Activism

Environmental Justice Group Sues Port of Oakland for “Negative Impacts” of Sand and Gravel Project

West Oakland residents are disproportionately lower-income and people of color, and they already face significantly elevated public health threats compared to more affluent Bay Area communities, including other parts of Oakland. West Oakland residents have a higher exposure to diesel particulate matter than 99% of Californians, according to CalEnviroScreen 4.0, according to WOEIP. Local residents’ asthma rates are worse than 98% of Californians, and they have a life expectancy that is 7.5 years shorter than that of the average Alameda County resident.

Published

4 years ago

April 2, 2022

Oakland Post

A photo of Eagle Rock Aggregates' facility at the Port of Long Beach. The company is seeking to build a similar facility near West Oakland. Photo courtesy of Eagle Rock Aggregates LLC.

By Post Staff

The West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project (WOEIP) this week filed suit against the Port of Oakland for approving a large-scale sand and gravel storage terminal without adequately analyzing or mitigating the project’s significant impacts to public health and the environment, as required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

West Oakland is already a severely environmentally overburdened community, and the proposed Eagle Rock Aggregates Oakland Terminal Project would contribute significantly to local air pollution, carbon emissions, noise, and water pollution.

WOEIP, a resident-led, community-based environmental justice organization, filed the lawsuit March 25 in Alameda County Superior Court. The group is demanding the project be rescinded, and if the Port continues to pursue this project, that the terminal’s environmental impacts to be adequately mitigated, as CEQA requires.

“This sand and gravel project would have severe negative impacts on the health of the people in my community,” said Margaret Gordon, co-founder of WOEIP and a former Port Commissioner. “The Port of Oakland Commissioners appear to be completely ignoring the public health impacts that would be caused by the dust blowing off the open-air piles of gravel aggregate into our neighborhoods; the 50 added ship visits every year, all idling in Port and burning one of the dirtiest fuels on the planet; and the 375 new daily truck trips along local West Oakland streets, all spewing diesel particulate matter directly into our air and our homes.”

“Looking beyond today’s legal action, we welcome collaboration with Port Commissioners and staff who are willing to work with us under the Community Health Protection Program established by AB 617,” added Gordon. “Our common goal can be to reduce emissions at the Port, for example by switching to zero-emission electric trucks and equipment.”

Residents in the West Prescott neighborhood, nearest to the proposed project site, have nine times the U.S. average toxic air contaminant cancer risk. Diesel particulate matter is responsible for more than 90% of thae total cancer risk in West Oakland.

The Eagle Rock project would significantly increase the level of particulate matter and diesel exhaust in West Oakland neighborhoods, in addition to increasing the Port’s carbon emissions.

“The environmental analysis for this project is clearly inadequate under state environmental law,” said Laura Beaton, attorney at Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, representing WOEIP. “The Eagle Rock Aggregates project would have significant negative environmental and public health impacts, yet the Port of Oakland has failed to analyze these impacts, identify and adopt effective mitigation measures are reduce or avoid them, or consider or adopt reasonable alternatives.”

“It’s a serious challenge to the Port’s authority” says Brian Beveridge, co-founder of WOEIP. “And we don’t take it lightly. But, in casually certifying this deeply flawed environmental review, the Port Commission has abandoned its obligation to protect our public interests in the shoreline and our air.”

Port officials were notified by the California Attorney General’s Office, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the California Air Resources Board that the environmental studies for this project are fatally flawed. Nevertheless, the Port’s decision has been to move ahead with the project.

In 2017, WOEIP brought a complaint under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act against the Port for its longstanding pattern of environmentally racist practices. In response, the Port implemented a Public Engagement Plan designed to build communication and trust between the community and the Port. However, although community groups engage in ongoing discussions with the Port, they claim their input has not led to any meaningful change in the Port’s operations.

“The Port’s actions are those of a bad neighbor,” said Gordon. “The people of West Oakland should not have to go to court to protect their health. If the Port wanted to be a responsible neighbor, they would try to mitigate the public health impacts of this project. Instead, they have left us with no other option than to fight a legal battle to protect the public health of the people in our community.”

For more information about the lawsuit, contact Severn Williams at 510-336-9566 or sev@publicgoodpr.com.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

2 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

1 week ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.