1: Roughly 300 people filled a banquet room at the Woodland Community and Senior Center to celebrate César Chávez with an evening filled with speeches from local leaders and performances from the Pioneer High School Mariachi band and Ballet Folklorico de Beamer Elementary School.

2: Woodland Joint Unified School District Superintendent Elodia Ortega-Lampkin joined fellow Yolo County superintendents at the Yolo County Elected Leaders and Officials Forum earlier this Month to update elected and community leaders on the school district. During the annual event, held at the Yolo County Office of Education, elected officials, city leaders, educators, business leaders and community members had the opportunity to hear directly from all superintendents from throughout Yolo County.

3: Earlier in the week, Congressman Mike Thompson, D-Yolo, presented a $850,000 check to the city of Davis and Yolo County for the new Walnut Park Library project. According to a city of Davis press release, Thompson secured this funding in the appropriations government funding bill that was signed into law on March 9, 2024.

4: The Woodland Police Department welcomed two new employees to the community with a swearing-in ceremony for new officers Wayne Terry and Behrad Sarabostani. The Tuesday evening ceremony inside the City Hall Council Chambers at 300 First St. saw dozens of family, friends and WPD staff members supporting the new hires.

5: Two Woodland residents were arrested after detectives with the Davis Police Department Intelligence-Led Policing team located over 20 firearms and cocaine in their residence.

6: Woodland Joint Unified School District students excelled at the district’s annual Geography Bee. This year’s winners were Colson Martin from Sci-Tech Academy in first place, Khang Le from Spring Lake Elementary in second place and Sambhav Khadka from Woodland Prairie Elementary in third place. ... The Woodland Police Department announced that 31-year-old Woodland resident Rigoberto Torres was arrested following the deadly shooting in Woodland earlier in the week. Torres was stopped and detained around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday on the 300 block of Riverside Drive, whereupon a search warrant was served at Torres’ Woodland home. During the service of the warrant, two rifles were recovered, one of which is believed to be the murder weapon, according to investigators.

7: The Woodland Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees honored students and teachers from Pioneer and Woodland High School for recently winning awards for Spanish creative writing as part of the Sacramento region’s “Voces de Sacramento Writing Contest.”

8: Woodland is working on delivering improved recreational facilities for its residents through the William Crawford Senior Park Court Reconstruction Project. The project was approved during the City Council’s Feb. 6 meeting and involved the demolition and Reconstruction of an old tennis court surfacing into six new pickleball courts.

9: Shovels broke ground in Knights Landing, signifying the start of construction on the long-awaited community park and a promising new chapter for residents. The groundbreaking ceremony held for the Knights Landing Community Park symbolized celebration and progress for the community, celebrating over a decade of grassroots efforts and collaborative partnerships.

10: After seven years away from the pitch, head coach Jamie Gordon returned to the sidelines in 2023 and led the Woodland Christian High School girls varsity soccer team to its first outright league championship in program history. At 13-3-3 overall, the Cardinals won the Sierra Delta League with an 8-1-2 record against SDL foes.

11: Shovels broke ground in Knights Landing, signifying the start of construction on the long-awaited community park and a promising new chapter for residents. The groundbreaking ceremony held for the Knights Landing Community Park symbolized celebration and progress for the community, celebrating over a decade of grassroots efforts and collaborative partnerships.

12: Pioneer High School senior pole vaulter Maddy Juhler cleared 12 feet, 9 inches during the Golden Empire League Center Meet #2 at Mesa Verde in Citrus Heights. Juhler broke her own program record of 12 feet, 7 inches, which was recently set on March 27. The superb senior then ranked third in the entire state of California for girls high school pole vaulters.

13: Woodland Community College’s new multi-million dollar Performing Arts Center went for its first “test drive” and discovered a few bugs to work out. The centerpiece of the 2024 Eagles of Excellence Awards, the Arts Center was lauded by many of the 140 attendees for its culinary facilities and a 450-seat theater.

14: Congressman Mike Thompson, D-Yolo, announced Karen Urbano as Yolo County’s 2024 Woman of the Year for her tireless work to protect and expand voting rights for her community.

15: The Woodland Christian High School varsity baseball team earned its 10th win in a row and seventh shutout of the season this week in Sacramento. The Cardinals had won 16 of their last 17 contests. The latest victory came at Encina Prep by a final score of 15-0 in five innings.

16: As chairman of the Woodland Rotary Club’s Ukrainian Delegation Host Committee, Jim Nolan was in charge of organizing a week-long trip showing several Ukrainian law professionals what life in the United States. The week-long itinerary from April 5 to April 12 included leisurely activities such as a tour of Woodland, concerts at the UC Davis Mondavi Center, an Alcatraz Island tour and a Kings Game in Sacramento.

17: Two people were found dead in their home in an apparent murder-suicide in Woodland earlier in the week. Woodland Police officers were dispatched to Nevada Avenue just after 6 p.m. on Sunday following reports “of a suspicious circumstance where shots were fired,” according to a Facebook post from the Woodland Police Department.

18: The Davis Police Department investigated instances of vandalism as hate crimes after a suspect was caught on video slicing through at least two Israeli flags before stealing them from the residences. Officers said a man armed with a large knife entered the front yard of a home early Friday morning in east Davis and sliced through the fabric of the flag.

19: Vista del Robles, a three-story walk-up affordable housing community with open parking at 310 W. Main St., features 72 one-, two-, or three-bedroom units. The community held a ceremonial ribbon-cutting ceremony.

20: Two participants successfully graduated from the Yolo County Mental Health Diversion Court earlier this week. Judge Janet Gaard presided over the graduation, and Jason McGrath and Anthony Fusaro celebrated their accomplishments alongside key members from their team that assisted them on their journey in Yolo Superior Court on Wednesday.

21: The Woodland High School varsity men’s basketball team endured some ups and downs during head coach Jay Munoz’s first year at the helm. Although they battled through a 1-11 Golden Empire League record, with a more favorable 7-15 overall, Munoz can still be proud of the team that earned three individual post-season awards for Lincoln Twilley, Dylan Ramirez and Joseph “Jo Jo” Quezada.

22: Woodland’s ordinance regarding fire prevention and emergency services changed to help reduce the use of illegal fireworks through the implementation of enforcement strategies, including a $1,000 fine for the possession or use of any illegal fireworks.

23: Earlier in the month, Meals on Wheels Yolo County presented its 2024 Heroes of the Year Award to Davis Sunrise Rotary during the 2nd annual “Driven To Be Heroes” donor and volunteer recognition event in the heart of downtown Woodland’s Heritage Plaza, located at 701 Main St.

24: Local author Rachael Freeman Long held a book launch celebration and signing event at The Pleasant Pheasant Bookstore at 1059 Court St. STE 109 in Woodland. Her book, “See You Later, Alligator,” shares the story of the lives of alligators through the eyes of two boys touring a swamp versus the boys’ perceptions of the reptiles in comics.

25: With at least a share of the Golden Empire League title already in their back pocket, the Pioneer High School varsity baseball left nothing to chance and wrapped up sole possesion of the championship when they completed the sweep of rivals Rio Linda 12-2 Friday night.

26: A group of roughly a dozen bicyclists rejoiced as city officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Sports Park Bike and Pedestrian Overcrossing, which was built over the last three years to connect the southeast and west side areas of Woodland.

27: Butte College baseball head coach and Woodland High School alumnus Anthony Ferro earned his 500th career victory at Butte earlier in the month with an emphatic 15-4 victory at Lassen in Summerville.

28: After a team season that culminated with the Golden Empire League championship meet, the Pioneer High School girl’s swim team defended what was theirs and went on to win a second consecutive league title. After a season where the Pats’ team accumulated a 5-1 dual meet record, they floated into the April 22 meet at Charles Brooks Community Swim Center and won the GEL championship meet, securing their league title for the second year in a row.

29: The NorCal Celtic Festival was held in downtown Woodland on Saturday, encouraging community members to celebrate Scottish and Celtic culture. The festival, which was free and ran from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., showcased Celtic culture to thousands through music, dance, and food.

30: After forcing many Yolo County residents to scramble for the last month to find alternative health care providers, Dignity Health and Aetna reached a new multi-year agreement allowing patients to continue using the services they’ve relied on for years.