Oakland

OP-ED: New Businesses and Construction Are Transforming West Oakland

Published

9 years ago

November 21, 2014

Many people are aware of Oakland’s growing restaurant industry. However, Oakland is becoming the center of more upstream food production.

With transportation access and empty warehouse space and transportation access, West Oakland is attracting new food production companies.

In the past, sausage and meat packing companies lined Adeline Street. Now, Hodo Soy Beanery occupies 20,000-square-feet on Adeline, producing soy products for restaurants including Chipotle.

The company employs 65 people and is growing.

Sweet Maria’s, a green coffee bean wholesaler, produces and distributes coffee throughout the country. Organic candy bar maker Ocho Candy on Adeline makes healthy candy bars, employing 55 workers.

Housing is driving construction in the West Oakland. Wood Street area is heating up after the housing construction downturn. City ventures will start construction for 171 townhouses and commercial condos.

Bridge Housing has development rights for the 16th Street train station and is in negotiations with Orton development for a usability plan.

Holiday development has entitlements to build 230 apartments next to the train station and final discussions regarding the construction and phase-in. BART is getting into the act, working with developers on a transit-oriented, mixed-use development on its 7th Street parking lots.

This type of development is badly needed in West Oakland because it addresses the twin problems of jobs and housing for the area. West Oakland is full of empty land that can be better utilized with business producing jobs and new housing.

Some people are quick to wave the scare tactic flag of gentrification. Nothing can be further from the truth. First, this is a new development built on vacant land. It creates jobs and housing for all Oakland citizens, current and new

In addition, all areas evolve and change. Prior to World War II, West Oakland was filled with ethnic European immigrants. They were displaced by Blacks who came to work in the shipyards during World War II. Evolution is necessary to maintain the vibrancy of a neighborhood and attract and retain businesses and residents.

Of course, West Oakland is not the only area moving forward. The MacArthur BART development is moving ahead. The parking structure is near completion. The remaining parking lot will contain 624 new units of housing

Clinton Killian

The Lake Merritt BART parking lot and the surrounding land in all directions are attracting development interest. This area can create a more dense neighborhoods, filled with new residents and businesses to generate Oakland jobs and housing.

In the coming weeks, I will look at other changes coming to Oakland. . The task of rebuilding neighborhoods and creating badly needed jobs and housing has started.

Our new mayor and new council leadership will energize the rebuilding and repopulating of Oakland.

Clinton Killian is an attorney at Oakland downtown law firm Fried & Williams LLP and former public official. He can be reached at ckillian@friedwilliams.com.

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Activism

WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

16 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Juanita Matthews

Sister Juanita Matthews

55 Years with Oakland Public School District

The Teacher, Mother, Community Outreach Champion, And Child of God

Juanita Matthews, better known as “Sister Teacher,” is a walking Bible scholar. She moved to California from the great state of Arkansas in 1971. Sister Teacher has a passion for teaching. She has been a member of Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church since 1971. She followed her passion for teaching, and in 1977 became the lead teacher for Adult Class #6. Her motto still today is “Once My Student, Always My Student”.

Beyond her remarkable love for the Lord, Sister Teacher has showcased her love for teaching by working for the Oakland Unified School District for 55 years, all but four of those years spent at Emerson Elementary and Child Development School. She truly cares about her students, making sure they have the tools/supplies needed to learn either at OUSD or Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

She’s also had a “Clothes Closet Ministry” for 51 years, making sure her students have sufficient clothing for school. The Clothes Closet Ministry extends past her students, she has been clothing the community for over 50 years as well. She loves the Lord and is a servant on a mission. She is a loving mother to two beautiful children, Sandra and Andre. This is the impact this woman of God has on her church and the community.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland’s ‘Green the Church,’ Others, Host a Climate Revival

On April 20, Oakland’s Green The Church California (GTC) and the Center For Food, Faith and Justice will celebrate Earth Day and present a Climate Revival event titled “Growing Healthy Communities From Soil To The Soul” at McGee Avenue Baptist Church at 1640 Stuart St, Berkeley, CA. The day will include inspiring talks, interactive workshops, networking opportunities, and a special panel on Food Sovereignty and Global Food Resilience.

Published

19 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

The revival will take place at McGee Avenue Baptist Church in Berkeley on April 20. Courtesy image.

Growing Healthy Communities from Soil to the Soul in Berkeley

By Y’Anad Burrell

The day will include inspiring talks, interactive workshops, networking opportunities, and a special panel on Food Sovereignty and Global Food Resilience.

The keynote speaker is Rev. Danté R. Quick, PhD, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, N.J. Quick is well known in the Bay Area, having served for more than 10 years as pastor of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Vallejo, CA.

Green The Church, founded in 2010 by Rev. Dr. Ambrose Carroll, Sr., and headquartered in Oakland, helps galvanize Black churches and their local communities and leaders to address issues critical to populations historically disengaged from conversations around pollution and health, climate change, and sustainability and energy efficiency.

The organization collaborates with major environmental, sustainability, food security, faith, and community-based non-profit organizations, and is committed to “creation justice”—care and justice for God’s people and the planet—and building the Beloved Community.

Environmental justice has long been a pressing concern for communities of color who bear the brunt of pollution and ecological degradation. Climate change exacerbates these issues, disproportionately impacting vulnerable communities. Recognizing this urgency, Black churches across the country are taking action.

With deep roots in the African American community and its commitment to social justice, the Black Church has become an essential advocate for sustainable practices and policies.

Over the past 14 years, in a powerful collaboration with significant environmental, sustainability, food security, faith, and community-based non-profit organizations, GTC has created a cadre of Black churches engaging in the environmental justice, climate, and sustainability movement.

GTC presently works with more than 1,000 pastors and congregations across the U.S., and groups in the Bahamas, Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK, showing that we can make a difference together.

The partnership between environmental justice advocates and the Black Church extends beyond individual congregations. Green The Church provides resources and support for faith communities seeking to address climate change and promote environmental justice.

Through collaboration, initiatives such as energy efficiency programs, solar installations, and environmental education have been implemented in Black churches nationwide. These efforts reduce the carbon footprint and save money on energy bills, benefiting the congregations and their communities.

The involvement of the Black Church in the fight against climate change is not just a participation, it’s a powerful message that galvanizes action across communities.

By integrating environmental justice into their ministry, Black churches are demonstrating that addressing climate change is not only a matter of science but also of social and moral responsibility, inspiring change at a grassroots level.

For more information, go to: www.greenthechurch.org.