The following is the May 20 edition of the Abridged by PBS KVIE Yolo County email newsletter, by reporter Daniel Hennessy and the team at Yolo Local. Want it sent directly to your inbox? Sign up here.
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Stay in-the-know on all things Yolo! Weekly email with stories and insights from Yolo County reporter Daniel Hennessy.
Hey, it’s Daniel! Let’s dive in.
Early on in my time at Abridged, my colleagues and former Davis residents Benjy Egel and Felicia Alvarez took me on a tour of Yolo County. On a Friday morning, the three of us loaded up in the station’s PBS Kids car (complete with melted crayons and coloring books) and crisscrossed the county to get me oriented.
One of the things I remember clearly from that trip was driving on the western edge of Woodland, headed towards Plainfield. For someone who grew up used to sprawl, the city’s abrupt boundary surprised me. One side of the county road was densely populated with neighborhoods and homes, and the other was mostly fields.
I later learned that’s by design in Woodland, where voters approved a permanent urban limit line almost two decades ago. Recently, though, two nearby companies petitioned the city to allow city utilities to extend beyond urban limits. Last night, the Woodland City Council decided to bring the proposal to voters.
Also in this week’s newsletter, we have a brief on the contest for the open supervisor seat in the district that includes parts of Woodland and West Sacramento. Incumbent Mary Vixie Sandy is not seeking reelection, and three familiar faces are seeking to replace her.
Finally, we’ve updated our Village Farms questions story with a couple of additions. If you don’t see your question answered, we’re working on it. Thanks to everyone who wrote in.
We’ve teamed up with Yolo Local, a civic media initiative of Davis Media Access, to bring you this weekly newsletter. Here’s what you need to know today:
STORY OF THE WEEK
Woodland to let voters decide on extending water lines to companies outside city limits
Woodland voters would need to approve the plan in November.
BY DANIEL HENNESSY | dhennessy@kvie.org
In short: The Woodland City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to advance a proposal to connect the companies Bayer and Clark Pacific to city water. The move now needs approval by a majority of voters in November.
A bit more: The companies would pay for the connections, and city officials said Woodland has the capacity to meet the increased demand.
NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Meet the candidates running in Yolo County’s lone contested Board of Supervisors race
What about the environment? Developer accountability? We answer your Village Farms questions
VotingMatters with CalMatters, Abridged by PBS KVIE and Yolo Local
DISPATCHES FROM THE FARM
griculture is a central part of life in Yolo County, so I’ll be checking in each week with a farmer, rancher or other industry player for the latest ag updates. What are the people who help produce our food thinking about?
This week, David Cristler, a farm manager in Yolo County, is keeping us in the loop.
- Rice is in full swing in Yolo County. Farmers are finishing fertilizing, flying in seed and flooding fields.
- The late rains pushed the rice season back by about two weeks, meaning some farmers are worried about being able to harvest before the wet season starts again in late fall. Rain makes it harder to thresh grain and separate it from the stalk. Even a heavy dew can slow down harvest.
- David is in the process of harvesting wheat and barley on his farm. The heavy winds from the north earlier this week wreaked havoc on the crops. He estimates that he lost nearly half of his barley harvest when the wind broke the heads off the grain.
HEARING FROM YOU
The best way to learn about a place is to listen to the people who know and love it. Each week, we’ll feature a quote or tip from a community member that captures a slice of life in our county. Write to me with something interesting or ask a question about Yolo County!
This week, the Woodland City Council celebrated the centennial of Nugget Markets, the first of which opened on Main Street in Woodland in 1926:
| “My grandmother did not drive, so she would send us to Nugget walking or on our bikes to get her groceries to take them back. She lived on First Street. Nugget has always been a part of the family,” councilmember Tania Garcia-Cadena said.
| “Way before you were born, I lived on Elm Street, walking distance to Nugget on Main Street. Sixty years later, I still go to Nugget,” councilmember Rich Lansburgh said to a Nugget Market representative at the meeting.
UPCOMING MEETINGS & EVENTS
It can be hard to keep up with local government and community events, so we’ll continuously feature a few below. Have something you think we should highlight? Email me.
- Join Abridged by PBS KVIE and Yolo Local on May 22 as we welcome the nonprofit statewide publication CalMatters as they break down, analyze and answer your burning questions about this year’s primary election, in a conversation centered around the latest edition of their Voter Guide. More information can be found here.
- Cuentos y Cantos at the Esparto Regional Library is happening on May 21 at 10:30 a.m. Bilingual stories, songs and activities in Spanish and English are geared towards children up to 5 years old, along with their caregivers. More information can be found here.
- Yolo County Latino Community Town Hall will be on May 26 at Woodland Community College from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Hosted by Concilio of Yolo County and Winters Community Corazon, the event will include Congressman Mike Thompson as a guest speaker. More information can be found here.
Want to discover more events across the Sacramento region, in Yolo County and beyond? Check out Abridged by PBS KVIE’s new searchable events calendar with things to do across the four-county area.
BEFORE I GO,
Thanks for coming back (and signing up) for this newsletter. Remember: I’m accountable to you. If you read a story and think there’s an angle I’m missing, I want to hear about it! Please reach out with your feedback and know that I take it seriously.
See you next week!
Daniel Hennessy joins Abridged from the California Local News Fellowship. He’s a reporter covering Yolo County.