W e e k l y RIALTO RECORD
Vol 24, NO. 25
January 22, 2026
Kucera Middle School Earns 2026 California and National “Schools to Watch” Recognition
IECN.com
Indivisible Riverside Protest Demands ICE Accountability, Questions Rapid Hiring After Citizen Shootings Pg. 4
PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL Great things are happening at the home of the Coyotes. Students at Ethel Kucera Middle School are pictured on campus during the recent school spelling bee as the school earns the 2026 California and National Schools to Watch recognition, an honor awarded to just 4 percent of middle schools statewide for academic excellence, student support, and whole-child development.
By Manny Sandoval
E
thel Kucera Middle School has been named a 2026 California and National “Schools to Watch” campus, earning one of 14 middle school recognitions announced this year, according to Rialto Unified School District. The Schools to Watch program notes that
about 4% of California’s 7,200 middle schools earn the recognition each year. District officials said the award reflects Kucera’s focus on educational excellence, including its status as a Silver-Level PBIS honoree and a Community Schools Grant recipient.
recognition March 6–7 at the California League of Middle Schools Annual Conference in Long Beach. Kucera officials are also scheduled to attend a national ceremony in Washington, D.C., June 25–27, where the National Forum Schools to Watch will honor the 2026 designees.
School representatives will celebrate the
Kucera Middle School cont. on next pg.
Kaiser Strike Returns to Fontana, Riverside, Ontario as Union Cites Staffing, Kaiser Says Pay Offer Stands
Redlands Protest Over Alex Pretti Killing Presses City Council to Ban ICE Use of Property Pg. 5
Riverside Homekey+ Grant Deadline Extended to Feb. 24 as Reconsideration Push Sparks Heated Committee Clash Pg. 8 Inland Empire Community Newspapers Office: (909) 381-9898 Editorial: iecn1@mac.com Advertising: iecn1@mac.com Legals : iecnlegals@gmail.com
PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL Health care workers rally outside a Kaiser Permanente facility as UNAC/UHCP and United Steelworkers Local 7600 members call for a fair contract and highlight patient-care and staffing concerns.
By Manny Sandoval
A
n open-ended strike by Kaiser Permanente nurses and other health care professionals began Monday morning across California and Hawaii, with picket lines forming in the Inland Empire outside Kaiser facilities in Fontana, Riverside and Ontario — the latest escalation in negotiations that also led to a multi-day walkout in October 2025. The work stoppage, called by United
Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals, started at 7 a.m. local time and is expected to continue until an agreement is reached, the union said. UNAC/UHCP said 31,000 frontline registered nurses and health care professionals are participating across California and Hawaii, affecting more than two dozen hospitals and hundreds of clinics, calling it the largest strike of health care professionals this year. UNAC/UHCP said its members have been
bargaining with Kaiser since May 2025 and that in December, Kaiser management walked away from negotiations and attempted to bypass the agreed-upon national bargaining process. The union said it filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging Kaiser violated federal labor law by abandoning good-faith bargaining and undermining workers’ protected rights. Kaiser Strike, cont. next pg.