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Mark your calendar to attend the annual East Bay EDA Fall Membership
Meeting and StopWaste Partnership Business Efficiency Awards Celebration on October 16th, 2009 in downtown Oakland. This free event is co-sponsored by the East Bay EDA, the
StopWaste Partnership and
Wells Fargo.
Join us as we honor the achievements of East Bay businesses committed to enhanced operational efficiency, environmental performance and waste reduction.
This event will include the Presentation of The 2009 StopWaste Partnership Business Efficiency Award winners; A discussion on competitive advantage through a sustainable supply chain with Robert Gotto, Senior Sourcing Director, Kaiser Permanente and Mike Hannigan, President, Give Something Back, moderated by Gil Friend, Founder and CEO of Natural Logic
and The release of the 2009 East Bay Indicators report, produced by East Bay EDA and the United Way of the Bay Area.
The event will take place Friday October 16, 2009
at the Midtown Event Center, 420 14th Street,
Oakland, CA 94612 (Between Broadway and
Franklin, near 12th Street BART).
Registration begins at
7:30 AM with the main program from 8:00-10:00 AM.
Register today
- There is no cost to attend, but space is limited.
East Bay EDA Executive Director
Bruce Kern was invited to testify before the "Little Hoover Commission"* on August 27 in Sacramento on their study of the state's coordination of economic development activities and their assessment of how the state's activities are organized, coordinated and marketed. Joining
Mr. Kern in the three hour hearing was Max
Neiman, Associate Director of the Public Policy
Institute of California, Brian McGowan, Deputy
Secretary of the Economic Development and Commerce, Business Transportation and Housing Agency and Bill Allen, President and CEO of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.
This hearing was the first of three
the Commission has scheduled to examine whether various economic development offices are achieving their goals and whether they overlap or leverage other federal, state and local programs.
Mr. Kern's presentation focused on four key points: 1) The importance of
the development of a statewide economic development plan (including all state agencies and in alignment with
the economic development efforts of Cities and
Counties) to attract investment and create jobs; 2) Expansion
of state-wide programs including CalBIS, Team California and inter-agency permit assistance services; 3) Require all proposed legislation or regulatory actions to complete an economic impact analysis before approval to inform policy makers
of potential impact on business investment and job growth; and 4) complete a comparative analysis of California tax and regulatory requirements in relation to competitor states for key industry sectors including bio-technology, green technology and manufacturing.
*The Little Hoover Commission, is an independent state oversight agency that was created in 1962. The Commission's mission is to investigate state government operations - through reports, recomendations legislative proposals - promote efficiency, economy and improve service. For more information please contact
Bruce Kern.
As reported in the San Jose Mercury news in August, the East Bay region has
ranked 10th in the nation's Nanotechnology centers. The San Francisco Area
received the top ranking in this list.
From the article: "The Bay Area is the epicenter of the nanorevolution in the U.S.," said David Rejeski, who directs the center's Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies in collaboration with Pew Charitable Trusts. "This is how we're going to make things over the next 50 to 100 years. This is huge economically."
TOPS IN NANOTECHNOLOGY (ranked by number of
nanotechnology entities)
San Francisco: 48
Raleigh, N.C.: 34
Middlesex-Essex, Mass.: 31
Oakland: 30
San Diego: 27
Seattle: 25
Austin: 24
Houston: 24
Source: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars" Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies
Read the entire article.
Industrial Development Bond (IDB) financing for manufacturers has been significantly enhanced by the Federal Stimulus Legislation of 2009. Previous restrictions on the use of tax-exempt bonds for office space, finished goods warehousing and other “non-core” manufacturing uses have been removed – at least until January 1, 2011 when this bill expires.
As a result, virtually all project costs now qualify for tax-exempt bonds.
The legislation also expanded eligible users to include knowledge-based industries like: software developers, biotech, pharmaceutical, nanotech companies, and the entertainment industry. “Intangible” eligible product examples include patents, copyrights, formulas, processes, designs, trademarks, etc.
More banks can now qualify to provide the Letter of Credit that is needed to guarantee repayment to the bond purchasers
as the Federal Home Loan Bank is now able to guarantee the non-rated smaller, local/regional, business friendly banks and provide a bond rating of A or better!
Most importantly, IDB weekly variable interest rates have averaged 0.68% since January 2009 and 2.78% over the last 15 years. The bonds are guaranteed with a bank Letter of Credit (LOC) whose annual fee on the principal balance currently is 1.75%, so the current APR is 2.43% and the 15-year average APR is 4.3%.
Download East Bay EDA's updated IDB flyer.
For more information contact
Keith Sutton, East Bay EDA's Business
Development Director.
The East Bay EDA and the East
Bay Green Corridor (EBGC)
have hired Carla Din as the Partnership's
first Director. As Director of the EBGC, Ms. Din will be responsible for coordinating the activities of the East Bay Green Corridor comprised of the cities of Richmond, El Cerrito, Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, San Leandro, Alameda, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Cal State East Bay, the University of California at Berkeley, as well as the Peralta and Contra Costa Community College Districts.
Before joining the East Bay Green Corridor, Ms. Din was previously Western Regional Field Director for the Apollo Alliance where she started in 2004 to advance renewable energy and energy efficiency through policy development and project implementation as a means to drive investments into modern energy technology, create high quality jobs, revitalize communities, and reduce dependence on foreign oil.
At their August 2009 meeting, the East Bay EDA Executive Committee approved the organization's 2009 Strategic Plan which includes a new section regarding the goals and objectives of the East Bay Green Corridor. The report is complete and can be
downloaded at our website.
The announcement August 27 that Toyota will close Fremont’s NUMMI plant effective March 2010 marks the end of a history-making, 25 year, international partnership. It is very sad news to the tens of thousands of workers at the plant and the plant’s suppliers that pioneered new US manufacturing practices and set new standards for US auto industry productivity. These dedicated workers and businesses now face difficult and uncertain times and deserve our fullest support.
Over the two months prior to the final announcement, East Bay EDA worked closely with State of California, Alameda County and City of Fremont leaders on a coordinated retention effort. East Bay EDA, working with the Governor’s office, co-convened a “red team” that involved city, State and regional officials as well as labor, Port of Oakland, private sector and community leaders in preparing a comprehensive plan to retain the NUMMI operation and Toyota Motor Corporation’s investment in California. The plan addressed key challenges -- logistics, workforce development, and environmental compliance -- to reduce NUMMI’s operating costs. In addition, legislation was introduced to reduce the cost of purchasing equipment in the state while providing incentives to purchase vehicles produced in California.
Since Toyota’s decision in late August, East Bay EDA has focused its attention on supporting the workforce at NUMMI and assisting its over 1,100 suppliers. We are working closely with NUMMI to mitigate the adverse impacts on workers and families as well as working to secure economic adjustment resources for communities impacted by the closure action. We want to thank the many contributors to the plan and will use this experience to redouble our efforts to retain the East Bay’s important manufacturing base. For further information on the state-wide plan please contact
Robert Sakai at East Bay EDA.
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