Brisk morning atop Mt. Rubidoux, with the sunrise casting its golden glow over Downtown. (Luke López)
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Most of this newsletter was written and scheduled before The Raincross Gazette staff went on holiday break. We will return to regular work and publishing on Monday, January 6.
Monday Gazette: December 30, 2024
Hello Riverside, and Happy Monday!
Tomorrow is the final day of our year-end giving campaign, so this is my last email asking you to help us fund the salary of a dedicated City Hall reporter in the New Year. Here's a quick recap of our progress:
2023 Total: $11,375
2024 Current: $4,837 (12% of $40,000 goal)
Total Supporters: 69
New Members: 43
Why this matters: I used the funds from last year's campaign to kick-start the salary of our first reporter focused on Riverside's people and culture. That created some capacity for me to focus on growing the Gazette into a financially sustainable operation, which can now independently pay Ken and Amy to be on our team.
Most of my time is still dedicated to producing the news and these newsletters. If you all contribute to help me kick start the salary of a dedicated City Hall reporter, we all not only get vital oversight of our local government, but I can begin spending most of my time on the Gazette's business functions so we can continue to grow this newsroom and give Riverside the local news coverage it deserves with reporters focused on housing and homelessness, business and economic development, crime and fire, education, and local sports coverage.
There are 48 hours left in our campaign; if everyone reading this right now gives just $6, we will blow past our goal and get that reporter hired and on the team in the next 60 days.
Why this is so important:
What we know about Riverside determines what we believe about it, and what we believe about Riverside determines its future.
If you believe in Riverside, please help the Gazette take a giant step closer to the newsroom our city deserves. Here's how you can help us hire our next reporter to serve as your eyes and ears at City Hall:
2024 in Review: Mission Inn Museum Exile, Local Elections are Riverside's Biggest Stories
Readers highlight the cultural impact and economic consequences of the Foundation's displacement and shift in "focus and tenor" of the new Council.
Historic University Avenue frames the Fox Theatre against a brilliant Southern California sky. (John Fournier)
The displacement of the Mission Inn Museum and shifts in local political leadership emerge as the most impactful stories of 2024, according to Raincross Gazette readers in a year-end survey. These developments spark conversations about preserving local history while navigating change in Riverside's political and cultural landscape.
The contested eviction of the Mission Inn Foundation from its longtime home resonates deeply with residents, marking the end of a 30-year era of volunteer-led historical tours at the landmark hotel. "It totally changed the dynamic of the Foundation and required new touring options," one respondent notes.
Street Photography Exhibit at RAM Enters Its Final Weeks
Human Interaction Is a Beautiful Thing emphasizes relationships between creators, their subjects, and their tools.
Selections from Human Interaction. (Ken Crawford)
You only have a few weeks left to stop by the Riverside Art Museum (RAM) and check out The Human Interaction is a Beautiful Thing. Mariah Green, RAM curator, has put together a tightly curated exhibit of the photography of Adrian Dizon and Cisco Streetlenz coupled with a short film documenting the processes and relationships that make what they do unique.
Dizon is a student at UCR and works, locally at Urge Pallete, his passion for photography started with Punk and Hardcore shows. The transition from bands on stage to the community in the venue and eventually to the community-at-large has a long tradition in Southern California. Glen E. Friedman and Edward Colver blazed that trail in the early 80’s and created some of the most important documents of Los Angeles in that era.
See something? Say something. Your tips and ideas are what fuel The Raincross Gazette. If you know of something newsworthy happening in our city, please share it with us.
