El Cerrito News

A veteran West Contra Costa schools administrator has been honored for expanding the district's special education programs into some of the most comprehensive and effective in the state.

The city declined this week to support a study of a BART extension north, after a majority of City Council members raised concern that it could sap energy and funding from Hercules' long-planned Intermodal Transit Center on the waterfront.

We've redesigned Patch and the Patch app. The news looks better and it's easier to comment on.

A proposal to extend BART north to Hercules is challenging this city to re-examine how it wants to evolve from an automobile-dependent suburb into its New Urbanist, pedestrian- and transit-friendly vision.

Are Contra Costa County's Hiring Practices Fair? The County Administrator says it's time to stop paying an Oakland law firm $30k-$50k a year to monitor diversity in the county workforce.

The City Council and the West Contra Costa school board shared some of their mutual successes along with a couple of differences in their annual joint meeting May 7. On the positive side were a new summer internship program in city government, testimonials on the strides being made in tutoring El Cerrito students in writing and an update on ... (more)

Despite passing Measure G last year, West Contra Costa Unified School District has a losing record when it come to parcel taxes.

There's some exciting news to share about Patch - we're getting a whole new look! It's coming next week and it's going to make El Cerrito Patch easier to use, and a better place to connect and share.

MARCH 08: A "Hiring Now" sign is posted in front of a Pennzoil Speed Oil Change shop on March 8, 2013 in El Cerrito, California.

John Gioia, 55, of Richmond - a Contra Costa County supervisor who represents El Cerrito on the Board of Supervisors and who has an office in El Cerrito - has been appointed to the California Air Quality Board, Gov.

They let the light in and capture the view outside. Homes with a lot of windows are certainly popular with one segment of homeowners.

For regular Highway 29 commuters, and some tourists, gridlock is par for the course as they pass through American Canyon.

The following information was obtained from the Albany Police Department 's daily incident log and its arrest reports.

Here is the text of a letter by Richmond Planning and Building Services Director Richard Mitchell, who also sits on the Hercules Planning Commission, to Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, advocating a northward extension of BART from downtown Richmond instead of El Cerrito Del Norte BART Director Zakhary Mallett is proposing to commission a ... (more)

Business license taxes in El Cerrito would jump an average 14 percent under the new fee schedule proposed by city staff for the City Council meeting on May 7. The proposed boost is part of the annual fee adjustments proposed by staff for city fees.

A couple of weeks ago, El Cerrito Patch posted a police report showing eight residential burglaries recorded over seven days.

KHALED HOSSEINI'S long-awaited third novel arrives this month. May's new releases by Bay Area authors also include a fresh look at cooking by Michael Pollan, memoirs by Anchee Min and Jane Vandenburgh, a debut novel by Judy Juanita, and a new edition of "New California Writing." "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini .

These were among the most-read stories by El Cerrito Patch viewers this past week: When the mother of a 14-year-old girl detained on suspicion of prowling arrived at the El Cerrito Police Department to take custody of her daughter, police found that the mom had an outstanding arrest warrant.

Reporters at the Center for Investigative Reporting looked at five years of accident reports from five Bay Area counties, including Alameda County, to learn what official consequences befall motorists who kill pedestrians .

It took awhile, but the new Chipotle restaurant in El Cerrito is now open. The Mexican grill began serving customers on April 24.