A closeup of the Golden State Warriors championship ring, taken during a ceremony at City Hall, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, in which the jewelry was presented to Mayor Libby Schaaf and the city of Oakland, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group) ( D. ROSS CAMERON )

Oakland gets its ring

The Golden State Warriors on Thursday gave a custom championship ring to the city of Oakland to be displayed at the Oakland Museum of California. There are plans to store the flashy bauble in a display case where it will live on, even after the team moves across the bay to San Francisco.

Warriors President and Chief of Operations Rick Welts presented the ring at City Hall to Mayor Libby Schaaf, Councilman Larry Reid, members of Oakland-based youth organizations and the Warriors Community Foundation.

Also on hand was the Rev. Jesse Jackson, in town to meet with the mayor and others about the growing technology industry in Oakland. Jackson, who referred to the East Bay city as a second home, repeatedly called the team the "Oakland State Warriors."

Mayor Libby Schaaf shows off the championship ring presented to her and the city by the Golden State Warriors basketball team, during a ceremony at City Hall, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group) ( D. ROSS CAMERON )

"It's amazing how in most cities the athletes come in on airplanes, sign a contract, live in the suburbs; they play and they go. They are not part of the community," Jackson told the crowd. Not so in Oakland with the Warriors, he said.

"There's something happening in Oakland that is wholesome, good and exciting. There's a growing sense of family here, like Oakland is a place to be, to get to," said Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Hayward goes forward with labor agreement

The Hayward City Council has renewed its commitment to a community workforce agreement with local building trade unions.


Such agreements covering public construction projects typically require contractors to use local union hiring halls to employ trade workers, who would have to pay union dues. There also is a "local hire" provision and an arbitration procedure.

Berkeley has a community workforce agreement for public projects costing more than $1 million. Hayward Unified School District has one for upcoming building projects funded by recent voter-approved school bonds.

The Hayward council did not vote during Tuesday's work session but gave feedback to its staff. It said the agreement should apply only to public projects. Several council members also favored setting a minimum project cost threshold.

The city has a community workforce agreement for a new library being built downtown.

"We are a union city," Mayor Barbara Halliday said while urging negotiations to move forward. "There has been a great deal of union activity and support in our city."

Fremont wants your ideas for plaza

Fremont has set up an online forum to hear what residents want in a new planned downtown plaza. The forum can be found at www.Fremont.gov/OpenCityHallPlaza.

The plaza will be a key part of a new downtown civic center near the BART station to accommodate events and activities.

Hayward to develop fiber-optic plan

Hayward will soon begin figuring out how it wants to set up a high-speed fiber-optic network in its industrial area.

The Hayward City Council gave the go-ahead Tuesday for its staff to negotiate with a consultant to help Hayward determine where the network would go, how much it would cost, the possibility of a private-public partnership, potential grants and how to manage the system.

CTC Technology and Energy will create a fiber-optic network master plan starting in March and finishing within nine months.

San Leandro created a partnership with a private company, San Leandro Dark Fiber, to develop that city's Lit San Leandro fiber-optic network, using existing San Leandro underground conduit to house much of the fiber.

Hayward is working with San Leandro Dark Fiber to provide high-speed broadband service to Hayward businesses. The city is seeking a federal grant to help with the cost.