Neighborhood Tales: Lamorinda's Going To the Dogs, Going to the Dance... and Going Dark

Dive! Dive! Dive! Thinking of putting a periscope up on our Moraga U-Boat Manse and praying the power holds -- something many of our neighbors have been without in the last 24 hours.

Hundreds of households in Lafayette and Orinda dined by candlelight Wednesday evening, and not by choice, as rain-heavy trees draped themselves over local power lines and brought mixers, computers, and all the other electronic gear we rely on these days to a grinding halt.

Patch actually noted a decrease in visitation at about the time power outages rolled across areas of Lamorinda Wednesday night -- almost as if someone threw a switch and severed our electronic tether. Nice to have you back.

If you ventured outside Wednesday you saw the downed trees and roadblocks as linesmen and police re-routed traffic around problem areas. Happy Valley Road was shut down for most of the day after trees brought down some power lines and Moraga Way was closed after a two-car crash clogged the artery at the tail-end of the commute hour.

Patchers with Power wrote in throughout the day as cars spun out, transferred paint and their lights flickered and died. It was a nutty day, but we need the rainfall, right? Right?

So, how 'bout those local sports teams putting Lamorinda on the map with impressive wins and advances on the state and national hoops scene. Major shoutout to the as they advanced to the Nor Cal CIF State Finals with a win over Sacramento High on Tuesday, setting the stage for a re-match with Bishop O'Dowd -- the only team to beat the ladies this season.

And then we've got the loveable mopheads from Moraga, the , who continue to bring all these dang Aussies over here to teach the locals how to drive to the iron. They're a fun bunch and they're scheduled to face off against Purdue University on Friday.

The Gaels are seeded seventh in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament, while the Boilermakers are seeded 10th. SMC public relations informs us the winner will play either second-seeded Kansas or 14th-seeded Detroit in the third round on Sunday at a time to be determined. Friday’s game will be televised live on truTV with Marv Albert, Steve Kerr and Craig Sager calling the action.

Patch also felt a "pulse" of interest surge through our hit counters Wednesday as the Moraga Town Council hashed out a solution to the question of off-leash hours for people with dogs at Rancho Laguna Park. The solution? No more off-leash hours. Check out on the meeting, it remains to be seen if this is the last we've heard of this issue.

Wrapping up this issue of Neighborhood Tales is word from Kent Long at Friends of the , a group committed to saving Don Joaquin's venerable, Gold Rush-era homestead. Kent visited the property recently and was distressed to see that the already degraded structure had been further violated by vandals in recent weeks. The FJMA is attempting to make sure there's a future for Lamorinda's oldest structure as development closes in around the old adobe.

You may remember that the adobe was also recently desecrated by metal thieves who made off with the bronze tablet marking its historic status.

While we silently clench our fists in frustration and anger, Patch also expresses hope that we can do a better job of protecting this valuable and historic local landmark.