Mayor's leadership in Big City Mayors coalition helps deliver $300 million in funding while championing mental health reform and homelessness solutions.
Main Street's Eliza Tibbets monument "flower bombed" by Riverside florists The Nature of Things.
Sunday Gazette: March 2, 2025
Hello Riverside, Happy Sunday, and Happy Women’s History Month! Riverside is full of incredible women doing incredible things. If you need convincing, spend some time in our Neighbor of the Week archives! The start of this month is a great time to remind you that we are always on the lookout for Riverside’s hidden heroes. If you know a rad lady making things better in her corner of Riverside, please nominate her so we can consider her for a future profile.
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Thank you to the Subscribers who became paid supporters this week: Susen Moors. Your ongoing financial support is vital to our success in serving Riverside with the news it deserves!
Raincross Rundown: The Best of Riverside in March 2025
A curated list of upcoming events and happenings The Gazette team is most excited about
Detail of Pavel Acevedo Mural at La Sierra’s Brandstater Gallery. (Ken Crawford)
Things start to warm up a bit in March, Daylight Savings Time starts, and Riversiders spring forward into a packed calendar. Consider this document "living" and please let us know if there's something you feel we missed.
Frank Miller’s Final Ride: The Union Pacific Streamliner M-10000 Rolls Through Riverside
A lifelong rail traveler, Frank A. Miller witnessed the evolution of train travel firsthand. In 1934, just a year before his passing, he embarked on one last journey—aboard the sleek, high-speed M-10000, a glimpse into the future of locomotion.
The UP M-10000 Streamline on display in Riverside. (Courtesy of the Union Pacific Museum)
Railroads and railroad travel were a large part of Frank A. Miller's life. During his early life in Tomah, Wisconsin, his father, C. C. Miller, did railroad survey work. Frank joined his father in survey work when he was old enough. They often traveled by rail throughout the state.
The year 1869 marked a major triumph in railroad travel. The transcontinental railroad was completed, joining the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad in Utah. Now, people could go from coast to coast by train in a much shorter time and much easier travel conditions. Five years later, Miller’s first grand adventure on the rails was in 1874, when the family left Tomah, Wisconsin, to move to Riverside, California. They went by rail from Chicago to Omaha, Nebraska, where they transferred to the new Union Pacific, taking them across the plains and into the mountains. Finally reaching Oakland, the family took a ferry to San Francisco and then a ship to Los Angeles. From Los Angeles, they traveled by train to the end of the line, which at that time was Spadra, west of Pomona. From Spadra to Riverside, the family proceeded by coach. Not until 1886, when the Santa Fe reached downtown Riverside, did the city have a direct connection.
Each week, we will introduce a new neighbor. This is not a who's who list. These are regular Riversiders doing exceptional things.
Claudia Rodriguez stands at the Mt. Rubidoux trailhead, representing the Riverside Historical Society. (Brenda Flowers)
Claudia grew up in Arlington Heights, but it wasn’t until the Mission Inn reopened in the early 1990s that she truly fell in love with Riverside’s history. That passion for local heritage stayed with her through a 35-year career in the insurance industry, where she rose to an executive role leading a nationwide operation.
After decades of long hours and commuting to Orange County, Claudia retired and turned her focus to family and community. Inspired by her siblings’ “Walk of the Week,” she set out to visit all 149 of Riverside’s Cultural Landmarks—an accomplishment she now proudly claims. She deepened her involvement by joining the Old Riverside Foundation, Friends of Mt. Rubidoux, Riverside Museum Associates, Mission Inn Foundation, and Riverside Historical Society. She also became a member of the Riverside Woman’s Club and the City of Riverside’s Nonprofit Collaborative, staying engaged in preserving the city’s cultural legacy.
Claudia and her husband raised their daughter here, and she’s proud to see her carry on their family’s Riverside pride—just as she once did, exploring a city that has always felt like home.
A prompt to encourage your practice of creativity this week from Riversider and local author Larry Burns.
(Titus Pardee)
This week, we return to the physical plane with a creative focus on an object that can be the bane of writers like me: a blank sheet of paper. Its emptiness can evoke feelings of fear, doubt, and even paralysis. But that's just self-doubt doing its job. In fact, a blank sheet of paper holds a universe of creative possibilities waiting to be explored.
The pressure to fill the void with something meaningful, something perfect, can sometimes prevent us from even starting.It's one reason I procrastinate. And the reason why I didn't give you a writing activity this week!
In a world dominated by digital screens, the simple act of engaging with a blank sheet of paper can be a refreshing and grounding experience. It invites us to slow down, connect with our senses, and tap into the tactile joy of creating something with our own hands. Or toes or teeth, no limits here.
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.
