🗞️ Riverside News- June 23, 2026

Monday Gazette: June 23, 2026

Hello Riverside, and Happy Tuesday! Someone asked me a fair question yesterday morning: "You keep saying the Gazette is free, no paywall, never. So why are you also asking people to pay for it?"

It's a good question, and the answer is the whole reason we're in the middle of this summer membership drive.

The news we publish at the Gazette is free to read. That part is real and it isn't changing. Anyone in Riverside can open this newsletter every morning without paying a cent, and they always will. You can always send a link to a story you think is important to one of your neighbors, and they will never be hit with a paywall or forced to subscribe before they can read.

But free to read doesn't mean free to make.

When Measure Z went on the June ballot, someone had to read the text, sit through the candidate forums where it came up again and again, follow the lawsuits, and then count the returns election night until Riverside's answer was clear. When the Mission Inn changed hands and artifacts were being lifted off the walls, someone had to dig through purchase agreements going back to 1992, track down the people who were actually in the room, and untangle a genuinely hard fight. And every single week, someone has to find one of the quiet people holding this city together, a 94-year-old still organizing brunches for military widows, a curator, a youth mentor with two decades behind her, and sit with them long enough to tell the story no one else would.

None of that is free to do. "Free" just means someone else is covering the cost.

Right now, that someone is about 710 of you. These are Riversiders quietly paying the way for roughly 16,000 of their neighbors to get local news every morning at no charge. I think that's a beautiful thing, and I’d also like to see more of it.

Here's the part I love most about membership: when you support the Gazette, there are no strings attached. You're not buying a say in what we cover. You're not asking me to chase certain stories or leave others alone. You're just saying, this work matters, keep doing it. That's the only kind of support that lets a newsroom stay pointed at serving its readers.

For 150 years, Riverside was served by a newsroom with this kind of direct relationship to its readers, except back then, everyone had to pay. I'm trying to rebuild the same reliability, but by leading with a spirit of generosity (my wife already left me dump all of our savings into building this newsroom) that I hope more of you find contagious.

So that's my answer, and my birthday wish. We're at 14 of 44 with seven days to go. If you're one of the 16,000 who reads for free and you're able to chip in, $5 a month puts you among the neighbors keeping it free for everyone else.

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HOMELESSNESS

City Pursues $8.4M State Grant to Address Magnolia Avenue Homeless Encampments

Council authorizes application for three-year outreach and housing program targeting corridor between Central and La Sierra.

The City is applying for state funding to move people out of one of the city's largest and most persistent encampment zones over three years.

Why it matters: If you live, work, or commute along Magnolia between Central and La Sierra, this is the city's most concrete plan yet to address the encampments that have spread across sidewalks, parking lots, and commercial areas there.

Driving the news: Council voted Tuesday to pursue $8.4 million through California's Encampment Resolution Funding Program, targeting a three-year outreach and housing placement effort along the Magnolia corridor.

By the numbers: Since July 2025, city staff logged 3,418 interactions with unhoused individuals near the corridor — 912 completed full intake assessments.

• The project would aim to serve about 200 people annually, moving roughly 100 into interim housing and 70 into permanent housing each year.

The backstory: City staff flagged the Magnolia corridor as a priority zone due to recurring encampment activity. Staff estimates about 250 people currently live there, with another 250 expected to cycle through during the grant period.

Yes, but: The award isn't guaranteed — state housing officials are expected to announce grants in September.

What's next: If funded, housing placements would begin January 2027, with permanent housing outcomes projected through June 2029. CityNet would lead case management; Renewing Hope would handle clinical outreach and mobile hygiene services.

Read and share the complete story...

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GOVERNMENT

Council Greenlights 45 New Public EV Chargers, Waives Competitive Bidding

The council voted to purchase chargers from Chaevi Co. Ltd. and fund a rebate program for installations, over some residents' objections to the no-bid contract.

The City will spend nearly $5 million to install 45 new public electric vehicle chargers at city sites — sourcing them from a South Korean manufacturer with its U.S. headquarters here.

Why it matters: If you drive an EV, more charging options are coming to libraries, community centers, City Hall, the Convention Center, and the airport. You'll pay to use them, with fees covering electricity and maintenance.

Driving the news: The council unanimously approved a $1.96 million charger purchase from Chaevi Co. Ltd. and added $3 million to Riverside Public Utilities' rebate program to cover installation costs.

• Funding comes from RPU's Low Carbon Fuel Standard reserve account and must be spent within three years.

The backstory: Riverside signed an agreement with Chaevi in November 2025 that called for the city to consider buying at least 45 chargers as part of its sustainability and economic development goals — the same deal critics say predetermined this purchase.

Yes, but: The council voted 6-1 to waive competitive bidding, with Councilmember Jim Perry dissenting. Several residents filed public comments opposing the waiver, arguing the city identified a vendor first and built a justification around it rather than running a fair procurement process. At least one caller said 45 chargers still isn't enough — noting Ward 1 currently has just one compatible public charger.

What's next: At least half the rebate spending must go to disadvantaged communities under state rules.

Read and share the complete story...

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Noteworthy

Riverside's first Peace Pole will be dedicated on June 26 at 10 a.m. in the garden in front of the Military Wall of Honor at City Hall, donated by the Riverside East Rotary Club.

Grocery Outlet on Chicago Avenue is hosting a free community barbecue this Saturday, June 27 from noon to 3 p.m. — with free food, snow cones, and haircuts, plus an in-store food drive benefiting Meals on Wheels Riverside and Healing in the Streets.

La Sierra University's women's flag football team reached the GSAC championship game in its debut season, finishing 18-9 and cracking the national Top 10, with two freshmen earning NAIA All-American honors.

This Week in Riverside

Today

• MSRPAC's Monthly Community Cat Spay/Neuter Day at Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center's Spay-Neuter Clinic ($45)
• City Council at Riverside City Hall
• Community in Conversation: "Banished Citizens" at Cellar Door Book Store
• Free Online Course: Challenging Bias and Bigotry in the Workplace at University of California, Riverside
• Orange Terrace Library | Movie Showing: Inception at Orange Terrace Library
• Karaoke Tuesday Competition at the Hideaway at The Hideaway

Tomorrow

• Riverside East Rotary Club at Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern
• Stretch & Dance Class at Janet Goeske Senior Center
• Museum of Riverside Board at Riverside City Hall
• Community Police Review Commission at Riverside City Hall
• Bordwell Park Advisory Committee at Stratton Community Center
• COMMUNITY MEETING VICTORIA WOODS at STONE ARBOR CHURCH
• Best of Riverside: Business Expo & Mega Mixer at Riverside Convention Center
• Evergreen Cemetery Tour at Evergreen Cemetery ($21.20)
• History on the Rocks - Round Two! Presented by The Mission Inn Foundation at Mission Inn Foundation ($71.21)
• Inland Empire Speed Dating for Singles Age 55+ at Shindigs Country Kitchen Bar and Stage ($43.45)

Save the Date

• June 26: FREE ASHTANGA VINYASA YOGA at Community Yoga Center
• June 26: Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
• July 4: Front Row Fireworks - Celebrating America 250 at Evergreen Memorial Historic Cemetery (free- $10)
• July 5: Patriotic Tours - Heritage House at Riverside Heritage House
• July 11: The Stars and Pipes Forever at First United Methodist Church of Riverside
• July 13: River Camp with IE Kids Outdoors at Martha McLean Park ($235)
• July 20: Camp Riverside with IE Kids Outdoors at California State Citrus Heritage Park ($200)

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