Riverside, California – The Regional Access Project Foundation, or the RAP Foundation, plays a crucial role by “providing funding, oversight, technical support, and guidance to nonprofits, community-based groups, and collaborative organizations serving the eastern Riverside County population in areas like health, mental health, and juvenile intervention,” according to their mission statement. Read also: Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees approves full health insurance coverage for associate faculty In simpler terms: Since its establishment in 1992, the RAP Foundation has be ..read more

Riverside, California – The University of California, Riverside (UCR) has tentatively agreed with pro-Palestine activists to take steps toward divestment from Israeli-linked investments. However, due to a California law enacted in 2016, it remains illegal for entities that receive substantial state funding to engage in boycotts or discriminatory practices against any nation. Under this preliminary deal, UCR will publish its investment details online, establish a task force to consider withdrawing its endowment from UC Investments Office control, and redirect funds in a financially and ethicall ..read more

Sacramento, California – A bill aimed at removing a key certification test for teachers in California successfully passed the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday without much opposition. Senate Bill 1263, supported by the California Teachers Association, will now proceed to the Senate Appropriations Committee. If it passes there and is ultimately approved by the full Legislature, it will eliminate the California Teaching Performance Assessment, or CalTPA. Read also: Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees approves full health insurance coverage for associate faculty This ass ..read more

Riverside, California – Last month, the Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees unanimously decided to pay the full health insurance premiums for eligible associate faculty members at all three colleges within the district. This decision affects over half of the associate faculty, benefiting not only the professors at RCC but also those across the entire district. Read also: Riverside residents face financial challenges amid rising costs, survey finds “With most classes in the district being taught by part-time instructors, this program will give associate faculty comfort and st ..read more

Riverside, California – Nearly half of the households in Riverside, California, find it challenging to cover typical expenses, and around one-third experienced difficulties in paying their energy bills over the past year, as revealed by a survey from the Census Bureau. Among the 15 largest metropolitan areas in the US, Riverside reported the highest percentage of people facing significant financial hardships. Furthermore, one out of every seven individuals reported that they occasionally or frequently lacked enough food at home in the week prior to the survey. Read also: Temecula Planning Comm ..read more

Temecula, California – At a recent meeting, the Temecula Planning Commission unanimously agreed to demolish the old Claim Jumper Restaurant & Saloon in Temecula Town Center and replace it with two new buildings. The decision, which was made with minimal public objection, will allow for the construction of an Ono Hawaiian BBQ and a Better Buzz Coffee Roasters at 29540 Rancho California Road. The abandoned Claim Jumper, which has been closed since 2018 and occupies 11,200 square feet, will be cleared to make room for the smaller Ono Hawaiian BBQ and Better Buzz buildings, totaling 2,839 and ..read more

Riverside, California – Clearway Energy Group declared on April 17 that their Victory Pass and Arica solar projects, including energy storage, are now operational in Riverside County, California. These installations have a total capacity of 463 MW from solar power and 186 MW from battery storage, capable of supplying electricity to about 205,000 households. “We are delighted to bring online the Victory Pass and Arica solar and energy storage complex and begin providing cost-competitive clean energy for California homes and businesses with these projects,” said Valerie Wooley, SVP of Originatio ..read more

Riverside County, California – The Board of Supervisors in Riverside County has designated $60,000 from the Community Improvement Designation Funds to enhance water safety in the Third District. This allocation will fund advanced training for swimming instructors and expand the availability of swimming lesson scholarships for youngsters. This training will qualify instructors to teach vital drowning-prevention skills to young children. Even those as young as six months will learn techniques like turning underwater into a back-float to breathe and signal for help. Such skills are crucial for th ..read more

Hayward, California – A worker at a California airport has struck it rich, winning $20 million from a scratch-off lottery ticket. The California Lottery revealed that Durwin Hickman, employed at an airport in the Bay Area, purchased a $30 Set For Life! scratcher during his lunch break. Check also: Vibe Palm Springs He discovered his fortune when he scratched off nearly all sections of the ticket and revealed the word “LIFE” in one of the spots, indicating he had hit the jackpot. To confirm, he sent a photo of the ticket to his wife. The winner already has big plans “My whole thing is I wanted ..read more

Riverside County, California – If you’re on CalFresh and think someone stole your food benefits electronically from October 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023, you might get back the benefits you lost. This kind of theft happens when someone illegally takes money off your Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. This can be done through skimming, cloning, or other scams. If your EBT card shows a zero balance or less money than before, even though you didn’t lose the card, your benefits might have been stolen. You can still get these lost benefits back even if you were previously told no, only got p ..read more