EL CHICANo Weekly
Vol 63, NO. 45
August 13, 2026
San Bernardino Council Approves Ninth McDonald’s After Months of Denials and Debate
IECN.com
Priority Ambulance Names Leadership Team Ahead of Oct. 1 CONFIRE EMS Launch in San Bernardino County Pg. 4
PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL From left, San Bernardino Councilwoman Sandra Ibarra, Councilman Theodore Sanchez, Councilwoman Treasure Ortiz, Mayor Helen Tran, Councilman Juan Figueroa, Councilman Mario Flores and Councilman Fred Shorett sit on the dais during the Aug. 5 City Council meeting; Mayor Pro Tem Kim Knaus was absent.
By Manny Sandoval
A
fter months of public debate and multiple votes against the proposal, the San Bernardino City Council reversed course Aug. 5 and approved plans for the city’s ninth
McDonald’s, clearing the way for a new drive-thru at Baseline Street and Sierra Way. The council voted 5-1 to approve Appeal 26-09 and overturn an earlier Planning Commission denial. Ward 2 Councilmember Sandra Ibarra cast the
lone dissenting vote. The decision allows six parcels at 116 W. Baseline Street to be consolidated into a roughly 0.74-acre site for a 3,684-squarefoot McDonald’s. The property, at the McDonald’s, Cont. next pg.
Kresge CEO Urges San Bernardino to Rethink Infrastructure, Development Priorities Riverside Housing Advocates Renew University Terrace Push Amid State Civil Rights Investigation Pg. 4
Fontana Unified Opens Oak Grove Preparatory Academy With Expanded Career, College Pathways Pg. 8 Inland Empire Community Newspapers Office: (909) 381-9898 Editorial: iecn1@mac.com Advertising: iecn1@mac.com Legals : iecnlegals@gmail.com
By Manny Sandoval
T
he head of a national foundation offered a candid assessment of San Bernardino on Thursday, urging local leaders to look beyond individual projects and invest in infrastructure, public spaces and stronger neighborhood connections. Rip Rapson, president and CEO of The Kresge Foundation, made the remarks at the Inland Empire Community Foundation’s 2026 Policy & Philanthropy Summit: All Together during a conversation with IECF President and CEO Michelle Decker about lessons learned from American cities. In a follow-up interview with Inland Empire Community News, Rapson said communities must distinguish between major regional systems and the smaller-scale infrastructure that shapes residents’ daily lives. “There's a kind of big infrastructure and there’s community infrastructure,” Rapson said. He credited the Inland Empire with regional infra-
structure, including transit and water and fire management systems, but said the more difficult challenge is building neighborhood-level connections. “What are the ways of reducing heat? What are the ways of managing water? What are the ways of creating connectivity between communities?” he said. Rapson said San Bernardino’s long, wide corridors make that work particularly difficult. He also pointed to the roughly 50acre former mall site downtown as an opportunity to create a development that connects with the surrounding city instead of operating as an isolated project. “You can just plop something down,” Rapson said. “But wouldn’t it be tremendous if you all could figure out a way to make that genuinely connect into the rest of the community and make it a public asset, not just private housing and a taco chain?” His comments came one day Summit cont. on next pg.
PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL The Kresge Foundation President and CEO Rip Rapson, left, discusses infrastructure, public space and lessons from Detroit with Inland Empire Community Foundation President and CEO Michelle Decker during the 2026 Policy & Philanthropy Summit: All Together.