🗞️ Riverside News- May 29, 2026

Friday Gazette: May 29, 2026

Hello Riverside, and Happy Friday! The weekend is here, and honestly, that's reason enough to smile. Whatever you've got planned, whether it's exploring somewhere new, catching up with neighbors, or simply slowing down for a bit, we hope it's a good one. Thanks for starting your Friday morning with us. Now go enjoy it!

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GOVERNMENT

Riverside's VMT Bank Earns Regional Sustainability Award

The Southern California Association of Governments recognized the city's Vehicle Miles Traveled Mitigation Bank, which lets developers pay a flat fee in lieu of state environmental review.

Riverside's Vehicle Miles Traveled bank program won a regional sustainability award — and could become a statewide model.

Why it matters: The program streamlines housing approvals and funnels developer fees into local bike infrastructure, potentially accelerating projects and cycling improvements citywide.

Driving the news: SCAG presented the award May 7, citing the VMT bank as a first-in-county initiative at the lowest known statewide mitigation rate: $98 per VMT reduced.

How it works: Developers pay the flat fee instead of navigating California Environmental Quality Act review; proceeds fund bike lanes and active transportation projects.

• 16 bicycle infrastructure projects have been funded through the program so far.

By the numbers: Projects up to 79 units can now proceed without VMT analysis — the previous threshold was 11 single-family units.

What they're saying: Mayor Lock-Dawson called the program "a win-win for developers and our environment."

What's next: California is finalizing statewide VMT mitigation guidance under AB 130, with rules due July 1.

Read and share the complete story...

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EDUCATION

Poly High Dedicates New Campus Garden After Six Years of Plastic Pots and Pavement

A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the opening of Riverside Polytechnic High School's first permanent garden, years in the making. 

Riverside Poly opened its first dedicated garden May 26, capping six years of work by the school's gardening club.

Why it matters: Students can now grow edible produce and flowers in raised beds for the first time, after six years of planting in plastic pots on heat-absorbing blacktop.

The backstory: Teacher Glen Bagwell built each raised wooden bed himself and negotiated with RUSD for the space alongside Principal Darel Hansen and district nutrition specialists.

• For six years, the club had no permanent ground — only blacktop and plastic pots.

Driving the news: The May 26 ribbon-cutting featured remarks from Bagwell, Hansen, and student wellness administrator Brittany Richey.

• Poly's soccer team — coached by Rusty Bailey, a former Riverside mayor — helped lay the bark groundcover.

What's next: The club begins planting edible produce and flowers this fall; students and staff also hope to transform the space into a campus arts zone with live music, galleries, and swap meets.

Read and share the complete story...

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Adoptable Pet of the Week

Meet Mango!

Meet this week’s featured furry friend from the Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center. Dedicated to eliminating pet homelessness, the center provides compassionate care and facilitates adoptions for animals in need of loving homes. Find your new companion and help support their mission of humane care and responsible pet ownership.

Noteworthy

A new UCR study found that soil fungi survived virtually untouched beneath the 2020 Dome Fire's burn scar, suggesting fungal loss is not what's preventing Joshua tree recovery after the 43,000-acre blaze.

La Sierra University is launching a quantum-safe VPN pilot this June, positioning it among the first U.S. universities to pursue a fully quantum-secure campus network ahead of an anticipated 2030 commercial quantum computing era.

What's Happening in Riverside

Friday, May 29

• Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
• Volunteer Interest Hour at Riverside Meals on Wheels
• R'Hours at the R'Garden at R'Garden
• Spring Forward 2026: "Stories Awakened" at Athletics & Dance Building
• TEDxUCR 2026 Conference at UCR ARTS

Saturday, May 30

• Little LandUse Learners Spring/Summer Programming at LandUse Learning Center
• Anime Riverside 2026 at Riverside Convention Center
• Riverside’s Inland Empire Pride Festival 2026 at White Park
• Barking Bunco at Packinghouse Brewing Co ($35)
• One Book, One Coast: Adult Book Discussion at Main Library
• Tripoli: A Tale of Three Cities at Culver Center of the Arts
• The Zonta Club of Riverside presents Join me for a Cup of Coffee or Tea at SSgt Salvador J. Lara Casa Blanca Library
• K-POP ANIME Live Signing presented by Music Saves Lives at (free - $199)
• Learn Lifesaving Skills: Stop the Bleed Event at Riverside Community Hospital - DeAnza Center
• Twilight Carillon Recital at UCR Bell Tower
• UCR Chamber Singers, Chorale, and Orchestra at University Theatre

Sunday, May 31

• Prayers and Public Information Meeting at Riverside Baha'i Center
• Anime Riverside 2026 at Riverside Convention Center
• No Question Riverside Stand Up show at The Hideaway Cafe & Lounge ($15)
• Oscars, Tonys & Grammys at Calvary Presbyterian Church ($10- $20)
• UCR Choirs & Orchestra: Dona Nobis Pacem at University Theatre, University of California, Riverside ($6- $10)

Save the Date

• May 31: Oscars, Tonys & Grammys at Calvary Presbyterian Church ($10- $20)
• June 1: REEF's 27th Annual Golf Tournament at Canyon Crest Country Club ($140- $175)
• June 3: Paint. Sip. Spark Kindness at HRBC Insurance ($75)
• June 5: Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
• June 7: Riverside Historical Society June Meeting at Riverside Medical Clinic - Basement Conference Room

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