Symbolizing good fortune, pomelos play a key role in Lunar New Year celebrations. Riverside’s 13th Annual Lunar Festival highlights this auspicious fruit and its cultural significance.
Thank you to all of our wonderful neighbors for bringing the holiday cheer with festive and fun displays like this one! (Bob Sirotnik)
Monday Gazette: December 16, 2024
Hello Riverside, and Happy Monday!
I'm thrilled to share that our year-end giving campaign launched yesterday with remarkable momentum – ten subscribers became paid supporters and twelve readers made direct contributions, launching us toward our $40,000 goal. Thank you!
This campaign has a clear mission: to fund a dedicated City Hall reporter who will provide vital oversight of our local government, delivering in-depth coverage of decisions that affect our daily lives in Riverside.
The math is simple: with over 7,000 subscribers to The Gazette, we could reach our goal if everyone contributed just $6. While we know not everyone can give, those who can give more will help ensure sustainable local journalism for our community. Here's how you can help build the newsroom Riverside deserves:
Have questions? I'll be at Condron Coffee on Sunnyside Dr. this morning from 7:00 to 8:45 a.m. for in-person conversations about our vision for Riverside's journalism future.
A year-end financial review, approving drones for anti-illegal fireworks policing, and a one-year pilot project to reduce cut-through traffic on Redwood Drive are on the City Council's agenda.
Welcome to our weekly digest on public meetings and agenda items worthy of your attention in the next 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, December 17, in afternoon sessions at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. and an evening session at 6:15 p.m. The agenda includes:
A review of the City's 2023/24 fiscal year-end financial results and considering $43.74 million in budget carryovers to continue previously approved projects and services.
Considering recommendations to enhance efforts in reducing illegal fireworks use with drones and by amending the Municipal Code to include Social Host Liability.
The possible adoption of a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Mitigation Bank Pilot Program to allow real estate developers to purchase credits from a bank of pre-selected bike, pedestrian, and transit projects to mitigate significant traffic impact new projects.
Approving the City's 2025-2026 Legislative Platform with priorities including addressing California's property insurance marketplace, homelessness, and housing, connecting Riverside to the 2028 LA Olympics, expanding recreation, increasing behavioral health infrastructure, and revitalizing the Santa Ana River.
A 12-month pilot project to reduce cut-through traffic on Redwood Drive by restricting southbound entry from University Avenue.
Major Funding Approved for Delta Conveyance Project
With $300 million in new funding, including $142 million from the Metropolitan Water District, the Delta Conveyance Project advances toward protecting California's water supply against climate change and seismic risks.
As I wrote previously, the Delta Conveyance Project is a tunnel that would divert excess flow in the Sacramento River upstream of the delta and deliver it to the existing State Water project near the mouth of the delta. The existing pumping station works well from an engineering perspective but can have a significant impact on several species of fish, notably the federally protected Delta Smelt and salmon. There is also a real risk a major earthquake could cause the failure of levies throughout the delta, causing saltwater intrusion from San Francisco Bay and making the water at the current diversion point unusable for human use.
A major milestone for the project was obtaining $300 Million in additional funding for continued planning and preconstruction costs of the project. This funding will come from all project participants, but the biggest portion comes from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan) whose share is $142 Million, or a little over 47 percent of the additional costs.
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