Chinese for Affirmative Action and Brightline Defense Project Publish "The Failure of Good Faith"
Report Finds San Francisco Failing Miserably In Its Goal To Employ Local Residents As 50% Of The Workforce On City-Funded Public Works Projects, Outlines Policy Recommendations
August 3, 2010, San Francisco, CA—At a press conference in Chinatown yesterday, Chinese for Affirmative Action and Brightline published a report entitled "The Failure of Good Faith" that finds San Francisco failing miserably in meeting its goal of 50% local resident hiring on public works projects paid for by the City. A review of 5.3 million hours of work on 29 public projects over the past seven years finds San Francisco residents comprising just 24% of the workforce, and that number appears to be in decline.
In addition, women make up a scant 4% of workers on these projects, and people of color and are underrepresented in all but the lowest-paid and laborious of jobs. The report outlines 27 policy recommendations in encouraging the City to abandon its "good faith efforts" approach to local hiring as San Francisco embarks on a 10-year plan to spend $27 billion on public works construction.
“These projects will create tens of thousands of jobs that have essentially been promised to community members. But without mandatory local hiring, they will not be accessible. We will miss the chance to address unemployment and poverty in San Francisco, and to open new doors for women and minorities,” commented Vincent Pan, executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action.
Brightline Executive Director Joshua Arce stated: “To do local hiring right, San Francisco needs policy changes. It is time to replace 'good faith efforts' with mandatory local hiring, which is legal and achievable, and will grow opportunities for all San Franciscans.”
Download "The Failure of Good Faith - Local Hiring Policy Analysis and Recommendations for San Francisco" here and the report's Executive Summary is available here.
San Francisco Bayview Article By Brightline's Joshua Arce Highlights The Challenges Of Building An All-Inclusive Green Economy And The Lessons Of The Sunset Reservoir Solar Project
July 6, 2010, San Francisco, CA—Brightline Executive Director Joshua Arce has penned an article entitled "Green Jobs Reality Check at Sunset Reservoir" for the San Francisco Bayview newspaper. The story highlights the twists and turns that were required to fulfill the project's requirement that 30% of the workers would be from San Francisco's most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
The article stresses that a tremendous amount of effort and follow-through is required to make the vision of an all-inclusive green economy a reality and not just a pipe dream, and suggests that "corrective action and a realization that organized labor and the working poor need one another now more than ever are necessary if this challenge is to be met."
Brightline and Southeast Jobs Coalition Support Mandatory Local Hiring
Legislation Proposed By Supervisor John Avalos Will Put San Francisco And Its Communities To Work
January 27, 2010, San Francisco, CA—Other cities do it, why don't we? Oakland, Richmond, and Los Angeles are just three examples of California cities that have harnessed the economic development and job creation potential of so-called "mandatory local hiring," or requiring that a certain percentage of construction and non-construction jobs created by city dollars stay local, putting residents to work and boosting the local economy.
San Francisco is about to join the club, thanks to legislation proposed yesterday by Supervisor John Avalos that will require local hiring on all San Francisco-funded projects. Jobs are currently at the center of policy-making discussions between Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Board of Supervisors, and community advocates have long held that mandatory local hiring, as opposed to "good faith" local hiring, is critical to any effort to reduce unemployment in San Francisco, particularly in pockets of the city where joblessness has lingered in double-digit territory since well before the economic downturn.
In issuing his request to update San Francisco's "good faith" hiring statutues to mandates, Supervisor Avalos identified policy goals of "creating jobs for San Francisco residents," "combating systemic poverty and supporting community development," and "harnessing environmental benefits" by "reducing greenhouse gas emissions asociated with commuting." Both the Mayor and Supervisors have highlighted the importance of putting San Franciscans to work, and the Avalos legislation supercharges the path of workforce development reforms initiated by Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi, Eric Mar, David Campos, and David Chiu, as well as by Mayor Newsom.
"As my friend [long-time Bayview-Hunters Point activist] Espanola Jackson always says, 'we've been hearing about good faith since the 60's: it didn't work then and it definitely doesn't work now,'" said Brightline Executive Director Joshua Arce. "This legislation kicks off a discussion between all city stakeholders while signalling the end of the 'good faith' era of local hiring." The proposal has already earned the support of the Southeast Jobs Coalition, who said it will put "hundreds, if not thousands of San Franciscans to work," and the measure is expected to attract widespread community interest in the coming weeks.
Read the text of Supervisor Avalos' request for legislation here and the Southeast Jobs Coalition's letter of support here.
01/13/2010
State Regulator Finally Agrees To Close Entire Potrero Power Plant In 2010
Cal-ISO Letter To Mayor Gavin Newsom Carries The News That Community Leaders, Environmentalists, And Elected Officials Have Sought For Years
January 13, 2010, San Francisco, CA—Yesterday, from a secluded office park in a remote corner of Folsom where a little-known quasi-regulatory agency called the California Independent System Operator wields nearly absolute control over the state's dirtiest power plants, came a letter that an array of San Francisco community leaders, environmental groups, and elected officials have fought for years to receive: the Potrero Power Plant, and all of it, is coming down this year.
Mayor Gavin Newsom delivered the news following months of hard-pressed negotiations with Cal-ISO CEO Yakout Mansour in which the Mayor and entire San Francisco city family sought to nail down the slippery ISO to a 2010 closure date. "At the end of the calendar year, we will have no polluting power plants in our city," Newsom told the San Francisco Examiner. Both City Attorney Dennis Herrera and Supervisor Sophie Maxwell have lived in proximity to the old power plant and sought this day for the past ten years, and an August 2009 agreement Herrera struck with the Mirant Corporation guarantees power plant closure with yesterday's action. State Senators Mark Leno and Leland Yee have joined the chorus calling for Cal-ISO action in recent months.
The real story in yesterday's news, however, is that the City is shutting down the Potrero Plant without building new power plants to replace it, and without an increase in fossil-fuel generation elsewhere. In the summer of 2008, the improbable quartet of Supervisors Michela Alioto-Pier, Ross Mirkarimi, Chris Daly, and Tom Ammiano combined with Mayor Newsom to shoot down a controversial proposal to build new power plants between Bayview-Hunters Point and Potrero Hill that would have satisfied Cal-ISO's desire for as much fossil fuel generation as possible in the city. Shortly thereafter, San Francisco Public Utilities Commissioners David Hochschild and Richard Sklar led their Commission to pass a policy mandating shut-down of the Potrero Plant without new power plants, while Newsom engaged the ISO head-on.
"Many of us learned about this effort through [longtime Bayview-Hunters Point community leader] Espanola Jackson and her call for environmental justice," said Brightline Executive Director Joshua Arce. "It takes a long time to close a power plant, but in the last five years we've shuttered two, at Hunters Point and Potrero," said San Francisco Community Power Executive Director Steven Moss. "It's a testament to the communties' tenacity." Long-standing efforts by SF Community Power and the Potrero Power Plant Task Force were joined by a diverse army of environmental and social justice activists including the Sierra Club, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, SPUR, Environmental Defense, Green for All, the San Francisco Green Party, Brightline Defense Project, and Our City to achieve closure of the Potrero Power Plant without building new power plants.
01/05/2010
Brightline Calls For San Francisco Commitment To "Green Hiring" In 2010
Jobs Filled By Local Residents Help The Environment And Empower Communities
January 5, 2010, San Francisco, CA—Brightline Defense Project has begun 2010 by sounding a call for "green hiring" in San Francisco, asking the City and County of San Francisco to commit to hiring San Francisco residents for projects funded by the City, simultaneously cutting greenhouse gas emissions associated with long commutes and empowering San Francisco's underserved communities. The concept of "green hiring" is part of the broader "green jobs" movement to create jobs that have a positive impact on the environment in low-income communities, particularly communities of color and of limited English speakers.
The practice of "local" or "targeted" hiring has historically been considered a workforce development tool to create jobs for San Francisco residents when the City spends money on construction and non-construction projects. Local hiring has been eroded in recent years, however, for fear that the City's failure to update the local hiring statute found in Chapter 6 of the Administrative Code has left San Francisco with a law that will not hold up in court. Chapter 6 has even been removed from most of San Francisco's Department of Public Works contracts.
"We don't often discuss the environmental benefits of local hiring, but we will this year" said Brightline Executive Director Joshua Arce. "The first step will be to join the cities of Oakland and Richmond by updating our local hiring statute to comport with the current state of the law, drawing upon the lessons learned in Cleveland, Ohio." Cleveland's Lewis Law, which mandates jobs for Cleveland residents on city-funded projects, is notable for surviving a legal challenge two years ago.
The Fall 2009 issue of Race, Poverty & The Environment features an article by Brightline Executive Director Joshua Arce about the campaign to close the Potrero Hill Power Plant without building new power plants to replace it. Entitled "Bayview-Hunters Point Residents To City: 'No More Power Plants!'", the article documents the environmental justice efforts of a diverse coalition of groups and leaders that all began with the Godmother of Bayview-Hunters Point, Espanola Jackson.
Download the "Bayview-Hunters Point Residents To City: No More Power Plants!" article here.
10/29/2009
Senator Leland Yee Tells Cal-ISO To Shut Down The Potrero Power Plant
Senator Leland Yee has joined the groundswell of elected officials calling for Cal-ISO to allow San Francisco to shut down the aging, polluting, and redundant Potrero Power Plant. Senator Yee urges Cal-ISO to shut down and stresses that "San Francisco has waited too long to see the Potrero plant closed."
Download Senator Yee's October 29, 2009 Letter to Cal-ISO here.
10/29/2009
Community Demands Potrero Power Plant Closure, More Cal-ISO Accountability
In a letter that was personally delivered to the California Independent System Operator this morning, Brightline's Joshua Arce, Greenaction's Marie Harrison, SF Green Party's Eric Brooks, and SF Community Power's Steve Moss today demanded that the California Independent System Operator cancel the contract that keeps the Potrero Power Plant running within 30 days of the Trans Bay Cable coming online, estimated to happen in or around March 2010.
Cancelling the "must-run" contract that keeps the power plant in operation would trigger the agreement that City Attorney Dennis Herrera struck with power plant operator Mirant in August, which obligates Mirant to shut down Potrero once it loses "must-run" status.
The community letter was first sent on October 26, but Marie Harrison and Joshua Arce ensured delivery by handing copies of the letter to Cal-ISO CEO Yakout Mansour and the five-member ISO Board of Governors during this morning's ISO meeting in Folsom. Harrison and Arce also read the letter out loud and passed out an additional letter from the Godmother of Bayview-Hunters Point, Espanola Jackson, who was unable to attend.
Download the joint Brightline, Greenaction, Our City, SF Community Power letter here.
09/11/2009
Senator Mark Leno Calls For Closure Of The Potrero Power Plant
California Senator Mark Leno has ratcheted up the campaign to close the Potrero Power Plant starting next year, asking the the Cal-ISO Board of Governors to "carefully consider the concerns of community and environmental groups" and to "shut down the Plant entirely by the end of 2010."
Senator Leno joins Mayor Gavin Newsom, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, San Francisco Supervisors Sophie Maxwell, Michela Alioto-Pier, Ross Mirkarimi, Chris Daly, John Avalos, Eric Mar, David Chiu, Carmen Chu, Sean Elsbernd, and Bevan Dufty, plus an overwhelming number of environmental, environmental justice, and community groups, in calling for the Cal-ISO to let San Francisco start shutting down the Potrero Power Plant when the Trans Bay Cable comes online in spring 2010.
Download Senator Leno's September 10, 2009 letter to Cal-ISO here.
09/10/2009
Solar Power As "Peaker" Power
Brightline's report analyzes the June 2009 Chula Vista power plant decision of the California Energy Commission and discusses a possible sea change at the state level in the way that California weighs renewable energy investments against fossil fuel infrastructure.
Brightline Legal Fellow Eddie H. Ahn and Executive Director Joshua Arce's report asserts that the decision's impact on environmental justice communities will be felt in San Francisco and statewide.
Brightline Supports New Human Rights Commission Director, Calls For Local Hiring Reform
Strong Requirement For Local Jobs With Local Dollars Critical To Developing A Green Economy In San Francisco
Brightline supports the appointment of Theresa Sparks as new Director of the San Francisco Human Rights commission. Read Brightline's letter of support here.
07/08/2009
Brightline Requests City Attorney Review of Cleveland Local Hiring Law
Following a meeting with a representative of the San Francisco City Attorney's office to discuss Brightline's request for local hiring on San Francisco's proposed street repair bond, Brightline has issued a call to City Attorney Dennis Herrera himself to re-evaluate his staff's apparent opinion that local hiring is unconstitutional.
The City Attorney's office has indicated that the 1984 Supreme Court decision in Camden v. Building and Trades and a 2002 District Court decision in New Hampshire make the City Attorney hestiant to mandate or even mention "local hiring" for fear of attracting a lawsuit.
However, the City of Cleveland, Ohio in 2003 narrowly tailored a bold mandatory local hiring statute, the Fannie M. Lewis Law, that navigates the legal authorities cited by our City Attorney and even survived a 2007 court challenge.
Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson wrote to President Barack Obama on February 26 of this year to share the Cleveland experience in hopes that other cities can learn from Mayor Jackson's efforts to empower Cleveland residents on Cleveland-funded projects.
Read Brightline's July 8 letter to City Attorney Dennis Herrera and the attached letter for Mayor Frank G. Jackson to President Obama here.
06/29/2009
Community Calls For Local Hiring on $400 Million Street Repair Proposal
In a letter to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Brightline has called for a local hiring requiment to be added to the City's proposed $388 million Safe Streets and Road Repair bond, a measure that will create 2,600 green jobs aimed at reducing vehicle emissions and improving city streets. In requesting that Supervisors mandate that no less than 35% of the street repair workforce will be made up of San Francisco residents with a goal of 50%, Brightline highlights the importance of employment opportunities for economically disadvantaged San Franciscans, especially in the green workforce.
Brightline's allies in the Southeast Jobs Coalition have gone a step further, calling for a requirement that 50% of the project workforce shall be made up of San Francisco residents.
Read Brightline's June 29, 2009 Letter to the Board of Supervisors here.
05/25/2009
Espanola Goes Solar
Godmother of Bayview-Hunters Point Collaborates With The Southeast Jobs Coalition, GRID Alternatives, And Luminalt To Provide Free Solar Training To Bayview Residents
Bayview-Hunters Point, California, May 25, 2009--Yesterday our friend and inspiration, the Godmother of Bayview-Hunters Point Espanola Jackson went solar, kicking off a solar revolution in the community. It took many months of planning, but with the help of GRID Alternatives and Luminalt Solar we were able to create 15 solar installation internships for young men and women from the Bayview and get Ms. Jackson's solar installed for free.
A host of neighbors, community groups, elected officials including Assessor Phil Ting, Supervisor Eric Mar, and City College Trustee John Rizzo were on hand, as well as SF Public Utilities Commissioner Juliet Ellis and CityBuild Director Guillermo Rodriguez. Local news crews from ABC, CBS, and NBC were on hand to document the event, as well as our community-based partners Young Community Developers, Visitacion Valley Jobnet, A. Philip Randolph Institute, Anders & Anders, and ARC Ecology (check out www.youtube.com/espanolasgoingsolar or click on the clips below)
It was in February that Espanola and I went to the SF Public Utilities Commission to let them know that GRID Alternatives had agreed to provide a free solar installation to Ms. Jackson through a grant from the SF Department of Environment and the City's GoSolarSF incentive program. In addition, Luminalt Solar agreed to provide free on-the-job solar training.
Training took place three months later, on May 21, at the Bayview YMCA. Tim Sears of GRID Alternatives and Jeanine Cotter of Luminalt provided the know-how. Young men and women from YCD, VV Jobnet, APRI, Anders & Anders, and Charity Cultural Services provided the eagerness to learn and help green the community.
And on May 23 and 24 it all came together, with the Southeast Jobs Coalition hosting a barbecue to celebrate the occasion. Three local news channels were there to document the occasion and we invite you to share with us in the experience, what we hope will be a solar revolution in Bayview-Hunters Point. You can view news reports at www.youtube.com/espanolasgoingsolar and photos are online at http://www.flickr.com/photos/brightlinedefense/sets.
05/14/2009
Supervisors Approve Sunset Reservoir Solar Installation
State's Largest Solar Project Will Create Green Jobs For Underserved San Franciscans Starting In July
San Francisco, California, May 14, 2009 -- One day after Supervisors Sophie Maxwell and Michela Alioto-Pier announced a plan to begin closing San Francisco's last fossil fuel-burning power plant by year's end, yesterday the Board of Supervisors approved a contract to build what will become the state's largest solar power plant. Construction of the 5-megawatt Sunset Reservoir solar project, which was presented by Supervisor Carmen Chu, will begin in July and the facility should come online just as San Francisco's Potrero Power Plant begins powering down.
Environmental justice and community development activists have highlighted the importance of the requirement that the solar project's workforce be made up of at least thirty percent economically disadvantaged residents of the City's most underserved communities, including Bayview-Hunters Point, the Mission, Chinatown, and the Western Addition. Supervisor Eric Mar provided a critical voice of support for the proposal, conducting last-minute due diligence on the terms of the solar contract on behalf of his colleagues and embracing an emerging blue-green alliance of community workforce and environmental advocates.
Supervisor Mar has pledged to push the thirty percent community hiring threshold even further, and it is understood that more than half of all jobs on the project will be filled by local San Franciscans. Hiring will take place over the next several weeks throught the city's CityBuild program, and jobs are expected to last six months. It is hoped that the experience gained by workers on this project will translate into continued employment in the green sector and also aid the efforts of Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi, David Chiu, John Avalos, and Mar to address the broader issue of strengthening San Francisco's local hiring programs.
It's Coming Down! Supervisors Announce Plan To Start Closing The Potrero Power Plant This Year
Community, City United In Effort To Shutter San Francisco's Last Fossil Fuel-Burning Power Plant By End Of 2009
San Francisco, California, May 12, 2009 -- Just over a year after one hundred Bayview-Hunters point residents and environmental activists rallied on the steps of City Hall in advance of a marathon 10-hour hearing on San Francisco's Potrero Power Plant, Supervisor Sophie Maxwell was joined by Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier in announcing a plan to begin closing the facility this year without the construction of a new power plant to replace it. Last summer, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors was engaged in a heated debate about whether to approve a controversial plan to spend $273 million on new power plants in and around the Bayview-Hunters Point community to replace the Potrero Plant. Supervisors Alioto-Pier, Ross Mirkarimi, Chris Daly, and current Assemblymember Tom Ammiano prevailed upon colleagues to apply pressure on state regulators at the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) to revisit Cal-ISO's 2004 position that the only way to close the Potrero Plant was to build new power plants.
Intervention by Mayor Gavin Newsom in June of last year led to Cal-ISO President Yakout Mansour opining that San Francisco's need for in-city standby "peaker" power to prevent possible outages had dropped from 200 megawatts to 150 megawatts since 2004, leading City officials to question all underlying assumptions about the need to condemn San Francisco's low-income Southeast communities of color to future years of pollution with brand new power plants. Yesterday's announcement by Supervisor Maxwell, who represents the neighborhoods most affected by the old power plant as well as the proposed new power plants, marks the end of the journey that followed, in which the City sought out a path to closing the Potrero Power Plant in the most environmentally just way possible.
Supervisor Maxwell's presentation highlighted the fact that further analysis by the Cal-ISO has revealed that the gap required to cover San Francisco's reliability needs has shrunk to no more than 25 megawatts, eliminating the need for the 362 megawatt Potrero Plant or last year's proposed 200 megawatt combustion turbine power plants. As reported in yesterday's San Francisco Examiner ("New effort afoot to close city plant," May 11, 2009) San Francisco power official Barbara Hale stated last week that upgrades to San Francisco's electricity grid put the City "in a strong position to argue that Mirant's main generator and smokestack could be switched off this year."
Yesterday's announcement has excited and united community groups, environmentalists, and environmental justice activists who have campaigned for years to shut down the Potrero Plant without building new plants, an effort that has attracted the support of organizations such as the Sierra Club, Environmental Defense, Greenaction, San Francisco Planning and Urban Research, and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, as well as national leaders including Van Jones and Robert Kennedy Jr. The final push to shut the Potrero Power Plant this year carries the added benefit that San Francisco will be able to sell the turbines planned to fire the proposed new power plants, which will add $10 million to the City's general fund according to a report in this morning's Examiner ("Equipment sale could net S.F. $10M for general fund," May 12, 2009).
Activists have offered their commitment to ensure that San Francisco's unused turbines are dedicated to replacing one or more of California's 12 coal-burning power plants that generate 400 megawatts of electricity, the largest of which is a 63-megawatt facility in Kern County.
By a 7-4 vote yesterday the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the 5-megawatt Sunset Reservoir solar project on first reading. Supervisors Eric Mar and David Chiu cast pivotal "yes" votes on the proposal, bridging a partnership between traditional environmentalists such as the Sierra Club and green jobs advocates calling for the inclusion of low-income people of color, limited English speakers, and the formerly incarcerated in the formation of a new green economy.
In a meeting between community representatives and Board President Chiu just prior to Tuesday's vote, Samuel Kang of the Greenlining Institute stressed that San Francisco's decision will impact renewable energy policy statewide, pushing utilities and businesses to create similar opportunities in underserved communities throughout California.
Supervisor Carmen Chu deftly addressed concerns about the project's financing, pointing out that a contract had been awarded to the lowest of five bidders and that the terms were comparable to similar projects underway throughout the country, particularly if the City opts to purchase the installation after seven years.
The Sunset Reservoir solar project will come up for a second and final vote next Tuesday, May 12, with construction and employment set to begin in July.
05/05/2009
Sunset Reservoir Solar Will Jump-Start San Francisco Renewable Energy Portfolio
Proposal Includes Green Workforce Requirement Of At Least 30% Economically Disadvantaged San Franciscans, Over 50% Local Hiring Overall
San Francisco, California, May 5, 2009 -- This afternoon San Francisco Supervisors will vote upon whether to build what would be the state's largest solar power plant, a 5-megawatt installation on top of the City's Sunset Reservoir. That the proposed facility would be this state's largest while Florida's 25-megawatt Desoto Solar Energy Center comes online by year's end speaks volumes about the need to ramp up California's investment in solar power, especially when it reduces our cities' need to purchase fossil fuel power during times of peak demand. Today's proposal is unique, however, in that a weeks-long debate about the terms of the deal's financing has allowed green jobs advocates to secure a binding commitment from solar developer Recurrent Energy to hire at least thirty percent of the project's green workforce from San Francisco's eight most disadvantaged communities. In fact, more than half of the entire project workforce will be made up of San Francisco residents.
Contractual issues surrounding the solar proposal have apparently been resolved to the fullest extent possible, leading environmentalists, community advocates, and a broad cross-section of San Francisco civic leaders to agree: It is time to approve this project.
Since last week's vote on the contract was continued, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi noted that the project cost becomes increasingly unfavorable for the City in future years if San Francisco declines the option to purchase the solar panels outright in the seventh year. He is right, and it must be stated now and forever that the City must purchase this facility as soon as it has the opportunity, especially if the project cost is to remain in line with a very similar recent proposal to build 30 MW for the City of Austin, Texas.
However, the recent decision by Supervisor Eric Mar to co-sponsor the solar proposal has elevated excitement among green jobs advocates that his involvement will help push the project's community hiring requirement beyond thirty percent and the target for hiring local San Franciscans well past fifty percent. Supervisor John Avalos has also locked on to the importance of establishing a baseline minimum for underserved community hiring on green projects, which is part of the larger call for local hiring of San Francisco workers when public dollars are involved. It appears that Supervisor Carmen Chu has championed a proposal that has united traditional environmentalists such as the Sierra Club with community-based green jobs advocates both national and neighborhood in scope, including Green For All, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Young Community Developers, Visitacion Valley Community Development Corporation, and Asian Neighborhood Design.
The questions raised about the project's financing and the City's control over the facility have been addressed as much as they can be, and undoubtedly the City's next project of this scale and scope will include all of the lessons learned during this healthy discussion. Yet the debate about how San Francisco will build its next major solar installation does not detract from the fact that the City's solar future starts today, with this project. The Sunset Reservoir solar plant has excited too many stakeholders, including leaders from San Francisco's communities of color, limited English speakers, and formerly incarcerated ranks, who have had the chance to sit down with Supervisors to voice their feeling that this green movement truly appears to hold a place for them.
Today's project will be approved, and San Francisco will be all the better for it.
03/26/2009
Mayor Gavin Newsom Declares March 26, 2009 "Brightline Defense Project Day" in San Francisco
In a proclamation delivered to Brightline at our March 26 "Salute to San Francisco's Commitment to Environmental Justice" Mayor Gavin Newsom declared the day "Brightline Defense Project Day" in the City. Senator Mark Leno and Assemblymember Fiona Ma joined Mayor Newsom in delivering Certificates of Recognition to the event.
We are incredibly honored at the Mayor's gesture and the full text of the proclamation reads as follows:
Proclamation
City and County of San Francisco
WHEREAS, founded in 2005, Brightline Defense Project began its mission to promote sustainability and opportunity in traditionally underserved communities through public policy advocacy and partnerships; and
WHERES, Brightline protects and empowers communities through three focused pathways: 1) environmental justice, 2) job creation and retention, and 3) fair and affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, Brightline continues to provide important advocacy and insight on issues of environmental and social justice that affects the City's public policy; and
WHEREAS, Brightline has helped champion "green jobs" in low-income and traditionally underserved San Francisco communities; and
WHEREAS, Brightline's work on environmental justice in Bayview-Hunters Point helped close the Potrero Power Plant, advancing greating opportunities to identify alternative energy sources; and
WHEREAS, the phasing out of San Francisco's last remaining fossil fuel power plant and development of renewable energy and resources will result in the creation of a healthier, more sustainable environment in our City; now
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that I, Gavin Newsom, Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco, in recognition of continued commitment to environmental justice on behalf of the residents of our City, do hereby proclaim March 26, 2009 as...
BRIGHTLINE DEFENSE PROJECT DAY
In San Francisco!
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the City and County of San Francisco to be affixed.
Gavin Newsom
Mayor
03/24/2009
GoSolarSF Expansion Will Accelerate Green Job Creation In Underserved Communities
Supervisor Mirkarimi’s Plan To Promote Workforce Development Hiring For Commercial Solar Projects Will Increasingly Involve Low-Income Residents In The Greening Of San Francisco San Francisco
This afternoon the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a series of amendments to the City’s GoSolarSF incentive program offered by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi. The most important of these changes from an environmental justice point of view is the expansion of the program’s “workforce development” incentive from strictly residential projects to include commercial installations.
Green jobs advocates have championed Supervisor Mirkarimi’s proposal as a way to double or triple the creation of “green jobs” in low-income and traditionally underserved San Francisco communities. Previously, only residential customers have been eligible to receive a special incentive of $6,000 by utilizing a “workforce development” installer, someone who is a qualified economically disadvantaged resident of San Francisco that has graduated from a City-approved training program.
After Supervisor Mirkarimi’s expansion of the program businesses can earn up to $10,000 toward the cost of their solar installation only if they “use installers trained through the City's workforce development system.”
Twenty-six jobs have been created for economically disadvantaged San Franciscans over the first eight months of the GoSolarSF program, primarily in the Excelsior, Western Addition, and Bayview-Hunters Point communities. Commercial solar installations are generally larger than residential projects, requiring more installers and tending to promote increased job growth. The aim is to incentivize the hiring of residents in San Francisco’s most job-hungry neighborhoods by enabling a participating solar company to offer an extra $10,000 discount to commercial customers.
In this way, the idea of “environmental justice” is served: proposals like Supervisor Mirkarimi’s solar program expansion increase the involvement of low-income communities, particularly neighborhoods that have historically suffered disproportionate environmental health burdens, in the quest to meet the call to combat climate change.
In fact, the lack of a plan to involve low-income and traditionally underserved San Franciscans in a major solar installation proposed by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission for the City’s Sunset Reservoir is viewed as one of the critical flaws that led to the $45 million proposal being tabled for a month during the March 18, 2009 meeting of the Supervisors’ Budget & Finance Committee. It is thought that if the 5-megawatt Sunset Reservoir project is not amended to include environmental justice principles like those offered by Supervisor Mikrarimi in expanding GoSolarSF, the SFPUC’s solar project faces difficulty in obtaining approval by the Board of Supervisors.
02/09/2009
Report: The Recent History and Current State of the Potrero Power Plant Debate
Read Brightline's new report on the past year of advocacy on the issue of the Potrero Power Plant, released today.
11/01/2008
"Power Plant Victory In San Francisco"
From the November-December 2008 issue of the Sierra Club Yodeler, the Newspaper of the San Francisco Bay Chapter.
Power-plant victory in San Francisco
Environmental and social-justice activists joined residents of low-income southeast San Francisco to recently achieve an important long-standing goal: the last remaining power plant in San Francisco will be closed without building a new power plant in its place.
On June 5 San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom delivered the news that state regulators had budged on a 2004 position that the city could not shut its aging Potrero Power Plant unless it built a new natural-gas power plant to replace it.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors took swift action on June 24 and Aug. 12 to reject the city's $273 million proposal to build new fossil-fuel power plants between the Bayview-Hunters Point and Potrero neighborhoods and near San Francisco International Airport.
Most of the Potrero Power Plant will now shut down in 2010, and activists and the community will continue to push for meeting the city's power needs through renewable energy, efficiency, distributed generation, and transmission upgrades so that the old power plant can be closed entirely.
The Sierra Club, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Green for All, Our City, and the Brightline Defense Project have worked together to educate the public and elected officials on the need to turn away from reliance on fossil-fuel electricity, especially when plants are sited among our most disadvantaged communities. The effort represents a successful blend of the Sierra Club's traditional environmental stewardship with environmental-justice advocacy for the rights of the low-income communities of color who have all too often been burdened by power plants.
"We must question the need for new investments in fossil-fuel generation in light of the global-warming crisis and the burden that pollution places on our communities," said Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter political chair John Rizzo.
SAN FRANCISCO , CA - San Francisco civil rights advocacy group Brightline Defense Project has begun partnering with local law firms with which to associate as counsel in litigation matters. By turning to traditional law firms to advance cases to trial, Brightline will merge its presence in the community with resources required to pursue litigation against deep-pocketed opposition.
Brightline, which began as a traditional legal aid organization on the basis of an anti-Latino discrimination settlement against a prominent banking institution, has quickly learned that litigation is not the only legal tool with which to create positive results on civil rights issues.
"Our lawsuit to stop the San Francisco power plants was thrown out by [U.S. Distrcit Court] Judge [Charles] Breyer in March," said Brightline Executive Director Joshua Arce, "leaving advocacy as the last remaining avenue to advance a policy of environmental justice for Bayview-Hunters Point and Potrero."
"We spent six months battling the City Attorney, the U.S. Attorney, and the EPA in the courtroom," continued Arce, "but it was spending time with our environmental and social justice organizational allies, the community, Supervisors Mirkarimi and Alioto-Pier, and ultimately Mayor Newsom, that led to our contribution toward San Francisco's decision to end its history of dirty power plants in disadvantaged neighborhoods."
With Brightline's anti-Chinese discrimination case on behalf of janitors and excessive force case against Antioch Police Department headed to trial in the spring, the group appears to be well-positioned to provide redress to its clients with this non-profit/private sector partnership.
In addition, a two-year investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission into company-wide failure to prevent sexual harassment on the part of one of the nation's leading financial institutions is nearing conclusion, and Brightline will call upon the Bay Area's leading employment attorneys to participate in that battle.
08/12/2008
San Francisco Power Plants Sent Packing
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - San Francisco's controversial $273 million power plant proposal was handed its walking papers as the Board of Supervisors voted 11-0 today in favor of sending the plan back to committee.
The vote caps months of speculation about whether power plant proponent Supervisor Aaron Peskin would marshal the six votes necessary to build the new power plants in and around the environmental justice communities of Potrero and Bayview-Hunters Point. With the May 2008 announcement from Cal-ISO that most of the aging Potrero Power Plant can be closed in 2010 without the construction of new power plants to replace it, Supervisor Peskin quickly lost support for his plan in favor of the call from Supervisors Michela Alioto-Pier, Ross Mirkarimi, Chris Daly, and Tom Ammiano for no new fossil fuel power plants.
Environmentalists and community activists now look forward to the challenge of closing all of the Potrero Power Plant in 2010.
07/23/2008
San Francisco Votes To Cancel Power Plant Contract
SAN FRANCISCO , CA - The controversial plan to build $273 million worth of brand new power plants to replace San Francisco’s aging Mirant Potrero Power Plant appears to have at last had its plug pulled. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) voted 3-0 yesterday to rescind the contract to build new power plants in Southeast San Francisco that has sat before the Board of Supervisors since March. Commissioners Richard Sklar, David Hochschild, and Dennis Normandy voted in favor of rescission, while Commissioner Ann Moller Caen was out of town and Commissioner F.X. Crowley left the room before the vote.
The rejection of the “peaker” power plant proposal caps a remarkable past several months in which Mayor Gavin Newsom, who once supported the plan, withdrew his backing to join a chorus of residents, environmentalists, social justice activists, and Supervisors Michela Alioto-Pier, Ross Mirkarimi, Chris Daly, and Tom Ammiano in opposing the measure.By reengaging state regulators in June of this year to reassess the 2004 plan that required the construction of new power plants to replace the Potrero Plant, Mayor Newsom was able to secure closure of over 90% of the Potrero Plant in 2010, with the remaining units to be retrofit and on standby as San Francisco develops in-city renewable energy sources.
According to the SFPUC, the new alternative will result in no cost to the City and drastically reduce pollution in the City’s Bayview-Hunters Point and Potrero neighborhoods. The SFPUC will now determine how many of the remaining Potrero units to retrofit, and whether the City can accelerate the estimated three to five years before the plant closes in totality. The new power plants were projected to run 2,000-4,000 hours per year for 18 to 30 years.
San Francisco To Vote On New Power Plants Tomorrow
SAN FRANCISCO , CA - The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will vote tomorrow on whether to build $273 million worth of new fossil fuel-burning power plants in and around the Southeast communities of Bayview-Hunters Point and Potrero. It was once thought that building the new power plants was required as the only means of shutting the aging Mirant Potrero Power Plant. However, a coalition of residents, activists, and Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi, Michela Alioto-Pier, Chris Daly, and Tom Ammiano issued a call that culminated in last month's announcement by Mayor Gavin Newsom that he had secured a commitment from state regulators to shut 94% of the Potrero Plant in 2010, without the new power plants.
The Board must now choose a preference between retrofitting the remaining Potrero units, estimated to be shut down within 3 to 5 years, or building the new power plants, which will run from 18 to 30 years depending on their hours of operation. Last Tuesday the SF Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) voted 5-0 to endorse the retrofit as its preferred option. On July 1 SFPUC General Manager Barbara Hale confirmed that the retrofit option is cleaner than building the $273 million new power plants. Listen to the discussion of comparative emissions online by clicking here.)
The Board has also approved a study of a "transmission only" means of shutting Potrero and it appears that the new power plants will be tabled so that the balance of the power plant debate can be between retrofitting the remaining Potrero units or replacing them with transmission upgrades.
07/02/2008
SFPUC Confirms That Building New Power Plants Dirtier Than Phased Closure Of Existing Power Plant
SAN FRANCISCO , CA - Unless a transmission study commissioned last week by the Board of Supervisors demonstrates that the remaining units of the Potrero Power Plant can be closed when the plant's polluting smokestack shuts down in early 2010, the Board may soon have to decide between retrofitting those remaining units or building brand new power plants in the same neighborhood.
If the decision to retrofit must be made, legislators can take solace knowing that they have opted for what appears to be the environmentally sound alternative. Yesterday, SF Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) General Manager Edward Harrington told Brightline and representatives of the Sierra Club that retrofitting the remaining Potrero units would be cleaner than building the $273 million new peaker power plants.
SFPUC Deputy General Manager Barbara Hale confirmed Mr. Harrington's assessment later in the day at a meeting of the SFPUC Citizens' Advisory Committee (CAC).
(Listen to SFPUC's Barbara Hale, Brightline's Joshua Arce, and the Potrero Boosters' Joe Boss discuss the comparative emissions of retrofit vs. building new CTs on July 1 here.)
Ms. Hale explained to CAC Power Subcommittee Chair Kimia Mizany that the discrepancy between annual hours of operation for retrofitted peakers running a few hundred hours per year and the new power plants running 1,900 hours per year, according to the SFPUC's consultant, accounts for why the retrofit option would be cleaner. Environmentalists and residents are worried that the new power plants, permitted to run up to 4,000 hours per year, might run even more frequently during their 18 to 30 year lifespan.
Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi, Michela Alioto-Pier, Chris Daly, and Tom Ammiano have pushed their colleagues to embrace a more environmentally sound and just alternative to building the proposed new fossil fuel-burning power plants. Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Sophie Maxwell are the proponents of the new quarter-billion dollar power plants, and City Attorney Dennis Herrera had recently registered concern that the retrofit alternative may not be as clean as building the new power plants.
Last month Mayor Gavin Newsom announced that the California Independent System Operator has agreed to allow the City to shut down Unit 3 of the Potrero Plant, which accounts for 94% of the plant's annual output and constitutes the billowing smokestack that has plagued Southeast residents for decades, in the first quarter of 2010. The Board and the Mayor must now address closure of the remaining three Potrero "peaker" units, which typically run 200-250 hours per year.
Download the entire July 1, 2008 SFPUC Citizens' Advisory Committee discussion here.
06/04/2008
It's Official: San Francisco Doesn't Need To Build New Power Plants
SAN FRANCISCO , CA - Yesterday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors postponed consideration of the City's proposed $273 million power plants until July 15. The unanimous vote to postpone came on the heels of a June 2 announcement from the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) that San Francisco no longer needs to build new power plants to shut down the existing Mirant Potrero Power Plant.
Supervisors largely welcomed the news from Cal-ISO, which represents a departure from Cal-ISO's 2004 Action Plan for San Francisco that called for the replacement of the Potrero Plant with the proposed 200-megawatt combustion turbine power plants. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi in particular noted that until recently "the right questions were not necessarily asked by this city government" and that if new information "leads to the place where we do not need to one-for-one supplant in-city generation we're absolutely on the right track."
Earlier in the day Mayor Gavin Newsom announced in a letter to the Board that the Potrero Plant's gas-burning smokestack, Unit 3, will be shut down in early 2010 when the Trans Bay Cable plugs in, without the construction of any new power plants. Following the Board's postponement of the power plant legislation, Supervisor Sophie Maxwell introduced a resolution calling for the exploration of a "transmission-only" solution that would allow the Potrero Plant's three remaining smaller units to shut down on the same day as the Unit 3 smokestack.
Supervisors Mirkarimi and Michela Alioto-Pier rallied over 100 Bayview residents and environmental activists on the steps of City Hall on May 5, bringing together one of the most diverse San Francisco coalitions in recent memory. Included are Supervisors Chris Daly and Tom Ammiano, who have for many months been steadfast in their opposition to these power plants that would continue to pollute the Southeast communities for at least the next 20 years. The swelling chorus of voices calling for environmental justice gave support to Mayor Newsom to pointedly tell state regulators that San Francisco will not be building any new power plants anymore.
Download the June 3, 2008 Letter from Gavin Newsom and supporting documents here. Read an article in today's SF Bayview Newspaper on this story here.
05/12/2008
Environmental Attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Writes In Opposition To San Francisco Power Plants
SAN FRANCISCO , CA - Natural Resources Defense Council Senior Attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this afternoon wrote to Mayor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Supervisors to express his concern that the City's "peaker plant proposal is based on a plan [that is ] several years old and did not account for the existence of these [new] alternatives." Kennedy suggested that America's need for San Francisco's "leadership on clean energy has never been more urgent and the stakes for our environment and our nation have never been greater.
Kennedy joins Brightline and a host of national and local groups, including Sierra Club, SPUR, Environmental Defense, Our City, and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, in opposing San Francisco's proposed $273 million power plants.
Read RFK Jr.'s Letter to Mayor Newsom and the Board of Supervisors here.
04/28/2008
Leading Environmental Organizations Call For San Francisco To Reject Proposed New Power Plants
SAN FRANCISCO , CA - Today sixteen leading environmental and public interest organizations, ranging in scope from national to neighborhood-specific, announced their opposition to proposed new combustion turbine power plants in Southeast San Francisco.
Four new power plants were proposed in 2004 as replacements for San Francisco's aging Potrero Power Plant, though state regulators now concede that some or all of the marginally cleaner new power plants are no longer required for them to approve the closure of the old power plant.
Today's letter urges Mayor Gavin Newsom and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to go one step further to "abandon [San Francisco's] plan to build new fossil fuel-burning power plants amongst its environmental justice communities" and create "a truly revolutionary plan for a renewable energy future for San Francisco and the planet."
Download the April 28, 2008 Letter to Mayor Newsom and the Board of Supervisors Regarding Proposed New Proposed Plants here.
02/29/2008
Brightline Files Opposition to EPA Motion to Dismiss
SAN FRANCISCO , CA - Brightline Defense Project today filed its opposition to the EPA and EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson's motion requesting that Judge Breyer dismiss plaintiffs' two claims against them.
The EPA defendants have argued that plaintiffs' claims for federal mandamus and relief under the Administrative Procedure Act are preempted by the citizen suit provision of the Clean Air Act.
Brightline and plaintiffs today responded that Clean Air Act relief is unavailable precisely because Johnson has for nearly one year ignored the Supreme Court's April 2007 order in Massachusetts v. EPA to begin regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Download Brightline's Feb. 29, 2008 Opposition to EPA's Motion to Dismiss here.
Download the EPA's February 15, 2008 Motion to Dismiss here.
12/18/2007
Brightline Files Amended Complaint In Federal Suit on S.F.'s Proposed New Power Plants
SAN FRANCISCO , CA - On Friday, December 14 Brightline Defense Project amended its federal complaint seek an injunction against San Francisco proposed "peaker" power plants in Southeast San Francisco.
In addition to Brightline's initial request that Judge Charles R. Breyer should compel the EPA to promulgate greenhouse gas regulations as commanded by the U.S. Supreme Court in April, the amended complaint incorporates the City of San Francisco's motion to become a defendant in the lawsuit.
The City and S.F. Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) General Manager Susan Leal filed a motion on October 26 requesting to intervene in the case as it has "an interest in the transaction that is the subject of this proceeding."
Friday's amended complaint formally charges the SFPUC and Ms. Leal with civil rights due process violations due to misrepresentation and failure to disclose material fact by Ms. Leal and her staff.
Plaintiffs allege that in addition to refusing to allow the City's proposed project to benefit from new greenhouse gas rules to be set forth by the EPA and the local air quality district, the General Manager and her staff have misrepresented the supposed benefits of the power plants, as well as the position that the new plants are required "in San Francisco" rather than "on the SF peninsula" if the old Mirant plant is to be shut down, according to the suit.
Plaintiffs ask for a new round of public hearings at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to see if the best available and most objective science still requires fossil-fuel burning power plants in San Francisco.
San Francisco Public Utilties Commission to Vote Today on SFERP Power Plant
SAN FRANCISCO , CA - The five-member San Francisco Public Utilities Commission will vote today whether to build the San Francisco Electric Reliability Project (SFERP) combustion turbine power plant in Southeast San Francisco.
Brightline advocates that the people of Potrero and Bayview Hunters Point are entitled to zero pollution and the written guarantee that building a new power plant will close the neighboring Potrero Power Plant.
As of today's vote there is no such guarantee, and the pollution reduction offered by the SFERP has now been undercut by data released Friday that shows the SFERP to offer a 0-25% percent reduction in emissions from the old Potrero plant, not the 83% reduction that has been suggested.
Brightline Issues White Paper on the Correlation Between Building the SFERP Power Plant and Closure of Mirant's Potrero Power Plant
SAN FRANCISCO , CA - Brightline Defense Project today issued a white paper On the Correlation Between the San Francisco Electric Reliability Project and Closure of the Potrero Power Plant.
The paper analyzes the gambling proposition that is the City's upcoming final decision to build site the SFERP combustion turbine plant or not:
Will building the SFERP guarantee the closure of the Potrero Power Plant?
Brightline's white paper analyzes the facts and reports the opinions of the authorities. Ultimately, we agree with the San Francisco Department of Public Health's September 2007 Eastern Neighborhoods Community Health Assessment:
“It is imperative that the City of San Francisco obtains an agreement from Mirant to secure the
closure of the [Potrero] power plant before the final approval of the SFPUC to site the new CTs.
The final approval of siting the new CTs should not be permitted unless the plant closure is
guaranteed.”
Download a copy of the October 9, 2007 Brightline white paper On the Correlation Between the San Francisco Electric Reliability Project and Closure of the Potrero Power Plant here.
10/04/2007
Brightline Files Request for California Energy Commission Reconsideration of the SFERP Power Plant
SAN FRANCISCO , CA - Brightline Defense Project today filed a request that the California Energy Commission ("CEC") reconsider its certification of the San Francisco Electric Reliability Project combustion turbine power plant. The request was filed on behalf of Brightline, the San Francisco Chapter of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, and CAlifornians for Renewable Energy.
Substantial developments and new information illustrate that now, exactly one year after the CEC’s certification of the SFERP
power plant, the SFERP does not need to be built among the mostly low-income, minority residents of Southeast San Francisco.
The CEC rejected the "No Project" alternative, which means that the SFERP power plant would
not be constructed, because it “would neither facilitate the possible closure of existing generation or,
more importantly, provide enhanced reliability for San Francisco’s electrical supply.”
However, recent developments and studies suggest that the aging Potrero Power Plant can
be closed, and San Francisco’s electrical reliability bolstered, without the SFERP plant.
Download a copy of the October 4, 2007 Request for CEC Reconsideration of the SFERP Power Plant here.
09/24/2007
Brightline Brings Federal Action Against EPA and BAAQMD To Stop Construction of Proposed Peaker Plant
SAN FRANCISCO , CA - Brightline Defense Project filed a lawsuit in federal court today to stop further action by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District ("BAAQMD") in permitting construction of the San Francisco Electric Reliability Project and its three natural gas-burning combustion turbine "peakers."
The suit alleges that the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has failed to respond to the United State Supreme Court's April 2, 2007 ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA that the agency must state a viable reason for refusing to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act or, alternatively, promulgate such rules and regulations immediately.
The proposed power plant will be sited amongst the City's low-income, mostly minority residents of Potrero and Bayview Hunters Point. Apart from the dangers posed by ground-level greenhouse gas pollution to residents, the hazards of global warming for society are increasingly well-known and documented.
The suit asks the court to enjoin the BAAQMD, the agency to which the EPA has delegated the task of analyzing the peaker plant under the Clean Air Act, from issuing Authority to Construct the plant until the EPA has complied with the Supreme Court's directive.
Brightline filed suit on behalf of community activist and Vice-President of CAlifornians For Renewable Energy Lynne Brown, activist Regina Hollins, and the San Francisco Chapter of non-profit community based organization A. Philip Randolph Institute.
Download a copy of the September 24, 2007 Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief here.
08/20/2007
Brightline Files Suit Alleging Use of Excessive Force In a Racially Motivated Baseless Arrest of a Brentwood Man
ANTIOCH, CA - Brightline Defense Project today filed suit alleging that the City of Antioch Police Department violated the constitutional rights of and committed tortious acts against twenty-two-year-old Peter Martin Quichis. Quichis claims he was injured and threatened with further bodily harm while being detained and subsequently arrested while hanging out with friends in the parking lot of the Delta View Apartments.
According to Quichis, Officer Kevin Kollo requested identification from Quichis, then violently restrained him when he responded that he had none. As a result, Quichis sustained shoulder, wrist, and head injuries. Plaintiff also claims that Officer Kollo threatened to “take him to the woods” and used anti-Latino racial epithets as plaintiff rode in the officer’s police car and while plaintiff was at the police station.
Brightline's initial attempts to resolve the claim with the City of Antioch were rejected, leading to today's complaint.
Download a copy of the August 20, 2007 Complaint for Damages here.
07/31/2007
Brightline Urges San Francisco to Reject Proposed Combustion Turbine "Peaker" Plant in Potrero
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Brightline Defense Project wrote Mayor Gavin Newsom today to urge that he withdraw his support for a proposed power plant to be sited on the border of Potrero and Bayview Hunters Point.
The proposed construction of three combustion turbine "peakers" to be used in times of excessive electrical demand would be a hopeful means of shutting the polluting Mirant Power Plant. Yet the peaker plant itself discharges nearly 100 tons of polluntant per year and is the lesser of two evils for the neighboring low-income and mostly minority residents of Potrero and Bayview Hunters Point.
The City hopes that construction of the "peaker" plant will lead to cancellation of the state's "must-run" contract with Mirant and voluntary closure of the Mirant Power Plant.
Brightline argues that the risks associated with using a smaller power plant to shut down a larger one outweigh zero-pollution alternatives, especially if there is not even a guarantee of closure of the Mirant Plant.
A copy of Brightline's July 31, 2007 Letter to Mayor Newsom is available here.
07/13/2007
Brightline Files Suit Alleging Discrimination By Nation's Largest Janitorial Company Toward Chinese-American Employee
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Brightline Defense Project today filed suit alleging Fair Employment and Housing Act violations by San Francisco-based ABM Industries on behalf of former janitor Yuk Wa Suen.
Suen alleges that her supervisor and ABM targeted Chinese employees for a disproportionate share of the janitorial workload, excessive verbal abuse, and even a prohibition on the use of Chinese language in the workplace. The suit claims that ABM made no efforts to end the November 22, 2006 language ban and failed to take any steps to stop the harassment of Chinese employees.
"We took the case first, because it's the right thing to do," explains Brightline Executive Director and Staff Attorney Joshua Arce, "and second, because Yuk Wa has been our own janitor and friend for the past three years."
Suen is a member of Service Employees International Union Local 87 and was Brightline's first visitor when it opened the doors of its new office on May 1, 2007.
Download a copy of the July 13, 2007 Complaint for Damages here.
06/05/2007
Brightline Issues White Paper In Regard to Government Reaction to Naturally-Occurring Asbestos in El Dorado Hills, Analogizes Current Asbestos Concerns in Bayview Hunters Point
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Brightline Defense Project today issued a white paper analyzing El Dorado Hills local government response to naturally-occurring asbestos in that community, and its disturbance by home developers.
Brightline has on several occasions attended community meetings at Grace Tabernacle Church in Bayview Hunters Point, San Francisco and listened to community leaders speak about community health concerns. Respiratory problems are already disproportionately high among residents and have spiked since the redevelopment of the old Hunters Point Naval Shipyard has begun in earnest.
The white paper contemplates a road map for the City of San Francisco and Bay Area Air Quality Management District to take if the data supports the community's contention that it has been exposed to asbestos by the redevelopment project.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Brightline Defense Project today began focusing on environmental justice issues concerning the so-called "Toxic Triangle" of Bayview Hunters Point. In addition to its ongoing litigation on other civil rights issues, Brightline seeks to offer services of education and facilitation in regard to three sources of disproportionate pollution on the City's largely low-income and minority residents of zip code 94124: the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant, redevelopment of the former Hunters Point Shipyard, and the Mirant Power Plant.
Since meeting environmental justice activists at the April 16 Government Audits and Oversight Committee hearing, Brightline has had the chance to listen to stories of unfair distribution of the negative impacts associated with raw sewage treatment, residential construction on toxic land, and electricity production, respectively.
We hope to continue our work in gathering information and possibly helping to provide solutions in regard to these areas throughout the year.
05/01/2007
Brightline Moves Offices to Civic Center
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Brightline Defense Project today moved its offices from Downtown San Francisco to Civic Center, across from UC Hastings College of Law. Brightline is now located at 240 Golden Gate Avenue, Suite 102, San Francisco 94102, in a building owned by Service Employees International Union Local 87.
"Our new street-level location allows us to develop our plan to be a visible presence in the community," explained Executive Director Joshua Arce. "In addition, we hope to strengthen our internship program at Hastings by being across the street."
Brightline can still be reached at 415-837-0600, or its toll-free number 877-837-0110, and its fax number remains 415-837-0660.
04/16/2007
Brightline Presents Its Services to the San Francisco Government Audits and Oversight Committee
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - This afternoon Brightline Defense Project introduced itself and presented its services to the San Francisco Government Audits and Oversight Committee of the Board of Supervisors. Brightline Executive Director Joshua Arce informed the committee of its purpose to provide civil rights legal aid and advocacy for underrepresented San Franciscans.
Supervisors Sean Elsbernd, Chris Daly, and Ed Jew were present to hear of Brightline's mission in "watching and advocating the rights of low income, minority, and non-English speaking residents," as Arce explained.
03/23/2007
Brightline Files Violation of Americans with Disabilities Act Claim in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES , CA - Brightline Defense Project today filed a claim of violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against one of the nation's largest banks at the Los Angeles District Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The case, which remains confidential pending the results of the EEOC's investigation, involves an employee who alleges he was terminated for his refusal to accept an unconstiutional invasion of privacy as a condition of employment. The employee alleges that he requested accommodation for his physical disability and received the employer-bank's request for the invasion of privacy in response.
The EEOC is the federal agency designated to respond to accusations of discrimination in the workplace. Upon receiving a Charge of Discrimination like that filed by Brightline and its client, the EEOC will investigate the case and either make a determination of the merits of the case or give the client the right to file his or her own suit in the courts.
More information on the EEOC's charge processing procedure may be found here.
03/10/2007
Supervisor Ammiano Cites Brightline in the Mission Dispatch
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - San Francisco District 9 Supervisor Tom Ammiano today cited Brightline Defense Project in an article in the Mission Dispatch neighborhood newspaper, calling the organization "an invaluable tool." Supervisor Ammiano announced Brightline as a resource for "free legal advice" and asked that any resident experiencing "discrimination" or "harassment" call Brightline immediately via its toll-free number.
Supervisor Ammiano's entire article can be read here.
01/22/2007
Retaliation Alleged Against UC Regents
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Brightline Defense Project today filed a complaint in San Francisco Superior Court alleging retaliation against a former University of California employee who reported discrimination on the basis of national origin and age by his supervisor.
The case of Behravan v. The Regents of the University of California, S.F. Sup. Ct. Case No.CGC-06-457578, represents Brightline's effort to call attention to the need for employees to be able to report misconduct in the workplace without fear of reprisal. Plaintiff alleges that he was punished by his supervisor for complaining to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by being placed on performance review as soon as the supervisor learned of the complaint.
Brightline's initial attempts to resolve the dispute with the Regents were resisted, leading to today's complaint for violation of the state Fair Employment and Housing Act. A Case Management Conference is scheduled for April 6, 2007 in Department 212 of the Superior Court, 400 McAllister Street, San Francisco.
11/08/2006
Brightline Receives 501(c)(3) Status
CINCINNATI, OH - The Internal Revenue Service today granted 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status to Brightline Defense Project, classifying the San Francisco-based group as a public charity. Brightline, a non-profit civil rights legal aid organization, is now eligible for grants and public support for its charitable activities.
Brightline offers legal education to the community, as well as advocacy services for civil rights complaints. In addition, Brightline plans to file civil suits in the most egregious of unresolved complaints and has a budget to file five cases per year.
A copy of the IRS' notification letter may be downloaded here.
11/01/2006
Welcome to Brightline Defense Project!
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Brightline Defense Project, a San Francisco-based civil rights legal aid organization, today launched a new website that features educational tools and a complaint intake system for individuals who wish to know more about their individual rights.
Training took place three months later, on May 21, at the Bayview YMCA. Tim Sears of GRID Alternatives and Jeanine Cotter of Luminalt provided the know-how. Young men and women from YCD, VV Jobnet, APRI, Anders & Anders, and Charity Cultural Services provided the eagerness to learn and help green the community.
