The sun rises over one of southeast Riversideâs well worn trails. (Don Benny)
Monday Gazette: November 4, 2024
Hello Riverside, and Happy Monday! Two quick notes:
Our second annual Reader Survey remains open for one more week. Your feedback will help us chart a course to better serve you in 2025 and your anonmymous demographic information helps us tell advertiesers who's reading The Gazette to keep it free! Each subscriber who completes the survey can be entered in a giveaway to win a gift basket with a $100 gift card from Ampersand Gifts and Goods in the Riverside Plaza.
If you want to track real-time local election results tomorrow evening, voteinfo.net is the County Registrar's website; we'll also be bringing you an update on Wednesday morning.
Californiaâs General Election is tomorrow, November 5. Learn how to vote by mail, in person, or register on the same day to ensure your voice is heard.
Ballots are collected at the Riverside County Registrar of Votersâ drive-up drop-off, ensuring secure and convenient voting access for Riverside residents.
Tomorrow, November 5, 2024, is Californiaâs General Election! By now, all active, registered voters should have received their ballots. Hereâs how to cast your vote and make your voice heard.
Ways to Cast Your Vote
Mail Your Ballot: Send your completed ballot by November 5 to ensure itâs postmarked by Election Day. It must arrive by November 12 to be counted.
Drop it Off In Person: Drop your ballot at any secure drop-off location, vote center, or at the Registrar of Voters Office until 8:00 p.m. tomorrow:
Registrar of Voters Office 2724 Gateway Dr. Riverside, CA 92507
Election Day Voting at the Polls
Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. Use the Vote Center/Polling Place Locator to find a nearby voting location.
Same-Day Voter Registration
If you missed the deadline, you can still register and vote in person on Election Day at any vote center. Your ballot will be counted once your registration is verified.
Select Vote Centers:
For convenient in-person voting, here are a few local options. Find the full list using the Vote Center Locator:
Meet NORA: A New Name for Riverside's 51-Year-Old Rape Crisis Center
The nonprofit aims to reshape the conversation on violence and healing with a new identity focused on nurture, outreach, resiliency, and advocacy.
Amy Hoyt, Board President of NORA, addresses the audience at the 43rd Annual Dinner & Auction Gala. (Courtesy of NORA)
The Riverside Area Rape Crisis Center is embracing a new identity as NORA, a name rooted in humanity and hope. The rebranding, announced on Nov. 1, 2024, marks a significant shift in the organization's approach to addressing sexual violence and supporting survivors.
NORA, which stands for Nurture, Outreach, Resiliency, and Advocacy, signifies "honor" and encapsulates the center's mission of a community-centered approach to ending sexual violence.
Dr. Adriane Lamar Snider, Chief Executive Officer at NORA, explains the motivation behind the change. "At NORA, we center survivors' experiences, honoring their stories and resilience," she says. "Harnessing our collective vision and strength, we're creating brighter futures and a better world for all."
City Council set to limit remote comment during public meetings and end ongoing Spanish interpretation services for City Council meetings.
Welcome to our weekly digest on public meetings and agenda items worthy of your 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, November 5, in afternoon sessions at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. The agenda includes:Approving changes framed to make public meetings more efficient: requiring advance notice for Spanish translation services and limiting when remote public comments (not e-comments submitted in advance of meetings) to the opening of public meetings as recommended by the Council's Governmental Process Committee on October 2.Considering changes to a 2022 agreement for installing a city-wide fiber-optic network, allowing the $300 million private project to move forward with revised placements of "micro trenches" originally planned to be installed where pavements meet gutters near the edge of streets.A presentation on City plans to develop guidelines for using AI in city operations, focusing on responsible and transparent implementation to improve services while protecting residents' interests.Considering approving a new 7-Eleven gas station at Van Buren and Primrose, across the street from the new In-n-Out Burger on Van Buren at the 91. Considering plans to expand its septic waste receiving program to include commercial waste while raising fees to better cover costs.
Opinion: Local Leaders Take on Riversideâs Rising Expectations
Riversiders are turning to local leaders for answers. Hereâs how the City Council and Mayor are stepping up and what residents can do to help.
From left to right: Councilmembers Clarissa Cervantes (Ward 2), Steve Hemenway (Ward 7), Sean H. Mill (Ward 5), Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, Councilmembers Steven Robillard (Ward 3), Chuck Conder (Ward 4), Jim Perry (Ward 6), Philip Falcone (Ward 1). (Courtesy of the City of Riverside)
In a recent survey, Chapman University researchers found that Americans' number one fear is corruption among government officials. This fear cuts across all political parties and ideological lines. Americans do not trust their political leaders, with one exception: local elected leaders.
Several studies have found that while people distrust their national and state representatives, a large majority still have faith in their City Councilmembers and Mayors. In fact, a recent Gallup poll found that 72% of U.S. adults say they have a "great deal" or a "fair amount" of trust in their local government.
These survey results illustrate a basic problem of our time: Our society is undergoing seismic shifts, creating huge social and cultural changes that cause us to feel more anxious, worried, and uncertain about the future, but we don't trust our state and federal leaders to guide us on the right path. So, increasingly, people look to their local officials to quell their anxiety and fix the complex problems facing our country, even though the ability to address those problems is often not within the local elected officials' control.
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