Monday Gazette: February 2, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Monday!
Today, we're opening our annual Reader Survey. If you're a regular reader, you know I love feedback, and this survey is a great way for our team to get measurable feedback in mass directly from the people we're working to serve–you!
I want to know what brings you the most value from our work and what you think we can do better. Your participation in this survey will be mutually beneficial: we get to hear directly from you, and you get a Gazette whose future is shaped by your input to better serve Riverside.
This anonymous survey will take approximately 5-8 minutes. Each subscriber who completes the survey will be entered to win one of five prizes donated by local Riverside organizations:
- My Learning Studio: Four weeks of tutoring (two days per week, eight hours total) including registration. My Learning Studio offers private 1-on-1 in-person or virtual tutoring for all subjects and all ages.
- Riverside Art Museum: Family Membership providing unlimited annual admission for up to two adults and their minor children at both the Riverside Art Museum and The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture.
- Bar Ni Modo: $100 gift card to this cocktail bar and restaurant at the Farmhouse Collective, where the Arcade Coffee Roasters team brings Oaxaca and Mexico City flavors with remarkable cocktails and food.
- Mission Inn Museum Foundation: The Authors' & Artists' Masquerade Ball, in the Grand Parisian Ballroom of the Mission Inn, on Friday, February 13.
- Old Riverside Foundation: Two tickets to the annual Vintage Home Tour on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Thank you for your time, and thanks in advance for bearing with our daily reminders before the survey closes Sunday at midnight.
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GOVERNMENT
This Week in City Hall: February 2, 2026
Council will consider a 117-unit apartment development in La Sierra, award $1.95 million for street maintenance, while the Park and Recreation Commission reviews design plans for a two-mile Gage Canal trail connecting Northside to UC Riverside.
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.
City Council
City Council will meet in closed and open sessions on Tuesday, Feb. 3, in afternoon sessions at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and an evening session at 6:15 p.m. (agenda). The agenda includes:
- Awarding a $1.95 million contract using Measure Z funds for road maintenance on 11.6 miles of streets citywide, including new pavement markings and signage, after the lowest bidder was disqualified for bid paperwork errors.
- Considering land use changes that would allow construction of a 117-unit apartment complex on 4.5 acres between Hedrick and Jones Avenues in La Sierra currently zoned for single-family homes.
The University Terrace project does not appear on Tuesday's agenda. Several residents spoke about the project during public comment at last week's meeting (a time when residents can address council on any topic, whether or not it appears on that meeting's agenda), with some expressing confusion that council did not discuss it further. Under council rules, one of the four members who voted against it on Jan. 21 would need to request reconsideration to place it on the Feb. 24 agenda.
Human Resources Board
The Human Resources Board meets on Mon, Feb. 2, at 5 p.m. (agenda) to review three updated HR policies addressing overtime compensation rules for non-union employees, expanded family leave definitions, and adjusted equal employment opportunity protections to align with current federal and state laws.
The board will also hear a year-end workforce report showing the City employed 2,751 people in 2025, with 638 employees (23% of the workforce) now retirement-eligible and workers' compensation claims totaling $3.2 million.
Park and Recreation Commission
The Park and Recreation Commission meets on Mon, Feb. 2, at 6:30 p.m. (agenda) to hear updates on the police-led Park and Neighborhood Specialist patrol program, $1 million in federal grant funding to inventory the city's trees, and design plans for a two-mile Gage Canal trail that will plant 600 trees and create connections between the Northside and UC Riverside.
Museum of Riverside Board
The Museum of Riverside Board meets on Wed, Feb. 4, at 3 p.m. (agenda) to review progress on the Museum's main building renovation project (25% complete, targeting late-2026 reopening), Harada House rehabilitation (at 50% construction documents with additional fundraising needed), and a new 2027-2032 Strategic Plan to be finalized mid-2026.
Board of Ethics
The Board of Ethics meets on Thu, Feb. 5, at 6 p.m. (agenda) to hear revised ethics code language on digital conduct by city officials that would either establish aspirational guidelines without penalties or create narrower rules limited to official social media accounts.
Read and share the complete story...
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FROM THE MAYOR'S DESK
Opinion: Homelessness in Riverside: What We Can Do, What We Can't, and Why We Won't Give Up
Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson addresses common misconceptions about homelessness and explains the legal, financial, and systemic constraints cities face—while outlining Riverside's ongoing efforts to find solutions.
“Throw them in jail!”
“Round them up and send them all to the desert!”
“Build housing somewhere else, just not in my neighborhood”
These are among the many comments or “suggestions” I hear from our residents about addressing homelessness in Riverside. My favorite is the “you’re doing NOTHING about the homeless situation”.
So, I thought I would take some time this month to let you know exactly what we can and can’t do under the law and what we are doing to address this complex issue.
Read and share the complete story...
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This Week in Riverside
Today
- Goeske Bingo at Janet Goeske Center ($20- $100)
- Monday Carillon Recitals at UCR Bell Tower
- TINA - The Tina Turner Musical at Fox Performing Arts Center
Tomorrow
- Promise Program - Information Session at Riverside City College
- ScotSurplus Public Sale at ScotSurplus, UCR Corporation Yard
- Inland Empire Chorus Rehearsal at Temple Beth El Synagogue
Save the Date
- February 7: Bunco at Arlington Library, Community Room ($5)
- February 7: Woodcrest Market Collective at Woodcrest Public Library
- February 11: Galentine's Women's Health Event at Janet Goeske Center
- February 19: Empowered Leadership: Cultivating Influence and Impact at Work Well ($165)
- February 21: Woodcrest Market Collective at Woodcrest Public Library
- February 23: Sip with a Scientist at Bar Ni Modo
- March 9: REEF's Best Event Ever! Take 9! at Fox Performing Arts Center ($10- $75)
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