Missed EPA grant stalls West Oakland brownfields cleanups (Toxic Tour 2)
Article by CB Smith-Dahl.
Last updated at Mon, 8 Aug at 5:17pm.

After more than a decade of getting approved for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants to remediate "brownfields" (contaminated properties), Oakland has been turned down.

This is the first such rejection in a long time - and it will delay both cleanup work and possible development in West Oakland.

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Oakland Funding Advisory Committee Open Letter to Mayor Jean Quan
Blog entry by Susan Mernit.
Last updated at Sun, 1 May at 7:45am.

Is funding for the arts going to decimated by ALL of the budget cut scenarios Mayor Quan is proposing today?

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We've gotten to $3,200, need $1,800 more to meet our goal
Blog entry by Susan Mernit.
Last updated at Fri, 14 Jan at 11:27am.

Thanks to our readers & community, Oakland Local has raised $3,200 of the $5,000 we're seeking to keep us publishing into 2011.

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Free money for Oakland beautification, art projects, cultural activities
Article by Emilie Raguso.
Last updated at Sat, 13 Mar at 7:44am.

Even in tough budget times, it's nice to know there's money out there for creative endeavors. Oakland Neighborhood Services Coordinator Hoang Banh just released a new list of juicy funding opportunities that are sure to get your inspiration going.

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Young Oakland social entrepreneurs win $1000 seed capital each
Article by Amy Gahran.
Last updated at Wed, 10 Mar at 9:10am.

The next generation of Oakland's social entrepreneurs got a boost this weekend: Seven youth teams won $1000 each as seed capital for their mission-driven ventures. This was the first Bay Area round of Youth Venture funding from Ashoka, a global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs

These prizes were awarded in a March 6 event where each team presented. Oakland Local was there, and interviewed several of the young entrepreneurs. Watch our video...

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Oakland Local awarded one of three Bay Area innovation grants by Renaissance Media Center
Article by Susan Mernit.
Last updated at Wed, 10 Feb at 7:25pm.

The Renaissance Journalism Center has awarded $20,000 grants to three Bay Area projects to test innovative models for gathering and distributing community news.

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$86,000 available to Oakland artists for new gate project by the lake
Article by Cynthia Joseph.
Last updated at Wed, 10 Feb at 2:30pm.

Oakland's Public Art Program is looking for creative ideas from Bay Area artists for two new entrance gates to the gardens by Lake Merritt.

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How Oakland social justice groups convinced feds to yank Airport Connector stimulus funds (City Translator)
Article by The City Translator.
Last updated at Tue, 2 Feb at 12:48pm.

The controversial Oakland Airport Connector project may be delayed, and possibly derailed, by a civil rights complaint filed by three Oakland social justice groups.

In a Jan. 15 letter, the head of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) said the agency would withdraw $70 million in crucial stimulus funding for this project unless BART and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) can -- by March 5 -- prove that the Connector would benefit poor people, too. This came in response to a federal complaint filed by Urban Habitat, TransForm, and the interfaith group Genesis.

In this City Translator article, Oakland Local shows how this happened, and considers what might happen from here. Could that $70 million go to fund other local transit needs?...

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