Category Archives: Community

Riverside Author’s Memoir Inspires, Entertains…and Tops Bestseller Lists

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Consistent with Riverside’s vision to be a caring community that has compassion for all of its inhabitants, and engages with one another for a better life for all (read: Unified City), one Riverside woman turned her (and her dog’s) story about battling cancer and the changes it made in her life into an inspirational book that has risen to the top of several national bestseller lists, including securing the #1 position with the New York Times.

The Dog Lived

One reviewer had the following to say about Teresa Ryhne’s memoir, The Dog Lived (And So Will I):

“Funny, smart, uplifting and fun, [reminding] us that animals are among our best teachers, our most powerful healers, and our most steadfast friends. This unforgettable story of an irrepressible beagle, a tough lawyer and her unlikely boyfriend will make you cry a little and laugh a lot. Whether you’re facing a scary illness or just a blah Monday, this book is good medicine. I loved it!” —Sy Montgomery, author of The Good Good Pig

CBS2 recently aired a news special on Rhyne’s story and her bestselling book; watch it here.

Click here to view the official website for The Dog Lived (and So Will I) or watch the official book trailer below.

Students Unearth a Piece of Riverside’s History

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(Source: Riverside Unified School District)

As a city that honors and builds on its eclectic past, one special project gave a group of Riverside students the opportunity to unveil a piece Riverside’s history, as well as create their own story to be shared in 30 years.

Students at Victoria Elementary School made an exciting find on Friday, June 7, when they dug for buried treasure reported to be hidden on the Victoria Elementary School playground. They didn’t strike gold, exactly, but did find some baseball cards, a baseball, a booklet with predictions about the future and an old penny.

RUSD Time Capsule Contents

(image source: RUSD Facebook page)

The students found the items, left for them by the Class of 1981, by using instructions on a hand-printed treasure map. The time capsule was to be opened in 30 years – 2011 – but it got lost over the years. Luckily, school staff decided to embark on some spring cleaning and found an envelope containing detailed instructions on where and how to find the treasure in adrawer in the principals’ office. That led to a mission to find the missing capsule.

Victoria teachers decided to celebrate the unearthing of the 1981 time capsule by replacing it with one from today to be opened in 30 years.  Louise Berkley’s sixth grade class won the honor in a democratic drawing.  Each student wrote a paragraph about what the year 2043 would be like and what they might be up to. Most students wrote they wanted to be married with two children, Mrs. Berkley noted. Along with the laminated paragraphs and student photos went pictures of science camp and other fun Victoria events…all on a cd. Mrs. Berkley questioned if technology might not be so advanced by then that the students who find the time capsule would not know what to do with it.

(source: RUSD Facebook page)
(image source: RUSD Facebook page)

Eleven-year-old Bryce Meyer, one of the first to get a turn with the shovel to dig for the treasure, agreed.

“They’ll think we had zero technology,” he said, adding that he thought the project was “really cool and interesting.”

“This was such anexciting event for our students!  With their elementary school career ending, and their middle school life beginning, a time capsule really sums up their feelings this time of year,” explained Berkley. “One other significant result has been the exposure to ‘real-life’ archaeological digging, a huge part of our social studies curriculum in sixth grade since we study ancient civilizations. It’s truly been a unique opportunity for them, and for the Victoria community.”

To view more pictures from the event, visit the RUSD Facebook page.

Riversider Strengthens Self and Community Through Dance

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Anyone who has witnessed the transformation of the Riverside arts scene as it grew into the richer, broader landscape of culture and creativity that it is today, can tell you it wouldn’t have happened without the collaborative, passionate efforts of the community. Recently Patrick Brien and Brandi Clark, Riverside Arts Council, co-wrote a feature on one woman’s positive impact on Riverside as well as the lives of herself and others through her artistic talent – dance.

April MacLeanSome people look at an empty dance studio and simply see a large, open room. April MacLean, the owner of Room to Dance, sees possibility.

“Many a time, I’ve walked into a studio in a terrible state, and I’ve always left soulfully renewed,” she says.

Dance has served as an escape, according to MacLean. It is something she very nearly did not get to pursue, however. At the age of 14, she fell in love with dance. The week that she auditioned for and made her first competitive team, she was placed into foster care.

“Once in care, dance wasn’t an option,” she explains. “Extras weren’t paid for.”

The next three years saw MacLean move more than 22 times, attending over 13 high schools.

“School was definitely not my favorite time,” she says. “There was no prom and there were no permanent friends. It was mostly just a flurry of faces. The same is true of homes. I truly lived out of trash bags for a few years because I never stayed anywhere long enough to make it a home.”

This is where MacLean’s story was just beginning, however. She wound up attending Riverside City College and graduating from UC Riverside with a BA in Dance.

After several years of being a professional dancer for another company, MacLean decided to open her own dance studio in Downtown Riverside three years ago.

MacLean is stunned by the success of Room to Dance. “It’s thriving,” she says. “I am honestly in shock that we opened mid-recession and continue to soar. It’s very affirming. Adults did need a haven. I often tell people that the dance studio is merely a front for what we really provide: therapy in its purest form. People’s lives are constantly changed here. That kind of empowerment is contagious and recession-proof.”

Having already expanded into a second location and taking on a business partner that complements her creativity, MacLean has demonstrated a strong commitment to the Riverside community and has volunteered her talents for events such as Riverside’s Long Night of Arts & Innovation and the Janet Goeske Foundation fundraiser, “Dancing with the Stars”.

“Riverside is on the threshold of some amazing things,” she says. “I feel it sometimes through my involvement in various projects. There is this sort of anxious humming underneath the surface of it all. I am so excited to be a part of that.”

To read the full story as published by the Press-Enterprise on May 30, 2013, click here. For more information on April MacLean or her studio, Room to Dance, visit her website at www.RoomtoDanceStudio.com.

Riverside’s Newest Arts Venue, The Box, Opens with Rave Reviews

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(Includes excerpts from the article written by Alicia Robinson, Press-Enterprise, on May 30, 2013)

On Thursday, May 30, Riverside debuted its newest arts venue, The Box, with a performance by Ticket to Ride, a Beatles tribute band, as part of a test run/soft opening.  Situated within the Fox Entertainment Plaza on Market Street, The Box further enriches this ‘Location of Choice‘ with more varied opportunities for entertainment and artistic expression.

(source: RiversideBlackBox.com)

“The Box is a bare, nondescript space with everything painted black, including the concrete block walls and the exposed pipes and ductwork overhead. At [its debut performance], chairs were arranged on three-level risers on three sides of the room with the band in the middle, but the space could be rearranged to suit a dance performance, an art show, or a play. (For a more technical description, visit the venue’s website here.)

Gilbert Bonilla, portraying John Lennon, performs with the Beatles tribute band, Ticket To Ride, at The Box in the Fox Entertainment Plaza on Thursday, May 30, 2013 (Photo by David Bauman; source: PE.com)

Richard and Kathy Low sipped drinks on the open patio in front of The Box before going in.

At his first glimpse of the space, Richard Low said, ‘You’re going to have some happy people tonight. This is great!’”

Tribute bands are scheduled throughout the month of June to test the acoustics and normal “kinks” of any new performance space. In July, Bye Bye Birdie performed by the Riverside Youth Theatre will be on stage from the 12th-21st. For more information about The Box, visit their official website at RiversideBlackBox.com.

To read Robinson’s article as published on PE.com, click here.

Students Connect Core Values of Cesar Chavez to the ‘Real World’

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(As reported by Carrie Meng, Press-Enterprise Correspondent; June 1, 2013)

In April, sixth-graders at Riverside’s Madison Elementary School got an assignment unlike any other.

They were told to incorporate the 10 core values of Cesar Chavez, an American farm worker and civil rights leader, into original poems and photographs.

The project was part of a history lesson for the sixth-grade curriculum.

A youth arts exhibit featuring poems and photography from sixth-graders at Madison Elementary School is set for the Cesar Chavez Community Center on Monday, June 3, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Students incorporated Cesar Chavez’s 10 core values into their work. (Photo by Carrie Meng; source: PE.com)

“They were able to connect the 10 core values with real world things,” said James Luna, a writing teacher who spearheaded the project. All sixth graders students could submit photos and poetry on the theme.

This was the first time students participated such an event, Luna said.

“They really tuned into his values and I’m really impressed,” he said.

The students also got a lesson in photography fundamentals from Carlos Puma, a Riverside photographer. They learned about topics such as positioning, lighting and story-telling moments.

“They were great, real sharp,” Puma said. “They asked a lot of questions and you could see they were picking up on what I was saying.”

The students used iPod touches issued by the elementary school to take the photos.

One sixth-grader, Giovanni Mejia, wrote a poem connecting the value of knowledge to libraries.

“I learned that you can never stop learning,” Giovanni said.

Another student, Grace Jung, said,

“trying new things are challenging, but they aren’t as hard as you think.”

The finished projects were part of a Youth Arts Exhibit at the Cesar Chavez Community Center on Monday, June 3 as part of Cesar Chavez Memorial Week, which leads to the unveiling of a Chavez monument in downtown Riverside on Saturday, June 8.

“It was a long time ago for students in elementary school today, but they need to be connected to and understand that period,” said Ley Yeager, a committee member who coordinated the exhibit.

Connecting the history and values of Cesar Chavez not only teaches students the heritage and diversity within this Unified City, but also fosters an appreciation for the adversity, determination and hard work that created the world they live in today through artistic expression.

To read the full article as published on PE.com, click here. To read a summary of the 10 Core Values of Cesar Chavez, click here.

Annual West Coast Thunder Ride Honors Veterans

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(Includes excerpts from the article written by Brian Rokos, Press-Enterprise, and posted on May 27, 2013 on PE.com.)

The 14th annual Memorial Day parade, known as West Coast Thunder, is the largest single-day motorcycle event west of the Mississippi, bringing 7,000 riders through the streets of Riverside to a special ceremony held at the Riverside National Cemetery.

Wyatt Berardini, 5 of San Bernardino, waves an American flag and gives a peace sign to the thousands of motorcycle riders who took part in the annual West Coast Thunder Ride to Riverside National Cemetery to raise money for the cemetery on Memorial Day Monday in Riverside, CA. May 27, 2013. Source: PE.com.

Wyatt Berardini, 5 of San Bernardino, waves an American flag and gives a peace sign to the thousands of motorcycle riders who took part in the annual West Coast Thunder Ride to Riverside National Cemetery to raise money for the cemetery on Memorial Day Monday in Riverside, CA. May 27, 2013. Source: PE.com.

Some bikers visited a grave, planted a flag or watched the ceremony, which concluded with a volley of gunfire, taps and the release of doves.

Art Flores, a Riverside man who has family interred at the cemetery said simply showing up on Memorial Day was a good way to show respect.

“Some of the people in the parade of the bikes are war heroes,” Flores said. “A lot of war heroes didn’t come home. It comes down to the freedom of the world. You can’t tell the folks who are lying here thank you, but you can be here. I think they know we’re here.”

The ceremony featured speeches by Riverside Mayor William “Rusty” Bailey and Amelia Earhart Middle School eighth-grader, Rachel Priebe.

“The American flag is one of the most common symbols of freedom in this country,” she Priebe. “But in reality, the true symbols are those buried in this very earth, and some of you here before me. Woven into the American flag is the sweat of veterans, the blood of veterans and the common goal of the veterans — the good of their country.”

West Coast Thunder is another example of Riverside as a ‘Unifed City’, coming together as a community to honor the heroes of the present and the past.

To read the full article as published on PE.com, including video of Priebe’s powerful speech, click here.

Riverside’s STEM Academy Set to Expand

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Dayna Straehley, Press-Enterprise, recently reported that the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) plans to expand the magnet school to attract 60 to 70 ninth-graders from throughout the district. Riverside’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) program is an example of the community’s commitment to innovative approaches to improve the quality of life for its residents. The following includes excerpts from Straehley’s article:

Abram Escobedo, 13, lets go of his balloon-powered car, during a science experiment, at the Riverside STEM Academy on Tuesday, May 14. the academy, now serving fifth through eighth grades, will expand to start high school next year on the lower campus of the former Hyatt Elementary School. Photo by Kurt Miller, PE staff photographer; source: Press-Enterprise.

The academy focusing on science, technology, engineering and math will start its high school with the new school year in late August on the lower campus of the academy, the former Hyatt Elementary School.

Principal Dale Moore said all ninth-graders will take chemistry because it is the basis for much of the physics and biology the students will take later in high school and will need if they want to major in STEM fields in college. They can take Advanced Placement biology later in high school, he said.

The academy has about 400 students now and expects almost 500 next year. It maintains a waiting list for each grade level.

Parents say their sons and daughters are more interested in school now that they attend the academy, partly because it’s a small school of motivated students – and because they get to do hands-on science activities and experiments every day.

To read the full article as published in the Press-Enterprise, click here.

Riverside’s Fallen Heroes Remembered

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In the spirit of a ‘Unified City’, the sixty law officers who have died in the line of duty throughout Riverside County since 1895 were remembered and honored on Monday, May 20, 2013 at an annual ceremony by their families, friends and hundreds of active duty officers and retirees.

Police officers representing officers killed in the line of duty salute the family members of fallen officers attending the Riverside County Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony on Monday, May 20, 2013. Photo by David Bauman; source: PE.com

“We take a day (each year) to say … each and every one of their names. And we do our best to show the surviving family members that we’re thinking about them,” explained 72-year-old Riverside Police Department retiree Ivan Henery in the May 21, 2013 Press-Enterprise.

According to the PE, the remembrance project began 30 years ago after the Riverside Police Department lost two officers – Dennis Doty and Phillip Trust – in one day.

‘“We can’t promise them they will be safe,” Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz told the crowd Monday, May 20. But the solemn pledge to every officer, he emphasized, is that if they die in the line of duty, their colleagues will bring their killer to justice, give the fallen officer a good send-off, take care of their families – and always, always, always honor their memory.’

To watch the video of the Riverside County Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony, click here. To read the full article as published on PE.com, click here.

Inaugural ‘Riverside Startup Weekend’ Hailed as a Great Success

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Riverside’s first ‘Startup Weekend’ proved that the community is indeed a ‘Catalyst for Innovation‘, bringing together nearly 100 participants, advisors and judges to develop 10 new businesses in less than three days.

The winning Fetchit team poses with the judges at Startup Weekend. From left, UCR students Daniel Langridge and Chris Manghane, incoming UCR students Darrell and Daniel Peeden, Riverside Mayor Rusty Bailey, Inland Empire Tech Coast Angels President Molly Schmid, and Rajan Kasetty, CEO of Terrafore, Inc. (photo by Conley Read; source: UCR Today)

Startup Weekend is a global program that brings 54-hour events to select cities where “developers, coders, designers marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products and create startups.”  Typically half of the event attendees have technical backgrounds while the other half have business backgrounds.

Riverside Startup Weekend organizers Benjamin Mueller, Conley Read and Mike Kennedy put the 54-hour event together with the help of several sponsors and supporters, including the City of Riverside, Cal Baptist University and local startup companies Signature.io and StopTheHacker, as well as many volunteers who donated their time to support the participants. The event was held at the Culver Center at the University of California in Riverside’s ARTSblock, further inspiring creativity amongst the participants.

“The whole weekend is spent on defining a problem, creating a set of solutions (assumptions), validating those assumptions with people through online surveys, or face-to-face discussions, pivoting and iterating on the idea, developing a business model that has a monetary return on investment, as well as discussions on how to properly scale and attract/build your user base,” explained Alan Roy, a user interface designer at C&C who served as an adviser during the weekend. “In the end, these individuals from backgrounds in development, design, marketing, business, and law come together to create an ‘minimum viable product’ to present to the judges on Sunday.” (source: UCR Today)

To read the full recap as published by UCR Today, including highlights of the winning teams and projects, click here.

Riverside Recognized for Prioritizing Play for Children

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With research proving play is critical to the overall well-being of children, Riverside earned recognition from national non-profit KaBOOM! as a 2013 ‘Playful City USA’ community for our efforts to give children the childhood they deserve by providing ample opportunities for play, proving this city to be a ‘Location of Choice‘ for recreation, youth and community wellness. This year, 217 cities and towns were recognized.

Sponsored by the Humana Foundation, Playful City USA is a national program from KaBOOM! that celebrates and promotes local policies that increase play opportunities for children and is a key platform in combating the lack of play among children.

“Active living is the Riverside Way” said Riverside Mayor Rusty Bailey.  “This community understands the important role of connecting with others – and that begins with ‘Play’ during childhood.  We are a Fit Fresh & Fun city and we are proud to be recognized by KaBOOM as a Playful City USA.”

For more information on the recognition, KaBOOM, Humana Foundation, or to read the full press release, click here.