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Community Corner

🌱 Veranda Sephora Robbery + Air Liquide Settlement + Flip Frenzy

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)

Hey, neighbors! It's me again, Jeri Karges, your host of the Concord Daily.

First, today's weather:

Sun and areas of high clouds. High: 61 Low: 40.

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Here are the top five stories today in Concord:

  1. Two women were arrested in Concord robbing a Sephora store, using baby strollers to carry out more than $1,000 in merchandise, police said Thursday. Officers responded to the Sephora store at the Veranda Shopping Center after employees called to report two females stashed the items in the strollers. Employees recovered some of the stolen merchandise and officers located the rest of it in one of the strollers. Both suspects were arrested. (CBS San Francisco)
  2. Pacific Gas and Electric said Friday that it is still investigating what caused a power outage to customers in the City of Antioch, City of Brentwood and City of Oakley on Thursday. The outage began at 4:10 pm where the East Bay experienced a transmission-level outage. At the peak, 24,776 customers in parts of Antioch, Oakley and Brentwood were affected. Power was restored by 5:25 pm. (East County Today)
  3. Industrial gas company Air Liquide announced Thursday that it's agreed to pay $159,000 in settlement fees to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District for violations at its hydrogen plant in Contra Costa County. Between 2016 and 2021, the refinery received seven notices for non-compliance with air quality standards, the air district said. The air district will use the settlement funds to pay for the inspection and enforcement activities involved in this case. (Claycord.com)
  4. Seniors and people with disabilities in Contra Costa, Napa and Solano counties could get wheelchairs and other specialized medical equipment at no charge under a bill proposed this week in the state Legislature. Senate Bill 842 would establish a redistribution program for three years in the three counties for equipment like wheelchairs, walkers, power scooters and shower chairs that are often too costly or unavailable to people who need them, and often get discarded by those who no longer have use for the items. (Claycord.com)
  5. The Antioch Police Department is down between 21 and 27 sworn officers from what the city council has authorized of between 115 and 121, as of Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. In response to questions about police staffing, Captain Trevor Schnitzius wrote, "We are currently staffed at 109 sworn-police officers (authorized to 115) with Council approval to over hire by six (in theory 121).... It is not at all unusual for this time of year just coming out of the Holiday Season and heading into the New Year to experience a lull in applicants, it's typically one of our slowest times of the year for recruiting" That leaves the city with only 1 officer per 1,000 population authorized based on the 2020 Census figure of 115,291 and less than 0.82 officers per thousand at full duty. The goal has been to achieve 1.2 officers per thousand since the mid-1990s. (Antioch Herald)

Today in Concord:

  • Learn to embroider at Forest Home Farms Historic Park in San Ramon. (11:00 AM)
  • Try your flippers at pinball at The Flipper Room's Godzilla Flip Frenzy. The Flipper Room is inside The Art of Picture Framing in Concord. (5:00 PM)
  • See Ken Cooper Live in the Saloon at Back Forty Texas BBQ in Pleasant Hill. (6:00 PM)
  • Come out for Epidemic Comedy Night at Epidemic Ales in Concord. As always, the show is free (but tips for the comedians are always appreciated). (8:00 PM)

From my notebook:

  • Volunteer for Antioch's annual MLK Day of Service Monday, Jan. 17. Join the Antioch community in restoring, beautifying, and cleaning up our parks, including Antioch Community, Gentrytown Park, Prewett Family Park, and Waldie Plaza! Registration required at activenet.active.com/antiochrecreation.
  • The City of Martinez will be hosting its annual Measure D Street Selection Public Workshop with the Franchise and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Wednesday, January 19th, at 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. The workshop is an opportunity for residents to learn about the City's Pavement Management Program and its recommendations for the next round of street improvement projects and provide input for the Subcommittee and staff. The meeting Zoom link is here:https://cityofmartinez-org.zoom.us/j/96203000103?pwd=NEVqUFNzSWUyVTl5KytoeXVacDVXZz09 Webinar ID: 962 0300 0103 Passcode: 088995
  • Did you know Lafayette puts out an "almost daily bulletin?" It's chock full of news and information for the City of Lafayette. Check it out here!


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Alrighty, you're all good for today. I'll catch up with you bright and early tomorrow morning with your next 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...

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

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