2006 LOVERIDGE STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS

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SUCCESS STORIES In 2006, Riverside is an exciting, diverse, urban, and successful city! Every important measure of success that I can identify is the best ever: sales tax--highest; building permits--highest; number of jobs--now over 160,000; real estate values--highest. And yes Dan, we have more Starbucks. Crime however is down, and significantly so. Riverside is the Inland Empire's economic powerhouse. Two illustrations--first, we are the dominant player in the Inland Empire's office market, with 4.4 million of the region's 20 million square feet. Noteworthy, in 2005, Riverside had over 2 million square feet of new office space completed or with plans submitted. Second is the Riverside Plaza. It is a great place to eat, to see a movie, to shop, or to meet fdends. For your information, a $75 million expansion of the Galleria will begin this spring. New features will include a PF Chang, Yard House, and AMC Theater. City Hall is working. We have a Council able and willing to make major policy decisions. We have an outstanding City Manager who has recruited or promoted a major league team at City Hall. Will all the new team members appointed in 2005 please stand and receive our applause. I would also ask Judith Auth to stand and be recognized for her many years of exceptional service as the City's Librarian. Within limits, we have resources to fund major projects. As past President of the League of California Cities, I take special pride that Proposition lA is now in effect. It prevents the State from taking our local revenues. And I applaud the Governor for returning Proposition 42 transportation funds to cities and counties. Overall, in 2005, success stories were many in Riverside. Let me illustrate a few. Inside City Hall, the Neighborhood Livability Task Force is a national best practice. The 2