🗞️ Riverside News- April 30, 2026

Thursday Gazette: April 30, 2026

Hello Riverside, and Happy Thursday! TONIGHT, the Gazette wraps up its first-ever candidate forum series with Ward 6. It's the final chance to hear directly from the candidates who want to represent your neighborhood before the June election, and there's still room if you'd like to join us. Altura Credit Union will provide a light dinner and refreshments. Be sure to reserve your spot!

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2026 ELECTION

Ward 2 Candidates Weigh In on Warehouses, Wildfire and UCR

The Gazette posed four Ward 2-specific questions that didn't make it into last week's forum.

Three of the four candidates vying for the Ward 2 City Council seat weighed in this week on UCR's relationship with the city, wildfire risk in Canyon Crest, warehouse development near Sycamore Canyon and their vision for a first term — questions that ran out of time at the Raincross Gazette's April 23 candidate forum.

Aram Ayra, Christen Montero and Mike Vahl responded to the Gazette's follow-up questions. Torres had not responded by publication deadline.

Ward 2 covers neighborhoods including Eastside, Canyon Crest, Mission Grove, Sycamore Canyon and the University District.

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GOVERNMENT

Public Utilities Board Backs $3M Shift to Fund 45 Public EV Chargers Across City

The Board of Public Utilities voted unanimously to recommend the funding move to City Council, with some members questioning whether EV chargers are the right investment for low-income communities.

Riverside Public Utilities will shift $3 million toward 45 public fast-chargers at city facilities — if City Council approves.

Why it matters: If you rent or live in an apartment without home charging access, these Level 3 chargers at libraries, fire stations, downtown garages and other city sites could be your nearest option. Charging won't be free, but rates are still being set.

Driving the news: The Board of Public Utilities voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend the funding shift — drawing from RPU's low carbon fuel standard reserve — to the full City Council for final approval.

By the numbers: $3 million will cover the chargers and electrical infrastructure for 45 units, but not parking lot modifications or other onsite work.

Yes, but: Resident Malissa McKeith and board member Gary Montgomery both questioned whether EV chargers are what disadvantaged communities actually want from this money.

• RPU's Tracy Sato responded that low-income EV adoption is rising due to "substantial rebates" and that cleaner air benefits everyone.

What's next: The item heads to City Council for a final funding vote. Charger sites — which could include libraries, police and fire stations, City Hall, downtown parking garages and the airport — are still being selected.

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BOOKS

This Is Not a Book Review: On Reading Tod Goldberg's Only Way Out

Cati Porter on finally reading Tod Goldberg — and why she waited this long.

Tod Goldberg's latest book, Only Way Out, debuted last December to wide acclaim. Just this week, it was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in fiction. Tod is an award-winning author and the founder and director of UCR Palm Desert's low-residency MFA program.

My own acquaintance with his work roughly coincides with the publication of Gangsterland, the first in his series of crime novels which follow the exploits of Sal Cupertino aka Rabbi David Cohen. None of which I've read.

Yes, in my previous life as executive director of Inlandia Institute, I hosted Tod as a guest presenter over the years. Yes, I own signed copies of his books. One could ask, why buy the books and then not read them? I suppose you might say I was a little… apprehensive?

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Noteworthy

Riverside invites the public to shape the city's land use future at a free General Plan Update and Climate Action workshop this Saturday, May 2, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Salvation Army Corps on 1st Street.

A UCR business professor has developed an AI tool that corrects "retrospective bias" in genre classification, helping films, music, and other creative works be understood as audiences experienced them at release — not through today's cultural lens.

RCC animation students and alumni screened short films and fielded audience Q&As at the 24th Annual Riverside Film Festival, with alumni Sarah Ruyle and Annika Maganua among the honored selections in the Student Animation Shorts program.

A La Sierra University student filmmaker's documentary on Arizona's Holbrook Indian School — shot during a Christmas break mission trip — was selected for the Sonscreen Film Festival and included in a 10-part NAD documentary web series on faith in action.

What's Happening in Riverside

Today

• Arlington Library| Propagation Station: Plant Swap at Arlington Library
• History on the Rocks! Presented by The Mission Inn Foundation at Mission Inn Foundation ($71.21)
• Raincross Gazette: Ward 6 Community Forum at Altura Credit Union (10725 Magnolia Ave.)

Tomorrow

• Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
• The Fake Actors Guild: Bob's Burgers Table Read for PRIDE! B2tG at Back To The Grind ($12.51)
• La Santa Cecilia at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
• Las Alucines -Tu Nuevo Estilo de Vida US Tour at Fox Performing Arts Center
• OLPH Fiesta at OLPH Parish & School
• Painting Fairies Night, a Comedy Paint and Sip at Carbon Nation Brewing ($28.52)
• Riverside: An All-American City — A Celebration of America 250 at Mission Inn Foundation and Museum
• Riverside Off-Road & Jeep Nights at D'Elia's Grinders
• World Music Festival at University Theatre

Save the Date

• May 3: "The Sound of Riverside" - The 2026 Riverside Arts Academy Gala at UCR University Theatre ($150- $325) 
• May 6: Senior Conference at Janet Goeske Center
• May 8: Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café 
• May 13: Level Up Your Network: The Pick Group 2026 Membership Summit at Killer Queens Social House
• May 16: Vintage Home Tour “Age is a Work of Art” at Peter J Weber House ($30) 
• May 17: Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Social at Riverside's Heritage House 
• June 1: REEF's 27th Annual Golf Tournament at Canyon Crest Country Club ($140- $175)

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