Home Care In Walnut Creek, CA

WALNUT CREEK, CA — The city of Walnut Creek gave an update Thursday on the progression of a multiple-year project to replace both the aquatic and community center in Heather Farm Park.

The existing facilities have served the community well for more than half a century but the aging aquatics and community centers need replacement. The project is primarily being funded by Measure O, a 10-year, half-cent sales tax that has already been approved by Walnut Creek voters.

Significant work has been done and the project team will now bring a schematic design presentation package to several commissions in the new year, the city said Thursday. This package comprises a series of illustrative plans and perspectives of the proposed facility. The public is invited to the following meetings at City Hall, 1666 N Main St. in Walnut Creek:

— Jan. 9, 2024: Park, Recreation and Open Space meeting: Review of Buildings and Site Layout (Please note that this meeting is focusing on the building, while a 2nd PROS meeting will be held in February to review the proposed Aquatic Facilities)

—Jan. 17, 2024: Design Review Commission meeting: Review of Buildings and Site Layout

—Feb. 1, 2024: Youth Commission meeting: Review of Buildings, Site Layout and Aquatic Facilities

—Feb. 5, 2024: Park, Recreation and Open Space meeting; Review of Aquatic Facilities

Agendas for the above-mentioned meetings are posted to the city's website the Friday before each meeting.

The project is underway and the design phase will come to completion in spring 2025. This phase of work involves the creation of detailed design documents, such as landscape plans, floor plans, pool plans, building exteriors and finish selection. The construction phase is likely to take two years, from summer 2025 through summer 2027, city officials said.

As currently envisioned, the existing Community Center will be demolished for the new combined facility to be built, while Clarke Swim Center is projected to remain open to the public throughout the construction period.

There is a project webpage, and the city will post additional information next month.

WALNUT CREEK, CA — A program that allows the public to explore some of the East Bay’s premiere hiking and natural areas — including places rarely open to the public — is coming to Walnut Creek in 2024, the Save Mount Diablo nonprofit organization announced Tuesday.

The Discover Diablo series of outings offers guided hikes, themed walks and various other outdoor activities such as mountain biking, rock climbing, trail running, meditation in nature, plein air painting and property tours. New this year are two property dedications and a yoga outing at the Curry Canyon Ranch property.

There are 36 Discover Diablo excursions this year on some of the Bay Area's most beautiful wildlands and open spaces in or near the East Bay cities of Walnut Creek, Clayton, Concord, Dublin, Livermore, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Danville and San Ramon; Hollister in San Benito County; and Patterson in Stanislaus County.

Among the Walnut Creek-area events are a hike Jan. 7 on Twin Ponds Loop at Walnut Creek Open Space; mountain biking May 17 on Mangini Ranch and Lime Ridge Open Space; plein-air painting June 7 at Mangini Ranch between Walnut Creek and Concord, and multiple other outings. [See below for a full list of this year's events in or around the Walnut Creek and Clayton areas.]

Trailblazers of all ages and skill levels are welcome to choose appropriate outings from the extensive offerings. The ever-popular tarantula walk is offered twice and there are three plein-air painting walks.

The program sponsored by Martinez Refining Company begins Sunday, Jan. 7

"Through the Discover Diablo series, people are fortunate to be able to explore and discover the beauty of Mount Diablo with experienced guides," said Ann Notarangelo, Community Relations Manager for the Martinez Refining Company. "Our refinery has sponsored these hikes since 2017 in the hopes people will enjoy learning more about the mountain, while spending quality time with family and friends."

The Discover Diablo program began in 2017 to connect local communities to the spectacular natural world of the Mount Diablo area and to build awareness about land conservation.

Hikes and outings take place at Save Mount Diablo’s conserved properties or on parklands in the Diablo Range. These include Mount Diablo State Park, East Bay Regional Park District, Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation, Contra Costa Water District, Stanislaus County Parks and National Park Service lands.

Discover Diablo hikes are guided by experts steeped in the natural history and lore of the region, who both educate and entertain while emphasizing the breathtaking beauty that the Diablo Range has to offer.

"It is the goal of the Discover Diablo program to build connections between people, Save Mount Diablo, and the land, helping our communities develop a strong sense of place and a deepened appreciation for our collective backyard," said Ted Clement, executive director of Save Mount Diablo. "Most importantly, we want to cultivate a love of the land in participants, as that is what it will take to ensure the precious Mount Diablo-associated natural areas are taken care of for generations to come."

There is something right for anyone to discover in the nooks and crannies surrounding Mount Diablo and within its sustaining Diablo Range, the organization said, urging locals to hit the trails in 2024 and find their inspiration.

See the schedule of upcoming hikes and outings here and download and print a flyer of the schedule here.

RSVPs are required to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to attend. Registration begins one month before each event's date on Eventbrite. Currently, registration is open for the first two events.

The Discover Diablo free public hikes and outings program supports Save Mount Diablo's mission, which seeks to build awareness of local land conservation efforts and convey the importance of protecting open space for habitat and recreation — with the intent to reach audiences across all of the Bay Area.

Discover Diablo Events In Walnut Creek/Clayton, 2024

PG&E customers in Walnut Creek are fed up with the constant power outages and at a city council meeting Tuesday, company officials are explaining why it’s taking place.

PG&E said the outages are likely the result of a program that’s meant to reduce wildfire risk. It’s an unfortunate tradeoff for residents tired of being left in the dark.

“I had to go to Whole Foods to work, Starbucks was pretty packed, but for the most part, because I'm working remote, just finding a place to work,” said Patrick Trainor, who lives in the Northgate Community of Walnut Creek.

He said that during the summer, he experienced three power outages. And the unexpected events made daily errands a bit more difficult.

“I went and did laundry at a place in Concord, like a walk-in place,” said Trainor.

The Grove hair salon lost thousands of dollars during one of those outages.

“It impacted us because we had to call our clients last minute and we were like ‘ok what do we do?’” said hair stylist Sylvia Huerta.

“We’re depending on you with our lives and right now you’re letting us down,” said Kevin Wilk of the Walnut Creek City Council.

At the meeting, PG&E officials explained why the outages are taking place.

The company’s powerline safety settings in areas with high wildfire risk can shut off immediately if an object hits the line to prevent the ignition of a fire.

But the power outage can unfortunately extend to areas where wildfire risk is low.

“A community may be served by a line that passes through a high fire level threat area, but their community is not actually in the high fire threat area,” said Aaron Johnson, vice president of PG&E’s Bay Area region.

The utility is taking measures to make the powerlines less sensitive to objects that cause the power lines to shut off.

But one of the biggest changes is the completion of a project -- placing power lines underground near the Northgate Community, which could possibly reduce the number of outages.

“We can expect that to reduce that by a half to a quarter,” said Johnson. .

For locals experiencing outages, they’ll have to wait and see if these changes will make a difference.

“Yeah it's frustrating when you don’t, when it's a day or so, or even a couple of days, one time it was three days long,” said Trainor.

The nearly 30 closures, which include financial centers and standalone ATMs, have already started and will continue throughout 2024.

WALNUT CREEK, CA — More than two dozen Bank of America locations in the Bay Area and over 100 across the nation were slated for closure by the end of 2024.

The Bank of America Financial Center at 2092 Oak Grove Roadin Walnut Creek is among them. Bank of America relocated the older center on Oak Grove to a new site at 1330 N. Main Street, Colleen Haggerty, Bank of America senior vice president of marketing and global affairs, told Patch.

Haggerty shared the reasoning behind the closures.

"Today, people use digital banking more than ever for their everyday financial needs and come into financial centers for more complex transactions or discussions about their finances," Haggerty said. "So we have been adjusting our retail network where centers are located in close proximity to one another, or where client traffic has diminished significantly."

Here are some of the Bank of America locations expected to remain open in Walnut Creek and nearby:

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The Bay Area closures were reported by the San Francisco Business Times. According to the newspaper, Bank of America is the largest bank operating in the Bay Area.

Here is the list of Bank of America locations slated for closure in the Bay Area; some are financial centers while others are ATMs.

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The "bistro-meets-bowling-alley-and-bocce-space" was initially set for a late 2022 debut in Walnut Creek. Here's the "pinside" scoop.

WALNUT CREEK, CA — The foodies over at The Mercury News included Pinstripes in Walnut Creek on a list of 10 highly anticipated Bay Area restaurant openings in early 2024.

The "bistro-meets-bowling-alley-and-bocce-space," as The Mercury News put it, has been in the works in Walnut Creek for some time. After missing its debut planned for late 2022, Pinstripes is currently set to open its doors this spring at 1115 Broadway Plaza.

"Pinstripes is known for its Italian and American fare — think wood-fired pizzas, meatballs and polenta, crispy chicken sandwiches and burgers, and weekend brunch buffet — and lively atmosphere, complete with a bowling alley, bocce options and a full bar," according to The Mercury News.

"Although if your gameplay extends to a great fondness for musical chairs, you’ll want to know that Pinstripes is going into the space formerly occupied by Crate and Barrel, which has moved to the former Talbots space across the street," the newspaper said.

The Walnut Creek Pinstripes is in a two-level, 23,000-square-foot space allowing it to offer, as promised, private event banquet space for groups of 20-1,000.

Find out what's happening in Walnut Creekwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Chicago-based chain has 15 existing U.S. locations, including in nearby San Mateo and farther south in Topanga. Walnut Creek and Bellevue, Washington are among a handful of new Pinstripes in the pipeline.

"Born in the Midwest, we uniquely combine made-from-scratch Italian/American cuisine with bowling, bocce and memorable private events," the Pinstripes website states. "We celebrate extraordinary, magical connections — from the first strike, to the first bite, to the first kiss, to the first laugh — that bring out the best in everyone."

Don’t want to wait for spring? Head for the Pinstripes at San Mateo’s Hillsdale Mall. While pricing varies by market, locations share the same menu, bowling and bocce offerings, Anthony Colucci, Pinstripes’ vice president of marketing, told the newspaper.

To get the "pinside" scoop on the grand opening, go to Pinstripes.com/walnut-creek and join the email club. You'll also receive a complimentary wood-fired pizza or flatbread on your first visit once it opens.

Curious about which other Bay Area restaurants are highly anticipated in 2024? Here's the complete list.

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