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Community Corner

🌱Martinez Police Chief Retires + Solano Plaza Cleanup Volunteers

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

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Jeri Karges, Neighbor
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(Patch Media)

Happy Saturday, people of Concord! Let's get this day started. Here are the most important things happening today in Concord.

First, today's weather:

Cooler with showers. High: 58 Low: 40.

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Here are the top five stories in Concord today:

  1. The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office has secured a first-degree murder conviction in the decades-old death of an Antioch girl, Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton announced Thursday. Mitchell Lynn Bacom, 67, of Antioch, was convicted Tuesday by a Contra Costa County jury of killing 14-year-old Suzanne Bombardier in June 1980 — closing the book on what was the oldest open homicide on record in Antioch. The Bombardier investigation went cold until 2017 when Bacom was identified as the perpetrator through a biological sample matched to his DNA profile. Because of the first-degree murder conviction in Bombardier's death, along with special circumstances for committing the murder during the course of burglary, kidnapping and rape, Bacom will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Becton's office said. (Concord Patch)
  2. Martinez Police Chief Manjit Sappal is retiring after six-and-a-half years on the job, the city announced on its website. The city says during Sappal's time, the department has modernized its processes and addressed a variety of public safety challenges, including homelessness. The city will hire an interim chief while conducting an executive search for a successor. (Claycord.com)
  3. An independent hearing board with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has approved an abatement order for the Valero Refining Company to cease unreported emissions at its Benicia refinery effective immediately, the oversight agency announced this week. The independent hearing was in response to earlier revelations that Valero had been releasing excessive levels of hazardous chemicals for nearly 16 years before the air district said it became aware of them. "The air district will now focus on assessing penalties commensurate with the seriousness of the violation and that will act as a deterrent against similar violations in the future," the district said. (Claycord.com)
  4. Alex Diaz, a resident of North Concord near Hillcrest Park says he got "hooked" on trash cleanup after participating in a cleanup put on by his Neighborhood Watch group. Since then, he has mobilized a dedicated crew of volunteers to join him in tidying up their little corner of planet Earth, specifically targeting the streets and underpass areas around Highway 242 near Solano Plaza. Sixteen volunteers, armed with trash pickers and bags, scour the neighborhood around Solano Plaza. Diaz, who works in the financial services sector, hopes this random act of kindness becomes contagious in the area's corporate community. Time will tell if Diaz's efforts inspire more residents around Concord, Clayton and Pleasant Hill to roll up their sleeves to fight the blight in their neighborhoods. (Pioneer Publishers)
  5. Bay Area nonprofit White Pony Express (WPE) invites help in collecting medical supplies, non-perishable food items, and new high-quality clothing to aid the more than one million civilians who have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion. The United Nations estimates the refugee figure could reach as high as four million people. WPE is working with non-profit and business partners to ship items to trusted organizations serving the refugees streaming into neighboring countries like Poland. Learn more here: https://www.whiteponyexpress.org/supportukraine. (East County Today) Check out their new app, too, to make giving more convenient! (Walnut Creek Magazine)

Today in Concord:

  • 19-Hand Horse Band will be at the Clayton Club Saloon in Clayton. (8:00 PM)
  • Intense, virtuosic, powerful... show driven by three aggressive heavy metal distorted popular bay area bands... MORDRED, DEFIANCE, and HATRIOT. Don't miss this power metal reunion show at Vinnie's Bar in Concord. (9:00 PM)
  • One of my favorites, The Spazmatics will be at Dan's Irish Sports Bar in Walnut Creek. (9:30 PM)

From my notebook:

  • Midnight Basketball Free League in Antioch begins Friday, April 1!
  • The St. Baldrick's Shave-a-thon is back, Sunday March 20 at 11:00 AM at the Main Street Plaza in Martinez! They'll have fun activities for kids and live music from The Martinez Music Mafia! Over the last 11 years Citrus has raised over $100,000 for the incredible @stbaldricks organization that funds life saving research for childhood cancer.
  • Do you know your "zone," Orinda? You'll be better equipped to evacuate in an emergency if you know your zone and have the app to help you find the best escape route. Learn all about it here!

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

  • 27th Annual East Bay International Jewish Film Festival (March 19)
  • Artists 4 ERA: Art Show & Benefit for Gender Equality (March 19)
  • Love BB King? Check out Chris Cain's show at Almost Famous (March 19)
  • Contra Costa Wind Symphony - "Myths, Legends and Epic Tales" (March 20)
  • American Diabetes Association Diabetes Alert Day: Understand Your Risk (March 22)
  • Virtual Remodeling Seminar (March 24)
  • Walnut Creek Bead & Design Show (March 25)
  • Taxes in Retirement Webinar (March 28)
  • Add your event

Housing:

Job listings:

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You're all caught up for today. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— 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...

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