Councilmember Philip Falcone

10/21/2026

This week a news feature from NBC Los Angeles said that a Riverside Renaissance is happening in Downtown Riverside with a slew of new businesses, expansions, construction and infrastructure projects happening in this historic city center.

This renaissance is happening because we have a get *stuff* done mentality in Ward 1—and this high praise proves it!

10/14/2026

In the 1770s, Juan Bautista de Anza led two inland exploration expeditions and became a lionized figure in Riverside history from the 1930s-1960s. Despite having spent limited time in what is Riverside today, a theater, an avenue, a car dealership, multiple stores, annual festivals and this towering granite statue were a handful of the ways Riverside chose to honor De Anza.

This year, we completed work to restore this city landmark while also expanding its context and telling the larger story, through interpretation, on how De Anza, the WPA, and the land’s native peoples all play a critical role in this story.

This work was made possible by the donations of Fritz & Mary Lee Duda and the oversight of architectural historian Jennifer Mermilliod.

10/12/2026

On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we recognize the Iviatim (Cahuilla) people whose history is an essential part of Riverside’s heritage. This remarkable photograph, taken around 1885, documents Iviatim families near Big Spring Rancheria (now part of Fairmount Park) on Little Mount Rubidoux. Established in the 1870s, the settlement was home to Iviatim people displaced from their homelands near San Bernardino, many of whom contributed their labor and expertise to Riverside’s developing agricultural economy. Big Spring Rancheria remained a community near Mount Rubidoux until the 1890s, when Riverside’s expansion and the loss of access to water contributed to its displacement. Their presence reminds us that Riverside’s history didn’t begin with the city’s founding by eastern settlers in 1870, nor does Indigenous history belong solely to the past.

Photograph: Huntington Library, c. 1885.

10/09/2026

Why have one National Night Out event in Ward 1 when you can have five!?

It was great being with residents of Northside, Downtown, and Wood Streets along with Riverside’s police and fire departments at various NNO gatherings this week.

10/03/2026

10/01/2026

It’s not too common across the U.S. for an entire city’s downtown and seat of government to be located within one City Council district or ward. But in Riverside, it’s all in Ward 1. In this podcast hosted by Matt Lehrman, we discuss the challenges and opportunities that come with being downtown’s sole representative on the City Council and what it takes to advocate and negotiate for this vital and historic part of Riverside.

(Spoiler Alert: There is plenty of my standard references to city planning, architecture, life in New Orleans, and my perpetual plea for elected officials to be more focused on the value of compromise and negotiation.)

Who owns the problem when no one person or organization is actually...

09/16/2026

Post office buildings are often architectural examples of the era in which they were built. In Downtown Riverside there have been two post offices representing the style and needs of the early 1900s and 1940s.

After 85 years, the Streamline Moderne-meets-Mission style post office at Orange and Ninth Streets remains a bustling Ward 1 hub for postal services. Checkout this history!

09/13/2026

Monday, September 14 at 9am the City Council’s Land Use Committee (Cervantes, Falcone, Mill) will discuss my proposal for a data center ban within the City of Riverside. Share your thoughts on data centers by attending the meeting at City Hall, calling in during the meeting, or by emailing [email protected]

The city joins a growing list of Inland Empire municipalities weighing limits on data center development.

09/07/2026

We’re down to the final three stops on this whirlwind Ward 1 Townhall Tour. Hope to see you this week!

P.S. bring the whole family to the General Townhall on Tuesday 9/8 at 6pm for free popsicles and getting a chance to explore Fire Engine 6.

09/02/2026

One of the ways we tell our diverse and unique Riverside stories is through historical markers, plaques, and interpretive signs. And as the most historic portion of town, we have a lot of these in Ward 1!

Over the years many of these plaques and markers have been neglected, vandalized, or stolen. Now, part of our Preserving Riverside’s Treasures initiative we are replacing these missing historical markers. In Ward 1 we always choose taking pride in our history over blight and neglect.