Judge Allows Sierra Club and Baykeeper to Intervene in Coal Lawsuit; Denies Motions to Dismiss
City's forces bolstered
On Tuesday, June 6, United States District Judge Vince Chhabria granted Sierra Club and San Francisco Baykeeper’s motion to intervene in developer Phil Tagami’s lawsuit against the City of Oakland. The lawsuit challenges the City's ban on coal storage and handling at a marine terminal to be located on the City's West Gateway waterfront property near the foot of the Bay Bridge. The move granting intervenor status was foreshadowed by comments Judge Chabbria made at a hearing on April 20, but, until Tuesday's written order, the environmental ...
No Coal Meets at West Side Missionary Baptist Church
About thirty people attended No Coal in Oakland’s community meeting on Monday, May 15, at West Side Missionary Baptist Church. The discussion included the status of the lawsuit filed against Oakland's 2016 coal ordinance, possible strategic directions, and current activities.
The meeting kicked off with members of Occupella leading the audience in spirited renditions of “This Little Light of Mine” and “Bye Bye Coal” (to the tune of “Bye Bye Love”). Lyrics to the anti-coal anthem by Bill Pinkham and Bonnie Lockhart can be found at http://www.occupella.o...
From Earth Day to May Day
From Earth Day to May Day, No Coal in Oakland activists were in the streets (and at Lake Merritt and the Brower Center) to talk about our campaign and to support the resistance against attacks on both the environment and our communities.
NCIO folks were visible in our new red tee shirts, with our old yellow banner, at the April 22 March for Science and the May Day Fruitvale march. We tabled at the April 29 festival at Lake Merritt and the April 21 Climate Expo at the Brower Center. And several of us joined the climate justice rally at the Environmental Protection Agency ...
NCIO at San Francisco’s “March for Science”
No Coal in Oakland turned out for San Francisco's "March for Science" on Saturday April 22, along with tens of thousands of Bay Area residents. Marches were held in 610 cities worldwide, from Washington, DC to Ann Arbor, MI, to San Francisco and many more across the Americas; underwater at the Wake Atoll in Guam; more than a dozen cities in Australia and New Zealand; a respectable scatter across Asia and Africa; and many dozens across the European continent.
At San Francisco's march, Oakland City Councilman Dan Kalb spoke from the stage at Justin Herman Plaza, noting ...
Federal Judge Denies Motions to Pare Down Developer’s Lawsuit
Yesterday, in the first major court skirmish in developer Phil Tagami’s lawsuit against the City of Oakland, United States District Judge Vince Chhabria indicated he was likely to deny the City’s motion to dismiss a breach of contract claim, he is inclined to allow Sierra Club and San Francisco Baykeeper to intervene as parties in the lawsuit, and he will defer consideration of the would-be intervenors’ arguments for partial dismissal of Tagami’s claim that the City’s ordinance banning coal storage and handling violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitut...
Canadian Bank Plays Big Role in Keystone Pipeline, Oakland Coal Terminal
Although “Bank of Montreal” is hardly a household name in the U.S., Bank of Montreal is now playing an outsized role in efforts to build Oakland’s proposed coal terminal as well as the Keystone XL Pipeline newly revived by Trump Administration proclamation.
The Canadian bank’s role in arranging financing for developer Phil Tagami’s coal terminal was first dissected over a year ago in No Coal in Oakland’s earlier post, “Coal’s Frontmen in Oakland: Who Owns TLS?” The article revealed how Jeffrey Holt, a Bank of Montreal investment banker stationed in ...
April 20 Court Date Looms Big In Oakland Coal Struggle
Next Thursday, April 20, U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria will hear the first arguments in the historic courtroom battle between the City of Oakland and local developer Phil Tagami who wants to build a major coal export facility on the West Oakland waterfront.
The City of Oakland, Sierra Club, and San Francisco Baykeeper will face off against Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal LLC (OBOT), a corporate shell through which Tagami and his business partners hold a 66-year lease and rights to develop and operate a marine terminal on the West Gateway portion of ...
Labor Tackles Climate Jobs Challenge as Oakland Coal Controversy Goes to Court: “Jobs for Workers, Not for Lawyers”
On Saturday, April 8, the Alameda Labor Council will sponsor a Labor, Climate & Jobs Forum with plenary and workshop sessions devoted to how Unions are addressing climate and environmental challenges by organizing workers and communities. Speakers will include Josie Camacho, executive secretary-treasurer, Alameda Labor Council; Kathyrn Lybarger, president, California State Federation of Labor; Cesar Diaz, State Building and Construction Trades Council; and Carol Zabin, UC Berkeley Labor Center Green Economy Program.
The Forum follows the Labor Council's pathbrea...
First major hearing in coal ban lawsuit: April 20, 2017
Join No Coal in Oakland at the U.S. District Court in San Francisco on the morning of April 20, 2017 to stand up for Oakland's coal ban.
At 10:00 am on that day, Judge Vince Chhabria will hold the first important hearing in developer Phil Tagami’s attempt to overturn the City’s ban on coal storage and handling at the future West Gateway marine terminal, his lawsuit Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal LLC v. City of Oakland.
The Court will hear several motions at the hearing.
Of great importance to No Coal in Oakland is a motion by Sierra Club and San Franci...
Utah coal miners, Oakland activists featured in Al Jazeera news segment
On February 3, 2017, Al Jazeera English posted a video segment Global warming fears throw Utah Coal industry into crisis. The segment includes 2016 interview footage of West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project Co-Director Ms. Margaret Gordon, who is also a co-coordinator of No Coal in Oakland. (The segment, also posted to the Al Jazeera English YouTube channel, is embedded below.)
At the opening of the Al Jazeera report, retired coal miner Dennis Ardohain points out names of hundreds of coal miners killed in mine accidents engraved on a monument he helped to ...
