Monday Gazette: July 27, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Monday! Whether your style is starting slow and taking the to do list bite by bite, or hitting the ground running the second that alarm chimes, we wish you a great one this week. Take a minute to notice the beauty around you, tell someone they're doing great, and don't forget to hydrate. Here's to a good week ahead.
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GOVERNMENT
This Week in City Hall: July 27, 2026
Council considers an agreement to appoint an interim city manager, weighs Bridle Ridge bonds, historic property protections. Housing panel reviews state density laws, prohousing funding. Utilities board weighs battery rebates, turf rules.
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, July 28, in an afternoon session 3 p.m. (agenda). The agenda includes:
- Reviewing a proposal to remove historic Structure of Merit protections from two Orange Street properties and adjust the Prospect Place Historic District boundary (item 5).
- Considering a zoning change for about 7 acres near Mission Inn Avenue and Commerce Street from business and manufacturing use to mixed use (item 11).
- Considering an amendment to extend a homeless services agreement with Mercy House through December 2026 and increase funding by $836,089.35 for a 23-bed shelter program (item 15).
- Considering an agreement with Riverside University Health System to establish a team dedicated to evaluating child abuse cases countywide (item 19).
- Reviewing a list of road repair projects for the 2026-27 budget year funded through a state transportation program, spanning multiple wards (item 23).
- Considering an agreement to appoint a retired official as interim City Manager starting July 31, 2026, at an hourly rate of $195.05 (item 38).
- Reviewing an update on the City's paving program, including a list of street repaving projects planned for the 2026-27 budget year (item 39).
- Reviewing the City's third-quarter financial results and considering related budget adjustments, including changes to Measure Z spending (item 40).
- Considering approval of up to $5 million in bonds for a special taxing district in the Bridle Ridge area to fund infrastructure improvements (item 41).
Housing and Homelessness Committee
The Housing and Homelessness Committee meets on Monday, July 27, at 3:30 p.m. (agenda) to review new state housing laws that could require Riverside to allow more units on single-family lots (item 2); to decide whether to reapply for a state program that has brought the city millions in housing funding before it expires in 2027 (item 3); and to review an update on the city's 401 affordable housing units currently being built or planned (item 4).
Board of Public Utilities
The Board of Public Utilities meets on Monday, July 27, at 6:30 p.m. (agenda) to consider a $5 million residential rebate program offering up to $10,000 toward home battery energy storage systems installed on or after July 1, 2026 (item 8),and to review an ordinance amendment that would update city rules to comply with a state law phasing out potable water use for irrigating decorative turf on commercial, institutional, and homeowners' association properties starting in 2027 (item 10).
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PUBLIC SAFETY
CPRC Extends Racial Profiling Review Committee to 2027
The extension gives the ad hoc committee more time to meet with police staff on stop-data disparities affecting Black residents before recommendations reach City Council.
The Community Police Review Commission (CPRC) will spend six more months reviewing stop data before advancing profiling reforms.
Why it matters: Recommendations addressing why Black residents accounted for more than double their population share in police stops won't reach City Council until at least next year.
Driving the news: Commissioners voted Wednesday to extend the ad hoc committee reviewing RIPA data through January 2027, rather than forward recommendations now.
- The three-member panel — Commissioners Teichert, Ward and Lundy — will meet with police staff before resubmitting anything.
By the numbers: Black residents make up 6.6% of the city's population but accounted for a three-year average of 14.44% of police stops.
- The commission's report states all other races were stopped at or below their population share.
What they're saying: Commissioner Teichert said she was "frankly pretty shocked" by the request for further review.
- Commissioner Lundy noted two of the three ad hoc members are former law enforcement, questioning the need for more ride-alongs.
What's next: The ad hoc committee meets with Riverside police staff, then reports findings to the full commission in public session before resubmitting recommendations to the Safety, Wellness and Youth Committee.
- No meeting date has been set.
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CULTURE
Museum Board Approves Removal of Victorian Laundry Collection, Bird Specimens
Board unanimously approved removing washing machines, wringers, and other Victorian-era items from Heritage House, along with bird specimens and animal bones no longer suited for the permanent collection.
Historic laundry tools and old animal specimens no longer count as protected museum artifacts, clearing the way for their continued hands-on use.
Why it matters: If you've toured Heritage House, you've likely seen these pieces — they'll keep showing up in docent demonstrations instead of sitting under preservation rules.
What's new: The Museum of Riverside Board voted Wednesday to remove several Victorian-era household items from its permanent collection.
- The items: a washing machine, clothes wringer, washboard, laundry boiler, laundry agitator, 24 clothespins and a pie safe.
Behind the change: A staff review found the items were donated for hands-on demonstration and education, not preservation.
- Donors include Dorothy Knopf, who gave the washboard, and former staff member Carlos Fowler, who gave the laundry agitator.
What they're saying: Board member Cynthia Zdilor said the pieces are "handled quite a bit" during docent tours.
Also approved: The board removed two Brewer's blackbirds, a Costa's hummingbird and an animal bone collection without discussion.
- Federal law requires the damaged bird specimens be incinerated; staff say the species are already represented in the museum's holdings.
What's next: The laundry items and specimens move to the museum's prop collection, where staff can keep using them until they're too worn or unsafe.
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Noteworthy
Cool Centers activate at City facilities when temperatures reach 97°F or higher, offering water and snacks, while City pools provide another way to beat the heat; residents are also urged to watch for heat exhaustion and heat stroke symptoms like dizziness, heavy sweating and confusion, and to call 911 if symptoms worsen.
This Week in Riverside
Today
- Volunteer Interest Hour at Riverside Meals on Wheels
- Zen Educate Riverside Hiring event: Teach Substitute and Thrive at Riverside Convention Center
- Camp Highlander 2026 at Student Recreation Center (SRC)
- Goeske Bingo at Janet Goeske Center ($20- $100)
- Sip with a Scientist at Bar Ni Modo
Tomorrow
- MSRPAC's Monthly Community Cat Spay/Neuter Day at Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center's Spay-Neuter Clinic ($45)
- Summer Seed Exchange at Marcy Library
- Civics Summer Camp at Civil Rights Institute Inland Southern California
- The Art of Reading & Writing at My Learning Studio ($57)
- Multiplication Madness (MM) at My Learning Studio ($57)
- Reading Comprehension Group at My Learning Studio ($57)
- Reading Foundational Skills (RFS) at My Learning Studio ($196)
- Seed to Scale: Explore Controlled Environment Agriculture at UCR at University of California, Riverside
- Karaoke Tuesday Competition at the Hideaway at The Hideaway
Save the Date
- July 27: FREE ASHTANGA VINYASA YOGA at Community Yoga Center
- July 27: Sip with a Scientist at Bar Ni Modo
- July 31: Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
- October 7: Fifty & Better Health Fair at Janet Goeske Center
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