Category Archives: Green

Riverside McDonald’s Sustainability Efforts Receive National Attention

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Demonstrating yet another example of Riverside as a location of choice for sustainability efforts and innovative business best-practices, the Wall Street Journal recently published the announcement that the McDonald’s restaurant located at 2242 University Avenue in Riverside had become the county’s first and only electric vehicle (EV) fast charge station with the installation of its Blink Direct Current (DC) Fast Charger.

McDonald's Riverside-Blink® Direct Current (DC) Fast ChargerThis restaurant is owned and operated by Tom and Candace Spiel and stood as a McDonald’s for 44 years. In 2010, it was completely rebuilt to operate in a more environmentally friendly way. As part of its continued path to greening, the restaurant partnered with ECOtality Inc., a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies, to provide the latest EV charge technology to customers. The restaurant will also have a standard Blink pedestal charging station available.

“It’s thrilling to be Riverside’s source for the latest in fast charge technology,” said Candace Spiel, McDonald’s owner/operator. “For us, it all comes down to being able to offer the Riverside community a better customer service experience and further demonstrate our commitment to environmental stewardship.”

In addition to the new Blink charging stations, current green features of this McDonald’s location include low flow plumbing fixtures saving approximately 250,000 gallons of water; native drought tolerant plants to reduce water consumption; permeable pavers to help divert about 283,000 gallons of rainfall from storm water systems; and solar panels that save approximately 8,950 kWH per month of utility usage, which is equal to the power usage of 13 average Riverside homes for one month. The restaurant also includes an interactive touch screen display for visitors to learn about the building’s features, environmental sustainability and how individuals can reduce their own carbon footprint.

To read the full article as published on the Wall Street Journal website, click here.

Riverside Loses a Community Hero

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Ameal Moore, longtime community leader and advocate for Riverside to be a truly ‘Unified City’ passed away early on Monday, April 29, at home after a long battle with cancer.

Ameal Moore, 1934-2013

In a statement issued yesterday by Riverside Mayor Rusty Bailey, he described the three-term City Councilman as having “exhibited a quiet strength – a leadership style dependent upon sound decision making, thoughtful reason and building relationships – friendships,” and added, “Riverside is a better place because of his leadership.”

“He was a very dignified, quiet man who did a lot of good things in the background, especially when he was on the City Council, to help the community to be the community that it could be and should be,” said Rose Mayes, executive director of the Fair Housing Council of Riverside County in an article written by Alicia Robinson and published on PE.com.

According to the Mayor’s statement, Moore’s contributions to Riverside range from leadership in Riverside’s sustainability efforts, working tirelessly to improve Riverside’s quality of life, and bringing community services for the underserved. Just less than two weeks ago, Ameal was recognized by a unanimous vote of the City Council authorizing the naming of Sycamore Canyon Nature Center at Sycamore Canyon Park in his name.

Moore had been “president of Riverside’s NAACP chapter, helped form a Toastmasters International club, taught Sunday school at his church, and served on the city’s parking and traffic and planning commissions. He was elected in 1994 to represent Ward 2, including the Eastside, parts of the University area, Sycamore Canyon and Canyon Crest.

Friends and former council colleagues credit Mr. Moore with getting amenities added at the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park and starting the push to improve University Avenue, which was a source of complaints and frequent police visits,” notes Robinson in the PE.com article.

To Riverside, Moore personified the community vision that everyone should enjoy a high quality of life and be unified in pursuing the common good.

“I wanted to be a decision maker rather than someone always complaining about things.”

To read the full article published on April 29, 2013 on PE.com, click here.

To read the statement issued by Mayor Rusty Bailey, click here.

Riverside Public Utilities Programs Receive Statewide Honors

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The California Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA) honored Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) with two of its annual statewide Resource Efficiency & Community Service Awards at a ceremony held last week during their annual conference.

The CMUA, which helps to advance the interests of its member agencies before the legislature, hosts the awards annually to recognize innovative energy and water efficiency and consumer benefit programs among California’s consumer-owned water and energy utilities.

In the Energy Programs category, which recognizes innovative and effective approaches in implementing renewable energy resources, energy efficiency, demand reduction, research and development, low income assistance, or greenhouse gas reduction strategies, the agency recognized RPU’s Whole House Program.

Whole House logoWith the Whole House Program, RPU customers are able to apply for a number of water and energy efficiency measures at the same time and can receive added rebate incentives when grouping them together, as well as receiving increased energy and water conservation benefits that can help to lower utility bills.

Meanwhile, the utility’s Green Power Report radio show received its second CMUA award in its six-year run in the Community Services Category. On the air since 2007, and hosted and produced by RPU staff, the Green Power Report is a 30-minute radio program that reaches some 250,000 listeners throughout the Inland Empire of Southern California providing news and information about environmental stewardship, sustainable living practices, renewable energy and more. Shows are broadcast locally on AM 590 The Answer at 6:30 p.m., and are available to download through iTunes and via the show’s radio player at http://www.GreenRiverside.com.

Both of these awards recognize Riverside for being a Catalyst for Innovation, wherein leaders are using inventive and multi-disciplinary approaches to address issues. For more information on either the Whole House Program or the Green Power Report, visit GreenRiverside.com. To read the original press release, click here.

Arlanza Garden Proves to Be Fertile Ground for Riverside

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In an effort to build a Unified City  from the roots up, Riverside-based Child Leader Project (CLP) hosted their second annual MLK Day at the Arlanza Community Garden this past January. The ‘Grow Arlanza’ event invited community members to participate in contributing design plans and planting seeds to raise awareness for the garden. With the support of student organizations from UCR, Growcology, and the community, the event was a powerful way to commemorate MLK and bring together excited individuals from all of Riverside.

Arlanza Community Garden

(photo source: http://www.ChildLeaderProject.org)

The successful event included 80 plus leaders in the garden assisting with irrigation, gate design, weeding and clean-up. Other activities included Norte Vista High School’s Padres Unidos (United Parents) organization selling pupusas, CLP youth raising funds for the 2013 Confronteras trip and Operation SafeHouse representatives sharing information about their work.

The Arlanza Garden project is facilitated by young adult mentors and youth that have committed themselves towards creating a space where the entire community can both nourish and flourish.

Check out all the photos at: Second Annual MLK Day of Service.

If you missed out on the event, make sure to Save the Date for Earth Day 2013 (Saturday, April 20th) when CLP will be hosting a work party in celebration of Earth Day. More details can be found on the Arlanza Garden Facebook page.

Riverside’s Air Quality a Southern California “Win”

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According to a recent blog posted by David Danelski on PE.com, fine-particle pollution — tiny pieces of soot, dust, chemical compounds and other microscopic airborne “gunk” — has declined to healthful levels in Riverside as measured at the South Coast Air Quality Management District official air quality monitoring station.  The station, ironically, is a stone’s throw away from the plaque that marks the first plantings of the Washington navel orange tree at Magnolia and Arlington avenues.

Danelski came across this information while analyzing data recently for an in-depth reporting project on air quality and health, and noted this finding in Riverside a small victory in Southern California’s war against smog. Fine particle pollution in particular has been linked to an array of afflictions, including aggravated asthma, stunted lung development, heart disease, cancer and early death.

In 2010, and again in 2011, the air quality district’s nearby station measured fine particles — called PM 2.5 — at levels just below the federal health standard. Until 2010, the PM 2.5 had been at unhealthful levels since the air district began monitoring the pollutant in 1999,” noted Danelski.

Unfortunately, Riverside is only one of several monitoring stations in Southern California – 10 of which are still reporting levels that exceed the standard as of the most current available reading (2011).

While ozone, the other factor in the battle for clean air, is not measured at the Riverside station, Danelski cites the PM reading as “noteworthy that Riverside, a city long beset with bad air quality, now can say it no longer has unhealthful levels of fine-particle pollution.”

Riverside’s sustainability efforts – championed by both the public and private sector – are to be applauded as they continue to find creative, collaborative ways to ensure Riverside is an international magnet and model for sustainable business, environmental innovation and green living with a synergistic partnership of industry, City leadership and residents. 

To read Danelski’s full blog post, “Air Quality: A Navel Victory in Riverside”, as published on PE.com, click here.

Eastside Garden Gives Riverside Students Hands-On Learning Experience

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The Eastside Community Garden at Emerson Elementary School is a shining example of Riverside’s unified spirit working together for the common good of the city as a whole.

On February 23, the Press-Enterprise published a story written by correspondent Kevin Keckeisen about the collaborative effort between Riverside Parks and Recreation Department and Riverside Unified School District. The garden is part of the school district’s Farmers Market Salad Bar program.  The following is an excerpt from the story:

First-grader Kalia Cook, 6, inspects lettuce plants with the rest of her class at the Eastside Community Garden at Emerson Elementary School in Riverside. (photo by Kevin Keickerson; source: PE.com)

First-grader Kalia Cook, 6, inspects lettuce plants with the rest of her class at the Eastside Community Garden at Emerson Elementary School in Riverside. (photo by Kevin Keckeison; source: PE.com)

Nearly two dozen different crops such as squash, tomatoes, eggplants, lettuce and onions are grown. The produce provides students nutrition at the school salad bar, and some is sent to RUSD Nutrition Services to be centrally prepared and distributed to other schools in the city.

“Kids don’t have the foggiest idea where this stuff comes from. It comes from the grocery store as far as they’re concerned,” said Tony Inaba, caretaker of the garden and Riverside parks commissioner.

Students do most of the planning and weeding, and they observe. They work on the garden once every other week, and so do students with disabilities from North High School. It’s a learning process and part of their curriculum, Inaba said.

The community also has access to the garden.  According to the Eastside Community Garden Facebook page, this is the city’s oldest community garden and has been in existence since approximately 1980. In 2004, Emerson Elementary and the City of Riverside Parks and Recreation Services Department joined forces.  Since then, the operation has won national attention for it’s ‘garden to salad bar’ participation by the Emerson Elementary students five years in a row.

Click here to read the full story as published in the Press-Enterprise.

For more information on the garden, visit the group’s Facebook page.

State of the City 2013: “Imagine What We Can Accomplish By Working Together”

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On January 24, 2013, Riverside’s 17th mayor, William “Rusty” Bailey, delivered his first State of the City address to an audience of residents, business owners, fellow educators, current and past elected officials, several of his students, and his family. 

“Through my conversations of the state of our city, I discovered this: the state of our city is responsive and responsible, dynamic and sustainable, inclusive and intelligent. These are the words that I believe best describe and exemplify OUR city.”

Mayor William "Rusty" BaileyThat statement set the tone for the new mayor’s articulations of his commitments and vision for Riverside, and he referenced three themes that he not only integrated into his address and (per Bailey) will continue to refer to throughout his time in office: Gratitude, Leadership Philosophy, and Challenge.

“My philosophy on leadership is simple: lead by example and take care of your troops,” explained Bailey. “Integrity, vision, courage and passion are all characteristics that motivate me daily, and it is my mission that these characteristics will define Riverside’s leadership and for which Riverside will be known throughout the region, the state, our country and the world. If we all share the philosophy of a servant leader, imagine what we can accomplish working together in public and private enterprise.”

As his inaugural address, naturally this is the instance in which the mayor’s expectations of city employees are set.  However, the 6th generation resident added a slightly different and more personal touch for the audience to contemplate.  What would their role be? What are they doing to make their lives and Riverside a better place? What can they do?  Bailey acknowledged that Riverside needed the engagement, support and leadership of our community to make these things happen.

“Better together;” doing things “The Riverside Way”.

“We have our own style here, our swagger…but I call it, The Riverside Way,” to which Mayor Bailey described as

  • Collaborative…we are ‘better together’
  • Welcoming…we make new people feel at ease and at home; old Riverside accepts new Riverside like no other
  • Relational…meaningful conversations build meaningful relationships

“My challenge to you is to believe in the Riverside Way, and to commit yourself and to make yourself available to the Riverside Way in 2013. Available to serve your family, available to serve your neighborhoods, and available to serve YOUR city,” challenged Bailey. “To do this, we build upon the four pillars of our strategic plan, Seizing Our Destiny: Intelligent Growth, Catalyst for Innovation, Location of Choice and Unified City.” (Click here to read Riverside’s definitions for each.)

Bailey’s commitments for 2013 included:

Intelligent Growth

  • Leveraging our relationships with Sister Cities to create economic opportunities for Riverside
  • Making weekly school and business visits
  • Keeping the UCR School of Medicine Creation a top priority
  • Continuation of the Education Roundtable to continue the work of Completion Counts and create new approaches to ensure we are enabling our students to be the best and brightest
  • Organizing a Business Roundtable to create policy and programs that help Riverside businesses create jobs for our community

Catalyst for Innovation

  • Increasing green and sustainable programs and businesses in Riverside
  • Creating an Innovation Center on Main Street Riverside that supports new entrepreneurs and start-up businesses
  • Supporting the creation of the Riverside Entrepreneurial Academy with the four universities and colleges in Riverside to grow our own entrepreneurs

Location of Choice

  • Telling Our Story: “ensuring the Riverside we know and love becomes the Riverside that everyone knows and loves; we are a new side of classic California”
  • Developing a 21st century transportation network, including a streetcar plan to help college students have easier access to our retail centers and entertainment hubs

Unified City

  • Continuing Mayor’s Night Out and Walk with Mayor events
  • Spending time with each of the City Councilmembers in their Wards and with city staff in all departments
  • Continue building bridges and cultivating relationships to deepen our historic roots and promoting the Riverside Way
  • Promoting a healthier lifestyle for all Riversiders
  • Encouraging Riversiders to commit to helping others and the community

Mayor Bailey concluded his inaugural State of the City address with this challenge:

“What is your destiny in Riverside? This is YOUR city. This is YOUR moment. Whatever your destiny is, let’s achieve it together.  After all, THAT is the Riverside Way.”

To watch the full 2013 State of the City address, click here.

Former Mayor to Lead UC Riverside Research Center

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(Includes excerpts from the article published by UCR Today on January 11, 2013)

Ronald O. Loveridge, who has played an active leadership role in local, regional and state government for more than 30 years, has been named director of the Center for Sustainable Suburban Development at the University of California, Riverside, effective Jan. 1.

Loveridge, who has been an associate professor of political science at UCR since 1965, succeeds Anil Deolalikar, a UCR professor of economics who has been CSSD’s director since July 2009.

Ronald O. Loveridge (source: UCR Today)

Ronald O. Loveridge
(source: UCR Today)

“I am excited tor return to the campus both to teach and to lead CSSD,” Loveridge said. “The center will support, and connect, the best of academic research with important policy choices for a sustainable future for this region and Southern California.”

Well-known regionally and nationally for his active leadership roles in a variety of local, state and national organizations, Loveridge served the city of Riverside for 33 years, first as a city councilman from 1979 to 1994, then as its mayor from 1994 to December 2012.

As mayor, he taught one course a year at UCR, “Local Leadership in California.” With his retirement as mayor of Riverside, he will focus his attention at UCR on research related to the growth of suburbs, public policy, urban planning, transportation, air quality, and the intersection of cities and natural lands.

“It is exciting to see Ron take the helm of the Center for Sustainable Suburban Development.  He brings a combination of leadership, experience, scholarship, and commitment to environmental issues that will serve the community and the university well,” said Martin Johnson, chair of the  Department of Political Science at UCR.

In his new capacity, this impassioned leader and former Seizing Our Destiny Co-Chair will be able to leverage the experiences and successes of our community with the resources and talent at UC Riverside to continue creating, supporting and implementing public policy that improves the overall quality of life for all.

To read the full article as published on UCR Today, click here.

Donation Helps Riverside City College and the Wood Streets Green Team Get New Community Garden Out of the Ground

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(Includes excerpts from the article submitted by Riverside City College and published in the January 1, 2013 Press-Enterprise)

A $1,000 donation from Calvary Presbyterian and the Wood Streets Green Team capped nearly two years of planning for a new community garden at Riverside City College that supporters hope will yield organic fruit and vegetables and provide an “outdoor lab” for students and the community. The new garden will open in the spring.

“We are excited about the creation of this community garden and very pleased with the enthusiasm and generous support from our neighbors and local businesses,” said RCC President Cynthia Azari. “Along with the new LEED certified School of Nursing and the Math and Science buildings, the community garden is another example of RCC’s commitment to environmental sustainability and community involvement. It will be an extraordinary learning environment for everyone.”

From left are: Ryan Sendejas, RCC student; Marilyn Morris; Preston Galusky, RCC faculty member; Pat Silvestri, Calvary Presbyterian member; Kamron Golbaf, RCC student; Justin Scott-Coe, of the Woods Street Green Team; Tonya Huff, RCC faculty member; and Virginia White, RCC faculty member.

From left are: Ryan Sendejas, RCC student; Marilyn Morris; Preston Galusky, RCC faculty member; Pat Silvestri, Calvary Presbyterian member; Kamron Golbaf, RCC student; Justin Scott-Coe, of the Woods Street Green Team; Tonya Huff, RCC faculty member; and Virginia White, RCC faculty member.

Volunteer crews of students, faculty and community members are prepping the former parking lot turned garden site, located adjacent to the Math and Science building and the Library and Learning Resource Center on upper campus. College facilities staff installed a security fence and funds donated by the Associate Students of Riverside provided materials that volunteers are using to construct runoff-prevention decomposed granite pathways. Corona Tools donated more than $1,000 in contractor-grade equipment towards the effort. The donation by Calvary Presbyterian and the Wood Streets Green Team will be used to purchase fruit trees and garden benches. Other planned amenities include a gazebo that will provide shade and space for gardening workshops, as well as entrance arbors to support grape and kiwis vines.

RCC students, faculty, and community members initiated the project in order to learn, teach, and encourage sustainability through local food production and community building.

 “The Green Team is thrilled to provide a return on the investment RCC has made and continues to make in our community,” said Justin Scott-Coe, a member of the Wood Streets Green Team Board of Directors and member of the Seizing Our Destiny Champions Council. “The RCC Community Garden is the first of what we hope are a number of community gardens supported through our local fundraising and partnership efforts. We thank Calvary Presbyterian for providing such a generous donation toward what will certainly be a premier community education and healthy food resource.”

As the new community garden comes on line, planners expect to schedule regular workshops focused on local gardening techniques from pruning to pest management. Once opened, the RCC garden, which features cultivation plots, will join a number of established and emerging gardens throughout the city of Riverside that participate in the Riverside Garden Council. As part of the Council, RCC will be able to help connect interested parties with gardening and volunteer opportunities throughout the city.

The RCC Community Garden demonstrates, the spirit of a unified community that comes together around common interests and concerns and showcases Riverside’s commitment to being one of the most inspiring, livable, healthy and adventurous cities to live in or visit.

For more information about the new Riverside City College community garden, or to volunteer, call 951-222-8361.

For more information on the Wood Streets Green team, click here.

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

City’s Green Fleet Earns Riverside the #1 Rank in Nation

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A CNG fueled truck from the City’s green fleet.

The City of Riverside was named as the winner of the Government Green Fleet Award on Wednesday, October 3rd at the Green Fleet Conference in Schaumburg, Illinois. The award is evaluated based on standards in fleet composition, fuel and emissions, policy and planning, fleet utilization, education, executive and employee involvement, and supporting programs. Riverside ranked #1 over many large cities including Phoenix, Chicago, New York, Long Beach, Santa Ana and Oakland.

The Government Green Fleet award is another example of Riverside’s commitment to serving as a national model for efficient and innovative sustainability practices.

Click here to read the full press release.

Read more about the City of Riverside’s Green Fleet from Green Fleet Magazine: Leveraging Grants to Build a Superb Sustainability Program