So This Happened in 2022
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (Jan. 2, 2023) — Bay Area residents welcomed the new year with cheers, champagne toasts – and lots of rain, leading to flooded streets and overflowing streams. With many more days of precipitation forecasted, it could be a tough slog as we move into 2023.
The new year also brings a time of reflection, so here’s a look back at some of the Pioneer’s top viewed stories of 2022:
New name for Kirker Pass Road? Last February, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors began the process of changing the name of Kirker Pass Road after accusations that its namesake, James Kirker, killed more than a hundred people in Mexico. Supervisor Karen Mitchoff later told the Pioneer that the city of Concord was against the plan, and the county was still working with Pittsburg officials about the idea.
Spotting the Northern Lights: Woody Whitlatch explored the weather phenomenon – and the potential to view them in the Bay Area. He cited an 1859 event in which the Northern Lights were not only visible from San Francisco but as for south as Mexico.
Don’t be fooled! The Pioneer’s report of plans for a mysterious mansion drew plenty of interest from readers. But alas, the 13,000 sq. ft. Italian villa was merely an April Fool’s Day joke.
For a deeper dive into the local events of 2022, check out our month-by-month review: click here.
More stories
Here are some other stories the Pioneer covered recently:
Developer breaks ground at affordable housing site in Concord.
Year-end burglaries leave small business owners stymied.
Local athletes make college commitments and 6 football players from Concord schools make college commitments
Walnut Creek’s Il Pavone a true Italian classic.
Concord and Clayton police reports.
Bev Britton
Bev Britton graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of North Dakota and moved to the Bay Area with her soon-to-be husband Jim in 1986. She was features editor at the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek before becoming managing editor of the Contra Costa Sun in Lafayette in 1995. She retired from newsrooms in 2001, but an ad for the Clayton Pioneer drew her back in. The family moved to Lake Wildwood in the Gold Country a few years ago - but working at the Pioneer keeps her in touch with her old neighborhoods in Concord and Clayton.