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Winters Express: Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Page 1

$1

Serve homemade chimichurri over grilled steaks Food, Page 6

including tax

Laney College honors Winters natives Features, Page 1

Volume 141, Number 14 — Locally-owned since 1884

Community gathers to celebrate Japantown monument dedication By Amelia Biscardi Express staff writer Thanks to a May shower, the Winters Community Center was full with limited standing room as the community, descendants of local Japanese families and beyond gathered for the Japantown Monument Dedication on Saturday, May 4. The community center was transformed for the celebration with the deep drums of the Taiko Drums, paper cranes, Koinobori (carp streamers), and floral arrangements. The crowd hardly murmured as children were occupied with coloring books and adults intently listened to the many speakers. With multiple books in tow Shimomura detailed some of the history of Winters’ Japantown. He shared some of the history explaining that after the Pearl Harbor bombing, those of Japanese descent were forced into internment camps in Arizona and Colorado and most did not return afterwards. With Putah Creek serving as the diving line between Yolo and Sola-

Crystal Apilado/Winters Express

Yo Osumi, Consul General of Japan, Harumi March and her nephew Floyd Shimomura celebrate during a break in the rain with other Winters Japanese family members at t he Japantown Monument unveiling ceremony in Rotary Park on Saturday, May 4. no Counties, families were sent to one of the two camps based on which side of the creek they lived on. Shimomura said that most didn’t return to Winters due to backlash from some of the community. This all culminated in a fire of “unknown origin” that burnt down most of Japantown. For those who returned, they didn’t face an easy road back. Vasey Coman, Winters resident shared an essay she wrote

See MONUMENT, Page 5

Crystal Apilado/Winters Express

Siblings Gina and Howard Kato and Gina’s daughter Tanya Kato (right) accepted a Congressional Record from Lucy Brazil, District Representative for Congressman Mike Thompson, at the Winters Museum on May 2.

Winters, Esparto school districts collaborate on special education By Angela Underwood Express correspondent

EXPRESS

“None of us is as smart as all of us.” — Ken Blanchard Leadership author Ken Blanchard’s quote is the foundation of the new partnership between Winters Joint Unified School District and Esparto Unified

School District to collaborate on their special education programs for students. Winters JUSD Director of Special Education Jenny Pinedo said leveraging the two school districts’ collective strengths provides a more comprehensive and adaptive support system, ensuring all students receive successful, personalized, and supportive education. “This synergy not only boosts our capacity to serve stu-

See PARTNER, Page 5

We at he r Date

Rain

High

Low

May 01

.00

78˚

53˚

May 02

.00

79˚

49˚

May 03

.00

85˚

51˚

May 04 0.10”

84˚

53˚

May 05 0.24”

60˚

41˚

May 06 TRACE

70˚

40˚

Opinion ......................... B-3

May 07

74˚

44˚

Real Estate ................... B-2

Rain for week: 0.34 in. Season’s total: 23.29 in. Last sn. to date: 37.62 in.

Classifieds ................... B-4 Community .................. A-2 Eventos hispanos ....... A-2

Sports ........................... B-7

.00

Roadwork on CR 31, Russell starts May 13 Express staff Yolo County Supervisor Lucas Frerich announced that road maintenance work would begin on Country Road 31 and Russell Boulevard next week at the County, city of Winters 2x2 meeting on Wednesday. The Yolo County Department of Community Services’ Public Works Division will begin maintenance work on sections of CR 31 and Russell Boulevard outside of Winters city limits from May 13 through June 14, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The road work schedule is subject to change. Motorists and residents in the area are advised to be prepared for intermittent lane closures during this period. Depending on the task at hand, some sections of the road may require a full road closure for workers to safely complete the job. The specific work locations include: • CR 31 between CR 93A and CR 98

(road closures are likely to occur between CR 95 and CR 98) • Russell Boulevard between Interstate 505 and CR 93A Motorists should be aware of noted detour signs to travel around the road closures and should anticipate delays and consider alternative routes. The county asks motorists to adhere to all construction signs and directions from flaggers, and to reduce speed of travel when going through the work zones. Local access to properties and businesses in the area will be maintained throughout the construction process. The work being done will help to prepare sections of the roads for a fullwidth road resurfacing treatment scheduled for later this year. Residents can stay informed at www.YoloCounty. org/Road-Closures or by calling t 530666-8811 with any questions.

Governor visits Winters to celebrate state’s energy storage milestone

dents with special needs but also enriches the educational experience for all our students by fostering a more inclusive and supportive community environment,” Pinedo said. EUSD Director of Special Education and Student Services Javier Macias said school district sharing enables each to identify and adopt best practices from the other while learning from each

Index Features ........................ B-1

The hometown paper of Dennis Hiramatsu

Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Winters rainfall season began 7/1/23. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.

By Logan Chrisp Express staff writer On Thursday, April 25, Governor Gavin Newsom visited a Winters solar farm and battery storage facility to celebrate California’s energy storage milestone. Newsom visited Putah Creek Energy Farm with Valley Clean Energy board members, Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Senator Bill Dodd, California Public Utilities, California Energy, and the California Air Resource Board commissioners to celebrate California now having over 10,000 megawatts of battery energy storage. The solar farm and storage facility, Putah Creek Energy, located in Winters, can produce 3 megawatts at its peak generating time and then discharge it to some 600 homes after the sun goes down. The facility consists of 19 acres of solar panels on landowner Dan Martinez’s 31-acre property. Valley Clean En-

Courtesy photo

Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry; David Hochschild, chair of the state Energy Commission; Davis Vice-Mayor Bapu Vaitla, vice chair of the Valley Clean Energy board of directors; Gov. Gavin Newsom; state Sen. Bill Dodd; Scott Murtishaw, executive director of the California Energy Storage Alliance; Karen Douglas, California public utilities commissioner; Liane Randolph, chair of the state Air Resources Board and Winters city council member Jesse Loren, VCE board director. ergy has been operating since 2018 with the goal of providing 100 percent renewable energy to all its customers by 2030. VCE is a Community Choice Aggregation program, or CCA/CCE. CCAs purchase electricity and then use the already existing utilities, in VCE’s case PG&E, to distribute that electricity to its customers. VCE provides energy to Davis,

Woodland, Winters and Unincorporated Yolo County. Of that 10,000 MW of battery energy storage, 50 percent comes from CCA contracting. “In 2019, California had 770 megawatts of battery storage and in 2024 we surpassed 10,000 megawatts of battery storage. We were honored that Governor Newsom

See ENERGY, Page 5

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