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Legacy fund benefits Winters students News, Page 2
A coach who changed lives Features, Page 1
Volume 143, Number 26 — Locally-owned since 1884
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, August 5, 2026
The hometown paper of Regina Ogando
Why Winters residents received a chromium water notice mean withholding ter quality. City shares information for years “All test results while the city is alare shared with the information ready actively work- State Water Board’s on a solution,” Division of Drinking on hexavalent ing Craig said. Water, and all public Craig said getting are reviewed chromium levels ahead of the issue notices by the State before residents are they’re distributed as city prepares means not caught off guard so that residents can for 2027 state later by rate increas- trust this isn’t somees or construction thing the city is hanactivity without un- dling unilaterally or deadline
Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series on the city of Winters’ response to new hexavalent chromium drinking water standards. Part one explains the recent resident notification; part two will examine the city’s compliance plan, costs and funding options.
By Angela Underwood Express correspondent
EXPRESS
When every Winters resident received a letter about hexavalent chromium levels in the city’s drinking water, many likely had the same question: Why? Winters City Manager Jeremy Craig said the recent notification is about transparency more than legal obligations. It is also about keeping residents informed as Winters works toward compliance with the new California drinking water standard. The notification informs residents that the city has been contacted by the state regarding new drinking water regulations and outlines the city’s response. Craig said the city chose to communicate now rather than wait until the standard becomes enforceable in October 2027. Waiting “would
derstanding why it is happening. He said the fall 2027 deadline is not a loophole or a sign the issue is not serious; rather, it reflects how the state phases in new drinking water standards. The standards for Winters apply to systems with 1,000 to 9,999 citywide connections. Winters’ notification comes as the city works to meet a newly adopted state limit of 10 parts per billion (ppb) for hexavalent chromium. Craig explained that Winters tests its wells regularly, with the state setting the required testing frequency. Winters draws 100 percent of its drinking water from groundwater, and several of the city’s wells exceed the new hexavalent chromium limit. “Testing increases when a well is near or above a threshold, so residents are getting closer monitoring on exactly the wells that need it most,” Craig said. “Residents have a right to know what’s in their water and how the city is responding, on the same timeline that the city knows it.” Craig said the city evaluates wells individually because chromium levels can vary from well to well depending on local groundwater geology. The city does not rely on averages across the entire system when evaluating wa-
without oversight,” Craig said. While residents have a right to know, landlords, schools and businesses that receive a notification are legally required to pass that notice along to tenants, students’ parents or employees within 10 days. “Failure to do so carries civil liability of up to $1,000 per day until the notice is given,” Craig said. “City provides a sample notification form to make compliance straightforward and encourages any property owner, school, or business that receives a notice to act on it promptly.” Craig also pointed residents to the city’s Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), published annually, as the most complete public record of water quality data. The report includes information on dozens of regulated contaminants, not just hexavalent chromium, including nitrate, fluoride, copper, lead, sulfate and barium. “Publishing the full picture, not just the one contaminant currently in the news, is part of what builds public confidence,” Craig said. “It shows residents the city isn’t cherry-picking what to disclose, and it lets people see the water’s overall safety profile in context rather than one number in isolation.”
Courtesy photo
Wreaths placed on veterans’ graves at Sacramento Valley National Cemetery are framed by a rainbow during a past RememberAVet Wreath Project event.
RememberAVet fundraiser event supports annual cemetery wreath project By Crystal Apilado Editor-in-Chief A local tradition that has honored veterans for two decades will continue this December, but organizers of the RememberAVet Wreath Project say they need the community’s help to once again place a bough on every veteran’s grave at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery. The tradition began in 2006 when Sacramento Valley National Cemetery opened outside Dixon. Each holiday season, the Stocking family recruited volunteers and community members to gather to place wreath boughs
Features ........................ B-1
We at he r Date
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Opinion ......................... B-1
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Rain for week: 0.00 in. Season’s total: TRACE Last sn. to date: 0.00 in.
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Winters rainfall season began 7/1/26. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.
City attorney and manager asked to gather additional information By Sonora Slater
During council comments at the end of the July 7 Winters City Council meeting, Council Member Richard Casavecchia brought forward an allegation that had been shared with him by a city employee regarding Planning Commission Chair Lisa Baker. According to Casavecchia, the employee alleged Baker had made a statement that he interpreted as a threat to his job. Casavecchia wanted to bring the issue
to the attention of the council for discussion and, after seeking guidance from City Attorney Brian Hughes, learned he could not bring the matter forward in closed session because of the Brown Act, which requires discussions of a legislative body such as the City Council to be held in public except in limited circumstances authorized by law. “To me, (this threat is) unacceptable,” Casavecchia said. “I’m not sure how we address that, but to me that’s something you remove somebody for.” Mayor Albert Vallecillo and Council Member Jesse Loren initially expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which the item had been brought up, asking whether there could have been a more
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bough is $10 each.” The cemetery serves veterans and families throughout Northern California, and the annual effort represents a significant community commitment to ensuring those who served are remembered. This year’s effort carries special meaning for Stocking and her family following the loss of her mother, Susie Stocking, at the end of May. “We are doing this event in her name so while this event is always special it means a bit more this year to all of us,” Stocking said.
See WREATH, Page 5
Council addresses planning commission chair allegation
Express Staff Writer
Index
throughout the cemetery in remembrance of the veterans laid to rest there. The annual RememberAVet fundraiser dinner is the project’s largest fundraiser of the year, with all funds raised going directly toward purchasing the boughs needed for the December event. “Our goal every December is to have 100 percent coverage of the cemetery,” said Melanie Stocking, an organizer of the RememberAVet Wreath Project. “We have been successful in that effort since 2006 and to do so again, we will need to purchase 42,000 boughs this December where each
private way to begin the conversation. “The first thing I asked was whether we could have it in closed session,” Casavecchia said. Government Code section 54957(b), part of the Brown Act, allows closed-session discussions regarding the appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, discipline or dismissal of a public employee, or to hear complaints or charges brought against a public employee by another person or employee unless the employee requests a public session. However, this exemption applies only to public employees. As an appointed, uncompensated official, the Planning Commission chair does not
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