Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include: After nearly 3 months, a number of Riverside County facilities that were closed have reopened for regular business on Monday. California lawmakers passed a working budget in order to meet their constitutional deadline. Coronavirus cases climb as California’s economy reopens, but Governor Newsom says he isn’t worried, as numbers are attributed to increased testing. California

Demonstrators gathered Thursday outside the San Bernardino Courthouse to demand the release of Lawrence Bender, a black man shot by Rialto police officers in San Bernardino last year. The event drew over one hundred people and was organized by Black Lives Matter Inland Empire. Representatives from the group have been in contact with Bender’s family and his attorney, who spoke at the event. Bender was hospitalized following an officer-involved shooting with Rialto police in June 2019. An online

Longtime Inland Empire journalist and KVCR contributor Cassie MacDuff and KVCR's Benjamin Purper review some of the big Inland Empire news stories from the past week, including: The mayor of Temecula stepped down after he made a racially insensitive remark in an email to a resident. San Bernardino County supervisors have created a new panel to probe racism in public practices. Some are calling for a Yucaipa councilman’s resignation after he joined armed vigilantes outside businesses during the

Individual grants of up to $10,000 are now available to Riverside County small business owners thanks to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief & Economic Security, or CARES Act. The CARES Act provided $431 million to Riverside County, and $45 million of that went to an allotment for small businesses. President Donald Trump signed the act into law in March. Riverside County is distributing that money in grants up to $10,000 for businesses hit by the coronavirus. Rob Moran is the Deputy Director of

State Senator Connie Leyva made a statement Thursday amid growing concerns about systemic racism. Senator Connie Leyva of Chino, is urging the state of California to declare racism a public health emergency. In a Thursday press release, Leyva says she was inspired by the recent decision by the County of San Bernardino to draft a similar resolution. She says this is the first step in addressing the systemic racism that has oppressed millions of Californians, particularly Black Americans,

San Bernardino County is offering a free testing event for first responders and their families Friday June 12. First responders and their families will have the opportunity to get tested at a free event in Rancho Cucamonga Friday, June 12. The San Bernardino County sponsored event will be at the Rancho Cucamonga Sports Center from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The event is only open to these families and is by appointment only. No symptoms or insurance is required. To register call (909) 387-3911 or go

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include: Riverside County was selected by the state as one of four counties to participate in a new program to aid its vulnerable homeless senior population. San Bernardino county is among nine counties being monitored by state public health officials for a spike in new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. As additional businesses are scheduled to reopen this weekend, Governor Gavin

Lists of Inland Empire Black owned businesses began circulating social media last week in response to protests over institutional racism and the in-custody death of George Floyd. From Google spreadsheets to graphics on Instagram, lists of Black owned businesses are being touted as a way for consumers to show solidarity with the black community. “They’ve always been here," says Tammy Martin-Ryles. "They’ve always been part of the community and you know this is not something new." Martin-Ryles is

Riverside County was selected by the state as one of four counties to participate in a new program to aid vulnerable homeless senior populations. Riverside County announced a 100-Day Challenge to end senior homelessness on Tuesday. The program will move one hundred and forty seniors 65 and older from emergency hotel and motel programs into permanent housing by September 3. The county will use existing programs to locate housing, including Project RoomKey, a state program to protect high risk

Lillian Vasquez speaks with Bill Higgs, Co-founder and former CEO of Mustang Engineering and author of Culture Code Champions: 7 Steps to Scale and Succeed in Your Business . Bill talks about what businesses should be doing now to emerge stronger from this pandemic. To learn more about Bill Higgs, visit culturecodechampions.com