Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include: Riverside County reported its highest one day increase of COVID-19 cases since the county began keeping track. Hospitalization rates remain stable. Riverside County health officials say churches and houses of worship can reopen immediately. The California Department of Health program for Women, Infants, and Children has temporarily expanded food benefits. Governor Gavin Newsom’s

Some foods are still in short supply due to the coronavirus crisis so the California Department of Health program for Women, Infants and Children, most often referred to as WIC, has temporarily expanded food benefits. KVCR’s Megan Jamerson has more on how this will affect local participants. Inland Empire recipients of WIC food benefits will be receiving a new California WIC card in the mail. It will allow participants to buy from an expanded food list due to some items being difficult to find

The California Employment Development Department today released the state’s unemployment rates for last month, including those of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. The state’s unemployment rate was at a record 15.5 percent in April as the state’s employers lost more than 2 million non-farm payroll jobs. San Bernardino County’s unemployment rate jumped to 13.4 percent, and Riverside’s went up to 15.3 percent. The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties in April

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 World Logistics project in Moreno Valley is back in the news. The price tag for the investigation of San Bernardino's mayor just went up. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the closure of a longtime Inland Empire Institution, among other coronavirus news. THIS SEGMENT IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NEWS

As the holy month of Ramadan comes to a close for Muslims this Sunday, a Riverside mosque continues to adapt to keep the community safe during the coronavirus pandemic. Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community for Muslims, is usually a time of large gatherings and shared meals. Instead, like all other religious groups, the Islamic Center of Riverside had to adjust to COVID-19 restrictions. "It feels really strange and awkward. Nobody imagined this sort of thing could

Community organizations making phone calls to remind historically undercounted Inland Empire residents to take the census have adjusted their scripts to include a coronavirus welfare check. Italia Garcia, knows it must be strange to get a phone call from someone you don’t know asking you how you are. “Sometimes you know, people are not very receptive to that, but for the most part people have been very very receptive to our calls," says Garcia. Garcia, is a regional coordinator for a coalition

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include: Riverside cancels traditional Fourth of July celebrations to discourage crowding and conserve funds. A bill proposed by State Assemblymember James Ramos that would reduce rates of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls moves one step closer to state law. Sixteen California cities made it onto the top 100 list in terms of how easy it is to access a park within ten

A bill proposed by State Assemblymember James Ramos, that would reduce rates of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, moved one step closer to state law Tuesday. The bill, introduced to the state assembly in February by Highland’s Assemblymember James Ramos, unanimously passed the Public Safety Committee on May 19. In a press release, Ramos, the former chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, says the murder rates of Native American women can be ten times the national

Lillian Vasquez speaks with two First 5 Executive Directors, Karen Scott who represents San Bernardino and Tammi Graham representing Riverside. They discuss how their work helps connect families to crucial programs across our region. For more information about First 5 San Bernardino, visit first5sanbernardino.org For more information about First 5 Riverside, visit rccfc.org

Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, Empire KVCR News has your daily news rundown. Stories highlighted today include: Riverside County surpassed 6,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Riverside County expanded its coronavirus testing, including walk-up sites in Moreno Valley and Cathedral City. Californians applying for unemployment benefits will automatically be applying for federal coronavirus benefits too. Plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 could help patients fighting