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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.
JOLEEN: Welcome to Happening in Upland for Monday, November 2nd, 2026. I'm Joleen.
MARK: And I'm Mark. Tomorrow's vote on Measure A and Measure M leads the show, plus flood protection in the nearby mountains and a look at local projects and places.
JOLEEN: It's finally here, election eve in Upland, and I think we're all ready to stop seeing those yard signs every five feet.
MARK: Seriously, if I see one more campaign sign, I'm going to lose my mind. But tomorrow, November third, is the vote on Upland Unified's Measure A. The district says it would authorize two hundred thirty-six point seven million dollars in school-improvement bonds. Two hundred thirty-six point seven million. That's a lot of money.
JOLEEN: I get why that number makes you pause. The district says many of its campuses go back to the fifties and sixties. The work includes safety improvements, roof repairs and upgrades to aging building systems. Those aren't the glamorous parts of a school, but they matter every day the doors are open.
MARK: Then let's put a household number next to the giant one. The district projects forty-seven dollars and fifty cents a year for each hundred thousand dollars of assessed property value, while the bonds are outstanding. Assessed value is the number to use, not what a house might sell for. I want voters looking at their own numbers rather than guessing from a real-estate listing.
JOLEEN: That's fair. And people without children in the district still have a stake in what the schools can offer. Measure M is a separate question: the city's business-license tax system. The city says the current structure is thirty-one years old.
MARK: Before we start worrying about the corner shop, the city says most small businesses would pay less. Larger businesses would pay a greater proportional share, with proposed rates from zero-point-zero-six-five percent to zero-point-two percent of gross receipts. I'd like the city to show its work on the spending, too.
JOLEEN: The council was unanimous about putting it on the ballot. The city's estimate is about two-point-one million dollars a year in extra revenue, three-point-three million including what it already collects. It says the measure doesn't increase resident or homeowner taxes. So there are two very different questions on that ballot: a school bond and a business-tax change.
MARK: And then there are the repairs that don't wait for election night. The county board approved emergency flood-protection work on October twentieth for places including Wrightwood. It's responding to earlier storm damage and the risk of more flooding and debris flows this winter.
JOLEEN: That one's about protecting homes. The county report describes debris removal and other work after the twenty-twenty-five storms. When channels are damaged, another wet season is a serious worry. I want people up there to have something more reassuring than a forecast and crossed fingers.
MARK: Crossed fingers don't hold back water. I'm glad there's a plan to do the work. I just hope the protection is a lot more durable than the average 'temporary' orange cone.
JOLEEN: You found a way to bring this back to traffic cones. Fair enough--closer to home, the city's October twenty-second update lists median landscaping on Foothill between Benson and Mountain. So the project is still part of the conversation.
MARK: If Foothill gets any more airtime, we'll have to give it a microphone. I like a tree as much as the next person. I'd also like to get across town without giving every cone a personal greeting.
JOLEEN: You can complain about the cones and still want the street to look good. And talking about that Route Sixty-six corridor brings us to the old Buffalo Inn property.
MARK: The old biker bar? I'd hate to see that stretch become a row of identical beige boxes. What was the housing idea?
JOLEEN: Councilman James Breitling's August twenty-twenty-five development summary described a seventy-two-home condo concept for that site. I'd like more housing options, and I'd like a design that feels as though it belongs on that stretch of Route Sixty-six.
MARK: Exactly. More housing doesn't have to mean every building comes out of the same giant mold. Give the place some personality. I'll complain about the roofline, but at least we'll have something to talk about besides interest rates.
JOLEEN: You could always inspect a menu instead of a roofline. El Balcón Rooftop is over in downtown Ontario, at two hundred North Euclid Avenue. Tapas and craft cocktails, according to its menu. It's an option nearby if you want an evening out.
MARK: A rooftop cocktail still sounds like wearing a tuxedo to a backyard barbecue. I'm not opposed; I just need somebody to tell me whether my shirt has to have buttons.
JOLEEN: You can start with the menu, Mark. For an Upland option, Toastiie UFO Burger is at eleven-fifty East Foothill Boulevard. I suspect you have opinions about that name.
MARK: UFO Burger. A name that promises either lunch or an abduction.
JOLEEN: yeah
MARK: I'd prefer the lunch. But I'll give them points for committing to a theme.
JOLEEN: There you go--an opinion with a side of lunch. You can put that energy into the city's planning discussions, too. When there's a project you care about, check the meeting agenda and make a specific comment.
MARK: I'll tell them exactly what I want. Fewer potholes and more than one lane open on Foothill. That's my comprehensive plan. It's a one-page document. Maybe they can add 'fewer political signs' to the list while they're at it.
JOLEEN: One page? I was expecting you to write 'potholes' in every box. But specifics help: where the problem is, what you'd like changed. Better than yelling at an orange cone.
MARK: Fine, I'll make the comment. But only if I can do it while eating a UFO burger. Now, did you see this weirdness from the Department of Fish and Wildlife? They're looking for 'Sooty Grouse' artwork for the twenty-twenty-six, twenty-seven upland game bird stamp.
JOLEEN: Entries open today, November second, and close December fourth. The winning artwork goes on the statewide upland game bird stamp. It's a pretty good chance for an artist to have people carrying their work around all season.
MARK: A sooty grouse sounds like a bird that's been working in a coal mine. And the department says it sells about a hundred and fifty thousand of those upland-bird validations a year. The grouse has a bigger audience than I expected.
JOLEEN: The validation covers migratory and resident upland game bird hunting in California. The money supports conservation, education, hunting opportunities and outreach, and buyers can request a free collectible stamp. I'd say that's a better use for your bird opinions than insulting the grouse.
MARK: I'm sure the grouse would prefer the conservation part without the hunting. And before we get completely carried away with birds, there's a local police item to catch up on.
JOLEEN: The city's October twenty-second update says two people were arrested after an alleged theft at a North Campus Avenue business on October nineteenth. I want local stores busy with customers, not dealing with stolen stock. I hope it's a quiet holiday season for the shops.
MARK: A quiet week sounds good. And if you're heading out to shop or just take a walk, what's the weather looking like? I'd like the sky to remember it's November and stop trying to bake us.
JOLEEN: It's actually getting warmer as the week goes on! Today we're looking at a high of seventy-two and perfectly sunny. It's a gorgeous day to get out and maybe walk through Magnolia Park before the sun sets.
MARK: Tomorrow, for election day, it's seventy-three. Perfect weather for standing in line at a polling place, if people still do that. Then we're hitting seventy-four on Wednesday, seventy-six on Thursday, and seventy-eight by Friday. It's like a slow-motion heatwave for people who think eighty degrees is a crisis.
JOLEEN: Saturday and Sunday are forecast around eighty-one with sunshine. That sounds like park weather to me. If you have plans, keep an eye on the forecast as the weekend gets closer.
MARK: Eighty-one in November. That's warm weekend weather. Just a reminder, CDFW's calendar lists late-season dove hunting opening statewide on November fourteenth. Check the state's season details if that's on your calendar.
JOLEEN: There's also some fall wild turkey season starting soon. But honestly, I'm just looking forward to that seventy-two-degree Monday. It's the calm before the election storm.
MARK: Yeah, tomorrow's going to be a shit-show one way or the other. Whether Measure A passes or fails, people will have plenty to say after the results come in.
JOLEEN: And we'll go through the election results next week. Under all those campaign signs, there are some real choices for the schools and local businesses. Whatever the results, we'll still have a city to take care of together.
MARK: I've got my next public comment ready: fix the potholes. I may need a second page for Foothill.
JOLEEN: You're a dickhead, Mark. But you're not wrong about the potholes.
MARK: That's high praise. We should wrap this up before I start talking about the traffic on Mountain Avenue again.
JOLEEN: Good call. Thanks for hanging out with us. If you've got thoughts on the election or a local spot we should check out, let us know.
MARK: Yeah, send us an email at upland@thehappeningnetwork.com. We'll be back next Monday to see if the city's still standing after the vote.
JOLEEN: Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss the results. See you next week!