Oakland Strikes Back Against Developer’s Lawsuit; City Files Motion to Dismiss
Labor, Faith, & Community Leaders Announce Campaign to Support City of Oakland in High-Stakes Legal Battle with Coal Terminal Developer
Today, the City of Oakland filed a motion to dismiss the high-stakes lawsuit, Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal LLC v. City of Oakland, brought by a developer seeking to build a $250 million coal export facility on Oakland's waterfront.
Last summer, the City Council voted unanimously to bar the use of a marine terminal on City-owned land for the storage and handling of coal. If the proposed bulk terminal is used for this ...
Demonstrators Rain on Tagami’s Pro-Coal Parade
Braving rain, a spirited group gathered at the Federal Building in Oakland, including half a dozen young children, a dozen high school students, parents, grandparents and community members to protest Phil Tagami's lawsuit against the City of Oakland.
The first public action against Phil Tagami’s lawsuit was organized by Families Against Fossil Fuels in coordination with the national #DayAgainstDenial. Throughout the country on January 9, demonstrators called on our representatives to reject the climate deniers Trump has nominated.
In early December, Phil ...
Developer Files Federal Suit Seeking to Overturn Coal Ban; Community Vows to Fight Back
On Wednesday, December 7, developer Phil Tagami filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn Oakland's ordinance banning storage, handling, and transhipment of coal through a new terminal to be built on the Oakland waterfront near the Bay Bridge toll plaza.
The lawsuit against the City of Oakland was filed on behalf of Tagami's shell company Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal LLC (OBOT LLC). Tagami's complaint is online here. A letter sent to the City is here. And a press release issued by Tagami's local lawyer is here.
No Coal in Oakland will be updating this ...
West Side Missionary Baptist Church Honored for Role in No Coal Campaign
West Side Missionary Baptist Church and its pastor, Rev. Ken Chambers, were honored for their outstanding contributions to the No Coal in Oakland campaign at California Interfaith Power & Light’s 10th annual awards ceremony on November 15. CIPL is an interfaith group responding to climate change, with members from Islamic, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Unitarian, and many other spiritual traditions. At this year’s annual awards ceremony, attendees shared food, offered prayers, and celebrated climate care and advocacy work being done by congregations ...
NCIO Campaign Report Published, August 2016
In August 2016, No Coal in Oakland member Margaret Rossoff, following consultation with several others in the group, completed a report summarizing the NCIO campaign's origins, strategy, tactics, organization, and key documents.
In the report's introduction, Rossoff explains:
Many activists have expressed interest in an account of how the No Coal in Oakland campaign was organized. This article is a response, but is not a history. It is structured thematically rather than chronologically, and the many amazing activists and organizers are not identified by name. ...
Victory: Oakland’s Coal Ban Becomes Law
On July 19, 2016, the Oakland City Council approved the ban on coal initially approved three weeks before. The vote on the council's Consent Calendar, on which the coal measures were included, was unanimous: 8-0, with all council members in attendance.
Prior to the vote, No Coal in Oakland member Aaron Reaven thanked the council for approving the coal ban at its special meeting on June 27, 2016, and asked that changes to its process for hearing community input be considered, to prevent "political thuggery" in which paid political operatives are permitted to shout ...
No Coal Coalition Receives Eco-Warrior of the Year Award
At a party that drew many to downtown Oakland last night, Oakland Rising presented Townie Award for Eco-Warrior of the Year to the No Coal in Oakland coalition. On hand to accept the award were Katy Polony of Sunflower Alliance and Brittany King of the Sierra Club. Oakland Rising is a five-year old organization that aims to build and wield mass-based progressive political power, align and coordinate social justice forces, and develop new leaders in Oakland.
Oakland Rising also named the Committee to Protect Oakland Renters as Townie of the Year, Nicole Lee as Youth ...
National and Local Press Reports Oakland’s No Coal Vote
Numerous articles have appeared in the local and national press concerning the Oakland City Council's historic vote on coal:
Oakland City Council votes to ban coal — from Utah or elsewhere — at its new port (Salt Lake Tribune, June 27, 2016)
Utah counties determined to find port for coal (Deseret News, June 27, 2016)
Oakland Votes to Block Large Shipments of Coal (New York Times, June 28, 2016)
Oakland bans coal shipments in a blow to planned export facility (Los Angeles Times, June 28, 2016)
Oakland Council Bans Coal Shipments, Citing Health Risks ...
Call for federal investigation of Oakland coal terminal financing
A letter sent by conservation, health, and good-government organizations to Attorney General Loretta Lynch on June 20, 2016 calls for a federal investigation into potential legal and ethical violations in Utah's $53 million publicly funded loan to fund a coal export terminal in Oakland. The letter was sent on behalf of Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, Alliance for a Better Utah, HEAL Utah, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, the Grand Canyon Trust, Living Rivers, and the Center for Biological Diversity.
As the Salt Lake City Tribune reports:
...
Total Ban on Coal in Oakland Set for Vote June 27
The City announced on Friday that a ban on coal storage and handling at Oakland’s proposed bulk terminal will be on the City Council's agenda on Monday, June 27, at 5 pm. This is the City's first official confirmation that an outright ban will be put to a vote.
Activists from No Coal in Oakland are optimistic that the full City staff report, due to be published late in the week, will recommend City Council action to ban coal and not a compromise with the developer that would endanger public health and safety in Oakland and increase greenhouse gas concentrations ...
