"Glee" tackles the highly controversial issue (at least in Walnut Creek) of high school carwash fundraisers--with girls donning bikini tops!

The fictional McKinley High Glee Club of our new fave TV show, Glee, tries to raise big bucks to hire a professional choreographer to help them make their song-and-dance routines more polished. So, how do these Glee kids go about raising money? They turn to the classic carwash fundraiser (as pictured above!). And, like some carwash kids raising money recently for a certain local high school's cheerleading squad, the cheerleader members of the McKinley High Glee Club decide to strip off their shirts and don bikini tops. You know, to keep things cool on a hot, hot day.

Thing get fun when this event turns into another excuse for one of Glee's quirkily conceived but utterly delightful--and kinda sexy--musical numbers (Again, pictured above). Mercedes, the girl with the Aretha Franklin pipes (played by Amber Riley), feels rejected when the object of her affections, Kurt, proclaims--falsely, 'cause he's gay--that he has a crush on another girl. She hurls a rock into the windshield of his SUV, then busts out a dream-sequence rendition of Jazmine Sullivan’s “Bust Your Windows" in the middle of the parking lot. Her song of anger and rejection is accompanied by back-up dancers in the form of cheerleaders in bikini tops and little skirts.

Go Glee! And check out the number yourself here.

The Rat Squad out protesting again, this time outside a new restaurant renovation

You've seen them around town, members of unions representing local carpenters and other construction workers. They bring out their giant inflatable rat and march with signs around construction site or commercial property remodel whose contracter is using non-union labor to do the work.

These protesters out on Locust Street Friday were members of the Contra Costa County-based Carpenters Local 152, and they were angry that a company was using non-union workers to handle construction on the new restaurant VeSu.

VeSu is small plates restaurant, going into the site for the former Sherman Clay piano store on Locust. And, at last report, members of the Dudum clan are involved. Jack and Sylvia Dudum have an interest in the property and son Tony, who with Jack, run 1515 Restaurant and Lounge on North Main Street, will serve on consultant on the project. Word was that VeSu was supposed to open in summer. Well, construction had started, almost over night, this summer.

By highlighting this latest Rat Squad protest at a Dudum-related business, I am not, for once, not attempting to write another not-so-happy-skippy story about the Dudums. A number of other businesses have received visits from the Rat Squad, including the now defunct--and you would think, holier-than-thou, pro-the-working-man--Elephant Pharmacy, when it was being prepared to open next door to Trader Joe's.

Oh, and calling these union members the Rat Squad? I only do that because of that funny rat they tote around. I'm not taking any position on their rights or wrongs of their cause, and I know the rat is there to represent the contracter who isn't hiring these union workers.

"Construction has taken a hit, and we're just protecting our industry from companies failing to pay area standards for wages and benefits," said Local 152 Field Representative Rachel Leanos.

English teacher pleads not guilty to five felony counts of sex with 17-year-old former student

Miramonte High English teacher Mark Christopher Litton, a Walnut Creek resident, has pleaded not guilty to five counts involving his sexual relationship with a former student.

The complaint, filed in Contra Costa County Superior Court, offers a few more details about a case that has disturbed a large number of people in our area.

Litton, 34, appeared in court Tuesday to answer to five counts, stemming from two separate encounters with "Jane Doe" on July 2 and July 4 in Walnut Creek. Litton's address shows that he lives in a second-floor apartment in an older building not far from downtown Walnut Creek and the Mercer complex. I stopped by his apartment to see if he had any comment, but no one was home.

Litton is charged with committing unlawful sexual intercourse, sexual penetration of a person under the age of 18, and oral copulation with a minor on July 2. He is also charged with unlawful sexual interourse and sexual penetration of a minor on July 4.

He has retained a private attorney and will be back in court September 24.

On this blog and others, his arrest has provoked heated and heartfelt debate about the sexuality of teenagers, particularly teenage girls; the age at which a person can reasonably give consent to sexual relationships; teacher/student relations; and the dynamics of power and authority in sexual relationships. A few of us, including myself, looked back on on our own teen years and recalled situations in which we got ourselves mixed up in situations that might not be considered healthy and that could be construed as illegal.

We also remembered teachers in our local schools who, we knew, were mixing it up with students; we even remembered cases of high school teachers who went public with their affairs with students, once the students graduated from high school.

Lawsuits, threats of preliminary injunctions? For now, C3 Collective will stay open

Is C3 Collective on its way out, as fellow Walnut Creek blogger The DubC suggests?

The city would like Walnut Creek’s first medical marijuana dispensary to cease its operations, until the city has a chance, through a program it authorized at its City Council meeting Tuesday night, to study the various legal implications of having such a business in town, before it gives its go-ahead for any such storefront to open its doors.

The city filed a lawsuit in Contra Costa County Superior Court, asking a judge to order C3 Collective to halt its cannabis dispensing operations. Realistically, any trial and final decision for this lawsuit is a year out, confirmed City Attorney Paul Valle-Riestra. The city is likely to seek a preliminary injunction, asking the court to suspend C3’s operation pending resolution of the lawsuit.

As of Thursday night, C3’s doors were still open for business, and its staff remained determined to provide its “medication” to patients in need, an employee said. I tried to reach C3 Collective CEO Brian Hyman, but he was in meetings, including in an interview with KTVU, whose report on the latest twist in this controversy you can view here.

C3 Collective is currently violating the city’s 45-day moratorium on medical cannabis dispensaries and is racking up fines of $500 fines. On Wednesday, Hyman told me that his dispensary was determined to remain open, mostly out of obligation to its clients who suffer chronic pain and other medical conditions whose symptoms are alleviated by the use of marijuana.

In any event, if C3 Collective shuts its doors, because it can't afford this legal battle, another collective is posed to step in and take its place.

At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting Larry Flick of Greenleaf said he plans to open what he calls a "wellness center." C3 Collective also billed itself as a wellness center. Like C3, Flick said his shop would dispense medical marijuana, as well as offer massage, yoga and counseling. Flick said he plans to work with the city on opening his center.

A major criticism of C3 among Walnut city staff and leaders is that it opened this summer and billed itself as a “wellness center,” with no mention, initially, that it would also provide medical marijuana, Valle-Riestra said. The city only learned indirectly that this pot club had opened in town, and the city had nothing on its books to say how it would regulate shops that distribute medical marijuana. Walnut Creek laws also prohibit activity in town that is banned by federal law.

So, the city asked for the 45-day moratorium and on Tuesday voted to establish this staff work program to study if and how to allow pot clubs to open in town, including the zoning and legal implications.

Tippi, Tippi, Tippi: Hitchcock’s classic The Birds (and Tippi) in Orinda Friday night; and, by the way, What’s your favorite Hitchcock film?

Tippi Hedren will be in Orinda Friday night at a screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece The Birds, as part of the California Independent Film Festival, which is moving this year from Livermore to its new location in Orinda’s beautifully classic Art Deco cinema.

This 1963 film is about a northern California coastal town (Bodega Bay) that is attacked by a sudden, frightening, and even apocalyptic horde of wild birds, perhaps symbols of nature seeking their revenge on humans. The film starred a then-unknown actress named Tippi Hedren (mother of Melanie Griffith), as San Francisco socialite Melanie Daniels.

People talk about Hitchcock films being suspenseful and scary. Suspenseful maybe. Scary, not really. What I love about his best films is how psychologically rich they are, how lushly romantic, how darkly humorous, and how sharp they are about picking apart our views of male and female identities and of relationships between the two genders. Hitchcock had a dark, twisted sense of humor, and of the human condition, which is very much evident in The Birds.

Friday night’s event begins at 7 p.m. The screening of the film is preceded by a chat between Ms. Hedren and Diablo magazine’s senior editor Peter Crooks.

The event is nearly sold out, but tickets are still available. Tickets benefits Hedren’s Roar Foundation Shambala Preserve, and cost $15 for students and $20 for adults. They may be purchased online or at the Orinda and Rheem Theatre Box offices, or by call CIFF's ticketing office at (925) 277-1355.

I’ll be going with my son. It’s time to introduce him to the genius of Hitchcock, and I think The Birds is a good one to start with. I first saw it around his age, and it both terrified and delighted me.

What’s your favorite Hitchcock film? I have to say that mine is the poetic and pathologically romantic Vertigo, but The Birds is very much high on my list. Notably, The Birds and Vertigo, as well as 1948's Shadow of a Doubt, very much depend, for story and theme, on their San Francisco and Northern California locations.

And, yes, I have taken friends, who are fellow Hitchcock lovers, on my own tours of Hitchcock’s San Francisco (Fort Point, Mission Delores, Maiden Lane, the Palace of the Legion of Honor, and that apartment highrise at the top of Nob Hill) and Hitchcock's Northern California (San Juan Bautista, Muir Woods, Bodega Bay, and the town of Bodega).

Will you get your child immunized for the swine flu?

In her latest e-newsletter Walnut Creek School District Superintendent Patricia Wool says that Walnut Creek schools won't close if there are any outbreaks of the H1N1 virus. However, she says the Contra Costa County Health Department is recommending that students get vaccinated both for the regular flu and for the swine flu--when this latter vaccination becomes available.

My son received the regular flu vaccine; we happened to be at the doctor for a check-up, and he got all his immunizations up to date. His doctor suggested the regular flu vaccine for him. My son is pretty healthy, but the doctor said it would be a good idea, mainly out of concern for my husband, who has serious asthma and would be at risk for getting very sick if he contracted either flu.

I'm on the fence about the H1N1 vaccine, both for my son and myself, in part because I suspect we already had a bout of it back in June. Everyone in my family was hit with this weird cold, that had symptoms unlike any other cold/stomach virus we'd ever had. Fortunately, it wasn't serious and knocked us out for a couple days, and then it was gone.

What do you think about the vaccine for yourself and your family. I admit I still have some studying to do. For example I still need to read through a story by fellow Contra Costa blogger Mister Writer. He picked through and provides links to various studies on the H1N1 vaccine, in raising questions about its safety, efficacy, and necessity. Check out his report here.

Meanwhile, here is the portion of the regular e-newsletter sent out by Wool to parents, regarding the swine flu issue:

The Contra Costa County Health Department briefed all superintendents in the county concerning swine flu (H1N1). This year the health department does not plan to close schools; however, the agency is monitoring our attendance patterns to note fluctuations. The Health Department is recommending that all students receive immunizations for both H1N1 and the regular flu. Since 0-19 year olds are most at risk for H1N1, in low income schools, the vaccine will be provided. However, WCSD will not qualify. Therefore, the Health Department is encouraging parents to vaccinate children when the vaccine for swine flu (H1N1) becomes available. The ealth Department is also recommending a regular flu vaccination for students. The doctors reminded us that students will need to receive each immunization in two doses. For adults, regular flu vaccination is recommended.

Doctors hosted health care Town Hall forum in Walnut Creek Wednesday night with top medical experts: Did you go?

While I was tasting fine wines for Walnut Creek's Fall Wine Walk Wednesday night, several hundred people attended a Town Hall meeting on the health care debate at the Lesher Center.

"Concerned Doctors Speak Out on Health Care": This was the subtitle for this special meeting hosted by doctors Len Bristow and Len Saputo. KTVU covered the event, and described it as a civilized, thoughtful and informative, unlike recent, raucous health care town halls hosted by politicians.

As the program says:

Health care problems are as complex as they are abundant, but few voices are offering anything that focuses on the deeper, underlying issues. Two seasoned physicians will share a vision for progressive change, inspired not only by experience but by a deep awareness that we must build community in a meaningful way if we are to heal what is broken around us. Join us for an evening of hard truths, positive solutions and fresh perspectives.

Those physicians speaking in Walnut Creek Wednesday were:

--Len Saputo, who founded and directs walnut Creek's Health Medicine Center--one of the first "integrate" clinics. He is also author of the new book, A Return to Healing. More biographical information? Saputo is a 1965 graduate of Duke University Medical School, and is board certified in internal medicine. After his awakening to the deep flaws in conventional medicine, he developed a new paradigm that is now known as integral-health medicine. After founding the Health Medicine Forum in 1994, and went on to found and direct the Health Medicine Center in Walnut Creek. He is the author of A Return to Healing – Radical Healthcare Reform and the Future of Medicine.

--Lonnie R. Bristow, the former president of the American Medical Association. Bristow "has written and lectured extensively on medical science as well as socioeconomic and ethical issues related to medicine. He is a board-certified internist who received his M.D. from New York University College of Medicine. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and was a member of its Quality of Health Care in America committee, which in 1999 and 2001 respectively, issued the widely read reports "To Err Is Human, and Crossing the Quality Chasm." He was a chairman of the IOM Committee on Strategies for Increasing the Diversity of the U.S. Health Care Workforce when that committee issued the report, In the Nation’s Compelling Interest: Ensuring Diversity in the Health-Care Workforce.

Did you attend their talk about health care. If so, what did you think?

Besides Neiman Marcus, the Walnut Creek Council also voted on two downtown venues that dispense mind-altering substances: 1515 and C3 Collective

The City Council agreed at its meeting Tuesday night to allow 1515 Restaurant Bar and Lounge to extend its hours to 1 a.m. after hearing from Tony and Jack Dudum, the son-and-father owners. Tony and Jack Dudum, and their supporters, made the case that the city should support local business owners in light of the tough economy.

The Dudums said that their North Main Street business, which serves food and dispenses cocktails, beer, wine (containing the drug, alcohol), is a classy operation that caters to a more mature, upscale crowd—unlike, I suppose, other bars and clubs that cater to wild, drunken 20somethings. As in their appearance at the July 23 Planning Commission meeting, the Dudum duo talked about their profile in the community; being long-time local residents who care about Walnut Creek and its success, and of their desire to give back to the community by hosting charitable events.

The Council was amenable to allowing 1515 to extend its hours from 12:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. after the Dudums rescinded their request to stay open until 1:45 and to provide dancing and live entertainment. The Dudums agreed to scale back their appeal as a way of showing good faith in working with the city, which, by the way, is in the midst of trying to figure out—through a task force—how it regulates and polices all its liquor-dispensing restaurants and clubs in downtown.

And, yes, I’m sure I’ll get some flak for referring to 1515 as dispensing “mind-altering” substances. Then again, what is alcohol, if not a mind-altering substance?

As I’ve said before, it’s my drug of choice, and I’ll even be at Walnut Creek’s Fall Wine Walk this evening, tasting some nice wine—that’s right, ingesting my drug of choice—at this Downtown Business Association-hosted fundraiser for local schools.

And, sure, I bet you can see where I’ll be heading now and in the future with this debate about the presence of Walnut Creek’s medical marijuana dispensary, C3 Collective.

Onto the C3 Collective issue, in which the Council voted to set up a staff “work group” to study options for regulating medical marijuana dispensaries in town.

Last night’s discussion brought out quite a crowd of speakers, including a gentleman who said that he would soon submit an application to the city to open a second pot club in town.

Most of the other speakers were medical cannabis users, and most lived in Walnut Creek or nearby towns. Two were Rossmoor residents, who said that C3 Collective, which opened this summer on Oakland Boulevard, offers an important product for locals who suffer chronic pain and other discomfort from cancer and other medical conditions. Some said they would prefer to use marijuana to alleviate their pain symptoms than more “toxic” mainstream drugs like Vicodin and Oxycontin.

One speaker, who lives in the neighborhood around Oakland Boulevard, expressed concern about the nuisance crime and riff-raff this dispensary might attract.

But another speaker pointed out—rightly—that 1515 Restaurant and other alcohol-dispensing establishments in downtown had long attracted their share of riff-raff and nuisance crimes. In fact, in the city staff report for Tuesday night’s City Council consideration of 1515 Restaurant’s appeal, police noted that riffraff and nuisance behavior at 1515 in a month-long period had required police attention a total of seven times.

In one case, agents from the state Alcoholic Beverage Control (what were they doing at 1515, by the way?) arrested a customer for public intoxication and had to call police when other drunken customers tried to interfere with the arrest. In another case, in late July, a resident called to say that he had to go to 1515 to pick up his very boozed-up daughter, who could no longer speak or walk and had to be carried to the car. The man said the 1515 staff had over-served his daughter.

So far, according to C3 Collective staff, police have not had to respond to their dispensary for such incidents. And C3 CEO Brian Hyman has insisted, at the Council meeting, and in a conversation with yours truly, that he operates within the state Justice Department guidelines for medical cannabis dispensaries. He adds that more than 60 percent of his clients are 40 years and older and 35 percent are women. Fewer than 10 percent are under the age of 21, and he mentioned a couple of incidents in which local teenagers, armed not with marijuana prescriptions but just with driver’s licenses—duh!—tried to come into C3 Collective and buy pot. They were politely turned away.

Well, the presence of C3 Collective raises a whole host of issues that the city must study—legal, zoning, crime, and the overall appropriateness of such a business in the city. The staff will take several months to complete their study, completing it, at the earliest, in March. The results should help the Council make a final decision on whether to allow C3 Collective or any other dispensary to set up shop in town.

This lengthy time frame disappointed C3 supporters, because legally, C3 must suspend its operations until it receives approval from the City Council to dispense its brand of medications. However, C3 CEO Brian Hyman vowed to stay open, at a cost of $500 a day in fines. He said he can’t let down his club members, medical patients, he says, who depend on his product to stay pain free and to function in their daily lives.

In their testimonials in favor of C3, supporters pointed out that Walnut Creek is an East Bay center for the health care industry, with our two large hospitals, John Muir and Kaiser Permanente. Why, they wondered, can’t Walnut Creek take the lead on this medical marijuana issue, be at the forefront of cities around the state in finding ways to accommodate legitimate, legally-compliant medical pot clubs—which are allowed under the state voter-approved Proposition 215.

To them, the debate over C3 represents important questions about people’s rights to gain access to medication. C3 is not in the business of peddling mind-altering substances for recreational use—unlike, say 1515 Restaurant, or any restaurant or bar in town, classy and upscale or not.

Neiman Marcus vote to proceed to November 3 ballot

In the end, the City Council's choice Tuesday night on the Neiman Marcus issue had to do more with a matter of legal technicalities. Not with whether or not it would say yes or no to the the luxury department store being built in Broadway Plaza.

The council had already decided that it would leave it up to voters to say yes or no to the project, and put the development project on the November 3 ballot. Actually, the city was legally obligated to put the matter up for a vote within a certain time frame. That's because more than 15 percent of registered voters in the city signed a petition for an initiative, asking for the city to approve the project or to put it up for a vote.

So, Measure I was not in question for City Council members Tuesday night, despite a judge's ruling in favor of a lawsuit filed by Neiman Marcus opponents.

The language of Measure I comes from the initiative designed by residents who support Neiman Marcus, and whose pro-Neiman position is financially backed by Broadway Plaza owner Macerich.

In an apparent attempt the block the development, Neiman Marcus opponents filed a lawsuit demanding, among other things, that the city also include their two referenda on the November 3 ballot, along with Measure I. The anti-Neiman Marcus effort is backed by Taubman Centers, a rival mall developer that owns Sunvalley shopping mall and had hoped to bring Neiman Marcus to San Ramon. Their referenda asked for a city vote on specific aspects of the project, unlike the initiative, which supposedly asked for a yes or no on the project in its entirety.

At Tuesday night's meeting, Neiman Marcus opponents Ann Hinshaw, Selma King, and Ken Hambrick accused the City Council engaging in unethical, undemocratic, and "smoke and mirrors" practices to keep their referenda off the November 3 ballot. They wanted their referenda included on the ballot, so that residents would have what they view as a full opportunity to decide whether or not they want this store in downtown Walnut Creek.

City staff, council members ,and Neiman Marcus supporters have rejected the idea--and continued to reject the idea Tuesday night--of asking voters to sort through the initiative, plus two separate referenda, when they go to the voting booth.

One city resident suggested--and I agree--that the latest courtroom maneuverings and referenda ballot demands of Neiman Marcus opponents show that Taubman is "at the end of its rope." The resident, speaking before the council, said: "At this point all they want to do is create confusion. Something is terribly wrong with what they're trying to do."

Councilwoman Cindy Silva, like the other four council members, rejected the idea of putting the referenda on the ballot: "One ballot, one date, one question, one measure--that is the thing we should do in a representative form of government."

Councilman Kish Rajan concurred that "there are no issues in those referenda that are not addressed by Measure I. [Opponents] have the opportunity to vote no if they don't appreciate or don't like it. I don't think we are trying to deny people their rights or their ability to say what they think about this project. ... For those who said, 'we want to vote on the project, you'll get to vote.' "

So, there you go. The Council's decision. We'll see how long it stands. I hope city residents get the chance to vote in November on a simple ballot measure that asks whether or not they want this store to come to Broadway Plaza. City residents need to vote as soon as possible on this issue--and then move on.

Alas, we'll see if Taubman, and its citizen agents, have something else up their sleeve--lawsuit or otherwise--to confuse residents and prolong a controversy that has already wasted much time, energy, and money.

Walnut Creek does well in the latest API sweepstakes. And how does your kid's school rate?

The state Education Department on Tuesday released its latest Academic Performance Index (API) scores, which chart academic progress at public schools. The index uses a complex series of calculations to give schools a score on ascale of 200 to 1,000, with 800 being deemed an "excellent" score.

The good news about Walnut Creek public schools? They also scored above 800, with most going above 900. And, if you didn't know it already, these numbers mean a lot, and not just to school district administrators whose schools must meet a minimum standard of progress to qualify for certain kinds of federal funding.

They also offer a measure of sorts to parents to know whether their children are attending a decent school. And, yes, property values can be tied into API scores. Your property value might go up a notch (or thousands of dollars) if you live in the attendance area of a high-scoring school. And, we all know that realtors like to point out the great scores of a local schoolas a selling point to prospective homebuyers.

Most of the schools listed below lie in either the Walnut Creek or Mt. Diablo Unified Unified school districts. Las Lomas High School, in downtown WalnutCreek, lies in the Acalanes Union School District, as does Acalanes, whose official address is Lafayette but counts some Walnut Creek residents in its student body.

I also didn't break schools up according to grade level. Of course, it's not fair to compare the API score of a smaller, tight-knit elementary school, like No. 1 Parkmead Elementary, against a large high school with a more diverse population, like Las Lomas or Northgate High.

And, for those in Ygnacio Valley, who are concerned about the quality of schools in the Mt. Diablo Unified district, well, it looks like--at least judging by API scores--that they compete just fine with schools in the Walnut Creek and Acalanes districts.

Parkmead Elementary, 938 (WCSD)
Walnut Heights Elementary, 935 (WCSD)
Walnut Acres Elementary, 934 (MDUSD)
Valle Verde Elementary, 927 (MDUSD)
Indian Valley Elementary, 918 (WCSD)
Bancroft Elementary, 903 (MDUSD)
Acalanes High School, 902 (Acalanes)
Walnut Creek Intermediate, 902 (WCSD)
Murwood Elementary, 887 (WCSD)

Buena Vista Elementary, 880 (WCSD)
Foothill Middle School, 881 (MDUSD)
Las Lomas High School, 858 (Acalanes)
Northgate High School, 855 (MDUSD)

New information (?) emerges in Ilene Misheloff's abduction as police search Garrido's home in unsolved cases

In the official, public version of Ilene Misheloff’s disappearance, she was seen leaving her Dublin middle school on the afternoon of January 30, 1989. And then she never made it home or to her ice skating practice Maybe at one point, in the nearly 21 a long time ago, police mentioned having a witness who described seeing someone who looked like Ilene getting into a car that afternoon.

But it was never a point they never emphasized, either because they thought the witness’ memory was sketchy or because this information was something they wanted to keep to themselves. “We never had any eyewitnesses to say for sure that she was abducted,” said Lt. no eyewitness to say for sure she’s been abducted,

Now, Dublin police say this witness’ sighting, and the car described by the witness, is one of the factors that helped them secure a to join Hayward police in the search of the Antich home of Jaycee Lee Dugard’s accused kidnappers, Phillip and Nancy Garrido.

Hayward police are looking for any evidence at Garrido’s home and yard, and on a neighboring property, that Garrido was involved in the November 1988 kidnapping of Michaela Garecht, 9, of Hayward. Of the possibility that Garrido could be Michaela’s kidnapper, Lt. Christine Orrey of the Hayward police said that, of the more than 13,000 tips investigators received, “this is one of the strongest leads we’ve pursued thus far.”

An eyewitness, Michaela’s friend, actually saw her being pulled into a car outside the neighborhood grocery store that the two girls had biked to on a Saturday morning. This fact was mentioned in every story about the abduction, and a police sketch of a suspect accompanied most stories.

A beat-up sedan towed from Garrido’s property is similar to the car Michaela was pulled into, says Orrey. The brazen daylight kidnapping of Michaela is also similar to how Jaycee was abducted. She was grabbed in view of her stepfather as she made her way to a bus stop near her South Lake Tahoe home in June 1991.

Moreover, photos of Garrido from the late 1970s and early 1980s, with him wearing stringy shoulder-length hair, are similar to the police sketch of Michaela’s abductor. Finally, Garrido was living in a halfway house in Oakland at the time of her kidnapping.

Dublin police are being a bit more restrained in suggesting, in any way, that they have solved Ilene’s disappearance, which has haunted the community of Dublin since it happened. However, Lt. Kurt Von Savoye said the sedan found on Garrido’s property is also similar to the car Ilene may have gotten into.

Both lieutenants say the search of the Garrido property and an adjacent property, for which Garrido served as a caretaker, started at 7 a.m. and could take several days. The search will be thorough and methodical. Police and criminalists will be looking for clothing that belonged to either Ilene or Michaela and, yes, they will be looking for remains. The search could involve digging under the house, and even razing parts of it.

Sharon Munch, the mother of Michaela, said at a later afternoon press conference: “I’m hoping this will lead to a resolution.” She, of course, hopes that Michaela, like Jaycee after 18 years, will turn up alive.

Munch said she always wondered if the same person who kidnapped Jaycee had abducted her daughter, because of the similarity in the description of the suspect.

She added that she spoke to the eyewitness in her daughter’s case, Michaela’s friend, who told her that Garrido looks as much like Michaela’s kidnapper as anyone she has so far seen.

As police search Garrido's home in other child abductions, more suspicious activity reported around Walnut Creek school kids

UPDATE: School officials warn of suspicious activity around Walnut Acres Elementary and Walnut Creek Intermediate and in the Parkmead Elementary area.

Claycord.com reports that the principal of Walnut Acres Elementary in Walnut Creek had sent out a notice regarding an incident earlier today. A young man on foot, and "mumbling under his breath," approached a fourth-grader at Walnut Acres back gate after school was dismissed. The student stomped on the man's foot and ran away to safety. "Please note that this man does not match the description of the person involved in the situations at Pleasant Hill Middle School," wrote Principal Colleen Dowd.

Early today, I reported that Walnut Creek School District Superintendent Patricia Wool had just sent out this advisory to parents, about two incidents involving men with cameras, possibly photographing students. One was in the Parkmead area and one was near Walnut Creek Intermediate.

School and police officials are on alert following the possible attempted kidnapping of children near Pleasant Hill Middle School and in Concord, and of a man and woman acting suspiciously around Foothill Middle School in Walnut Creek. To read more about these incidents, click here.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of these alerts to police and school officials have to do with heightened awareness about stranger abductions in light of all the publicity surrounding the kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard, who, now 29, was discovered living with a registered sex offender in Antioch since her 1991 kidnapping.

Police, by the way, are back at Garrido's home today, searching it and a neighboring property for clues in two other child kidnappings from the late 1980s: the November 1988 abduction of 9-year-old Michaela Garecht of Hayward and the January 1989 kidnapping of 13-year-old Ilene Misheloff of Dublin. Hayward police, in particular, are following up on "probably the strongest lead that's ever come in," regarding Michaela's abduction. She was pulled into a car by a man, the police sketch of whom bears a resemblance to photos of Garrido in the late 1970s and early 1980s. At the time of Michaela's abduction, Garrido was living in a halfway house in Oakland.

Anyway, here is Wool's letter:

Dear Walnut Creek School Community:

The Walnut Creek School District is trying to keep you up to date as information comes into the district about descriptions of suspicious actions in the area. I just met with my principals and will pass on two incidents concerning potential photography of students. The first was a sighting of a man in the Parkmead area taking pictures of WCI students at the bus stop. The police were called, and this proved to be someone who lives in the area concerned about traffic and student safety.

The second incident occurred yesterday at WCI where some female PE students reported a man allegedly taking pictures of a PE class from the trail. The girls reported the man to the principal; the East Bay Regional Park District Police were called and did an area check. They found nothing.

We are all trying to be vigilant and will report to the community potential threats. Please know that the police are called, and the administration does follow up on all incidents.

Students at the middle school and elementary schools have been briefed by teachers and administration twice. Students are certainly encouraged to not walk alone to or from school. Again, we will continue to provide information as it becomes available.

Stroll and taste wine in downtown Walnut Creek Wednesday to benefit local schools

The Walnut Creek Downtown Business Association, and nearly three dozen local companies, are inviting people who live and work in and around Walnut Creek to the Second Annual Fall Wine Walk, Wednesday, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Proceeds benefit the Walnut Creek Education Foundation WCEF K-12 and the Northgate Community Pride Foundation. Local retailers are matched with Bay Area and Napa Valley wines to serve some of Northern California's best wines.

Pre-ticket sales are available online for $25 per per person, $30 on the day of the event. And, yes, you must be 21 years or older to participate. The starting location for this event is in front of Pro Home Systems at 1561Civic Drive. All participants must begin at the starting location in order to receive a wine glass, wrist band and map.

For more information, visit the Downtown Business Association's website.

Oprah’s so full of you know what. She says "I want Jaycee!"

In today’s Contra Costa Times’ story about accused kidnapper and rapist Phillip Garrido’s bail being set at $30 million, the prosecutor urges the media to not hound his alleged victim, Jaycee Dugard, for interviews.

This plea comes amid reports, the Times says, that Oprah Winfrey had secured an interview, to air in December, and that she was paying $1 million for this scoop.

Oprah’s flak says, no, no, no, her boss has not secured the interview, and then sniffs: “We don’t pay for interviews.”

This response says that Ms. Winfrey is oh-so above hounding a traumatized crime victim like Jaycee Dugard for an interview.

Give me a break.

Sure, it’s probably true that Oprah has not yet secured the interview, but it’s not for lack of effort or desire on her part. In this interview with The Insider last week, the talk show queen (whose show’s ratings are suffering, by the way) states emphatically “I want Jaycee” and that she has expressly put her peeps on the job of nailing that interview. Remember, it was Oprah, also the Queen of Sensitivity, who was responsibility for this particular horror of reality TV. In 2007, she secured an interview with recently recovered teen kidnap victim, Shawn Hornbeck, shortly after his release from 51 months of captivity.

Regarding Jaycee Dugard, recovered after 18 years in captivity and who knows how many instances of physical and sexual abuse, Oprah tells The Insider’s Samantha Harris: "I want that interview."

She continues: "Obviously, like everybody else in this business, I have 'my people' working on that. Now, this is the truth...I really don't care about getting interviews first and all that stuff....Really, truly, I don't play that game. I feel like if somebody wants to talk to me, they will talk to me. If they don't want to talk to me and they want to talk to whomever, fine. But this is the one I want."

UPDATE: Missing Walnut Creek man, 77, found

UPDATE 9 a.m. Contra Costa Sheriff's Department spokesman confirms what some readers had reported on Claycord.com--that George Estes had been found alive and well.

Monday Night: The Contra Costa Sheriff's Department is currently searching the area around Treat Boulevard for George Estes, 77, who was last seen around 4 p.m. Monday at 1270 Elmwood Drive.

Authorities are concerned about his well-being because he has a medical condition, says Contra Costa Sheriff's Department spokesman Jimmy Lee.

Estes is a white male, 5 foot 8 inches tall and weighing approximately 168 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a white tee shirt and blue jeans.

If you believe you have seen this person or have any information regarding this person, please call the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office immediately at (925) 646-2441.