🍊 Monday Gazette: August 18, 2025

Monday Gazette: August 18, 2025

Hello Riverside, and Happy Monday! Today is a celebration trifecta: National Couples Day, National Fajita Day, National Pinot Noir Day, and National Pie & Ice Cream Day. Sounds like the perfect recipe for date night to us!

We want to hear from you, what’s your favorite spot for a special night out? Tell us your go-to drink, entree, or dessert, and why you love it. Reply to this email and share your top picks!

GOVERNMENT

This Week in City Hall: August 18, 2025

This week's agenda includes infrastructure decisions about sewer system finances showing reserve depletion by 2027, potential purchase of the 56-acre Ab Brown Sports Complex for a soccer stadium entertainment district and new warehouse development restrictions near schools.

Welcome to our weekly digest on public meetings and agenda items worth your attention in the coming week. This guide is part of our mission to provide everyday Riversiders like you with the information to speak up on the issues you care about.

City Council

City Council will meet in closed and open sessions on Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 6:15 p.m. (agenda). The agenda includes:

• Reviewing the sewer system's financial health and a financial model that shows, without rate increases, the fund will deplete reserves by 2027 and be unable to fund required infrastructure repairs.
• Considering a 12-month exclusive negotiating agreement to negotiate terms for purchasing the vacant 56-acre Ab Brown Sports Complex and developing it into an entertainment district with a stadium designed for professional soccer.
• Considering submitting a $10.35 million state grant application to fund homeless services requiring regional coordination with Riverside County on a comprehensive action plan.
• A quarterly review of the city's financial status that reports as strong despite economic uncertainties from federal tariffs and inflation, which may cause budget deficits, requiring $2.25 million in current-year budget adjustments and the elimination of four positions in the upcoming fiscal year to maintain fiscal stability.
• Reviewing a grading exception request to allow construction of a new home on vacant land near Hawarden Drivewithin the protected Alessandro Arroyo zone, where 98.5% of the property is normally off-limits to development, with the applicant stating that building restrictions make the remaining buildable area impractical to use.
• Establishing cannabis testing laboratory permit procedures and adding seven operational fees for all commercial cannabis businesses that cover ongoing regulatory activities as the city's cannabis program moves into its operational phase.
• Reviewing updates to industrial development regulations that would restrict warehouse development near schools and neighborhoods, driven by new state law requirements, with options ranging from basic compliance to comprehensive changes that would reduce industrial development capacity by 42%.

Commission on Aging

The Commission on Aging meets on Monday, Aug. 18, at 4 p.m. (agenda) for regular business.

Park and Recreation Commission

The Park and Recreation Commission meets on Monday, Aug. 18, at 6:30 p.m. (agenda) to review wildfire prevention strategies, progress updates on the $2.85 million Tim Strack Park construction project, and consideration of a proposed partnership for pedal boat and bike rentals at Fairmount Park.

Economic Development Committee

The Economic Development Committee (Councilmembers Robillard, Cervantes, and Hemenway) meets on Thursday, Aug. 21, at 3 p.m. (agenda) to review the city's business support programs and hear from local aerospace manufacturer Ejay Filtration.

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GARDNER GAUGE

Earthquakes: Why We Are at Risk and How to Prepare

Understanding the faults that threaten Riverside and practical steps you can take to protect yourself, your family, and your home.

We live in earthquake country. Earthquakes happen when two large pieces of the Earth below us, called tectonic plates, move against each other. Plates can slide past one another or push one under the other. The sideways movement is called strike-slip, and the area where it occurs is a strike-slip fault. Vertical movement is called dip-slip, and the area where it occurs is a dip-slip fault.

The length of a fault determines how much energy can be released. Generally, a dip-slip earthquake produces more violent shaking than an equal-size strike-slip earthquake because the ground moves vertically rather than horizontally.

Many faults in our area can produce shaking we feel and sometimes minor damage. You may remember the rolling shaking from the Sylmar, Northridge, Landers, Big Bear, and Ridgecrest (Searles Valley) earthquakes. These quakes occurred some distance away and caused little local damage but did serious damage near their epicenters.

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What's Happening in Riverside

Today

• Assistance League Thrift Shop Accepting Donations at Assistance League Riverside Thrift Shop
• Downtown Area Neighborhood Alliance at Izaak Walton Building in Fairmount Park

Tomorrow

• City Council at Riverside City Hall
• Challenging Bias and Bigotry in the Workplace at University of California, Riverside
• Find Your Voice in Picture Books at Inlandia Institute ($150- $350)
• Inland Empire Chorus Rehearsal at Temple Beth El Synagogue
• Tuesday Karaoke at The Hideaway

Save The Date

• August 21: AT&T Connected Learning Center Launch at Janet Goeske Center
• August 22: Goeske Talent Show at Janet Goeske Foundation ($10)
• September 10: Beginning Square Dance Lessons with Line Dancing at Cowtown Square Dance Center ($5- $7)
• October 18: The Riverside Citrus Classic Bike Ride at Riverside Plaza ($15- $80)

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