Monday Gazette: September 14, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Monday! Yesterday we asked about a Washington, D.C. friendship, a cross-country parcel, and the woman waiting for it in Riverside.
The answer: Eliza Tibbets! While living in Washington, she'd befriended William Saunders, a botanist who oversaw the U.S. Department of Agriculture's experimental gardens. When Eliza settled in Riverside, she wrote asking Saunders if he had any promising crops for our climate — and it just so happened he'd recently taken in cuttings of a seedless orange variety from Bahia, Brazil. He sent two young grafted trees her way, and after a journey by ship, train, and stagecoach, they arrived at her Riverside home in 1873. Those two trees became the parent stock for what we now know as the Washington Navel — the fruit that built Riverside's citrus empire.
Thanks to everyone who wrote in! And especially to reader Frank Heyming, for suggesting this riddle.
If you've got some Riverside lore you'd like turned into one of our Sunday riddles, let us know — we'd love to hear it.
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GOVERNMENT
This Week in City Hall: September 21, 2026
Council weighs mobile home rent caps, EV rate closure and sewer hikes, plus Nichols Park redesign, police complaint review and two Planning Commission proposals.
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, Sept. 22, in an afternoon session at 3 p.m. (agenda). The agenda includes:
- Conducting the annual public hearing on the Mobile Home Parks Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which sets the maximum allowable rent increase for mobile home park residents in 2027 at 2.56% under the City's rent cap formula adopted in 2025. (item 7)
- Considering a resolution closing the Electric Schedule EV rate to new customers, removing the cap on the Self-Generation solar program, and updating Electric Rules 11, 12, and 13, changes that include ending new master-metering agreements for properties like apartment buildings and mobile home parks that bill individual tenants for shared electric service. (item 15)
- Reviewing a proposed five-year sewer rate plan that would raise residential and commercial sewer rates through 2031, with a public hearing to be scheduled after required public notice, as the City states the increases are needed to fund infrastructure repairs and maintain required debt reserves after nearly a decade without a rate change. (item 18)
Commission on Aging
The Commission on Aging meets on Monday, Sept. 21, at 4 p.m. (agenda) to receive a presentation from the Braille Institute (item 2) on its free services for Riverside residents with vision loss, including in-home therapy, mobility training, technology classes, and a 24/7 support hotline.
Park and Recreation Commission
The Park and Recreation Commission meets on Monday, Sept. 21, at 6:30 p.m. (agenda) to receive an update on plans to replace the Nichols Park Community Center (item 4) with a larger facility that would also serve as a climate emergency shelter and include a Deaf Cultural Center, with the City pursuing state grants toward a project cost of up to $30 million.
Community Police Review Commission
The Community Police Review Commission meets on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 5:30 p.m. (agenda) to review a compliance evaluation of how the Riverside Police Department handled 41 personnel complaints since July 2025 (item 5), which found the department generally followed its complaint-handling policy but identified one case where a required notification letter to a complainant was not confirmed as mailed, along with recommendations to increase review frequency from twice to four times a year.
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission meets on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 9 a.m. (agenda) to consider Conditional Use Permits for a charter school serving up to 225 students at 6422 Magnolia Avenue (item 2) and a 48-bed assisted living facility for seniors at 18171 Van Buren Boulevard (item 3).
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CITY HALL
Riverside Advances Special Tax District for 152 Planned Homes
The proposed district would fund infrastructure, maintenance and public safety services for three developments in Wards 5, 4 and 7.
Riverside took the first step toward creating a $10 million tax district to fund infrastructure for 152 new homes.
Why it matters: Buyers in Victoria Grove, Pinnacle Pointe and The Ranch will pay annual special taxes to cover the bonds, not citywide taxpayers. Rates vary by development and could top $6,000 a year in The Ranch.
What's new: City Council approved forming Community Facilities District No. 2026-1 on Tuesday's consent calendar, the first of three steps needed to create it.
- Property owners petitioned for the district, which covers 46 homes in Victoria Grove (Century Communities), 53 in Pinnacle Pointe (Far-West) and 53 in The Ranch (Meritage Homes).
By the numbers: Annual special taxes for the bonds range from $1,285 to $6,155 per home, depending on the development and tax tier.
- The district's estimated effective tax rate is 1.83%, below the city's 2% guideline.
Yes, but: Tuesday's vote doesn't commit the city to issuing bonds or raise taxes for the general public, and separate maintenance and safety taxes can't be prepaid away.
What's next: A public hearing is set for 3 p.m. Oct. 20 at City Hall, where landowners and other interested residents can weigh in before the council decides whether to formally establish the district.
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GARDNER GAUGE
Opinion: Lake Mathews' Water Level
A recent dip tied to golden mussel testing is temporary — MET has more than a year's supply banked and plans to refill the reservoir by year's end.
What is happening at Lake Mathews, is the water level low, and should we be worried?
I have been hearing quite a bit of discussion about the water level at Lake Mathews and associated speculation on whether it is reflective of an impending water shortage. I will address those questions and give some background on Lake Mathews and how it is operated.
Lake Mathews is the end point of the Colorado River Aqueduct. It is owned and operated by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, commonly known as Metropolitan or MET. The Colorado River Aqueduct runs from Parker Dam 242 miles to Lake Mathews. The aqueduct and Lake Mathews were completed in 1939, and the first water flowed into Lake Mathews in early 1940. A reservoir expansion in 1960 raised the dams 31 feet and nearly doubled the storage capacity of Lake Mathews to its present 182,000 acre-feet. Both Western Municipal Water District and Eastern Municipal Water District are MET member agencies and can take Colorado River Water from Lake Mathews. Riverside Public Utilities could purchase Colorado River or State Water Project water from Western if it wished to. Currently RPU gets 100% of its water supply from local ground water basins. This is less expensive than importing water from hundreds of miles away. The City of Corona does purchase a significant amount of Colorado River Water for its customers. Western water purchases some Colorado River Water for irrigation customers, but does not use it as a drinking water supply.
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This Week in Riverside
Today
- Adult Ballet Class at Riverside Ballet Arts LLC
- FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
Tomorrow
- MSRPAC's Monthly Community Cat Spay/Neuter Day at Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center's Spay-Neuter Clinic ($45)
- ScotSurplus Sale at ScotSurplus Store
- County Board of Supervisors Meeting at 4080 Lemon Street, 1st Floor
- FREE YOGA - Mandala Yoga with Alejandro at Community Yoga Center
- Inland Empire Latino Economic & Policy Summit at Riverside Art Museum
- Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Basic Training Course at Riverside City EOC
- Karaoke Tuesday Competition at The Hideaway
Save the Date
- Sep 23: FREE Beginning Square Dance Lessons with Line Dancing at Cowtown Square Dance Center
- Sep 23: FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varner at All Saints Episcopal Church
- Sep 24: Where are Riverside County's Ballots and How Secure Are Its Elections? at The Cheech Marin Center
- Sep 25: FREE YOGA - The Evolution of Ashtanga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 25: Moon Festival at Heritage House
- Sep 25: Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
- Sep 26: FREE YOGA - The Art of Vinyasa with Catherine Murray at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 26: FREE YOGA - Yin Yoga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 28: FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 3: Aquamotion Aquathon at Shamel Pool
- Oct 4: Riverside Historical Society Local History Book Fair at Villegas Community Center
- Oct 7: Fifty & Better Health Fair at Janet Goeske Center
- Oct 17: Spooky Music Organ Concert at First Congregational Church of Riverside ($30.00)
- 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
- Nov 14: Riverside Veterans Parade - Downtown Riverside/Market St.
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