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CLAYCORD.com —claycord Breaking News & Talk – Concord, Clayton, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Martinez Home CONTACT ABOUT COLUMNS ADVERTISE California Supreme Court Overturns Scott Peterson’s Death Penalty Sentence August 24, 2020 11:26 am · 0 comments { 0 comments } Northbound Kirker Pass To Be Reduced To One Lane From Pavilion To Hess Rd. Until Sept.4 August 24, 2020 10:00 am · 2 comments Drainage facilities are scheduled to be installed in the northbound direction of Kirker Pass Road adjacent to the existing concrete median barrier, as part of the Kirker Pass Road Northbound Truck Climbing Lane Project. Northbound traffic will be reduced into one lane starting today until September 4. The work will take place from the Concord Pavilion to the northern Hess Road intersection. Electronic message boards will alert drivers of the scheduled lane closure. Drivers should expect delays. The Kirker Pass Road Northbound Truck Climbing Lane Project will improve safety and reduce congestion along Kirker Pass Road from the Concord Pavilion to the northern Hess Road intersection by constructing a truck climbing lane in the northbound direction. { 2 comments } Budget Woes, Social Justice Issues Highlight “Active” City Council Campaign In Walnut Creek August 24, 2020 8:00 am · 20 comments Walnut Creek Mayor Loella Haskew said 2020 has been “a most difficult year” for Bay Area mayors. For Haskew, who is seeking her third Walnut Creek City Council term in the Nov. 3 general election, that pain has been largely because of the devastating effects of the COVID-19 coronavirus on both the city’s economy, and on the arts and cultural scene that also help define the city. “We’ve worked hard to help businesses, and the city, be more nimble and to survive,” said Haskew, a certified public accountant, specifically noting the formation of a committee to move that work forward. “This is a bad time for red tape.” [CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY….] { 20 comments } UPDATE: Vegetation Fire Burning Off Port Chicago Hwy. In North Concord August 23, 2020 22:00 pm · 14 comments A multi-acre vegetation fire is burning behind the North Concord BART station, near Panoramic Dr. and Port Chicago Hwy. The blaze started at about 9:50 p.m., and is located on the former Naval Weapons Station land. UPDATE: All incoming units have been canceled. Firefighters on scene have a handle on the blaze. map: google maps { 14 comments } Congressman DeSaulnier To Host “Emergency” Town Hall On USPS And Voting In Contra Costa August 23, 2020 19:00 pm · 36 comments Congressman Mark DeSaulnier announced he will host an emergency virtual town hall to discuss the United States Postal Service and voting in Contra Costa County on Monday, August 24 at 3:00 p.m. The event will be held live on Congressman DeSaulnier’s Facebook page (facebook.com/repmarkdesaulnier). DeSaulnier will be joined by Harold Kelso, California State President of the National Association of Letter Carriers as well as Deborah Cooper, Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters, and Scott Konopasek, Assistant Registrar for Contra Costa. The town hall will feature a brief presentation and panel discussion as well as a question and answer period addressing the recent changes made at USPS that are affecting mail delivery and mail-in ballots. { 36 comments } Scientists Warn It May Be Years Before Students Can Return To School Without Masks, Social Distancing August 23, 2020 17:09 pm · 41 comments As schools consider whether it’s safe to reopen this fall, medical experts warn it could take years before students and teachers can return to in-person education safely without masks, social distancing and other measures intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus, according to a report by CNBC . CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY . { 41 comments } DAILY UPDATE: 1,519 Active Cases Of COVID-19 In Contra Costa County – 100 People Currently Hospitalized August 23, 2020 12:11 pm · 17 comments [CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY….] { 17 comments } UPDATE: Three Alarm Fire Burning On N.Civic Drive In Walnut Creek August 23, 2020 11:51 am · 21 comments – photo credit: firebomber68 photography – Dan Dinneen – Firefighters are battling a three-alarm structure fire at 300 N. Civic Dr. in Walnut Creek this morning. Multiple apartments are on fire, according to ConFire. A rescue was also underway on the second floor of the building, fire officials said. The building has been evacuated. UPDATE: The fire has been extinguished. UPDATE: One person was rescued by firefighters from the second floor balcony. That person is hospitalized with burn injuries, but is alive. { 21 comments } Contra Costa: Phillips 66 To Pay $285K Settlement After 2019 Wastewater Discharge August 23, 2020 10:00 am · 7 comments The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board has fined Phillips 66 $285,000 for a 2019 discharge of more than 5 million gallons of partially treated wastewater from its Rodeo refinery to San Pablo Bay. The Feb. 14, 2019 discharge exceeded the “suspended solids” volume allowed under Phillips’ permits. Suspended solids from petroleum refineries may contain toxic byproducts of refinery operations that can harm aquatic life. No such harm has been observed in San Pablo Bay after the discharge, water quality officials said. Phillips will pay $142,500 to the State Water Pollution Cleanup and Abatement Account and another $142,500 toward a supplemental environmental project to study how sediment moves through San Francisco Bay. Thomas Mumley, assistant executive officer for the San Francisco Bay water board, said the settlement is intended both to send a message that all petroleum refineries in the Bay Area need to manage their treatment systems properly, and to deter Phillips specifically from committing similar violations in the future. Water quality officials said that Phillips could not store enough wastewater from a series of large rainstorms to be treated later, forcing the refinery to bypass the part of its treatment system that filters out suspended solids. The discharge might not have happened, the San Francisco Bay water board said, had Phillips restored an onsite storage tank to service ahead of those storms. The refinery didn’t return the storage tank in question to service until January 2020. Phillips spokesperson Adrienne Ursino said the offending discharge was limited to one day, and that all other test results of the discharge water were “well within permit limits for all other constituents and characteristics.” “Phillips 66 places the utmost importance on environmental protection and the safety of our employees, contractors, and the community, and we continue to make improvements to our refinery infrastructure and operations to manage adverse weather events,” Usino said in an email. Phillips 66 announced plans to turn its Rodeo refinery, which opened in 1896, into the “world’s largest renewable fuels plant,” producing fuels from cooking oils, fats, greases and soybean oils. It hopes that conversion is finished some time in 2024. { 7 comments } UPDATE: Red Flag Warning Issued For Bay Area Starting Sunday Morning August 22, 2020 19:00 pm · 6 comments The latest round of thunderstorms and dry lightning headed for the region will be a weaker version of last weekend’s intense electrical displays, but could fan wildfires with gusty winds, forecasters said Saturday. The National Weather Service on Saturday issued a red flag warning for critical fire weather conditions around the Bay Area, effective from 5 a.m. Sunday to 5 p.m. Monday. “This will be a weaker overall event,” said forecaster Drew Peterson. “What we experienced last weekend was extremely rare for the region.” The Bay Area is now ringed by wildfires and the weather service’s primary concern is for erratic gusts that could move those blazes in unexpected ways, Peterson said. The strongest thunderstorms are expected to develop Sunday night through Monday morning. T...