Monday Gazette: October 5, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Monday! We're talking about Magnolia Avenue, laid out in 1875 through the Riverside Land and Irrigation Company's property. Developer William T. Sayward's original vision was for a much grander road — he wanted to call it Bloomingdale Avenue — but the cost of the right-of-way forced a smaller plan.
The name came from Elizabeth Evans Rudisill, whose husband Henry laid out the plans. The magnolias themselves, though, were too expensive and too thirsty for the whole avenue — they only went in at the cross-street intersections, where ditch water was available. The real workhorse down the center median was pepper trees, with eucalyptus along the sides.
Those cross streets run through U.S. presidents in order — Washington, Jackson, Van Buren, and on down the line — spaced every half mile. Old postcards marketed the avenue as running an eye-popping seventeen miles (take that with a grain of salt — it was the kind of number boosters loved to print). Today Magnolia runs from downtown Riverside all the way into the city of Corona.
George Crawford, who arrived from Ontario, Canada, in 1875, was the first to build his home on the avenue, in the summer of 1876. And Magnolia didn't always connect straight to downtown — it took a 1912 fill project through the old Government Land Tract to link it up directly.
Thanks for playing along!
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GOVERNMENT
This Week in City Hall: October 5, 2026
City Council considers a resolution supporting Proposition 1, hiring an inspector general and a pilot to narrow Linden Street, while the Transportation Board reviews traffic changes in Fairmount Park.
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, Oct. 6, in afternoon sessions at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. (agenda). The agenda includes:
- Considering a resolution supporting Proposition 1, the $11.25 billion statewide Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act on the Nov. 3 ballot (item 10).
- Considering about $2.8 million in Measure Z funds to buy a new tiller truck for the Riverside Fire Department (item 18).
- Reviewing a cost-sharing agreement with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) and Riverside County for the May 19-25 Bain Fire response (item 19).
- Considering about $824,000 over two budget years in arts and culture grants to 27 local organizations (item 25).
- Considering a grant application to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for $6 million in citywide traffic safety upgrades, which would require about $600,000 from the City. The upgrades include street lights, high-visibility crosswalks, flashing pedestrian beacons and audible crossing signals (item 31).
- Reviewing a three-year pilot that would narrow Linden Street between Chicago and Iowa avenues from four lanes to two, with a center turn lane and buffered bike lanes (item 33).
- Considering an employment agreement with Lori K.M. Cox to serve as the City's inspector general starting Oct. 19 (item 35).
- Discussing in closed session a civil rights complaint against the City filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California, Inland Equity Community Land Trust and Inland Empire Tenants Union (item 40).
Human Resources Board
The Human Resources Board will hold a special meeting on Monday, Oct. 5, at 5 p.m. (agenda) to hear an appeal by Mark Hernandez of discipline imposed by the City (item 3). Hernandez is a former code enforcement supervisor in the Community and Economic Development Department, and an internal investigation alleged he harassed street vendors for years.
Transportation Board
The Transportation Board meets on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 5:30 p.m. (agenda) to review proposed traffic changes in and near Fairmount Park — including a long-term closure of northbound Redwood Drive for pedestrians and cyclists (item 6) and options for two-way traffic on Redwood (item 7) — along with a revised Myers Street bus zone (item 8) and an update on the City's general plan and climate action plan (item 5).
Airport Commission
The Airport Commission meets on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 3 p.m. (agenda) to review the airport manager's report on operations and activity at Riverside Airport (item 5).
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FROM THE MAYOR'S DESK
Opinion: I Chose Riverside and Want the Next Generation to Choose It Too
From UCR's upcoming innovation park to the Crosstown Showdown, we are working to make sure today's students see their future in Riverside.
It’s that time of year: college is back in session! Every year, thousands of students choose Riverside as the place to take an important step toward their future.
Some 60,000 students are in our city on any given day attending UC Riverside, California Baptist University, La Sierra University or Riverside City College. Some have come from across the country and around the world, and others are Riverside kids who grew up here.
I know what that feels like because I was one of them.
I grew up in Riverside. I was born here, chose to attend UC Riverside and raised my family here. My siblings, however, took a different path. They left Riverside to pursue their careers and never returned.
For example, my brother had to leave Riverside to attend medical school and become a doctor. Now that UC Riverside has a medical school, I often wonder whether he would have made the same choice to leave for college if he were a student today.
My other siblings have similar stories. They were talented, ambitious people with dreams for their futures, but they did not necessarily see a place for those dreams in the Riverside of our childhood.
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This Week in Riverside
Today
- Volunteer Interest Hour at Riverside Meals on Wheels
- Housing and Homelessness Committee at Riverside City Hall
- Board of Public Utilities at Riverside City Hall
- FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Adult Ballet Class at Riverside Ballet Arts LLC
- Goeske Bingo at Janet Goeske Center ($20- $100)
Tomorrow
- Volunteer Orientation at UCR Botanic Gardens
- ScotSurplus Sale at ScotSurplus Store
- 2nd Annual Cutest Pets Contest at Marcy Library
- FREE YOGA - Mandala Yoga with Alejandro at Community Yoga Center
- Veterans Resource Center Open House at Veterans Resource Center, Costo Hall 125 - Veterans Resource Center
- NOWS 2026 National Night Out: Tacos, Tunes & Teamwork for Safety at Eden Lutheran Church Parking Lot
- 2026 National Night Out at Orange Terrace Community Center
- Karaoke Tuesday Competition at The Hideaway
Save the Date
- Oct 7: Fifty & Better Health Fair at Janet Goeske Center
- Oct 7: FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varner at All Saints Episcopal Church
- Oct 9: FREE YOGA - The Evolution of Ashtanga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 9: Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
- Oct 10: FREE YOGA - The Art of Vinyasa with Catherine Murray at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 10: FREE YOGA - Yin Yoga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 10: The Riverside Citrus Classic Bike Ride at Riverside Plaza ($15- $80)
- Oct 12: FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 17: Spooky Music Organ Concert at First Congregational Church of Riverside ($30)
- Oct 22: Experience RUSD, Riverside Unified State of the District at Riverside Municipal Airport
- Oct 24: Vintage Car and Warbird Show at Riverside Airport - Commemorative Air Force Hanger and Museum
- Oct 25: A Glorious Celebration of America at 250 at Calvary Presbyterian Church ($15- $25)
- Nov 5: Les Miserables at Woodcrest Christian School ($15- $20)
- Nov 14: Riverside Veterans Parade - Downtown Riverside/Market St.
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