Economy

Small businesses call for better communication with Oakland City Council

Next spring, Spoiled Boutique owner Mika McCants’ lease will be up for renewal. She’s already paying $2,000 a month for her 400-square-foot storefront in Uptown Oakland, and she’s unsure how her shop will be affected if her landlord raises the rent. “I have seen the city change significantly in both positive and negative ways,” said McCants, whose clothing store has been at 2001 Broadway Street for 11 years. “I’ve seen the gentrification set in, and I would be lying if…

Oakland grocers raise concerns about soda tax Measure HH

Thirty-five years ago, Abdul Talev’s grandfather opened a small grocery store in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland. Today, with the family business in his care, Talev is worried a new soda tax will cause him to lose business, or even worse, force him to close his doors.  The controversial tax Talev is referring to is Measure HH on Oakland’s November ballot. Measure HH would impose a one cent per ounce tax on the distribution of sodas and other sugary beverages….

New oral history map shows Oakland eviction data

After a year of collecting eviction data and personal accounts, members of the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project unveiled their latest oral history map and urged supporters to take action by protesting and raising awareness of evictions.

Construction boom brings industry jobs back to the Bay Area

Eight years after the financial meltdown on Wall Street, the Bay Area construction industry has finally managed to recover all the jobs it lost in the Great Recession. “From what I’ve seen and heard, we are doing better now than we were before the recession,” said Andreas Cluver, secretary-treasurer of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Alameda County, an umbrella organization of building trade unions. “We now have people coming off one job and quickly being called back out…