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01/05/09
I always love the first weekend in January, because that's when Tony LaRussa throws the best party of the new year at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. ARF's annual Stars to the Rescue concert is always a blast, with a variety of performing artists jamming for a great cause. This year's lineup is really fun. I'm particularly excited to see Billy Bob Thornton's band, The Boxmasters, bring their rockabilly sounds to Walnut Creek. Also, I've always had a soft spot for the AM radio sounds of Air Supply, but have never seen them live. They're also on the bill. So is Tony "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" Orlando, Moving Arts Dance, and political comedian Will...
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01/02/09
A Walnut Creek school gymnasium shows up in the part of the film that covers Milk’s 1978 campaign against Proposition 6. At the time, this proposition was as hotly debated as this year’s Proposition 8, the same-sex marriage ban. Back in 1978, Proposition 6, if approved by voters, would have made it mandatory for school districts to fire gay teachers and any public school employee who supported gay rights. Before I get to Walnut Creek’s moment in Milk’s spotlight, here is some background on Milk and Proposition 6: In 1977, Milk made history by being elected San Francisco supervisor, representing the city’s Castro district. The next year, John Briggs, a conservative state senator from Fullerton and a failed gubernatorial...
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01/02/09
A year ago, Sara Jane Moore won parole from the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin where she was serving a life sentence for attempting to assassinate President Gerald Ford in September 1975. In a new book, Taking Aim at the President: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Shot at Gerald Ford, Bay Area investigative journalist Geri Spieler explains how a radical ‘70s terrorist emerged from a middle-aged woman, who, by outward appearances was a typical Danville housewife and mom, well-dressed, married to a doctor, and living in the new upscale Sycamore development.
Actually, Diablo in September 2005, 30 years after the assassination attempt, published an article by Spieler, “Don’t Blame it On Danville,” that chronicled...
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12/29/08
Celebrate an early New Year's Eve with your kids at one of these balloon drops in the East Bay.
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12/26/08
President-elect Barack Obama has nominated Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to be his energy secretary.
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12/24/08
Want to vent about the recent economic turmoil? Have a question for our experts? Or do you just want to see how your fellow East Bayers are weathering the storm? Check out our community forum on Staying Sane in an Insane World.
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12/19/08
Every December, Diablo honors outstanding community volunteers with our Threads of Hope Awards. In 2001, we recognized Myke Judd, an instructor at the Xonphon Therapeutic Horse Riding Center in Orinda. That center just received some impressive national awards, including 2008 horse of the year, Cocoa, and youth equestrian of the year, Anthony Fusaro. Fusaro, sadly, passed away in May. We wish the best to his family and to the folks at Xenophon. Information from the press release below. Orinda’s Xenophon Therapeutic Horse Riding Center
Receives Multiple Prestigious National Awards
NARHA Youth Equestrian of the Year, Horse of the Year, and Volunteer of the Year
ORINDA, CA -- December 18, 2008 –...
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12/16/08
It’s December, and for some of us this translates to “get out the ski gear”. With several inches of fresh powder on the mountain, it's time to hit the slopes Here are some of the best deals at 10 of Tahoe’s top ski resorts: Alpine is currently offering $25 off any season pass ordered online. Heavenly is offering a season pass for full time (12 credit) students for $269, and will give $40 in on-mountain cash for each referral purchase.
Kirkwood has a kid skiing special on Sundays, which includes two free child (12 & under)...
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12/16/08
Every year, the Diablo Black Men’s Group gathers for a holiday party to recognize the significance of African Americans in Contra Costa County. Their numbers are small—just about 2 percent of the total population in the San Ramon Valley, where their organization is based, but their members are active—as professionals, parents, and community volunteers.
“Because there are so few African-Americans living in the Danville and San Ramon area, the DBMG holds similar events throughout the year to give African-Americans a venue to socialize and be among other people like themselves,” said Robert Bogle, chair of the organization. “Eighty percent of our membership lives along the Interstate 680 corridor, and because we are a small minority in this...
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12/15/08
I'm a big Star Wars fan—I was seven-years-old when the first movie came out—so I have a soft spot for most things Star Wars. Clayton Books is having a fun promotion for holiday shopping, offering a free Star Wars collectible with every purchase of a Star Wars book, pop-up book, or audio book, while supplies last. I can definitely recommend Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy. I received it as a gift last year, and its pretty awesome (and focuses on the original trilogy). Clayton Books, 5433 Clayton Rd., Ste. D, Clayton, (925) 673-3325,
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