New Accomplishments in 2010
NBLC Co-Launches the North Bay Jobs & Prosperity Project
NBLC Opens "Landing Pad" in Shanghai to encourage more North Bay business with China
NBLC successfully led the campaign to pass Measure Q, the SMART Train, in 2008
NBLC Co-Launches the North Bay Jobs & Prosperity Project 
North Bay Leadership Council, Sonoma County Alliance, and North Coast Builders Exchange have formed the North Bay Jobs and Prosperity Project (NBJPP). NBJPP is a nonpartisan effort to improve voter registration and turnout through highly accessible voter information. The project will work with North Bay employers, starting in Sonoma County, to provide their employees with encouragement to register to vote, registration materials, local candidates' information and questionnaires' results, and ballot measure pros and cons. There will be NO advocacy or endorsements at NBJPP.
We hope that the thousands of employees of our mutual members will seize the opportunity to register to vote, thereby gaining a say in making Sonoma County more economically competitive so new jobs are created and existing jobs are saved. We hope that NBJPP spurs a new level of civic vitality that leads to a greater economic vitality. That is why our motto is: “Your Job, and the North Bay’s Future, Depend on Your Vote.” For more information go to www.NorthBayProsperity.com.
NBLC Opens "Landing Pad" in Shanghai to encourage more North Bay business with China
North Bay Leadership Council proudly opened its new office in Shanghai on June 15. The office is a collaboration between NBLC, Bay Area Council and other Bay Area business groups. It is the start of a tremendous new future for the Bay Area business community. The office will help small, medium and large Bay Area businesses access the Chinese market, help bring the region's intellectual capital and technologies to bear in China's development of an innovation economy and guide Chinese companies and investment to the Bay Area. One of the key duties of staff will be to help Bay Area businesses connect with these resources and meet partners, find customers and otherwise expand in the Chinese market.
The office is located in Shanghai's Knowledge and Innovation Community in the Yangpu District. Its opening is part of an overall platform of cooperation between the Bay Area and the Shanghai-Yangtze Delta region. Yangpu is home to over 10 universities and research institutes. In January 2010, government leaders in Beijing designated Shanghai's Yangpu district as an official "Innovation Zone" of China because of the number of attributes it has to attract venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. It is part of one of the world's preeminent and fastest growing financial centers, hosting 65 research institutions and companies such as Oracle, Baidu, eBao, Siemens, EMC and Silicon Valley Bank.
"So many of the people and companies that make our economy vibrant -- venture capitalists, cleantech start ups, IT companies, architects and healthcare companies -- badly want access to the knowledge, talent and customers of China, but don't know where to start," said Lloyd Dean, president and CEO of Catholic Healthcare West, and chairman of BAC. "This office will help them do it."
NBLC successfully led the campaign to pass Measure Q, the SMART Train, in 2008
After a long and enduring campaign, the voters have spoken and it's a train they want! Measure Q, the SMART train sales tax measure is slated to begin service in 2014. "We are very pleased that the voters decided to invest in their transportation future and supported green transportation alternatives. The voters also saw the benefit of the SMART project providing a local economic stimulus package that creates thousands of new jobs and puts millions of dollars into our local economy just when we need it the most. Our heartfelt thanks to all who helped make the campaign a success!" said campaign Co-Chair and NBLC President & CEO Cynthia Murray.
With SMART, the North Bay gains a transportation system that relieves congestion -- a factor in retaining existing companies and attractimg new companies to the North Bay. The SMART project will help set the course for economic vitality by providing two alternatives to Highway 101, passenger train service as well as a companion bicycle/pedestrian pathway which when completed will run seventy miles from Larkspur to Cloverdale.
Companies also need to prepare to implement AB32, California's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which requires decreasing carbon emissions back down to 1990 levels. Currently, with sixty percent of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions coming from vehicles, companies are seeking better ways to reduce the vehicle miles traveled by their employees rather than buying expensive carbon offsets. Additionally, these companies are showing corporate responsibility in fighting climate change and gearing up for implementation. The North Bay needs to be as competitive as possible in order to attract the emerging green and clean technology companies that are leaders in innovation and new job generation.