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Volume 138, Number 45 — Locally owned since 1884
The hometown paper of A. E. Danzero
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, December 8, 2021
It’s Back! December 1st - January 2nd
City seeking feedback on Farmstead project’s environmental impact By Katherine Simpson Express staff writer The City of Winters will collect community input on the Farmstead Subdivision’s potential environmental impact until Dec 17. Rod Stinson, Vice President of Raney Planning, presented the outline of the project’s environmental impact report (EIR) at a public meeting on Nov. 30. The review will analyze aesthetic, agricultural, air quality, and emissions elements of the project. Finally, the report will consider impacts on plant and wildlife,
historical and tribal resources, and population impact. EIR reports don’t only consider the physical environment, but take impact to public services like police and schools into consideration as well. “All of that is kind of included in an environmental analysis for projects,” Senior Planner Kirk Skierski said. During the public comment portion of the meeting, resident Kate Laddish expressed interest in seeing estimates for how increased traffic from the development might increase greenhouse
gas emissions and how the project can increase walkability. She also brought up water drainage. “I want to make sure that we don’t end up with really big increased discharges going into the creek that could lead to erosion there,” said Laddish. “And I certainly don’t want to flood anybody’s house.” A second public commenter suggested that potential for a biking/walking trail near the PG&E building to address walkability concerns. Commenters also brought up similar
See IMPACT, Page 3
Hopes for salmon spawn this season in Putah Creek dimming By Todd R. Hansen McNaughton Media
EXPRESS
The poor water quality that killed off dozens of Chinook salmon in the lower end of Putah Creek continues to persist, and hopes that salmon could still make their way up the creek in the latter weeks of the spawning season are souring fast. Rich Marovich, the retiring streamkeeper for the Lower Putah Creek Coordinating Committee and the Solano Coun-
ty Water Agency, said in a phone interview Friday that the water in a 9-mile stretch of the east levee toe drain into the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area remains high in organic material and low on oxygen. The area of concern is from Interstate 80 to the stair-step area of the refuge. Testing of the Prospect Slough area of the drain on the other side of the interstate and in the stair-step area is good, Marovich said. Marovich, in an interview during the first week of November, had hoped the situation would be resolved by now, and had it been, it
Index Features ........................ B-1 Classifieds ................... B-3
would have left plenty of time for at least a partial salmon run through December into January. “We may get lucky. We could get a real cold snap, which would help, or we could get another rain event,” Marovich said. He said the Solano County Water Agency, which actually has no authority over the affected area but has invested millions into creek restoration – in part – to improve salmon spawning habitat, is looking into other alternatives. But just releasing more water to flush
See SALMON, Page 3
We at he r Date Rain High Low Dec. 01
.00
67˚ 39˚
Dec. 02
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70˚ 38˚
Dec. 03
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71˚ 38˚ 65˚ 41˚
Community .................. A-2
Dec. 04
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Dec. 05
.01”
53˚ 43˚
Opinion ......................... B-1
Dec. 06
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54˚ 40˚
Dec. 07
.09”
54˚ 39˚
Real Estate ................... B-2 Sports ........................... A-5
Rain for week: 0.10 in. Season’s total: 8.34 in. Last sn. to date: 0.27 in. Winters rainfall season began 7/1/21. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m.
Courtesy photo
A grant gave Winters Police officers funding and resources to participate in the Red Ribbon Week efforts at all of the Winters school sites in October.
Winters police receives grants to bolster public safety, traffic enforcement By Aaron Geerts Express staff writer While most adhere the responsibility of safe driving, some neglect it with – sometimes – fatal consequences. The Winters Police Department received a $50,000 grant to bolster traffic safety while keeping impaired drivers off the road. Traffic violations have been on the rise, but the Winters police refused to remain
idle. They applied for, and then received the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program Grant from the Office of Traffic Safety in October. “When the pandemic started, we were on a hands-off method. Since we were off enforcement patrols, rules and regulations were laxed and we saw an increase of people driving with open containers and alcohol-related incidents increased. That’s
By Rick von Geldern Express staff writer When Rhonda Pope Flores purchased the 100-year-old church building at 201 Main St. in December 2020 she had high hopes of making improvements and opening a performance arts center. One year and many thousands of dollars later, she has still not received the city’s okay to open her doors to the public. A Facebook page for the Grand Prince Odeum has chronicled the highs and lows of Pope Flores’ efforts to bring the building back to its glory and open it to the community. Pope Flores fell in love with the building the first time she saw it and wanted to bring it back to life. She
contacted then Winters Contract Planner, Dave Dowswell, who she said told her she would need to obtain a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and that the process would take about 90 days. Ninety days is now turning into over seven months. Last March, Pope Flores started the process and submitted her CUP application in June and then a revised application in August. She is still waiting and working with the city to finalize the application. The Express sat down with Pope Flores after touring her 8,000 square-footbuilding where she pointed out numerous restoration endeavors and building
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See GRANTS, Page 3
Grand Prince Odeum facing opening challenges with City processes
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when we looked into the grant,” Sergeant Jose Hermosillo said. “The grant aids us in traffic enforcement, vehicle code enforcement, bicycle enforcement, DUI saturation patrols and bike patrols.” According to Hermosillo, the goal of the WPD in utilizing the grant money is not to deal out citation after citation, but to increase the public
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improvements: from fresh paint inside and out, refurbished original wooden panels and railings, colorfully decorated themed rooms to a new stateof-the-art sound system. The naming of the performance arts venue, Grand Prince Odeum, was made by Pope Flores. “Grand” was selected, she said, because the building is “grand.” “Prince” was selected because she is a die-hard fan of the performer Prince and “Odeum,” is another word for theater and assembly. Together they embrace her vision of it being a performing arts center and a community resource.
See ODEUM, Page 6
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