🌱 Mike's Auto Body Vehicle Giveaway + Tri-Delta Driver Shortage

Up and at 'em, Concord! Here's everything you need to know to get this Tuesday started off right.

First, today's weather:

Cloudy with afternoon rain. High: 51 Low: 45.

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Here are the top 5 stories in Concord today:

1. Mike’s Auto Body gave away its 100th vehicle through its nationally-known Benevolence Program, at a presentation held at the Concord Pavilion. To reach the milestone of 100 vehicles given away, Mike's presented four families with “nearly new” completely refurbished cars. Everything for the Benevolence Program is donated — the cars, parts, paint, mechanical inspections, tires and one full year of insurance. The body and paint technicians donate their time and talents. (Autobody News)
2. West Contra Costa Unified board members voted to push the student vaccine deadline back from Jan. 3 to Feb.18, while ramping up outreach to get more students vaccinated. West Contra Costa Unified Superintendent Kenneth “Chris” Hurst said the district would not have been prepared to offer independent study to the 6,743 students 12 and older who had not verified their vaccination status as of Monday. The district’s independent study program, Vista Virtual Academy, already had a waitlist of 365 students this week. Not offering those students independent study would have violated state law. (Claycord.com)
3. Tri Delta Transit over the weekend announced that due to a driver shortage, several routes are now being impacted and it’s anticipated to last through Spring of 2022. Schedules were changed as of December 19 with impacts to the City of Antioch, City of Brentwood, City of Oakley, City of Pittsburg and other parts of the county. Tri Delta Transit will be lengthening the time between runs to an hour in between arrivals. This will allow for all runs to still continue so that no service routes are cut. (East County Today)
4. At about 3:20 PM on Dec. 14, the Brentwood Police Department responded to Fremont Bank located at 200 sand Creek Road for a reported bank robbery. Officers were able to obtain surveillance footage of the suspect and identified the license plate of the vehicle the suspect used to flee the scene. The following day, the Manhattan Beach Police Department located the vehicle within their jurisdiction. One of the vehicle occupants was charged with one felony count of robbery. If anyone has information related to this crime, please contact Detective Jeffrey Agostinho at 925-809-7911. All callers may remain anonymous. (East County Today)
5. Twenty-three years ago, Livermore resident Alex Dourov, a holiday home decorator, took the guesswork out of driving around the Tri-Valley area to see the Christmas lights. Dourov created a database of light displays in the Tri-Valley that were verified to make a night's viewing more enjoyable, and he posted the addresses with photos on his website. Californiachristmaslights.com expanded in 2011 with new features including a searchable database. "Each year the website receives hundreds of submissions, asking to be placed on the website," Dourov said. "Only about one out of every 25 or so submissions is ultimately showcased on the website." And Dourov has pointed out that his website, with photos of each location, makes it possible even for the housebound to enjoy the lights of the season. (Pleasanton Weekly)

Today's Concord Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at Ring, the home security company. Ring does a lot more than doorbells: check out their full suite of smart home products at Ring.com. And thank you Ring for helping to make local news happen in Concord!

Today in Concord:

• Ahead of his 2022 tour, John Mayer will stop in Walnut Creek for an autograph signing and fan meet-and-greet. (3:00 PM)
• Come out for the De La Salle Alumni Basketball Game and Social! (5:00 PM)
• Walnut Creek Downtown and Broadway Plaza invite the community to come out for Holiday Caroling Night at Broadway Plaza. Meet up near the painted piano in the event plaza next to Macy’s. (Song books will be provided) (6:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Did you know that Concord is home to flight school @psaflight? (Instagram)
• Did you know the City of Concord’s Permit Center services are available online? You can search information on zoning, permit requirements and fees with the Permit Pal tool, and you can apply for building, engineering, and planning permits (Facebook)
• Concord is seeking the public's input for its Housing Element Update, which will develop a housing plan for 2023-2031. Tell us how the City should meet its future housing needs. Take the survey and be entered to win a $40 gift card! (Twitter)

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• Save 15 Percent On FTD’s Christmas Collection (December 25)
• New Years Eve Party at Roxx on Main (December 31)
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• Danville Expert Offers FREE Book to Ensure Your Family’s Future! (Details)
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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Tuesday! I'll see you soon.

— 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...