A Shiny New Events Calendar

Today is Thursday, July 14, 2011. Martinez Patch has a new look today – check out the Events Calendar and see what our technical staff has been hard at work on. Now you can find listings based on the kind of activity you’re looking for or on how much something costs or by date. It’s much easier to find your way around and to find something fun to do. Check it out and let me know how you like it.

There are couple of walking opportunities this week you may want to consider. The first one will be Friday night, for the . The National Park Service is sponsoring this hike up Mount Wanda by the light of the full moon, and it’s worth every step. Reservations are required, call 925-228-8860. The following morning, if your legs are up for it, the Alhambra Hills Open Space Committee is hosting a walk up Briones to view the proposed Alhambra Highlands project. The walk begins at 9 a.m. and will meet at the top of the Briones Road entrance to the park off Alhambra Valley Road.

Once you do all that walking, you may be in need of some refreshment. Check out the city’s newest restaurant, , which is opening for dinner Saturday. There will be specialty brews on tap, locally-sourced food, live music and more. Creek Monkey Tap House is at 611 Escobar St. 

WEATHER:

Patchy low clouds in the morning, then sunny. Highs in the lower to mid-70s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph, becoming west 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.

POLICE LOG (the following information is taken from the Martinez Police Daily Log and rewritten by Martinez Patch):

Tuesday, July 11

Fashion suspect – 12:53 a.m. Someone called to report that a woman wearing “a nice dress, heels and a purse” was walking on Alhambra Avenue near Macalvey Drive, which seemed suspicious to the caller. Didn’t the heels go with the dress?

Stolen goods – 2:26 a.m. Equipment valued at $2,500 was stolen from the back of a covered truck on Shadow Falls Drive.

Going postal over protest - 11:32 a.m. A group protesting President Obama set up on the sidewalk outside of the Post Office on Alhambra Avenue, causing more traffic problems there than usual and blocking the sidewalk for pedestrians. Two protesters were told to quit stopping customers at the front door.

No date today – 9:50 p.m. A woman on Meadowvale Court reported that a man who sounded intoxicated was knocking on her door for five minutes. She believes he found her through an online dating service. He finally drove away.

Branch down – 11:47 p.m. A tree branch was blocking traffic at Virginia Hills Drive and Alhambra Avenue.

EVENTS:




TODAY IN HISTORY (from Wikipedia):

1769 - An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolà establishes a base in California and sets out to find the Port of Monterey (now Monterey, Ca.).

1771 - Foundation of the Mission San Antonio de Padua in modern California by Franciscan friar Junípero Serra.

1789 - French Revolution: Citizens of Paris storm the Bastille.

1798 - The Sedition Act becomes law in the United States, making it a federal crime to write, publish or utter false or malicious statements about the government.

1881 - Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Pat Garrett outside Fort Sumner, N.M.

1965 - The Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet.

1969 - U.S. $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills are withdrawn from circulation.

2003 - In an effort to discredit U.S. Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, who had written an article critical of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Washington Post columnist Robert Novak reveals that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, is a CIA "operative."