Feeling a Little Loma

Reading all those comments about CalTrans on sfgate.com.   People definitely feel strongly about that Bridge and CalTrans.  When things go right, everyone applauds CalTrans…and, at the slightest of slip-ups, they’re called out as “bums”.   The 70-year-old bridge was in severe need of repair, yet one that I seem to rarely think about being unsafe.  Now, we’re all set with the new detour to begin the retrofit of the new East side section to this iconic and important artery in the Bay Area.

The Bridge had a planned closure this weekend, and by all accounts, CalTrans and the CC Myers’ crew were ready to address a near engineering marvel to move out and replace 300 feet of road way, 200 feet high off the water.   That part went fine.  What we weren’t ready for was an extended closure due to an issue found during the new road work.   It was the bridge inspection that led to the extended, and now, unexpected, unscheduled closure.

An upper strut of the Bridge cracked and they needed 1 more day to fix.  With the Tuesday commute pending, we all went scrambling, but when the rubber met the road, literally, CalTrans ended up completing the repairs early Tuesday morning, which led to a 2 hour delay and avoided a whole extra (24 hour) delay.   Quite stunning change of course in last 24 hours.

It’s always a little strange when the Bay Bridge closes.  It happened 2 years ago to fix the West side of the bridge, and ended up opening up about 12 hours ahead of schedule.   But, what really occupies me is what happened 20 years ago.

Loma Prieta.   It’s one of the few times when I remember to a tee what happened after the quake hit and the

number of people who shared in the experience within a short period.

I had just arrived home from my afternoon history class at UC Davis.  I only had 2 quarters left at school.  I walked into my apartment on F Street, put my books down, and felt a strong, rolling wave.  Perhaps just a little

woozy after a long day at school.  No, it felt like an earthquake.   I turned on the radio and I ran to my study room.  Sure enough, a hanging plant was swaying to and fro.  From the radio “a large earthquake has hit the bay area, and centered in Palo Alto”, a 100 miles away.  My parents lived in Palo Alto.  I immediately called home.  I reached my mother instantly.  She said that everything is fine.  Her clock radio fell off a shelf, but the power was still on.  I learned later that the earthquake was actually centered in Hollister, but regardless, it was a miracle that I actually got thru that instant as almost every phone line got tied up as the Bay Area was reeling in damage.

I bolted out of my apartment on my bike to head up the street to my buddies house to watch the World Series.  It wasn’t just *any* World Series…it was the “Bay Bridge Series” between the Oakland A’s and the SF Giants.   I opened the door swiftly, “did anyone feel the earthquake?’

“Sure did,” everyone responded.   “And, no baseball today”.

“Really?”

No way.  Candlestick had cracked in the upper section.   The upper deck of the bay bridge went thru the lower deck.   The Marina district was engulfed in flames and crushed homes, and the Cypress Structure in Oakland completely collapsed.

I stared at the TV.  Looking at the Bay Area and roads I had travelled uncountable times.   Stunned.   Helpless.   The Bay Area would never be the same again.

About 2 weeks later, I had tickets to the Rolling Stones concert in Oakland, which would have been fine to get to, but we also decided to spend the day before in the city.  It must have taken 2.5 hours to get from Richmond to SF…complete crawl over the Richmond-San Rafael and Golden Gate Bridges.

Alas, the Bay bridge would be fixed within a few weeks in 1989.  A new section would be dropped in.  The Cypress Structure was removed, the Embarcadero high-rise was removed.   Many blocks of the Marina were re-built.

Now on Tues, Sept. 8 2009, the bridge has re-opened as the earthquake-proofing from 20 years ago continues, which I guess is certainly far better than unscheduled closures.  Albeit a pain, we seem to adapt and move on.  And, being prepared for at least 1 or 2 more closures to re-attach the new section.  Until next Labor Day…

The Bridge is cracked and they need 1 more day, meaning we’re now scrambling to address a commute no one planned for.   So, no we’re in unscheduled territory and I can only stop and reflect on what happened 20 years ago.

Wa-Mu Boo-Boo

They’re fairly memorable ads.  Those Washington Mutual ones.  “Bank Another Way” they claimed.  They generally have a bank rep talking about why it’s so much better to be with Wa-Mu than “one of those other guys”, and a “what are you going to do about that Ed?”

To further demonstrate the extent of Wa-Mu’s ad network, I also enjoy this lovely sign on top of a SOMA (San Francisco) Building.  It’s placed for traffic heading West on Hwy 80 as you decent off the Bay Bridge into San Francisco.  This freeway section is one of the hairiest, tightest, crash-magnets in the Bay Area (Caltrans is completing a major Bay Bridge reconstruction and drivers are left with just being patient while the necessity proceeds) where the relief of finally coming off the bridge is met by a winding, swirl of “am I on the right road” syndrome.  Where everyone is just making damn sure you get thru safe, get off the freeway, or make the lane you need to continue in the desired direction.  If you can’t read it, the sign says “Online sign-ups.  Faster than a bike messenger with bad brakes.”  It’s very SF if you’ve seen those bike people whipping their way thru downtown, but only mildly funny.  And, I guarantee you 99.9% of those that blow thru that freeway roller coaster section, don’t even know that it’s there.  And, even if you see it, it’s so poorly positioned that you may not even be able to pick up the words.

Unfortunately, Wa-Mu’s problems were festering long before this obnoxious, poorly selected advertisement.  Additionally, the US is facing a financial crisis across those specializing in lending (Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac bailouts), Wall Street investment banks – MerrillLynch, Lehman, and regular banks all-around. But, I’m picking on Wa-Mu for the one reason…they’ve spent millions in marketing dollars articulating a marketing message that they are different.  Better than a bank, more service-oriented that a bank.  And why, it gives the perception of longevity, someone that will be there in good times and bad.  Someone that knows how to run a bank.  But, is it real?  What’s going to happen?

The Wa-Mu stock is reaching junk bond status having gone from $42.95/share to closing at $3.20 today in just 24 months.  It has gone as low as $2.01.  Kerry Killinger, who in 2001 was named American Banker of the Year, was ousted as CEO this year and replaced by Rick Wagoner.  In 2005, Kerry earned over $15M, and from 2001-2006 earned in excess of $63M.  In the first half of 2008, Wa-Mu reported losses of over $4.4Billion.  This is just pure shameful of epic proportions.  And, is it really the fault of home-owners for getting mortgages they can’t afford, or the bank’s fault for administrating a loan they knew damn-well the home buyer wouldn’t be able to afford?

But, the real irony here is that they are being auctioned off by GoldmanSachs and likely will be purchased by the very bank that mimicked as if it was a disgraceful waste.  Now, look at themselves.  I bet they’re 1,000s of investors and 10 of 1,000s of customers, who are biting fingernails in anticipation of being bought by a bank that knows how to operate.  Rumored buy-outs include Toronto Dominion Bank, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, and Grupo Santanger.

Wa-Mu will likely be saved by one of their nemeses and a few years from now, after all the re-branding of their banks, loans, and credit cards and check books, it will all be forgotten.   We might start thinking about MerrillLynch’s famously branded slogan — “a breed apart”.  Yup, a breed apart from those who actually know how to profitably & legally operate a large financial institution.  Woo-hoo!