$1
including tax
Rominger puts teaching model into action News, Page 2
Local wines get a summer twist Features, Page 1
Volume 143, Number 30 — Locally-owned since 1884
The hometown paper of Michael Anderson
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Winters community rallies to help family after house fire Express staff Donations sought for family that lost home and belongings in Monday morning blaze A Winters family that lost its home and belongings in a house fire Monday morning is beginning the difficult process of rebuilding — and community members are already stepping up to help. The family, who asked to remain anonymous for now, lost their home in a fire in the 5000 block of Putah Creek Road. In the hours following the fire, local residents have begun collecting clothing,
household necessities, gift cards and other items to help the family through the immediate aftermath. Jessica Jordan Ogando is coordinating donations on the family’s behalf. “Anything we can do as a community to help make the days ahead a little easier will mean so much,” Jordan Ogando said. Among the immediate clothing needs for the family members are: • 14-year-old girl: Women’s XS shirts, size 1 pants and women’s size 7 shoes • Boy: Men’s small shirts, 30x28 pants and men’s size 7 shoes
• 4-year-old boy: Size 5 clothing, size 11 toddler shoes and age-appropriate toys • Woman: Medium shirts, size 12/L pants, size 9 shoes, work/office clothing and hair styling tools • Woman: XXL shirts, size 12 pants, size 16 work jackets and size 9 shoes The family also needs new socks and underwear; coats, jackets and sweatshirts; blankets, sheets and bedding; towels; mattresses; shampoo and conditioner; toothbrushes and toothpaste; soap and body wash;
See SUPPORT, Page 5
Council approves AI investigative analysis technology for Winters PD By Sonora Slater Express Staff Writer
EXPRESS
At its Sept. 1 meeting, the council approved a resolution authorizing a oneyear agreement with Longeye Inc. for artificial intelligence investigative analysis technology for use by the Winters Police Department, after initially pulling the item from the consent calendar for further discussion. The technology was developed in response to the overwhelming quantities of digital data police detectives are left with, making it difficult or, in some cases, nearly impossible to efficiently and effectively review and analyze all available evidence. Social media warrants regularly return thousands of pages of data and images to review, while other crimes may produce hundreds of hours of body camera footage,
as well as doorbell and business video. The Winters PD currently employs just one administrative/ detective sergeant, and there are no plans to change that in the near future. Winters Police Chief John P. Miller said the technology will allow the department to revisit cold cases, such as a 2009 homicide case and a missing person case from 1984, and potentially find new leads. It can also be used for language translation of audio recordings or transcripts and, much like Grammarly, to help officers write and edit reports. Council member Richard Casavecchia expressed concerns about the newness of the company, which was launched last fall, as well as noting common stumbling blocks of other popular AI systems, such as ChatGPT and Claude. “I don’t believe that they’ve solved the issues of context and assigning meaning where it doesn’t belong,” Casavecchia said. “And I’m not willing to risk it get-
ting something wrong or hallucinating something, so I’m not sure we should be trusting AI with some of the most important things that we do.” Former police chief Denton Carlson, now serving as a public safety ambassador for Longeye, joined the meeting via Zoom to answer questions. He said the company does have a solution to avoid these AI “hallucinations,” but it’s not purely an advance in technology — it’s a system that retains the human detective as a point of verification. “The system won’t produce a result unless it can produce a verifiable citation and link back to court-admissible evidence,” Carlson said. From there, the detective can read through the cited evidence, watch the cited video clip or listen to the cited audio to confirm the system’s answer. As an example, Carlson said that if you asked the system whether a suspect was
Index
We at he r
Features ........................ B-1
See TECH, Page 5
Date
Rain
High
Low
Aug. 26
.00
98˚
59˚
Aug. 27
.00
101˚
59˚
Aug. 28
.00
100˚
57˚
Aug. 29 TRACE
84˚
60˚
Eventos hispanos ....... A-4
Aug. 30
.00
94˚
56˚
Aug. 31
.00
89˚
54˚
Opinion ......................... B-4
Sept. 01
.00
87˚
59˚
Real Estate ................... B-2
Rain for week: TRACE Season’s total: TRACE Last sn. to date: 0.00 in.
Classifieds ................... B-4 Community .................. A-2
Sports ........................... B-5
Winters rainfall season began 7/1/26. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.
Courtesy photo
Firefighters from multiple agencies responded Monday morning to a two-alarm house fire on Putah Creek Road. Winters community members are now rallying to help the family replace belongings lost in the fire.
New city e-conveyance rules take effect Sept. 3 City, police and school district coordinate safety and enforcement efforts By Crystal Apilado Editor-in-Chief New local rules governing e-bikes, e-scooters, e-motorcycles and other electric conveyances take effect in Winters Sept. 3, marking the latest step in a months-long effort by the city, Winters Police Department and Winters Joint Unified School District to address safety concerns surrounding the growing use of electric transportation devices. The city’s E-Conveyance Ordinance establishes rules for where and how the devices may be operated, along with helmet and equipment requirements and new enforcement tools for violations. At the same time, the city, police department and school district are working together on education and the city’s juvenile safety diversion program intended to help young riders and their families understand the law and avoid unsafe or illegal operation. The ordinance was adopted by the Winters City Council in August and takes effect 30 days after its passage, Sept. 3. It applies to Class 1, 2 and 3 electric bicycles, electrically motorized scooters, electrically motorized boards such as hoverboards, motorized bicycles or mopeds, off-highway
electric motorcycles and other electrically powered personal transportation devices. The regulations are intended to complement California Vehicle Code requirements while giving the city additional tools to address local safety concerns.
A coordinated approach
The city and school district have been working together on the issue throughout 2026, including at the city and Winters JUSD 2x2 meetings. The collaboration has included law-enforcement coordination, public education and efforts to establish consistent expectations for students riding on e-conveyances to school. At the Aug. 26 2x2 meeting, Police Chief John P. Miller said Winters PD is finalizing a juvenile safety diversion program that will allow qualifying juvenile offenders to complete a self-study guide covering local and state rules followed by a multiple-choice test. The goal is to provide an educational alternative to traditional juvenile court proceedings when appropriate. “We’ve built in the juvenile program, which is a way to defer rather than creating a situation where we have to take a kid out of school because he has to go to Woodland to go to a juvenile court situation,” said Winters City Manager Jeremy Craig at the Aug. 26 meeting.
Community Blood Drive returns Sept. 21 Express staff The Winters Fortnightly Club, in partnership with Vitalant, will host the fall Winters Community Blood Drive on Monday, Sept. 21, from 2:30 to 5:15 p.m. at 201 Railroad Ave. in Winters. The need for blood is constant and urgent — every two seconds, someone in the United States
requires a blood donation. A single donation can save multiple lives, making each contribution a direct impact on patients and families. Anyone, at any time, could find themselves in need of blood, whether due to trauma, surgery, cancer treatment or chronic illness. Blood is also critical for maternal
Service all makes & models Accept all major credit cards Family owned & operated
2 Main Street Winters, CA 530.795.4503
1 Main Street Winters, CA 530.795.2682
27990 County Road 90 Winters, CA 95694 www.pearcehvac.com State Contractor Lic# 864483
See ORDINANCE, Page 5
care. Pregnancy complications require transfusions in approximately 1 in 83 deliveries, underscoring the ongoing need for donors to ensure blood is available for mothers in labor and other patients facing medical emergencies. All blood types are
See DRIVE, Page 4
Come see us in our 25,000+ sf showroom!
116 D Street Davis, CA 95616 530-798-5500
www.smith-funerals.com FD-992
Quality Furniture Selection Competitive Prices Open 7 Days A Week
105 E Dorset Drive, Dixon 9253 Johnson Road, Winters, CA 530.212.5161 • monticelloveterinary.com
395 E. Monte Vista Ave, Vacaville
707.449.6385
LaineysFurnitureForLiving.com