Don’t forget that today is 9/11, the eighth anniversary of the attacks America suffered at the hands of terrorists. For those so inclined, there’s the Annual Freedom Walk at Somersville Town Center. Check-in begins in the main entrance to the parking lot at 5:30 p.m.; opening ceremonies begin at 6 p.m. The event is run by Josie Monaghan, whose pro-troops efforts around East County are legendary. At this year’s Freedom Walk – it winds once around the mall – Monaghan is giving folks the chance to join in Operation Homefront in support of our troops. For more, visit www.antiochmilitary.com or e-mail josiemonaghan@aol.com. See you at the Walk.

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It seems like such a little thing, but … the tiny butt that a cigarette smoker tosses out his car window takes anywhere from 18 months to 10 years to biodegrade. It’s also a prime candidate for igniting a wildfire. And judging from a citizen’s recent encounter with the Brentwood PD, it’s a way to attract unwanted attention. The driver, pulled over for throwing a lit cigarette out his window, was also discovered to be DUI. He was arrested and taken to county jail in Martinez, where his breath presumably became less flammable.

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The Oakley City Council will be sending a strongly-worded letter to American Medical Response urging the ambulance company to begin making payments to the family of Louis Del Barba, an Oakley resident whose vehicle was struck by one of the company’s ambulances in 2007. Del Barba was left a quadriplegic and remains hospitalized for his injuries. Courts found AMR to be responsible for the accident and awarded $23,998,043 to the family, but AMR is appealing the ruling and refuses to pay. The council approved a resolution at its Tuesday meeting to send a letter and collect signatures from other local representatives on the county and state levels.

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We thought there were just more of them out there: Word is that CopLogic, the online reporting service that enables residents to interact with the Brentwood Police Department on the Internet, has been used 193 times since July of 2008. That adds up to a total of 289 hours saved – as opposed to an officer being required to respond to a minor incident and take a report. That’s equivalent to 15 percent of a cop’s year in “found” time, or 47 minutes per day that we’ll have an additional patrol car out there looking for the bad guys.

– Compiled by Press Staff