Bay Area

Mar 25, 2023 – BCN21:SAN JOAQUIN CO.: PORT OF STOCKTON ORGANIZES TO CLEAN OUT SEVERAL TONS OF TRASH AT ROBERTS ISLAND

The Port of Stockton hosted a community clean-up event Saturday morning at Roberts Island in San Joaquin County with partner organizations, tenants and members of the community. The initiative was part of Clean California Community Days – Spring Into Action, a state-wide 11-day event happening through Monday. The event is sponsored by the Governor’s Office and Caltrans

Published

3 years ago

April 3, 2023

Oakland Post

Volunteers from California Conservation Corps move tram up the slope during community cleanup event at Roberts Island in San Joaquin County, Calif., on March 25, 2023. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local)

The Port of Stockton hosted a community clean-up event Saturday morning at Roberts Island in San Joaquin County with partner organizations, tenants and members of the community.

The initiative was part of Clean California Community Days – Spring Into Action, a state-wide 11-day event happening through Monday. The event is sponsored by the Governor’s Office and Caltrans.

Nearly 35 volunteers from the community, Port of Stockton, Caltrans and several other organizations, gathered outside the Port Administration building on Washington Street to collect their clean up kits before joining a parade of cars on Highway 4 headed to the Roberts Island area.

Volunteers as young as eight wasted no time braving the cold winds and the steep slopes along Burns Cut Off, as they cleaned out several tons of trash including broken tv sets and other household electronics and appliances off the road.

Eight-year-old Kai Carrillo came out from Elk Grove with his father for the clean-up.

“I’m volunteering here today because I want to help our community with all the trash,” Carrillo said. “Most of the trash goes into the ocean, and we don’t want that in the ocean.”

Jeff Wingfield, deputy director of Regulatory and Public Affairs at Port of Stockton, was also on hand to help the clean-up.

“This is a pretty isolated area, and you will see a lot of people come in and dump more and more trash,” he said. “But if there’s no trash here, littering will gradually reduce.”

Wingfield said the Port plans to host at least four such events a year.

Among the volunteers were members from several organizations such as the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, the Sierra Club and California Conservation Corps, as well as District 5 Council Member Brando Villapudua.

“This is part of my district,” said Brando Villapudua. “Anyone caring about the water should be out here, getting your hands dirty and giving back to the community.”

Edith Villapudua is running for State Senate and was also at the event, along with Greg Zavala, who said he intends to run for city council.

Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.