Voters Pass $1B Transit Tax as Coliseum Transition and CSUEB Market

Regional transit funding, major venue ownership transitions, and university entrepreneurship are shaping the East Bay economy this week. Voters across five Bay Area counties approved a regional public transit sales tax measure by a 61% to 39% margin, raising the sales tax by 0.5% in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties and by 1% in San Francisco to generate approximately $1 billion per year for BART, AC Transit, Caltrain, and San Francisco Muni.

BART General Manager Bob Powers announced that the measure takes previously warned station closures and service reductions off the table. About 60% of the revenue will flow directly to transit operators—providing BART with roughly $300 million a year—while 30% to 35% will return to the five counties for local transportation priorities and 5% will fund regional initiatives such as means-based fare discounts. Powers noted that BART currently runs 95% on time with systemwide crime down 40%, and emphasized that the measure includes legislative accountability metrics and an independent oversight committee reviewing operational efficiency across labor and train-traction energy budgets.

In East Oakland, venue management company Legends Global filed a state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification disclosing that more than 1,600 employees at the Oakland Arena and Oakland Coliseum will be laid off by the end of the year as the firm concludes operations it has managed since 2012. The state filing lists 981 stagehands, 209 guest services workers, 149 food, beverage, and hospitality staff, 117 security guards, 67 janitors, 45 administrative personnel, and 18 stationary engineers and wardrobe dressers. The transition accompanies two separate property sales: the African American Sports and Entertainment Group is advancing its purchase of the Oakland Coliseum, while the Oak View investment group is acquiring the Oakland Arena. Oakland Acquisition Co. spokesperson Ray Bobbitt confirmed that Oak View Group plans to rehire all unionized employees affected by the Legends Global notice once they reapply.

Further south in Hayward, California State University, East Bay hosted its annual Spooktacular Night Market inside the CORE building on Thursday, October 29, connecting current students and faculty with returning Pioneer alumni entrepreneurs following fall midterms. Featured alumni vendors included the founder of The Creamy Goat, a computer science graduate whose business earned formal state recognition 3 years after launch.