Bay Area

Give feedback on draft plan to reduce wildfire risks

Use a short survey to help refine a wide-ranging plan to improve how the City and community members can prepare for and respond to wildfires. The survey, which closes March 15, will ask for your priorities and actions individually, as a neighbor, and as a community. The plan covers issues including wildfire response, community preparedness, fuel management, infrastructure, ignition reduction, and home hardening.

Published

3 years ago

March 13, 2023

Oakland Post

The draft Community Wildfire Protection Plan sets out a multi-year program with five priority strategies and an action plan with multiple projects.

By March 15, 2023, complete a survey to help guide how to better prepare for the threat posed by wildfires, especially in the hills.

Use a short survey to help refine a wide-ranging plan to improve how the City and community members can prepare for and respond to wildfires.

The survey, which closes March 15, will ask for your priorities and actions individually, as a neighbor, and as a community. The plan covers issues including wildfire response, community preparedness, fuel management, infrastructure, ignition reduction, and home hardening.

We will use your input to finalize our plan to protect Berkeley from wildfires. Hills neighborhoods are particularly vulnerable, where wildfires can spread quickly and uncontrollably.

The final step in the planning process will be to incorporate comments on the draft and submit it for adoption to the City of Berkeley Fire Department, CAL FIRE Santa Clara Unit, and the Berkeley City Council.

Read the draft plan and complete the survey by March 15.

DEVELOPING A COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN

The draft Community Wildfire Protection Plan sets out a multi-year program with five priority strategies and an action plan with multiple projects. The draft plan includes:

Existing natural and built conditions, firefighting resources, regulatory context, and current plans and policies
Findings of community input from the previous three online surveys
Prioritization of hazard reduction strategies, programs, projects, and activities drawing from the nationally recognized Fire Adapted Communities Framework
Berkeley’s five highest priority projects, along with their roles, responsibilities, relative funding needs, and timetables

This plan is one of several disaster preparedness projects the Berkeley Fire Department is leading to better ready our community for disasters. Measure FF, a parcel tax approved by Berkeley voters in 2020, provided funding for these efforts.

Stay informed when you sign up for our email newsletter, visit the project webpage, or email us your questions and comments.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

2 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

1 week ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.