City Council will consider a 45-day moratorium on new tobacco retail permits following widespread illegal drug sales at smoke shops and award a $19.7 million contract to renovate the nearly century-old Cesar Chavez Community Center.
This week’s agendas include a Council vote on a 45-day smoke shop moratorium and a $19.7M Chavez Center renovation, plus earthquake prep tips and a water update.
From securing furniture to retrofitting homes and weighing insurance, here’s how Riversiders can prepare for the next big quake—plus an update on California’s latest water bill.
Nonprofits see rising back-to-school needs, and food bank’s resource center marks one year helping thousands with CalFresh.
Wednesday Gazette: July 30, 2025
Hello Riverside, and Happy Wednesday! Riverside is full of powerful, untold stories—layers of history that shape who we are today. From Indigenous homelands to citrus booms, civil rights milestones and vibrant cultural movements, our city holds narratives waiting to be explored and honored.
This Sunday, Aug. 3, from 1–2 p.m., you can experience one of those stories firsthand with the screening of Pá'Čapa: A Mt. Rubidoux Story—a documentary sharing the deep Indigenous history of Mt. Rubidoux, guided in part by Lorene Sisquoc, a culture keeper and educator we’ve proudly featured as a Neighbor of the Week.
See you tomorrow!
Family Promise of Riverside serves 5,000 local unhoused children while partnering with faith communities to transform unused Sunday school rooms into family shelters.
Approximately 5,000 unhoused children attend school in Riverside and Alvord Unified School Districts, part of a hidden crisis as families struggle with housing instability.
Driving the news: Family Promise of Riverside is working to address this issue, utilizing unused church spaces to provide emergency shelter and support services for homeless families.
Why it matters: Back-to-school season creates urgent needs for nonprofits serving families, often overlooked as community attention shifts away from charitable giving.
The big picture: Family Promise offers multiple programs beyond emergency shelter, including a two-year post-housing stability program to prevent families from sliding back into homelessness.
What they're saying: "We could quite literally have zero children sleeping in cars or worse, if every congregation that had space that was not being used or being underutilized, opened it up for us to engage families," says Claire Jefferson-Glipa, who leads Family Promise of Riverside.
Read and share the complete story...
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New facility served 200 households monthly through pantry, created 100-plus volunteer positions.
The Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino (FARSB) Hunger Resource Center celebrates a year of impactful service, helping over 2,100 families apply for CalFresh and serving 200 households monthly through its pantry.
Driving the news: FARSB's second building, which opened in January 2025, has become a hub for community support, offering a learning center, Fresh Start Pantry, and CalFresh Resource Center.
Why it matters: The expansion represents a significant growth for FARSB, introducing the organization's first on-site choice pantry and creating over 100 new volunteer opportunities.
The big picture: FARSB serves as the primary food source for more than 250 nonprofit organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, distributing over 3.1 million pounds of food monthly.
What's next: FARSB continues to adapt its services to meet community needs, building on its 44-year history of combating hunger in the Inland Empire.
Read and share the complete story...
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UC Riverside admitted a record 71,069 students for fall 2025—far exceeding last year's 51,345—while leading all UC campuses in admitting California residents, first-generation, and low-income students.
Caliber's 14th annual food drive raised $1.3 million and delivered 8.5 million meals to over 200 food banks including Feeding America Riverside, exceeding their goal by 40% to combat food insecurity nationwide.
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This week’s agendas include a Council vote on a 45-day smoke shop moratorium and a $19.7M Chavez Center renovation, plus earthquake prep tips and a water update.
Canvas Pizza rolls out a new food trailer, meet Neighbor of the Week Ernesto Rodriguez, and a Creative Prompt on dryer lint.
91 Freeway-Adams Street interchange project advances with 2028 construction on the horizon, and Riverside TV delivers network-quality sports coverage to the community.
This week’s sports lineup is packed with action. Plus, the Mission Inn Museum launches its Halloween season with a dinner-and-cemetery tour honoring fallen officers.
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