I'm deeply honored to receive the Aaron Norris Community Impact Award tonight from Riverside's Pick Group of Young Professionals. The Pick Group is one of my very favorite organizations in Riverside—without the opportunities they created for me when I joined earlier in my career, The Raincross Gazette most certainly would not exist.
If you'd like to join us at tonight's Impact Awards, I'm told a few tickets are still available, and your support will help other young adults establish themselves in this city we love.
From citrus grove markers to wildlife apartments, Riverside's iconic skydusters reveal surprising stories about our landscape and the creatures who call them home.
I internally shudder when someone asks me a question that assumes that I know everything about a particular local creature, plant or animal. In this case, my wife, Tracy, and I were entertaining Midwestern friends at Hanger 24 in Canyon Crest. The temperature had already cooled to 95 degrees by 6 p.m. The second part of the question should have been obvious.
"… they don't give a lot of shade. Why grow them? … "
While a response was running through my mind to the effect that you could find the shade if you knew EXACTLY where to stand, Ellen continued,
Descended from domestic swine that escaped during 1930s floods, feral pigs emerge cyclically from the Santa Ana River to transform suburban yards into "rototilled" landscapes—and city regulations leave residents with few options beyond creative deterrents.
Wild pigs have destroyed turf near Redwood Drive and Dexter Street at Fairmount Park. Inset: Security camera footage captures the nocturnal visitors roaming residential neighborhoods adjacent to the Santa Ana River. (Ken Crawford; inset courtesy Sue Mitchell)
Riverside residents near Fairmount Park are grappling with nocturnal visits from wild pigs, transforming manicured lawns into "rototilled" terrain. The pigs, descendants of domestic swine that escaped during 1930s floods, have adapted to urban life, exploiting suburban food sources before retreating to river habitats.
Driving the news: Sue Mitchell's neighborhood has become ground zero for pig activity, with family groups of 5-6 adult pigs and 10-15 piglets emerging nightly to forage.
Mitchell has employed creative countermeasures, including motion-activated sprinklers, to deter the unwelcome visitors.
The big picture: This isn't Riverside's first pig rodeo. Similar incidents occur every few years, most notably in October 2016 when 20-30 pigs devastated Fairmount Park's turf.
Experts suggest creative coexistence strategies may be the most practical long-term solution.
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