Sonoma Media Investments Partners Driving Route 37 Project Despite Personal Motives
Douglas H. Bosco was appointed to the State Coastal Conservancy by Governor Gray Davis in November 2003, and has served as its Chairman since November 2004. Mr. Bosco served as a Member of the United States House of Representatives (1982-1990), representing California’s First District, which stretches from Sonoma County to the Oregon border.
As referenced per Chair Bosco’s 2024 statement of economic interest, he holds financial interests in Kenwood Investments #3 (Sonoma Media Investments) owned by Darius Anderson, California Fish and Game Commissioner, Chairman of Platinum Advisors and CEO of Wing & Barrel Ranch. Bosco is also a Partner to the Northwestern Pacific Railroad.
In February 2023, Caltrans published the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR)/Environmental Assessment (EA) for the State Route 37 Sears Point to Mare Island Improvement Project.
The study included the following excerpts of concern:
On November 16, 2022, the Napa Valley Transportation Agency (NVTA) authorized the following MOU.
Platinum Advisors was the former lobbying firm representing SMART.
On the same date the SMART MOU for SR 37 was approved, NVTA approved an agreement with Platinum Advisors lobbying firm, owned by Bosco’s business partner, Darius Anderson. The term of the Agreement was set to expire on November 30, 2025
On February 26, 2019, North Bay Business Journal published the following article. Excerpts have been included below:
Tab for Highway 37 flood repairs hits $2M as next big Northern California storm arrives
Emergency repair work to reopen the flooded Marin-to-Solano commuter route last week has already cost roughly $2 million, creating fortifications that will soon be tested by another major storm drenching the North Bay.
The damage included the two breaches of a levee on the south side of the highway, allowing the creek to combine with the San Pablo Bay’s high tide to flood the westbound lanes west of Atherton Avenue.
The lesser breach occurred on State Coastal Conservancy land, while a more significant one occurred within a rail corridor used by NWP to haul freight. Doug Bosco, NWP Co.’s co-owner, said the company will spend about $300,000 to fix the levee - reconstructing it with the help of dump trucks and a mounted excavator before resetting the rail ties.
That work was completed Monday morning and engineers moved a full-weight train over the repaired tracks to compact the material and ensure its safety. “We don’t usually have that much track just dangling in the air, but I am confident (it’s safe) and have confidence in the people who did it,” said Bosco, who is an investor in Sonoma Media Investments, which owns The Press Democrat and Business Journal.
“As a practical matter when things like this happen, we all usually roll up our sleeves and chip in and fix them.” NWP Co. pays for routine maintenance of that section of right-of-way, while SMART is responsible for major infrastructure repairs. The short-term levees will remain in place through the winter and likely into the summer. As another big storm threatens the region and an active flood watch is now in place through at least late Wednesday, highway and transit officials will be monitoring the vulnerable area closely.
Officials hope the quick-fix repairs will endure the remainder of the rainy season before a permanent solution can be developed for the problematic roadway susceptible to sea level rise from the San Pablo Bay. “We’re still out there working on the levee, getting ready for the next storm coming in,” said Jake Studer, NWP Co.’s general manager. “As long as the temporary repairs that were done earlier to contain the water hold, we’ll be in good shape. If it doesn’t, we’ll have some problems. It’s only so tall that we can make it.”
Caltrans District 4 Director Tony Tavares said if another major storm hits this region, there is a risk that this road could flood again.
The California Coastal Conservancy website features an entire page dedicated to the Highway 37 and San Pablo Baylands.
The page includes the following language:
State Route (SR) 37 is a 21-mile highway that runs from Highway 101 in Novato to Highway 80 in Vallejo, crossing Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano Counties. Dubbed the “Flyway Highway”, it crosses marshes and ponds that support millions of waterfowl stopping to rest and forage before continuing their journey on the Pacific Flyway, a migratory corridor extending from the Arctic tundra to South American wetlands. Many partners have invested over $600 million in acquisition, restoration and enhancement of roughly 30,000 acres of the San Pablo Baylands to advance the goals set by the ecological restoration community.
As flooding in 2017 and 2019 that closed the highway revealed, SR 37 is highly vulnerable to both near-term flooding and permanent inundation due to sea level rise. The road is also severely congested, particularly along a two-lane segment from Highway 121 in Sonoma County to Mare Island in Solano County.
In 2015, the transportation authorities of Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties agreed to form a partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop an expedited funding, financing and project implementation strategy for the reconstruction of SR 37 to withstand rising seas and storm surges while improving mobility and safety along the route. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Caltrans were later added to the MOU. The officials representing these local, regional, and state transportation interests meet regularly as the SR 37 Policy Committee. Caltrans, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and the four county transportation authorities are now working together as a team on short-term fixes and a long-term solution for the corridor. For more information, visit the Resilient SR 37 page
As progress is made towards the State Route 37 Sears Point to Mare Island Improvement Project, do Bosco and Anderson truly care about the environmental impacts of flooding? Are the environmental impact studies potentially a scapegoat to reconstruct a route on the taxpayer dime that will financially benefit two of the wealthiest gentleman in the immediate area?
Proverbs 28:25 – “The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the Lord will prosper.”