Local Government

Black-and-white county road map with numbered circles marking guardrail project locations.

Local Government

Lafayette guardrail work starts Aug. 24

Contra Costa County Public Works begins a $1.59 million guardrail replacement project Monday, Aug. 24, with work on Reliez Valley Road and elsewhere in the Lafayette area expected to cause delays of up to 10 minutes through mid-November.

August 21, 2026 · 1 min read

Moraga-Orinda Fire District public notice document showing the district's crest and the heading 'Summary of Ordinance 26-06

Local Government

Moraga-Orinda fire board eyes new contracting powers

The Moraga-Orinda Fire District board held a public hearing Aug. 19 on Ordinance 26-06, which would adopt state UPCCAA bidding thresholds, grant the fire chief authority to award informal contracts, and establish emergency spending procedures.

August 20, 2026 · 2 min read

Council members seated at a raised wooden dais inside a California city council chamber.

Local Government

Lafayette council decides tonight: appoint or hold election

The Lafayette City Council meets Thursday, Aug. 20, at 5 p.m. to decide whether to appoint James Cervantes, Stella Wotherspoon and Mario DiPrisco to three council seats or send the uncontested race to voters in November, with the date marking the statutory deadline for action.

August 20, 2026 · 1 min read

Interior of a transit station fare lobby with ticket vending machines and an escalator.

Local Government

Lafayette could seat three council members without election

Lafayette's City Council will vote Thursday on whether to directly appoint three uncontested candidates or send the races to the November ballot, a decision that will shape who guides the city's Mt. Diablo Boulevard corridor development.

August 20, 2026 · 1 min read

Aerial view of a transit station surrounded by parking lots and tree-covered hills.

Local Government

Lafayette's BART Bike Station project could take another year

Construction crews on Lafayette's BART Bike Station and Pathway Project completed art pole foundations and will begin electrical, storm drain and concrete curb work the week of Aug. 17, though the project's original summer completion target has slipped.

August 19, 2026 · 1 min read

Exterior of Moraga-Orinda Fire District Station 45 at 33 Orinda Way in Orinda.

Local Government

Orinda residents challenge city over fire costs, road repairs

Orinda residents challenged the city's fire-tax allocation to MOFD and blasted a private-road maintenance options matrix as unfair in public comments filed for the Monday, Aug. 17 Infrastructure Subcommittee meeting, while a 106-signature petition for Zoom access went unaddressed for a seventh month.

August 18, 2026 · 3 min read

Exterior of Orinda City Hall, where the city clerk's office is based.

Local Government

Orinda names Joelle Fockler as new city clerk

Orinda City Clerk Sheri Smith is retiring in September after 10 years; City Manager Linda Smith has appointed Joelle Fockler, Concord's current city clerk, to start Aug. 31.

August 18, 2026 · 2 min read

Freshly installed speed humps with white markings on a residential street lined with brick houses.

Local Government

Orinda gives no answers on stalled speed cushions

Orinda's Traffic Safety Advisory Committee confirmed Monday, Aug. 17, that all four speed cushion requests — the oldest from 2019 — remain on hold with no update, while the city's $30,000 traffic calming budget sits unspent 47 days into the fiscal year.

August 18, 2026 · 2 min read

Local Government

Tilden Prep seeks Lafayette campus on retail corridor

Lafayette's Planning Commission will vote Monday on a land-use permit that would allow Tilden Preparatory School to open a campus at 3435 Mt. Diablo Blvd., pulling a storefront from the city's retail-zoned corridor; the same meeting previews free pre-approved ADU designs developed jointly for all three Lamorinda cities.

August 17, 2026 · 2 min read

A silver sedan drives over raised asphalt speed cushions at a residential intersection.

Local Government

Orinda's speed cushion requests stall as $30K sits unused

Orinda's Traffic Safety Advisory Committee meets Monday evening with four speed cushion requests on hold, a $30,000 traffic calming budget untouched since the fiscal year began July 1, and the city's first bicycle and trails plan update since 2011 on the agenda.

August 17, 2026 · 2 min read

Local Government

State Senate designates Diablo Range a conservation priority

The California State Senate voted 33-0 on Aug. 13 to designate the Diablo Range a state conservation priority under the 30x30 initiative, with Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan authoring the resolution that puts the mountain range anchored by Mount Diablo on the state's official protection list.

August 14, 2026 · 2 min read

Presentation slide announcing a Regional Priority Plan stakeholder meeting via Zoom.

Local Government

Lamorinda residents get final say on wildfire fuel projects

The Diablo Firesafe Council holds its sixth and final Regional Priority Plan stakeholder meeting Thursday, Aug. 20, at 11 a.m. via Zoom, giving Lamorinda residents one last chance to weigh in on which fuel-reduction and evacuation projects get prioritized across the region.

August 12, 2026 · 2 min read

Lamorinda Daily Gazette

Lamorinda Daily Gazette

Lamorinda Daily Gazette