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Happening in Upland is your weekly rundown of what’s going on around town—local news, community events, public safety updates, new restaurants, development, weather, schools, and the stuff Upland residents actually talk about.
Delivered with humor, honesty, and a very local point of view, this isn’t stiff broadcast news. It’s real, relevant information with personality. If you live in Upland or anywhere nearby in the Inland Empire, this is your weekly shortcut to staying in the loop.
MARK: Welcome to Happening in Upland. It's Monday, November 9th, 2026. I'm Mark. Today: Upland High opens an HVAC learning lab, volunteers tackle Euclid's pepper trees, and Tour de Foothills returns this weekend.
JOLEEN: And I'm Joleen. Let's start with those trees, because a hundred neighbors with pruning tools can apparently accomplish quite a lot before lunch.
MARK: Councilman James Breitling reports that about 100 volunteers joined Litter Free Upland's Pepper Tree Day on Saturday, November 7th. Between eight and eleven in the morning, they trimmed approximately 75 percent of the nearly 500 pepper trees along Euclid Avenue.
JOLEEN: Seventy-five percent of nearly 500, not 500 trees finished. That's a hell of a morning either way. And Litter Free Upland plans to continue trimming the remaining trees.
MARK: The work included removing suckers, the new growth around the bases. Breitling says that opened sightlines and improved visibility for pedestrians and motorists. Upland Public Works supported the volunteers and hauled away the cuttings.
JOLEEN: And The Taco Man prepared breakfast burritos for the volunteers. That's a sensible division of labor: some people handle the branches, somebody else makes sure the branch handlers get breakfast.
MARK: A municipal partnership I can understand.
JOLEEN: You can learn about future cleanups through Litter Free Upland's website or app. I love that this was neighbors giving up a Saturday morning for a stretch of Upland we all get to appreciate.
MARK: It's also the kind of work that's easy to overlook once it's done. You notice the trees; you might not notice the people who spent three hours making the bases less crowded.
JOLEEN: And visibility is a nice bonus. A pretty street is great; being able to see people using it is even better.
MARK: We have a serious update from neighboring Rancho Cucamonga. In a November 3rd notice, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department reported a three-vehicle collision at Day Creek Boulevard and Wilson Avenue on November 1st, at about 8:58 p.m.
JOLEEN: The department said four people in one vehicle were taken for medical treatment. Leslie De Belen, a 40-year-old Rancho Cucamonga resident, died at the hospital despite lifesaving efforts. Our thoughts are with everyone affected.
MARK: Detectives said they determined that driver Julia Kunkel intentionally struck that vehicle. In its November 3rd notice, the department said Kunkel had been injured and would be arrested and booked on murder and attempted murder charges once medically cleared for release from the hospital.
JOLEEN: That's what the department reported at that point, not a report that an arrest had already happened. The sheriff's homicide detail asked anyone with information to call 909-890-4904.
MARK: Turning to Upland school news: Upland High School has a new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning pathway and learning lab. The district says the two-year career technical education pathway launched this school year with 103 students in grades nine through twelve.
JOLEEN: A hundred and three! So what do they actually get to work on?
MARK: The district says classroom instruction is paired with practical training in installing, diagnosing, maintaining and repairing heating and cooling systems. The lab has indoor workstations, furnaces and diagnostic tools, plus an outdoor area with multiple air-conditioning units and a partially open-air space for welding and brazing.
JOLEEN: That's a lot more compelling than a worksheet with a sad little drawing of an air conditioner.
MARK: The worksheet's repair credentials are limited.
JOLEEN: Students learn with digital multimeters, refrigerant gauges and leak detectors, and work on troubleshooting electrical and refrigeration systems. The district says they can also earn OSHA-aligned safety training and EPA Section 608 certification.
MARK: Can earn, not automatically walk out with every qualification. The pathway is intended to prepare them for employment, apprenticeships or more technical education. Industry-based internships and work experiences are planned for the program's second year.
JOLEEN: And the school isn't treating the lab like an island. The district says construction students helped prepare it, while engineering students are learning to design HVAC components with computer-aided design. There are existing programs in welding and automotive technology too.
MARK: The pathway was developed with Baldy View Regional Occupational Program. Districtwide, Upland Unified says 1,407 students are participating in 13 career technical education pathways this school year. There are also future plans to expand training opportunities to adult learners.
JOLEEN: Senior Kevin Romero, who's also a teaching assistant in the program, told the district the experience has made him more confident about pursuing HVAC. That's the part I like: room to try the work and see whether you want to build a future around it.
MARK: A useful distinction from choosing a career based entirely on whether the job title fits on a business card.
JOLEEN: Grove Avenue is next. Residents had a chance to ask questions before decisions are finalized, which is where the conversation belongs.
MARK: The city held its first community meeting for the Grove Avenue Rehabilitation Project on November 5th at the Carnegie Library. Councilman James Breitling says the project covers Grove from Foothill Boulevard to just north of 15th Street.
JOLEEN: Breitling described a strong turnout. City Engineering staff presented the project scope, and residents could ask questions, raise concerns and make suggestions as planning moves forward.
MARK: The operative word is planning. A meeting about proposed improvements is not a construction schedule, and a pleasant map is not a freshly paved road.
JOLEEN: But getting the people who use the street into the discussion before the decisions are final matters. If the plan affects your neighborhood, the details aren't some boring footnote.
MARK: Especially if the footnote eventually has a traffic cone on it.
JOLEEN: There he is. Breitling says he'll share progress, milestones and additional opportunities for involvement as the project moves forward. For now, it's a proposal in the planning process, not a promise about when a crew will arrive. Now, if your preferred set of wheels has pedals, Tour de Foothills is coming up Saturday, November 14th. The Upland Chamber lists the event, and the organizer has a schedule for riders who like to know exactly how early the alarm has to be.
MARK: For the 100-mile ride, that's a staggered start at 7 a.m. The 64-mile ride starts at 7:45, the 32-mile ride at 9, and the family ride at 10. Those starts are staggered too.
JOLEEN: I appreciate having options between a family ride and a hundred miles. One sounds like a lovely outing; the other sounds like a very long conversation with your bicycle seat.
MARK: The organizer is emphatic that this is a ride, not a race. Helmets are mandatory, and it's an open-road event, so riders share the road with vehicles and must obey traffic signals and signs.
JOLEEN: A good reminder: the stop sign doesn't become decorative just because you're wearing a helmet. Where do people check in?
MARK: The registration booth is in the parking lot at Third Avenue and A Street. Saturday registration opens at 6 a.m. There's also early check-in Friday, November 13th, from 5 to 8 p.m. Online registration closes at midnight Thursday, November 12th, according to the organizer.
JOLEEN: And Saturday's vendor village is scheduled from noon to 5, with lunch, music and beer. The organizer says the registration fee includes one meal ticket, and that support stops offer food, water and energy drinks.
MARK: Support is a reassuring word when the other words are '100 miles.'
JOLEEN: The organizer also recommends bringing water bottles and repair supplies, plus layers. We'll get to the weekend forecast in a bit, but the event is scheduled rain or shine.
MARK: Let's move from wheels to a place on Foothill: Secret Sauce, at 903 West Foothill Boulevard, Suite B, in Upland. We have a couple of individual Google Maps customer reviews, not a verdict from everybody who's eaten there.
JOLEEN: Janet Arqui loved the chicken katsu, described the place as clean and relaxing, and thought the price was reasonable for the portion and quality. She also recommended the mochi green tea.
MARK: Chicken katsu and a relaxing atmosphere. A promising combination, assuming my hypothetical dining companion doesn't turn every silence into a review of my posture.
JOLEEN: Your hypothetical companion sounds patient. Another customer, Alex Korhely-Day, praised the chicken katsu, generous portions for the price, and quick service.
MARK: A favorable review of both the food and the speed at which it reaches the table. My hypothetical companion can begin evaluating my posture sooner.
JOLEEN: Those are two people's experiences, not a guarantee about your meal today. But chicken katsu, a calm room and mochi green tea? I'd be curious.
MARK: Now, Upland home prices, where the word 'reasonable' tends to require a long conversation. Resideline's figures updated November 4th cover 410 Upland closings it tracked over a six-month period. The median sold price in that sample was $771,625.
JOLEEN: Sold price, not the number somebody put on a listing and hoped would make a buyer fall in love with the kitchen. And that's a six-month sample, not an October-only median.
MARK: Correct. The middle half of those tracked sales closed between $636,006 and $920,000. That leaves half outside the range, split between sales below and above it. Resideline says its tracked closings can differ from complete county or municipal records.
JOLEEN: Which is a useful reminder that the median isn't a price tag for every house. A particular property can land well away from the middle, and that spread is substantial.
MARK: For another measure, the median sold price per square foot was $435 across 410 qualifying sales with usable living area. Resideline also reports a median of 31 days from listing to contract across 223 tracked closings, and 19 days from contract to closing across 216, over that six-month period.
JOLEEN: Different counts because those timing measures need the relevant dates for each sale. They aren't a countdown clock for every buyer or seller in town.
MARK: A real-estate clock would probably charge extra for the hands.
JOLEEN: Before we go, let's get the weather on the calendar. The National Weather Service forecasts tonight, Monday, November 9th, mostly clear, with a low around 61.
MARK: Tuesday, November 10th, is sunny with a high near 84. Tuesday night is clear, around 60. Veterans Day, Wednesday the 11th, is also sunny and near 84.
JOLEEN: Wednesday night is clear, around 60. Thursday is sunny near 80, and Thursday night is mostly clear, around 57.
MARK: Friday, November 13th, is mostly sunny and near 74, with a slight chance of rain showers after 4 p.m. Friday night is partly cloudy, around 56, with a chance of showers.
JOLEEN: Saturday, November 14th, is mostly sunny, near 73, with a slight chance of showers before 4 p.m. Saturday night is partly cloudy, around 55, with a slight chance of showers after 10 p.m.
MARK: Sunday, November 15th, is mostly sunny, near 70, with a slight chance of showers. Sunday night is mostly cloudy, around 53, with a chance of showers.
JOLEEN: So keep an eye on the forecast if you've got outdoor plans, including the ride. A chance isn't a promise, and weather has a way of changing its mind without consulting either of us.
MARK: An arrangement I respect. That's Happening in Upland for this week. Follow or subscribe so you can find us again, and send your thoughts to upland@thehappeningnetwork.com.
JOLEEN: We'd love to hear from you. Thanks for spending some time with us, Upland. We'll be back next week!