Environment
Ground Breaking on Crosstown Freeway Ramp Project
Port officials and local residents broke ground this week on the Crosstown Freeway Ramp Expansion Project at the Caltrans Maintenance Yard in Stockton, which will divert traffic away from the Boggs Tract community.
When finished, the crosstown freeway redirect thousands of daily trucks that drive through the Boggs Tract neighborhood and lead them directly to the port.
The $140 million project is expected to increase jobs in Stockton as well as help grow the port. According to Port officials, the number of trucks that will use the crosstown freeway ramp will grow by thousands in the next few years and will decrease truck traffic in south Stockton.
The project will also divert traffic away from Washington Elementary School.
The Crosstown Freeway connects Highway 99 and Interstate 5 to downtown Stockton. Traffic not heading along I-5 comes back to Fresno Avenue in Boggs Tract.
The twin bridges will take traffic over Fresno Avenue and over a railroad line to Navy Drive, which will be turned into a four-lane road with auxiliary lanes.
Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty and other transportation and elected officials attended groundbreaking ceremony. The project was in part financed by two voter-approved ballot measures, a statewide transportation bond, Proposition B, and San Joaquin County’s 1/2-cent sales tax, Measure K.
Construction is expected to begin next month.
Activism
LIVE! — TOWN HALL ON RACISM AND ITS IMPACT — THURS. 11.14.24 5PM PST
Join us for a LIVE Virtual Town Hall on the Impact of Racism hosted by Post News Group Journalist Carla Thomas and featuring Oakland, CA NAACP President Cynthia Adams & other Special Guests.
Thursday, November 14, 2024, 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PST
Join us for a LIVE Virtual Town Hall on the Impact of Racism hosted by Post News Group Journalist Carla Thomas and featuring Oakland, CA NAACP President Cynthia Adams & other Special Guests.
Thursday, November 14, 2024
5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PST
Discussion Topics:
• Since the pandemic, what battles have the NAACP fought nationally, and how have they impacted us locally?
• What trends are you seeing concerning Racism? Is it more covert or overt?
• What are the top 5 issues resulting from racism in our communities?
• How do racial and other types of discrimination impact local communities?
• What are the most effective ways our community can combat racism and hate?
Your questions and comments will be shared LIVE with the moderators and viewers during the broadcast.
STREAMED LIVE!
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/PostNewsGroup
YOUTUBE: youtube.com/blackpressusatv
X: twitter.com/blackpressusa
City Government
San Pablo Appoints New Economic Development and Housing Manager
Kieron Slaughter has been appointed as the economic development & housing manager for the City of San Pablo. Since 2017, Slaughter has served as chief strategic officer for economic innovation in the City of Berkeley’s Office of Economic Development. Previously, he served in a 2.5-year appointment in the Pacific West Region as one of 10 Urban Fellows in the United States National Park Service.
The Richmond Standard
Kieron Slaughter has been appointed as the economic development & housing manager for the City of San Pablo.
Since 2017, Slaughter has served as chief strategic officer for economic innovation in the City of Berkeley’s Office of Economic Development. Previously, he served in a 2.5-year appointment in the Pacific West Region as one of 10 Urban Fellows in the United States National Park Service.
Before that he was an associate planner in the City of Richmond’s Planning and Building Services Department from 2007-2015.
San Pablo City Manager Matt Rodriguez lauded Slaughter’s extensive experience in economic development, housing and planning, saying he will add a “valuable perspective to the City Manager’s Office.”
Slaughter, a Berkeley resident, will start in his new role on Nov. 12, with a base annual salary of $164,928, according to the City of San Pablo.
Bay Area
Alameda County Judge Blasts Defendants Over Delay in West Oakland Fire Trial
Judge Kimberly Lowell excoriated the RadiusRecycling/SchnitzerSteel defendants in court for causing delays in prosecuting this case. Since the defendants first appeared in court on July 23, they have obtained three extensions of the arraignment date.
Special to The Post
District Attorney Pamela Price announced that a hearing was held on October 30 in the criminal prosecution of the Radius Recycling/Schnitzer Steel involving a fire at the West Oakland facility on Aug. 9-10, 2023.
The Alameda County criminal Grand Jury indicted radius Recycling and two of its corporate managers in June 2024.
Judge Kimberly Lowell excoriated the RadiusRecycling/SchnitzerSteel defendants in court for causing delays in prosecuting this case. Since the defendants first appeared in court on July 23, they have obtained three extensions of the arraignment date.
The court clarified that the defendants will not receive more extensions on their arraignment and plea.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price agreed with the court that defendants should not get preferential treatment. Price and her team appreciated the court for clarifying that future delays by Radius will not be tolerated.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (BAAQMD) public data shows that during and after the fire, the smoke plume traveled across Alameda County with high levels of PM 2.5 (Particulate Matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter) detected around Laney College in Oakland, Livermore, Pleasanton, and West Oakland.
PM2.5 is particularly harmful to infants and children, the elderly, and people with asthma or heart disease.
“This fire posed a great health hazard to the people of Alameda County,” said Price. “High, short-term exposures to a toxic smoke plume have been shown to cause significant danger to human health.
“Additionally, in this case, Oakland firefighters battled the blaze under extremely dangerous conditions for 15 hours with assistance from a San Francisco Fire Department fireboat and a fireboat from the City of Alameda Fire Department,” Price observed.
The team prosecuting the case from the DA’s Consumer Justice Bureau looks forward to resolving any future motions and having the defendants arraigned in court on Dec. 9.
The media relations office of the Alameda County District Attorney’s office is the source of this report.
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