{"id":364766,"date":"2026-06-17T21:37:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/364766\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T21:37:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:37:07","slug":"yolo-county-news-new-pipeline-concerns-and-measure-v-fails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/364766\/","title":{"rendered":"Yolo County news: new pipeline concerns and Measure V fails"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is the June 17 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?\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\tSign Up for the Yolo County Newsletter<\/p>\n

Stay in-the-know on all things Yolo!\u00a0Weekly email with stories and insights from Yolo County reporter Daniel Hennessy.<\/p>\n

Hey, it\u2019s Daniel! Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n

When friends ask me about work these days, my usual response is: \u201cThere\u2019s always something going on in Yolo County.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s true every week, but sometimes I get around to writing this newsletter and am amazed by the diversity of stories that come out of this county.<\/p>\n

Over the past week, I\u2019ve reported on local issues that reverberate across the state.<\/p>\n

Outside of Dunnigan,\u00a0rice farmers are worried<\/a>\u00a0that a proposed water pipeline could threaten their livelihoods.<\/p>\n

West of Winters, Cal Fire has contained a fast-moving blaze that they started while conducting a prescribed burn.\u00a0What happened and why now?<\/a><\/p>\n

And on the north end of Davis, Village Farms has been\u00a0halted in its tracks<\/a>\u00a0after voters rejected Measure V by a slim majority.<\/p>\n

Water, fire and housing. So goes Yolo County, so goes the state.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve teamed up with Yolo Local<\/a>, a civic media initiative of Davis Media Access<\/a>, to bring you this weekly newsletter. Here\u2019s what you need to know today:<\/p>\n

STORY OF THE WEEK<\/p>\n

\"RoadThe proposed site of Sites Reservoir in the Sacramento Valley, June 9, 2026. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

Rice farmers worry about pipeline moving north state water throughout California<\/p>\n

The 4-mile pipeline will carry water from long-planned Sites Reservoir to other parts of the state.<\/p>\n

BY DANIEL HENNESSY |\u00a0dhennessy@kvie.org<\/a><\/p>\n

In short:\u00a0A\u00a0pipeline carrying water from a long-planned reservoir\u00a0into the Sacramento River is planned to cut across part of Yolo County, where\u00a0farmers worry it could flood their farmland.\u00a0The pipeline would cover about\u00a04 miles and send water from Sites Reservoir, which officials expect to begin building later this year, throughout the state in times of drought.<\/p>\n

A bit more:\u00a0Farmers worry the pipeline would\u00a0fill the drainage canal bordering their rice fields with too much water, causing it to flood during spring and summer months crucial for the crop.<\/p>\n

\"Yolo<\/p>\n

NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED<\/p>\n

The Putah Fire started as a prescribed burn. How did it get out of control?<\/p>\n

Davis voters reject Measure V, spiking plans to build Village Farms housing<\/p>\n

Yolo County water dispute ends with settlement after multiple lawsuits<\/p>\n

DISPATCHES FROM THE FARM<\/p>\n

Agriculture is a central part of life in Yolo County, so I\u2019ll 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?<\/p>\n

This week, Debbie Hunter outside of Winters\u00a0is keeping us in the loop:<\/p>\n

Prunes on Debbie\u2019s ranch will be harvested in late August, so the fruit is just now developing.\u00a0Some of the crops have been sunburned, which is a common problem that can ruin fruit. Healthy prunes should be green right now, but sunburned ones are red.<\/p>\n

Debbie sells her\u00a0prunes\u00a0to Sunsweet, grows\u00a0olives\u00a0for olive oil and\u00a0mandarins\u00a0for the local food bank.<\/p>\n

Debbie said that\u00a0walnut trees can also get sunburned, so farmers dust a chalky, white substance on the outside rows of orchards to serve as a kind of\u00a0sunscreen for the trees.\u00a0Prune trees are smaller and have less canopy, so that method likely wouldn\u2019t help as much.<\/p>\n

The fruit on olive trees set in May, and the pits will harden in July. Once that happens, the trees will require more water to produce olive oil. Debbie said they\u00a0will live with less water, but good olive oil requires more water in August and September.<\/p>\n

UPCOMING MEETINGS & EVENTS<\/p>\n

It can be hard to keep up with local government and community events, so we\u2019ll continuously feature a few below. Have something you think we should highlight? Email me<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Yolo County Children\u2019s Alliance is hosting a public forum called \u201cWe Prosper Together,\u201d\u00a0in which attendees will learn about a pilot program designed to open career pathways for young BIPOC women in Yolo County to become community health workers. The forum is at the West Sacramento Community Center from 5-6:30 p.m. June 25. More information can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The city of Davis is hosting a free Fourth of July celebration from 4-10 p.m.\u00a0in Community Park.\u00a0There will be snacks, music, activities and a fireworks show. More information can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Wonder Grove\u2019s Wiggle Worms Neighborhood Nature Play is back from 9:30-11:30 a.m. July 5 at Whitey Boisclair Park in West Sacramento.\u00a0July\u2019s theme is Campout Adventures, and kids ages 1 to 9 can participate in play activities focused on connecting with nature. More information can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Want to discover more events across the Sacramento region, in Yolo County and beyond? Check out Abridged by PBS KVIE\u2019s\u00a0new searchable events calendar<\/a>\u00a0with things to do across the four-county area.<\/p>\n

BEFORE I GO,<\/p>\n

Thanks for coming back (and signing up) for this newsletter. Remember: I\u2019m accountable to you. If you read a story and think there\u2019s an angle I\u2019m missing, I want to hear about it! Please reach out with your feedback and know that I take it seriously.<\/p>\n

See you next week!<\/p>\n

Daniel Hennessy\u00a0joins Abridged from the California Local News Fellowship.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0a\u00a0reporter covering Yolo County.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The following is the June 17 edition of the Abridged by PBS KVIE Yolo County email newsletter, by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364767,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-364766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}