May 14, 5-7 pm, Ardenwood Historical Farm, 34600 Ardenwood Blvd., Fremont, (510) 796-0199
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May 28, Hilton Hotel Newark/Fremont, 39900 Balentine Dr., Newark, (510) 490-8390
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May 17, Sat, 1pm, Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting, 37414 Centralmont Pl., Fremont, (510) 745-9770
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If you would like to schedule a ribbon cutting, call KK Kaneshiro at 510-795-2244, ext. 103

May 14, noon-2pm, Leadership Fremont Graduation. Tickets $25. Washington West Anderson Auditorium. register online

May 15, 7:30am: Going Green: What Small Businesses Need to Know about Being Eco-Friendly. Interactive panel discussion & networking. Free

May 16, 8–10 am, Annual East Bay Economic Forecast. Free. Crown-Plaza Hotel, Union City.

May 22, 7:30-10am, I-880 Corridor Power Breakfast, featuring the cities of Fremont, Newark, Union City and Hayward. Panel discussion with Q&A. Tickets $50.

May 26, Chamber offices closed for Memorial Day

SCORE Small Business Workshops
Presented by SCORE, East Bay Chapter (Counselors to America’s Small Business). The following classes will be held at the Fremont Chamber offices, 39488 Stevenson Place, Ste 100, Fremont, CA. $25 pre-registration; $30 at the door for each class. To reserve space: 510-273-6611 or www.eastbayscore.org.

May 17, 8:45 – 11am, Writing an Effective Business Plan
May 17, 10:45am – 1pm, Developing a Financial Plan (incl. income statements, cash flow, balance sheets)

Free Business Workshops :
Co-sponsored by the City of Fremont, the East Bay Small Business Development Center, and the Fremont Chamber of Commerce. All classes are held at the City Council Chambers, 3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg. A, Fremont, CA
There is no cost to attend these workshops. Advance registration is required. To pre-register go to www.eastbaysbdc.net or call (510) 208-0410.

Jun 12, 9-noon, Legal & Business Issues

Small Business Solutions at the Fremont Main Library Co-sponsored by the Fremont Chamber of Commerce, the City of Fremont Office of Economic Development and Alameda County Library. All classes are held at the Fremont Main Library, a branch of the Alameda County Library system, located at 2400 Stevenson Blvd. and is wheelchair accessible. This event is free. No reservations are required. The Library will provide an ASL interpreter (please call 510-745-1401 or TTY 888-663-0660) for any event with at least 7 working days notice.
May 21, 8- 10am, SBA - Your Small Business Resource
May 27, 7-8:30pm, Financing a Small Business
Jun 17, 7 -8:30pm, Preparing a Business Plan

The East Bay Small Business Development Classes & Workshops
The East Bay Small Business Development Center (SBDC), offers classes, consulting services and business planning resources for entrepreneurs and small business owners. The East Bay SBDC is focused on developing and implementing programs and services that support small business growth and sustainable economic development. All classes are held at SBDC Training Center, 1000 Broadway, Suite 109, Oakland, CA 94607 unless otherwise indicated. Visit http://www.eastbaysbdc.org/ calendar/index.html to register.

May 14, 2-5pm, Legal & Business Issues
May 28, 2-5pm, Smart Office/Smart Worker
May 29, 2-5pm, Accessing Capital for Small Businesses & Start Ups
Jun 5, 2-5pm, Human Resource Management

1188 S. Livermore Ave., Livermore, CA 94550
May 13, 9-noon, Smart Office/Smart Worker

777 B. St., Hayward, CA 94541
May 21, 9-noon, Buying & Selling a Business

475 14th St., Oakland, CA 94612
May 22, 2-5pm, Expansion & Growth Capital
Jun 3, 8:30-5pm, Technology Boot Camp for Small Business

1001 Broadway St., Oakland, CA 94607
May 22, 8-5pm, 7th Annual Small Business Symposium

400 Old Bernal Ave., Pleasanton, CA 94566
Jun 3, 9-noon, Successful Advertising & Marketing Plans

Free Government Contracting Course and Seminars  In these free training seminars you will learn techniques to tap into the profitable federal, state, and local government markets. The instructors have extensive experience in government contracting and are familiar with the latest contracting laws and regulations. Register online at www.TheFTC.org or call (866) 382-7822 toll free.

84 W. Santa Clara St., Ste. 100, San Jose, CA 95113
May 14, 1-4pm, SDB Certification & 8(a) Program
Jul 15, 1-4pm, Federal Contract Negotiation

1000 Broadway St., Ste. 109, Oakland, CA 94612
Jun 3, 1-4pm, Government Subcontracting

951 Turner Ct., Hayward, CA 94545
Jun 12, 9-noon, Responding to RFP’s

1666 N. Main St., Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Jul 8, 3-5pm, 2008 Congresswoman Tauscher’s Small Business Government Contracting Seminars

Fremont growth slows Fremont had one of the smallest population growths in Alameda County last year, showing just a 1.11 percent gain from Jan. 1, 2007. (5/8/2008)

Report: Men twice as likely to start businesses than women The percentage of American women who started a business last year fell to its lowest level in at least 12 years, according to a new study. The entrepreneurial activity rate for women fell in 2007, according to the study, but the entrepreneurial activity for men increased, resulting in men being twice as likely as women to start a business.

Can an E-mail Agreement be a Binding Contract? Be careful when you are discussing business terms over email, so that you do not inadvertently bind yourself to a contract. Understand the law and how to prevent mistakes.

Got a business tip? Send your link to fmtcc @fremontbusiness.com

CHAMBER
Chamber Board takes positions on Propositions 98 and 99 on the June 3 ballot The Chamber Board of Directors is recommending a NO vote on Proposition 98 and a YES vote on Proposition 99. Both propositions deal with the subject of eminent domain.

2008 Leadership Fremont Class Graduation Luncheon to be held on May 14 Join the Leadership Fremont Class of 2008 from noon-2pm on May 19th at Washington West’s Anderson Auditorium, as they celebrate their graduation and showcase their DVD entitled DateSafe, the culminating project of their 9-month program.

LOCAL
Redevelopment Agency 5-year plan scheduled for review The City Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency will review and comment on the Agency’s 5-year implementation plan, at its May 13 meeting, 7pm, City Council Chambers.

City Council continues discussion of polystyrene and plastic bag regulation The City Council, at its May 13th meeting, will provide staff with direction on preferred goals and approach based on last week’s presentation and public comment. The meeting will be held at 7pm immediately following the Redevelopment Agency’s meeting. Other topics include a General Plan design exercise, regarding Fremont Blvd.

Trade Mission to China a Success for Fremont The City of Fremont has completed its trade mission to China, where the Fremont delegation met with government officials and business executives, with the intent of building relationships and promoting Fremont to the Chinese market. Next steps will include identification of ways in which to adapt the City's economic development strategy to the growing global economy. (May 6, 2008)

Planned housing has Irvington business owners saying enough As the conversion of a vacant lot in Irvington into a small retail and affordable housing center pushes on, the Irvington Business Association expresses concerns that their area is getting an unfair share of affordable housing. (5/8/2008)

City considers new gym in Centerville With only one public gymnasium in a city of more than 200,000 people, Fremont is considering converting an old auto dealership into a new recreation center. (5/11/2008)

East Bay EDA forecast sees stagnation through end of 2008 The East Bay economy will continue to stagnate for most of the rest of the year, according to the quarterly forecast from the East Bay Economic Development Alliance. Some improvement will occur by the end of 2008, with normal growth resuming in 2009. According to the report, real estate weakness is concentrated in mortgage-related financial activities, and there is also a "general malaise" in local industry sectors that are only indirectly related to real estate. (5/7/2008)

STATE
State's revenues in April better than predicted State Controller John Chiang reports the state collected more in personal income taxes in April than expected, putting the General Fund $738 million above the governor's January projections. However, Chiang cautions that sagging retail sales, a weakening real estate market, growing unemployment and rising energy prices all point to an economy facing significant challenges. (5/6/2008)

GOP lawmakers offer ideas for tackling deficit Republican legislators on Thursday announced a series of proposals they said would save money and increase efficiency, but could not say how much they would save. The state faces a deficit of at least $10 billion in the upcoming fiscal year, and possibly as much as $20 billion. (5/9/2008)

Health care providers file suit to block Medi-Cal cut A broad coalition of health care providers filed a lawsuit Monday to prevent a planned 10 percent cut in Medi-Cal payments from taking effect July 1. (5/5/2008)

Taxes non-starter in ailing economy, GOP leader says Saying the ailing economy is putting enough stress on taxpayers, Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill said Tuesday that Republicans will adamantly oppose any tax hikes to bridge California's budget deficit, which he pegged at $16 billion for the fiscal year beginning July 1. (5/6/2008)

Governor's may ask lawmakers to lease lottery Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested Tuesday that he will ask lawmakers to lease the California Lottery when he issues his revised budget proposal next week. (5/6/2008)

NATIONAL
Jobless claims post sharp decline The number of newly laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits dropped much more than expected last week, declining by 18,000 from the previous week. Many economists believe that job layoffs will rise in coming months as the unemployment rate climbs higher, but many believe that job losses will be less severe than in previous recessions. (5/8/2008)

National Association of Realtors expects home sales improvement soon A National Association of Realtors study shows house sales remained soft in March, but the organization is forecasting sales will begin to improve over the summer. (5/7/2008)

Clean-tech investing jumps in Q1 Venture investing in clean-tech companies rose 18 percent in the first quarter, bucking a decline in the overall U.S. venture capital investment in the quarter. (5/6/2008)

Gas Prices Send Surge of Riders to Mass Transit With the price of gas approaching $4 a gallon, more commuters are abandoning their cars and taking the train or bus instead. Mass transit systems around the country are seeing standing-room-only crowds on bus lines where seats were once easy to come by. (5/10/2008)

COMPANIES IN THE NEWS
Synnex to offer $100M of senior notes
Accept Wins Product Excellence Award for Third Consecutive Year
Exar names new board member
Groups withdraw offer to buy Asyst Technologies
Asyst to Feature Next-Generation New Products at 1st Ann. Analyst Day on May 8
Zenprise Exceeds 100 Customers Less Than A Year After Launching Monitoring Solution For Blackberry