"Oakland Council Votes To Block Coal-Shipping Plan"

"The Oakland City Council voted unanimously Monday to block the handling and storage of coal in Oakland, effectively halting a developer’s controversial plan to ship coal from the port.

Hundreds of people crowded City Hall — and demonstrated outside — as seven council members weighed the proposal by Mayor Libby Schaaf and Councilman Dan Kalb to bar coal and petroleum coke from Oakland. Schaaf and Kalb advocated for their measure by arguing that these fossil fuels pollute the air and pose serious risks to workers and nearby residents. Councilwoman Desley Brooks was absent for the vote.

The new ordinance, which requires a second vote to be made final, would thwart Oakland developer Phil Tagami’s plan to export coal from a terminal near the east end of the Bay Bridge. It’s become the focus of a heated political debate, infuriating environmentalists and labor leaders but garnering support from some West Oakland residents who say it would create vital jobs."

Rachel Swan reports for the San Francisco Chronicle June 27, 2016.