Monthly Archives: June 2012

Education Spotlight

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MATE Program Offers Teachers New Inspiration:

School teachers are sharpening their skills this week at UC Riverside, through the Mathematics Academy for Teaching Excellence (MATE), a program that offers techniques teachers can use in the fall to inspire young people to see the beauty of mathematics.

“There are a million reasons why this is important for individual student success and a healthy economy for the area, including better college-going rates and students who are qualified for jobs in technology, science and business,” said Pamela Clute, the executive director of the ALPHA Center.

Read more on this article…

Fifth Annual Summer Physics Academy Begins June 25:

For the fifth year in a row, the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Riverside is hosting the Summer Physics Academy – a weeklong workshop (8 a.m. to about 3 p.m., June 25-29) that trains and equips local high school physics teachers with practical and conceptual physics lessons, hands-on activities, curriculum and technology to use in their own classrooms.

Read more on this article…

Award Nomination Affirms CBU’s Commitment to Technology:

California Baptist University’s selection as a semifinalist in the 2012 AMX Innovations Awards is just the latest affirmation of the university’s commitment to connect the campus through technology.

Read more on this article…

RCC Hosts a Preview Opening of the Center for Social Justice & Civil Liberties

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Mine Okubo Social Justice & Civil Liberties BuildingThe Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation and World War II camp internee Norm Mineta and Consul General Jun Niimi from the Japanese consulate in Los Angeles were in Riverside on June 27, 2012, to speak at the preview opening of Riverside Community College District’s new Center for Social Justice & Civil Liberties, and the official commemoration of the 100th anniversary of noted Japanese American artist Miné Okubo’s birth (June 27, 1912).

Nearly 300 guests and dignitaries were in attendance at the Wednesday afternoon event, which began with an official program in the adjacent White Park, followed by a tour of the Center for Social Justice & Civil Liberties.

The center features the works of Riverside native and Japanese-American artist Miné Okubo, who left the bulk of her collection to her alma mater, Riverside City College (RCC). Miné Okubo’s family was present to commemorate the 100th anniversary of her birth and participate in the tribute to Okubo’s public roles as artist, activist and feminist.

Okubo graduated from RCC in 1933, and went on to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UC Berkeley and was on her way to fame as an artist before she was among 100,000 to 200,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans in the western states who were sent to internment camps.

While she was confined, she created approximately 2,000 drawings and sketches of her experiences in the camps. Okubo’s seminal work Citizen 13660 was the first chronicling of the Japanese American internment camp experience by an internee and was published to critical acclaim in 1946. Her personal collection of 8,000 pieces of artwork, professional papers, correspondence, and memorabilia, which she bequeathed to her alma mater Riverside City College in 2001, was the catalyst for the new Center, and anchors the inaugural exhibitions.

Photo courtesy of the Press Enterprise: David Bauman/Staff Photographer

Complementing the Okubo Collection is the plaza level “Riverside Stories” interpretive exhibition that explores the struggle for social justice and civil rights through citizens engaged in the fight for equality. These stories include the Harada Family, who challenged the Alien Land Act in U.S. courts; Frank Johnson, who fought to integrate the city’s public swimming pool in the 1920s; Rupert Costo, an RCC alumnus and national leader in the fight for economic and social recognition for Native Americans; and Johnny Sotelo, the first Mexican American to serve on Riverside’s city council. Also profiled are poet and author Tomas Rivera, UC Riverside’s first Mexican American chancellor, and hotelier and peace ambassador Frank Miller, original builder and innkeeper of the Mission Inn, a national historical landmark.

The center will have regular operating hours in the fall and is open by appointment only this summer.

Read more from the RCC Press Release for June 25, 2012.

Read the full article from the Press Enterprise about the opening event.

Read an article from KCET about the hidden history behind the building being used to house the Center for Social Justice & Civil Liberties.

Riverside Community Health Foundation Awarded $1.3 million To Aid At-Risk Youth

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(Riverside Community Health Foundation: Press Enterprise June 12, 2012)

The Riverside Community Health Foundation (RCHF) was awarded over $1.3 million from a Personal Responsibility and Education Program (CA PREP) grant by the California Department of Public Health, Center for Family Health Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Division on May 10.

RCHF was one of two awardees for Riverside County and will use the grant funding through September 2014 to expand teen health programming in Riverside and the Perris and Mead Valley area.

“This grant provides us with the opportunity to increase the services provided to Riverside’s most at-risk youth,” said Stephanie Smith, director of health education for RCHF, “while also expanding our programming to some of the highest at-risk youth in the County.”

The Riverside Community Health Foundation will be implementing a research-based curriculum “Reducing the Risk,” which has been shown to reduce risky behaviors in youth, with the funding. Twelve schools in Riverside and the Perris/Mead Valley area have committed to working alongside RCHF’s Health Educators to execute the curriculum to a minimum of 1,100 youth.

“RCHF has been dedicated to providing support, motivation, inspiration, and encouragement through youth development programs since 2000,” said Smith, “this grant allows us to continue to deliver the most up-to-date and relevant programming available to our youth. We’re excited for this challenge, and the wealth of programming this grant will provide.”

Read the full article from the Press Enterprise.

Learn more about the Riverside Community Health Foundation.

Young People Grant $25,000 to Local Nonprofits

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 “Youth Grantmakers Committee is an outlet for us to not only have a voice, but to also have a direct impact with the resources provided to us. While serving as youth grantmakers, we become leaders, we become liaisons, we become philanthropists, but most importantly, we take action.”                                                                       - Isaac Morales, YGC Member

Picture from the 2012 Youth Grantmakers Committee Grant Check Presentation. A committee of 24 Riverside youth worked together to determine which local organizations aligned best with their mission to receive part of the total $25,000 of available grant funding.

(The Community Foundation June 24, 2012 News Release)

The Community Foundation hosts a Youth Grantmaker Committee (YGC), now in its fourth year, which allows area high schoolers to fund grants for local nonprofits. The committee’s students mostly live in Riverside but a few are from San Bernardino County.

Since 2009, YGC has awarded $75,000 to nonprofit organizations for youth programs with the final choices approved by The Community Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Earlier this year, 40 nonprofits submitted grant applications with detailed project proposals. They were reviewed by the youth grantmakers, who wanted to help teens dealing with the most important issues facing young people today.

In a ceremony at City Hall on June 24th, the committee celebrated with the eleven nonprofits chosen to receive a total of $25,000.

The 2012 grant recipients are:

“Throughout the year I have learned how to be a better listener and communicator during our sessions. Overall I love YGC and can’t wait until next year!” said Matthew Allen who will be a senior at North high school in Riverside in the fall. He joined the committee when he was a sophomore and has since gained critical skills. Matthew believes his peers today are more involved in their communities than ever before. “I am always amazed by the amount of change youth are able to enact in the community.”

About the Youth Grantmakers Committee

The Youth Grantmakers Committee formed after a foundation board member, Stan Grube, attended a national conference and saw how teenagers in Michigan were engaging in making decisions about grants that affected youth in their community. In late 2008, the foundation board approved the Youth Philanthropy Initiative, which launched the Youth Grantmakers Committee.

“The goal is to teach young people about the tradition of philanthropy,” said Celia Cudiamat, the foundation’s Vice President of Grant Programs. “We want to increase their awareness about youth issues within and outside the confines of their own neighborhood, improve their skills in conflict resolution and communications, increase their knowledge about grantmaking, nonprofits and foundations, and teach them leadership and civic skills. We hope the end result is an ethic of service and lifelong involvement in their community.”

Read more from The Community Foundation Press Release for June 24, 2012.

Learn more about The Community Foundation.

Riverside Ranks #1 in Most Affordable Cities To Visit!

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For those looking for a great vacation with a low price tag, Riverside is the best place to book!

According to the personal finance and business forecast website Kiplinger.com, Riverside is the perfect venue for a Southern California vacation:

With hotel costs 46% less than L.A.’s and the average restaurant bill a full $15 lower, Riverside makes an affordable, centrally located base camp for travelers looking to explore Southern California.

L.A., Long Beach and Huntington Beach are roughly an hour away in traffic. The vineyards of Temecula Valley, the so-called Napa of SoCal, lie just 45 minutes south. And Disneyland is only 40 minutes away – practically around the corner by L.A. standards.

As for Riverside itself, the city boasts a ballet, a performing arts center and a state historic park complete with groves, exhibits and an interpretive trail that preserve the area’s citrus-growing heritage. After enjoying the park, as well as Riverside’s cheap lodging and dining options, visitors can cruise down the I-10 to take in other sights.

Metro population: 4,114,751

Average airfare: $328.00

Average hotel room per night: $91.14

Average cost of a meal out: $29.01

Explore all that Riverside has to offer for your next visit: ExploreRiverside.com

La Sierra University Orchestra To Play Disney Concert Hall

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On June 29, the 45-member La Sierra University Orchestra will get a glimpse into the professional music world with a first performance in a high profile Los Angeles venue.

The orchestra, conducted by John Carter, will perform at the Walt Disney Concert Hall as part of the West Coast Youth Orchestra Festival. Including La Sierra, the event involves six orchestras from Arizona, California, Utah and Ontario, Canada. The La Sierra University Orchestra is the only Inland Empire group performing in the festival. Each orchestra will give a brief performance and a group of selected players from each group will perform in a combined festival orchestra.

The La Sierra University Orchestra will open a gala evening performance lineup at 7 p.m., performing Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Capriccio Espagnol,” Felix Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture—“Fingal’s Cave,” Jean Sibelius’s “Finlandia,” and movements of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 4.”

La Sierra was selected for participation in the West Coast Youth Orchestra Festival through a competitive process based on a recording Carter provided of the group’s fall concert that included Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 5.”

“It’s a huge opportunity for us to perform in one of the world’s great concert halls,” Carter said. “It’s important for the students’ careers to give them a taste of the professional music world and to foster professional networks.”

Read more from the La Sierra University News Release for June 20, 2012.

Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Ave., Los Angeles. Tickets are $10, $15, and $25. All ticket sales benefit the La Sierra University Orchestra.

Click here for more information and ticket order forms or call 951-785-2036 for assistance.

Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor and Restaurant is Returning to Riverside

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Riversiders will soon be able to enjoy the pin-striped vests, old fashioned candy, delicious food and signature desserts of Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour and Restaurants because the family dining chain will be returning to Riverside with its largest location yet!

Riverside was home to a Farrell’s in their hey-day of the early to mid-1970’s and the restaurant was known for its cheery decor, boisterous parties, and wild ice cream concoctions, including The Zoo, The Pig’s Trough, and many more.

The first  Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour opened in 1963 by Robert “Bob” Farrell in Portland, Oregon. It immediately became a huge success and by 1970 the company had grown to 58 restaurants. Bob Farrell sold the company to Marriott but continued to work with them and the number of restaurants grew to 130 locations nationwide. When Farrell left the company, the concept changed and nearly all the locations were closed by 1990. However, in 2009 a new company, under extensive input from Bob Farrell revived the chain and is working to bring the company into the 21st Century and to continue Farrell’s legacy in the restaurant industry.

The company’s newest location in Riverside is set to open early this fall in an 8,700-square-foot site along Park Sierra Drive next to Castle Park. This will be the chain’s largest restaurant and its second location in the Inland Empire. The extra space will be used to create a larger candy shop, a signature of the old-fashion themed chain.

Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour and Restaurant is expected  to hire an estimated 130 jobs, and attract visitors from across the Inland Empire to experience this new and exciting dining destination.

Learn more about Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour.

Read more about the Restaurant’s plan to move to Riverside in an article from the Press Enterprise.

Read an article from the OC Register about the new restaurant.

Riverside Celebrates What It Means To Be Named Most Intelligent City in the World!

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“We have been tested and assessed as world leaders and we are  delighted!”                                                          - Mayor Ron Loveridge

(City of Riverside June 18, 2012 News Release)

On Tues, June 19 Riverside, California community leaders celebrated Riverside’s designation as the Most Intelligent Community of the Year 2012.

This recognition places Riverside, California center stage in the global market and marks Riverside as the third American city EVER to have received this international honor. Riverside’s win as the #1 Intelligent Community makes it the first time in 5 years that a North American city has won, and the first time in 10 years that a U.S. city has won.

The celebration included a video and presentation before the City Council and was streamed live on GTV.

Louis Zacharilla, ICF Founder in his blog post stated, “Riverside is the new place on the map of the community renaissance to study and to learn more about; a new place for the rest of the world’s communities to visit and to point to as they launch their voyage back, or further, toward excellence.”

Mayor Ron Loveridge emphasized, “This award is not a City Hall award, but rather recognition of our community working together. Our work will continue to excel in research at our universities, to support small business through the Technology Park, to assist families with programs like Smart Riverside’s Digital Inclusion Program, and to advance technology in our K-12 schools.”

The Most Intelligent Community designation is held in perpetuity and Riverside succeeds Eindhoven, Netherlands in the notable group that includes Stockholm Sweden; Singapore, Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea; Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; Taipei and Mitake, Japan;  Glasgow, Scotland; Calgary, Alberta Canada; and the only other U.S. Cities, New York, NY and LaGrange, Georgia.

Read more from the City of Riverside News Release for June 18, 2012.

Learn more about the Intelligent Community Forum.

The Arts Mean Business in Riverside

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On Wed, June 20, the City of Riverside and the Riverside Arts Council presented a report by Americans for the Arts that illustrated the positive economic impact of arts and culture organizations for cities.

The study, called Arts & Economic Prosperity IV, was conducted locally by the Riverside Arts Council in partnership with Americans for the Arts. It demonstrated that when patrons attend an arts event they boost local revenues in many forms — enjoying pre-show cocktails, overnight stays in hotels, parking, dining at local restaurants, shopping and grabbing a dessert cupcake on their way home.

Key report findings for the City of Riverside were that the city realized $35 million in direct economic activity from nonprofit arts and culture activities. That translates into 1,075 - jobs. Overall key findings showed that arts and culture organizations bring $135.2 billion in economic activity, support 4.1 million jobs and generate $22.3 billion in government revenue nationally.

Mayor Ron Loveridge said, “Riverside, a City of Arts & Innovation, supports and appreciates the numerous fine arts organizations and activities in our city.”  He added, “This rich blend makes Riverside a destination, serves as an attraction tool for businesses, and contributes greatly to our economy and quality of life.”

This study shows that communities that attract cultural tourists experience an additional boost of economic activity.

According to Robert L. Lynch, the President & CEO of Americans for the Arts, “Understanding and acknowledging the incredible economic impact of the nonprofit arts and culture, we must always remember their fundamental value.  They foster beauty, creativity, originality, and vitality.  The arts inspire us, sooth us, provoke us, involve us, and connect us.  But they also create jobs and contribute to the economy.”

The report, the most comprehensive of its kind ever conducted, studied 182 regions, including the City of Riverside.  It focused solely on the economic impact of nonprofit arts and culture organizations and event related spending by their audiences (it excluded spending by individual artists and for-profit arts and culture sector such as Broadway or the motion picture industry).  The study used four economic measures to define economic impact:  full-time equivalent jobs, resident household income, and local and state government revenues. The Riverside Arts Council’s participation in the study was sponsored by the Riverside Downtown Partnership.

Riverside Welcomes Rochester Midland – Leader in Green Housekeeping

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Riverside is proud to welcome Rochester Midland Corporation (RMC) to the City of Arts & Innovation! RMC is a leader in Green Housekeeping and manufacturer of specialty chemicals for food sanitation, industrial cleaning and water treatment. The company held a dedication ceremony for their new facility in Riverside on June 13th. In attendance were several distinguished guests including Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge; Harlan Calkins, Chairman and CEO of RMC; and Glenn Paynter, President of Rochester Midland.

A 3rd generation family-owned company, Rochester Midland was one of the first manufacturing companies to become Green Sealed and AQMD Certified; they strive to maintain green production lines by using renewable resources rather than oil and operate machinery at self-sufficient levels.

The press release from RMC states that, “the new facility in Riverside brings even more value to RMC’s western U.S. customer base in supporting their customers’ position within the Sustainability movement in many ways—i.e. better training for their employees, helping them to improve their profitability, improved cycle counts with a local provider of goods, and by assisting them in their efforts to improve our environment via a local source for green chemistry and water/energy reduction programs.”

“While many other companies have retreated in this economy, with our new Global Headquarters in Rochester and the new building in Riverside, we are investing in the future,” said Harlan Calkins, Chairman/Office of the CEO.

Rochester Midland’s new facility is an example of the continued success of Riverside’s commitment to sustainable practices and cultivation of green businesses.

Read the Company’s “Corporate Sustainability Statement”