City Government

Faith Leaders Ask City Council to Say No to Coal

Published

10 years ago

January 8, 2016

Community members and faith leaders are continuing to raise awareness about what they consider to be the dangers of coal to the health of residents of West Oakland and other nearby communities.

Pastor Ken Chambers of West Side Missionary Baptist Church, who is a cancer survivor himself, is hosting a series of community meetings at his church.

“The community of West Oakland has high health risks for asthma, cancer and other health challenges that continue to plague our community,” said Pastor Chambers. “It is time to take a stand against the transport of coal through our community for the sake of our health and the health of our children.”

Chambers says he is inspired by the leadership that Mayor Libby Schaaf is taking to promote climate justice.

“I am proud she represented our city at the global climate agreement talks in Paris,” he said. “I urge the City Council to take part in this global effort by saying no to coal coming through Oakland.”

The council is scheduled to decide early next year whether to challenge the plan to ship coal by rail from Utah through the city’s transport terminal for markets in Asia.

Joining Pastor Chambers, Pastor C. L. Mathews of Corinthian Baptist Church is taking a strong stand against the coal shipments.

“It is imperative Oakland residents continue to reject the transportation of hazardous fossil fuel materials,” he said. “During the 1960s and 1970s many of our children dealt with diesel soot on windowsills. Now adults, we suffer with health issues.”

“Oakland has an asthma hospitalization rate that is higher than other communities,” he continued. “Oaklanders will not be hoodwinked into believing a pipe dream of more jobs – at the cost of our health and generations of our children’s health.”

“All money isn’t good money.”

Said Rev. Thomas Harrison of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, “Coal is unhealthy for the community, and I support the opportunity to produce green organizations and jobs.”

Rev. Curtis Robinson of Faith Baptist Church said he hopes Oaklanders will see that coal has no future.

“The adoption of renewable energy is inevitable, just like the adoption of seatbelts by the U.S. government,” he said. “It is clear that we need to adopt newer energy to save the lives of our people.”

Others calling on the city to say no to coal include: Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus, Episcopal Bishop of California; Rabbi Marvin Goodman, Northern California Board of Rabbis; Rev. Will Scott, program director California Interfaith Power & Light; Susan Stephenson, executive director Interfaith Power & Light;

Rev. Dr. Kwasi Thornell, St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, Oakland; Pastor Jim Hopkins, Lakeshore Ave. Baptist Church, Oakland; Archdeacon Carolyn Bolton
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Oakland; Rev. Ben Daniel, Montclair Presbyterian Church, Oakland; Rev. Ambrose Carroll, Green the Church; Rev. Earl Koteen,
Universalist Ministry for Earth; Rev. Debra Avery, First Presbyterian Church of Oakland;

The Rev. Laurie Manning, Skyline United Church of Christ, Oakland; Rev. Cheryl Denise Ward, Oakland, Charles O’Neil, member, Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church, Oakland, Rabbi Oren Postrel, Emeryville; Rev. MaAn Barcelo, Retired Minister United Methodist Church, Pastor Linda Loessberg-Zahl, Epworth United Methodist Church, Berkeley.

The next community meeting to oppose the coal shipments will take place Monday, Jan. 25, 6 p.m. to 7:30 pm. at Westside Baptist Church, 732 Willow St. in West Oakland.

For more information, call Rev. Ken Chambers at (510) 239-6969.

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CITY OF SAN LEANDRO STATE OF CALIFORNIA PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT ENGINEERING DIVISION NOTICE TO BIDDERS FOR ANNUAL STREET OVERLAY/REHABILITATION 2019-21 – PHASE III

WORK DESCRIPTION: The work to be done consists of roadway paving, base cement stabilization, concrete curb ramps, driveways, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, traffic detection loops and pavement striping, and doing all appurtenant work in place and ready for use, all as shown on the plans and described in the specifications with the title indicated in Paragraph 1 above, and on file in the office of the City Engineer. Reference to said plans and specifications is hereby made for further particulars.

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February 20, 2026

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PROJECT NO. 2020.0050

BID NO. 25-26.011

BID OPENING: The bidder shall complete the “Proposal to the City of San Leandro” form contained in the Contract Book. The proposal shall be submitted in its entirety. Incomplete proposals will be considered non-responsive. Sealed bids containing the completed Proposal Section subject to the conditions named herein and in the specifications for ANNUAL STREET OVERLAY/REHABILITATION 2019-21 – PHASE III/PROJECT NO. 2020.0050 addressed to the City of San Leandro will be received at City Hall, 835 East 14^th Street, 2^nd Floor San Leandro at the office of the City Clerk up to 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at which time they will be publicly opened and read.
WORK DESCRIPTION: The work to be done consists of roadway paving, base cement stabilization, concrete curb ramps, driveways, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, traffic detection loops and pavement striping, and doing all appurtenant work in place and ready for use, all as shown on the plans and described in the specifications with the title indicated in Paragraph 1 above, and on file in the office of the City Engineer. Reference to said plans and specifications is hereby made for further particulars.
OBTAINING THE PROJECT PLANS AND CONTRACT BOOK: The project plans and Contract Book may be obtained free of charge from the City’s website at:https://www.sanleandro.org/Bids.aspx Bidders who download the plans are encouraged to contact the City of San Leandro Public Works Department Engineering division at 510-577-3428 to be placed on the project planholder’s list to receive courtesy notifications of addenda and other project information. Project addenda, if any, will be posted on the website. A bidder who fails to address all project addenda in its proposal may be deemed non-responsive.Bidders may also purchase the Project Plans and Contract Book from East Bay Blueprint & Supply Co., at 1745 14^th Street, Oakland, CA 94606; Phone Number: (510) 261-2990 or email: ebbp@eastbayblueprint.com.
PRE-BID CONFERENCE: A mandatory pre-bid conference will be held on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 2:00 PM and on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 10:00 AM as follows:
Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 2:00 PM
Zoom Meeting ID: 883 8752 6074
Passcode: 502955
Zoom Link: https://sanleandro-org.zoom.us/j/88387526074?pwd=hZ5rjB8AWdLAUem3CtByFiZxqKarHj.1
And
Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 10:00 AM
Zoom Meeting ID: 898 2672 0472
Passcode: 091848
Zoom Link: https://sanleandro-org.zoom.us/j/89826720472?pwd=JgZX2nXMpLSRM5xDPr7EJUxl7QIznr.1The information presented at the conferences will be identical, all bidders must attend one of the pre-bid conference and sign the attendance sheet. A firm that didn’t attend the pre-bid conference isn’t qualified to bid on the project.Questions regarding the plans and specifications may be submitted in writing to the project engineer until 5:00 p.m. five (5) days before, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays, bids must be received by the City. The City will not respond to oral questions outside of the pre-bid conference. The response, if any, will be by written addendum only. Oral responses do not constitute a revision to these plans or specifications.
VALUE OF WORK: The Engineer has estimated that the value of work is between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000.
SAN LEANDRO BUSINESS PREFERENCE AND PARTICIPATION GOALS: The work performed under this contract is subject to Section 1-6-225 of the San Leandro Municipal Code regarding local business preference and participation. A list of companies that hold a San Leandro business license is located on the City webpage under the finance department, here: https://www.sanleandro.org/340/Business-License
SAN LEANDRO COMMUNITY WORKFORCE AGREEMENT: The work performed under this contract is subject to the Community Workforce Agreement adopted by City Council Resolution 2015-104. Contractors attention is directed to Section 10.