An October sun sets over Riverside on Monday. (Bob Sirotnik)
Wednesday Gazette: October 23, 2024
Hello Riverside, and Happy Wednesday! A few quick notes from The Gazette team:
Tonight is our first-ever Eat This, Riverside! field trip to Greedy Cat. A group of 10 has RSVP'd to join Seth, and we can accommodate just a few more if you email seth@raincrossgazette.com by 2 p.m. today.
The City is hosting Future Fest tomorrow from 4 to 8 p.m. in front of Regal Theater Riverside Plaza; stop by to meet Ken and share your thoughts on Riverside's future.
We're creating a guide that offers a driving tour of the best decorated homes for the spooky season. If you or a neighbor have an incredible Halloween display, snap a pic today and send it with an address to ken@raincrossgazette.com.
Next Monday, we'll publish a series of interviews with the school board candidates on your November ballots. If you are confident in your vote for Measure CC or Measure L and want to share your reasoning with other Riversiders, please email justin@raincrossgazette.com by Thursday at 2 p.m.
There are a few days left to visit her solo exhibition at the RCAA Gallery.
Ada M. Passaro is 100 years old today. She will be spending the day with her nephew, visiting art galleries in Santa Ana, and having a birthday meal at Le Chat Noir. If you would like to celebrate Ada, visit the RCAA Gallery on Lemon. Take a look at, and maybe even buy, one of her incredible pastel landscapes. Ada's exhibition closes on October 26th, so you only have a few days.
Ada is a local treasure. She took up pastels at age 80 and has become quite accomplished over the last two decades. I talked with Ada about the magic of places. She has a unique ability to capture that magic. Her work depicting scenes along Highway 395 is fantastic.
"There's Always Room at the Table": A Conversation with La Sierra University's First Black President Dr. Christon Arthur
Three months into his new, historic appointment, the president of La Sierra University looks back on his career trajectory and the role service plays in both his personal and professional leadership.
Dr. Arthur speaking to the students and faculty of La Sierra University during September 24's Convocation & Welcome Back Picnic. (Courtesy La Sierra University)
"There's a place for you." This is the mantra Dr. Arthur has carried with himself throughout his journey. It's also the phrase he echoes to the approximately 1,600 students who make up the small but vibrant community at La Sierra University. He shared this with me during a recent Zoom interview. As the institution's first Black president, Arthur, who spent the past three decades of his illustrious career as an educational leader, is looking to widen the school's access and visibility of his students. "I want to expand La Sierra to make it accessible to everyone and then provide the resources to meet their needs to equip them for success," he said with a wide grin.
He is only the sixth president since the university was formally established in 1980. However, Arthur knows a thing or two about coming in sixth place — he's the last of six siblings, after all. But it's also what highlights his distinctiveness. Arthur became the first in his family to pursue higher education and earn a postgraduate degree. As a first-generation native of Grenada, a small Eastern Caribbean island, his accomplishments became the blueprint of what his siblings, including his mother, who was denied going to school for being a woman, had long dreamed of.
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