At the East Bay EDA Fall General Membership meeting and business recognition event last Friday, local public agency StopWaste.Org honored
twelve Alameda County companies with the 2009 StopWaste Partnership Business Efficiency Awards for outstanding achievements in enhanced
operational efficiency, environmental performance and waste reduction.
The winners are: Bayer HealthCare, LLC (Berkeley), 555 12th Street by Shorenstein Realty Services (Oakland), Boston Scientific Corporation
(Fremont), Carl Zeiss Meditec (Dublin), Costco Wholesale Livermore, La Tierra Fina (Union City), Golden Gate Fields Racetrack (Albany),
Lucky Supermarkets (Alameda county stores), and the U.S. Postal Service’s Oakland Processing and Distribution Center. Emerald Packaging
(Union City), Heat and Control, Inc. (Hayward) and Peterson Holding Company (San Leandro) received Honorable Mentions.
Download full press release including awardee accomplishments.
East Bay EDA's next event will be the 2010 Legislative Reception and Vision
Awards, held at Cal State East Bay, Friday January 8, 2010. Stay tuned to
East Bay EDA News and to our
events page for event registration details!
Recently East Bay EDA’s Technology and Trade Director, Bob Sakai, attended the International Economic Development Council’s “Technology-Led
Economic Development” course in Los Angeles. One of the interesting insights from the session is that economic regions do not follow city
boundaries and that site consultants tend to select these economic regions first and then find cities within the region to recommend to
clients. This means without a good regional marketing strategy, cities are likely to get cut out of the selection process no matter how
good their own city marketing campaign is. Another revelation, confirmed by several cities attending, was that social networking sites
like Facebook and Twitter are proving to be very effective marketing and coalition building tools for economic development. An added bonus
is that these networks also drive up visibility on Google searches. A word of warning however, driving viewers to a city website is
worthless unless the information there is focused on the tech company the city is trying to attract. Anyone wanting a more complete recap
can contact Bob at robert@eastbayeda.org.
East Bay EDA Executive Committee member and East Bay Regional Park District Director Doug Siden was honored with the National Recreation
and Park Association's Individual Citation of Merit award last week in Salt Lake City. The Citation is a national honor awarded each year
to one individual each year for making an outstanding contribution to the parks, recreation and conservation. East Bay EDA would like to
congratulate Doug for his many contributions to our community throughout the years, and for his active involvement in the East Bay EDA.
Nominations are being accepted for the 17th Annual Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame.
If you know an outstanding woman in Alameda County who is worthy of recognition, please nominate her for this prestigious award!
Nominations are being accepted in each of 11 categories: Business and Professions; Community Service; Culture and Art; Education; Environment; Health; Justice; Non-Traditional Careers; Science; Sports and Athletics and Youth.
Inductees for 2010 will be honored at the 17th Annual Women’s Hall of Fame luncheon and awards ceremony on April 17, 2010, at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Oakland.
To nominate someone or to learn more about the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame, go to
http://www.acgov.org/cao/halloffame/, or call the Alameda County Commission on the Status of Women at (510) 259-3871.
Bayer HealthCare will invest more than $100 million at its Berkeley biotech manufacturing center to introduce a new manufacturing process
that will be used to produce future versions of Bayer’s hemophilia drug, KogenateŽ FS (Antihemophilic Factor [Recombinant]). The new
process involves the application of innovative and first-in-class biotechnology manufacturing technologies.
The investment, the largest by
Bayer HealthCare in Berkeley to date, will be made over the course of the next four years on facility upgrades, new equipment and
state-of-the-art technologies.
“This process innovation is strategically important for the long-term success of Bayer’s Hemophilia franchise,” said Joerg Heidrich, senior
vice president of Bayer HealthCare’s global product supply Biotech organization and head of the Berkeley site. “The decision by the Bayer
Board to make the investment in Berkeley is a significant ‘win’ for our employees and the surrounding communities, following the
competitive process involving external contract manufacturing organizations. The investment is both an endorsement of our strong
biotechnology expertise and also a mandate to become globally competitive in biotechnology manufacturing.”
The 46-acre Berkeley Supply
Center has been the global center of all Kogenate manufacturing since the product was approved in 1993. Operations also include a
biologics process development and a clinical manufacturing facility.
“Bayer is proud to be the East Bay’s largest biotech employer and part of the emerging ‘Green Corridor’,” adds Heidrich. “We appreciate
the new incentive programs that are being created by the strong public-private partnership involving the cities of Oakland, Berkeley and
Emeryville, as well as the State of California’s Business Investment Services (CalBIS), the East Bay Economic Development Alliance, and
PG&E. For Bayer Berkeley, these programs not only helped strengthen our competitive bid for this investment, but also play an important
role in helping us create a more globally competitive bio-manufacturing organization.”
In Contra Costa County, 85 percent of the business community is made up of small businesses, many of which are being forced to layoff
employees to survive the current economic conditions. To assist businesses owners and employees with layoffs, the county’s Rapid Response
team provides free outplacement resources and services to help displaced workers get back to work with minimal downtime.
The Rapid Response team urges businesses to contact them regarding employee layoffs as soon as possible. They will work with you to
schedule an on-site presentation for your employees about job search, job training, academic and career assessment, career planning and
other services available at EASTBAY Works One Stop Career Centers. Information about obtaining unemployment insurance and other
organizations and agencies that can help workers smoothly transition back into the workforce is also provided.
The resources provided through the Rapid Response program assist businesses and dislocated workers during a critical time. Contact your
Rapid Response representative, Susie O'Bryant at (925) 671-4542 or
Sobryant@ehsd.cccounty.us for details. Additional information about
EASTBAY Works and its partners can be found at
www.eastbayworks.com.
The East Bay Community Foundation today released a new study on job opportunities for those facing “extraordinary barriers to employment.”
Titled “Putting the East Bay to Work: Sustainable Jobs for the Underemployed,” the study compiles recommendations for employers, training
institutions, service providers and policy makers to provide employment for “low-income, disadvantaged, impoverished, underserved, and
underrepresented” people in the East Bay.
Specifically targeted by the study are those with limited English skills, those who are no longer eligible for foster care because of their
age, and those recently incarcerated.
Financed by a grant from the Ford Foundation, the 70-page study identifies employment opportunities for the three targeted groups in four different sections of the local economy prevalent in Oakland and Richmond: construction and green technology, health care, logistics and international trade, and custom manufacturing.
The study found that employers in these industries are willing to hire those facing barriers to employment, but that a number of “best practices” must be embraced in order for job opportunities to be created.
The study was compiled over a period of nine months, drawing upon information from a diverse group of 29 stakeholders in Oakland and Richmond including employers, nonprofit organizations serving the target populations, community colleges, adult education schools, job-training providers, business assistance organizations, chambers of commerce, labor unions, and workforce investment boards. Over 260 employers were surveyed for the study.
