Nominate a Preschool Teacher in the Bay Area

Join us in recognizing the enormous contributions of preschool teachers in the Bay Area.

Eleven outstanding preschool teachers will be selected by a panel of experts to receive:
• A $100 school supply catalog gift certificate.
• A FREE preschool class field trip to Habitot Children's Museum (up to 15 students ~a $130 value)
• One Habitot annual Family Membership (a $115 value) which may be offered at a fundraising auction or used personally
In addition, each of the winning nominators will receive:
• One Habitot annual Family Membership (a $115 value) this spring.

Nominate a preschool teacher March 29 - May 29, 2009


Download the Preschool Contest PDF form.

Mail, Fax or Email Application to:
Habitot Children's Museum
"PRESCHOOL TEACHERS MAKE A DIFFERENCE"
Attn: Lauren Levin
PMB 326 • 1563 Solano Ave. • Berkeley CA 94707
Habitot Children's Museum • PMB 326 • 1563 Solano Ave • Berkeley, CA 94707 • 510-647-1111 • www.habitot.org
Fax: (510) 647-1110
Email: dassoc@habitot.org
Questions? Call Lauren at (510) 647-1111 x 31

Pinole Recall Wins Landslide Victory

Alegria and Tilton swept out of office!

PINOLE, February 5, 2008 - In a landslide referendum on the politics and policies of two members of Pinole's city government, 15-year Councilwoman Maria Alegria and first-term Councilman Stephen Tilton were swept out of office Tuesday in a landslide recall vote, and three new council members were elected.

The final vote to recall Maria Alegria stood at 3,083 YES (58.73%), and 2,166 NO (41.27%). Roy Swearingen, a former councilman in 1986-90, won the election to replace Alegria with 1,838 votes (45.06%), followed by Steve Denlis with 1,215 votes (29.79%), John Bender with 887 votes (21.75%), and 139 write-in votes (3.41%).

Alegria had served on the council since 1992, and was in the last year of her fourth term.
Stephen Tilton, elected to the council in November 2006, was also voted out of office by a wide margin. The number of YES votes to recall Tilton was 2,957 (57.68%), with 2,170 NO votes (42.32%) cast. Virginia Fujita, a retired City of Pinole personnel specialist, won Tilton's seat with 3,420 votes (92.78%). She ran unopposed. There were 266 write-in votes (7.22%).

In the race for the council seat vacated when David Cole resigned last August, long-time planning commissioner Debbie Long trounced former Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ivette Ricco. Long had 3,201 votes (67.21%), while Ricco garnered 1,496 votes (31.41%). There were 66 write-in votes (1.39%).

For more information, please visit www.PinoleRecall.com.

JEFF RUBIN
Spokesperson
Concerned Citizens of Pinole for the Recall of
Maria Alegria and Stephen Tilton
(510) 724-9507, office and home (try this first)
(510) 303-2700, cell
jeff@thenewsletterguy.com
www.PinoleRecall.com

January 10 Pinole recall debate will be held despite Councilman Tilton's defection

PINOLE, January 5, 2008 - Despite Council Stephen Tilton's announcement that he is pulling out of participating in the January 10 recall debate and candidates' night at the Pinole Senior Center, the event will he held as scheduled.

Former mayor and current councilwoman Maria Alegria, at the 11th hour on Friday, accepted the challenge of a debate against Concerned Citizens of Pinole (CCOP) advocate Cindy Trego. Alegria and Tilton are the targets of a recall by the CCOP, which collected 2,700 signatures on petitions last summer to place the recall on the February 5 ballot.

As recently as Thursday, Alegria had said she was not participating. She sent an e-mail to open-government watchdog group and debate sponsor Common Cause that said, "I have many reservations about your organization providing a forum for a political action committee that has conducted a vile, slanderous, and disingenuous campaign over the last seven months."

However, moderator Lisa Vorderbrueggen, political editor of the Contra Costa Times, which is co-sponsoring the event with Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, responded by saying the event would go on, with or without Alegria or Tilton.

"As a moderator, I will attempt to bring up all the relevant issues, but we will not be held hostage by elected officials who decline to participate in a public forum for the voters."

Alegria will debate Trego at 6 p.m. If Tilton decides to change his mind again and participate, Jeff Rubin, spokesman for the CCOP, will join the mix as the second recall proponent.

"You never know what Tilton will do, because he changes his mind every few minutes," Rubin said. "I am prepared right now, so even if he shows up at one minute to six, I'll be ready."

A candidates' debate, featuring Alegria, Tilton, and recall replacement candidates Virginia Fujita, Roy Swearingen, and Steve Denlis, will follow at 7 p.m. Debbie Long and Ivette Ricco, who are running in a special election for the vacant seat created when David Cole resigned from the council last August, will also participate in the candidates' debate.

In backing out, Tilton sent Common Cause an e-mail that said he "cannot be a part of the 'spectacle' they (Trego and Rubin) are attempting to have you help them create."

Tilton said in late November that he would not attend the January 10 forum, explaining that to do so would set a bad precedent, a point Alegria also alluded to in her e-mail last week.

In a November e-mail, Tilton wrote that Trego and Rubin "have shown they can do nothing more than intimidate, harass and lie to Pinole citizens. I would not be serving the citizens of Pinole by giving them a sanctioned forum to spread more lies, half-truths and innuendoes."

But in an apparent turnaround in an e-mail last month to Rubin that was forwarded to Vorderbrueggen, Tilton wrote: "(I) look forward to answering any and all questions Lisa brings forward and I would never miss the event."

**************************************************

JEFF RUBIN
Spokesperson
Concerned Citizens of Pinole for the Recall of
Maria Alegria and Stephen Tilton
(510) 724-9507, office and home (try this first)
(510) 303-2700, cell
jeff@thenewsletterguy.com
www.PinoleRecall.com

Pinole councilman facing recall threatens citizens group with lawsuit

PINOLE, December 2007 - Councilman Stephen Tilton, the subject of a recall in Pinole brought about by the citizens group Concerned Citizens of Pinole (CCOP), has threatened the CCOP with legal action as the recall heads into its final six weeks before the February 5, 2008, election.

Tilton and the former mayor, Maria Alegria, who still sits on the council, are the subjects of the recall. A third Pinole councilman, David Cole, was also a target, but he resigned his seat before he could be recalled. CCOP volunteers collected more than enough valid signatures on petitions to recall all three.

In an e-mail letter to CCOP spokesman Jeff Rubin, Tilton said, "I need a physical address where my attorney can serve papers. As the spokes person, I am asking you who should receive legal papers that are being drawn up? Kindly respond in a timely manner. As you know, it can not be a P.O. box.

"I have been threatened and intimidated and it does not feel good. I have simply asked several people, besides you, to address lies on the web site or at least delete them and it has never been addressed. So my attorney is now addressing it in the proper forum."

"The CCOP web site features numerous articles that were published in the Contra Costa Times over the last year," says Jeff Rubin, spokesperson for the CCOP. "The lies he says that appear on our web site appeared in the Times and other newspapers that are part of the Bay Area News Group, which include the Oakland Tribune and San Jose Mercury-News. If Tilton has a problem with the information in those articles, he should be suing the newspaper, not us.

"Since the recall began during the summer, Alegria and Tilton have said that it is based on lies, innuendo, political agendas, and personal vendettas. All of their anti-recall flyers carry the same message. So, I'm not surprised that Tilton has threatened us with legal action. I expect that Alegria will do the same in January.

"If Alegria is recalled her political life, at least as an elected official, will be over. I expect Alegria, with the help of her consultant Kevin Reikes, who boasts about producing political hit pieces, will use everything in her bag of tricks to try to mislead the voters and demean recall proponents at the same time. It seems to be the only way she knows how to campaign."

The Concerned Citizens of Pinole (CCOP) is a grass-roots group that is spearheading the recall of former Mayor Maria Alegria and Tilton. Their efforts began in June, when volunteer recall supporters began circulating petitions for citizens' signatures. In only two months, CCOP volunteers had collected several hundred more valid signatures from registered voters in Pinole than needed to have the recall placed on the February 5 ballot, the same day as the California Presidential Primary

The League of Women Voters and Common Cause, in partnership with the Contra Costa Times, will sponsor a recall debate and candidates' night on Thursday, January 10, 2008, at the Pinole Senior Center. The event begins at 6 p.m. with a debate between Alegria and Tilton vs. two recall proponents. The candidates' debate will follow.


JEFF RUBIN
Spokesperson
Concerned Citizens of Pinole for the Recall of
Maria Alegria and Stephen Tilton
(510) 724-9507, office and home (try this first)
(510) 303-2700, cell
jeff@thenewsletterguy.com
http://www.PinoleRecall.com

Virginia Fujita Enters Pinole Coucilman Race

PINOLE, November 24, 2007 - The Concerned Citizens of Pinole (CCOP), the grass-roots group that is spearheading the recall of Mayor Maria Alegria and Councilman Stephen Tilton, is pleased to announce that Virginia Fujita, a retired personnel specialist for the city, has entered the race to replace Tilton.

Fujita, who retired last year and was re-hired by the city this year on a part-time basis without benefits, is the first Japanese-American to ever run for the council in Pinole. She will be elected if Tilton is recalled, as she is the only candidate running.

Two candidates are running for Alegria's seat; one will be elected should she be recalled. They are former Councilman Roy Swearingen, who served from 1987 to 1990, and machine shop owner Steve Denlis. Denlis has endorsed the recall but is not a CCOP member.

In a separate special election for former Councilman David Cole's seat, the candidates are Pinole Planning Commissioner Debbie Long and former Pinole Camber of Commerce Executive Director Ivette Ricco. Cole resigned his seat in August.

Ricco has a long association with Alegria and Pear Street Bistro owner/former Chamber of Commerce President Gary Wong, whose failure to make monthly payments on nearly half a million dollars on his Pinole Redevelopment Agency loans for more than two years was a catalyst for the recall.

All three elections will be on Tuesday, February 5, the day of the California Presidential Primary.

The League of Women Voters, in partnership with the Contra Costa Times, will sponsor a recall debate on Thursday, January 10, 2008, at the Pinole Senior Center. The time will be announced. Alegria, Tilton, recall spokespersons, and the candidates running in all three elections will be invited to participate.

JEFF RUBIN
Spokesperson
Concerned Citizens of Pinole for the Recall of
Maria Alegria and Stephen Tilton
(510) 724-9507, office and home (try this first)
(510) 303-2700, cell
jeff@thenewsletterguy.com
www.PinoleRecall.com

Pinole Recall of Maria Alegria and Stephen Tilton

Concerned Citizens Of Pinole for the Recall of Maria Alegria and Stephen Tilton

The members of the Concerned Citizens Of Pinole are a group of
Pinole citizens striving to recall Mayor Maria Alegria and Councilman Stephen Tilton

Our main reasons are: • THE PEAR STREET BISTRO FIASCO HAS GONE ON TOO LONG without the owner paying anything, and this has inflamed Pinole citizens and business owners alike. People in Pinole view this act by the City Council as favoritism. We want this to stop — this is taxpayer money. Source: West County Times, 1/25/07, 4/25/07, 4/24/07, 5/31/07. • THE UNFAIR TERMINATION OF A CITY MANAGER for no particular stated reason and for allowing her to become a “scapegoat” for politicians who cannot make a decision. Belinda Espinosa provided a 200-page chronology at the behest of citizens to show her efforts to rectify the Pear Street Bistro loan situation. For her efforts, she was let go. Citizens want a competent city manager at the helm who cannot be bullied by politicians and special interests. Alegria, Tilton, and former Councilman David Cole all voted for Belinda’s ouster. Source: West County Times, 5/15/07, 6/1/07. • ACCORDING TO POLICE REPORTS, MAYOR MARIA ALEGRIA WAS INTOXICATED AND INTERFERED WITH a police stop on January 17, 2007. She invoked her standing as Mayor and threatened to interfere with the police budget as the officer was carrying out his duties to cite a driver who made an illegal turn and was not carrying a license or insurance. Source: West County Times, 6/22/07. • ALEGRIA, TILTON AND/OR FORMER COUNCILMAN DAVID COLE ARE STILL UNDER SCRUTINY with various authorities such as the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office, the Contra Costa County Grand Jury and the state Fair Political Practices Commission. Source: West County Times, 6/9/2007. CITIZENS OF PINOLE WANT FAIR, HONEST, AND EFFICIENT GOVERNMENT! The status quo must go! Please Join us! Concerned Citizens of Pinole for the Recall of Maria Alegria and Stephen Tilton Call (510) 587-3225 to get involved Send contributions to: Post Office Box 758, Pinole, CA 94564

Pinole Recall www.pinolerecall.com

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