New Website Highlights Stimulus Dollars at Work

By Wade Woods

Mayor Gavin Newsom this week launched RecoverySF.org ( www.recoverysf.org) to highlight the progress of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in San Francisco.
The site allows the public to track grants that San Francisco has applied for and won, view official correspondence to and from Washington D.C. on matters related to federal stimulus and keep up to date on upcoming public meetings regarding the ARRA.
“It is our goal to keep all of San Francisco informed about the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Barack Obama,” said Newsom. “With an emphasis on transparency, this web site will be a clearinghouse of information on all stimulus matters relating to the City and County of San Francisco.”
Mayor Newsom has directed city agencies to work quickly to seek and secure funding for local projects and programs to maximize the benefits to the city’s workforce and regional economy.
“This web site is an element of our many transparency efforts,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom. “I am holding our departments and partners to the highest possible accountability standard to ensure that we meet, and exceed where possible, the reporting standards.”
Unique to the CCSF site is a public meetings page which includes materials and supporting documents from recent public meetings where the ARRA was discussed, as well as notices of upcoming meetings where ARRA items are to be considered. To date, there have been almost a dozen public meetings with another half dozen scheduled for the coming months.

Kevin Myrick Vows to Reach Moon by 2012

Kevin Myrick of Port Richmond has assembled a multinational team to participate in the Google Lunar X Prize, a $30 million international competition to safely land a robot on the surface of the moon, travel 500 meters over the lunar surface and send images and data back to the Earth.
Myrick,  President and CEO of InterPlanetary Ventures, has teamed with The Human Synergy Project and Interorbital Systems to become Synergy Moon, which has  working groups in 15 countries to promotes international cooperation in space exploration and development.
Synergy Moon plans to use a lunar-direct launch of an Interorbital Systems’ modular Neptune rocket to carry a lunar lander and at least one rover to the surface of the moon before the end of 2012. The company hopes to prove that an international, private-sector team can do what has never been done before – move private enterprise into space beyond Earth’s orbit.
“For the space enterprise community to maintain its edge in the global space market, our future workforce is going to consist of engineers who think like artists and artists who think like engineers, ” said Celeste Volz Ford, California Space Authority Board Member.
Myrick’s background includes experience both as a technologist and practicing theatrical designer with credits for building the Burial Clay Theatre inside the African American Art and Culture Complex and the Bayview Opera House in San Francisco. He also is a public school teacher who encourages youth to pursue math and science while developing their artistic endeavors.
Members of the team include representatives from Serbia, Russia, Bosnia, South Africa, the United States, Israel, Croatia, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Herzegovina, Sri Lanka and India. Also on the team are members of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), the Space Generation Congress (SGC), Team One of India and the Science Popularization Association of Communicators and Educators youth program (S.P.A.C.E. India).
For more information visit  www.synergymoon.org.

UPS Hires Youth at PIC

UPS returned to the Oakland Citywide Youth Jobs Initiative, a project sponsored by the Oakland Private Industry Council (PIC), on April 7, to provide information on package handler jobs at the Richmond Hub.  Gerald Onwukeme (right), UPS Human Resources Representative, provided a two-hour presentation to over 30 youth who came dressed and ready for work.  “UPS is a long-time, valued partner of the Oakland Private Industry Council, and we appreciate its contribution not only to our youth community, but to all of Oakland,” said Gay Plair Cobb, PIC’s Chief Executive Officer. For more information, contact program coordinator Robin Raveneau at (510) 768-4402 or rraveneau@oaklandpic.org.

Redevelopment Agency Awards Grants to Businesses in Fillmore

By Kevin Jefferson

The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency has created a Community Benefits Fund Grants Program (CBF) to provide start-up or expansion capital in the form of 18 “micro grants” of up to $25,000 to existing nonprofit organizations, for-profit businesses and startup businesses.   The grants are designed to benefit the Fillmore Jazz Preservation District.

In February, the grant selection committee selected the following recipients for the first cycle of grants: Empress Nails, 1300 on Fillmore, Sheba Lounge, Progress Cleaners, Marcus Books, Jubili, Fillmore Street Café, Jazzy Spa and Salon, Miyako Ice Cream, Pearl Misha Styles of the Millenium, New Chicago Barber Shop #3 and New Orleans Style Snoballs. [Read more]

OneCalifornia Bank Gains CDFI Certification

Joining a specialized group of financial institutions that have community development as their primary mission, OneCalifornia Bank is now a CDFI certified bank.

Through the Community Development Financial Institution Fund (CDFI Fund), the United States Department of the Treasury expands the capacity of financial institutions to provide credit, capital and financial services to underserved populations and communities in the United States.

There are only 69* CDFI certified banks and thrifts in the nation, of which seven are in California and only one other in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Jeff Cheung, President and CEO of OneCalifornia Bank, spoke of the excitement of receiving notice. “I was sitting in a board meeting when I got a message about the CDFI certification. It was another big cause for celebration on top of starting our second full year in business with good traction on our balance sheet. In the Bank’s first 16 months of operations from our Oakland headquarters, we’ve made great strides to realize our mission, which is to improve economic opportunity for low- to moderate-income communities. The CDFI certification is an important gain. [Read more]

PG&E Launches 500 Megawatt Solar Power Initiative

 

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)  has announced plans for a five-year program to develop up  to 500 megawatts of clean solar photovoltaic power in its northern and  central California service area, one of the largest undertakings of its kind in  the country.

The proposed program consists of  up to 250 megawatts of utility-owned photovoltaic generation— PG&E’s first direct investment  in renewable generation in over a decade—an additional 250 megawatts to be built  and owned by independent developers under a streamlined regulatory process.  

PG&E is submitted its plan this week to the California Public Utilities  Commission for approval, which could come later this year.

If all projects are up and running  by 2015, they are expected to deliver more than 1,000 gigawatt hours of power  each year, equal to the annual consumption of about 150,000 average homes. In  all, this program would meet over 1.3 percent of PG&E’s electric demand. [Read more]

City Debates Stronger Local Hire Law

 

By Post Staff

A dispute is shaping up in Oakland over whether or not to pass a law requiring that half of all construction jobs at city-subsidized projects should be reserved for city residents, as well as half of the ongoing jobs at these projects once they are completed.

Mayor Ron Dellums, Councilmember Desley Brooks and Oakland Community Taskforces support a stronger local hire ordinance, while there is also opposition that proposes to continue or do away with current requirements, which allow as few as 12.5 percent of construction jobs to go to people who live in Oakland.

This issue is particularly sensitive in Oakland because of the very high unemployment rate for young men.  Fifty percent of young men in some census tracks are unemployed. [Read more]

Rep. Waters Introduces Legislation to Restrict Predatory Lenders

 

Los Angeles Congresswoman, Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, this week introduced legislation to prohibit unscrupulous or unapproved lenders from participating in Federal Housing Administration (FHA) programs.

“As we move forward in identifying effective models to fix the housing crisis, any lender with a record of engaging in dishonest business practices with consumers should be prohibited from benefiting from taxpayer dollars,” Rep. Waters said.

 Waters introduced the bill, called the Honest FHA Originator Act of 2009 (H.R. 1116) with Housing Subcommittee members Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH). [Read more]

Brooks and Tucker New Officers of Realtors’ Group

 

 

New officers Sylvester Brooks and Rene Tucker took the oath of office on Feb. 12 as  Associated Real Property Brokers (ARPB) and their Women’s Council  installed 2009 officers and board members.

“Twenty percent of African Americans could lose their homes before the crisis is over,” said Tucker, as she delivered her acceptance speech as 2009 president of the Women’s Council, held at the Sequoyah Golf & Country Club in Oakland. 

“We must be able to serve our clients in this hour of crisis.  The media is full of gloom and doom; we must prepare and bring tools of hope.  We must find solutions for our clients.   Internal discord pulls people apart; external pressure should bring us together’ - we must get involved,” she continued.

Master of ceremonies Tyrone Casey credited ARPB with promoting democracy in Bay Area housing. “Many of us (African Americans) who now live in the hill areas of Oakland, Crocker Highlands (and other areas) wouldn’t be there if not for ARPB,” he said. [Read more]

Yes You Can!

“Everyone has the brainpower to follow the stock market. If you made it through fifth-grade math, you can do it.” –Peter Lynch

By Michael Mahdi

Two years ago, a young Senator from the State of Illinois declared his candidacy for President of the United States of America. From the start, pundits argued that he was too inexperienced; too ambitious; too Black; not Black enough; not appealing to mainstream America; too intelligent; too elitist; too young; and too audacious. His response to those cynics was simple: “Yes we can!”

As the political naysayers continued their barrage of assaults on his character, associates, and ideology, this young Senator continued to develop a grassroots movement and focused on expanding his base of supporters beyond socioeconomic status, race, and religion. He emphasized the importance of trailblazing a new path and direction.

On Tuesday, January 20, 2009, President-Elect Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. This former Senator, who only two years ago was not viewed as a serious contender, now holds the highest position in the Free World. “Yes we can!” [Read more]

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