Posts Tagged ‘community and economic development agency’
Oakland struggles to keep pace with growth
From controversy over contractors to dwindling single-room occupancy hotels, Oakland’s economic development department has an increasingly full plate.
Read MoreInfographic: How Oakland is balancing the budget
With the dissolution of the Oakland’s redevelopment agency, the city is looking at a $28 million budget shortfall. In an effort to fill that hole, the city council passed a new budget Tuesday evening that includes dramatic cuts to city staff, scales back city services and consolidates several departments. (A full list of eliminated positions…
Read MoreAt town hall meeting, residents and councilmembers debate mayor’s budget proposal
About 20 concerned citizens, activists and advocacy leaders debated the mayor’s new budget proposal Monday night at a town hall meeting organized by Councilmembers Patricia Kernighan and Nancy Nadel.
Read MoreRetailers launch Oakland Gift Card to help people shop locally
A small group of local businesses kicked off the holiday shopping season this month by introducing a new gift card program intended to keep retail sales dollars in Oakland. The “Oakland Gift Card,” which is available in amounts between $20 and $200, is accepted by 19 Oakland businesses, ranging from electronics and apparel stores to restaurants and art galleries.
Read MoreShould California Redevelopment Agencies give funding to school districts?
As the Oakland School Board moves forward with its plan to close five elementary schools in order to save $2 million, the California Supreme Court is considering whether redevelopment agencies should be required to give up some of their funding to support school districts and county services.
Read MoreEx-offenders and low-income youth help reduce vandalism in Oakland through graffiti abatement program
Oakland Community and Economic Development Agency has partnered with service organizations to create job opportunities for out-of-work youth while mitigating blight in the city’s commercial corridors. The city’s partnership with Men of Valor, a non-profit re-entry program in East Oakland that provides housing, job training and other services to high school drop-outs, recovering addicts and the formerly incarcerated, has proven so successful since it began in June—removing about 114 graffiti markings from 88 businesses along Foothill and International boulevards—that in October CEDA decided to expand the program and take on new partners.
Read MoreHigh hopes for new dealerships rolling into Broadway Auto Row
City of Oakland officials have high hopes that the new dealerships will help reinvigorate Auto Row, a long stretch of Broadway between Grand Avenue and 40th Street that since, 1912, has been a hub of city commerce teeming with auto businesses. Prior to the economic meltdown of 2008, the street generated millions of dollars in sales tax revenue for the city, but now it boasts more vacant buildings and “for lease” signs than live dealerships.
Read MoreAt open house on redesign of Lake Merritt BART area, talk of bike lanes, security improvements
Community members and city officials met Monday night at an open house held at the Laney College Student Center for the redevelopment of the Lake Merritt BART station neighborhood.
Read MoreIgnite! expo helps Oakland business owners make connections
Food, handicrafts and live performances are not exclusive to street fairs—on Friday afternoon, more than 70 Bay Area businesses convened at the Frank Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland for the 2011 Ignite! New Business Expo, where participants could not only showcase their products but also get connected to various business service providers.
Read MoreOakland City Council, mayor plan for $58 million deficit
Mayor Jean Quan said that closing the budget gap by only making cuts would require 80 percent reductions in discretionary spending from the general purpose fund.
Read MoreBeating back Oakland’s blight
In Oakland’s Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, building inspector Ed Labayog walks past a line of nearly a hundred people waiting to apply for a job with the city on his way to the street where his car is parked. Wearing a black button-up City of Oakland shirt and carrying a bag containing case files, a camera, and his lunch, he’s setting out to find blighted properties. For Labayog, seeking out trash, graffiti and signs of crumbling structures on private property is his job.
Read MoreNew free Broadway shuttle cruises downtown
If you’ve been downtown this past week, you may have noticed a big green bus driving up and down Broadway. It’s Oakland’s new shuttle, which tours between the six major downtown commercial districts and is free for the public to ride.
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