Business

Revised Sir Francis Drake Blvd. Lighting Moves Forward

The completed $18 million Upgrade the Drake project was the most significant improvement effort in 25 years for Drake Boulevard between Highway 101 and the Town of Ross. In addition to repairing and paving the heavily used 2.2-mile stretch of roadway and implementing improvements such as revised lane configurations and drainage, the work also included numerous safety upgrades and long-term underground utility updates.

Published

2 years ago

April 24, 2022

Oakland Post

A selection of streetlight poles and fixtures along approximately one third of a 2.2-mile stretch of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard will be replaced with shorter, decorative poles and dimmer fixtures.

Dimmer light fixtures and decorative poles planned due to community feedback

Courtesy of Marin County

The Marin County Department of Public Works (DPW) is in the process of revising the street lighting along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard between the Town of Ross and Highway 101. The lighting update project would address the enhanced street lighting that was installed during the Upgrade the Drake project, which was completed in November 2021.

In response to community concerns, the proposed lighting project is intended to reduce light dispersal on adjacent properties, decrease light intensity and improve aesthetics while still maintaining the lighting uniformity levels necessary for public safety along Drake Boulevard. Statistically, uniform nighttime street lighting improves safety for all modes of transportation.

The Marin County Board of Supervisors will consider approving the project to replace median light poles between Eliseo Drive and Manor Road at the April 19 public meeting at the Marin County Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive, Suite 330, in San Rafael. The Board will consider moving forward with purchasing decorative light poles, which would cost an estimated $300,000, as well as putting the construction contract out to bid for the lighting update installation project.

To keep the cost as low as possible, the decorative poles would be ordered directly from the distributor and DPW plans to reuse the pole foundations already installed wherever possible. The streetlight revisions are being funded by the remaining budget of the Upgrade the Drake project and the Marin County Street Light Fund. To further offset the cost, DPW plans to explore resell opportunities for the currently installed street light poles, which are a standard pole design used across California.

The new median lighting would replace light poles and fixtures along approximately one third of the 2.2-mile corridor with shorter, decorative poles and dimmer fixtures. It should be noted that the shorter, decorative poles with the dimmer fixtures will require closer spacing to achieve sufficient light levels and uniformity on the roadway, resulting in a net increase in total lights.

The proposed pole replacements are expected to begin construction before the end of 2022, but the timing hinges on when the new decorative poles are available. The poles require significant manufacturing lead time, taking approximately six months to be fabricated and delivered. Pending the Board decision at the April 19 meeting, moving forward with placing the pole order in advance of awarding a construction contract will help expedite the potential future project.

In January 2022, DPW replaced lighting fixtures at intersections and added backshields to help block light dispersal outside of the roadway and sidewalks. In June, the County will replace all of the remaining light fixtures on existing poles throughout the 2.2-mile corridor. The existing fixtures have a brightness of 12,000 lumens and the replacement fixtures will typically have brightness of 5,000 to 8,000 lumens. Additional backshields will be added to reduce light dispersal outside the roadway when appropriate.

In response to the community reaction in February 2021, when the lighting improvements constructed during the Upgrade the Drake project were initially illuminated, DPW turned off the new median street lighting and began the process of reevaluating the design. Lights at the eight intersections along the project corridor have remained illuminated for safety reasons.

Community members interested in learning more about the proposed lighting project, as well as the separate landscaping project along the corridor, can find the information on DPW’s projects webpage.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

12 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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Business

V.P. Kamala Harris: Americans With Criminal Records Will Soon Be Eligible for SBA Loans

Speaking in Las Vegas on Jan. 27, Vice President Kamala Harris announced a forthcoming federal rule that will extend access to Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to Americans who have been convicted of felonies but have served their time. Small business owners typically apply for the SBA loans to start or sustain their businesses.

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2024

Oakland Post

On her daylong trip, Harris was joined by Horford, SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman, Interim Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Eric Morrissette, and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev).

By California Black Media

Small business owners typically apply for the SBA loans to start or sustain their businesses.

Harris thanked U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV-04), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, for the work he has done in Washington to support small businesses and to invest in people.

“He and I spent some time this afternoon with business leaders and small business leaders here in Nevada. The work you have been doing to invest in community and to invest in the ambition and natural capacity of communities has been exceptional,” Harris said, speaking to a crowd of a few hundred people at the Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall in East Las Vegas.

“Formerly incarcerated individuals face significant barriers to economic opportunity once they leave prison and return to the community, with an unemployment rate among the population of more than 27%,” the White House press release continued. “Today’s announcement builds on the Vice President’s work to increase access to capital. Research finds that entrepreneurship can reduce recidivism for unemployed formerly incarcerated individuals by as much as 30%.”

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G.O.P. Lawmakers: Repeal AB 5 and Resist Nationalization of “Disastrous” Contractor Law

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2024

Oakland Post

File Photo: Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City)

By California Black Media

Republican lawmakers gathered outside of the Employee Development Department in Sacramento on Jan. 23 to call for the repeal of AB5, the five-year old California law that reclassified gig workers and other independent contractors as W-2 employees under the state’s labor code.
Organizers said they also held the rally to push back against current efforts in Washington to pass a similar federal law.

“We are here to talk about this very important issue – a battle we have fought for many years – to stop this disastrous AB 5 policy,” said Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City).
Now, that threat has gone national as we have seen this new rule being pushed out of the Biden administration,” Gallagher continued.

On Jan. 10, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a new rule providing guidance on “on how to analyze who is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).”
“This final rule rescinds the Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act rule (2021 IC Rule), that was published on January 7, 2021, and replaces it with an analysis for determining employee or independent contractor status that is more consistent with the FLSA as interpreted by longstanding judicial precedent,” a Department of Labor statement reads.
U.S. Congressmember Kevin Kiley (R-CA-3), who is a former California Assemblymember, spoke at the rally.

“We are here today to warn against the nationalization of one of the worst laws that has ever been passed in California, which has devastated the livelihoods of folks in over 600 professions,” said Kiley, adding that the law has led to a 10.5% decline in self-employment in California.

Kiley blamed U.S Acting Secretary of Labor, July Su, who was the former secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, for leading the effort to redefine “contract workers” at the federal level.
Kiley said two separate lawsuits have been filed against Su’s Rule – its constitutionality and the way it was enacted, respectively. He said he is also working on legislation in Congress that puts restrictions on the creation and implementation of executive branch decisions like Su’s.
Assemblymember Kate Sanchez (R-Rancho Santa Margarita) announced that she plans to introduce legislation to repeal AB 5 during the current legislative session.

“So many working moms like myself, who are also raising kids, managing households, were devastated by the effects of AB 5 because they lost access to hundreds of flexible professions,” Sanchez continued. “I’ve been told by many of these women that they have lost their livelihoods as bookkeepers, artists, family caregivers, designers, and hairstylists because of this destructive law.”