The Oakwood Athletic Club in Lafayette will host the Lamorinda Moms’ 12th Annual Preschool Fair this Thursday, Nov. 12, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Over 30 Lamorinda preschools will be represented at the fair by school directors and parents of children attending that school. The representatives will be able to discuss the benefits of their school as well as answer any questions parents may have.

All families attending will receive an informational packet comparing all of the different options children in Lamorinda have for preschool.

The event is free for all, and children are welcome to attend.

The Lamorinda Baseball Club will be holding tryouts for their 10 and Under boys team on Nov. 7 from 12:30-3:30 p.m. and on Nov. 22 from 9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. The tryouts will take place at Rudgear Field, located at 2250 Stewart Ave. in Walnut Creek. Visit http://www.lamorindabaseball.org for more information.

The Lamorinda Rugby Club is currently holding online registration for the upcoming season for boys ages 7-18. The last day to register is Nov. 11. For more information, visit http://www.lamorugby.com.

Registration is open for the Spring 2010 season of the Lamorinda Lacrosse Club. The Lamorinda Lacrosse Club is open to boys and girls ages 7-14. Visit http://www.lamorindalacrosse.com for more information.

In case you heard a ’splosion in Orinda yesterday, here’s why (from the city):

The sunshine will be taking a break this week as high winds and heavy rain are expected starting tonight.

According to the National Weather Service, winds in the area are expected to be between 20 and 35 mph on Tuesday. Some of the stronger wind gusts could top 50 mph.

The high wind advisory issued by the National Weather Service is in effect from 2:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Tuesday, although the wind will begin to pick up starting tonight.

The forecast shows that the rain will start sometime this evening and continue until Wednesday night. Heavy rain is expected all day Tuesday to go along with the severe wind.

If you were outside in the Lamorinda area Tuesday between the hours of 3:00 and 5:00 p.m., you likely smelled smoke caused by a brush fire on the edge of Orinda.

Around 3:00 p.m., a brush fire broke out near the Fish Ranch Road exit off Highway 24 in Orinda. The fire burned its way to the Oakland side of the hills and burned a total of 30 acres.

Nearly 25 fire engines and several helicopters and planes were used to combat the fire. Firefighters were able to have the fire completely contained by 5:15 p.m.

No damage or injuries were a result of the fire. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

Lafayette City Manager Steven Falk sent out this article from the Wall Street Journal about suburban communities and the ways they are trying to design redesign their downtowns to be more accommodating to seniors and others wishing stay in town but finding it increasingly difficult to do so. Where have we seen this before?

With all three Lamorinda cities somewhere in the process of coming up with downtown plans, it’s a worthwhile read, although opponents of downtown high-density/multi-use development (a la Town Center III) likely will be disappointed that the article doesn’t present too much of a counter-argument to such development proposals.

Still, with the Association of Bay Area Governments projecting that we’ll need to find space for 1.7 million more people in the Bay Area over the next 25 years, the Journal piece may offer a glimpse into the future for East Bay suburbs.

And it’s also worth pointing out that a revised draft Lafayette’s Downtown Strategic Plan is available here for your viewing pleasure. The Planning Commission, Downtown Advisory Committee and City Council will be looking at it in the coming weeks.

The strange summer weather struck again these past few days when highs reached triple digits. The high in Lafayette on Saturday reached 103 degrees, the all-time record high for Aug. 29 in Lafayette. The average high on that day in the past has been just 86 degrees.

The forecasted high for Monday is cold in comparison to this weekend, at only 74 degrees. There are even expected to be scattered clouds throughout the day.

The 10-day forecast shows the drop in heat, as the forecasted highs in the Lamorinda area are expected to bounce between the mid-70s and mid-80s.

For more Lamorinda weather information, visit this website: Lamorinda Weather Forecast

The Lamorinda United Under-18 girls soccer team is currently ranked second in the state in their age group after several strong performances at tournaments.

The girls finished second in the Davis College Showcase and won their bracket at the Pleasanton Rage College Showcase.

The team’s most impressive result was winning the Under-19 Division of the Mustang Stampede Tournament. In the team’s toughest game of the tournament, the girls fell behind, 2-0, to the Mustang Spirit, before scoring three unanswered goals to steal the win.

The team includes several players from the Under-16 and Under-17 age groups who are playing up against older competition.

The Lafayette Gallery has a show called “Ten Years Together” on display from now until October 10. The show is in honor of the tenth anniversary of the Lafayette Gallery opening and features new and old work from member artists. For more information, visit http:// www.Lafayettegallery.net.

For the month of August, the Orinda Library Gallery has paintings by George Ehrenhaft on display. Ehrenhaft is a resident of Moraga and many of his paintings are of local spots, including the Lafayette Reservoir and Moraga Ranch.

The Moraga Art Gallery has a new show running through the end of October called “Bold Statements.” The show features the work of many local artists in a variety of media.

A 2.7 magnitude earthquake was felt by some residents of Lamorinda who were up in the early hours of Saturday morning. The earthquake happened at 3:40 a.m. and was centered one mile north of Danville.

A quake of this size is unlikely to shake enough to awake anyone from their sleep, which is why many Lamorinda residents were unaware of this earthquake.

There has been no damage reported. No injuries have been reported either.

For more information about all earthquakes, major and minor, centered in the Bay Area, visit the U.S. Geological Society’s Website here: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Maps/US2/37.39.-123.-121.php