The Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Commission is seeking applicants to fill a General Public Seat.

You may apply if you …

• live or work in Contra Costa County;

• have demonstrated interest in hazardous materials issues;

• have an awareness of, and interest in, the principles of Environmental Justice as defined in County policy;

• can attend regular Commission meetings and a monthly Committee meeting.

The Commission is a voluntary body appointed by the Board of Supervisors and makes policy recommendations to the Board and County staff on issues concerning hazardous materials and hazardous waste.

The Commission’s 14 members and alternates serve four-year terms and include representatives of industry, labor, civic groups, environmental organizations, environmental engineers, the general public, and the Mayors Conference.

To obtain an application form, or for further information, contact Michael Kent, Executive Assistant to the Commission, at (925) 250-3227 or mkent@cchealth.org. Applications may also be obtained from the Clerk of the Board located at 1025 Escobar Street 1st Floor, Martinez CA 94553.

Details can also be found in this document.

You may also submitt an application by mail, e-mail or on-line:

https://ca-contracostacounty3.civicplus.com/3418/Appointed-Bodies-Committees-Commissionshttp://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/6433

Applications must be received by September 27, 2021 and mailed to the Clerk of the Board.

Interviews for qualified applicants will take place from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm on October 8, 2021 via Zoom unless otherwise notified.

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY

DO HAZARDOUS MATERIALS POLICY ISSUES INTEREST YOU?

The Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Commission is seeking applicants to fill an Environmental Engineer Seat and Environmental Engineer Alternate Seat.

To obtain an application form, or for further information, contact Michael Kent, Executive Assistant to the Commission, at (925) 250-3227 or mkent@cchealth.org

Applications may also be obtained from the Clerk of the Board located at 1025 Escobar Street 1st Floor, Martinez CA 94553.

You may also submit an application by mail, e-mail or on-line:

https://ca-contracostacounty3.civicplus.com/3418/Appointed-Bodies-Committees-Commissionshttp://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/6433

Filing Date: Applications must be received by August 31, 2021 and be submitted to the Clerk of the Board.
Interviews for qualified applicants will take place from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm on September 10, 2021 on Zoom.

Download details

The Restaurant Revitalization Fund has received more than 147,000 applications from women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged business owners, requesting a total of $29 billion in relief funds. To date, a total of $2.7 billion of relief funds have been distributed to 21,000 restaurants since the Restaurant Revitalization Fund opened on May 3, 2021. In addition to a $5 billion set-aside established by Congress for applicants with gross receipts not more than $500,000, SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman created two additional funding allocations to ensure the smallest of the small restaurants and other eating establishments such as food trucks and carts get the aid needed: 1) $500 million for applicants with 2019 gross receipts less than $50,000; and 2) $4 billion for applicants with 2019 gross receipts between $500,000 and $1,500,000. In the first days of the RRF program, after weeks of targeted outreach that included 600 local and national informational events, SBA has received:

• 13,114 applications from businesses with under $50,000 in pre-pandemic revenue requesting $330 million in funds
• 100,410 applications from businesses with under $500,000 in annual pre-pandemic revenue requesting $8.14 billion in funds
• 61,535 applicants from businesses with $500,000 – $1,500,000 in annual pre-pandemic revenue requesting $15.1 billion in funds

Because SBA still has potential funding available for eligible establishments with 2019 annual revenue of not more than $50,000, the application portal will remain open. Eligible establishments that meet this revenue standard are encouraged to apply through SBA-recognized point-of-sale vendors or directly via the SBA online application portal.
Learn more

Did you get a first-round PPP loan to cover payroll, mortgage interests, rent payments, and utility payments? You can now also tax deduct the corresponding expenses.
Learn more

The SBA is currently accepting applications for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. To submit an application, visit sba.gov/svogrant.

Join SBA for an online panel discussion with Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander-owned small businesses on May 27 as they share their small business stories and how they utilized SBA’s economic aid to pivot during the pandemic. You will also learn about the SBA resources available to help entrepreneurs compete in the marketplace: launch or expand businesses; receive counseling; funding opportunities; and help to recover or rebuild from disasters.
Register

Save the Date! Join SBA for the National Small Business Week Virtual Summit on September 13–15 to recognize the resiliency, resolve and renewal of America’s 30 million small businesses as they get back on track to economic recovery.
Learn more

Are you a military spouse overseas interested in entrepreneurship? Join SBA and Hiring our Heroes for a virtual summit to get tips on access to capital, supply chain, marketing and more.

• Europe: May 20 at 3 p.m. CET (9 a.m. ET) | Register
• Asia: May 21 at 9 a.m. JST (May 20, 8 p.m. ET) | Register

May is World Trade Month and the SBA has teamed up with partnering organizations to offer webinars all month to help small business owners gain valuable insights on strategies for international sales success. All webinars begin at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

• May 18 | Going Global with Trade Agreements | Register here
• May 20 | Utilizing eCommerce Tools to Drive Global Sales | Register here

• May 25 | Business Beyond Borders: Commemorating World Trade Month | Register here
• May 27 | Logistics of Growing Global eCommerce | Register here

Happy Military Appreciation Month! SBA has resources to help the military community start, grow, expand and recover small businesses.
Learn more

Be Inspired: Small Business Success Story During Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we’re highlighting inspiring business owners like Jae Kim who are making a big impact on the economy and their communities. Jae Kim’s entrepreneurial dream of opening a Korean-inspired barbecue restaurant began as many such dreams do: generating credit card debt and drawing from hard-earned savings. He was able to start a food truck at first, but he wondered how he was ever going to save enough money to open a brick and mortar.
Learn more

Virtual Panel Discussion with GSA Prime Contractors about Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics
May 18 | 1:00 p.m. ET
Join the U.S. General Services Administration for a virtual panel discussion to learn about the types of AI products and services the federal government is purchasing and hear directly from GSA Primes, representing fortune 500 companies. These primes will show you how to connect with diversity managers, explain how major AI projects teams are assembled, trending initiatives and potential partnering as well as subcontracting opportunities for your small business.
Register 

The SBA recently launched the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant and Restaurant Revitalization Fund. Bad actors may take this opportunity to impersonate lenders or government officials in emails, robocalls, social media accounts and phony websites. Their goal is to attract victims and commit fraud, scams and schemes. The result is financial or personally identifiable information (PII) loss for the victims. As a reminder, the SBA directly communicates from email addresses ending in @sba.gov. The SBA also communicates via email updates/notifications using an email marketing platform, (the same one you are receiving this newsletter from). Those emails end in @updates.sba.gov. If you applied for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant and emailed the SVOG Support Center, you may receive an email back from a zendesk.com account. This is an authorized SBA contractor. If you are being contacted by someone claiming to be from the SBA who is not using an official SBA email address, you should suspect fraud. To report potential fraud, visit sba.gov/covidfraudalert.

Federal Coronavirus Resources State, local, and federal agencies are working together to maintain the safety, security, and health of the American people. Check out coronavirus.gov for updates from the White House’s COVID-19 Task Force. Go to cdc.gov for detailed information about COVID-19 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Visit covid-sb.org, the official federal resource website for U.S. small businesses affected by COVID-19.
Learn more about the federal government’s response

Virtual Mentoring and Training  Offices around the country may be closed due to the pandemic, but SCORE, Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, Veterans Business Outreach Centers and other resource partners are providing free business mentoring and training by phone, email, and video.
Find an SBA resource partner near you

U.S. Small Business Administration
409 3rd St, SW.
Washington DC 20416
www.sba.gov

NO-COST HR HOTLINE!

Answers to your labor law questions

Call 1-888-599-7645

Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

More info

As our county – and state – recovers from the pandemic, we want to ensure it is an inclusive recovery that benefits all California businesses. That’s why we’re pleased to share about initiatives that are designed to do just that, such as the Source Diverse Source Local public-private collaboration (just below). This month’s edition also includes a lineup of grant funding information, training resources and upcoming events.

Patience Ofodu, Interim Executive Director, WDBCCC

IN THIS ISSUE
Initiative to Help Small Business Prepare for Contracts With Big Business
Prepare for Your Next Job With One-on-One Help From a Career Coach
Relief for Renters and Landlords
Learn How to Promote Your Business on Facebook
Restaurant Revitalization Fund Sample Application, Program Guide
Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Taking Application after Reopening
Paycheck Protection Program Extended Through May 31, 2021
Q&A With Board Member Stephanie Rivera
Nominations Now Open for East Bay Innovation Award
Labor-Market Update

INITIATIVE TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES PREPARE FOR CONTRACTS WITH BIG BUSINESS

Are you a small business, entrepreneur or startup that needs to learn the basics of selling to big business? Source Diverse Source Local is dedicated to helping you. The initiative is designed to develop new and existing small businesses through procurement-readiness programs to obtain manufacturing, government, and/or corporate contracts.

Source Diverse Source Local is a public-private collaboration to strengthen inclusive procurement programs and build a resilient California-based supply chain. Learn more about this initiative, which includes United, Lockheed Martin, Prologis, Google and UPS as its corporate supply chain partners.

LEARN MORE

PREPARE FOR YOUR NEXT JOB WITH ONE-ON-ONE HELP FROM A CAREER COACH

If you are looking for a job and need help figuring out your next move or what opportunities are out there for you, WDBCCC’s individualized services can help. Through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) program, you can work one-on-one with a career coach and may benefit from:

·     Skills assessments
·     Needs-based funding for job training
·     On-the-job training opportunities
·     Job search assistance
·     Networking opportunities
·     Skills upgrade
·     Skills certification (fees may apply)

Our America’s Job Center of California/EASTBAY Works locations offer workshops on basic computer skills, social networking, job search, résumé development, and interviewing.

LEARN MORE

RELIEF FOR RENTERS AND LANDLORDS

If you need help paying for rent or utilities due to COVID-19’s impact on your finances, you may be eligible for assistance. Contra Costa County tenants and landlords impacted by COVID-19 can apply for the COVID-19 Rent Relief program. More than $75 million in federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 is available to Contra Costa County residents in need of rental relief.

Check eligibility and apply online for COVID-19 Rent Relief or Ayuda con la Renta (Spanish). You can reach the CA COVID-19 Rent Relief Call Center at 1 (833) 430-2122 for assistance in applying. Find state resources by visiting HousingisKey.com. For additional County resources, call 211 or 800-833-2900, text HOPE to 20121, or visit www.contracosta.ca.gov.

Join Our Next Virtual Fireside
The Richmond Public Library Foundation Presents
The Sandi Genser-Maack Speakers Series
Beyond the Badge: Women of Color, Justice, Policing and the Future
Topic: RPLF Speakers Series: Chief French
Time: May 20, 2021 06:00 PM

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81589286629
Meeting ID: 815 8928 6629
Join Via Phone
(669) 900-6833 Access Code: 81589286629

Owning and operating a Comic Book Store began as a dream for Darren Macon many years ago as he grew up in Richmond. Finding it difficult to locate an affordable brick-and-mortar space, he initially opened his store on-line in 2013. After a few years of ups and downs, he was able to open in a store space at Hilltop Mall in Richmond. So, in 2018, D3 Comic Book Spot opened its doors at the Mall. It was a struggle because Hilltop Mall was going through what was supposed to be a complete renovation and re-design. Unfortunately, foot-traffic began to decrease significantly, but the comic bookstore held on, hoping for better times. Then the onset of COVID happened in March, 2020! The mall shut down completely! Just like everyone else, it was hoped that it would be a short-lived experience. Unfortunately, in July 2020, the store received the devastating news that the Mall would not re-open at all! Trying to re-locate to another brick-and-mortar store in the midst of a pandemic was an impossibility! So, Darren has recently revived his dream of selling comic books and is back in an on-line environment, with the dream of getting back into a brick-and-mortar store first and foremost on his mind!

D3 Comic Book Spot has a great inventory of all of the current comic book brands and titles, various collectibles, action figures, graphic novels and more. It is the fervent hope that especially during this pandemic, people will be encouraged to go to the web site, D3COMICBOOKSPOT.COM, to find all of their comic book needs. The goal is to move back into a brick-and-mortar location as soon as Covid restrictions and limitations will allow, and things get back to normal!

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

David. P. Leighton (Chair), Jill Rodby (Chair-Elect). Hakim Johnson (Vice-Chair) John Ziesenhenne (Chair of Operations), Chuck Carpenter, Brandon Evans, Joe Fisher,  Tiffany Harris Former (Former Chair),
Fadhila Holman (Former Chair), Ryan Lau, Rob Lightner, Joshua Mallory (Former Chair),
Sharla Sullivan (Former Chair), Vernon Whitmore, (Former Chair)

STAFF

James Lee (President/CEO)

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The saga of the East Brother Light Station unplugged continues. We have a GoFundMe campaign at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-save-east-brother-light-station.

If we have to go to off grid solar, the estimated cost is about $200,000. Replacing the submarine power cable is estimated at two to three times that much. We are also soliciting recommendations for:

• Solar contractors
• Submarine cable suppliers
• Submarine cable installer

En Español

Envision Contra Costa 2040 is a plan for a safe, healthy, equitable, and sustainable future for all communities in the county. Communities of color, indigenous people, low-income families, and immigrants should not face disproportionate environmental and health impacts. We’ve listened to community members at dozens of meetings to draft policies and actions to drive change.

We want to hear from you!

Please join us for an in-depth conversation about key environmental justice issues in Contra Costa County through a three-part Environmental Justice Community Meeting series in February:

• Meeting #1: Sustainable Economy, Homes, and Jobs on Wednesday, February 3, 2021, from 6 pm – 8 pm
• Meeting #2: Community Engagement, Transportation, and Infrastructure on Wednesday, February 10, 2021, from 6 pm – 8 pm
• Meeting #3: Food, Health Services, Recreation, Air Quality, and Hazardous Materials on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, from 6 pm – 8 pm

These meetings will be interactive and conducted using Zoom, an online video/audio conferencing platform. Meeting participants can join by computer, tablet, or phone. Please click here to register for the events and to receive information about how to join us.

Continue the conversation!

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10:03:37 From Katrinka Ruk : people are having problems getting in call
10:10:47 From Larry Ficken : Larry Ficken with AAK 1145 Harbour Way South
10:11:13 From Sandra Escalante : Sandra Escalante with Laner Electric Supply
10:11:21 From Stacy Engel-Boyum : Stacy Engel-Boyum with North Richmond Properties Inc.
10:11:49 From Jill Rodby : Jill Rodby
10:12:34 From Joshua Genser : Why were no business groups invited to participate? They, after all, would pay the proposed tax.
10:13:17 From Joshua Genser : You could have invited the business groups in April.
10:13:59 From Jill Rodby : I agree with Josh. Why did the City not poll the businesses? It may be the nail in coffin for many of them!
10:14:11 From Katrinka Ruk : good morning – Katrinka Ruk, Richmond resident, Ex Dir Council of Business & Industries – thank you to City Staff for conducting this meeting this morning.
10:15:55 From Sean Hallinan : why were we not polled? that is not honoring and respecting the business community since this is the first we heard of this ordinance! Sunshine Commercial Construction.
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