105 results for author: CESP

Tribe, developer, environmental groups announce major shoreline deal

By John Simerman Contra Costa Times Wednesday October 20, 2010 RICHMOND -- An American Indian tribe and the developer of a planned billion-dollar casino resort at Point Molate have reached a deal with local environmental groups that calls for at least $48 million to buy and protect prime shoreline if a gambling emporium rises. The deal ends years of litigation against a plan to build an Indian casino, along with a hotel, convention center, retail mall and nightclubs, on former Navy land along the Bay near the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. And it comes less than two weeks before Richmond voters will weigh in on the casino plan in a nonbin...

Endorsements 2010: Yes on 21; parks need a stable source of funds

Thursday, Sep. 16, 2010 California's 278 state parks are undisputed treasures. Anyone who has soaked in the pools of Grover Hot Springs State Park or camped on the beach of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park or seen the spring wildflowers at Anzo-Borrego Desert State Park can testify to the splendor of these public lands. On Nov. 2, California voters must be prepared to answer two questions in regard to their state parks: • Is the state providing adequate support for its state parks system? • If not, does Proposition 21 offer a reasonable and fair funding method for maintaining and improving these parks? Clearly, the answer to the ...

North Richmond rezoning could bring development to shoreline open space

September - October, 2010 The North Richmond Shoreline, from the West County Landfill to Point Pinole Regional Shoreline, is a large contiguous block of Bay wetlands and coastal prairie. It deserves to be preserved in unified public ownership, but soon the Richmond City Council may take an action that would greatly perhaps prohibitively raise the costs of acquiring these lands. The East Bay Regional Park District has owned Point Pinole since the 1960s. In 2006 it voted to acquire most of Breuner Marsh through eminent domain, over the fierce opposition of the owners, Don Carr and Bay Area Wetlands LLC, who fought that action and whose ...

Broad Coalition of Supporters Qualify State Parks Initiative for November Ballot

June 10, 2010 Sacramento, CA - California Secretary of State Debra Bowen today qualified the State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010, a measure that will provide a stable and adequate funding source to keep state parks open, for the Nov. 2 statewide ballot. With passage of the initiative, not only will state parks have a long-term funding solution, but also important General Fund dollars will be made available for other vital needs. A wide-ranging coalition that includes business, public health, education, labor, entertainment, public safety, Latino, conservation and environmental interests already support the November ...

Open space on Albany Waterfront

By Patricia Jones, Albany Thursday, May 20, 2010 The Albany community has come together for open space and recreation for the Albany Waterfront, envisioning only nominal "green" development for its shoreline. On April 19, the Albany City Council unanimously voted to accept the Voices to Vision Report and to treat it as a living planning document that reflects Albany residents' waterfront vision. Mayor Joanne Wile joined the council in praising the public participants and Fern Tiger & Associates for their hard work and dedication to producing an open, inclusive, comprehensive process and result. Albany began this intensive two-year ...

Environmentalists fight Redwood City project

By Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, March 1, 2010 Environmental leaders are gearing up for a protracted fight over plans to build a 30,000-resident development at the Redwood City salt flats. More than 90 current and former elected Bay Area officials last week demanded that Redwood City immediately halt the Saltworks project, which would bring up to 12,000 housing units, offices and retail to the shoreline. "We all have a stake in what happens in Redwood City," said Contra Costa County supervisor John Gioia. "It's about habitat, biological diversity. The bay defines our quality of life and who we are." The project is at ...

Big ideas sought for Oakland Bay Bridge park

By John King, Chronicle Urban Design Writer Monday, March 1, 2010 It's a good bet that few drivers crossing the Bay Bridge pay attention to where it touches down in Oakland - a smear of maintenance yards and parking, stray buildings and scrub. But with the new eastern span of the bridge scheduled to open in 2013, government planners are floating the idea of a much different role for the 1.5-mile-long strip: a park that would celebrate the bridge and the region, with attractions scaled to the immense cranes of the nearby Port of Oakland. There's no design and no budget - yet. The public process is only now getting under way. But with a ...

Ballot initiative to fund state parks draws big interest

By Kurtis Alexander, Santa Cruz Sentinel Friday , February 26, 2010 SANTA CRUZ -- A massive volunteer-led signature drive is finding its way to street corners, grocery stores and weekend festivities along the Central Coast. The corps of name gatherers, who range from college students to retirees, has seen the gates come down across many of California's 278 state parks this year, and the group thinks the cash-starved park system can be resurrected with a ballot measure. "I don't remember signature-gathering on this scale before," said Bonny Hawley, executive director of Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks and one of the organizers of the ...

Owner Back in the Saddle at Santa Anita Race Track

By Charles Proctor, Los Angeles Business Journal Staff Monday, February 8, 2010 Less than a year after it appeared that Santa Anita Park was headed for the auction block, the raceway is on track to remain under the ownership of Canadian horse-racing enthusiast Frank Stronach despite his financial woes. A deal that has been worked out among Stronach's bankrupt Magna Entertainment Corp. and its creditors also would end the bid by L.A. developer Rick Caruso to buy the Arcadia track, where he plans to build another Grove-style mall in its vast parking lot. Under the agreement, ownership of the track would be transferred to MI Developments ...

Albany Hopes Community Input Will Resolve Waterfront Debate

By Paul Gackle, The Berkeley Daily Planet Thursday January 14, 2010 For more than 40 years the city of Albany has been caught in a game of tug-of-war over its waterfront property. But the city hopes that a new campaign to solicit community input will break the stalemate and provide a shared vision for the community's shoreline. More than 375 Albany residents attended the city's Community Center and Senior Center over the Jan. 9-10 weekend to participate in the last round of community meetings aimed at finding common ground in a battle over the property that has pitted environmentalists against corporate developers. The meetings were the ...