The Brentwood Clarion

September 2009 Vol. 4

Speedup for Paying State Income Taxes Lies Ahead

dkasler@sacbee.com Published Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009 State income taxes are going up again in November.

In a little-noticed piece of the budget plan signed last month, the amount of state income taxes withhpaychecks will increase 10 percent starting with wages paid after Oct. 31.

The accelerated withholding program comes on top of a genuine state income tax increase, approvLegislature as part of February's budget deal. Rates went up 0.25 percentage points for each tax bracket forand 2010 tax years.

The latest move doesn't generate additional revenue. Rather, it front-loads it, bringing cash in morin an effort to keep the depleted state treasury from running dry. State officials believe the move will geadditional $1.7 billion in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. An individual's total annual income tax bill won't rise. The amount owed the following April will beaccordingly.

"There's no overall tax increase; you just pay the taxes sooner," said Loren Kaye, president of the CFoundation for Commerce and Education, an affiliate of the California Chamber of Commerce. The changes go beyond payroll withholding. Those who pay quarterly estimated income taxes will payments accelerated starting in January.

Under the new law, they'll pay 70 percent of their estimated taxes in the first half of the year. Currepay 60 percent. As a fiscal conservative, Kaye isn't thrilled with the plan but accepts it.

"It's unfortunate that they had to do this. It's absolutely going to be a burden on wage earners abusinesses … but it's certainly better than a tax increase," he said.

He said taxpayers can evade the accelerated withholding schedules by simply increasing the n

The BrentwooPage 2 Highway 4 Bypass News August 21, 2009 As you know, there are important elements of the State Route 4 Bypass project that are in need of funding. Completion of this project is critical to the economic recovery of eastern Contra Costa County as well as the region. The jobs and economic stimulus that would result from the project will significantly benefit the local economy. SR 4 Bypass completion also will increase the safety to motorists who utilize this heavily used stretch of highway and reduce commute times. At a meeting with Brentwood Mayor Bob Taylor earlier this year, I agreed to lead an effort to secure funding for this project. We brought together transportation professionals from Contra Costa County and the surrounding counties that are impacted by this route, regional and state transportation agencies, the nearby cities, and other elected officials. There was agreement about the benefits and importance of securing funding to do this work. I am pleased to tell you that we are now one step closer to achieving our goal. The State Route 4 Bypass improvements - the construction of the Sand Creek Road interchange, 4-Lane widening from Laurel Road to Sand Creek Road, rubberized overlay, and constructing of the Mokelumne Bicycle/Pedestrian Overcrossing – are on Caltrans list of projects recommended for funding under the USDOT’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. While final funding has not been approved, we must continue to work together to accomplish our goal. I look forward to helping to make this project a reality on behalf of everyone

All Out Sports League 2420 Sand Creek Road C-1, #128 Brentwood, CA 94513 (510) 282-4986 Casey Copeland, President casey_c@alloutsportsleague.com www.alloutsportsleague.com MidCal Drywall 9030 Brentwood Blvd. Ste. G Brentwood, CA 94513 (925) 240-8103 Shane Watkins, President midcaldrywall@sbcglobal.net Bay Area Cremation & Funeral Service 8440 Brentwood Blvd., Ste. E Brentwood, CA 94513 (925) 516-2719 Clint & Lori Love, Owners clove@bayareacremations.com www.bayareacremations.com All Communications Force 194 Summerset Dr Brentwood, CA 94513 (925) 628-3571 Frank Saxen, Owner Franksaxen@hotmail.com www.allcomforce.acnrep.com

Bella Chiropractic 4550 Balfour Rd., Ste. D Brentwood, CA 94513 (925) 308-7575 Dr. Melinda Roman D.C. www.martinfamilychiropractic.com bellachiropractic@yahoo.com

Apex Securities & Management, LLC8660 Brentwood BlvdBrentwood, CA 94513(925) 516-2739 David S. Roche Treva Black david.roche@wfafinettreva.black@wfafinet Diablo Medical Bil9030 Brentwood BlvdBrentwood, CA 94513(925) 634-9704 Allen Bellinhausen- Pwww.diablomed.com Extreme Motorspo8445 Brentwood BlvdBrentwood, CA 94513(925) 634-3222 Ralph Cole www.extrememotorsp Lenscrafters 2565 Sand Creek RoaBrentwood, CA 94513(925) 240-8506 Dominick N. Manochwww.lenscrafters.com Scrumdillyumptio647 First Street Brentwood, CA 94513(925) 684-4556 Dan & Robin Jolivettescrumdilly08@yahoo Alpaca Direct 144 Continente Ave., Brentwood, CA94513(925) 237-2575 Kelley & James Hoba

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The Brentwood Clarion

Contra Costa Waste Services is hosting a FREE E-Waste Day

Contra Costa Waste Services (Mt. Diablo Recycling Center & Transfer Station) is hosting a FREE E-Waste Day on Saturday, September 5, 2009, from 9 am to 2 pm, located at 1300 Loveridge Road in Pittsburg. This is for ALL Contra Costa residents. Please bring proof of residency such as a valid ID. Clean out your old E-Waste and drop them off for FREE!

Acceptable items include:  Televisions • Monitors • Computers • Computer Components • Printers • Fax Machines • Telephone Equipment • Cell Phones • Toner Cartridges • MP3 Players • Power Cables • Video Game Systems • Digital Cameras • Copiers • Audio Visual Equipment • VCRs/DVDs • Floppy Diskettes • Most items containing circuit boards and that plug into a wall. We WILL NOT take Hazardous Waste, which include Paint • Car Batteries • Household Batteries • Fluorescent Bulbs • Furniture • Garbage • Scrap Metal of any kind. For more information on this FREE E-Waste event, please call (925) 692-2224.

Please be green and keep your recyclables clean!  

Annual Neighborhood Clean-Up Day/Hazardous Waste Drop Off

Residents of Brentwood that have an active garbage account are invited to participate in the city's annual neighborhood clean-up event. Residents can bring unwanted household items including yard waste, appliances, e-waste (TV's, computers, etc.), furniture and garbage, free of charge to the City's Solid Waste Transfer Station.

The clean-ups are held on Saturdays during August and September. Drop off days and times are determined by address. Visit the City Website to find out your clean up day.

HOMETOW HALLOWEE

LET ALL THE GHOSTS A

GOBLINS GET TO KNOWAND YOUR BUSINES

COME JOIN THE CHAMFOR A NIGHT OF FUN

Saturday, October 24, Downtown BrentwFirst & Oak Street 5-8

If interested in

Cost to set up a booth at this EChamber Members

$30.00 for a booth/ $100.00 corneNon Chamber Member

$60.00 for booth/ $150.00 corner

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The Brentwood Clarion

In Local News….

MidCal Drywall

On August 20, 2009 MidCal Drywall hribbon-cutting for their grand opening. They specin residential and commercial drywall as well as stud drywall. They are located at 9030 BrentBlvd., Suite G. For any help in your drywall please contact them at 925-240-8103 or e-mail thmidcaldrywall@sbcglobal.net.

Raising the Bar Carpet Care

Raising the Bar Carpet Care hosted their grand opening on August 20, 2009 with a ribbon-cutting joined by chamber President Karen Spann, Past President Kathi Reed and Directors Bill Fee, Olga Vidriales, Ken Seamann and many others. Raising the Bar Carpet Care can be contacted at 925-303-6248 or visit their website at raisingthebarcarepetcare.com.

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Mixer held on August 20, 2009 at the Harvest Center in Brentwood turned out to be a fun night for all...

Pictured at right : Bob Sherriff, Jim Spann, Kurt Tomicich, Ben Smith, and Dirk Zeigler.

Pictured at left: Sarah Jamar with Paychex, David MengeGemini Staffing, Denise and Jim Aster of Fast-Tek, Leonard Roudman of Friends of Brentwood Library.

Pictured at right: Lori Knudsen of California Payroll, Loretta Holder or Zeigler Insurance, and Cathy and Clint Woods of Raising the Bar Carpet Care.

Pictured at left: Karen Spann of The Monthly Grapevine, Lois Chelini, and Alfredo Rico of Rico Visuals.

The Brentwood Clarion

Ambassadors Corner

What does the chamber do for me? By Donna Zickerman That is the most frequent question an ambassador is asked. The answer depends on how ambassador has been a chamber member and just maybe how long they’ve been involved in the world. • I’m new to business. I need the Chamber so that I can meet people. It is true! The Chamber

a vehicle for you to meet a wide variety of people, many of which you will do business wthose that will do business with you. (Hint: ask an ambassador to introduce you to people yto be introduced to.)

• My business is stable, I’m comfortable with it, yet there are a few areas where I could use so

to grow. It is true! The Chamber does provide many opportunities for you to expand youexpertise and implement new growth. Some of the programs are specialized. All are genuinask an ambassador to direct you to the area where you can get the help you are looking for.)

• My business has had nothing but change. In fact, I feel like I’m drowning. I need somebod

to about it. It’s true! The Chamber provides a vehicle for that too. The Brentwood ChaCommerce is a network of professionals with a variety of different areas of experconnections. Someone has either been through what you are experiencing or knows somehas. The Chamber is an excellent resource for connecting our business community togetherfor it to be and stay strong. (Hint: tell an ambassador and get connected with help.)

Some Chamber members step forward and become ambassadors. They want to be part of tmechanism that makes the Chamber operate. It takes the basic chamber involvement to a new level. -back is that ambassadors end up helping the whole business community while helping themselves makes us all stronger. Have you considered joining the ambassador ranks?

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How to Network Effectively By Richard Perez-Pacheco, Director

There are some members that attend our mixers and other networking evnever get any results. They do the networking dance; they exchange business cards,one-minute commercial, and then go back to their office and wait for that call from tdream client. A few days go by and nothing happens. Weeks go by and nothing Because of this, they stop attending future events because they feel it’s just a waste of I was one of those people. I remember the first time attending my very first miin December 2005, hosted by Window Innovations. I had a speech prepared for member introduction. I walked in and I was overwhelmed! Everyone knew everyone eknew no one. My wife and I moved to Brentwood a year before, so we were pretty netown and so was my business. It’s hard enough to run your own business, but now yousell it in order to get the phone to ring. What I quickly learned was that networking is like speed dating. When ysomeone, talk to them. You have only a few minutes to: 1) communicate the most ipoint about your business, 2) find out if the person you meet can benefit from your prservice. Assuming you have successfully completed #1, and the answer to #2 is a reyes, the next and extremely important action is the follow up. Like dating, call the person you met no later than two days after your meeting appointment. Don’t wait too long or you’ll be playing the “remember me?” game. (Ldidn’t make that mistake with my wife!) While it may take time to build a relationsinvestment of time is well worth an eventual sale. And the biggest perk of networkinit’s viral; the person you meet can introduce you to others who might benefit fr

The Brentwood Clarion

2009 CALENDAR OF

EVENTS

September 17 Mixer—First Bank September 18 Golf Tournament- Roddy October 15 Mixer—John Muir Health September 23 Alpaca Direct- Ribbon C October 1 Chamber Lounge @ Swe October 8 “Ask the Experts” The Ne Hiring Rules & Immigrati Laws/Issues October 24 Hometown Halloween November 7 A Taste of Brentwood November 19 Mixer-Scary Larry's

Join us September 17th from 5-8 p.m at Downtown Thursday on First Street for our scarecrow contest with chances to win cash prizes. Please see insert for more information.

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Governor Calls Special Session to Ready California to Compete for Billions in Recovery Funding for Education (August 21, 2009) To improve the state’s education accountability system and turn around struggling schools, Governor Arnold yesterday called a special session of the Legislature and proposed legislation necessary for California to compete for the discretionary funding for education from the federal economic stimulus package. On July 24, 2009, President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan outlined federal requirements for states to cobillion in “Race to the Top” dollars available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act). But unCalifornia is ineligible to apply. Billions in future federal education dollars are also expected to rest on a state’s ability Administration education reform requirements. At a news conference, the Governor remarked that the Obama Administration’s reforms are policies that he has stood behind sincand will help provide a better education for California’s school children. He insisted the reforms be passed by October to ensucompetitive for the newly-available money. Reforms to ensure California is eligible to apply and be highly competitive for Race to the Top funding include:

♦ Linking Student Achievement and Teacher Performance Data. Having linked data will increase transparency around students, teachers and schools are performing. With this information, the specific needs of students, teachers and schooaddressed.

♦ Measures to Turn-Around Struggling Schools. Turning around struggling schools increases the overall quality of our system.

° Repeal California’s charter school cap – an unnecessary barrier to innovation. ° Give parents more freedom to choose the school that best serves their children by both authorizing open

students in the lowest-performing schools so they can attend any school in the state – and removing the capchoice” so any student in the state can attend school in a participating district.

° Focus efforts on the five percent of schools that consistently underperform, helping ensure all California stthe state’s academic standard

♦ Measures to Help California Recruit and Retain High-Quality Teachers and Principals. ° Reward teachers who are consistently doing the toughest jobs. Alternative pay schedules highlight ef

practices and creates incentives to improve our education system. ° Measure student progress to help identify what works in the classroom. Every child is different and lookin

measures and overall achievement scores provides a better picture of a student progress over time. ♦ Improving Accountability for Schools. Modifying how the state uses data to measure performance will help more acc

progress of students, teachers and schools on an annual basis – so that California can make continuous improvement system from year to year.

To track Recovery Act funding coming to entities in California visit www.recovery.ca.gov.

15th Annual Roddy Ra1 Tour W

The Brentwood Clarion

Pat Trombino, First Bank 2008 Ambassador of the Year

The Chamber Ambassador Team

Phone: 925-625-0278 P.O. Box 406 Oakley, CA 94561 www.linmarkltd.logomall.com

BRENTWOODCHAMBER OF COMM2009 BOARD OF DIREC

Karen Spann, PresiThe Monthly Grapevine

Kathi Reed, Past PresideWineShop at Home

Shayn Cutino, President-EAnja Wellness

Ken Seamann, CFO Discovery Professional Servi

Joe Trebino, Executive CommDelta Pure Water, Etc.

Brent Aasen, DirectorEQUUS Group

Greg Benner, DirectorLes Schwab Tires

Bill Fee, Director Mazzy’s Fire Protection Speci

De-De Hays, DirectorPrudential California Realty

Paul Kelly, Director Home One Mortgage

Sean McCauley, DirectorMcCauley Olive Groves

Richard Perez-Pacheco, DirecBlack Sheep Design

Marlon Smith, Director Best Buy

Olga Vidriales, Director Travis Credit Union

————————————————

Harry York, CEO

Lyle Miller, Membership Service

Lisa Hurt, Support Services D

Jild F i h E C di

The California Employment Development Department (EDD), in cooperation with the Alameda and Contra Costa Veteran Program, cordially invites you to:

Honor a Hero, Hire a Vet Job and Resource Fair 2009.

The Job Fair will be open to all job seekers and employers from the entire Bay Area. Previous Job Fairs have provided exceptional recruiting opportunities for employers in all industries. The job fair will be promoted throughout the Bay Area using public service announcements, EDD offices, career centers, veteran and civic organizations, colleges and universities. WHEN: T Tuesday, October 13, 2009 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Employers and service providers may begin setting up as early as 8:00 a.m. WHERE: Crowne Plaza Concord 45 John Glenn Drive Concord, CA 94520 Register by mail or fax by September 20, 2009 to reserve a space. Contact Michael Taylor, Veteran Workforce Specialist.

Veteran Job and Resource Fair 2009 (510) 259-3528 or MTaylor@edd.ca.gov

Fax (510) 563-5331

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