Viewpoints issue No. 8 February 11, 2016

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viewpoints An Associated Collegiate Press two-time national Pacemaker award-winning newspaper, serving as the voice of the students since 1922.

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VOL. XCV, NO. 8

WHAT’S INSIDE yNEWS

Department changes for RCCD police

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FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Mayor touts city growth

State of the City address focuses on Riverside’s achievements and future @CaryBrooke

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6 Lana Del Rey premieres video “Freak”

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Riverside residents beamed with pride as city leaders discussed past challenges and the recent economic and cultural growth of the city at the 39th State of the City address, delivered by Mayor William “Rusty” Bailey. “Three years ago, I stood before you as a new mayor of a city recovering from a Great Recession,” Bailey said. “Today, I stand in front of you a little older and a little grayer, but confident in the solid economic and cultural state of our city.” Bailey delivered a speech on new initiatives in Riverside, including job creation, educational attainment, infrastructure investment, public service and safety. Approximately 1,100 people were present at the Riverside Convention Center Jan. 28 for the event. Construction and Project Development The Riverside County Transportation Commission has invested over $1 billion in 48 construction projects across Riverside over the last 15 years, the mayor said. “Those are long term actions we should celebrate.” Residents gave a thunderous applause for the completion of the two and a half year project,

IMAGE COURTESY OF RAKHEE UMA

which opened an entirely new lane for traffic. The project was completed in October. Management and Leadership Riverside unanimously elected John Russo as the new city manager in February last year and Gary Guess as city attorney. The mayor praised Russo and Guess in anticipation of their contribution to the longterm success and development of Riverside, as well as the management team’s dedication to fiscal responsibility. Riverside extermination business owner

John Burnard also was welcomed to Riverside City Council, bringing a “small business perspective to the table,” Bailey said. The city also hired a community and economic development director, city planner, building official and six additional planners to facilitate development in Riverside. “I believe that everything rises and falls on leadership,” Bailey said. “Our city is rising because of the leadership team that this council hired. Their commitment to working with

ALEXIS NAUCLER

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Football players university bound

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council members on strategic planning proves that this city is moving forward and not looking back.” Economic Growth In 2015, Riverside was named one of four winning U.S. cities in the U.S. Small Business Association “StartUP in a Day!” competition. Over 100 new small businesses open each month, Bailey said.nd the small business sector in Riverside is growing rapidly. The city received a

See CITY on Page 2

New student portal is in the works @AlexisNaucler

NEWS VIEWS A&E SPORTS

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Riverside Community College District is in the process of combining elements of WebAdvisor, Blackboard and student emails into one easy to use portal, which will be called “My Portal.” Students from Norco College, Riverside City College and Moreno Valley College participated in a survey on WebAdvisor to help choose a new name for the portal. The options included “RCCD Connect,” “My Portal,” or “My College Portal.” The process is being funded by U.S. Department of Education Title 5 Developing Institution grant awarded in 2012 and will be split up into phases to ensure the implementation of the new system goes smoothly. The initial phase will allow students, faculty and staff single sign on access to WebAdvisor

IMAGE COURTSY OF RICK HERMAN

and student email. After this initial phase is completed, access to Blackboard, student email and other tools that students, staff and faculty use will be added on to enhance communication and collaboration. “The portal is based on current, standard technologies that are more in line with what users expect from a web presence,” said RCCD Director

of Administrative Application Scott Tracy. “(The portal) allows for a great deal more flexibility to students, faculty and staff as it’s use expands.” Riverside City College students, such as Francisca Aparicio-Martinez, feel that the change can make checking their accounts easier. “I think it will be easier because for me it’s difficult sometimes to remember which

one I’ve been checking daily,” Aparicio-Martinez said. “If it’s one website then it would be easier to check all three things at once.” Other students prefer the simplicity of WebAdvisor and the way it is now. “It’s really easy to use, it’s really basic,” said RCC student Ana Rivera. “I think basic is a good thing when you have so many things.” Tutorials will be available to ensure students are properly introduced to the new portal and know how to use it. “We believe the portal is more intuitive and will be a relatively easy transition for people,” Tracy said. “Nevertheless, we do plan to make support and training videos and documentation available.” After two to three years of working on the portal, pilot groups will begin using the portal during spring 2016 to ensure it is ready to expand to larger groups of students.


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