On February 22, officers from the Moreno Valley Police Department grabbed a cup of coffee with residents at Burger Town USA as part of the department’s Coffee with a Cop program.

Coffee with a Cop allows members of the public to put a face on the uniforms they see patrolling their neighborhoods and schools and the opportunity to discuss concerns and ask questions of law enforcement in a relaxed setting.

It also gives officers the ability to have a one-on-one conversation with residents and provide insight on what it is really like to be a police officer.

The latest Coffee with a Cop was a great success and we would like to thank all of the residents who participated and Burger Town USA for its hospitality. We hope you can join our Moreno Valley police officers for the next Coffee with a Cop.

The Moreno Valley Utility (MVU) is constantly working with its customers to help identify and implement new ways to save energy.

That commitment to cost-effective and energy-efficient measures helped MVU customers saved more than 1 million kWh during the last fiscal year, far exceeding MVU’s savings target of 334,600 kWh.

In an ongoing effort to further reduce energy use, the City Council on February 21 adopted updated energy efficiency and demand reduction targets of 0.65% of retail sales for MVU.

The new targets are expected to result in a savings of approximately 1,283,950 kWh for fiscal year 2016/2017.

MVU is also in the process of buying and installing 5,700 smart meters to replace existing meters.

The smart meter system will allow MVU customers to monitor their energy consumption more closely. Smart meters will also give MVU the ability to offer customers time-of-use rates, which will encourage customers to lower their energy use during hours when energy demand is typically the highest.

The conversion to smart meters is expected to be finished by December 2019.  MVU customers will be given additional information to keep them fully informed throughout the entire conversion process.

On February 21, the City Council approved a $1.8 million construction contract to widen Heacock Street between Iris Avenue and Gentian Avenue to eliminate a traffic bottleneck.

The widening project is designed to enhance emergency response time, facilitate the upcoming Heacock Channel construction, and improve pavement conditions.

The improvements will be funded by the Western Riverside Council of Governments’ (WRCOG) Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee (TUMF), the City’s Development Impact Fee (DIF), and Moreno Valley Utility funds.

The project helps fulfill an objective of Momentum MoVal, the City's strategic plan, to "manage and maximize Moreno Valley's public infrastructure to ensure an excellent quality of life, cost effective infrastructure maintenance, public facilities management strategies, and capital improvement programming and project delivery.

Construction is anticipated to begin in March and be completed in October.

The Moreno Valley Football Club was honored by the City Council on February 21 for their victory in the 2016 United States Amateur National Cup for Region 4.

The Moreno Valley Football Club is a professional level soccer team which competes in the United Premier Soccer League. 

The City Council also honored Carlos’ Barber Shop, a family owned business that has been cutting the hair of Moreno Valley residents from more than 21 years, as February’s Business Spotlight.

The down home barber shop, opened by Esther Alvarez and her husband, prides itself on cutting the hair of multiple generations of Moreno Valley residents.

Carlos' Barber Shop is located at 24072 Postal Ave, Moreno Valley, CA 92553.

Watch the Business Spotlight on Carlos' Barber Shop here.

Congratulations to the Moreno Valley Football Club and Carlos' Barber Shop!

In January, Moreno Valley began a 6-month grant-funded pilot program  to encourage City employees to reduce the number of car trips by instead riding a bicycle for short errands or lunch breaks.

The City purchased two electric-assist bikes from Moreno Valley bike shop The Neighborhood Cyclery with grants from the Western Riverside Council of Governments and the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee. The grants are intended to support projects to make the city more bicycle-friendly.

The bikes are equipped with a battery and motor which allow riders to supplement their own pedaling to reach up to speeds of up to 28 mph. At 50 pounds each the bikes are twice the weight of a normal bike.

The City of Moreno Valley's bike-sharing program was recently featured in the Press-Enterprise's Sunday edition.

Read the Press-Enterprise story here.

Photo credit: Watchara Phomicinda, Press-Enterprise Staff Photographer 

The Moreno Valley Public Library is participating in Californians: community conversations about immigration, a new program designed to spark community discussion and foster tolerance, meaningful conversation and understanding around immigration. 

Moreno Valley is one of 20 California public libraries participating in the California Center for the Book program.  

Libraries received a bookshelf of 20 books and DVDs representing a variety of cultures and immigration experiences, and programming resources and materials to support programming activities. 

Throughout 2017, the participating libraries will host a total of 80 programs, reaching an estimated 3,000 community members. 

The Moreno Valley Public Library is also participating in a grant related to the program to further increase discussion about immigration. As part of the Californians grant, Library staff conducted a community assessment of library services between October 2016 and January 2017 through informal interviews with local residents from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds.   

Library staff interviewed members from local art and writers groups, nonprofit organizations including Catholic Charities, Community Action Partnership (CAP), Operation Safe House, Path of Life Ministries, and Training Occupational Development Educating Communities (TODEC). Library staff received helpful information about community needs by speaking to individuals that attended local community meetings such as the Moreno Valley Multiagency Collaborative (MVMAC) and the Salvation Army.  

Feedback from local residents has helped shaped the library program structure for the Summer Reading Program.

Stand out from the crowd with resumes that get you hired!

The award-winning Employment Resource Center provides in-depth resume writing assistance the first Thursday of every month.

Resume Writing Workshop

Thursday, March 2

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Learn how to: 

• Create a resume that works for you.

• Use new resume writing trends and find out what employers really want to know.

• Look professionally at your skills and showcase them with confidence. 

Bring your current resume or build a new one from scratch. Please register on www.caljobs.ca.gov before the workshop for faster service. 

The Moreno Valley Employment Resource Center is offered in partnership with the City of Moreno Valley and the Riverside County Workforce Development Center and is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. at 12625 Frederick Street, Suite K-3 in the TownGate Center in Moreno Valley.  

Sign-up for job alerts with the Hire MoVal Job Seekers list at www.moval.org/erc.