Free Republic

OAKLAND -- Bay area longshoremen were up in arms Friday night when they were denied work at one of Oakland's cargo terminals. The cargo ship, the Zhen Hua 19, pulled into Oakland's Pier Seven and on board was tons of steel slated to be used for the new Bay Bridge. Caltrans decided not to hire the ILWU Local 10 longshoremen to unload the vessel, a decision that angered some local union members.

It turns out that the whistle-blower whose call to the FBI triggered the big investigation into alleged faulty welds on the new Bay Bridge hadn't even been calling about welds. In fact, apprentice welder Gustave Link, who phoned the FBI's public corruption hot line in February, more than a year after he quit his job, was only complaining about what he thought were dangerous working conditions at the bridge site -- issues that he says had fallen on the deaf ears of both construction managers and his union bosses. "If it wasn't for the FBI bringing it up, the issues...

SACRAMENTO - Seeking to protect motorists from higher bridge tolls, Senate leader Don Perata on Tuesday proposed a statewide bond measure to pay for the Bay Bridge's $3.2 billion in cost overruns and preserve its current design. The bonds, which would require voter approval, also would fund earthquake retrofit work for California's hospitals. The plan requires a two-thirds approval of the Legislature to be placed on the ballot. The amount of the bond is not set, and Perata, D-Oakland, still must work out the measure's details. The move could be a significant tack for Perata and Bay Area legislators, who...

As the final Bay Bridge hearing came to a close Wednesday, a clearer picture emerged about how a portion of soaring cost increases would be paid for: higher tolls. A leading Bay Area lawmaker signaled a hike to $4 is on the negotiating table as the Legislature looks to pay for $3.2 billion in overruns on the Bay Bridge and on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. "It's the reality we will have to absorb," said state Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, who lead the hearings as chairman of the Senate's transportation committee. However, Torlakson said the governor's previous proposal, which would have...