Map and Directions To Crest Community Church
3431 Mt Vernon Ave, Riverside, CA 92507
Share Your Thoughts With The City
1. Welcome – Introductions 5 min.
2. UCR Update 5 min.
3. RPD Update 10 min.
4. Council Update 20 min
5. Parking West Side Watkins Bike Lane 5 min.
6. ADU Ad Hoc 5 min.
7. New Business
8. Old Business
Neighborhood Issues & Resources
Stop Building Warehouses Near Our Homes Petition
Riverside Neighborhood Partnership
Here’s your opportunity to share your thoughts about your neighborhood, the city, and quality of life.
Saturday, June 18th 2022
1 – 2:30 p.m. STEM Academy
4466 Mt Vernon Ave
It looks like the old ways of doing business in Riverside are beginning to erode. Read about it here from the PE:
This decision came about because residents were forced to take legal action against some very unwise legal advice given to the City Council which makes them look complicit in trying to defraud the ratepayers.
If ever we needed an elected Inspector General, this sort of waste of public funds should be reason enough. What else is being hidden from view?
After long years of suffering under the economic development vision of “cheap dirt”, and a series of deplorable leadership decisions, feckless city managers and past councils with questionable ethics and certainly with no love of place, residents are finally demanding answers and showing a willingness to apply constant pressure on the issues that matter to all of us.
Increasing demands for closer scrutiny over decisions on how our public funds are being disbursed is beginning to pay and special interests don’t like this trend. We’re seeing a reassertion of parents and taxpayer rights to effective school bond oversight.
We can complain all we want about the fraud, waste and abuse that occurs in government, but if we don’t step in to express our thoughts, keep demanding answers, or counter the latest special interest vision with our own, residents will always get far less than we deserve from our tax dollars. Where do you want to make the next difference in Riverside?
Hi Friends,
I signed this petition to Governor Newsom to keep rooftop solar growing in California. Will you consider signing it too?
https://www.savecaliforniasolar.org/sign-petition
Utilities are lobbying the state to make it harder and more expensive for people to get solar. They are trying to gut net metering, which lets solar users share their extra solar energy with the neighbors for a bill credit.
Even though we have Riverside Public Utilities, we can be doing so much more to lower our energy costs and raise our comfort level. Expanding city rooftop solar should maximize coverage to reduce our collective costs.
We need to make it easier for people to get rooftop solar so they can control over their energy bills and keep the power on. Will you consider signing and forwarding to others?
Map and Directions To Crest Community Church
3431 Mt Vernon Ave, Riverside, CA 92507
1. Welcome – Introductions 5 min.
2. Mt. Vernon Median Makeover 10 min
3. RPD Update 20 min.
4. Council Update 20 min
4. UCR Update 30 min.
Beth Claassen Thrush, Dr. Denise Woods
5. Measure C 20 min.
6. Parking Permit Renewals 10 min.
We all know there is a lot at stake in how our school bonds are spent.
There is a breakdown in trust between taxpayers and school boards across the
State. This is evident in the almost complete rejection of all school bond issues in our last election.
As taxpayers it’s our responsibility to become more aware of the behind-the-scenes practices that result in decades of disinvestment in certain neighborhood schools.
We can change that now for all. It starts by asking your questions in all our public comment forums.
As voters, we will once again be asked to approve bond measures or policies. If you’ve never considered the importance of this topic, this is the best time to start.
Read and share this with your neighbors, post everywhere and most importantly, start talking about what our dreams for everyone’s child’s educational opportunities look like.
The more vocal and public we have this conversation, the sooner our school board will understand what we are holding them accountable for. If not, they won’t keep their seat.
Luckily, we have neighbors in the UNA and all across the city who are following along and asking public questions pointing out the systemic disenfranchisement of certain neighborhoods.
If it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us. Your zip code shouldn’t determine your lifespan or equal opportunities to quality educational facilities and curriculum .
They say if you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together. That’s what’s finally happening as parents across the city unite in solidarity for educational equity.
Here are some recent updates and comments to help catch us up. Circulate freely.
It may take a village, but sometimes it takes a backlash. This is what it looks like when we’re winning.
Hi All. Hope this email finds everyone doing well.
At the last school board meeting, an updated lease agreement with RUSD and UCR was presented to the board for their approval. The lease agreement can be found on the district’s website under board agenda, consent #10.
VOTING YES:Trustees- Hunt (stated he also has concerns with the lease but voted YES), Lee, Allavie and Farooq. VOTING NO: KINNEAR
In short,
1. Because the high school will be built on UCR property, UCR is the sole owner of the building with a lease agreement for 50 yrs with the option of two 10 year extensions, if agreed upon.
At a community meeting, a district manager stated that in 50 years the STEM building will be obsolete and will probably be demolished. Many of our schools in the district are over 50 yrs old-Highgrove is over 130 years old. Fremont over 100 years old, Ramona nearly 65 years old, Poly and North High School are over 50 years old, schools that are fully operational today. When the lease ends, the building belongs to UCR.
2. RUSD is solely responsible for all expenses, including:
3. RUSD has racked up more than $1M dollars of billable hrs from UCR thus far. This amount will continue to grow as UCR bills RUSD for any time spent by UCR employees working on this project.
4. UCR assumes no liability in any future lawsuits.
5. UCR to have access to the building with no charge for classrooms and labs.
6. 40 slots are guaranteed for UCR professors at this high school (total of 80 students including students at the STEM Academy). These students are not required to live in the district, thus parents will not pay property tax, along with the other 300 students the district is allowing in who reside outside the district paying no property tax.
The Measure O property tax we voted for was to help remodel and renovate our needy schools, which is now going towards building UCR a new building at no cost to UCR, RUSD allocates $32M of Measure O funds and continues to rack up millions of dollars of additional fees. RUSD will spend millions of dollars for yearly routine operational costs when the district’s student enrollment continues to decrease, costing RUSD millions of dollars in lost revenue each year.
It is truly disappointing that Trustees Allavie, Farooq and Lee with their strong ties to UCR continue to push this project to promote their own personal and political interests with our money.
This new STEM High School at UCR is not a comprehensive high school where students attend based on their address. A comprehensive high school must accept any student who walks in to register.
This STEM High School is a specialized school where only students who meet certain high academic standards will be allowed in.
Instead of investing in our current high schools as a priority, the school board has made it clear in several board meetings that the STEM High School at UCR is their #1 priority. The board sees no problem spending millions and millions of dollars to build a state of the art school in technology and innovation and infuse it with only the brightest students.
None of our high schools can compete with that. The board has turned its back on the thousands of students in the district who must sit everyday in deplorable classrooms and portables.
Case in point. STEM High School at UCR will be less than a mile from North High School. Why didn’t the board consider North High School as a STEM school? Because the school board knows North High is not marketable in bringing students in from outside the district.
As we know, North High is in an industrial area on the Eastside, not surrounded by beautiful homes and landscaped yards, thus certainly not appealing when you drive around the school. And when you walk the campus and see how deplorable the conditions are and how unappealing it looks, the board knows newcomers will go elsewhere.
We cannot change the location of North High nor should North High have to look like the depressed areas that surrounds it. The school board has the power to transform North’s campus appeal that can be stunning in its beauty. Perhaps this is just reminiscent of a school board member back during Measure B when discussing North’s stadium referenced that poor kids don’t know how to take care of good things.
Instead of investing all of Measure O to renovate and beautify our schools of 40,000 students, this board’s #1 priority is to spend millions and millions of our dollars to cater to a select group of privileged students who many will not pay property tax.
The school board will once again be asking us to vote to increase our property tax to “supposedly” renovate and modernize our schools. We need to remind the board that siphoning off millions of dollars to fund UCR a new building was not appreciated and will vote NO on any local school bond or state school bond measure as long as they continue to pursue this project.
It is time to elect new board members that have our 40,000 students as their 1st priority, not for a selected few.
Will keep you posted.
Again, we would like to sincerely thank all of you who helped organize or attended this past meeting in August 19th. Your support for our Eastside Elementary and North High School is crucial, nothing can be accomplished without the help of each one of you.
it is imperative that all of us continue to plan, organize and be ready for the October 7th RUSD Board Meeting. I will continue to send you information provided to us by LULAC members Rich Davis and Mary Figueroa.Good Morning my Team and Task Force members:
Below please find an informative piece by none other than our community friend Rich Davis.
We need to realize how important it is that we pay attention to what is happening quietly behind the activity of the RUSD Board and how it impacts our community.
Once again, we are facing decisions made on behalf of and for the benefit of other communities, to the detriment of our children.
Please read the following, although lengthy it provides all you need to know about why you should be involved in being the voice for the Eastside.
We will talk later.
Mary
The closing date for public comments on UCR’s LRDP was Friday, Sept. 3rd, 2021.
Here are three of the public comment letters submitted.
One is from the City of Riverside, one is from lawyers hired on behalf of the UNA, and one letter from UNA Co Chair Gurumantra Khalsa.
The City really stepped up their game compared to previous planning projects. It’s almost a text book case study for public comments.
Thanks go out to Kevin Dawson for alerting the City of Riverside to Berkeley being awarded $84 million over 14 years for mitigation.
Here are links for your review of the comments.:
Now that you have your ballots, you might be wondering who’s who.
Well, here’s your chance to meet the candidates vying for our vote.
So get comfortable, sit back, relax, pour yourself a cup or glass of something strong to see you through an hour and a half.
If you do, you’ll know your vote is informed. You’ll be the judge who counts. Here’s a link to the video courtesy of the League of Women Voters. Enjoy before it’s too late.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t1b9kUAi_dUIXw1DQUckxX9XIMC5P7-r/view?usp=sharing
|
RTRP Overhead Lines Along Santa Ana
|
|
The Riverside Transmission Reliability Project will destroy the viewshed of Riverside and the surrounding communities forever. This is being promoted by our public utility department. It’s unwise and unnecessary. Find out why at a special Teach In at the next UNA meeting – June 13, 2019.
We’ll have Mayor Brian Berkson/Jurupa Valley
Councilman Chris Barajas/Jurupa Valley
Norco Representative Susan Bowen
Devonne Pitruzzello
to explain why undergrounding is better for all communities and what you can do to make sure that happens. Tell your neighbors. Mark the date. 3 weeks and counting.
|
Save The Date June 13, 2019
What: The Measure O Bond Oversight Committee Meeting
When: Wednesday, May 29, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Where: Conference Room 3,
RUSD District Offices
2280 14th Street, Riverside,CA 92501
(corner of 14th Street and Lime, across from Jack in the Box, close to the 91 freeway).
Bill Latham
Microenvironment renovations offer schools a relatively inexpensive way to align facilities to teaching and lear…
Maplight & LWVCEF, http://maplight.org & https://cavotes.org/
Guide to measures in the Riverside Unified School District on the November 8, 2016 ballot.