Oakland

The City is Needlessly Exposing Taxpayers to a $240M Liability

Published

6 years ago

February 27, 2020

The Oakland City Council accepted over $240 million state taxpayer dollars to support what it promised would be a transformative, generational project creating jobs, expediting commerce, and significantly improving environmental conditions.
Oakland has spent the money, but it has not delivered the project. Instead it is taking every political and legal tactic to ensure the promised project will never be built.

A federal court in San Francisco already held the City’s actions to prevent the building of a multicommodity terminal on the Army Base violates the law, and the State of California is considering forcing the City to give back the hundreds of millions of spent grant dollars.

In 2009, the City embarked on an ambitious plan to transform the decommissioned Oakland Army Base into an international-scale logistics hub. Central to the plan was a new intermodal facility with immediate access to existing rail and a deep-water port.

The ability to move cargo by rail to sea would significantly reduce truck traffic through West Oakland, improving air quality in the surrounding neighborhoods—and the entire East Bay. The project also promised thousands of new construction and logistics jobs that were required to be offered first to West Oaklanders.

This vision and its remarkable benefits rightly persuaded the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to award the City the grant. An unprecedented coalition of Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley transportation agencies declared the project the number one priority for all of Northern California.

Ten years on, the infrastructure is in place, but the vision is a distant memory. Citing political opposition to the export of fossil fuels– though it was always known by the City and State that such commodities were over 50% of the active shipping market – the City continues to intentionally block the project. The City’s refusal to honor its legal commitments not only exposes Oakland taxpayers to hundreds of millions of dollars in potential liability, it likely ensures that such visionary and ambitious proposals will no longer receive state support.

By all accounts, for over a decade the developer has honored the agreements and performed. This includes taking delivery of a new $2.3 million clean air locomotive funded in part with a grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Reviews of its hiring practices confirm unprecedented retention percentages of West Oaklanders, previously incarcerated persons, and a myriad of new apprenticeship entrants into the building trades.

When a public agency proposes projects for state funding that agency promises to spend those dollars according to the terms and conditions of the grant. The resulting grant agreement spells out very clearly the roles and responsibilities of the agency and the state. Failure to perform comes with significant financial penalties. When the CTC established the guidelines for this grant program, the Commission had no cause to consider the ultimate penalty—requiring the public agency to repay the grant. But today, the City of Oakland’s failure to adhere to the grant requirements may leave the CTC no other option.

Oakland promised the CTC, the residents of Oakland, and the entire Northern California economy that they would deliver a world-class logistics hub that would benefit the environment, create jobs and economic opportunity, and be a model to the world. The developer, apparently, remains ready to so deliver. The City needs to get back on track and agree to adhere to the terms of the grant.
John Barna was executive director of the California Transportation Commission from 2005 to 2009.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 1 – 7, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 1 – 7, 2026

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1 day ago

April 6, 2026

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Oakland Post: Week of March 18 – 24, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 18 – 24, 2026

Published

2 weeks ago

March 22, 2026

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Advice

Financial Wellness and Mental Health: Managing Money Stress in College 

While everyone’s financial situation is unique, several common sources of stress have the potential to strain your financial health. These include financial and economic uncertainty, existing debts, unexpected expenses, and mental or physical health changes. Financial stress may differ from situation to situation, but understanding the factors contributing to yours may help you begin to craft a plan for your unique circumstances.

Published

3 weeks ago

March 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Sponsored by JPMorganChase

As a college student, managing financial responsibilities can be stressful.

If you’ve found yourself staying up late thinking about your finances or just feeling anxious overall about your financial future, you’re not alone. In one survey, 78% of college students who reported financial stress had negative impacts on their mental health, and 59% considered dropping out. While finances can impact overall stress, taking steps to manage your finances can support your mental, emotional and physical well-being.

When it comes to money, the sources of stress may look different for each student, but identifying the underlying causes and setting goals accordingly may help you feel more confident about your financial future.

Consider these strategies to help improve your financial wellness and reduce stress.

Understand what causes financial stress

2. Determine your financial priorities

Start by reflecting on your financial priorities. For students this often includes paying for school or paying off student loans, studying abroad, saving for spring break, building an emergency fund, paying down credit card debt or buying a car. Name the milestones that are most important to you, and plan accordingly.

3. Create a plan and stick to it

While setting actionable goals starts you on the journey to better financial health, it’s essential to craft a plan to follow through. Identifying and committing to a savings plan may give you a greater sense of control over your finances, which may help reduce your stress. Creating and sticking to a budget allows you to better track where your money is going so you may spend less and save more.

4. Pay down debt

Many students have some form of debt and want to make progress toward reducing their debt obligations. One option is the debt avalanche method, which focuses on paying off your debt with the highest interest rate first, then moving on to the debt with the next-highest interest rate. Another is the debt snowball method, which builds momentum by paying off your smallest debt balance, and then working your way up to the largest amounts.

5. Build your financial resilience

Some financial stress may be inevitable, but building financial resilience may allow you to overcome obstacles more easily. The more you learn about managing your money, for instance, the more prepared you’ll feel if the unexpected happens. Growing your emergency savings also may increase resilience since you’ll be more financially prepared to cover unexpected expenses or pay your living expenses.

6. Seek help and support

Many colleges have resources to help students experiencing financial stress, like financial literacy courses or funds that provide some assistance for students in need. Talk to your admissions counselor or advisor about your concerns, and they can direct you to sources of support. Your school’s counseling center can also be a great resource for mental health assistance if you’re struggling with financial stress.

The bottom line

Financial stress can affect college students’ health and wellbeing, but it doesn’t have to derail your dreams. Setting smart financial goals and developing simple plans to achieve them may help ease your stress. Revisit and adjust your plan as needed to ensure it continues to work for you, and seek additional support on campus as needed to help keep you on track.

 JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC