Port of Oakland RFP for Uniform Rental & Laundry Service

From time to time, the Chamber is made aware of local business opportunities and projects relevant to our members and other community based organizations. See below for the most recent opportunity spotlight at the Port of Oakland:

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

For

Uniform Rental and Laundry Service

A Mandatory Pre-Proposal Conference is scheduled as follows:

 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 4, 2012

Courtyard Conference Room

530 Water Street, 2nd Floor

Oakland, California

Proposal Due Date:  Friday, May 25, 2012

Proposal Due Time:  11:00 a.m.

The RFP process is designed to select a Uniform Rental and Laundry Service Supplier who will provide the Port with high quality uniforms and weekly laundry services.

Copies of the RFP may be obtained from the Port of Oakland – Purchasing Department, 530 Water Street, Oakland, CA 94607, (510) 627-1140, Office Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., or by visiting the Port’s website at: http://www.portofoakland.com/business/rfpsrfqs.asp and downloading the RFP packet.

Port of Oakland RFP for Bond Underwriting

From time to time, the Chamber is made aware of local business opportunities and projects relevant to our members and other community based organizations. See below for the most recent opportunity spotlight at the Port of Oakland:

The Port of Oakland is calling for proposals for Bond Underwriting Services (Request for Proposal (RFP) 11-12/04)), to be delivered to the Financial Services Division, Purchasing Department (Attn: John Banisadr), at 530 Water Street, Oakland, CA 94607, until 3:00 PM on May 11, 2012.

The RFP process is designed to select a team of qualified firms to supply underwriting services in support of potential refunding of certain outstanding bonds to generate debt service savings.

Copies of the RFP may be obtained at Port of Oakland Financial Services Division, Purchasing Department, 530 Water Street, Oakland, CA 94607, (510) 627-1523, Office Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., or by visiting the Port’s website at http://portofoakland.com/business/rfpsrfqs.asp and downloading the RFP.

Oakland Housing Authority Invitation for Bids - Site Improvements

From time to time, the Chamber is made aware of local business opportunities and projects relevant to our members and other community based organizations. See below for the most recent opportunity spotlight available from the Oakland Housing Authority:

INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB)

IFB # 12-016

Issued: 4/6/12

Site Improvement for 5726 – 5730 Elizabeth St., Oakland, CA 94621

The Oakland Housing Authority is inviting sealed bids to complete site improvement at the three building structures of 5726 – 5730 Elizabeth St., Oakland, CA per city, state and federal building codes.

 Bid Documents are available to download on the OHA website: www.oakha.org.  Select “Procurement” and then “OHA Vendor Center”.

INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB)

IFB # 12-014

Issued: 4/6/12

 Site Improvement for 6631 Laird Avenue, Oakland, CA 94605

The Oakland Housing Authority is inviting sealed bids to complete site improvement at the three building structures of 6631 Laird Avenue, Oakland, CA per city, state and federal building codes.

Bid Documents are available to download on the OHA website: www.oakha.org.  Select “Procurement” and then “OHA Vendor Center”.

Chamber Member Spotlight: Magic Detailings

Magic Detailings will be upfront about service abilities, pricing and techniques to provide a trustworthy and fair service to ALL of our clients. The safety of your vehicle comes first! Services are tested and perfected before we decide to promote it to our clients.

Every Thursday Magic Detalings will be at:

City Center Garage / AMPCO

 

525 14th Street
(between San Pablo Ave & Clay St)
Oakland, CA 94612
Neighborhood: Downtown Oakland

http://www.magicdetailings.com/Company

PG&E CUSTOMERS CAN "COMPETE TO CONSERVE" WITH NEW FACEBOOK APP

Attention Chamber Blog Readers:

PG&E has a new Facebook app that might be of interest, check out their press release on the matter below:

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New Facebook App Lets PG&E Customers Share, Compare Energy Use with Friends

PG&E customers can now share and compare their energy use with friends around the nation on Facebook with a new social energy application.

The app, created by Opower in partnership with Facebook and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), provides insight into individual energy use while fostering friendly competition.

PG&E is one of 15 utilities participating in the program. In all, 19.4 million households will have the ability to participate in this program.

To get started, PG&E customers can visit social.opower.com or search for the Opower app on Facebook and connect their utility account.

PG&E customers who sign up will immediately see how their home energy use compares to others with similar homes. As friends are invited and join in, people will then be able to engage in savings competitions. PG&E customers with a SmartMeter™ and My Energy account can get a leg up on their competition by logging onto pge.com/myenergy to view hourly electric data, gaining insights to further conserve energy.

This new app is among a growing number of energy-use tools available to PG&E customers. PG&E also offers a Green Button, which allows customers with SmartMeters to easily download their personal energy information—in a standardized format—that can be used by third-party developers to create innovative energy-saving ideas.

These examples show how utilities such as PG&E are thinking differently about how customers can use information about their energy consumption.

Over time, the app will grow new capabilities, but already it enables customers to:

§  Compare energy use to similar homes: People can benchmark their home energy use against a national database of millions of homes. All benchmarking will be done on an aggregate level, ensuring that customer data stays private.

§  Compare energy use among friends: Friends can compare their energy use, show how energy efficient they are, and share tips on how to improve.

§  Publish conversations about energy: Participants can share information about energy use, rank, group participation, and conservation tips through the Facebook newsfeed.

§  Engage in group cooperation: Communities of Facebook friends can form teams to help achieve collective goals.

§  Automatically import energy data: PG&E customers can choose to import their energy data into the application automatically.

The application’s concept derives from extensive social science research on human behavior change and energy use. Research has confirmed that word-of-mouth proved to be an effective tool in encouraging people to use energy more efficiently. The application’s use of this kind of behavioral science combined with energy information, and Facebook’s global platform for connecting and sharing has the potential to create a dialogue and action about energy efficiency among hundreds of millions of people.

Nonprofit Roundtable interacts with local sports teams and athletic activities

On March 20, 2012, the Oakland Chamber Nonprofit Roundtable continued its rich discussion of how all businesses in the Oakland Metropolitan can interact in positive and mutually beneficial ways. This monthly meeting specifically focused on the many possibilities for community benefits organizations (commonly known as nonprofits) to interact with sports and athletic events and activities.

After a fascinating time of introductions where each attendee divulged her/his favorite athletic activity as a child (such as roller-skating, running, hiking, sledding and playing tetherball), Gene Brtilak, the coordinator of the Oakland Running Festival, shared the many options for organizations to interface with the Festival. These included staffing the water-stops, sponsoring a booth at the all-day Expo before the Festival, forming a cheering section and even participating in the “Run for a Cause” option. In this option, the Festival facilitates the opportunity for participants to utilize their running to raise funds for an organization or cause. All of the five different races in the Festival can be used in this way – not only the Marathon, but also the half-marathon, 5K, relay and even the kids’ run. The organization pays a discounted entry fee per runner, and then the runner accepts pledges and donations on behalf of the organization. Brtilak further noted that the Festival and its primary sponsor, Corrigan Sports, anticipated giving back nearly $500,000 to community organizations this year. While the 2012 Festival has already taken place, groups can start planning for 2013. For more information, go to www.oaklandmarathon.com.

Valisa Maki of the Oakland Athletics shared that the region’s baseball team works with a variety of organizations on promotions and events. The primary opportunity is its “50/50” program in which organizations and the team split the ticket sales in half. Maki further noted that the A’s would also support single organizations and groups of organizations to develop special events in conjunction with a particular game. A current focus for the ball club is to raise awareness of baseball as entertainment, and several heritage nights and other theme events are already on this year’s schedule. This year, the Oakland Chamber is hosting two A’s days: Friday, May 25 (vs. Yankees) and Friday, June 22 (vs. Giants). Contact Amanda Medina at the Chamber at (510) 874-4800, ext. 319 or at amedina@oaklandchamber.com for tickets. To plan such an event, Maki recommends that organizations give themselves at least three months. The team also donates auction items to fundraisers.

Golden Gate Fields has a variety of options for organizations to hold events. According to Group Sales Manager Michael Roberts, the racetrack can host fundraising events for groups ranging from 12 to 600 either in its Turf Club or Outdoor Trackside Court. These events would feature discounted tickets (to be sold at full value), priority seating, buffet meals, race programs and a race named in the hosting organization’s honor. Another option for friends of community benefits organizations is to hold a birthday party or other event in collaboration with Golden Gate Fields as a personal fundraiser. Roberts can be reached at Michael.Roberts@goldengatefields.com.

While representatives from the Golden State Warriors and the Oakland Raiders were unable to attend, information on collaborative opportunities for each can be found on the sports teams’ respective websites. The Golden Gate Warriors, for example, sponsor two ticket donation programs – “Share Your Seats” and the “Player Ticket Program.” Through this program, participants can receive blocks of game tickets for constituents when available. The team also makes donations of tickets, autographed memorabilia and promotional items for community benefits organizations. For more information, go to www.nba.com/warriors.

For those interested in more information on fundraising collaborations with the Oakland Raiders, the team is hosting a fundraising informational meeting on April 4 at 6:00p.m. at its headquarters, 1220 Harbor Bay Parkway in Alameda. To RSVP for this event, contact Dimitrous Chattman at dchattman@raiders.com.

Before concluding the meeting, a plan was launched to collaborate with Golden Gate Fields on a Non-Profit Day at the Races. This event would include a trade show, silent auctions, low rates per person, tremendous marketing opportunities and a potential cash donation from the racetrack. Those interested in participating in a task force to organize this event should contact Nonprofit Roundtable Co-Chair Âna-Marie Jones at amj@cardcanhelp.org.

Jerry Metzker

Co-Chair, Oakland Chamber Nonprofit Roundtable
Development & Marketing Manager, Biotech Partners

Caldecott Tunnel Fourth Bore Medallion Design Competition

FOURTH BORE MEDALLION DESIGN COMPETITION Play a Part in Making History!

The Fourth Bore of the Caldecott Tunnel will bring congestion relief to busy State Route 24 between Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. The Caldecott Medallion Design Competition will provide the children of these two counties an opportunity to play a role in the design of an important architectural detail of the Fourth Bore. The Caldecott Fourth Bore will have three "medallions" cast out of concrete on each side of the tunnel. The medallions will be located above the tunnel openings on the east and west sides and will become a part of this regional landmark for years to come. All schoolchildren (K-12) who live in Alameda or Contra Costa Counties are invited to submit artwork for the Medallion Design Competition. The deadline for entries is Monday, May 7, 2012. Three (3) winners from each county will be selected; the winning artwork will be used to design the molds which will create the Fourth Bore medallions. Contest Theme: Art Deco Revisited The theme for the Medallion Design Competition was selected by Bay Area residents via an online survey on the project website. As a tribute to the original Caldecott medallions that were created in the 1930s for the first two bores, the theme for the competition is "Art Deco Revisited." Students are encouraged to exercise their creative imaginations around the theme to explore ways that the past and present styles come together. Click here for more information about Art Deco. How to Enter... 1.     Download the Contest Entry Packet Here 2.     Review the Contest Rules and Guidelines Here 3.     Fill out the Artist Information & Release Form - Please be sure to sign it! 4.     Adhering to the contest theme "Art Deco Revisited," create your masterpiece on the Contest Entry Form - Don't forget to write your "artist's statement." 5.     Drop off or mail your entry by Monday, May 7, 2012. (See contest guidelines for entry requirements and submission locations) Visit www.caldecott-tunnel.org/medallion for details and more information on the competition. Questions can be emailed to: medalliondesign@caldecott-tunnel.org The Caldecott Fourth Bore Project is a partnership between the Federal Highway Administration, the California Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, and the Alameda County Transportation Commission

Oakland Housing Authority Invitation for Bids

From time to time, the Chamber is made aware of local business opportunities and projects relevant to our members and other community based organizations. See below for the most recent opportunity spotlight from the City of Oakland’s Housing Authority.

INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB)

IFB # 12-008

Issued: 3/30/12

Site Improvement for 950 40^th Street

The Oakland Housing Authority is inviting sealed bids to complete site improvement at the three building structures of 950 40^th Street per city, state and federal building codes.

Bid Documents are available to download on the OHA website: www.oakha.org.  Select “Procurement” and then “OHA Vendor Center”.

INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB)

IFB # 12-007

Issued: 3/30/12

Site Improvement for 357, 361, 365 49^th Street

The Oakland Housing Authority is inviting sealed bids to complete site improvement at the three building structures of 357,361, and 365 49^th Street per city, state and federal building codes.

Bid Documents are available to download on the OHA website: www.oakha.org.  Select “Procurement” and then “OHA Vendor Center”.