City Council will review a River District feasibility study for Santa Ana River improvements and PFAS water treatment upgrades requiring customer surcharges starting at $1-4 monthly in 2026.
Local leeches get a bad rap, but these blood-sucking creatures have fascinating abilities and surprising medical uses - plus they're right here in Riverside's waterways.
A skeleton pirate crew gathers for an elegant dinner party in this elaborately decorated Riverside home, complete with cobweb-draped chandelier and bony guests at the table. (Thanks to Doug Adams, photo by Bob Sirotnik) Have a photo that captures the spirit of Riverside? Share it with us and help celebrate the beauty of our community!
Monday Gazette: October 27, 2025
Hello Riverside, and Happy Monday! As we shake off the weekend and dive into a fresh week, there's something energizing about the crisp October mornings we've been having. It's feeling like a proper SoCal fall now, and we're all on the lookout for those turning leaves that signal the season's arrival. Here at The Gazette, we know autumn looks different in Riverside than it does back east, but that makes our subtle shifts even more special to spot.
City Council will review a River District feasibility study for Santa Ana River improvements and PFAS water treatment upgrades requiring customer surcharges starting at $1-4 monthly in 2026.
Welcome to our weekly digest on public meetings and agenda items worth your attention in the 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, Oct. 28, with an afternoon at 3 p.m. and an evening session at 6:15 p.m. (agenda). The agenda includes:
Reviewing a feasibility study for creating a River District along the Santa Ana River that would improve parks, trails, and public safety to reconnect residents with the waterway through partnerships and revenue strategies designed to make the district financially self-sustaining.
Establishing a new Community Facilities District that authorizes annual special taxes totaling approximately $642 per home on a 150-unit townhome development to fund public safety and maintenance services.
Considering water treatment infrastructure upgrades that would construct three new facilities to remove PFAS contamination from groundwater using settlement proceeds from manufacturers to offset approximately $36 million of the $97 million capital cost, with the remaining balance funded through bonds and recovered via a monthly customer surcharge starting at $1-4 in 2026 and increasing to $9-21 by 2032 based on household water usage.
Housing and Homelessness Committee
The Housing and Homelessness Committee (Councilmembers Cervantes, Mill, and Robillard) meets on Monday, Oct. 27, at 3:30 p.m. (agenda) to review the Housing Authority's affordable housing development pipeline totaling 497 units citywide, with one-third of those designated for people experiencing homelessness, several major projects awaiting final state funding decisions and Ward 1's 278-unit concentration representing over half of all planned development.
Board of Public Utilities
The Board of Public Utilities meets on Monday, Oct. 27, at 6:30 p.m. (agenda) to consider five infrastructure and program updates, including:
Expanding electric vehicle rebate programs using state revenue to increase support for low-income residents purchasing used electric vehicles and installing home chargers.
Local leeches get a bad rap, but these blood-sucking creatures have fascinating abilities and surprising medical uses - plus they're right here in Riverside's waterways.
Hirudo medicinalis. (Courtesy of The Museum of Riverside)
Leeches. Just the word may be enough to make your skin crawl. Since at least the time of the Old Testament the word has been associated with insatiable greed. A character that takes without giving and drains its victims of their essence. We use the term for those most unscrupulous, ambulance-chasing lawyers or to describe that one friend that never seems to have their wallet on them.
But the 700 or so species of leeches in the taxonomic subclass Hirudinea, a group closely related to common garden worms, are innocent of such maliciousness. Essentially, they are simply a relative of worms that, instead of eating apple cores and plant matter, evolved to feed on the blood of other animals. Around 100 species live in the ocean, but most leech species live in and around freshwater lakes and streams. California is home to at least a dozen species, but most species in the U.S. live east of the Mississippi River.
New State Laws Will Change Voting Procedures for Riversiders
Senator Cervantes' legislation standardizes mail-in ballot signatures, restricts federal agents at polls.
State Senator Sabrina Cervantes speaks at the State Capitol. The Riverside legislator authored eight new laws, including election reforms affecting mail-in ballot procedures.(Courtesy of the Office of Senator Sabrina Cervantes, SD 31)
Governor Newsom signs legislation changing mail-in ballot procedures and restricting law enforcement at polling places in Riverside. The laws, authored by State Senator Sabrina Cervantes, take effect January 1, 2026.
Driving the news: Voters will face new rules for fixing signature mismatches on mail-in ballots and see expanded restrictions on law enforcement presence at voting locations.
The changes aim to reduce voter confusion and address concerns about federal immigration enforcement at polls.
Why it matters: The legislation responds to issues from recent elections, including confusion over signature cure forms and pressures on election officials to alter results.
Cervantes says improving public confidence in elections "is critical and has never been more urgent."
The details: County registrars must now only accept state-issued signature cure forms for mail-in ballots with mismatched signatures.
Federal agents join state and local law enforcement in being prohibited from posting at polling places.
What's next: Additional bills signed into law address immigrant family protections, artificial intelligence in community colleges, and accessibility improvements.
Riverside sends four girls flag football teams to quarterfinals.
Norte Vista Senior Kasaya McQuirter gains important yards in OT2 win for the Braves. (Ken Crawford)
CIF Southern Section volleyball and flag football playoffs are underway. Football playoff teams are decided this week, with brackets released next week.
NCAA soccer heads into postseason play. The Lancers men are tied for first in the WAC at 2-1-1 in conference (7-2-3 overall) and ranked No. 25 nationally. CBU hosts the WAC Tournament at CBU Soccer Stadium starting Nov. 10. The women sit second in conference at 4-2 and head to the WAC Tournament in Orem, Utah, on Nov. 5-8. UCR men need to win their final two games to reach the Big West Tournament. The women won't participate in the conference tournament.
NCAA Division I basketball starts Monday, Nov. 4. CBU men are polling well in WAC preseason rankings. In their final season in the WAC before joining UCR in the Big West, senior guard Dominique Daniels Jr. and graduate transfer Jayden Jackson from Northern Arizona lead the team. Season tickets are available.
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