Nomination period opens for local office elections
This month residents will have the opportunity to put themselves forward for positions on local town and city councils, elementary school boards, the Acalanes Union High School…
Orinda
Orinda to help businesses spruce up exteriors
Last month the Orinda City Council voted to provide money to local businesses to help them update their façades. The program will provide up to $10,000 for projects costing under…
Orinda celebrates USA’s 250th anniversary with parade and festivities
On a moderate, sunny morning, The Orinda Association, with the help of many sponsors, threw a giant Fourth of July party to mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of…
Coast-to-Coast relay crosses through Lamorinda, celebrating country’s 250th anniversary
Orinda and Lafayette will be on the path of the American Discovery 250 Relay next month. The American Discovery Trail is the country’s first coast-to-coast trail, and the…
Lamorinda schools seem to be doing well on election day measures
The California Primary Election on June 2 had the benefit of clear skies and lovely weather. Voters attended their local polling places either to cast the ballots or to drop off…
Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda high schools get new principals
Three of the four high schools in the Acalanes Union High School District (AUHSD) have just been appointed new principals. In Lafayette, Colin Malcolm will be taking the…
Siesta Valley Bowl now live in Orinda
Siesta Valley Bowl, which has taken over the outdoor performance location that for decades housed Cal Shakes, went live on Saturday, May 30 with a “Siesta Valley Bowl Spring…
Divided Orinda city council vote on traffic signage actions around Ivy Drive
The Orinda City Council on April 7 considered a pilot program of changes to the traffic patterns around Ivy Drive, Coral Drive, Eastwood Drive and Ardith Drive, known as the Ivy…
Contract is finally awarded for update to Orinda’s Crossroads Plaza
Following years of discussion, the project to update the area across from the Highway 24 off-ramp went out for bid earlier in March. However, owing to several of the bids being…
2026 Poul Anderson writing contest winners announced
The Friends of the Orinda Library announced the winners of the 2026 Poul Anderson Creative Writing Contest, named in honor of the late Poul Anderson, a popular science-fiction…
Local business fills a gap in refuse collection
After sorting refuse into separate bins for trash, compost and recyclables, there remains the task of dragging the bins to the curb, and then collecting them again the next day.…
Orinda rejects all bids for Crossroads Plaza renovation
Confusion about the bidding process led to the Orinda City Council on March 17 rejecting all five bids received to renovate the Crossroads Plaza. The area is located at the…
Wagner Ranch Nature Area planning gets underway
Around 100 people attended a community meeting at Wagner Ranch Elementary School in Orinda on March 24. The meeting was hosted by the John Muir Land Trust (JMLT), which acquired…
Camino Pablo ‘School Meals Art Exhibition’
Camino Pablo's fourth and fifth graders from Ms. Clare Fallon and Ms. Brigitt McGee's classes held a School Meals Art Exhibition throughout the month of February at the Moraga…
Orinda city council returns to issue of private roads
The contentious issue of how the City of Orinda deals with the acceptance of private roads returned to the Orinda City Council on March 3, when the council heard a report from the…
Lamorinda, Contra Costa County plan to go big on emergency communications exercise
Radio enthusiasts in Contra Costa County and Lamorinda have been invited to participate in this year’s BEACON exercise on April 30, and they are planning to make an impact. The…
High School District hosts first ever career fair focused on trades
A rainy night did not stop a crowd of students and parents turning out to the Del Val Education Center for the Acalanes Union High School District Career Pathways Fair. More than…
AUHSD moves ahead with Miramonte Pool Restoration
The Acalanes Union High School District board decided in January to move ahead with the restoration of the swimming pool at Miramonte High School by breaking the project down into…
FSMO receives $40K grant to help low-income residents with vegetation removal
Local nonprofit group Fire Safe Moraga-Orinda (FSMO) has been granted $40,000 by Contra Costa County Supervisor Candace Andersen. The grant is intended to identify and help…
Orinda moves to approve multifamily housing on Altarinda Road
Despite objections, the Orinda City Council on Feb. 3 voted unanimously to move forward with approval of a project that could eventually lead to the existing medical office…
Orinda mayor gives awards of excellence before selection of new mayor, vice mayor
The Orinda City Council selected a new mayor and vice mayor according to its custom on Dec. 16, 2025. Before the selection, outgoing Mayor Latika Malkani announced that she was…
Persian Café opens in Theatre Square
Chef Shabnam Ameli has opened a Persian-style café in Theatre Square in Orinda and is making many people happy with her creative offerings. She is assisted in her endeavor by her…
EBMUD grants long lease of former Cal Shakes Theater to local enterprise
The East Bay Municipal Utility District on Dec. 1 signed a 15-year lease agreement with the nonprofit group Siesta Valley Foundation (SVF). The lease covers the 9-acre…
Orinda allows bond measure for new senior housing project over union objections
Travelers on Orinda Way in Orinda Village have probably noticed protesters at the intersection with Irwin Way. This dispute came before the Orinda City Council on Nov. 18, because…
Orinda Community Foundation names Orinda Citizen, Volunteer of the Year
The Orinda Community Foundation has chosen artist Maggie Boscoe as Orinda Citizen of the Year for 2025. The OCF also named Carlos Baltodano as Volunteer of the year, 2025. …
Friends of the Orinda Nature Area offer workshop at Orinda Library
The Friends of the Orinda Nature Area hosted a public workshop at the Orinda Library on Oct. 11, filling the Gallery Room with science and nature interactive exhibits for…