Wednesday Gazette: September 9, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Wednesday! Yesterday was National Ampersand Day, and we asked readers to fill in the blanks: "Riverside is ___ & ___." A few of you wrote in, and we loved the range:
Historic & innovative.
Home & happy.
Fresh squeezed orange juice & taco trucks.
Sunset walks & Saturday farmers markets.
Old friends & new discoveries.
Citrus groves & starry nights.
Riverside is small town heart & big city dreams.
Thanks to everyone who wrote in, your answers made this one of our favorite mailbags yet.
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CITY HALL
Riverside Taps Two Retired City Managers as Interim Economic Development Deputies
Both retired city managers will be paid $128.43 an hour on contracts capped at $123,292.80 as Riverside searches nationally for permanent hires.
Riverside hired two retired public administrators to temporarily lead its community development department following a hostile workplace investigation.
Why it matters: Taxpayers are covering up to $246,586 for temporary leadership while the city recruits permanent replacements nationally — a search triggered after an investigation found the former director created a hostile workplace, prompting her exit and the city manager's resignation.
Driving the news: Council voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint retired administrators Bill Gallardo and Steven A. Mendoza as interim deputy directors, without discussion or public comment.
- Gallardo ran Brea and briefly led San Bernardino; Mendoza led Santa Ana's development agency and twice served as its acting city manager.
By the numbers: Each administrator earns $128.43 an hour under contracts capped at $123,292.80, running through Sept. 2, 2027.
- State law caps CalPERS retirees like Gallardo and Mendoza at 960 work hours per year across all public employers.
The backstory: The appointments follow a 14-month investigation that found former director Jennifer Lilley created a hostile workplace and retaliated against complaining employees.
- Investigators also found then-City Manager Mike Futrell discouraged complaints; Lilley left in March and Futrell resigned in June.
What's next: The city is running a nationwide search for permanent deputy directors, a process expected to take several months.
- Both report to CED Director Miranda Evans, who became permanent director earlier this year after serving as interim since February.
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NATURALLY RIVERSIDE
The Urban Myth of the Ferocious Black Widow Spider
A Riverside transplant digs into the natural history behind California's most feared — and most misunderstood — arachnid.
Not long after moving to Riverside from the Midwest, I was messing around in the back corner of the garage, moving old bikes, dusty boxes of holiday ornaments and bags destined for the Assistance League. In the darkness, I spied a shiny black ball, the size of a small marble. It took me a moment to see that it had legs and another to see the red hourglass. Heart pounding, it took me only an instant to realize that I had spotted my first black widow spider.
Everybody knows black widow spiders. They are shiny black spiders with bright red abdominal spots, with the spots most frequently arranged in an hourglass pattern. Everybody knows they are poisonous and dangerous, with a nasty bite. They are not uncommon in California. But that's about all the average Riversider knows. As an average Riversider, I decided to dig a little deeper and learn something of the natural history of these widely feared, but poorly understood, creatures.
First things first. What are we actually talking about? Black widow spiders are members of the "widow spider" genus Latrodectus (the word is a Latin-Greek hybrid meaning "robber-biter"). Latrodectus has about 35 species, including a subgroup known as the true widows. In North America, these include the red widow spider, the invasive brown widow spider and three species of black widow spiders: the northern black widow, the southern black widow and the western black widow.
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COMMUNITY
March Field Air Museum to Mark 9/11's 25th Anniversary With Bell-Tolling Ceremony
Bells will toll at each attack's exact moment during the Sept. 11 remembrance at museum's Heritage Garden.
March Field Air Museum marks 25 years since Sept. 11 with a free public ceremony Friday morning in Riverside.
Why it matters: The ceremony gives residents a chance to honor the day's nearly 3,000 victims and reflect alongside veterans, first responders and dignitaries at the museum's Heritage Garden.
What's happening: A Joint Honor Guard from Cal Fire, Riverside and Corona opens the 8 a.m. program, with remarks from museum, military and fire leaders.
- Chaplain Lt. Col. David Sarmiento reads Billy Collins' poem "The Names" during the invocation.
By the numbers: Bells toll seven times during the ceremony, marking each moment in the day's timeline — from the World Trade Center strikes to the Pentagon attack.
- A final toll honors first responders and community members who later died from illnesses linked to the attacks.
What's next: Retired Col. Wayne Scott follows the ceremony with a ticketed talk, "Enemy Within the Gates," from 11 a.m. to noon in Hangar 2. Museum admission required.
The details: The Heritage Garden ceremony is free; museum admission covers access to the grounds and galleries.
- March Field Air Museum, 22550 Van Buren Blvd., is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
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Noteworthy
Longtime community volunteer Patricia "Pat" Stewart, whose decades of advocacy helped preserve and restore Fairmount Park, passed away on August 15th; read about her legacy shaping one of Riverside's beloved treasures.
Mark your calendars for a community workshop on South Main Street's redesign on September 29th at 6 PM at Salvation Army Riverside Corps, with attendees entered to win a $100 gift card.
A representative from U.S. Senator Adam Schiff's office visited Riverside City College to learn about student resources, part of a statewide effort that's included stops at colleges from Barstow to Long Beach.
What's Happening in Riverside
Today
- Riverside East Rotary Club at Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern
- Stretch & Dance Class at Janet Goeske Senior Center
- Wild California: Stories of Science, Water & Life at University of California, Riverside
- FREE Beginning Square Dance Lessons with Line Dancing at Cowtown Square Dance Center
- FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varner at All Saints Episcopal Church
- History on the Rocks - Round Two! Presented by The Mission Inn Foundation at Mission Inn Foundation ($71.21)
- BRICKTOYAFACE PRESENTS: 909DAY at Riverside Municipal Auditorium- Garden Room
- Riverside Jams at Carbon Nation Brewery
Tomorrow
- Budget Engagement Commission at Riverside City Hall
- History on the Rocks! Presented by The Mission Inn Foundation at Mission Inn Foundation ($71.21)
Save the Date
- Sep 11: FREE YOGA - The Evolution of Ashtanga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 11: Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
- Sep 12: FREE YOGA - The Art of Vinyasa with Catherine Murray at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 12: FREE YOGA - Yin Yoga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 13: Welcome Back Party! at First Congregational Church of Riverside
- Sep 14: FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 16: FREE Beginning Square Dance Lessons with Line Dancing at Cowtown Square Dance Center
- Sep 16: FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varner at All Saints Episcopal Church
- Sep 18: Open Mic Night at Riverside Baha'i Center
- Sep 25: Moon Festival at Heritage House
- Oct 3: Aquamotion Aquathon at Shamel Pool
- Oct 7: Fifty & Better Health Fair at Janet Goeske Center
- Nov 14: Riverside Veterans Parade - Downtown Riverside/Market St.
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