North Bay Business Journal

Keith Tarkalson is project manager for a joint venture of Alameda-based Stacy Witbeck and Missouri-based Herzog Contracting, which was awarded the systems contract for the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit project from Marin Civic Center to north Santa Rosa.

Mr. Tarkalson is set to speak at the Business Journal’s Construction Conference 2013 on May 15 in Santa Rosa. SMART chief engineer Bill Gamlen and he responded to Journal questions about progress of the project and upcoming bid opportunities.

Farhad Mansourian is general manager of Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit, more commonly known as SMART. The commuter rail project is currently under construction, expected to begin service with a segment between Santa Rosa and San Rafael in Late 2015 or early 2016.

San Francisco-based Burr Pilger Mayer, Inc., which has a Santa Rosa office, appointed Curtis Burr chief executive officer. …

First District Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin said Pat Gilardi will be her district director. …

Women’s Initiative for Self Employment, an entrepreneurial training and funding nonprofit organization, elected Kim Kaselionis to its national governing board. …

The SMART board of directors unanimously elected Marin County Supervisor Judy Arnold as board chairman and Barbara Pahre as vice chairman. …

Dana Estates promoted Cameron Vawter to winemaker for the Rutherford-based cabernet sauvignon producer. …

NORTH BAY — Few would disagree that the population and commerce of the North Bay has grown faster than the region’s transportation infrastructure. But with new construction and funding for several large-scale projects in 2012, the region’s roads, runways and rails may now be catching up.

Altus Equity Group, LP, in Santa Rosa announced that it funded and closed its latest investment fund last month. …

Bear Republic Brewing Company in Cloverdale brought home a silver medal at the 2012 Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer, the country’s largest celebration of wood and barrel-aged beer. …

Sebastopol-based Leff Construction has been awarded Residential Design+Build’s national 2012 Design Excellence Award for innovative technology integration for a custom residence project located in Cazadero. …

Marin County and Napa Valley restaurants will be participating in California Restaurant Month (DineinCA.com) for all of January, and those in Vacaville during Jan. 18-27. …

Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit announced that it has been selected by The Bond Buyer as the Far West finalist for its “Deal of the Year” Award, recognizing SMART’s 2011 $191 million Measure Q Sales Tax Revenue Bond issuance for innovation in public finance. …

Left Bank Brasserie in Larkspur will host “An Evening With CleanFish” dinner Oct. 4. …

Napa Tourism Improvement District has renewed its contract with AugustineIdeas, a media relations firm based in Roseville, for a second year. …

Grants totaling $2 million for six urban open space and recreation projects were recommended for the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District’s matching grant program. …

Sutter Health in Solano County awarded three local students $7,000 in scholarships from its Van R. Johnson Sutter Scholars program. …

Southern Trust Insurance Co. selected as its new claims management system the SIMS Claims by Systema Software, a Larkspur-based provider of claims administration software and services to the insurance industry. …

CrossCheck, Inc., a Petaluma-based provider of check guarantee and electronic check-processing services, today announces the opening of its newest sales office in the Phoenix area. …

PETALUMA – The Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District is expected to consolidate its administrative operations to a new Petaluma headquarters in the third week of September, a move that General Manager Farhad Mansourian said would begin with the transit agency’s Santa Rosa project office at 490 Mendocino Ave, Ste. 102.

In what officials are calling a milestone, an Illinois factory configured to construct 12 railcars for the planned Sonoma Marian Area Rail Transit system officially opened its doors today, with the first set of railcars expected to arrive in the North Bay for testing by the third quarter of 2013.

PETALUMA — Petaluma will soon serve as the new headquarters for the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District, with a new location serving to consolidate two current offices in Santa Rosa and San Rafael and providing room to grow for the commuter rail agency.

NORTH BAY – The Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District announced that it has successfully sold more than $199 million in bonds, securing an overall 3.3 percent interest rate that the agency said will net $171 million to fund construction.

SANTA ROSA — updated 1:54 p.m. — The operations and maintenance facility for Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit will be located at a site near the Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport, the transit authority announced today.

SAN RAFAEL – Future staff hired to work for the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District are likely to receive a pension plan that agency staff said will be insulated from the pressures leading to unfunded liabilities in other public agencies.

The board of directors of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District will receive a proposal next week to create a two-tiered retirement system it expects will accrue savings to the organization as it ramps up hiring.

ROHNERT PARK — North Bay officials said they were optimistic that the relocation of a proposed commuter rail stop in Rohnert Park will help spur transit-oriented development in a central district that includes the office complex State Farm Insurance vacated in 2010.

UKIAH — Existing freight service will continue between Napa and Sonoma counties while construction on the first phase of the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit line is underway over the next two to three years, according to the North Coast Railroad Authority.

PETALUMA — Officials from the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District took part in a ceremonial groundbreaking in Petaluma today to celebrate the start of construction for a commuter rail system that is planned to span the entire length of Sonoma and Marin counties.

It’s important not to forget how critical the passage of Measure M in 2004 was to Sonoma County transportation — and just how bad traffic on Highway 101 would be today without it.

SAN RAFAEL — Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit officials today gave final approval for the relocation of a proposed commuter rail station in Rohnert Park, embracing a more central site that proponents said could help spur future transit-oriented development in an area that includes the office complex State Farm Insurance vacated in 2010.

SANTA ROSA — A number of local companies have been selected for first part of the recently awarded $103 million design-build contract for underlying construction in the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit commuter rail system.

Planners expect to award at least two more contracts for the construction of a commuter rail line between Sonoma and Marin counties by this summer, following the failure of an effort that could have repealed the 2008 sales tax measure that supports the project.