Moon light peaking through after days of rain! Taken at All Saints Episcopal Church. (Jetta Mills) Have a photo that captures the spirit of Riverside? Share it with us and help celebrate the beauty of our community!
Thursday Gazette: January 8, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Thursday! Today I want to thank you all for your enthusiasm about our 5th anniversary and announcement about the new investment in our newsroom that will bring a dedicated City Hall reporter and strengthened coverage to you this year. I am so grateful to each of you who took the time to celebrate with us.
Ok, and now here's a silly and personal note. This last holiday break was the first time in many years that I truly felt relaxed and at peace without the looming financial stress of building this newsroom. During my time off I began playing with our family's model train sets and dreaming of installing a proper garden railroad that celebrates Riverside's history. So, if any readers out there have G-Scale model train setups and would be willing to let me come vist your railroads, please email me (justin@raincrossgazette.com).
Ok, and now back to your regularly scheduled news programming.
Council Members Move to Strip Their Names from Taxpayer-Funded Ward Events
Committee advances policy removing council member branding from $525,000 program while debating election-year restrictions.
Council members can no longer put their names on taxpayer-funded ward events under a policy advanced Wednesday.
Why it matters: The $75,000 each ward receives annually for festivals and community projects will now be branded only as city events—ending the practice of council members adding personal logos to event materials.
Driving the news: The Governmental Processes Committee reached consensus on branding after two years of debate since the ward event program launched in June 2023. • "Our name shouldn't be on it ever, period," said Committee Chair Philip Falcone. "If it says Ward 1, that should be enough."
What's still unresolved: Whether to bar council members from hosting ward events for 90 days before contested elections. The restriction could create a six-month blackout in election years—March through October for races advancing to November. "That's a lot of time to take away," said Councilmember Chuck Conder, who faces re-election in 2026.
What's next: The City Attorney's office will clarify legal questions around election restrictions before the policy returns to full City Council. Three council seats—Wards 2, 4, and 6—are on the June 2026 ballot.
The bottom line: "We're playing ping pong at this point," Falcone said of the policy that's bounced between committee and council since August 2025.
Fairmount Park Armory to Become Brewery, Beer Garden Under New Lease
Thompson Brewing Co. will convert vacant 1959 military building into brewery, beer garden and event space under deal approved Tuesday.
The vacant 1959 Armory building at Fairmount Park's entrance becomes a brewery and beer garden under a 25-year lease approved Tuesday.
Why it matters: Thompson Brewing Co. will transform the 12,000-square-foot building at 2501 Fairmount Blvd. into a family-friendly destination with outdoor beer garden, live music, and food—anchoring revitalization efforts at the Olmsted-designed park's main entrance.
Driving the news: City Council voted unanimously for the deal after Thompson submitted the only proposal when the RFP closed in February 2025. The city notified more than 1,300 vendors; 40 downloaded documents, but only Thompson applied.
What the city is paying: $2.5 million in federal funds to clean environmental contamination and bring the building to code before Thompson moves in.
What Thompson pays:
Two years rent-free for tenant improvements
$12,000 monthly starting year three
City projects collecting $458,000 over five years
Yes, but: Thompson can terminate the lease within 12 months without penalty. The brewery signed in November; the city hasn't signed yet.
The big picture: The lease is part of broader River District revitalization—the city recently dredged the park's lake to restore paddle boat rentals and allocated $1 million for pickleball courts behind the Armory.
Council Unanimously Certifies Convention Center EIR, Denies Union-backed Appeals
Decision clears environmental hurdle for Riverside Alive project after seven-year process.
The Riverside Alive project concept rendering shows a holiday-lit downtown plaza alongside the existing Riverside Convention Center at right. (Courtesy of Overland Development Company)
City Council unanimously approved the environmental impact report for the Convention Center mixed-use development Tuesday, rejecting union and environmental group appeals.
Why it matters: The vote clears a major environmental hurdle for the long-stalled Riverside Alive project after seven years—developers can now submit proposals for up to 168 homes, 376 hotel rooms, and 220,000 square feet of offices without additional environmental review.
Driving the news: Council denied appeals from UNITE HERE Local 11 and Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility, who argued the review was premature and legally flawed. The appellants submitted over 1,000 pages of materials the day before the hearing. "I didn't hear from anybody regarding the appeal until Friday," Council Member Jim Perry said.
What's unusual: The city reviewed a "maximum development envelope" before any developer submitted an actual proposal—a strategy Council Member Steven Robillard called protective. "It forces the worst-case scenario impacts to be analyzed now instead of letting them show up at a later time," said Robillard, citing 10 years in real estate development.
The opposition's case: Union attorney Jamie Hall argued the EIR improperly excluded four acres, failed required vehicle miles traveled analysis, and understated cancer risks to nearby residents from construction.
Yes, but: "We don't have a project here," the City Attorney's Office countered. "We have a maximum development scenario." Council Member Sean Mill added: "Any real project is still going to come back to us for a full review."
The bottom line: The EIR found air quality and greenhouse gas impacts will be "significant and unavoidable"—primarily from vehicle trips. A formal statement accepting those impacts comes when an actual proposal arrives.
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