Bay Area

Black Businesses May Get Bigger Slice of City Contracting Pie

“I think it is a step in the right direction,” said David Peters, though he thinks the ordinance could be stronger.
“I think we are off to a good start,” said general contractor Mario Wagner, who owns RF Contractors in Oakland.
To the previous ordinance, Taylor made eight changes, several of which are small and technical in nature, including the truck storage requirements for the Local Oakland Local/Small Business Enterprise Trucking Certification Program.

Published

4 years ago

February 18, 2021

Kiki

Councilmember Loren Taylor

Black business owners may get more work with the city of Oakland following a City Council vote Tuesday afternoon.

Councilmembers voted 7-0 for the Local Business Empowerment Through Contracting ordinance, which aims to improve equity in city contracting and help Oakland small businesses weather the pandemic.

The ordinance goes into effect immediately because it passed with six or more votes. Councilmember Sheng Thao was excused.

“This is just the beginning,” Councilmember Loren Taylor, co-sponsor of the ordinance, said before the vote. “We have a long way to go.”

Black-owned firms certified as Local/Small Local Business Enterprises lost $42.9 million in city contracts between 2011 and 2016, according to the 2017 Race and Gender Disparity Study by Mason Tillman Associates. In other words, those businesses were expected to be awarded $42.9 million more, given their eligibility.

Overall, Black businesses lost more than $56 million in contract opportunities over the period covered by the disparity study.

A likely example is Oakland-based Carol H. Williams Advertising. After nearly 35 years in business, Williams has never had a contract with the city, a member of her staff told the council. The staff member called that fact “disturbing.”

Carol H. Williams Advertising has done work for the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Dept. of Defense, New York City and is currently doing work for Kaiser Permanente.

Preceding the vote, several people spoke in favor of the ordinance.

“I think it is a step in the right direction,” said David Peters, though he thinks the ordinance could be stronger.

“I think we are off to a good start,” said general contractor Mario Wagner, who owns RF Contractors in Oakland.

To the previous ordinance, Taylor made eight changes, several of which are small and technical in nature, including the truck storage requirements for the Local Oakland Local/Small Business Enterprise Trucking Certification Program.

Taylor also created a new business certification category called the Small Business Administration-Local Oakland Business Enterprise, and redefined and expanded the meaning of a “substantial business presence” and “local manufacturer” as evidence of a business’ presence in the city.

Previously a business needed only to have one employee working in the city and a 12-month lease to be considered a local business.

The ordinance increases the employee presence to 20% of a company’s staff, or a minimum of 50 employees, which makes it harder for larger companies to out-compete smaller firms in Oakland.

Just before Tuesday’s vote, Ed Dillard, president of the Oakland Black Board of Trade and Commerce, said, “It is a first step, Councilmember Taylor, and it is a monumental step.”

But like Taylor, Dillard thinks much more needs to be done.

Taylor said he’ll be back in later in the year to present more changes. Councilmember Treva Reid co-sponsored the ordinance with Taylor.

Kiki

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Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 3, 2025

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May 30, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

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May 25, 2025

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Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.

The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.

“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”

“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”

The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.

Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.

“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.

Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.

Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.

For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron Richmond, CAER and Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.