The ongoing battle over a proposed coal terminal on the Oakland Waterfront Local developer Phil Tagami has been angling to build a coal terminal next to the Bay Bridge toll plaza for nearly ten years now, at the West Gateway site on the former Oakland Army Base. In 2016 the Oakland City Council voted unanimously to ban the storage and handling of coal in the city, including at the proposed marine terminal on the city’s waterfront. Tagami sued the City in Federal court, then filed another suit in Alameda County Superior Court weeks after the City of Oakland announced imminent termination of Tagami’s lease for non-performance of contractual ...

Would-be Oakland coal terminal developers appear to be shopping for influence in the Mayor’s office, by making major contributions to an “Independent Expenditure Committee” to support the mayoral candidacy of Ignacio De La Fuente. According to the latest reports, de la Fuente hasn’t raised a whole lot of other funding for his 2022 mayoral bid. To help the struggling De La Fuente, two contributions of $50,000 each were made in early September to an “Independent Expenditure Committee” set up by longtime coal lobbyist Greg McConnell (described as “a front man for Vikas Tandon, a financier who has taken over plans for a coal terminal next ...