PRESS RELEASE Knight Foundry Corporation Contact: Andy Fahrenwald    Project Director   andylora@sbcglobal.net    209 267-5967 May 23, 2005 Knight Foundry Grant approved by the California Cultural and Historical Endowment The California Cultural and Historical Endowment has approved the budget and plan for the $50,000 matching grant that had been provisionally reserved for The Knight Foundry Corporation last year. Knight Foundry had applied for a much larger grant of funds for the purchase and restoration of the site, but the CCHE felt that it was appropriate to get things started by first providing funding to identify and mitigate any environmental problems on site. This grant is the culmination of an extremely competitive selection process and is certainly a step in the right direction. Making sure that the old industrial site is a healthy place to work, and a good environmental neighbor from the get go, will help avoid any untimely disruption of activities as Knight Foundry moves to resume cast iron production. Time is very much of the essence, as the clock will soon start running on the contract the Knight Foundry Corporation has signed to produce cast iron lamp poles for the City of San Leandro. There will be a second round of CCHE grant funding later this year. The Knight Foundry Corporation plans to submit a grant application along the lines of its original proposal and is encouraged by this success in the first round.