Riverside County Spelling Bee returns to in-person competition

By City News Service and Staff

Riverside County's Spelling Bee will feature more than two dozen students from charter, private and public schools, gathered in-person for the first time in three years, turning words into points for a chance to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The 45th countywide Spelling Bee will be held Thursday at the Moreno Valley Conference & Recreation Center, where 27 contestants are slated to take the stage following bees in 2021 and 2022 that were all-virtual.

The 2020 bee was nixed when then-county Public Health Officer Cameron Kaiser declared a Coronavirus public health emergency. The 2021 and 2022 events were held online due to ongoing precautionary measures implemented by the county Office of Education.

Last year, Corona-Norco Unified School District eighth grader Lara Randhawa claimed the county championship title after correctly spelling "cumulocirrus," which is an upper

“Our City continues to take proactive steps to increase safety by bringing state resources to Riverside,” Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said in a statement. “These improvements will make our roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists, while reducing the number and severity of vehicle crashes.”

The city detailed the forthcoming improvements that include:

-- “retro-reflective backplates on 400 traffic signals citywide that make the signals more visible, boost driver awareness of the signals, and reduce collisions;

-- “implementation of Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) timing at 400 traffic signals citywide, which increases safety by giving pedestrians and cyclists 3-7 seconds to start their path across the street before cars start driving, which increases the likelihood of vehicles yielding.”

In September the City Council approved the grant application to the California

Department of Transportation, which administers the federal program in California. The grant application was supported by the Riverside and Alvord school districts, which wrote letters supporting the traffic safetyimprovement goals.

“Creating a safe and accessible environment for residents in the City of Riverside is a priority,” Mayor Pro Tem Clarissa Cervantes said in a statement. “We are grateful to the school districts for their support of this grant application, which will make our roads safer for the community at large.”

More information on the grant is available at https://riversideca.legistar. com/View.ashx?M=F&ID =11172341&GUID=7905 D79C-2F22-441C-964624890A478501.