Terrible customer service by city building official. Came in to pull simple over the counter…read morebuilding permit, but the permit technician was out for the day. The building official was at the counter helping a guy and asked where I drove from, after telling him I drove from Concord and would prefer not to have to come again because it's always a risk anytime you drive. He said he couldn't help me and I could not pull the permit, that I would need to drive back again tomorrow. Does the building official not know how to issue a permit?! Looks like time for some training at City of Pinole Building Dept.

Love it or leave it. Pinole. Suburban city in the middle of the East Bay. Fairly safe area…read more Mostly white middle class people and people who enjoy living around white middle class people. For some reason quite a few Phillipino folks in the area, but mostly in Hercules. Not as open-minded as San Francisco. If you dress like a San Franciscan and you come to Pinole they can tell you spend your time in SF. Pinole is pretty much full of people doing their own thing who don't care what anyone else is doing. There are some gay people living here and there, but not too many of them are out of the closet. In the evening people go jogging, bicycle riding, walk their dogs and can be found washing their cars in their driveways. You can get a good deal on a house here. Good schools, although not as good as they used to be. Good place for kids to grow up. A lot of cool people. A few rednecks. Watch out for speeding tickets. Pinole is near Berkeley, and 25 miles from SF. Pinole is normally 5 degrees warmer than SF year-round. Maybe more than that in the summer. It's not nearly as hot as Martinez or Antioch. It never snows in Pinole. Hail once or twice a year, nothing major. In a nutshell it's ok if you like to live in the suburbs. However some Black people I know are afraid to go to Pinole because they are afraid of the cops. I don't know how realistic they are being, but I thought it should be mentioned. If you are a city girl like me then you don't want to live in SF. It has more of small town feeling to it.

So the women and men of Station 5 are who you want to see when your neighbor decides to make BBQ…read moreinside with her propane stove. Now, I may be biased because my uncle is a retired fireman, but I am impressed by Station 5's no nonsense approach and teamwork.

My one star review is solely based upon two separate incidents that occurred when I was working…read morewith a student housing office. Short version: horrible experience with receptionist over prolonged period; horrible experience with a specific firefighter who "shamed" me for not knowing better and calling 9-1-1. The receptionist was unorganized; misplaced faxed documents and claimed I never faxed them; LIED to students that they weren't supposed to submit the paperwork to the office but rather directly to the department. [per policy they were to submit it to the housing office and I would fax it to the department and retain the original for our records]. Another incident occurred that same school year, in which I made the decision to call 9-1-1 because of the state my friend was in. I was definitely hesitant about calling because he told me not to call but I said "better safe than sorry." Basically when I did call, operator somehow "diagnoses" what's going on with my friend and so while the firefighters thought it was "alcohol withdrawal" all I described was: uncontrollable shaking or shivering, couldn't tell which one, labored breathing, inability to hold himself up and the inability to focus his eyes. One firefighter said "this was a fucking waste of time" proceeded to ask who called and tried to shame me for calling and telling me that I "should have known better than to think it was alcohol withdrawal." Looking back, I wished I cursed him out (not ignorantly) but in a way that got him to see his own ignorance. Obviously I'm not a firefighter, not a paramedic or anything related to a professional in the medical field. Just because I am a college student, it doesn't mean I know what all sorts of alcohol related emergencies look like. It also doesn't mean I drink, he heavily implied that, and I'm actually sober. He needs to learn to be professional and understand that there are going to be unintentional "bad" 9-1-1 calls that are out of genuine concern and lack of knowledge in the actual level of seriousness in situations.

As a grand finale to the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) curriculum and as a refresher for…read morecurrent team members, the El Cerrito Fire, Richmond Fire, and San Pablo Police departments host a biannual "Hands on Disaster Drill" for CERT students. Although I was excited to practice the fire suppression, cribbing/lifting, disaster medical/triage, light search and rescue, and neighborhood team skills I learned in the small El Cerrito-Kensington CERT program, I wasn't sure what to expect two weeks ago when I attended the 2009 drill. However, as a multi-city effort, the drill at El Cerrito City Hall thoroughly re-enacted a real emergency allowing CERT volunteers to interact while practice life-saving techniques. I particularly enjoyed acting as a member of a triage team to administer basic first aid to volunteer victims. I also enjoyed additional training provided by the American Red Cross regarding disaster preparedness and emergency shelters. I am still floored by what could happen if a disaster hit West Contra Costa County. I am glad the local cities are partnering to increase awareness and I will be back at future drills to maintain my newly acquired skill set and perhaps volunteer to "doll up" with severed limbs and be in shock so others might be able to help me in a real emergency .

My tricycle was stolen In Berkeley. We smartly had an Apple Air Tag installed on the bike. With the…read morehelp from the El Cerrito Police Department in particular Officer Nirajan Chand my triycle is home where she belongs. Thank you ;-)

In the last 20 years I have only received a ticket which I still dont understand what I did wrong,…read moreIt looks like it was a slow night for El Cerrito Police officer, he took a long time to come up with something to cite me for. I really regret not filming the encounter. El Cerrito Police Officers should be ashamed citing the public just for being there before their shift ends.

I love Berkeley transfer station the prices are reasonable and the staff very friendly and helpful…read moreI highly recommend

My first time at the Transfer Station. It's the only place who would accept my broken…read moreunder-counter fridge/freezer due to the freon. The fee was $48 (cash or credit card) which is paid at the drive-up ramp where an attendant greets you. Then you drive over to the Blue Dumpster where you must unload your item just in front of that Dumpster. Unfortunately, there is no one to assist with unloading. Luckily I brought someone to do the lifting. Also, the line was not long so only waited approx 15-20 minutes to be allowed into the Transfer Station drop-off area. Tuesday-Thursdays are listed as less busy.

Always fast, professional and convenient. Just remember to print out the $30 coupon and you are…read moregood to go!

Went in yesterday morning. No wait. Guy helping us was friendly and quick. Also pointed out my…read moredaughter left the sunroof open (expecting huge downpour later). I had a coupon for $30 off. $89.75 regular price. $59.75 + 8.25 for certificate. Definitely would go back here.

Is there any reason every fire department truck and ambulance has slowly been driving up and down…read moreUniversity Avenue with sirens blaring honking their horns for the last eight hours straight? Is every f***ing house in Berkeley on fire? What is your problem?

Great team at this station. They responded in record time Sunday evening and delivered me to Kaiser…read moreOakland ER. To reciprocate I have an order from Mountain Mike's on it's way to the station now! Enjoy Sharon Harkey

they canceled my medicaid despite my clearly still qualifying. i tried to reason with them and…read morepoint out the many reasons (rules and regulations) why I still qualified over many conversations with multiple employees including 'supervisors', but they refused to listen and literally just said if i didn't like it, i could request a hearing. well i did, and the judge immediately sided with me and pointed out to them that their 'evidence' that they used to try and defend their canceling my insurance actually proved exactly why it should not have been cancelled in the first place. great job guys. Edit: Now they've retaliated by closing my benefitscal account, cancelling my ebt card, and took a long time to process a change that would result in higher benefits. And although I know it's in my file that I use TTY, workers keep spam calling me via voice call, even in response to emails I've sent specifically asking them to use TTY compatible device/service, like it really seems like some sick joke! and I complained about this to the "ADA Facilities and Public Access Coordinator" and all she said was "I am not clear exactly what the problem is at this point" and "I am not clear exactly what this issue is." The *ADA Facilities and Public Access Coordinator* is not clear what the problem is when it's in my records that I use TTY and workers keep calling me via voice, even though they know I use TTY (as they are also responding to emails specifically noting this)?? THEN GET ANOTHER JOB! I'm "not clear" how ANYONE could not understand what the problem is when county workers insist on calling via voice to someone who's noted to use TTY, let alone an ADA officer!

They are amazing here! So sweet in person and over the phone. They make it quick and easy, but also…read morekeeping a smile on their face and a positive great attitude all around. The entire process has been great! Thank you and keep up the great work.