Numerous local groups will participate, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, who will conduct the veterans’ memorial at the flagpole; the Pinole Valley High School Marching Band; and Pinole Boy Scout Troop 86, which will conduct the flag retirement ceremony at the barbecue pits in the park.

All veterans, students, and adults in the area are invited to participate.

Boy Scout Troop 86 will retire flags donated by citizens. Up to 10 flags will be retired. Citizens may bring flags to be retired for a tax-deductible $25 donation to the Pinole Historical Society. Citizens retiring flags will receive a new, high-quality nylon, all-weather, embroidered 3 x 5-foot flag. New flags will also be offered to the public for a tax-deductible $25 donation to the Pinole Historical Society.

Please e-mail the PHS at info@pinolehistoricalsociety.org if you would like to have a flag retired. Please put FLAG RETIREMENT in the subject line. Or, you may call PHS board member Jeff Rubin at 724-9507.

For information on how to properly retire a United States flag, click here.

In a recent mailer to Pinole voters, Alegria focused on several “problems” facing the city - all of which have been debunked by the City Council, City Manager Charles Long, and by the Contra Costa Times. For example, her mailer claims cuts to the police budget have eliminated two school safety officers at Pinole Valley High School, when in fact there are not one, but two, School Safety Officers working at the school.

Now, Alegria is walking neighborhoods placing stickers on her mailers touting her selection as a Barack Obama delegate to the Democratic National Convention this Summer. Of course, she’s not telling voters how she and her buddy, Richmond Councilman Harpreet Sandhu, railroaded the delegate-selection process by bringing in busloads of Sikh voters from Sandhu’s El Sobrante temple- some of whom were not even registered voters or registered in Maria’s congressional district - to vote for her and Sandhu as delegates.

The Obama people - many of whom had spent an entire year canvassing the district while Alegria spent most of her time working for Hillary Clinton - were livid, but there was nothing that could be done once the delegate votes were cast.

But this is what you get from Auntie Maria. So please Vote No on Auntie Maria

In just the first 18 days of October her campaign has exceeded the spending totals of all of the other candidates and PACs combined; $14,479.90 to $13,883.85. Plus, in less than 3 weeks, Alegria exceeded the voluntary spending limit everyone but her signed. Worse, Alegria may be in violation of the Pinole’s new campaign finance ordinance for contributions. Documents show Alegria gave herself a contribution that exceeded the $500 maximum per person that’s mandated in the new ordinance. Alegria has funded her campaign to the tune of $5,600. And, her campaign committee gave her more than the limit of $1,000 per committee. Dial tone buzz, number calling…Hello? FPPC?

This is Contra Costa politics at its finest; for while citizens of Pinole, successfully removed Maria Alegria, and other incompetent (per West County Times) council members in June (one ran off to join the army after recall papers were
filed), this election will see labor and other special interests redouble their efforts to take back the city from voters. Mark your calendar!

Knowing what articles to put in your newsletter is crucial to its success. Don’t send the same newsletter to your employees and customers. Here are some general content guidelines - and this applies to in-house  newsletters and those targeted for customer, both print and electronic:

* Your employees want information about (1) company issues and news that affects them and (2) other people in their company.

* Your customers want (1) information about new services and products that will make their companies more efficient and (2) information which tells them how to make their businesses more profitable.
Get the mix right - and design it attractively - and you’ll have a successful newsletter.

Planning is essential to a successful newsletter

One of the recurring problems companies have in putting together a newsletter is lack of organization.
Frequently, the task of getting it done is assigned to an already overworked employee with no expertise and even less interest.

Consistently publishing a good newsletter - on time, every time - requires a commitment from your top management and a committee of people with specific assignments.

Use these tips to help you with planning your publication:

* Draft a publishing schedule for the entire year, showing meeting times, copy deadlines and publish dates for each issue.

* Have a one-hour meeting with your committee before each issue to plan all articles and artwork needed and to delegate assignments.

* Make changes to your proof only once, or you won’t get it out on time.

* Find a printer or web person who understands what you’re trying to accomplish with your newsletter and is willing to help you learn how to improve it.

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Jeff Rubin, a former newspaper reporter and editor and instructor at The Learning Annex in San Francisco, is The Newsletter Guy, owner of the Pinole, California-based newsletter publishing firm of the same name (http://www.thenewsletterguy.com). He’s written and designed more than 1,800 company newsletters since starting his business in 1981. He may be reached via e-mail at jeff@thenewsletterguy.com or by phone at (877) 588-1212. Jeff is also a professional speaker http://www.jeffrubinspeaks.com. His programs for companies, organizations, and professional associations concentrate on effective writing and marketing techniques, customer delight, and integrity for owners of small businesses.

The new millennium spawned a service-based economy in which companies are reaching out to cultivate new customers - and striving to retain the ones they already have. Accomplishing this task and remaining competitive in this environment depends on the quality of your business relationships.
Customers want to know more than how much it costs; they want to know the benefits of doing business with you. Marketing and selling those benefits is your challenge.

In 27 years of business I’ve discovered that being an ethical person is . . . ironically . . . a great marketing tool. Humanity, integrity and reliability are more important than the best deal.

Here are nine points that will help you lay the groundwork for long-term success.

1. PRESENT A POLISHED IMAGE
Spend some money on your marketing materials. You don’t have to get a second mortgage, but spend enough that your customers and prospects feel they’re dealing with a reputable company. That means not getting free business cards from Vista Print. Nothing damages your reputation more than a business card that screams, “cheap!”

2. GET IN YOUR CUSTOMERS FACE AT LEAST SIX TIMES A YEAR
A sale is made when the customer is ready to buy, not when you’re ready to sell. If you’re not in front of them at that moment, you will lose the sale. Printed newsletters, e-zines, post cards, handwritten notes, phone calls, special promotions - all of these create awareness and build relationships and increase the likelihood your customer will remember YOU when it’s time to buy.

3. RETURN PHONE CALLS PROMPTLY
All customers like to feel they’re important. Returning phone calls promptly is a sign you respect them, their time - and their business.

4. IDENTIFY AND SELL YOUR VALUE
Customers buy value, not features. Ask yourself these two questions:
- What makes me different?
- Why should anyone do business with me?
The answers will yield the benefits you bring to your customers, and key selling points your competition does not possess.

Better yet, ask your customers this question: “If you were to recommend me to a colleague or friend, what would you say about me and the way I do business?” Your customers will tell you what they value in you the most; these are precious marketing nuggets for you to develop further.

5. BE A PROBLEM SOLVER
Customers buy based on what they stand to gain . . . or lose. Here’s where being a good listener really helps. What’s causing your customers to stay up at night? What can you do to get them their recommended eight hours and make them feel better, make their lives richer?

Your job to allay your customers’ fears and convince them you can solve their problems and meet their needs.

6. BE RELIABLE
There a well-known story about Juan Gonzalez, a well-known baseball player, who lost an eight-year, $143 million contract because he didn’t show up for a doctor’s appointment for his injured back. In effect, he lost the sale. His nickname wasn’t “Long Gone” for nothing!

Look at your own buying habits. Is doing business with reliable people one of your primary reasons for choosing a vendor or a product? Do you think it’s high on your customers’ lists?

7. MAINTAIN HIGH STANDARDS OF INTEGRITY AND QUALITY
Strive to exceed your customers’ expectations - easily done when you give them more than they ask for. If you treat people well, even if you don’t do business with them, they will refer you to other people. It’s all about how we treat each other with integrity and humanity and reliability.

The question is - “How do you want to be known?”

8. SAY THANK YOU
One of my friends, an etiquette professional, believes that “manners make money.” I agree.

Say thank you three times - by phone, by mail (a handwritten note, not an e-mail!), and in person - and your customers will be impressed that you took the time to let them know how much their business means to you. Wouldn’t your mother be proud!

9. BE PATIENT - IT TAKES TIME TO ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS
If you think you’re going to visit a prospect only once and get the sale, think again. Customers like to do business with people they know, like and trust. This doesn’t happen on the first visit.

If all of your marketing and sales decisions are short-term, you’ll never derive any long-term benefits. Get to know your customers, and strive for repeat business and referrals.

One final thought: Spend less time chasing money and more time building relationships. Success in business depends on relationships . . . and relationships take time.

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Jeff Rubin, a former newspaper reporter and editor and instructor at The Learning Annex in San Francisco, is The Newsletter Guy, owner of the Pinole, California-based newsletter publishing firm of the same name (http://www.thenewsletterguy.com). He’s written and designed more than 1,800 company newsletters since starting his business in 1981. He may be reached via e-mail at jeff@thenewsletterguy.com or by phone at (877) 588-1212. Jeff is also a professional speaker http://www.jeffrubinspeaks.com. His programs for companies, organizations, and professional associations concentrate on effective writing and marketing techniques, customer delight, and integrity for owners of small businesses.

How is it that a disgraced former city councilwoman and mayor, and her buddy, currently the chairman of the Democratic Central Committee, can run for office with straight faces, let alone a clear conscience?

“Maria is trying to rehabilitate her badly damaged reputation,” says Jeff Rubin, a leader of the Concerned Citizens of Pinole, which sponsored the recall of three Pinole council members - Maria Alegria, David Cole, and Stephen Tilton.

Cole saw the handwriting on the wall, resigned, and joined the U.S. Army before he could be recalled. Alegria, who had served 15 years on the council and Tilton, barely more than a year into his first term, were swept out of office in a landslide referendum against corrupt government, with nearly 60 percent of the electorate voting to oust them.

“I think Maria desperately wants to remain a player in county Democratic politics, and she thinks that by getting elected to the Democratic Central Committee she can show voters - and party leaders - that she’s electable,” explained Rubin. “The problem with that thinking is that her recall in Pinole will follow her the rest of her life in this region. She’s going to have to move to another part of the state if she ever hopes to be elected again.”

Nagaraja Rao, says Rubin, “represents the very worst in politics. I’m embarrassed for the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County that its members would allow such a reprehensible person to be in a leadership position.

“To intentionally try to affect the outcome of an election - and a non-partisan election at that - by coming to a city’s council meeting and declaring to a packed room and a TV audience that his opponents had made death threats against him is morally repugnant. Any respectable organization would demand that he resign as its leader and spokesperson.”

Alegria is running from District 2, and Rao is running from District 1 (with no opposition!).

Police investigated Rao’s claims - he said he had received nine phone calls threatening his life! - and found no evidence of any death threats against him. In fact, police could verify only one call, made from a Hercules resident, and it wasn’t recall-related. What a surprise!

Now, Rao has exposed to the entire county to what Democratic insiders already know - that the Democratic Central Committee is an impotent group, not to be taken seriously, for not rising up against him when his inflammatory remarks became public knowledge last November. If they had any guts at all, George Miller, Tom Torlakson, and Mark DeSaulnier - the supposed leaders of the party in this county - would demand Rao’s resignation, because he brings shame to the Democratic party’s name.

From the outset, Rao’s actions and the actions of the Democratic Central Committee in railroading through a resolution supporting Maria Alegria and Stephen Tilton in the Pinole recall - while cutting off debate on the issue from his own central committee members - were anything BUT democratic. Then, Rao deposed opposition leader and DCC newsletter editor Rich Verrilli, because he had the courage to stand up for what is right and honorable.

“Rao and his central committee cohorts have no concept whatsoever of what democracy is about,” Rubin says. “Stifling opposition is what tyrants and dictators do, not representatives of a democracy. Alegria did that for years in Pinole, and was successful until a grass-roots effort stopped her. She and Rao are a disgrace to the political process, and they deserve to be drummed out of the party altogether. If the Democratic party in this county can’t find better leaders than them, then it’s in very serious trouble.”

If the Democratic party won’t take care of its own messy business, then voters can on June 3 by not re-electing Nagaraja Rao and not voting for Maria Alegria.

Jeff Rubin
Pinole

Previously, two CCOP members - Patty McGoldrick and John Bender - were appointed to the Planning Commission; they were the only new people the council appointed (two incumbents were re-appointed).

“We are walking our talk,” said CCOP spokesperson, Jeff Rubin. “We made a commitment to get involved in the city after we won the recall, and we are doing just that.” Rubin says several CCOP members have also applied for appointments to the new Community Services Commission.

Punctuation Playtime®, a 45-minute program for children in grades 1-6, takes a subject that children might roll their eyes at and makes it an engaging and enjoyable learning experience. Jeff and Norma involve the children in a participatory, theater-like experience. The program encourages teamwork and involvement while teaching proper punctuation.

Jeff, founder of National Punctuation Day®, and his wife, Norma, are passionate about providing children with tools that will enhance their literacy.

If, as Tip O’Neill said, “All politics is local,” then the most important election results for Contra Costans last night were the landslide victory of the Pinole Recall and the loss of Prop 93, the cynical attempt by political insiders to dress up an incumbent insurance policy as term limit reform.

The Pinole Recall victory is momentous as it provides a wonderful example for cities like Brentwood, Concord, Disco Bay, and others where ordinary citizens (see video) were able to stand up to unions, the Democratic Party Machine, their curiously silent County Supervisor and neutered Republican Party, redevelopment interests, and an entitled incumbent, seemingly secure in her sinecure, to take back their City from runaway incompetence and pandering to special interests.

The defeat of Prop 93 is promising as it reveals that the electorate was able to see through the vast corrupt deception perpetrated by creeps like Dom Perata, Fabio Nunez, and their toadies in the Assembly, who, more often than not, get to choose their districts, rather than voters select them.