The Raincross Gazette: The watchdog post pays $161,000 to $217,000 and reports to the mayor and council — the structure critics say undercuts its independence.

Community Forward Redlands: Settlement pushes the city's payouts tied to allegations involving former Deputy Chief Michael Reiss to about $4.25 million across four cases.

NBC Palm Springs: Council approves a 45-day moratorium — extendable to two years — and terminates the utility agreement behind a massive eastern-corridor project, accepting a high risk of litigation.

San Bernardino County: Federal American Rescue Plan money covered $106 million of the cost; the facility puts county emergency management, Sheriff dispatch and CONFIRE under one roof.

Community Forward Redlands: Trustees open the 2026-27 budget for public comment, plus a $906K YMCA afterschool deal and a Beattie Middle School safety upgrade.

Community Forward Redlands: One countywide incumbent cruised, one lost outright: Sheriff Dicus took 65.6% while Auditor-Controller Ensen Mason fell to challenger Ryan Hutchison.

The Riverside Record: No candidate in Wards 2, 4 or 6 cleared 50% in early returns; an estimated 270,000 county ballots remain uncounted.

Riverside Record: The group's own audit reconciled after a missing ballot log surfaced; county counsel said the board had no discretion to delay or order a recount.

County of Riverside: The recommended FY26/27 plan tops $10.3B, but departments asked for $700M more in discretionary money than the county has — the gap that makes this a deficit budget.

The Raincross Gazette: Voters turned down the fire-funding sales tax 59-41 in early returns — a no on the same revenue the city's own budget says it needs to cover a $27M general-fund gap.

Citrus Belt Review: Four years into the nation's first warehouse-emissions rule, the surprise isn't the $55 million in fees — it's that fees are only 5% of it. Operators are mostly buying electric yard trucks and chargers, not writing checks. And the two IE counties carry most of the bill.

Community Forward Redlands: Mayor Helen Tran cleared 54.6% against five challengers, avoiding a runoff — and former mayor John Valdivia finished last at 7.1%.

Community Forward Redlands: Two educators advanced for county superintendent; Sheriff Dicus and the new auditor-controller won outright, and AD-50's Garcia drew a November challenger.

RCTC: A $33M pilot meters three on-ramps and posts real-time speeds on 8 miles of northbound I-15 — no new lanes, two years to prove it works.