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Though the skies wouldn't indicate it now, it was just a short time ago that we were issuing air quality advisories, closing City swimming pools, and discouraging outdoor activities for City residents due to smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County. While we experienced inconvenience, our hearts go out to those who experienced devastation at the hands of the fire. Below, you will find some information on how you can lend a hand.
In the meantime, please set aside a few moments this week to make sure you have taken the steps to allow the City to reach you in the event of an emergency. Our primary emergency notification tool is Nixle, which allows us to send you text and/or email alerts. You can sign up on your phone by texting your zip code to 888777 to opt-in for alerts. If you want to add alerts for other areas, perhaps where your parents live or your kids go to college, visit the Nixle website to sign up for a broader array of informational alerts.
During an emergency, we will also be updating you on Nextdoor, Twitter and Facebook.
Wishing you and your family a healthy and safe holiday season.
Questions, comments about this Update or anything else? Email me at CMUpdates@walnut-creek.org.
 City Council reorganization Tuesday night
 The City Council meeting tomorrow, December 4, will be a special one. We will say thank you and goodbye to retiring Councilmember Rich Carlston, and congratulate re-elected Councilmember Cindy Silva and newly-elected Councilmember Matt Francois. Join us in person for the swearing-in ceremony, and as the Council selects a new Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem. You can also watch the meeting live on Walnut Creek TV, or live on the City's website. The meeting starts at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 4, at City Hall, 1666 N. Main Street.
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BART South Garage opening soon
 Reservations for monthly permits at the soon-to-open South Garage at the Walnut Creek BART station will be made available to the public this week on a first-come, first-served basis. The new garage is privately owned and operated, and will be exclusively for BART parking. Monthly permit space is expected to sell out quickly. Please contact SP+ Parking at 510-928-2032 with questions or comments. You can also get reservation information by visiting their website.
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Holiday shopping this season can include surfing the web downtown with newly-installed WiFi services in the heart of the downtown corridor. Known as ConnectWC, the WiFi adds coverage along the section of downtown bounded by Civic Drive and Mt. Diablo Blvd., and N. Main Street and Locust Street. The service will fill in the gaps from pockets of the area without WiFi service. You can find it now when you’re trying to connect to WiFi in that corridor by selecting the “#Walnut Creek" network on your phone, tablet, laptop or other connected device.
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Parking made easy: downtown City options
It's the most wonderful time of the year, unless you're in a hurry can can't find a place to park! Thankfully, the City has help for you on that front. Visit the City's parking webpage and you'll find a variety of resources, including a real-time parking map, a downloadable app that will find the perfect spot, and information on our new equipment making City parking garages safer and easier to use. You can also use the Park Mobile App to pay for parking, too. Download it here for iPhone or Android. heck out the holiday parking map coming in the Winter Nutshell later this month!
 Toys for Tots: You can help make the holidays bright
 The Walnut Creek Police Department is accepting new, unwrapped toys for the U.S. Marine Corp Reserves annual "Toys for Tots" program. The mission is to collect toys to distribute as holiday gifts for children in need within the community. Toys may be dropped off in the bin found in the lobby of City Hall at 1666 N. Main Street. Collections will be taken through Wednesday, December 12. Find out more about the program at the "Toys for Tots" website.
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Fire Relief: Help is still needed
 The Camp Fire, which scorched more than 150,000 acres in Butte County last month, is now out, but the resulting devastation is hard to fathom. Just as we saw last year following the North Bay fires, Walnut Creek residents are asking how to be most effective in providing support. With dozens of lives lost and thousands of homes destroyed, it makes it hard to know even where to start to lend a hand. The best resource for information and how to help is at the Butte County Recovers website, where you will find ways to help and the most up to date news.
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 City Departments lend a hand to put food on area tables
 Stop by City facilities through December 10, and bring a donation of canned food or other non-perishable food items, and you can help stock the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Counties at this very important time of the year. The City's departments engage in a friendly competition each year to see who can raise the most on behalf of the Food Bank. Your donation at a City office of facility will help feed families in our region. One in 8 families throughout Contra Costa and Solano Counties rely upon the Food Bank at some point throughout the year. While the City's holiday drive runs for another week, the need is year round. Find out more about how you can help at the Food Bank's website.
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City's Cable TV show captures national attention
 Have you seen the latest edition of Creek Currents? Creek Currents is a quarterly television show produced by Walnut Creek TV, your local government cable channel. Co-hosts Ruby Lopez and Brendan Moran bring you stories big and small from throughout Walnut Creek. We're proud to say it's also now an award-winning show, as the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors recently honored Walnut Creek TV with a second place national award for excellence with a magazine format television show. You can watch Walnut Creek TV on Comcast Channel 28 (Channel 26 in Rossmoor,) Astound Channel 29, and on AT&T U-Verse Channel 99. You can also catch our programming on our YouTube channel.
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 The Holiday Classic: Center REP's A Christmas Carol, Lesher Center for the Arts
Join the thousands who make the Center REP's production of this timeless event an annual part of their holiday season. Brimming with music and dance, love and laughter, spectacular special effects and scary ghosts, it's no wonder this is a Bay Area favorite. A Christmas Carol is on stage from December 6 - 16; get tickets and information at the Lesher Center for the Arts website.
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 Holiday Stroll: Friday, December 7
Plan on spending part of your Friday evening along the downtown corridor for the Holiday Stroll. From 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., merchants will have open houses, extended shopping hours, food and drink, and live music. Find out more at Walnut Creek Downtown's website.
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 Closing Day Event for Her Room/Her World at the Bedford Gallery: Family Day Art Workshop, Sunday, December 16, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Even if you've already toured this intriguing exhibition at the Bedford Gallery, plan on returning as New York artist Portia Munson will lead a workshop on creating art from upcycled, everyday objects that are otherwise discarded. It's the perfect day to make holiday gifts, and all ages are welcome. The cost of admission covers the workshop costs, but the event is free for Gallery members.
If you haven't seen the exhibit, take a few minutes to see it come to life in this video found on the City's YouTube Channel.
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 Winter Ballet Gala: December 7, 7:30 p.m., and December 8, 2:00 p.m., Del Valle Theater
Join us for our Winter Ballet Gala, a performance rich in holiday culture from around the world. The array of mustic and dance embraces the celebrations of all people and many countries. The Nutcracker will comprise the second half of the performance. Diablo Ballet artists will perform along with students from the Center for Community Arts. For more information, visit the Center for Community Arts website.
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 Jazz Band & Flock of Flutes Concert: December 9, 3:00 p.m., Shadelands Art Center Auditorium
Enjoy an afternoon of music featuring Flock of Flutes, the East Bay's premiere flute choir, as well as classic jazz tunes performed by the Community Arts Jazz Band. For more information, visit the Jazz Band webpage.
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