Monday Gazette: August 31, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Monday! Yesterday we asked about a Nelson Street market-turned-neighborhood-institution, its courtyard built from an old driveway, and the one word Riversiders use for it.
The answer: Backstreet! Mac and Barbara McCluskey bought the old Nelson Street Market in 1967 and turned it into the beloved sandwich shop generations of Riversiders now know by heart. That courtyard patio, shaded by big trees and dressed up with decades of collected decorations, has been a real draw for over 50 years — and so has the banana cream pie, which built a following all its own.
Thanks to everyone who wrote in with a guess!
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GOVERNMENT
This Week in City Hall: August 31, 2026
City Council weighs veteran tech training, Scout land deal and street repaving as utilities and museum boards also convene.
City Council will meet in closed and open sessions on Tuesday, September 1, in afternoon sessions at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. (agenda). The agenda includes:
- Receiving a presentation on the Housing and Human Services Department's performance data — which includes a jump in code enforcement notices, debris removed from homeless encampments and a drop in residents accepting outreach services — plus updates on the City's affordable housing pipeline (item 5).
- Considering an update to City purchasing rules that would raise the dollar amount staff can approve without a Council vote from $100,000 to $220,000 and raise the threshold requiring competitive bidding — a change intended to reduce the number of routine contracts brought before Council (item 30b).
- Considering acceptance of a $6 million state grant to fund design and partial construction of new amenities — including a playground, restrooms, and river-overlook features — at Martha McLean Anza Narrows Park, with the full project estimated at $12 million (item 27).
- Considering a $2.5 million agreement with the Western Riverside Council of Governments to upgrade traffic signal communications along University Avenue and the Alessandro Boulevard-Central Avenue corridor, funded through developer mitigation fees rather than City tax dollars (item 29).
- Considering the appointment of Bill Gallardo and Steven A. Mendoza as interim CEDD deputy directors at $128.43 an hour — a move pulled from the consent calendar for a standalone vote and 5-minute presentation (item 30a).
- Considering a public hearing and agreement to sell Housing Authority property at 2882 Mission Inn Avenue to Grapevine Development, LLC for $1, enabling construction of 10 affordable housing units within a larger 64-unit mixed-use project, with the City's land contribution valued at about $245,861 (item 40).
Housing and Homelessness Committee
The Housing and Homelessness Committee has a special meeting on Monday, August 31, at 3:30 p.m. (agenda) to consider the acquisition and conversion of the Motel 6 and Days Inn into about 148 affordable senior housing units (item 2) and reviewing the City's reapplication for California's Prohousing Designation Program (item 4).
Board of Ethics
The Board of Ethics meets on Thursday, September 3, at 6 p.m. (agenda) to conduct its annual review of the Code of Ethics and Conduct for its effectiveness (item 5), and to hear a presentation overview of Municipal Code 2.78.060.E, regarding prohibited endorsements for compensation. (item 3)
Other notes:
City staff have confirmed a discrepancy between two RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Assessment) permit presentations was the result of a data correction, not a rescinded permit or cancelled project. The March 10 presentation to Council reported 542 above-moderate-income permits issued in 2025, for a 2025 total of 564 units. The Aug. 20 presentation to the Economic Development Committee showed lower figures for the same category and year — 393 above-moderate-income permits and a 415 total — a difference of 149 units in each case.
According to Community & Economic Development Director Miranda Evans, the 149-unit gap stemmed from a project that was inadvertently double-counted in the March presentation.
The error was caught after that meeting, and staff say they have since submitted a corrected count to the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and notified City leadership. Evans confirmed the August figures are the accurate ones.
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CITY HALL
Council Approves $7.7M in Street Repairs, Advances Third Street Rail Underpass Project
A $7.7 million repaving contract will fix miles of city streets, while nearly $10 million in new agreements keeps the Third Street rail underpass on track for a 2027 start.
Riverside will repave dozens of miles of streets and push its long-delayed rail underpass toward construction.
Why it matters: Repaving starts within months on Day Street, Brockton Avenue and La Sierra Avenue, and downtown gets 132 new safety bollards. The Third Street rail crossing, where trains block traffic, is now headed toward construction.
What's new: Council awarded a $7.6 million contract to Onyx Paving Company to repave 3.7 miles of arterial streets and 2.7 miles of neighborhood streets, funded through the state's SB-1 gas tax program.
- Crews also add 132 bollards on Main Street, 26 new stop signs and seven solar speed feedback signs citywide.
Driving the news: Council also approved nearly $10 million in agreements to keep the Third Street Grade Separation project — a bridge lifting BNSF train tracks over Third Street — on track.
- DCCM Infrastructure will oversee construction for $4.97 million after negotiating down nearly $1.5 million; HDR Engineering's design contract grows by $473,625.
By the numbers: The city has received $59 million through SB-1 since 2017. The rail project has lined up roughly $40 million in outside grants, plus $18 million from a regional funding partner.
What's next: Street work begins within months and should take 130 working days. Underpass construction starts January 2027 and runs about two years, with bidding next.
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Noteworthy
Clean Up Riverside returns Saturday, Sept. 19, from 8 a.m. to noon at 8095 Lincoln Avenue, offering free recycling, a new on-site Goodwill drop-off, and a free compost/mulch giveaway — mark your calendars.
Riverside is hosting three community meetings starting Tuesday—in Arlanza, Casa Blanca, and Arlington Heights—to gather input on its Transformative Climate Communities grant application; residents unable to attend can take the online survey instead.
A study led by UCR education researchers found that of over 41,000 Chicago students surveyed, those who explored community-relevant issues in class showed greater interest in voting and civic participation.
La Sierra University computer science professor Fuhao Li's team earned Phase I funding under the DOE's Genesis Mission, one of 278 projects chosen from over 5,000 applications to strengthen electric vehicle battery security.
This Week in Riverside
Today
- FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Housing and Homelessness Committee at Riverside City Hall
Tomorrow
- Volunteer Orientation at UCR Botanic Gardens
- ScotSurplus Sale at ScotSurplus Store
- City Council at Riverside City Hall
- Karaoke Tuesday Competition at The Hideaway
- Riverside Off-Road & Jeep Nights at D'Elia's Grinders
Save the Date
- Aug 29: FREE YOGA - The Art of Vinyasa with Catherine Murray at Community Yoga Center
- Aug 29: FREE YOGA - Yin Yoga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Aug 30: FREE YOGA - The Evolution of Ashtanga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Aug 31: FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 2: FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varner at All Saints Episcopal Church
- Sep 3: Orange Street Mural Unveiling at Main Museum Pedestrian Walkway (Orange Street)
- Sep 4: Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
- Sep 9: FREE Beginning Square Dance Lessons with Line Dancing at Cowtown Square Dance Center
- Sep 13: Welcome Back Party! at First Congregational Church of Riverside
- Sep 18: Open Mic Night at Riverside Baha'i Center
- Sep 25: Moon Festival at Heritage House
- Oct 3: Aquamotion Aquathon at Shamel Pool
- Oct 7: Fifty & Better Health Fair at Janet Goeske Center
- Nov 14: Riverside Veterans Parade - Downtown Riverside/Market St.
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