Port News

Today in the mail I received my first edition of the Port News. I love the Port of Oakland, the ships, the cranes, the vast quantities of cargo. Oakland was the first port on the Pacific Coast to build terminals for container ships and is now the fourth largest port in the nation. There is no definitive statement that this is the first edition of the Port News but I've lived here for two years and never seen one before. It's a nice sized publication of 32 pages giving readers updates on the Jack London Square redevelopment project, improvements at the airport, environmental projects and community programs. Oakland is the first port in the nation to scan every international container for radioactive material. We have two new cranes recently installed, each can load or discharge 35 containers per hour. There is a truck replacement program to give truck owners a $25,000 credit to upgrade their pre 1987 diesel rigs to newer, cleaner models. Port tours are given one Thursday a month which I completely forgot about and need to sign up for. I'm amazed every time I look out my office window to see the containers being unloaded from the ships which came from far off lands. The containers travel across stormy seas to bring us our iPods and sneakers and bok choy. The longshoremen risk life and limb to put the goods on trains on their way to the heartland of America. Trains that travel slowly along the Embarcadero tempting me to hop aboard and ride the rails. Then I turn back to my desk and continue answering e-mails and asking everybody what they want for lunch.