Category Archives: Social Capital

City Of Our Dreams, Democarcy, Ethics, Living Among Giants, Open Government, Public Policy, Social Capital

NBT Inspector General Ballot Rebuttal Denied

September 8, 2024 admin 2 Comments

The united voices of neighborhood groups across the city NBT, Neighbors Better Together wrote a rebuttal to the current ballot language.

The reason this is even on a ballot is because several Charter Review committees have advocated for this over the years. Council adopted the Review Committee’s recommendation, but not as they recommended.

The Charter Review Committee recommended the position be an elected one instead of appointed. The reasons for that are obvious.

Here is what you won’t see on the ballot:

Vote “No” on Measure L.

After years of discussing and researching the subject, and at the demands of longtime City watchdogs for greater accountability and transparency, in 2022 Riverside’s appointed Charter Review Committee recommended the creation of an elected (by the public) Inspector General position, with almost exactly the same powers to investigate fraud, waste and abuse as the appointed (by our City Council) position before you today.

Sadly the 2022 City Council, who had made the appointments to the Committee, instead chose to bring before the electorate an appointed position; not unlike Measure E in 2012, which was to create an appointed City Auditor position with once again, almost identical powers. Measure E was soundly defeated by voters then, like Measure L should be now.

Why? An appointed Inspector General is not as independent nor directly accountable to the people, rendering their function not just useless, but dangerous in our opinion. It would provide the illusion of legitimacy, scarcely more effective than the current, and often criticized, practice of having internal auditors that work for our City Manager. The temptation to whitewash embarrassing, and potentially politically damaging audit findings, would be overwhelming. Current personalities aside, the fox would be in essence guarding the henhouse. We deserve better.

Voting “No” on Measure L will allow time for the advocates of an elected Inspector General position to work with the new Council members, installed this year (Falcone, Robillard, Mill), who we think better understand the importance of independent investigation, to bring you a much better ballot measure in early 2026. We believe they are not afraid of oversight, see the benefits of the public’s ongoing faith in efficient and honest City government, and know that an elected position will ultimately provide a better return on investment for taxpayers.

Please vote “No”.

City Of Our Dreams, Economic Development, Environment, Ethics, Green Energy, Health, Public Policy, Safety, Social Capital

Add Your Name To Riverside Neighbors Demanding Underground RTRP Transmission Lines

June 13, 2024 admin 3 Comments

At June’s UNA meeting, we will take a vote to submit the following letter on behalf of our neighborhood group, and joining groups from across the city who are demanding a safer, transmission line project.

Thousands of Riverside residents will be affected by higher insurance rates, lower property values, viewshed destruction, enhanced wildfire risk, other public safety risks, plus the theft of generational equity from some of our most disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Dear City Council Members, I am writing to you on behalf of the University Neighborhood Association with a request to reconsider the vote to stop the working group from obtaining the information needed to proceed with a request to underground the power lines in our city.

As a concerned citizen, who has witnessed both past and present Councils echoing the Community’s voice, saying that we do not have enough information or cost data regarding this project, I remain dismayed at the refusal to get that information.

Yet we persist in a course of action we all know is fraught with peril and foreseeable public health and safety risks. The very risks you swore an oath to put foremost in your elected stewardship duties. This is a risk to current and future residents as well as a dire risk to our regional neighbors who expect more from a city always eager to take leadership for innovation.

It is especially dismaying that we are proceeding in spite of State requirements that all new transmission line projects shall be underground. Did we not get the memo?

This is information we do have. We also know the easement needed to proceed is not forthcoming unless this project is underground. We know the longer we delay the greater the fire danger and the costs.

I am wondering if any of you have considered the possibility of having a shovel-ready project in three years and built in five?

What is needed is the political will to request a new EIR or Supplemental EIR to include current conditions. I know that if there was political will, time frames can be shortened.

We also have a mayor who is an expert in this arena and I am urging you Mayor Dawson, to bring the best of your considerable talents, experience, and demonstrated love for Riverside to show up on this. Your legacy is at risk. Have you considered the optics of having an environmental expert as mayor and proceeding with this monstrosity of a project? Even Edison is telling us to underground everywhere except for the City of Riverside apparently.

Political will gives us all the information we need and the project ready to submit in less than a year – if we require it. And if this project is as critical to our future as Staff, Edison, SEIU, the Chamber and a host of paid performers, shilling during Council deliberations, have said it is, then it is equally critical to listen to your community.

One of you needs to step up and request a reconsideration to get this rolling. If we are serious about need and the speed, then the shortest time frame starts with a new EIR process. One or all of you newly elected has an opportunity to step up and demonstrate the kind of leadership we have seen from Councilmen Conder, Hemenway and Councilwoman Cervantes.

We expect you to do your jobs and due diligence on this or risk the likely result of being a one term councilman.

Gurumantra Khalsa
Co Chair, University Neighborhood Assn.
951-640-3868

Environment, Parks, Public Policy, Safety, Social Capital

UNA June 2024 Meeting Agenda

June 5, 2024 admin Leave a comment

Every 2nd Thursday 6:30 – 8:30

Map and Directions To Crest Community Church
3431 Mt Vernon Ave, Riverside, CA 92507

1. Welcome – Introductions 5 min.

2. City Parks Director Pamela Galera Q&A 40 min.

3. Fire Chief Micheal Moore or 40 min.

Deputy Fire Chief Steve McKinster Q&A

4. Announcements Updates: 5 min

Take the RTRP Underground or Above Ground Survey .

Neighborhood Resources

Follow Our Courts

US Covid Atlas

Arts, Culture, Entertainment, Living Among Giants, UCR

UCR Spring Splash

May 9, 2024 admin Leave a comment

UCR Spring Splash Concert crowd and stage

Hello everyone,

I would like to share that on Saturday, May 18^th, the Associated Students Program Board is hosting UCR’s annual Spring Splash concert. We wanted to notify you of potential amplified sound and access that may affect the inner areas of campus.

The event kicks off at 4:30pm and will last until 9:30pm. However, sound checks for the artists will begin at 9:00am until 3:00 pm. Please be advised that the center of campus will be fenced and access to the inner areas of campus will be impacted as a result. Students, faculty, and staff will be asked to walk around the fenced areas beginning at 12pm until the event ends. We will provide signage that ensures everyone is able to get to where they need to go. Included is a map outlining the alternative routes once the venue is closed at 12pm on May 18^th.

You will start to see the set-up of staging on Wednesday, May 15^th; and set-up of fencing on Friday, May 17^th. Access to buildings will not be impacted before Saturday, May 18^th. We appreciate your patience and support of activities for our students that assist them in making a deeper connection to UCR. If you would like more information about the event, please visit our website

Students must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate program at UCR (we verify) and pre-registration is required for the event for access. UCR undergraduate students must present a physical R’Card and entry wristband to enter the event. We will not offer student verification at the event; students must have a wristband and their R’Card to enter (no exceptions).

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Jazmin Alvarez Barragan

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Associated Students Program Board (ASPB) | University of California, Riverside

111 Highlander Union Building Riverside CA, 92521

Office: (951) 827-3615 | jazmin.alvarezbarragan@ucr.edu

Open Government, Public Policy, Safety, Social Capital, Transportation, UCR

STEM HS EIR Public Meeting

April 15, 2024 admin Leave a comment

If you live in the University neighborhood and you care about neighborhood quality of life, then Tuesday, April 16th’s meeting 5:30-8:00 pm, at the Courtyard Marriott 1510 University Ave. is where you need to show up and speak your mind for the record.

Rich Davis has been actively following the STEM project. He along with other neighbors have reviewed the EIR and have pointed out significant deficiencies, that if left unchallenged, or unvoiced by us, will be at our future peril. Here’s what you need to know:

We need your bodies Tuesday Evening. We’d love your voice for the record if you are so inclined. It is your right to speak. You may also write a letter. If you do, here are some thoughts to consider and where to send your comments. Thank you Rich.

The nearly 2,000 page Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been reviewed by several community members. The EIR failed to give an accurate reporting on its findings and is misleading as to the negative impact this project will have on our community. Here are some of the problems in the report:

PARKING

153 parking spaces are allocated:
- 60 are reserved for staff.
- 6 for ADA-compliant spaces.
- 25 for electric vehicle charging.
- This means only 62 spaces will be available for student parking, for a school that claims to be able to enroll 1,200 students.
There is no available parking on Linden, Blaine, Canyon Crest, Rustin, or the surrounding neighborhoods to accommodate the additional spaces for students to park.
The report falsely implies the majority of students will use buses (or ride bicycles, an even more ludicrous claim given that the student body is projected to be drawn evenly from across the entire RUSD), so additional student parking was not addressed in the report.

TRAFFIC

A traffic study was done on November 30, 2021 (a Tuesday) from noon-2pm. According to the study, an average of 760 vehicles traveled on Blaine and 332 cars on Canyon Crest in a one hour period in the middle of the day. As alarming as these numbers appear, this reporting was done during COVID lockdowns when students, including UCR students, were mostly doing online schooling and many people were still working from home. There appears to be no updated reporting since 2021 and no reference of potential traffic reduction due to COVID restrictions.
The data from the traffic study was collected between noon and 2:00pm, totally disregarding commuters from the surrounding neighborhoods using Blaine St. to reach or return from the freeway during the time school (and the workday) starts and ends.
The report mentions the construction of the new 1,600-student UCR dorm currently being built on the corner across from the proposed school site, but has no mention of the impact the dorm and school would have on traffic on Blaine/Canyon Crest.
The report lists the nearly 300-unit apartment complex being built next to Stater Bros. on Iowa, with housing for nearly 1,000 people within a half-mile of the school. However, the EIR fails to consider the impact this will have on the traffic at the corner of Iowa and Blaine.
It appears the entrance and exit into the school will be off of Canyon Crest for parent drop off/pick up, and parking just before lot 26. The proposal is to put a traffic light at this location. Canyon Crest is a one lane street going both directions with bike lanes and street parking. Anyone who has ever attempted to drop off or pick up a student knows that huge lines of cars queue up waiting to get to or from a school. The proposed school will be a commuter school, guaranteeing that this dropoff and pickup traffic will be even heavier, totally blocking Canyon Crest and impeding traffic on Blaine with an undoubtedly long line of cars and buses. This is not addressed in the report other than stating that students will take buses and other transportation like a bike.
The report states that 10 buses will drop off students at 8:00am, 10 buses will pick up part time students at 12:30pm, and 10 buses will pick up the remainder at 3:30pm. No mitigation is described for the adverse air quality or impact to traffic of 30 bus trips to the school (in addition to the RTA buses running down Canyon Crest).
The nearly 250 high school students attending the current STEM Academy rarely use the buses provided, preferring parent pick up and drop off resulting in long lines on Watkins and traffic congestion on Mt. Vernon.

INTRAMURAL FIELDS

The report states the joint use agreement with UCR and the Riverside city government ends in 2027 with no discussion on the possibility of renewing this agreement. These fields are the only Park/Rec fields we have in our community that can accommodate a variety of uses, including lighting.
The report implies that the fields are rarely used by UCR students and the community, and therefore losing the fields will have no direct impact. It clearly states those wanting to play baseball, softball, or soccer can go to Highland Park, Islander Park, Patterson Park, and the Stratton Center. NONE of these facilities are equipped to accommodate these sports. The report even suggests that these intramural sport teams could simply pay to rent the facilities at North High, Highland Elementary, and/or University Heights Middle.
This intramural field is only one of two on the UCR campus for a student population approaching 30,000 and growing. The report doesn’t address the fact that 1,600 dorm students who will be living right across the street have the potential of increasing its usage.

COMMUNITY PUBLIC INPUT CONCERNS

The EIR must address comments made at public meetings and names are included in the EIR. Astonishingly, this EIR states that this project will have no substantial adverse impact on the community. Time and again the justification noted is found to be inaccurate, misleading and lacking critical information to render its conclusion.

It has been a couple of years since our community came together to strongly voice our objections to this project. We must continue to voice our objections by attending a special meeting:

Tuesday, April 16 5:30-8:00pm

Courtyard Marriott 1510 University Ave.

Those wanting to speak will be limited to 2-3 minutes. If you wish to be heard, it will be best to read a statement.

If unable to attend you can send a letter to Stephanie Tang1223 University Avenue Suite 240 Riverside, CA 92507 or submit online at CEQA@ucr.edu.

A Neighborhood Of Our Dreams