Oakland City Council hears from youth opposing coal
Twenty-one young people from Youth Vs. Apocalypse addressed the Oakland City Council with powerful testimony insisting that the elected officials keep coal out of Oakland.
No Coal in Oakland Issues Open Letter Correcting Developers’ Misleading Narrative
No Coal in Oakland Issues Open Letter to the People of Oakland, California
Hedge Fund Operator Sows Disinformation Ahead of Trial That Could End Coal Industry’s Designs on Oakland Waterfront
Autumn Wind Lending Conceals Plans for West Oakland While Attacking Oakland’s Leaders for Turning Down Loophole-Laden Settlement Offer
If you read the recent “Open Letter to the Citizens of Oakland” from Insight Terminal Solutions (ITS), you were probably mystified. Why would the City reject a settlement offer that provides everything they want? ITS has ...
Research report on coal in Bay Area finds alarming health and Environmental Justice impacts
A full report on scientific research conducted over the course of three years in Richmond, California greatly expands on a peer-reviewed paper about the spread of toxic PM2.5 pollution by coal trains (see New Proof: Coal Trains Spread Toxic PM2.5 Pollution in Richmond, CA for a summary and link to the paper). [The term “PM2.5” refers to particles in the air that are two-and-one-half microns wide or smaller; there are one million microns in a meter; one micron is approximately 1/25,000 of an inch.] The research was funded by a grant from the California Air Resources ...
New proof: coal trains spread toxic PM2.5 pollution in Richmond, CA
Coal trains passing through a Richmond, California neighborhood on their way to the Levin Terminal add significantly more toxic particulate matter (PM2.5) to the atmosphere than other freight or passenger trains, according to a new, peer-reviewed scientific study published this month in Springer Nature’s Air Quality, Atmosphere, and Health, an international, interdisciplinary journal. The term PM2.5 refers to particles in the air that are two-and-one-half microns wide or smaller. There are one million microns in a meter; one micron is approximately 1/25,000 of an ...
Oakland moves to streamline trial seeking eviction of coal terminal developers
On March 17, 2023, the City of Oakland filed a motion to streamline the upcoming trial of developer Phil Tagami’s lawsuit against the City and the City’s countersuit against Tagami. The City’s motion would split the proceedings into two separate trials: an initial bench trial without a jury and a second trial with a jury. Under the “bifurcation” plan, the second trial would occur only if issues remained that could not be decided by the judge.
The City’s proposal to “bifurcate” the trial rests on a distinction between equitable issues that judges must ...
Coal Trial Updates: a new Judge, a flurry of motions
Since our most recent update, judicial wheels in the Alameda County Superior Court have continued to grind, slowly but surely, toward the coal trial formally known as OBOT & OGRE v. City of Oakland. New developments include: a different judge, a motion to disallow a major category of the developers’ claims for damages, and a motion to settle legal issues (as opposed to questions of fact) before the judge rather than involving a jury on those points. The trial is set to begin on April 21, 2023 if developers refuse to return to settlement talks with City Attorney ...
Some Oakland Candidates Declare Opposition to Coal. Others do not.
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 ...
Coal developer donations to Ignacio De La Fuente pollute 2022 Mayoral Race
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 ...
Tagami breaks off settlement talks, blames city
News is breaking that would-be coal-terminal developer Phil Tagami has walked away from negotiations with the City of Oakland. The developer has filed a motion with Judge Delbert C. Gee to resume litigation in California state court. The case, OBOT & OGRE vs. City of Oakland, was paused while the parties met to negotiate a settlement. It is currently set for trial in April 2023.
According to a city staffer who is part of the team negotiating with Tagami, the city has been negotiating in good faith, the parties have exchanged numerous drafts of a settlement agreeme...
Settlement framework to scuttle Oakland coal threat announced
A “settlement framework” has been announced by Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker to resolve ongoing lawsuits filed by and against OBOT leaseholder Phil Tagami and allied parties under terms that are expected to meet No Coal in Oakland's longstanding, core demand: to keep coal and pet coke out of Oakland.
This could be the end of Oakland’s long battle to keep developers from building a coal export terminal on the West Oakland waterfront.
The framework, agreed to by the City of Oakland and West Gateway leaseholders who are parties to two lawsuits filed in ...
