat - are caught on tape and posted on YouTube you have a full Muni investigation, the police department promising extra patrols, and action for the first time in years.

"YouTube is ubiquitous, with everyone having a cell phone, and you are just seeing a lot more crime reported," said SFPD Capt. Jim Dudley, head of Central Station.

Jonathan Perel, the Muni rider who taped the shouting, punching and hair-pulling episode, had been assaulted by a stranger three weeks earlier and reported it to the driver - but his assailant hopped off the bus at Union Square, and that was the last anyone saw of him.

A couple of minutes of footage captured on his cellphone brought the cavalry at full gallop.

It's strange. We don't get it. A Concord blogger writes for weeks about the antics of a guy who likes to buzz his ex-girlfriend's house in his airplane with little notice from the "traditional" press or authorities. But as soon as someone captures images of the plane circling the neighborhood the guys with the metal bracelets are sent out to collar the aerial stalker as soon as he lands.

Then there's ACORN, and any number of other excesses caught on tape, posted to YouTube, and resulting in arrests or promises of investigation.

Go figure. But if it works, it works for us.

Orinda House Fire Intentionally Set

An Orinda woman was severely burned Monday when fire broke out at her home on Descanso Drive.

Firefighters said the blaze at 29 Descanso appeared to have been intentionally set. Evidence of accelerants appeared to have been used in one room of the home. A teenage boy in the house at the time walked out uninjured.

The woman, whose name was not given, was taken to a local hospital for treatment of severe burns suffered in the blaze. She was rescued from the home by neighbors.

Moraga PD Narrows Search For A New Officer, Another Sergeant

A tad shorthanded and very busy, Moraga Police Chief Robert Priebe says his department is down to two potential candidates to fill a vacant beat position within the force and - if all goes well - the new officer could undergo field training in the next four to five months.

The chief is also talking with a potential candidate for sergeant, he says.
Photo: Moraga PD
"I am still in discussions with a sergeant candidate," the chief reports. "Our compensation package is an issue."

Another officer and "three striper" would bring the comparitively small department up to full strength.

"The training period and energy required by everyone (within the department) will be a drain on all of us, but the thought of actually getting to full authorized strength is a great motivator," he says.

Remember, Moragans, wave to the nice officers... they've got a tough and often thankless job.

Camino Sobrante Still Closed, Power Lines Down In Orinda

Storm Advisory
4:00pm

Manzanita Bridge in Orinda has been re-opened.

There are several areas along Moraga Way with overflowing storm drains. City maintenance crew on scene.

Camino Sobrante from Orinda Way to El Ribero remains closed and is expected to remain closed for several hours.

So, Lamorinda, How Was YOUR Commute?

Q: What precautionary measures do you take when driving in the rain?

A: I speed up... so I can get home faster.

This seems to have been the prevailing attitude among drivers out on our roadways today. Did you notice?

A friend driving in from the city counted four accidents during his trip to Walnut Creek - at one point looking into the terrified face of a woman "in a 760Li as she came around in a complete 360 on the Bay Bridge and ended up ten feet from my window, blinking as if she had just seen God."

Wreckers and CHP officers were kept busy all through the morning commute today, with dozens of wrecks reported throughout the Bay Area.

How was it for you out there this morning?

Older Lamorindans Falling Victim To Insidious "Wire Me Money" Scam

This has got to stop. Some of the oldest street cons around have morphed into Internet and telephone come-ons that, sadly, are working with our older residents.

And if you think this is a "nickel and dime" crime, you'd be wrong, with culprits netting thousands of dollars at a time.

This happened just recently to a lady in Moraga and she ended up wiring $5,300 to a low-life, gutter-grubbing scam artist who told her he was her grandson, that he was in trouble, and that he needed money.

The victim sent the money via Western Union (untraceable, of course, that's why they always request that money be sent that way) to Niagara Falls, Canada. That sort of money is a significant windfall for scum like this, the party must have been loud and long in Canada shortly after the wire transfer arrived.

Multi-generational households: please check on mom and dad's use of the phone. They won't like it, we're sure, but you could end up saving them a lot of money and heartache. And if mom or dad live away, you may impress upon them that there are people out there using this ploy to separate them from their money.

Lower than low, and we know what we'd like to do to the perpetrators.

Breaking News: Orinda Storm Watch Advisory

Advisory Warning
9:00 AM

Camino Sobrante has been closed from Orinda Way to El Ribero. Power pole is down. PG&E, Fire and City crews are on scene.

Lafayette LBA Sluggers Execute Perfect "Suicide Squeeze" To Take Fall State Championship In Santa Clara

Our local "sports correspondent" forwards this great picture of victorious local sluggers after a battle royal with the Castro Valley Headfirst Gamers in Santa Clara on Sunday.

The 12-Year-Old LBA Legends came from behind to take the win after clutch coaching by Tony Demarco.

Kneeling, left to right: Tyler Henderson, Tommy Henderson, Jack Eisner, Nicky Fafoutis, Tommy Nimura, Alex Vick, Grant Young
Standing, left to right: Jake Berry, Patrick Ratchford, Coach Mike Fafoutis, Reed Gibbs, Ryan Geisreiter, Max Flower, Coach Brian Berry, Coach Tony Demarco (Note: Click on the picture, moms and dads and proud relatives, for a larger view of the team)
Here's the play-by-play:

Down 2-1 in the bottom of the 6th, center fielder Tommy Nimura started the inning with a signature two-strike single, beating the throw from short and setting the table for the heart of the order. After multiple and useless attempted pick offs of Nimura at first base, power-hitting short stop Max Flower doubled another two-striker to center field.

With the winning run on base, the Castro Valley Headfirst Gamers rolled the dice and intentionally walked third baseman Alex Vick, loading them up for starting pitcher Jake Berry. His two-strike bomb scored Nimura to tie, but Flower was out at the plate by a perfect relay from center to short to home.

Catcher Nicky Fafoutis sustained the hitting assault with another shot to center, loading the bases again. More pick off attempts...

As Vick built a huge leadoff at third, closing pitcher Grant Young watched the signs from Coach Demarco, and laid down a perfect third-base-line bunt on the first pitch. Vick was up at home plate to win the game before the catcher even touched the ball.

The crowd went wild! Legends win! Legends win! Legends win!

"Hey, Mister Mayor - C'mon Down From Sackamenna, Visit The City - Get Robbed..."

Sacramento Mayor and former NBA standout Kevin Johnson was in San Francisco over the weekend when he saw an older man struggling with some baggage and jumped in to help.

That move, sad to say and a pox on the blighter what did it, cost the Visiting Dignitary/Three Point Shooter his garment bag when a San Francisco thief - faster than anyone we know in the NBA today - moved in and swiped the SackamennaMayor's luggage.

Mayor Johnson was good humored about the loss and downplayed the incident on his blog. But one local asked if he'd never heard of San Francisco's version of Mayor Newsom's latest "visitation tax."

EastBayDaze doesn't know Mayor Johnson personally, but we like anyone who can come away from something like that smiling - not to mention the fact that he took action to help a senior citizen in the first place.

Perhaps his counterpart in San Francisco would offer to replace the mayor's lost luggage? Sounds only fair...

Moraga Nightmare - Absentee Homeowner Given 30 Days To Clean Up Their Act

Whaddaya do when your next door neighbor moves away - to Kuwait - and appears content to let wild animals, neighborhood party animals, and Ma Nature herself take over the household?

If you live anywhere near 316 Calle La Montana in Moraga you plead your case for a cleanup to the Town Council, Town Manager, police department, fire marshall, whoever will listen. And you do it for years.

Now, finally, it appears the neighbors of 316 Calle La Montana could be getting some relief. Maybe.

The Moraga Town Council has informed homeowner Laila Alothman, currently residing in Alshaab, Kuwait, that the town will be undertaking a nuisance abatement against her property if back taxes and a multitude of unsafe conditions are not mitigated at the residence within thirty days.

Neighbors are hopeful, if somewhat skeptical, as it has taken some time to get to this point and the house merely does what unattended houses do when abandoned - decay.

Inspectors have determined that the 70s-era Rancher is open to the elements and local kids looking for a party palace. Wild grasses grow unchecked, an abandoned car is slowly being stripped and the interior is stripped to the studs.

Alothman's son was believed to have been "taking care" of the property, but the city hasn't been able to get in touch with him - nor his mother for that matter, since 2007. Planning Director Lori Salamack drafted a letter to the homeowner requesting that the issue be resolved - but if that doesn't work the town has scheduled the matter for discussion at their regular meeting Oct. 14.

If the homeowner fails to comply with the abatement order, the town could recover the cost of the abatement through a special assessment.

That, it seems, would make a lot of neighbors really happy.

Taxes? Taxes? We Don't Haff To Pay No Steenkin' Taxes - Lamorindans Top State List Of Tax Scofflaws

Proving yet again that Lamorindans do everything big - houses, Hummers, egos, the upper regions of their Trophy Wives - several of our neighbors figure prominently on the state's "Most Wanted" list of state tax scofflaws.

This is peeving, especially since the state's tax refund to our household has been orbiting Pluto for the last three months and appears nonredeemable, apparently relegated to the state's dreamland status of "IOU."

So, no money for us - even though we played by the state's rules - unlike a few neighbors EastBayDaze has no qualms about mentioning. And remember, guys, Tax Day is Thursday. Pay up so we can get our money out of the state piggie bank. What say?

As of this month, the biggest delinquent individual tax bill in California is an eye-popping $9.9 million, owed by a Lafayette man we have been told locked his house behind him and headed for another country, Winson T. Lee - whose overdue tax debt goes back to 2002.

Sources say Mr. Lee claimed he was a restaurateur, though to be that much in arrears he must have been one helluva cook.

Other Lamorindans on the list include: Dennis L. Tiner, of Orinda ($643,000); and Artem A. Martinov, of Lafayette ($403,000).

C'mon Winson, Dennis and Artem - pay up so we can get our $863, the kids need new shoes.

Lamorinda Faces Approaching Storm, Says "Bring It On, Ma Nature."

Our trees have been telling us what the Farmer's Almanac said would happen at 5:18 p.m. EDT on September 22 - Fall is here.

And isn't it pretty? Fog, blustery winds, leaves trailing to the ground - the promise of rain.

EastBayDaze knows this incarnation of our weather pattern flies in the face of traditional views of California days - sunshine, perfect swells, unlimited ceiling and visibility.

But this is the time of year we like best, when our Golden State turns it down a little, wraps itself in mist and we take to our roofs to clean out our gutters in advance of rain so heavy you can see it coming and smell it in the air.

Fall has arrived in Lamorinda. And we're ready for it.

Lamorinda Arts Association Hosts "Drive Around" Tour Of Local Artist Enclaves

"Autumn," by Natalia Udaltsova

On Oct. 17-18, the Lamorinda Arts Association hosts a self-guided driving tour to over 30 artists in 16 studios in Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda.

The event kicks off with a reception Fri., Oct. 16, 5-7 p.m., at the Moraga Gallery, where visitors can preview LAA artists’ photographs, paintings, sculptures and other artworks. Pick up a map of the studios that will be open for the weekend at the reception or print your own from their blog: www.laaopenstudios2009.blogspot.com.

Where And When:
LAA Open Studios 2009
16 artists in 30 studios in Lafayette, Moraga + Orinda
Sat. & Sun., Oct. 17-18
11 am – 4 pm

Artists’ Reception
Fri., Oct. 16, 5-7 pm
Moraga Art Gallery
570 Center St. (In the Rheem Shopping Plaza)
Moraga CA

"Whateverr, DitzFace..." Americans Pinpoint What They, Like, HATE About Our Use Of Language

The American people aren't fond of what's happening to our language.

Apparently, it's lazy, loaded with buzz-words and catch-phrases spoon fed to us by Madison Avenue and Hollywood. Language today is like, totally freaking pale, dude, and we spew it in our conversations like an unstopped sewer pipe.

We are, at the end of the day, bro, saying nothing, though we appear to have mastered the art of saying nothing for hours. Well, WHAT'-ehv-errr, beayatch, it's like, all good at the end of the day, you know?

Our apparent mastery of saying nothing is now aired without thinking, and even celebrated, in public, over modulated cell phone conversations. Where one may have once been embarrassed by this, "cotton candy stream of consciousness chatter" has now become entrenched in our popular culture.

That doesn't mean we have to like it. In a poll released recently by Marist College, 47 percent of Americans surveyed said the jaw-droppingly slacker response "whatever" was "most annoying in conversation."

EastBayDaze was stunned. Someone else hated that dismissive, weak, and self-empowering one-word wonder. But then things got even better.

"Whatever" beat out "you know," which grated with a quarter of respondents. The other annoying contenders were "anyway" (at 7 percent), "it is what it is" (11 percent) and "at the end of the day" (2 percent).

"Whatever" — pronounced "WHAT'-ehv-errr" when the user is exasperated — which happens a lot, apparently - was immortalized by grunge-band Nirvana in 1991, popularized by the Valley girls in "Clueless" later that decade, and is still commonly used, often by younger people and our little girl.

It can be an all-purpose discussion-ender or a signal of unrepentant apathy. We find it really annoying. The poll found "whatever" to be consistently disliked by Americans regardless of their race, gender, age, income or where they live.

EastBayDaze would also like to add "like" to the Marist College list, along with the useless and endlessly repeated "You know what I'm saying?"

Yes, we know. You're not saying anything. If you have some hated words of phrases of your own, feel free to forward them to this bastion of free speech and belief in the English language.

Holla Back, y'all...