With all of the reports we’ve had on newspapers closing or cutting back, it’s refreshing to note the anniversary of a local newspaper. The Plesanton Weekly is celebrating 10 years of serving up news about local politics, government, schools and neighborhoods. Here’s a link to the anniversary story. Publisher Janet Pelletier notes that one of the paper’s favorite features began accidentally.

Former Pleasanton Police Chief Tim Neal, who retired in 2006, thought it would be funny to email a photo of himself at the Statue of Liberty, holding a copy of the paper. After the photo was published, the Weekly began receiving a barrage of vacation photos from residents. Thus, Take Us Along was born. Nine years later, Take Us Along is going strong with thousands of photos sent and emailed.

In the photo above Gina Channell-Allen, president, and Jeb Bing, editor/publisher of the Pleasanton Weekly, are flanked by the rest of the staff at the newspaper, including Trina Cannon, Kristin Herman, Karen Klein, Mary Hantos, Kathy Martin, Lisa Oefelein, Barbara Lindsey, Dolores Ciardelli, Paul Crawford, Sandy Lee, Manuel Valenzuela, Lili Cao, Janet Pelletier, Andrea Heggelund and Emily West. (Photo credit: Pleasanton Weekly)