City Government

Tagami’s Behind-the-Scenes Deal to Bring Coal to Oakland Draws Opposition

Published

10 years ago

May 8, 2015

Now that the Oakland Army Base development project is well underway, city developer and project manager Phil Tagami is working on a behind-the-scenes $53 million deal to ship coal from Utah through the new Oakland trade and logistics center.

Last year local residents spoke out, and the City Council and the Port of Oakland have voted not to allow coal to be shipped through the port.

The Utah Permanent Community Impact Fund Board last month approved funding that would allow four counties in the state to acquire interest in the port in Oakland, according to The Richfield Reaper in Utah, which is the 14th largest producer of coal in the U.S.

The coal would be exported as soon as summer 2017 through a terminal at the Army Base that is expected to begin construction later this year. The new Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal will be designed to transport “bulk commodities” including iron ore and oversized equipment.

While the deal is still being negotiated, according to reports, the project is Tagami’s deal and has remained off the city’s radar until recently.

Phil Tagami

Tagami said his seven years of securing approvals and environmental entitlements for the Oakland Army Base project allow him to lease space to a private company that can export just about anything except “nuclear waste, illegal immigrants, weapons and drugs,” as reported in the Contra Costa Times.

However, according to a number of residents, bringing coal into the city could jeopardize everything that community residents and activists have fought for in massive Army Base development project – among them, clean energy and reduced environmental impacts on the West Oakland community adjacent to the port and to the city in general.

“This (Army Base) is city property, and at least half of the total investments are public money,” said Brian Beveridge of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project (WOEIP) and resident of Oakland. “Ultimately, Tagami and his group is a tenant of the City of Oakland; they don’t own the land.”

There are two core local environmental impacts, said Beveridge – “hundreds of pounds of coal dust emissions in the area, with 150 to 850 pounds of coal dust lost in transit.”

Secondly, “Oakland has a greenhouse gas reduction plan. Everything we’ll have gathered will be lost” by buying and exporting coal into the city, he said.

“Coal is one of the worst greenhouse gas producers in the world,” Beveridge added.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has also voiced her opposition to the export of coal in the city, voting last year in May as a councilmember in support of a resolution against the transport of fossil fuels through the city.

Although Utah has already approved funding, winning support for the deal in Oakland is likely to be a hard sell.

According to the Sierra Club, the nation’s largest grassroots environmental organization, coal burning is responsible for one-third of U.S. carbon emissions and leads to as many as 13,000 premature deaths every year and more than $100 billion in annual health costs.

In 2013, Tagami told Sierra Club leaders that there was no way he would consider coal as a commodity, according to Michelle Myers, director of the Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter.

Michelle Myers, director of the San Francisco Bay Chapter Sierra Club.

Myers suggested that the city amend the development agreement to allow them greater oversight on Tagami’s role as project manager and developer on the project.

“(Councilmembers) clearly expressed that they don’t want this type of commodity coming through the community, but they don’t have the legal levers to prevent it,” she said. “This is public land. They could potentially repeal his authority.”

Added Beveridge, “The city needs to define more clearly what kind of action and activities are appropriate to happen on their public land.”

“We have to connect our world-view to our local view, and exporting coal is a disconnect,” he said.

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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.

Published

12 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Kieron Slaughter. Photo courtesy of the City of San Pablo

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.

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City Government

Aaron Osorio Rises Up Ranks to Become Richmond’s Fire Chief

For Aaron Osorio, it started with a ride along on a firetruck at age 10. “I thought it was the coolest job,” he said, adding, “I knew being in fire service would make a big difference in the community.” Now a 27-year fire service veteran, Osorio appears to approach his work with the same youthful exuberance. And that’s good for the city as Osorio was recently named chief of the historic Richmond Fire Department.

Published

12 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Richmond Fire Department Chief Aaron Osorio. Courtesy photo

By Mike Kinney

The Richmond Standard

For Aaron Osorio, it started with a ride along on a firetruck at age 10.

“I thought it was the coolest job,” he said, adding, “I knew being in fire service would make a big difference in the community.”

Now a 27-year fire service veteran, Osorio appears to approach his work with the same youthful exuberance. And that’s good for the city as Osorio was recently named chief of the historic Richmond Fire Department.

Osorio is a San Francisco native who rose up the ranks in the Richmond Fire Department over the last 21 years before being elevated to chief.

He joined the department in 2002 and has served in multiple roles including firefighters, engineer, captain, battalion chief, training director and deputy fire chief. He said he truly loves working in this community.

While it isn’t common for a fire department to hire a chief that came up through its ranks, Osorio was credited by the city for serving Richmond well during uncommon times.

The city lauded him for developing internal policies and vaccination clinics during the initial COVID response, for supporting activation of the emergency operations center in response to a potential mudslide disaster in Seacliff last year, helping to draft mutual aid agreements and working to increase fire response capabilities for industrial incidents.

He’s also led departmental hiring and recruitment since 2018.

Osorio said it is an honor to be hired as chief and has big plans for the department moving forward. He said he wants to continue hiring and promoting for vacant positions, and also completing a strategic plan guiding the direction of the organization.

He also aims to replace and renovate a number of fire department facilities placed on the Capital Improvement Plan and create new ways to recruit that will enhance the diversity of the department.

Osorio said his experience within, and love for, the city of Richmond puts him in a good position to lead the department. He says he knows what is needed and also the challenges that are unique to the city.

“I look forward to utilizing that institutional knowledge to move the fire department forward in a positive direction and enhance the services we provide to the community,” the chief said.

Osorio holds a bachelor of science degree in Fire Administration and is also a California State Fire Marshal-certified chief officer, company officer, and state instructor.

He also holds numerous certifications in fire, rescue, hazardous material, and incident command.

The chief has been married to his wife, Maria, for 26 years and they have two sons, Roman and Mateo.

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Bay Area

Oakland Awarded $28 Million Grant from Governor Newsom to Sustain Long-Term Solutions Addressing Homelessness

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the City of Oakland has won a$28,446,565.83 grant as part of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program. This program provides flexible grant funding to help communities support people experiencing homelessness by creating permanent housing, rental and move-in assistance, case management services, and rental subsidies, among other eligible uses.

Published

12 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the City of Oakland has won a$28,446,565.83 grant as part of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program.

This program provides flexible grant funding to help communities support people experiencing homelessness by creating permanent housing, rental and move-in assistance, case management services, and rental subsidies, among other eligible uses.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and the Oakland City Administrator’s Office staff held a press conference today to discuss the grant and the City’s successful implementing of the Mayor’s Executive Order on the Encampment Management Policy.