Many of Lafayette’s city staff members can now add “burgeoning movie star” to their resumes.
In response to City Manager Steve Falk’s interest in answering resident questions about municipal finance, they put together a 6-minute video, which is posted on the city’s Web site.
“I think the people are asking fair questions, but we need to kind of be more aggressive about getting our message out there,” Falk said.
To that end, his staff was willing to “embarrass themselves” by acting in the film, which cost the city $4,700.
At Tuesday’s Lafayette City Council meeting, it seemed the residents of two adjacent neighborhoods might need to be separated by a demilitarized zone.
At issue: Traffic calming measures on Stanley Boulevard and Springbrook Road, which are to be put to a neighborhood vote starting after Thanksgiving.
On one side: Residents on or near the two streets who have been clamouring for traffic calming for years to protect pedestrians heading to nearby schools and parks.
Their opposition: Residents of Bacon Court and Bacon Way, whose only way in and out is along Springbrook Road. They are concerned about emergency response times to their homes.
In the culmination of a four-year process, residents will be sent a ballot on Nov. 26 asking if they want traffic calming along Stanley Boulevard and Springbrook Road, and if so, whether they preferred a design based on speed humps or based on islands, chicanes and other road-narrowing options.
We keep hearing stories about rafters of wild turkeys standing in the middle of Lamorinda roadways,. stopping traffic. But so far, the critters have eluded our photographers. Kinda like Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster. So dear readers, if you see wild turkeys in these days before Thanksgiving, send us the photos as jpgs or prints. Send jpgs to lmclaughlin@bayareanewsgroup.com. And send prints to Leanne McLaughlin, Lamorinda Sun editor, 2640 Shadelands Drive, Walnut Creek 94598. Include your name and a phone number. We’ll try to run the photos before the holiday.
By Scott Marshall
Staff Writer
LAFAYETTE_ Prosecutors have charged a Tracy man with felony gross vehicular manslaughter in the March 22 death of a motorist in front of Acalanes High School on Stanley Boulevard that outraged the Lamorinda community.
David Caspillo, 38, of Tracy was charged Monday, said Lafayette police Chief Mike Hubbard. Caspillo was not taken into custody, but prosecutors issued an order for him to appear in court.
“Oh, thank God,” said Jim Hall, a longtime friend of the victim, Dale Zenor, 55 of Walnut Creek. “It’s one sigh of relief and a small step for justice.”
The charge is the culmination of a months-long investigation into Zenor’s death.
The investigation, while exhaustive, did not establish a precise speed of the BMW 740 Caspillo drove that day, but the velocity of the accident was tremendous, Hubbard said.
The high-speed chain-reaction crash occurred as Caspillo accelerated toward the rear of Zenor’s Mazda, last in line of a group of vehicles stopped for a red light at Stanley Boulevard and Pleasant Hill Road, according to police and a witness.
Five other people were injured.
Reach Scott Marshall at 925-945-4782 or smarshall@bayareanewsgroup.com.
By Scott Marshall
STAFF WRITER
The investigation is nearly complete in a fatal March 22 accident on Stanley Boulevard, Lafayette police Chief Mike Hubbard said Wednesday.
A team of officers who specialize in reconstructing accidents is working on final speed calculations, and then the case will be forwarded to the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office.
Investigators have reconstructed the accident based on physical evidence, dozens of witness interviews and an array of records, Hubbard said.
Prosecutors will decide what, if any, charges are filed in the case.
A man being investigated in connection with the fatal six-car crash was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, police said Wednesday. Police have not identified, charged or cited the driver.
The chain-reaction crash occurred when a BMW slammed into the rear of a Mazda on Stanley Boulevard at Pleasant Hill Road in front of Acalanes High School.
The Mazda driver, Dale Zenor, 55, of Walnut Creek, died. Five other people in vehicles in front of the Mazda were injured.
Reach Scott Marshall at 925-945-4782 or smarshall2@cctimes.com.
Spotted on Highway 24 in Orinda around noon today: A clunker of an old sedan (robin’s egg blue) with a Nixon/Agnew bumper sticker. Have you spotted any interesting cars/stickers lately??? Let us know.
Both of Lamorinda’s road measures died at the polls Tuesday night.
Lafayette’s Measure C, a $150 annual parcel tax bid to fix cracked and pothole-riddled residential streets, captured 62.9 percent of the vote. It needed a two-thirds approval.
Orinda’s Measure E, a $58.6 million bond to fix roads, drains and water pipes, also fell short of the required two-thirds approval with 63.4 percent of the vote.
In Lafayette, where more than 100 supporters have spent weeks lobbying voters, campaign volunteers expressed disappointment over the loss.
On Friday the Lamorinda Sun reports on bond measures to pay for road repairs. We also offer resources on how to report a pothole for repair. Some of the information is below. Reporter Brooke Bryant is also putting together an online map for readers to map their worst pothole in Lamorinda. We’ll have the link on the blog later today.
Report state highway and freeway repairs to Caltrans: www.dot.ca.gov/maintform.html
Lafayette Public Works maintenance hotline: 299-3259.
Orinda Public Works: 253-4231 or e-mail orindapublicworks@ci.orinda.ca.us.
Moraga Public Services Department at 925-376-2521.
On Friday the Lamorinda Sun takes a look at Lamorinda’s roads and the road bonds that come before voters next month.
One feature we’ll run is a list of Internet links that can be used as resources, so readers can learn more about the roads they drive on daily and know how to report a problem.
One link we won’t be running, but is one of my favorite road related Web sites, is from the Bakersfield Californian. It has a pothole map where readers can map their most hated pothole.
The Lamorinda Sun is doing a special issue May 18 on the road measures on the June 5 ballot in both Lafayette and Orinda. We plan to feature pro and con statements and letters for each measure.
In Lafayette we’re still seeking someone to write a guest editorial opposing the measure. We already have lined up a guest editorial in support of the measure.
If you want to be the opposition voice in Lafayette, call 943-8163
