"Oakland A's Spirit Week" Returns for 2014

Oakland Gearing Up for Kickoff to
"Oakland A's Spirit Week"

Monday, March 31 – Sunday, April 6

 

The 2013 American League West Division Champion Oakland Athletics, Visit Oakland, the City of Oakland, and Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce will kick off "Oakland A's Spirit Week" Monday, March 31 to celebrate the start of the regular season. The celebration will last all week until Sunday, April 6.

During this citywide celebration, marking the start of the regular season, fans are encouraged to show their team spirit by wearing A’s apparel or green and gold all week.

There will be a variety of spirit initiatives including:

 

·        AC Transit bus headers to read “Go A’s” on all busses

·        Oakland Airport (OAK) to shine green and yellow lights curbside at both terminals

·        An A’s flag to fly atop Oakland City Hall

·        An A’s flag to fly atop the Tribune Tower

·        Hotel front line staff will wear A’s hats

·        The Salvation Army of Alameda County will hold a luncheon to honor the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday, April 22 at the Hilton Oakland Airport. Tickets available at www.alamedasalarmy.org

During the 2014 season, Visit Oakland will continue to work closely with the Athletics organization and city offices to engage fans and promote games to visitors.

More information about Spirit Week can be found at: http://visitoakland.org/blog/lets-go-oakland.

UMA ANNUAL CONVENING IN OAKLAND! 10/2-10/4

Each year, the UMA convenes member organizations from across the country for a two-day conference and collaboration session. This meeting enables manufacturing and economic development professionals from all over the U.S. to come together to share best practices, learn from each other’s efforts, innovate and amplify their voice in the national policy discussion. Exchanging ideas on how urban manufacturing can reduce chronic unemployment and regain its foothold in dense urban areas are key goals of the UMA. Through this annual collaboration, the participants seek to strengthen their local economies, create jobs and revitalize their cities.  This year the Convening is being held, here, in Oakland and is held on the same day as National Manufacturing Day.

 

CONVENING SCHEDULE

Wednesday Evening – Convening Kick-Off Party & Manufacturing Day Celebration – (Crucible, Oakland).  This event is open to the public ($10 entrance fee)

Thursday – Sessions (Preservation Park, Oakland)

Thursday evening – Group Dinner (Lungomare, Oakland)

Friday morning – Sessions Continue (Oakland Asian Cultural Arts Center, Oakland)

Friday afternoon – Local Manufacturing Tour

Friday evening – Downtown Oakland’s Art Murmur/First Fridays

For more information, visit the website.

NATIONAL MANUFACTURING DAY (10/4)

MFG DAY addresses common misperceptions about manufacturing by giving manufacturers an opportunity to open their doors and show, in a coordinated effort, what manufacturing is — and what it isn’t. By working together during and after MFG DAY, manufacturers will begin to address the skilled labor shortage they face, connect with future generations, take charge of the public image of manufacturing, and ensure the ongoing prosperity of the whole industry.

 

Supported by a group of industry sponsors and co-producers, MFG DAY is designed to amplify the voice of individual manufacturers and coordinate a collective chorus of manufacturers with common concerns and challenges. The rallying point for a growing mass movement, MFG DAY empowers manufacturers to come together to address their collective challenges so they can help their communities and future generations thrive.

 

MUST WE TOLERATE A CITY OF RECKLESS DESTRUCTION?

If there is talk and no action, no enforcement, no consequences what is a business to do?

What are the rights of businesses in Oakland?

If demonstrations are invited to Oakland, as elected officials have openly stated, then who is responsible for the damage?

Who is to be held accountable for the destruction caused by anarchists? 

Business bears the cost of cleanup in the event of a welcomed demonstration turning violent?

If a business closes or loses customers and revenue because the City is deemed unsafe by residents and visitors, then who is responsible?

If someone is masked, then why are they not held, identified and questioned?

If someone brings a crowbar, hammer or object uncommon to a peaceful demonstration, then why are they not held, identified and questioned?

What rules are we as business people held to?  Are they the same for demonstrators’ gone rogue?

What does the compliance officer believe needs to be done? Do our police officers hesitate because of the Consent Decree? Are the rules clear?

Citizens have been threatened on Federal, State, County, BART and City property…  We believe this is a regional problem that requires a regional approach to a solution.

What is the answer???  We are ready to do our part and stand with the Community at large to work towards a permanent solution! A peaceful Oakland…

In the meantime, the Alameda County District Attorney is ready to prosecute.  Let’s arrest the vandals! If you would like to contact the District Attorney, please call (510) 272-6309.

If you see destruction happening, then email a photo of the incident to cwong@oaklandnet.com or call the District Attorney’s Office to provide photo or video evidence.

 

 

Joseph J. Haraburda

President & CEO
Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce

 

 

SUPPORT: Council President Amendments to Mayor’s Proposed Budget

It is always important in budgeting to be responsible, sustainable and make choices among competing priorities.  Choices are not easy and reasonable people can disagree.  Today the clear need in Oakland is to address crime and promote job growth. 

There are three principal budget proposals: (1) Mayor Quan, (2) Council President Amendments (dated May 30,2013) and (3) Councilmembers Brooks/Gallo/Reid  (dated May 30,2013).  We salute the work and sincere advocacy each effort embodies.  As noted above budgets require making choices.

The Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce supports the Council President Amendments which we recognize as building on the good work done by Mayor Quan.  The Amendments add elements to the budget made possible by a slight revenue increase since the Mayor established her budget.  That these improvements are possible is testament to the prudent, careful work done by the Mayor.

The City of Oakland spends over one billion dollars every year, the General Purpose Fund makes up about $430 million of that.  Because the competing proposals agree in many ways and have a few critical differences we want to lay out our priorities and explain some of the suggestions we find most problematic.

The Council President Amendments budget does the best job of focusing on public safety.  It maintains the Mayor’s plan to run four Police Academy classes and add to civilian staff at OPD.  Spending on police makes up only twenty percent of the total budget.  Over the past six years while city staffing has fallen 16%, sworn OPD staff has dropped 27% and civilian staff has fallen 34%! A focus on rebuilding OPD is needed.

The alternative suggested by Brooks/Gallo/Reid has several particulars with which we disagree.  Eliminating the CHP support contracts that add patrols to Oakland would be a terrible loss.  Cutting the number of civilian staff being added to OPD would undermine the effort to increase the number of officers on the street and could hinder the solving of crimes and the crime reduction strategy just now being implemented. That plan also puts the funding for police academies on a less certain footing – which puts in danger the ability to grow OPD above 700 officers (and perhaps even above current levels). 

Instead among other things it uses that money to reinstate spending in City Council office budgets and most significantly adds several million for a COLA for city employees.  We understand the City is negotiating with employee unions and we encourage that work continue.  It is worth nothing that while the economy shows signs of improving, the unemployment rate in the City of Oakland is still high and thousands of people in the private sector have seen wage reductions, benefit reductions and other challenges.  In a choice at current levels between spending to increase OPD staffing and offering pay increases we choose public safety.

One other note on spending to address crime.  At current levels one of the biggest factors restricting job growth in Oakland is crime.  In previous communications, we have shared with you anecdotal evidence that fear of crime may cause some employers to leave and prevent others from coming to Oakland.  Investments in public safety today won’t just hopefully save lives and property but pay dividends in increased investment, more jobs and a broader, more robust tax base that will make greater city spending possible.  

Problems remain.  There are negative fund balances, underfunded pension and health liabilities, increased contribution demands coming from state programs and the normal upward pressure on costs.  Revenue streams are scheduled to expire and there are no guarantees that current revenue upticks will continue.  This Council and Mayor will need to find ways to do more with less and serve the needs of the businesses and citizens of Oakland.

The Council President Amendments to Mayor Quan’s Proposed Budget is the best option and deserves your support.  It has ours.