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Piedmont, California, is a small suburb with a population of 10,667 surrounded by the gritty city of Oakland, population 425,097. Piedmont is almost exclusively zoned for single family dwellings and is home to prosperous businesses. Activists and politicians are trying to end that distinction by forcing Piedmont to build “affordable housing” and increase density by allowing multi-family units.

An Italian mayor has vowed to pay citizens €250 towards the cost of a gun after accusing the country's government of failing to protect 'honest Italians' with its 'jail-emptying laws'. Gianluca Buonanno, the Northern League mayor of Borgosesia in Piedmont, northern Italy, announced his plans for a new firearm fund on Facebook. He said he was doing so to allow people to 'defend themselves from delinquents, who the government is privileging'.

Earthquake on Hayward fault. I'm in San Francisco. Seemed stronger than 4.2 from that distance.

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake was reported Monday morning in Piedmont, Calif., near Oakland, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Where are you, country? Why can’t I find you? Why have you gone away? Adapting Cindy Lou’s song about the loss of Christmas spirit in Whoville expresses the sadness for what as been lost in my country. When I was a young boy in the small town of Piedmont, Missouri, the local physician, Doc Jones, would come to your house if you were sick. People paid him in cash, or perhaps some other goods. No one imagined they had a “right” to have someone else pay Doc Jones. It was their solemn duty, part of leading a responsible and moral...

A Virginia farmer is claiming that an environmental group is trying to drive her off her property with overzealous zoning enforcement and invasive inspections. Martha Boneta explained to Steve Doocy on “Fox and Friends” this week that when she bought the 64-acre farm eight years ago, she agreed to an easement, which allows the Piedmont Environmental Council to visit the property to make sure no laws are being broken. “We never dreamed in a million years that we would encounter so much abuse of power,” Boneta said. “It’s been eight years of invasive, abusive inspections that go far beyond what’s...

The victims, a man and woman, told deputies the suspect tried to force his way into the home at gunpoint, placing a woman who lived at the home in a choke hold. They added that the woman was able to alert her husband, who confronted the suspect with a gun. Lt. Sheila Cole with the Anderson County Sheriff's Office said the male victim, described as a 78-year-old man, was airlifted to the hospital, having suffered a gunshot to his stomach. Cole said the suspect returned fire before running from the scene and driving off in a black SUV.

An Upstate man is in custody, accused by the FBI and local law enforcement as being part of a “domestic terrorist group” that broke into and took over a foreclosed home, according to a release by the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office. The home is listed as being valued at $2,599,000. A realtor checking on the home found a notice, apparently posted by the extremists, saying that they were taking possession of the home. The Sheriff's Office release said, “On April 24, a deputy responded to a report of a burglary at 112 White Violet Way in Sunset. A lock on...

"FBI: Man Flew Into LaGuardia With Firecracker" "Passenger Taken Into Custody After Device Found Wedged Between Seats On Piedmont Airlines Flight Into LaGuardia" NEW YORK (CBS) SNIPPET: "A passenger who flew into LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night was questioned by FBI agents after allegedly boarding the flight with an explosive device in his possession, CBS 2 has learned. Officials confirmed Monday that a crew member on board Piedmont Airlines flight 4126, originating from Baltimore Washington International Airport, was cleaning the plane after it landed in New York around 7:30 p.m. when he found a large firecracker-like device wedged between two...

When designing the new look for US Airways, America West executives turned their back on high-salaried Madison Avenue image consultants. Instead, they interviewed employees from both of the merged airlines: flight attendants, pilots, mechanics and executives. The result: a look that's neither too corporate nor too casual, according to Travis Christ, America West's vice president of marketing who oversaw the new US Airways design. Christ said the merged airline's style would best be described as "right down the middle between American and Southwest [airlines]." The newly redesigned planes, which make their debut today, aspire to a brighter appearance than US...

Democratic Vice Presidential hopeful John Edwards is planning a trip to the Piedmont. Edwards will visit North Carolina A & T State University on Monday afternoon.

Link post: to make interested readers aware of the post in the FR "Chat" section, where any discussion should take place: Geology Picture of the Week, January 4-10, 2004

I'm lazy this week. So this one was easy. Click on picture to go to page with large version option (which covers a larger area). Sunny Mid-Atlantic (on New Year's Eve)