Spotted in downtown Walnut Creek, these Raggedy Anns are just chillin’ out, people watching as shoppers walk by.
Spotted in downtown Walnut Creek, these Raggedy Anns are just chillin’ out, people watching as shoppers walk by.
The Treat Towers, located near the Pleasant Hill BART station in Walnut Creek has just been sold to MetLife for close to $120M according to the Business Times.
From the article:
In one of the East Bay’s biggest office sales this year, MetLife picked up up Treat Towers, a 378,000-square-foot, two-building, ten-story Class-A office in Walnut Creek from Equity Office Properties and TIAA-CREF.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the seller or buyer, but market sources said the price was close to $118.5 million, or about $313 per square foot.
They even have a fitness center with full shower facilities inside. Looks like Walnut Creek may have the strongest real estate market in the East Bay.
From the Orinda Arts Council:
Orinda Idol is a singing competition open to young people who either attend school or reside in Orinda, Moraga and Lafayette. The seventh annual Orinda Idol will be held in 2012.
The objective of Orinda Idol is to provide an avenue for young people to pursue their love for singing, to bring joy to the community and to have fun!
Orinda Idol 2012 is open to those in kindergarten through 12th grade as of Spring 2012. Entries may be made by individual soloists or by groups.
Auditions will be held May 17 – 19, 2012 and Finalists and Runners-up will be selected by a panel of judges. Registration for auditions will be from April 1 – 30, 2012. The Finalists will perform at the Finals, to be held at the Orinda Theatre on Sunday, September 9, 2012. Soloists will compete in four categories by grade and groups will compete in two categories by grade. Finalists will receive immediate feedback from a panel of three judges. Winners in each category will be based on a combination of the judges scoring and the audience vote. Winners will receive cash prizes and all Finalists will receive gift certificates.
Following the auditions, Finalists and Runners-up will have the opportunity to attend or participate in a number of other events, including group seminars on what makes an outstanding performance, a summer pool and karaoke party, a performance in the Orinda Community Park, and a performance at Orinda Theatre Square. Winners will also be invited to perform at the Orinda Car Show and the Orinda EFO/Chamber of Commerce Dine Around Town event.
A detailed schedule can be viewed here.
Back in May I made the first “Groceries Around the World” post in Walnut Creek about the Russian grocery Babushka, and today I’m posting about the Indian grocery, “India Bazar“, located at 1250 Newel Ave. in the San Miguel Center.
There are plenty of decorations on the walls throughout the store which is fun to look at, and the aisles contain Indian delicacies and ingredients for sale so if you love Indian food I would check them out.
…they start selling black “water infused with fulvic acid” at the supermarket. Here I am at Whole Foods in Lafayette browsing around when I encounter this. Now, although I remember when the only kind of water that was sold was with bubbles, I’m aware of “ionized” water , coconut water (which I love) and what not, but I did a double take when I saw this on sale.
Appropriately named, “blk.”, Whole Foods describes this black water (it really is black) as, “water infused with fulvic acid” while the label on the bottle notes that it’s, “alkaline fulvic trace mineral infused water”. I’m not judging, but does this appeal to anybody?
Is this the kind of thing my kids are going to think is completely normal in a few years? “Hey dad, you still drink clear water without fulvic acid!? That is so passé!”
Anthropologie is opening Sept. 14th according to a comment left on my previous post about the progress at the Mt. Diablo Blvd. & Locust St. location. The sign is now finished, and spot lighting has been added so it’ll be visible at night. And the fencing is now gone! You can stroll by to check out the progress inside since they haven’t blocked the windows (for now).
Check out the massive glass walls:
Looks like the side section will have some primo parking spots:
Those door handles at the front entrance are pretty cool:
From the Walnut Creek Yacht Club:
If you missed the fun on July 3, here’s your chance to make up for it, and if you made it on the 3rd, and had so much fun that you can’t wait for next year to
do it again,
well sign on up now!Fourth Annual Lobster Party Redux!
Wednesday August 29
Reservation times are 5:30 or 8:00 on the Aft Deck
family style seating and serviceMenu
Trio of Summer Hors d’oeuvresSmoked Trout, Horseradish & Chive Truffle
~
Mediterranean Tuna Mousse Crostini
roasted red pepper, pinenuts, kalamata olive
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Watermelon – Crab Salad Canapé
mint, black pepper crème fraîcheIceberg Wedge & Ft Bragg Bay Shrimp Salad
10,000 island dressing, crispy onion
marinated local heirloom tomatoesNew England Lobster Boil Platter
1 1/4 lb maine lobster, littleneck clams
corn on the cob, and red potatoes
all cooked in our special broth
served with drawn butter and lemonsLemon Pound Cake
summer berry compote, vanilla ice cream
toasted almonds$60.00 dollars per person
tax and gratuity are not included
When I read that the owner of the Walnut Creek Baking Company Denise Vickers couldn’t come to an agreement with her landlord for a new lease and was going to sell the business to her landlord, my jaw dropped. What on earth is going on here?! So I dropped by over the weekend and saw these posters for a Customer Appreciation Celebration on August 31st from 8-11am. I naively thought that the issue had been resolved amicably and the bakery was saved. Wrong. That is the last day that the bakery will be open. After that it’s closing for good. There are currently no plans to move the bakery elsewhere.
In May I noted that the owner Denise Vickers recently published a cookbook titled, The Walnut Creek Baking Company Cookbook. They have been in business for 10 years now and have been the winner of Diablo’s Best of the East Bay since 2003 according to a sign on their window. I have had my fair share of the bakery’s pastries and cookies and can attest to delicious work they do.
Here’s a final look at the inside of the bakery:
This is terrible news that they are closing. I’m still hoping that this mess can somehow be averted so it can stay in business in downtown Walnut Creek. Who else is a Walnut Creek Baking Company fan?
A couple of weeks ago I noted that the now vacant French restaurant Le Virage was painted over in Walnut Creek, and over the weekend a fire mysteriously ignited inside which was put out by the Contra Costa Fire Department.
The post about the Le Virage murals getting painted over contained this photo:
Notice how the plywood is not covering the entire window. This would allow someone to easily start a fire inside. For example, a curious child, or an arsonist. Has anyone seen the movie Goodfellas?
The question is, why was the plywood not fully covered? An inadvertent mistake, or?
From the Walnut Creek Police Department:
During the early morning hours on 8/23/12, WCPD officers responded to a school on Buena Vista Ave. for a reported trespasser on school grounds. Officers checked the area but were unable to locate anyone. On 8/24/12, school officials reviewed security camera footage from the previous day that showed an unknown adult male confronting a juvenile student on campus. The video shows the male committing a lewd act in the presence of the juvenile before she ran away. School officials immediately notified the police department and assisted with the initial investigation.
During the investigation WCPD officers and Detectives were able to identify a suspect that lived near the school. The suspect was identified as Darryl Allen. Detectives contacted Allen near his residence and placed him under arrest for a variety of offenses (see Crime Description/Code above).
Allen was transported to the Martinez Detention Facility and is being held on $145,000 bail.