Latest reporting from the Local Government desk.
After federal courts at every level rejected the U.S. Department of Justice's demand that Riverside County set aside 1,355 mail ballots from alleged noncitizens, the county said segregating those ballots was impossible. Nearly 500,000 ballots countywide remain to be counted.
Local Government
Local Government
Local Government
Loma Linda University Health plans a 24/7 advanced urgent care facility on Makena Avenue in Murrieta for spring 2027 and is adding 15 hospital beds, part of a regional push that includes a $125 million children's specialty clinic in Loma Linda.
Local Government
Riverside County property owners who believe their home or business lost value since Jan. 1 have until early November to file a Proposition 8 reduction request with the assessor's office, a separate and earlier deadline than the Nov. 30 formal assessment appeal.
Local Government
The Riverside County Registrar of Voters plans to destroy ballots from the November 2025 special statewide election after the state Department of Justice and Secretary of State cleared the move, even as Sheriff Chad Bianco calls it an effort to bury evidence of election crimes.
Local Government
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Murrieta state Sen. Kelly Seyarto's SB 904, creating a statewide framework to suspend burdensome permitting rules after major wildfires and requiring digital rebuilding applications by 2028.
Local Government
Murrieta Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Eric Ackerman has earned the Chief Fire Officer designation from the Commission on Professional Credentialing, joining 2,390 fire officers worldwide who hold the credential.
Local Government
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 1379 on Sept. 30, requiring Riverside County to separate its sheriff and coroner offices by July 1, 2027, and create an independent medical examiner's office with new in-custody death reporting rules.
Local Government
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 1401, co-sponsored by the Riverside County DA's office, aligning court procedures for defendants found mentally incompetent to stand trial and expanding judges' authority to refer defendants for conservatorship.
Local Government
RCTC launched a public performance dashboard on Sept. 30 showing vehicle throughput and travel times for the I-15 Smart Freeway pilot between Temecula and Murrieta, giving commuters a way to track the system's effectiveness during its two-year trial.
Local Government
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1897, a law backed by the Riverside County District Attorney's Office that requires psychiatrists evaluating mentally disordered offenders to consider violence history, current mental status and physical ability to harm before determining whether someone poses a danger to others.
Local Government
The Riverside County Sheriff's Office returned more than 650,000 ballots to the county registrar on Sept. 29, complying with a California Supreme Court order five weeks before the Nov. 3 general election.
Local Government
Rancho California Water District is hosting a free open house on Tuesday, Oct. 13, for residents to tour two newly installed helicopter dip tanks in the De Luz and La Cresta area, funded by a $500,000 Riverside County award to speed wildfire helicopter response near Murrieta.
Local Government
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a preemptive statewide emergency on Monday, Sept. 21, ahead of what forecasters say could be the strongest El Niño on record, unlocking state resources for flood and storm preparation that directly affects Riverside County and Murrieta-area residents.
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