MGO Host Fred Blackwell, Oakland Assistant City Administrator

Posted on January 15, 2014 Updated on February 16, 2014

Complimentary pizza and soft drinks   

Massive change has been occurring at the former Oakland Army Base, and the scope of the development plans is breathtaking.    The 330-acre base was closed in 1999, resulting in the loss of  7,000 jobs.    Now,  under a sweeping modernization and expansion plan, the former base is to become the Oakland Global Trade and Logistics Center (Oakland Global), transforming it into a world-class intermodal hub and an international gateway for transporting goods by seaport, railroad, and roadway. The project will speed the distribution of bulk commodities and cargo.

The development plans for the 158 acres of the northern portion of the base include: a 34-acre working waterfront;  96.7 acres redeveloped with approximately 979,620 square feet of logistics facilities, rapid deployment centers, and regional distribution centers; approximately 27.3 acres for up to 379,610 square feet of use for indoor recycling facilities and approximately 7 acres for truck parking; two new rail yards, each with 4,000-foot loading tracks and wide span electric powered rail mount cranes for container handling over each track group 

August 2012, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) dedicated $242 million to the project, which will be matched by the City and Port of Oakland, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and developers — Prologis and California Capital Investment Group. Added together, the total funding currently dedicated to the project’s first of two phases is approximately $500 million – including a $15 million federal grant awarded in July.  

(The preceding information was excerpted from the developer’s website, oaklandglobal.com)

The Metropolitan-Greater Oakland Democratic Club (MGO) is honored to have Fred Blackwell, City of Oakland’s Assistant City Administrator, as our guest speaker on January 16th.  Mr. Blackwell is the City’s point person on Oakland Army Base redevelopment. He will discuss the plans and progress to date  and how they will impact economic development and jobs for Oakland.  Here is a partial excerpt of his biographical information from the City of Oakland website:

As Assistant City Administrator, Fred Blackwell has functional oversight external service department and customer service initiatives. An Oakland native, he holds more than 15 years of nationally recognized high-level leadership in the nonprofit and public sector and has a broad range of experience with development projects and community development.

Prior to his position in Oakland, Fred served as Executive Director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA). During his time at the SFRA, he led large scale developments including military base reuse, infrastructure investments, commercial developments, affordable housing production, and open space projects.

Can New York City’s Crime-Fighting Techniques Work in Oakland?

Posted on May 15, 2013 Updated on March 15, 2014

MGO presents Dr. Frank Zimring

Can New York City’s Crime-Fighting Techniques Work in Oakland?

Wednesday, May 22, 2013, 8:00pm

Stern Hall, Temple Sinai, 2823 Webster Street, Oakland

Dr. Zimring is the William G. Simon Professor of Law and Criminal Justice at UC-Berkeley and the author of The City that Became Safe: New York’s Lessons for Urban Crime and Its Control, a study of New York City’s drop in crime and the lessons about policing and drug enforcement it holds for other cities. He is a captivating speaker who has lectured internationally. 

Zimring on His Advice to a Mayor on How to Reduce Crime:
“The first thing I can tell the mayor in city X is that we now know for the first time that policing really matters. And I can give him two or three different things to do with policing that have been proved to work:… problem solving policing, hot spot techniques, if you have any open air street drug markets, close them fast. Those are off the shelf technologies that are going to work very well.”

Attendance at an MGO Democratic club meeting is free and members of the public are welcome.

The Metropolitan -Greater Oakland Democratic Club is a grassroots Democratic organization that has been involved in Oakland and Alameda County policy and political issues for over 50 years.

Operation Ceasefire

Posted on April 7, 2013

mgo presents A PANEL ON OPERATION CEASEFIRE IN OAKLAND

Thursday, April 18, 2013, 8:00 PM

Stern Hall, Temple Sinai, 2823 Webster Street, Oakland

Operation Ceasefire is an evidence-based strategy designed to significantly reduce gang and group related homicides and non-fatal shootings and depends on community and interagency cooperation. It was designed Boston criminologist David Kennedy and has been credited with reducing juvenile homicide significantly in that city.  Last October, Oakland joined a number of other California cities in implementing Operation Ceasefire.

 “Violence is driven by peer pressure and group dynamics,” often involving young men’s responses to perceived disrespect, Kennedy said. Offenses are committed by a small number of people, even in the most troubled neighborhoods.   

The MGO Democratic Club is honored to announce a panel presentation featuring representatives from these agencies and organizations charged with implementing Operation Ceasefire:

• Deputy Chief Eric Breshears, Oakland Police Department,  and
• John Creighton, Deputy District Attorney, Alameda County;
• Rev. Dr. George C. L. Cummings, Imani Community Church, Oakland..

This is the third in a monthly series on Perspectives on Crime in Oakland presented by the Metropolitan–Greater Oakland Democratic Club. Future programs include:

Can New York City’s Crime-Fighting Techniques Work in Oakland?

• Oakland Police Department and the federal Compliance  Director: How Will the Compliance Director Affect OPD?
• Measure Y: Should It Be Renewed?

Attendance at an MGO Democratic club meeting is free and members of the public are welcome.

The Metropolitan -Greater Oakland Democratic Club is a grassroots Democratic organization that has been involved in Oakland and Alameda County policy and political issues for over 50 years.