Monday Gazette: August 17, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Monday! Yesterday we asked: I share my name with a famous explorer, though I never sailed the ocean blue. I came to Riverside to survey land for a canal that brought water to this city, and my son turned my humble tavern into a world-famous inn. Who am I?
The answer: Captain Christopher Columbus Miller! He surveyed land for the Gage Canal and owned the Glenwood Tavern, which his son Frank later expanded into the Mission Inn. Thanks to everyone who wrote in with a guess.
See you tomorrow!
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GOVERNMENT
This Week in City Hall: August 17, 2026
Aging and Park and Recreation commissions weigh in on the city's 2050 general plan, and economic development leaders consider a Pepsi pouring rights deal.
Welcome to our weekly digest of public meetings and agenda items worth your attention for this 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.
Commission on Aging
The Commission on Aging meets on Monday, August 17, at 4 p.m. (agenda) to discuss draft Park and Recreation Element policies for the City's "Riverside 2050" General Plan update, which would guide park and recreation priorities through 2050 as part of the City's first major General Plan revision since 2007. (item 5)
Park and Recreation Commission
The Park and Recreation Commission meets on Monday, August 17, at 6:30 p.m. (agenda) to honor Recreation Services Coordinator Victoria Koo-Young as the department’s employee of the year and to recognize other [department highlights](file:///Users/micaela/Downloads/187d6384-cc15-4bac-ba2a-a8815c82290a.pdf), (item 2) and to draft Park and Recreation Element policies for the City's "Riverside 2050" General Plan update. (item 7)
Economic Development Committee
The Economic Development Committee (Councilmembers Robillard, Cervantes, and Hemenway) meets on Thursday, August 20, at 3 p.m. (agenda) to consider a proposal from Pepsi, Inc. to become the city's exclusive beverage vendor for five years in exchange for an estimated payment of $25,000–$35,000 annually (item 2); to recommend the council approve a five-year, $40,000 agreement with First Community Capital, Inc. to administer a $135,000 grant-funded loan program for green-technology businesses in Riverside (item 3); and reviewing new data on Riverside's employment and commute patterns showing residents commute to jobs outside the city about as often as they work within it (item 5).
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GARDNER GAUGE
Opinion: Colorado River Parties Fail to Reach Agreement, Federal Government Steps In
The Colorado River Is Significantly Overdrafted and Not Sustainable Under Current Operations.
As Colorado River runoff hits historic lows, longstanding agreements on allocation of Colorado River water are set to expire at year's end, and both Lakes Powell and Mead continue to lose storage, negotiations among the seven Colorado River states have not yielded any agreement. This has caused the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) to impose a 10-year plan that pleases no one and will not result in sustainable operation of the Colorado River.
Reclamation's mandate is really a series of two-year plans to be updated throughout the 10-year plan. In the first two years, the Lower Basin states of Arizona will lose 760,000 acre-feet of diversion rights, California will lose 440,000 acre-feet, and Nevada will lose 50,000 acre-feet. The Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming lose nothing. Reclamation hopes the seven states (and 20+ Tribal Nations and the country of Mexico) will continue negotiations and come to a consensus. Thus far, the four Upper Basin states have offered nothing, and the mandate does not seem to be an incentive for them to do so.
There are many concerns with this mandate, beginning with the fact that the Upper Basin states are essentially nonparticipants. The reductions on the Lower Basin states are insufficient to make a lasting impact on sustainability of the river, and allocations of the cuts to entities within each state are unidentified. This is almost certain to result in litigation at both the federal and state levels.
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This Week in Riverside
Today
- FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
Tomorrow
- Karaoke Tuesday Competition at The Hideaway
Save the Date
- Aug 19: FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varner at All Saints Episcopal Church
- Aug 21: FREE YOGA - The Evolution of Ashtanga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Aug 21: Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
- Aug 22: FREE YOGA - The Art of Vinyasa with Catherine Murray at Community Yoga Center
- Aug 22: FREE YOGA - Yin Yoga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Aug 24: FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 3: Orange Street Mural Unveiling at Main Museum Pedestrian Walkway (Orange Street)
- Sep 9: FREE Beginning Square Dance Lessons with Line Dancing at Cowtown Square Dance Center
- Sep 18: Open Mic Night at Riverside Baha'i Center
- Oct 3: Aquamotion Aquathon at Shamel Pool
- Oct 7: Fifty & Better Health Fair at Janet Goeske Center
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