Even just beyond our city limits, the world reminds us why we love calling Riverside home. A reader captured this stunning poppy bloom near Lake Elsinore. (Gale Schulte)
Sunday Gazette: May 25, 2025
Hello Riverside, and Happy Sunday! It’s shaping up to be a picture-perfect Sunday with clear skies and highs in the upper 70s. Whether you're heading to brunch, catching up with friends, or just out for a walk, it's the kind of day that makes you glad to live here. Take it slow and soak it in—you’ve earned it.
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Thank you to the Subscribers who became paid supporters this week: Mary-Layne Norby. Your ongoing financial support is vital to our success in serving Riverside with the news it deserves!
Historic Riverside Church Completes Innovative Solar Installation
How All Saints Episcopal Church designed a solution that preserves architectural heritage while advancing sustainability and creating a new community space.
Rendering of solar pergola by Riverside artist Geeta Pattinaik. (Courtesy of Francisca Johnson)
A historic Riverside church is going green with a innovative solar installation. All Saints Episcopal Church is finalizing a 61-kilowatt system that will eliminate its electric bill and generate surplus clean energy for the community.
Driving the news: The project features a 60-by-30-foot steel pergola topped with solar panels, preserving the church's Spanish Mission-style architecture while providing a shaded gathering space.
Set to be operational by mid-June, the system will cover the church's $1,500 monthly electric bill.
Why it matters: The project demonstrates how historic institutions can embrace renewable energy while honoring architectural heritage and aligning environmental stewardship with fiscal responsibility.
It serves as a model for other faith communities looking to make similar transitions.
The big picture: The solar installation is part of a broader sustainability initiative that includes electrification of the kitchen, water-wise irrigation, and LED lighting conversion.
What's next: All Saints is planning future sustainability projects, including a community garden and potential EV charging stations.
The church aims to eventually function as a community resilience hub during emergencies.
A prompt to encourage your practice of creativity this week from Riversider and local author Larry Burns.
(Flickr/0Four)
This week, we're returning to another object we likely met in childhood—one that's changed in many ways since. Our creative nudge this week comes by way of the crayon. As a college writing instructor, there's a particular appreciation for how these colorful characters tell both visual and textual stories; I admire the crayon’s ability to translate fleeting thoughts into something more.
Crayons lend themselves to creation across multiple surfaces, as any parent or janitor can attest. They possess an immediate, tactile quality, capable of leaving a vibrant trace with minimal effort. You can save your energy for running and hiding when your misplaced masterpiece is discovered. Let’s get our grubby little hands around that fundamental sense of wonder and direct expression, starting with one or more of these creative crayon nudges. (There’s one for each of the five senses—but don’t limit yourself to what’s in the Crayola 64 pack.)
