Join the City of Concord in celebrating Earth Day this April by giving back to our local environment. A series of hands-on volunteer events will take place across the city, offering residents a chance to support parks, plant trees, and help care for Concord’s urban forest.

Saturday, April 18 (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)

Markham Nature Park (1202 La Vista Avenue): Mulch spreading + nature walk
Cambridge Park (1135 Lacey Lane): Mulching + tree planting
Hillcrest Community Park (Grant Street & Olivera Road): Creek cleanup

Saturday, April 25 (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)

Willow Pass Park (2748 E. Olivera Road): Tree planting + mulching
Brazil Quarry Park (Kent Way): Fence repair, mulching + tree planting
Lime Ridge Open Space (3701 Treat Boulevard): Mulching, weeding + litter removal

These events are a great way to get outdoors, connect with your community, and make a visible impact on Concord’s green spaces. To participate, just sign the waiver through the link below.

The post Concord Invites Residents To Roll Up Their Sleeves For Earth Day Volunteer Events appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.

The Clayton Police Department reported a series of incidents over recent days, including traffic collisions, multiple arrests, and a vehicle theft.

Accidents
Two crashes were reported within the city. On March 30, a collision on El Molino Drive resulted in no injuries. The following day, March 31, a crash at Marsh Creek Road and Stranahan Circle caused minor injuries.

Arrests
Clayton police officers made several arrests tied to DUI and probation-related offenses:

• On March 2, a 40-year-old Walnut Creek man was arrested near Clayton Road and Mt. Zion Road for driving with a license suspended or revoked due to a prior DUI, along with a probation violation. He was released on a signed promise to appear.
• On March 28, a 50-year-old Concord resident was arrested near Regency Drive and El Portal Drive on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was transported to the police department for booking.
• On March 29, officers responded to Sequoia Court, where a 28-year-old Concord resident was arrested on suspicion of DUI, battery against a spouse or ex-spouse, and a probation violation. He was also booked.

Theft
A vehicle theft was reported on El Pueblo Place on March 30.

Vandalism
No vandalism incidents were reported during this period.

The post Clayton Crime Roundup – DUI Arrests, Crashes And Vehicle Theft appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.

QUESTION: Should Spring Break for schools be held before or after Easter?

-advertisement-

The post The Water Cooler – Spring Break – Before Or After Easter? appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.

On Friday, state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, criticized President Donald Trump’s plan to reopen Alcatraz Island as a prison after Trump requested $152 million in a 2027 federal budget request to cover first-year costs.

A news release issued by Wiener’s office said that the total cost of the project to reopen Alcatraz would be $2 billion.

“Trump’s idiotic quest to sink $2 billion into ruining a globally popular tourist attraction is the epitome of waste, fraud, and abuse,” Wiener said. “Trump’s dementia continues to get the best of him. Making Alcatraz a prison again isn’t a thing, and we’re not going to let him turn Alcatraz into his newest gulag. Back off.”

In 2025, Trump floated the idea of converting Alcatraz from a popular tourist destination in the middle of the Bay back into a prison.

Soon afterward, administration officials paid a surprise visit to Alcatraz, a move that many Bay Area political leaders, including Wiener, opposed.

U.S. Penitentiary Alcatraz closed in 1963 after opening 29 years earlier on the island in San Francisco Bay. Known as “The Rock,” it housed some of the most infamous criminals of its time, including Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly.

After its closure and a period of occupation by American Indians, Alcatraz has since turned into a tourist attraction with more than a million visitors a year to the public museum about the history of the island and its prison, according to the National Park Service.

The post Wiener Unloads On Trump’s Plan To Turn Alcatraz Back Into A Prison appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.

Contra Costa County Public Works will be applying pavement surface treatment on various residential roads in the Walnut Creek Area. Work will take place starting Monday, April 6, 2026, through Friday, June 26, 2026, barring unforeseen circumstances. Work will occur between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays), weather permitting. Traffic control will be used with restrictions in place to minimize impacts during commuting hours. Message boards will alert drivers about the work. Drivers should expect delays of up to 4 hours due to road closures through the work zone and consider alternative routes during working hours.

The post Contra Costa County Public Works To Perform Surface Treatment Work In Walnut Creek appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.

The post Happy Easter To Everybody In Claycord appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.

An endangered gray wolf from San Francisco Zoo & Gardens has been safely transferred to a conservation center in New Mexico for breeding.

The Mexican gray wolf is the world’s most endangered wolf subspecies. San Francisco Zoo is home to four female Mexican gray wolves that are siblings.

One of the siblings, a 7-year-old named Alpha, was transferred this week in an effort to increase the subspecies’ population.
“This is really huge for this subspecies,” Tina Hunter Burnam, the zoo’s curator of carnivores, said in a statement.

The Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area covers large portions of Arizona and New Mexico and is designated as a reintroduction habitat for the wolves.

Alpha traveled to the ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden in Albuquerque to mate with a “viable male,” the zoo said.

As part of the program, the wolves are kept “wild,” meaning that they aren’t trained and have limited interaction with humans so that they can eventually be released.

If Alpha produces pups, they will be fostered into one of the wild packs and released.

“By breeding Alpha, her pups would eventually be released into the Mexican Wolf Recovery Area, essentially, contributing to the wild population and the re-establishment of this rare subspecies,” Hunter Burnam said.

Mexican gray wolves nearly went extinct due to hunting. When the population dwindled to only seven individuals, the wolves were officially designated as an endangered species in 1976.

Those seven wolves were rescued and bred in captivity, and the population eventually increased to about 286 Mexican gray wolves living in the wild today. Another 380 wolves are in managed care like the ones in the San Francisco Zoo.

The post Endangered ‘Alpha’ Wolf Sent On Cross-State Booty Call To Save Her Species appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.

Happy Friday to all the wonderful citizens in the City of Claycord. This is a post with no subject, you can talk about whatever you want. If breaking news happens (such as a shooting, earthquake, etc.), or you hear about something newsworthy, feel free to post it here.

Please Note: Users who use multiple names will be deleted. Please choose a name so others can easily chat with you. Users must provide a name in the ‘name field’, please do not use the ‘@’ symbol in the name field.

The post Claycord – Talk About Whatever – April 3, 2026 appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.

This post is “Talk About Politics”. Please use this post to talk about politics, and keep politics out of the “whatever” thread. Thank you, and be kind to each other.

Please Note: Users who use multiple names will be deleted. Please choose a name so others can easily chat with you. Users must provide a name in the ‘name field’, please do not use the ‘@’ symbol in the name field.

The post Claycord – Talk About Politics – April 3, 2026 appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.

QUESTION: Do you have any big plans for Easter, or are you just staying home?

-advertisement-

The post The Water Cooler – Easter Plans? appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.

Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) announced that the Northern California UFCW Plan, based in Concord, will receive $2.6 billion in federal pension relief funding. The assistance is intended to help the plan continue paying full retirement benefits to its 138,516 participants in the service industry for many years.

According to DeSaulnier, the funding stems from the American Rescue Plan, which he supported in 2021, and is aimed at protecting benefits for workers and retirees.

The funding application was submitted through the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program by the UFCW–Northern California Employers Joint Pension Plan and approved by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. The SFA Program is designed to support severely underfunded multiemployer pension plans and help ensure participants receive their earned benefits.

The post Concord-Based UFCW Pension Plan To Receive $2.6 Billion In Federal Relief Funding appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.

Gas prices in California continue to rise alongside the national average, which has now surpassed $4 per gallon for the first time since August 2022.

The statewide average for regular gas increased five cents over the past week to $5.89 – about $1.01 higher than this time last year. Nationally, prices rose 10 cents to $4.08 per gallon.

AAA attributes the increase in part to rising crude oil prices, which have climbed above $100 per barrel amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Similar conditions in 2022 kept gas prices elevated for several months, with the national average peaking at $5 per gallon in June of that year.

Prices vary across California, with some of the highest averages in the Bay Area:

• San Francisco: $6.06
• Contra Costa: $5.93
• Oakland: $5.92
• San Jose: $5.88
• Sacramento: $5.77
• Fresno: $5.79
• Stockton: $5.70

Meanwhile, new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows gasoline demand declined slightly last week, while both supply and production also saw modest decreases.

The post For the First Time In Four Years, National Average Exceeds $4 Per Gallon appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.

QUESTION: What’s a place that’s overrated but nobody wants to say it out loud?

-advertisement-

The post The Water Cooler – What’s A Place That’s Overrated But Nobody Wants To Say It Out Loud? appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.

Congressman Mark DeSaulnier says he has advanced more than $46.7 million in proposed federal funding for projects across Contra Costa and Alameda counties, according to an announcement released this week.

The funding, which still requires approval from the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations and is not guaranteed, would support 20 projects focused on transportation, infrastructure, public safety and community development, DeSaulnier claims.

According to the announcement, proposed projects include roadway safety upgrades, bicycle and pedestrian improvements, emergency operations and communications enhancements, and investments in youth programs and wastewater infrastructure.

If approved, the funding would be distributed to local agencies and cities throughout the region as part of the federal appropriations process.

The post DeSaulnier Claims $46.7M In Local Project Funding, But Approval Not Guaranteed appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.

California is not currently in a drought, but state water officials say conditions could worsen if another dry winter follows.

On Wednesday, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) released results from its fourth and final snowpack survey of the year, showing the April 1 measurement as the second-lowest since 1950. Data collected from more than 260 sites across the Sierra Nevada found the statewide snowpack at just 18% of average—higher only than 2015’s record low of 5%.

Officials say the snowpack, which typically peaks around April 1, melted earlier than usual this year. March was marked by unusually warm temperatures and little precipitation, accelerating snowmelt to levels more typical of late spring.

DWR Director Karla Nemeth said two key factors contributed to the low snowpack: much of the winter precipitation fell as rain instead of snow, and March temperatures were significantly warmer than normal. Snowpack typically accounts for about 30% of California’s water supply and serves as a natural reservoir as it melts gradually into rivers and reservoirs.

Despite the poor snowpack, the state’s major reservoirs remain in relatively strong shape. The four largest—Oroville, Shasta, Trinity and New Melones—are all currently above their historical averages for this time of year.

Still, officials caution that the outlook could change quickly.

“We’ll have a clearer picture next year as to whether this marks the beginning of a hydrologic drought,” Nemeth said, noting that another dry winter could push California and much of the West into drought conditions.

With the rainy season now ending, water managers do not expect significant increases in reservoir levels. Some communities may also implement localized water-use restrictions depending on supply conditions.

“Depending on where you live, there may be limits on when you can water landscaping,” Nemeth said. “We’re not in a drought, but what we save now could be critical if next year is dry.”

In the Bay Area, water agencies say supplies remain stable for now. The East Bay Municipal Utility District reports its system is about 85% full, slightly above average for this time of year, and officials do not expect drought conditions in 2026.

Similarly, Santa Clara County’s Valley Water says no restrictions are planned this year, though officials are encouraging conservation. The agency has already seen reduced water allocations due to the dry winter and is urging residents to use water efficiently, particularly outdoors.

“We see this as a warning sign,” said Aaron Baker, chief operating officer for Valley Water’s utility division. “This year we’ll be fine, but next year will need to be a strong one to recover.”

The post California Avoids Drought For Now, But Dry Conditions Raise Alarms appeared first on CLAYCORD.com.