City Government

Vallejo Achieves Victory in Green Valley Waterbill Lawsuit

Published

12 years ago

August 26, 2014

The City of Vallejo achieved victory yesterday against the multimillion-dollar lawsuit brought by Green Valley customers to lower their water bills.

Superior Court Judge Arvid Johnson dismissed the suit, rejecting each of its 12 legal theories. Green Valley Landowners Association (GVLA) sought nearly $13 million in damages, arguing that Vallejo customers should have shared in the cost of upgrades to a water treatment facility that serves only Green Valley.

In January, when the lawsuit was filed, Vallejo City Attorney Claudia Quintana commented, “California tightened its water standards years ago and this resulted in higher costs for water in the Lakes Water System area. This was due in part to a $7.25 million debt to pay for statutorily required improvements to the water treatment plant that provides water to customers specifically

Claudia Quintana

< p class=”p1″>located in the Green Valley area. In prior years, customers residing in less-affluent Vallejo subsidized customers in the Green Valley system, but legally, that subsidy had to stop.“

Quintana added, “Judge Johnson’s ruling is a significant victory for Vallejo as it continues to implement changes – such as halting this type of subsidy – which allow the City to better manage its resources and ensure its financial stability.”

Judge Johnson agreed with the City’s argument that Proposition 218, a statewide initiative passed by voters in 1996, requires Vallejo customers to pay only their fair share. He rejected GVLA’s argument that because Vallejo customers had subsidized Green Valley in past decades, they committed to help Green Valley customers in the future.

Judge Johnson, who retired five years ago, was brought in to decide this particular case after multiple recusals by Solano County judges due to their ties to Green Valley.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

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

Published

2 days ago

July 5, 2026

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Inaugural Juneteenth Awards Ceremony Celebrates the Fillmore’s Black History, Leadership and Resilience

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

Published

1 week ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, Pastor Emeritus of Third Baptist Church, SF Mayor Daniel Lurie. Photo by Linda Parker Pennington.

By Linda Parker Pennington

The Fillmore Community Ambassadors held its first annual Juneteenth Wesley Johnson White Horse Awards ceremony on June 19 inside the newly reopened Fillmore Heritage Center.

The event featured awards for former San Francisco mayors London Breed and Willie Brown, along with Third Baptist Church Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown.

The Koret Heritage lobby at the newly reopened center at 1330 Fillmore St. held a standing-room-only, culturally diverse and multi-generational audience while the art gallery featured photos of Fillmore community members in action, red Japanese lanterns, art and calligraphy, and Chinese artwork, giving the space a multicultural feel.

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood acknowledged that “the Fillmore community has had a difficult history. Thanks to Rev. Amos Brown’s continuous focus on accountability and resistance, you hold us accountable and continue to inspire us.”

Mahmoud is referring to the Fillmore’s Japanese residents who were forced from their homes and sent to concentration camps during World War II. Black people occupied those homes until the return of their Japanese neighbors and then gave them back, while homes that had been unoccupied were lost. The presence of the Asian community on Juneteenth is a testament to that shared history.

In receiving his honor, Amos Brown elicited a powerful spontaneous call-and-response, where members of San Francisco’s many Black churches proudly shouted out the names: “Bethel AME! Providence Baptist! Jones Memorial! Glide!”

Awards program Master of Ceremonies Shawn Richards of Brothers Against Guns warmly introduced Breed, highlighting her many accomplishments, particularly on “March 16, 2020, when she became the first mayor to shut down a major U.S. city due to COVID-19, saving thousands of lives.”

The audience was captivated by Breed’s emotional speech touching on past traumas, present conditions, and future hopes for the neighborhood where she grew up.

She recalled another trauma of the neighborhood during the City’s redevelopment era in the 1960s, where Black residents were forced to move with a promise of being able to return that was largely unfulfilled.

“We remember when this land was just a field because they bulldozed hundreds of Victorian homes that Black people owned. They built the Fillmore Center, where most Black people can’t afford to live or start their own business. But we are still here.”