Call For Enforcement Unit For Downtown Brawls

Walnut Creek Council member Kristina Lawson makes the case for special police effort in a newspaper column.

Walnut Creek City Council member Kristina Lawson favors a special enforcement unit for the police to battle the scourge of recurring, alcohol-related brawls spilling out of downtown bars on weekends. Lawson made the case, backing up a proposal from Police Chief Joel Bryden, in an opinion piece in the Contra Costa Times. Such enforcement units are used in cities with bustling nightlife, Lawson said: Huntington Beach, Santa Barbara, San Jose and Napa. "While we can't legislate business ethics or personal responsibility," Lawson wrote, "we must ensure our community is safe and enjoyable for all."

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obiwan

3:03 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Mike - If a person is sitting at home with a well-stocked liquor cabinet, then yes, how much he or she consumes is a matter of personal choice. But in a restaurant/bar situation you don't get a drink unless you are served. We should demand that owners, bartenders and wait staff act responsibly even when their customers don't. Secondly, I do recognize that even with good bar management practices, …   more ›

2010: Walnut Creek's Year of Transition

Here are some of the stories that mattered to people living and working in Walnut Creek. Many will continue to have an impact in 2011.

Throughout 2010, Walnut Creek's retiring City Manager Gary Pokorny often referred to the New Normal. This was his way of describing the economic reality of a world enduring a long and transformative recovery from recession. We're also living in an era when citizens must face up to a dysfunctional public financing system that is leaving our cities, our public schools, our county and state service agencies scrambling after increasingly scarce dollars. The major stories affecting Walnut Creek in 2010 largely centered on the community feeling the pain of this New Normal but also trying to find ways to adjust. It was a year of transition, with leaders changing, city workers getting laid off, and residents and workers speaking up--some for the …

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Silva Becomes Mayor, Announces Blue-Ribbon Task Force on Economic Issues; New Councilmember Kristina Lawson Sworn In

The city also said good-bye to Mayor Sue Rainey, welcomed City Manager Ken Nordhoff and welcomed back re-elected treasurer Ron Cassano.

A packed crowd gathered in City Council chambers Tuesday night to witness the change of leadership and to hear speeches from these new and returning leaders about their hopes for Walnut Creek's future as it continues to face tough economic times. The City Council and public said good-bye to Mayor Sue Rainey, who is retiring after nearly 40 years of service in elected and appointed office here and at other public agencies in Contra Costa County. The public watched as Cindy Silva and Kristina Lawson took the oath of office as City Council members and Ron Cassano was sworn in as city treasurer.  Silva and Cassano were re-elected Nov. 2, while Lawson is starting her first term.  The new council elected Silva to serve as mayor for the next year…

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This Week in City Government: New Leadership, More Requests for Alcohol Permits Downtown

Here's what's coming up this week at the meetings of the city council and two city commissions.

Approaching the end of the year--or the start of a new year--the city is welcoming new leadership, while also reviewing its tennis operations and two more permits for downtown restaurants to serve alcohol.   On Monday, the Park, Recreation and Open Space Commission will review and approve a policy for operating the tennis courts the city owns at various locations around town. This past spring, the city entered into an agreement with a company, Lifetime Tennis, to operate the 10 courts and the pro shop at Heather Farm Park and 18 other courts at Larkey, San Miguel, Arbalado and Rudgear parks and at Northgate High School. The city basically lets Lifetime handle tennis operations, but wanted to reserve the right to set the hours and …

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You Asked, They Answered: Cindy Silva Responds to Readers' Final Questions

Walnut Creek City Council candidate Cindy Silva responds to questions readers have raised over the course of the campaign.

As the three-way race for two seats on Walnut Creek's City Council began two months ago, Walnut Creek Patch invited readers to tell us what they'd like to hear from candidates. We have heard plenty about police concerns and public safety, and candidates' concerns about police pensions. We've also heard ideas from Kristina Lawson, Cindy Silva and Justin Wedel on how how to safeguard the city's economic future.  Some of you, though, have had more specific questions about issues that affect your lives as Walnut Creek city residents. Some of these issues have come up before the City Council and are likely to reach council chambers again. Most of these questions were not addressed in candidate forums, though. I hesitate to call them "minor" …

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It's The Economy, Voters

Spending priorities -- past, present and future -- are at the core of a contentious City Council election.

It's called the politics of scarcity. In Walnut Creek, the phenomenon has elevated this fall's election into the most contentious City Council campaign since the growth vs. anti-growth battles a quarter-century ago. "Resources are scarce. People are feeling pressure," said Councilwoman Cindy Silva. "People who want to protect something are going to start fighting." Indeed, the battle lines have been sharply drawn.  Budget cuts and hiring freezes have sent the city's police officers into the streets to campaign against Silva. They have put up campaign signs urging voters to elect her two opponents.  Off-duty officers have even stood on Ygnacio Valley Road, waving the blue and white placards. "We reached the breaking point. We felt we had …

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michael frederick

6:38 pm on Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Martha, I love this format precisely because of your last post, where you stated your interests. I strongly believe a lot of the problems people have with the quality of their representation relates directly to the fact that PUBLICLY FUNDED and organized advocacy groups do organize, copy letters to the editor off each other, and mail them into the newspaper. The club affiliation of the (often …   more ›

Crazy in Suburbia

Crazy in Suburbia: Which Campaign Signs Do the Best Job Selling their Candidates?

Tap into your inner Don Draper and ponder which campaign signs of local and state candidates stand out, do the best job conveying their candidates' views or personality, sell them to voters. And: some sign mayhem and my vote for coolest looking sign.

If you drive around Walnut Creek these days you can't help but turn a corner and be confronted by one, two, 20 signs touting the candidacies of men and women running for local and state elections. Like me, I'm sure you've had varied reactions to the different sizes, and not just because you support or oppose the candidate whose sign is in your face. You might be thinking: Why did she choose those colors? Pink? Seriously? And what's with that weird curly-cue flourish above that candidate's name?  This has definitely been an emotionally charged election season, and I'm not just talking Meg Whitman and Housekeepergate. I'm also talking the Walnut Creek City Council Race and the downtown library's Signgate.   For the purposes of this …

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Silva Leads Walnut Creek Council Candidates in Contributions; Lawson Not Far Behind

Campaign statements show that some of the usual suspects are donating to candidates -- but there are surprises, too. Attached are the PDFs of their campaign-finance statements.

Incumbent Cindy Silva leads her three rivals for Walnut Creek City Council in the amount of money her campaign has raised, according to campaign finance statements released Wednesday.  Silva, the mayor pro tem who is running for re-election, has taken in $26,399 in contributions for the reporting period that ends Sept. 30.  Not far behind is Kristina Lawson, a planning commissioner, with $25,622 -- $4,500 of that amount from a loan she made to herself.  Justin Wedel, like Lawson a first-time candidate for City Council, has brought in less than half of each of his rivals, $11,295. He, too, made a loan to himself in the amount of $4,000. Silva began her campaign with $2,676 in cash and has spent about $21,079. She ends this reporting period …

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