Lisa Wittke Schaffner, the chief executive officer for the business lobbying group Sonoma County Alliance, is stepping down to lead a private foundation. She managed the alliance for seven years and was given credit for helping to broaden its original developer-builder core membership.

The Rohnert Park commute rail station will be located near the city center in an agreement reached between the city and the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District. “This is better all the way around, it is closer to the center of town and closer to a larger number of our residents,” said Rohnert Park Mayor Jake Mackenzie, who is also on the SMART board.

In order to widen Highway 101 between Petaluma and Marin County, local transportation officials must find $250 million. It will be no easy task, says Jake Mackenzie, chairman of the Sonoma County Transportation Authority. There is no more local funding left to finish the Highway 101 work. Can we rely solely on the state and federal government, or should we be planning ahead to address this issue locally?

Two long-envisioned North Bay transportation projects are under renewed scrutiny as regional planners put together a new $200 billion spending plan. The two projects — widening the Novato Narrows and Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit extensions to Cloverdale and Larkspur — will be evaluated on a series of criteria, including a cost-benefit analysis. What would you like to see in the plan?

Jake Mackenzie, the longest-serving member of Rohnert Park’s City Council, was elected mayor on Tuesday night by councilmembers. His first priority? The budget. He says the city needs to look at increasing revenues after years of cutting spending.

Rohnert Park’s new economic development director on Tuesday outlined steps to rejuvenate the city’s business climate. Linda Babonis said her priorities include working to keep businesses in Rohnert Park and helping them to expand, as well as getting new businesses to set up in the city of 41,000.

Commuter train officials on Tuesday dismissed a new effort by opponents to end the train system’s public tax support, saying it merely reflects old battle lines.

Rohnert Park public safety officers have ramped up their offensive against City Hall’s exploration of outsourcing law enforcement and fire services. The public safety officers union sent a campaign-style mailer to residents revealing details from contract negotiatings, saying the city rejected $1.6 million in contract concessions, including cuts in pay and pension benefits.

Rohnert Park’s public safety chief expressed strong opposition Tuesday to contracting out police and fire services.

On Thursday, two elected officials and I got into the weeds — literally and figuratively — over the proposed bike bridge spanning Highway 101 in Santa Rosa.