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2008 Reception (click
here to see other photos from the 2008 event)
Save the date to attend the 2009 Legislative Reception & East Bay Vision Awards,
Thursday, January 8, 2009 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
East Bay EDA members are invited to attend the annual Legislative Reception and East Bay Vision Awards. Join us for an evening with the East Bay’s legislative delegation and share in the recognition of East Bay civic and community leaders. Each year the East Bay Economic Development Alliance (East Bay EDA) presents Vision Awards to exceptional individuals or organizations who have greatly advanced the economic vitality and quality of life of the Bay Area. This year, East Bay EDA is honored to recognize two individuals whose visions continue to inspire and benefit the East Bay.
This year's reception will include an optional special guest speaker event, 5:00
- 5:30 p.m., in
the Museum's Lecture Hall. KCBS Political Analyst Joe Tuman will discuss the political
landscape for 2009 and beyond. Online registration will begin December 4th, 2008 at www.eastbayeda.org. For registration information call Stephanie Brown at (510) 272-6843.
2009 Legislative Reception and East Bay Vision Awards
Thursday, January 8, 2009
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
On November 12th and 14th the East Bay EDA co-hosted two events with United Way of the Bay Area to to release the annual East Bay Indicators Report.
This year’s report features data and analysis on the status of the East Bay’s employment, industry, real estate, construction, health, education, and environmental health and includes a special section entitled “What We Can Do” that highlights five outstanding examples of cross-sector collaboration doing work in the Bay Area today.
The East Bay Indicators events, which were held in Pleasant Hill and Oakland, each featured a presentation of highlights of the Indicators report, presentations by the East Bay’s County Administrators David Twa (Contra Costa County) and Susan Muranishi (Alameda County), a panel discussion with some of the East Bay’s most successful examples of cross-sector collaborative work – Richmond BUILD in Contra Costa County and Biotech Partners in Alameda County, and a group activity designed to give audience members a chance to network with others at the event and discuss the issues outlined in the report.
Photos from the
Pleasant Hill
and
Oakland
events are archived at our website.
All East Bay EDA members will receive the report by mail in December. The report is also available at our website in PDF format.
Download 2008 East Bay Indicators report
East Bay EDA has partnered with the East Bay Green Corridor group to assist in a survey of “green” employer needs and employment projections for the near term future. The survey results will be used to inform the Green Corridor’s Green Academy project which will assist partnering high schools, community colleges and universities in designing curriculum to match employer needs.
The method of data collection will be the administration of a survey of employers in the East Bay’s green cluster, using data made available through the East Bay Green Cluster study conducted earlier this year for the Contra Costa Council.
The survey will be administered by students from the Goldman School of Public Policy and East Bay EDA staff. The survey will focus on the solar, energy efficiency, HVAC, and green building industries and should characterize the amount and type of workers that are needed now and in the future.
A $6,630,000 tax-exempt and $1,145,000 taxable IDB was closed on November 25th for another San Lorenzo manufacturer, Golden West Paper Converting, to help purchase and renovate a 84,750 square foot building and purchase new equipment. The company and it’s 42 employees will only have to move a few blocks to the new facility located in San Lorenzo at 2480 Grant Avenue, where it will expand its manufacturing of disposable paper food service items, using entirely recycled paper.
This project took only 12 weeks from beginning to end (the first meeting with the business occurred on September 3). Three to four months processing time is more common, and projects beginning now would probably close in March 2009, because the tax-exempt allocations are tied to the calendar year. If the sale needs to conclude sooner, the bank providing the Letter Of Credit (that helps make the bonds secure and marketable) would gladly provide an interim loan.
This IDB project was also noteworthy in that it was completed despite a quick spike in interest rates and other concerns raised by the stock market/housing crisis in October. But the weekly variable IDB interest rates quickly came back down – they have been 1.4% for the last two weeks - and have averaged 2.5% over the last 36 weeks.
Click here to see a comparative interest rate chart that includes prime and SBA 504 rates.
Contact
Keith Sutton
for more information.
On November 24th East Bay EDA Officers convened a special meeting of East Bay public, private and community leaders to review the organization’s workforce housing initiatives and discuss how it can further support City and County efforts to meet their housing needs requirements. Representatives from the Contra Costa Council and Bay Area Council presented the results of their housing endorsement programs while Dublin Mayor Janet Lockhart and San Leandro Mayor Tony Santos discussed the challenges facing cities in meeting their regional housing supply and affordability targets. Other invited speakers included Joseph Perkins, Present & CEO of the Northern California Home builders Association who discussed the economic challenges facing the housing industry and Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia who shared his thoughts on the evolving land use regulatory framework facing local government and the need for sub-regional community collaboration.
The East Bay EDA Officers will hold further work sessions in December and welcome member participation in these key stakeholder discussion.
Please contact
Bruce Kern for more information.
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