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Bike Month local event details News, Page 2
Youth Day parade winners Features, Page 1
Volume 142, Number 14 — Locally-owned since 1884
Council reconsiders food vendor ordinance The ordinance will return to council June 17 By Sonora Slater Express staff writer A proposed ordinance that would make enforcement of a variety of food vendor-related regulations more stringent, as well as clarifying the vendor permit process and potentially placing a cap on the number of food vendors in the city, was continued to June 17 after several members of the public raised concerns at the mid-April city council meeting. The large number of attendees was sparked by a petition, signed by more than 200 people in the Winters/Woodland/Vacaville area, urging the council to reconsider the ordinance. The petition, created by a local food truck
vendor, said that the city council would be drafting a new ordinance requiring food vendors to sell on private property rather than public property, and cited issues with finding any private property owner who was willing to let them sell food in their space. However, as clarified at the April 15 meeting, operating food trucks on public property was already in violation of the approved 2018 ordinance, and has been for some time. The rule simply hasn’t been strictly enforced in recent years, which was one of the factors that led to the drafting of the ordinance — which has been in the works since October 2024. However, as evidenced by public comments during the meeting, this wasn’t widely known or understood by some of the vendors or the
See CITY, Page 5
Locals raise $114K for Big Day of Giving Express staff May 1 marked the 2025 Big Day of Giving in the Sacramento region — and it truly lived up to its name for Yolo County nonprofits. Collectively, participating organizations in the county raised an impressive $1.9 million from more than 8,100 individual gifts.
Local impact Winters-based nonprofits saw strong support as well. Smaller organizations Winters Education Foundation, Winters Farm to School, Winters Friends of the Library, Winters Museum, Winters Participation Gallery, Winters Senior Foundation, Winters Healthcare, Winters Youth Day, Winters Music Boosters, Winters Theatre Company, Winters Robotics Inc., Winters Community Corazón raised a combined total of $114,401. When added to the $195,050 raised by Putah Creek Council and Meals on Wheels Yolo County, the two
EXPRESS
The Winters Fortnightly Club, in partnership with Vitalant, invites members of the community to roll up their sleeves and make a difference by donating blood at the upcoming Winters Community Blood Drive. The event will take place on Monday, May 12, from 2 to 5:45 p.m. at the Winters Community Center, located at 201 Railroad Ave. While walk-ins are welcome, those wishing to donate are
highly encouraged to make an appointment to ensure priority service. Appointments can be made: • Online https://bit. ly/WintersMay1225 • Or at donors.vitalant.org and use the “Advanced Search” feature with the blood drive code SMFM164 • By calling Vitalant at 877-258-4825 and mention the blood drive code when registering. To participate as a blood donor, individuals must be at least 16 years old (with a signed parental consent form if under 18), weigh a minimum of 110 pounds, and be in general good health A photo ID displaying the donor’s name
Features ........................ B-1 Classifieds ................... B-4
Express correspondent
We at he r Date
Rain
High
Low
Apr. 30
.00
86˚
53˚
May 01
.00
87˚
51˚
May 02
.00
89˚
49˚
May 03 TRACE
83˚
56˚
Eventos hispanos ....... A-3
May 04 TRACE
78˚
53˚
May 05
.00
79˚
63˚
Opinion ......................... B-3
May 06
.00
84˚
65˚
Real Estate ................... B-2
Rain for week: TRACE Season’s total: 19.05 in. Last sn. to date: 23.29 in.
Community .................. A-2
Sports ........................... B-5
larger groups in the local collaborative group, the total raised by all 14 Winters nonprofits reached $309,451. These preliminary totals are based on amounts posted on each organization’s GivingEdge profile, and some additional
By Angela Underwood
is also required. Donors can help streamline the donation process by arriving well-nourished and hydrated. The entire donation process takes approximately one hour, depending on the type of donation. To facilitate a quicker check-in, donors are encouraged to complete the Fast Track health questionnaire online at www. vitalant.org/donate/ health-history-questionnaire/fast-track before arriving at the blood drive. For additional questions about the blood drive or to schedule your appointment, contact Vitalant at 877-2584825.
Index
Crystal Apilado/Winters Express
The Winters High School band and choir students were one of many groups to perform at the Big Day of Giving Variety Show sponsored by the Winters Participation Gallery. Multiple Winters nonprofits were present at the show, while others hosted individual events on May 1. offline donations may still be reported.
County stats This year, nearly 130 Yolo County nonprofits participated — the highest number ever from the county to take part in this annual regional giving event. Region-wide, 855
nonprofits across Sacramento, Yolo, Placer, and El Dorado counties raised more than $13.8 million from over 30,500 donors during Big Day of Giving 2025. The event is a project of the Sacramento Region
See BDOG, Page 5
Trustees hear facility project updates
Winters Fortnightly hosts Community Blood Drive May 12 Express staff
The hometown paper of Viona Hague
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Winters rainfall season began 7/1/24. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.
Winters Joint Unified School District project updates gained attention at the April 17 Board of Trustees meeting. Following a roof replacement and retro-commissioning update for Shirley Rominger Intermediate and Winters High School, Jennifer Gibb, program manager and vice president of business development with Van Pelt Construction Services, detailed the phases of upgrades at Waggoner Elementary School, which are estimated to cost approximately $9 million. The upgrades begin with Phase 1 which includes upgrades at the TK buildings, a parking lot expansion and site drainage. Gibb presented renderings of the playground, showing the $65K choice, which came after the elementary school staff input. “They were looking for maximizing student use and availability,” Gibb said showing a 64-capacity playground with a water theme. The tree proposal plan brought up a community discussion. “We did some work earlier in the planning process to review YOUR
the arborist report of all of the trees district-wide and their health and limit the removal of any that we could add or plant additional trees,” Gibb said. Brie Gargano, lead architect of Studio W, detailed the past before discussing the future. “For the last 10 years, Studio W has been working with you,” Gargano said. “(The landscape architect) has put together plants that have been reviewed by the community, the board, and facilities committee so the maintenance department knows how to maintain it.” Waggoner will see many of the same plants used at the high school with a couple of modifications, specifically due to bees. According to Gargano, maples, Chinese pistache, and other low-shrubs “that have medium or low-water usage” will be throughout the parking lot, which requires shade calculations based on required hardscape square footage, averaging around $4,300 at Waggoner. The plan at Waggoner, which is under review, has three options regarding landscape design. Option 1 is to continue as planned;
Optin 2 is to reduce the scope to minimum requirements; and Option 3 is to gather community input for a shared plan and partnered completion. “In this option, we would like to work with stakeholders or see if a committee is formed, “Gibb said. According to Winters JUSD parent Sonya Godinez, who is also a teacher at Rominger, the Learning Garden at the Winters Community Library is a great example of community collaboration, “calling it beautiful, a great use of space, and connects people to nature.” “I encourage us to take the time to create environments that are healthy for kids,” Godinez said, adding her disdain for fake grass. “I don’t ever want to see turf again in the district since it’s super toxic.” “Less plastic and concrete” are conducive to a healthy environment, Godinez said before Maya Wildgoose shared her thoughts with trustees. The parent and community members said her son Jack will be starting at Waggoner in the fall. “We are very excited for TK,” Wildgoose said, adding that she
See PROJECTS, Page 5
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