Tsunami warning for this morning

Today is FRIDAY, March 11, 2001. Martinez Patch would like to extend its best thoughts and wishes to Japan today, after a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck there, creating a massive tsunami and killing many.

1. As of this writing (early Friday morning), there is a issued for the West Coast, so be careful and keep your eyes on Martinez Patch for the latest news and information. 
2. For those of you with an extra $1 million lying around, the is for sale. If you've ever wondered what the gorgeous home looks like inside, now is your chance. Take a video tour and see what a home with a theater room looks like. This was originally the home of Justice J.F. Bray, for whom one of the courthouses downtown is named. It's quite an impressive place.
3. More about the closing of — the popular restaurant is not the victim of the recession. The owner is just tired after all these years, and is retiring. He has been at the present location since the mid-1980s, and before that Bertola's was quite the popular establishment in Berkeley. The new owner doesn't want to say much at this point about what is going in there, but it involves boutique beer and locally-sourced food. A lot of people will miss Bertola's, but it sounds as though something special will take its place. 
4. The City Council is struggling with . Should Martinez have a "brand," and if so, what should that be? Of course we're the home of naturalist John Muir and baseball legend Joe DiMaggio; we have vistas of green hills and valleys; a major oil refinery; a historic downtown; a thriving residential hub in the south; we have beavers and horses, deer and turkeys. We have a waterfront, art galleries and theaters. Does all of that make up the Martinez brand? You tell us. We're inviting Martinez Patch readers to submit their ideas for marketing Martinez. Give us your slogans, your photos, your logos — anything you think would make a good marketing tool for the city. We'll pass your ideas along to our readers, and who knows? The city might pick it up and run with it.
5. Finally, check out Thursday's , and Spencer Horton's great gallery of photos from around town. Martinez Patch is Spencer's first professional foray into photography, and we think he's got a great future ahead of him. The images he captured really tell a story about this city.