Inland Empire

On Tuesday, Jul 28th, during the Hemet City Council meeting Councilwoman Bonnie Wright, who was elected to represent District 4, handed in her resignation. With just three months short from the Nov. 3rd general election and not leaving time for the seat to be placed on the ballot, the city is left to appoint a registered voter from the 4th District to fill her position.

Mysterious, unsolicited packets of seeds possibly from China are arriving in some Southern California mailboxes, prompting state officials to urge recipients to refrain from planting them. The California Department of Agriculture is aware of the packets and has been in contact with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to determine what action, if any, is necessary for shipments arriving in California, spokesman Steve Lyle said Monday.

Wearing a face covering will slow the spread from asymptomatic carriers. Results of a COVID-19 antibody testing study indicate the virus may have infected more than 100,000 Riverside County residents. This finding underscores the need to wear face coverings as people may have the virus without any symptoms, then easily spread it to others when not wearing a mask or keeping six feet of distance.

Riverside County health officials are reminding residents to seek emergency care when they have potentially serious symptoms such as chest pains, shortness of breath or signs of a stroke, and not wait to call 9-1-1 out of fear of catching coronavirus.

The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority has adopted a series of changes to its Thruway Bus Network that will take effect on August 1, 2020. The COVID-19 crisis has severely impacted public transportation ridership throughout California. Although San Joaquins ridership is beginning to rise, it will take time for California to fully recover from the impacts of this pandemic and for transportation demand to return to previous levels.