W e e k l y RIALTO RECORD
Vol 24, NO. 22
January 1, 2026
NSG Impact’s 2026 Food Supply Threatened as PBS SoCal Honors Founder Darious Harris as Local Hero
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Wrightwood Christmas Flood Ravages Mountain Town: 50 Homes Critically Damaged, Road to Mt. High Collapses Pg. 3
PHOTO NSG IMPACT Harris poses with Rialto Police Department Lieutenant Lamont Quarker, who nominated Harris for PBS SoCal’s 2025 Local Heroes honor.
By Manny Sandoval
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ever Stop Grinding Impact has spent years building a reliable lifeline for families who line up for its drive-up food and diaper distributions in Rialto. Now, founder and CEO Darious Harris says the food portion of that support is in jeopardy heading into 2026 — even as PBS SoCal recognizes him as a 2025 Local Hero. “We’re actually at our greatest challenge now,” Harris said in a Dec. 30 phone call. “The monthly food and diaper distribution that we’ve been doing for the past three years, where we serve over 500 families
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PHOTO NSG IMPACT Darious Harris, founder and CEO of Never Stop Grinding Impact, holds his PBS SoCal 2025 Local Heroes Award during the Dec. 4 ceremony in Burbank.
monthly, is facing disruption as our partner for the program no longer has the funds to give us next year.” Harris said a partner notified NSG Impact earlier this month that it may not be able to continue providing food, and he expects clarity in January. “They’re supposed to let us know in January if we’re going to be able to continue,” he said. “So we’re currently looking for other partners or food banks or somebody that can help us to keep it going.” The uncertainty is already landing in his Instagram messages. “I just received an
Instagram message from a community member right before this call, asking, ‘Hey, are you guys having a food distribution next month?’” Harris said. “And I don’t have the answers yet.” In December, Harris said, Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County helped keep the distribution afloat when food supplies tightened. “They supported us last month and provided us with chickens to give out, as well as cereal boxes,” he said. “They saved the distribution for the month of December.” NSG Impact cont. on next pg.
10 New California Laws Taking Effect Jan. 1, 2026, From Plastic Bags to IVF Coverage, and Minimum Wage By Manny Sandoval
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alifornia’s annual January law changeover is almost here. After the Legislature sends bills to the governor and they are signed, most “regular session” statutes take effect on Jan. 1 of the following year unless a law sets a different date or is passed as an urgency measure, according to the California Secretary of State.
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Happy New Year! Do not drink and drive.
In 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 794 bills into law, according to a CalMatters tally of measures that reached his desk — though not all of those changes take effect on Jan. 1, and some have later start dates written into the bill text.
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Here are 10 of the most significant, debated or widely felt changes scheduled to begin Jan. 1, 2026:
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PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL A Redlands shopper carries a recycled paper Target bag to their vehicle on Dec. 30, 2025, as the retailer has offered paper carryout bags since at least early December ahead of California’s 2026 checkout-bag changes.
1) Plastic checkout bags: the rules tighten again (SB 1053, 2024).
California is moving to a stricter phase of its bag law. Under SB 1053, stores that charge for checkout bags will be limited to recycled paper carryout bags that meet state requirements. This builds on California’s earlier single-use bag restrictions — notably SB 270 (2014) — and is aimed at reducing litter and waste while standardizing what qualifies as an allowable “checkout bag.” 2) IVF and infertility coverage: delayed, then expanding (SB 729, delayed by AB 116). One of the most closely watched health-policy changes is SB 729, which requires large-group health plans in California to cover infertility diagnosis and treatment, including in vitro fertilization. The requirement was pushed back to Jan. 1, 2026 after lawmakers and the governor approved a delay through AB 116 (a budget-related meaNew Laws, cont. next pg.