East Bay Economic Development Alliance > Communications > Membership Newsletters > September 2007

September 2007 East Bay EDA News
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Sunset view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the East Bay

Calendar of Events

San Ramon Chamber: East Bay Business Symposium and Expo
September 6, 2007
San Ramon Marriott
San Ramon
Joint Work Session: The Delta in Crisis: What you need to Know about our Water Delivery System
September 13, 2007
Embassy Suites
Pleasant Hill
Beacon Economics: 2007 EAST BAY Regional Outlook Conference
September 13, 2007
Oakland Marriott - City Center
Oakland
East Bay Business Times: San Leandro Power Breakfast
September 13, 2007
San Leandro Public Library
San Leandro
Hong Kong & Foshan: Your Winning Formula in China
September 13, 2007
Oakland Marriott - City Center
Oakland
Renewable Energy Options for Business
September 24, 2007
Wendel Conference Center
Oakland
East Bay SBDC: Economic Summit 2007: Accessing Capital
September 25, 2007
Oakland Museum of California
Oakland
City of Union City Bioscience Symposium 2007
September 27, 2007
Crowne Plaza
Union City
East Bay EDA Fall Membership Meeting & StopWaste Awards Ceremony
October 19, 2007
Marriott - City Center
Oakland

Sponsorship Info

Interested in sponsoring this newsletter? For more information about East Bay EDA sponsorship opportunities please visit our sponsorship page.

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September 2007 Edition

 

Message from the Editor

The month of September has only just begun and yet it is already shaping up to be a busy one for the East Bay. We hope our members will take the opportunity to attend a few of the many economic, environmental and business development events featured in our Events Calendar, as well as those noted in this month's newsletter articles.

As a member of East Bay EDA, we'd like to hear from you regarding the content of East Bay EDA News. If there is anything you'd like to see covered in the newsletter please contact us. Thank you for your continued support.

 

East Bay Snapshot: Don Castro Park

 

Don Castro

Don Castro Park in Castro Valley is one of the East Bay's many hidden gems, and illustrates the great diversity of our region's landscape. To view more East Bay photos, please visit the Living in The East Bay section at www.eastbayeda.org. Photo credit: Keith Sutton, 2003.

 

East Bay EDA members meet with State Leaders

On August 22nd Executive Committee members met with State leaders to discuss East Bay EDA’s legislative priorities. Leading the delegation was Vice Chair Mike Brown (Morgan Miller Blair), joined by Mayor Janet Lockhart (City of Dublin), Tomi Van de Brooke (California Alliance for Jobs) and East Bay EDA Director Bruce Kern. The delegation met with Senator Alan Lowenthal Chair of the Senate Transportation & Housing Committee and East Bay Assembly members Loni Hancock, Guy Houston, Mary Hayashi, and Alberto Torrico. The group also met with Brian Kelly, Senator Don Perata’s key transportation consultant and Chris McKenzie, Executive Director California League of Cities.

The meetings were extremely productive and underscored the importance of strengthening East Bay EDA’s working relationship with our State leaders. Over the next two weeks of the legislature will consider a number of key transportation, water, and land-use bills of up most importance to the East Bay (download Issue Briefing Paper). Special thanks go to Steve Wallauch and Lynn Suter & Associates who provided invaluable assistance in coordinating the meeting schedule with our State officials.

Upcoming work session to focus on Delta issues

Join us to discuss "What You Need to Know about Our Water Delivery System"

The East Bay EDA has partnered with the Contra Costa Council and Tri-Valley Business Council on the upcoming work session,"The Delta in Crisis: What you need to Know about our Water Delivery System" . This work session, which will be held Thursday, September 13 from 2-3:30pm at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Pleasant Hill, will feature a discussion between Sunne Wright McPeak, President & CEO of the California Emerging Technology Fund and Member of the State of California’s Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force and Bob Whitley, Executive Vice President of Whitley Burchett & Associates and Co-Chair of the Contra Costa Council’s Delta Vision Committee. The discussion will be moderated by Contra Costa County Supervisor Mary Piepho.

The Delta delivers drinking water to two out of every three Californians (23 million people), and is the state’s largest watershed area supporting many endangered species. In the Bay Area, one-third of our residents depend on Delta water, while power and gas lines, road and rail infrastructure all run through this critical watershed area. However, the Delta is vulnerable as flooding and earthquakes threaten to cause aging levees to fail. In June, the dramatic decline in fish populations resulted in court actions to shut down water deliveries for nine days, underscoring the urgency for State action. Last year the Legislature and Governor Schwarzenegger established the State's Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force to recommend near and long term actions to protect the ecology of the Delta and the State's water supply. Join us to hear from regional and state leaders on what is being recommended and the importance of regional consensus and advocacy to protect the Delta and our primary water delivery system. This event is being sponsored by the City of Antioch, Central Contra Costa Sanitary District , Contra Costa Water District , Greater Bay Bank and the law firm of Miller Starr Regalia.

For more information or to register for this event, please contact Suzanne Schoenfeld, Contra Costa Council.

Join the East Bay EDA Booth at the BIOMEDevice Tradeshow

Medical device and BioPharmecuticals tradeshow expected to draw thousands

The East Bay EDA will promote the East Bay with a booth at the BIOMEDevice 2007 tradeshow, October 3-4, 2007, at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. BIOMEDevice is the total resource event for the converging medical device, pharmaceutical, and biologics industries.

To participate in the East Bay EDA booth, please signup at our website or contact Keith Sutton at (510) 272-5007. A list of future tradeshows is now available at the new Economic Development Director’s Council Member page, in the Members Only/Communications/ section of www.eastbayeda.org.

"Youth Radio: Building Bridges" work session a success

Lively discussion and facility tour were followed by a networking reception

The East Bay EDA work session, "Youth Radio: Buidling Bridges", held at the new Youth Radio facility in downtown Oakland August 9, provided an exceptional opportunity for Youth Radio staff and students to interface with the many business and community leaders who were in attendance. The event, which began with an opening statement from East Bay EDA Chair, Supervisor Keith Carson, was successful in bringing the groundbreaking work Youth Radio is accomplishing to a new audience, while bringing up the critical topics of workforce training, youth empowerment, and regional collaboration. The lively panel discussion revolved around the many issues facing young people entering the workforce, and on the various programs and methods currently in practice to develop strong ties between the educational and workforce development worlds. For more information about Youth Radio please visit www.youthradio.org.

Eastbayeda.org Website Update

The new calendar feature at eastbayeda.org is now fully operational and displays both East Bay EDA organizational events and East Bay regional events. The purpose of the new calendar feature is two-fold: (1) to keep our members and website visitors aware of East Bay EDA events, as well as those going on around the greater East Bay; and (2) to offer our members the opportunity to list and promote their own events at the East Bay EDA website.

The calendar is very easy to use and features four different calendars at present: the East Bay EDA Public Events Calendar, which lists East Bay EDA events that are open to the public; the East Bay Regional Events Calendar, which lists the upcoming events of our members and affiliate organizations; and the East Bay EDA Members Only Calendar, which lists events such as the Legislative Reception, Board Retreat and Economic Development Director’s Council meetings. The default “All” calendar view will allow any viewer to see all of the events on the other Calendars that they are entitled to see. This calendar is viewable to the general public in both the Business Resources and Incentives section and the East Bay Economic Development Alliance section.

We hope you will use this useful new feature to our website. Click here for full login and calendar posting instructions. Please remember to make sure your website lists our new name and is linked to our new website address, www.eastbayeda.org, and you are using our eastbayeda.org email addresses as well.

Fall Membership Meeting and StopWaste Awards Ceremony

Annual East Bay EDA event comes to the Oakland Marriott, October 19, 2007

On Friday, October 19, 2007, East Bay EDA and StopWaste.Org will hold their annual sustainability event. This year’s theme is “Investing in Sustainability: Ensuring the Future of Business.” The program will feature a conversation between David Douglas, Vice President, Eco-Responsibility for Sun Microsystems and Kirsten Ritchie, Director of Sustainable Design for Gensler. The StopWaste Business Efficiency Awards for 2007 will also be presented to honor companies who are diligently working to pursue sustainable business practices and can serve as models for businesses in the region and beyond. East Bay EDA, in partnership with United Way of the East Bay, will also launch its East Bay Indicators 2007 report.

The event will be held at the Calvin Simmons Ballroom at the Oakland Marriott – City Center, 7:30 to 10am. We are pleased to have Wells Fargo as our corporate sponsor for this year’s event. For more information please visit the events page at eastbayeda.org. You can also send your registration directly to register@eastbayeda.org; for additional information call (510) 272-3889.

Manufacturing Expands in Pittsburg

Steel Pipe Plant expected to bring 175 jobs to the City of Pittsburg

Flying in the face of common wisdom that says it is not possible to attract traditional manufacturing to the Bay Area, the City of Pittsburg proved not only that it can, but has done it twice in the last two years. In October, United Spiral Pipe LLC is expected to break ground for a new steel pipe plant that is expected to employ 175. Two years ago the City of Pittsburg was successful in attracting light rail car manufacturer AnsaldoBreda. Not only that, but a year ago the City of Pittsburg came very close (first runner up) to landing Tesla Motors, the company manufacturing and selling electric sports cars, which is now located in New Mexico. It all goes to show that the East Bay has still got it when it comes to manufacturing. Read the East Bay Business Times - August 20, 2007 article.

Opinion: Is East Bay Bioscience Significant?

The East Bay EDA markets our vibrant biosciences sector heavily at trade shows and overseas. Many of our cities have done excellent jobs focusing special attention on this industry and as a result of their efforts the East Bay supports a growing number of startups as well as heavy-hitters such as Abbott, Amgen, Johnson and Johnson, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, and others.

Still, the vast majority of the companies are small companies, many of which do not have a positive cash flow yet. And because the East Bay is rarely separated out from aggregate statistics describing the “Bay Area” or “Silicon Valley,” it is difficult to comprehend where our biotech cluster stands in the global scheme of things. If our bioscience cluster is not identified by name in the press, some may wonder how real it is. There are several indications that it is not only significant, but highly significant.

First are the numbers. A 2002 study conducted by East Bay EDA revealed over 150 life science companies in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Recently updated lists from several cities including Alameda, Fremont, Hayward and Oakland indicate that the number may have doubled.

Second, there seems to be national and international recognition among those who count. One of the key reasons cited by BP in deciding earlier this year to locate their $500 million Energy Biosciences Institute at UC Berkeley was the track record of successful commercialization among the region’s life science companies. This was also a main selling point in winning $125 million from the Department of Energy for the Joint Bio-Energy Institute to be housed in the East Bay.

Third, we compare very favorably internationally. BusinessWeek’s August 15 European edition mentions that Sweden with its Medicon Valley is setting the pace for biotech in Europe, noting that biotech companies there have raised more than $46 million in venture capital so far this year. In comparison, East Bay biotech companies attracted $78.2 million in venture funding – in the second quarter of this year alone, according to the latest MoneyTree venture capital report*.

Biotechnology is still an emerging, changing industry. Currently it doesn’t generate the largest number of jobs or the highest revenues. However, we are just beginning to see what it will become. Venture capital and big pharma companies are betting heavily on this industry. We in the East Bay are fortunate to have this industry in our backyard and it is up to us as workers, as local government, as related businesses and as the general public to understand it well enough to maintain it, grow it, and harvest that potential here. * 2007 2nd quarter PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree(tm) Report based on data from Thomson Financial

City of San Leandro featured at upcoming Growth Cities Event

The San Leandro Power Breakfast, presented by the East Bay Business Times, will feature a panel of experts who will discuss the City's economic renaissance. This event will bring together 250 business people interested in learning more about the economic revitalization that is afoot in San Leandro – from a transit-oriented downtown plan and the transformation of Bayfair Center, to a state-of-the-art medical campus and miles of shoreline ready for development. The San Leandro Power Breakfast is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 13, 8-10 a.m. at the San Leandro Public Library, 300 Estudillo Ave., San Leandro. Registration and more information can be found at the East Bay Business Times website.

 

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