Fast Balls at Acalanes; Moraga's Nuisance House; Orinda's Coyote Gets Around

One of those "best of times, worst of times" weeks in Lamorinda with two film  companies roaming our little hamlets to capture some of the local wildlife and using our most charismatic local boits as backdrops.

The prospect of a movie featuring was overshadowed somewhat by an ugly incident involving two contract workers at and a forum at  that drew a crowd of concerned parents to address the use of hard drugs by local teens and young adults.

Parents wondered aloud how a 16-year-old found with prescription drugs at Campolindo High School could be returned to school so quickly, pointing to the young man's Facebook page and references there as evidence of the boy's apparent fascination with drugs — and statements made after his run-in with authorities that he does not intend to stop.

Cyber-Bile

Some parents last week also expressed concern with another social media website popular among local kids — Formspring. Lamorinda Patch has been hearing about an increasing number of cyber-bullying cases in recent weeks, with many local kids leaving Facebook for this new site to avoid the prying eyes of their parents and quickly falling into the crosshairs of today's cyber equivalent of the schoolyard bully.

A quick search of the site led to a number of local listings and some of the most vile, most graphic comments, photos and outright threats we've ever come across in a social media platform. Most of it was pretty shocking so you may want to do some research of your own because this site doesn't appear to be on most parents' radar screens. And much of this is being perpetrated by kids as young as 11 or 12.

So, just a heads up.

Put Me In, Coach

But it wasn't all doom and gloom as the Acalanes varsity baseball team took the field against Bishop O'Dowd on Friday, parents and friends of the players writing to comment on the Big League feel of the game, with scouts and radar guns in the stands and 94 mph fastballs whizzing through the air.

Many in the stands felt Acalanes junior left-hander Spencer Henderson out-dueled opponent Joe Ross, throwing six innings — 9 strikeouts and 1 walk – plus landing two doubles and an RBI off Ross as scouts from the San Diego Padres, Diamondbacks and Mariners made their notes. Henderson was named MVP of the night, so way to go, Spence!

Political Move?

Along with local heroics on the ballfield there were rumblings in local politics as a popular civic leader appeared to be headed to a new position in Walnut Creek. Apparently, the move was being given serious consideration but appears dead for now. We'll see.

Nuisance In Moraga

And speaking of local politics and the problems these folks deal with, it also seems the Moraga Town Council is at the end of its rope with a former homeowner who walked away from her property at 316 Calle la Montana and — apparently — was content to let it rot en situ.

This little odyssey began with citizen complaints about decaying conditions at the unassuming ranch home in 2009. Town staff visited the residence and discovered that it had been abandoned for years and no property taxes paid by the owner, Laila Alothman, since 2007, when she apparently moved back to the Middle East.

Alothman's son, Jamal, remained in the area but despite numerous warnings from the town appeared disinterested in clearing the house of garbage, weeds, broken doors and windows that had allowed raccoons and two-legged party animals inside.

Finally, as the neighbors simmered and a battered old Camaro on the property began to disappear piece by piece, the town moved in, sealed the property and took steps to eliminate the rats and other vermin who were calling it home.

All that cleanup didn't come cheap, according to town staff, and records were kept and a bill prepared — about $20,000 worth, to be precise. On Wednesday night, the council meets to discuss the issue yet again, this time to pass the bill along to Alothman's appointed representative or to levy a special assessment on the property to cover the expenditure.

Victim Of Our Own Success

We're more than a little reticent to apply the word victim to ourselves here at LamoPatch but with our recent readership surge and resultant increase in commentary, we're being called on more and more often to play censor or referee — something we definitely do not want to do.

We're very proud of our readership and the way people conduct themselves on our pages, with Lamorinda Patch routinely singled out as the home of some of the most thoughtful, thought-provoking commentary among our 800-plus Patch sites nationwide.

That said, all the normal rules apply so no name-calling, threats, profanity or off-track diversion that other sites are known for. We do have a DELETE button and we'll use it if we have to.

Orinda's Wily Coyote

We're also getting multiple calls from the Overhill area of Orinda, where a very happy looking coyote has apparently made his home. Several residents have watched this guy at length and he doesn't appear to be threatening, though he does appear well-fed. And we want to make sure he doesn't get blamed for anything he hasn't done, reminding readers that a couple of roaming dogs were seen killing a neighbor's pet cat.

That's it for now. Keep in touch and you know where to come for local news...