CV Unified School District secures aid to manage financial crisis
Riverside board enacts prohibition to off-site access to Thermal, other airports
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Riverside moves forward with library, sports-entertainment complex
VOL. 9,
Parents of Cabazon baby missing for almost 2 weeks charged with murder
By Joe Taglieri
By City News Service
joet@beaconmedianews.com
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iverside is moving forward with a $21.5 million library and a multibillion-dollar sports and entertainment complex. Earlier this month the City Council OK'd an exclusive negotiating agreement with Riverside-based GCS Development to convert 56 city-owned Northside acres into the Riverside Sports Complex and Entertainment District. Officials called the planned complex a "groundbreaking destination set to redefine community recreation and economic growth in the region." Phase 1 of the GCS plan calls for a professional-level multi-use stadium, six soccer fields and an indoor sports and game complex. Another phase is for housing, retail and community spaces including a central park with "family-friendly amenities," pedestrian trails, bike paths, playgrounds and a dog park, according to the city. “This project provides recreational opportunities that Riverside and our greater region have never had,” Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said in a statement. “It will create a dynamic destination that will energize our local economy and make Riverside the premiere hub for sports and entertainment.” The site formerly housed the Ab Brown Sports Complex, 3700 Placentia Lane, an 18-field soccer facility that was home to the American Youth Soccer Organization Region 47 from 1985 to 2018. Vacant since 2018,
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The planned sports and entertainment complex in Riverside's Northside neighborhood. | Rendering courtesy of the city of Riverside
the site is now poised for a comeback, which officials said will create economic opportunity while "breathing new life into the community." The sports-entertainment complex will complement the Riverside Adventure Center, which received council approval in February, officials said. The planned center includes a public park, a recreational adventure facility and a mixed-use commercial complex with housing, a grocery store, hotel, conference center, and restaurants. “The promise of pairing the Sports Complex and Entertainment District with the Riverside Adventure Center represents a generational opportunity in the Northside area and the entire city,” Ward 7 Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Chuck Conder said in a statement. “We are honoring our rich sports history while launching Riverside into the future.” According to the city,
"Riverside’s Sports Complex and Entertainment District, a multi-billion-dollar vision, is the future of multi-sport entertainment, urban living and e-sports, positioning Riverside to become the Inland Empire’s ultimate sports and entertainment destination." Officials noted these elements of the project: • A 5,005-seat stadium, expandable to 15,000 seats, for soccer, rugby, football and lacrosse; • A 108-room stadium hotel; • Riverside Live, an indoorand-outdoor venue for festivals and concerts to attract visitors year-round; • A 130,000-square-foot sports complex for pickleball, padel and other court games; • Six soccer fields, including two full-size multisport fields and four youth-sized soccer fields; • 1,100 residential units, See Projects Page 36
including 25% affordably priced units; • 193,000 square feet of retail space for shops and restaurants; • A central park and dedicated dog park; and • 3,498 parking spaces, along with an estimated 100 EV charging stations. The one-year agreement has an option for a six-month extension. "If the City and GCS Development reach agreement on terms, those would be included in a disposition and development agreement that would be voted on by the City Council," officials said. More information on Northside development projects is at NorthsidePlan. com. Groundbreaking for SPC Jesus S. Duran Eastside Library A groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the $21.5 million SPC Jesus S.
he parents of a 7-month-old toddler reported missing earlier this month in San Bernardino County were charged Tuesday with his alleged murder in Riverside County. Cabazon residents Jake Mitchell Haro, 32, and Rebecca Renee Haro, 41, were arrested last week following a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department investigation into the disappearance of Emmanuel Haro. Along with murder, the defendants are charged with filing a false police report, which is a misdemeanor. The search for the missing baby's remains is ongoing in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The parents were slated to make a joint initial court appearance at the Riverside Hall of Justice Tuesday afternoon. Jake Haro is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning; his wife is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside. See Murder Page 35
Republican leads election for Riverside County assembly seat By City News Service
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epublican Natasha Johnson had a 54.3%-45.7% lead Wednesday over Democrat Chris Shoults in the special election for Riverside County's 63rd Assembly District. Johnson has 29,705 votes to 24,953 for Shoults. All 150 precincts had reported results by early Wednesday, though vote- by-mail, provisional and other ballots will continue to be processed and counted, according to the California Secretary of State's Office. Results will be certified by Oct. 3. Johnson has been a Lake Elsinore City Council member since 2012. She said her entire orientation is "good government" by staying focused on policies that best "protect taxpayers." "As an Assembly member, I will support law enforcement to keep our neighborhoods safe, fight Sacramento taxes and red tape to lower our cost of living and protect parental rights and put students and parents first," she said. Johnson has worked in personal finance and business for See Assembly Page 36