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.

Many neighbors near Kaiser Permanente's Oakland Medical Center can now apply for preferential parking permits aimed to stop hospital patients and staff from clogging up neighborhood streets, officials said.

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...

In 2006, a group of residents in the Oakland/Harrison Street neighborhood saw an opportunity in the proposed development of the new Whole Foods Store in their neighborhood. Through committed advocacy, they secured improved pedestrian access to the  neighborhood and new bicycle lanes. 

Rather than resting on their laurels, they decided to expand their success and create a citywide advocacy organization focused on bicycle and pedestrian issues.  That was the birth of Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO).  Kassie Rohrbach, a veteran organizer around issues of climate change and sustainable energy, became the group’s first Executive Director this January.

From the Measure DD Community Coalition, a local group that promotes access to the Oakland-Alameda waterfront:

North Oakland residents who want to stop Nik Nak Convenient Store from selling booze will have a chance to have their say before City Council on March 16. 

Oakland Unwrapped and California 1 are once again inviting Oaklanders to nominate their favorite home-based businesses, small-businesses, and artists for the 4th Annual Oakland Indie Awards.  There are numerous categories, but the short

Almost spring

"It is not quite spring here in the Bay Area but is very, very close. It's the one place that I've lived where the official season start-dates nearly hold true. March 21 will just about be officially spring in our garden, at the farmer's market, in the nearby park where the cherry blossoms bloom, and also in our tiny orchard where the peach tree lives. Oh, heart! Oakland is almost full of intoxicating blossoms and the most vibrant greens and the palest pinks, peaches, and mauves."

The campaigns of Don Perata and Jean Quan, both 2010 Oakland mayoral candidates, were the subjects of two citizen complaints alleging violations of state laws at Monday’s Public Ethics Commission meeting at City Hall.

One complaint was dismissed and the other was deferred, but the March 1 discussion stretched late into the night.

Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced funding for 191 new Recovery Act transit projects in 42 states and Puerto Rico that will help support  the nation’s infrastructure and create jobs across the country.

Wrong, indefensible, and inexcusable. That’s the best way to describe the actions of the Dellums Administration surrounding what appears to be the unequal and outright discriminatory parking ticket practices city administrators put into effect in Oakland this summer and fall, tried to pretend they didn’t, and then blamed on the City Council.
   

From Leslie Cleaver Wood of the newly formed Longfellow Community Association:

Please join us for our first ever Longfellow Community Association Planning Meeting! Let’s come together to create an official Community Group and work together to address the needs and concerns of our beautifully diverse community.