This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

🌱 Area Grocery Store Hours + CHP Out In Force + Letters To Santa

The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Concord.

Jeri Karges's profile picture
Jeri Karges, Neighbor
|
(Patch Media)

Good morning, people of Concord! Jeri Karges here with today's copy of theConcord Daily.

Happy Thanksgiving, Concord!

First, today's weather:

Sunshine mixing with clouds. High: 62 Low: 40.

Here are the top stories today in Concord:

  1. Two locals won top prizes in Cal Poly's elevator pitch competition. Surya Venugopal, an industrial engineering senior from Pleasanton, won the competition with his pitch for XCredit, a peer-to-peer platform that allows users to cultivate their credit scores by fulfilling their payment requests. He claimed the top prize of $1,000 which he says he'll reinvest in his startup. Sara Dada's startup idea was the top pick of attendees. Dada, from San Ramon, pitched Beacon, an app designed to prevent violence on college campuses by centralizing campus safety resources. Dada and her team are currently working with the Cal Poly CIE Hatchery, an on-campus incubator that helps develop student's startup ideas. They are developing a prototype of the Beacon app. Congratulations Surya and Sara! (A-Town Daily News)
  2. Plenty of grocery stores in or near Concord will be open today, Thanksgiving Day, to pick up that missing can of cranberry sauce or additional package of biscuits. Here are the hours for major Northern California grocery stores that will be open on Thanksgiving Day, along with those that won't. As always, Patch encourages you to call ahead to your local store to confirm hours at that location. (Concord Patch)
  3. California Highway Patrol Officers will be out in full force on Contra Costa County's highways and freeways amid one of the year's heaviest traffic times. All available CHP officers in the Concord area and across Contra Costa County and the Golden State were slated to hit the streets Wednesday evening in search of intoxicated and unsafe drivers amid peak traffic. The CHP crackdown was expected to span more than 4 days, from 6 p.m. Wednesday through 11:59 p.m. Sunday. (Concord Patch)
  4. As the holidays approach, Contra Costa County continues to make steady progress against COVID-19, health officials told the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. "We're seeing lots of the progress we're having because so many of our residents are choosing to get vaccinated, both for the first time and with booster doses," said county health services director Anna Roth. Overall case rates are down as well. Deputy health officer Dr. Sofe Mekuria told the board the county is steadily approaching state-mandated goals to lift indoor masking requirements, one of which is having 80 percent of eligible people fully vaccinated. The county is currently at 74.2 percent, with 80.6 percent having at least one dose. (Claycord.com)
  5. Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton announced an alliance between San Joaquin, Alameda, San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties, law enforcement, and state agencies to combat the recent increase in organized retail theft. Each office has pledged a prosecutor to collaborate and participate in the joint effort. While police work to strengthen investigations and collaborations across jurisdictional boundaries, prosecutors' offices similarly can better ensure accountability through information sharing. The partnership between counties and local agencies would allow for the sharing of information through data collection, crime analytics, as well as pooled investigative tools to successfully prosecute those involved with organized retail theft schemes. (News 24/680)

Today's Concord Daily is brought to you by Newrez, a leading nationwide mortgage lender. Make a smart move for your future and refinance with Newrez today. Call 844-979-1707 to connect with a Newrez loan officer. Newrez, LLC (NMLS #3013)

Today in Concord:

  • Get Tess' Thanksgiving turkey meals to go at the Community Farm Kitchen in Brentwood! Just heat it up and look like a star! (11:00 AM)
  • If a Tree Falls: Art of the Boundary Oak memorializes the City of Walnut Creek's signature Valley Oak, which tragically fell during a massive windstorm in October 2019. At the Bedford Gallery inside the Lesher Center for the Arts. (12:00 Noon)
  • Retro Junkie in Walnut Creek is open and featuring Live Band Karaoke. (9:00PM)

Concord Patch Notebook

  • Holiday elves have delivered a very special mailbox for children to drop off their letters to Santa! Letters must be received between November 30 and December 8 so that Santa can respond in time. The mailbox is located in Centre Concord's lobby (5298 Clayton Rd) and is accessible on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Pioneer Publishers)

From our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Featured businesses:

Events:

Gigs & services:

Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Thursday off right! I'll see you around. If you're liking these newsletters, consider inviting some of your friends and neighbors to read along. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Jeri Karges

About me: Jeri Karges has been living in and loving the Sacramento region for over 30 years. Her passion is finding new and unique ways to enjoy the city and surrounding areas. On weekends, you can find her pestering her friends to sample the restaurant that doesn't have silverware, or try their hand at throwing an axe. Jeri also enjoys writing about retirement planning at https://rockinretirement.subst...

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Concord Daily? Email me at Concord-Ca@Patch.com.

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Concord