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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 for Monday, September 7, 2026. I'm Mark.
JOLEEN: And I'm Joleen. Today we're braving a triple-digit heatwave, checking out the Highland football scoreboard, and looking ahead to the return of the Lobsterfest. Let's get into the news.
MARK: It's Labor Day, which usually means people are outside flipping burgers and pretending they enjoy the company of their neighbors. This year, the only thing getting flipped is the switch on the air conditioner to 'Arctic Blast.' The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory today that's sticking around until Thursday evening. It's currently ninety degrees out there, and that's the cool part of the week. If you're planning on being festive, I hope your festive plans involve a bathtub full of ice cubes and zero physical movement.
JOLEEN: You're such a buzzkill, Mark. People have been looking forward to this long weekend for months. Yes, it's hot, but it's the inland empire in September. What did you expect, a light frost? I've seen plenty of families out at Memorial Park earlier today. They've got the pop-up tents, the misting fans, and enough watermelon to hydrate a small army. It's about the community spirit. We've got that slight chance of rain showers today too, which might actually make things worse with the humidity, but hey, it's better than a total drought.
MARK: A ten percent chance of rain at ninety degrees isn't a 'refreshing shower,' Joleen. It's nature's way of turning the city into a giant vegetable steamer. I'm looking at the forecast for Wednesday and it's hitting one hundred. That's not BBQ weather. That's 'the pavement is melting my shoes' weather. If you're out there today for Labor Day, you're either a hero or you just don't pay your own Edison bill. I'm betting on the latter. The heat advisory stays in effect until 8 PM Thursday, so we've got a long road of sweat ahead of us.
JOLEEN: Well, we can't all just hide in a dark room until November. The city is still moving, even if it's moving a bit slower under the sun. Speaking of moving, have you checked out the UplandConnect app lately? The city's been pushing it as the one-stop shop for everything local. Since the crime log's been relatively quiet this holiday weekend, I've been spending way too much time looking at the community reports on there. It's actually a pretty decent way to see what's happening on your block without having to join a sketchy Facebook group.
MARK: I'm always skeptical of anything with 'connect' in the name. Usually, it just means the city found a new way to ignore my emails about the trash on my street. But I'll admit, seeing the police department use it for real-time safety updates is better than the old system of waiting for the morning paper to tell you your catalytic converter was stolen three days ago. It's good for reporting non-emergency stuff too, like that one streetlight that's been flickering like a horror movie for the last six months. Maybe if enough people 'connect,' someone will actually bring a ladder.
JOLEEN: It's actually helped with some of the retail issues we've had. The police have been able to share photos and alerts way faster. And honestly, it's just nice to have a official source instead of relying on the neighborhood gossip mill. Though, let's be real, the gossip mill is way more entertaining. I saw someone on there complaining about a 'suspicious' person who turned out to be the mailman in a different hat. We've got to do better, Upland. Let the man deliver the bills in peace.
MARK: The mailman's hat is a vital piece of the social fabric, Joleen. You change the hat, you change the man. But moving on to something that's actually worth complaining about, let's talk about the Highlanders. Our boys at Upland High are currently sitting at zero and three. They took a pretty heavy loss against Villa Park last Friday, forty-one to fourteen. I'm not saying we should panic, but maybe we should start looking at the water they're drinking. Or maybe it's just too hot for anyone to run that much.
JOLEEN: It's a tough start, I'll give you that. Going zero and three isn't exactly the dream opening to the 2026 season. But Villa Park is a powerhouse this year. Our guys are young, and they're learning. You can't just write off the whole season in the first three weeks. We've got Summit coming up this Thursday at 7 PM. It's a home game. If there's ever a time for the 'Pound the Rock' mentality to kick in, it's now. They're playing on Thursday because of the heat, which might give them a bit of an edge if the Summit players aren't used to our local brand of scorched earth.
MARK: Thursday night football in a hundred-degree week. Those kids aren't playing a game; they're performing a survival exercise. I look at those scores and I see a lot of missed opportunities. If they don't turn it around against Summit, the stands are going to start looking pretty empty by October. I know Upland fans are loyal, but loyalty has a limit when you're sweating through your shirt just to watch a thirty-point blowout. They need to find some offensive rhythm, and they need to find it before the sun goes down on Thursday.
JOLEEN: The student section will be there, Mark. They don't care about the score as much as the atmosphere. And we've got some great talent on that field. The defense had a couple of good stops early in the Villa Park game, it just fell apart in the second half. Maybe the heat got to them. But hey, if you're looking for a better way to spend your time than watching a blowout, we should talk about where you're going to eat and drink. I've been hearing great things about Last Name Brewing lately. It's over on Porterfield Way, and it's the perfect spot to hide from the sun.
MARK: Last Name Brewing. It sounds like they forgot to finish the paperwork before they opened. But I'll give them credit, they've turned that industrial space into something actually tolerable. It's one of those spots where you can get a decent craft beer without having to deal with the pretension of a downtown gastropub. They've got the 'Chunky Blanket' workshop coming up there in December, which sounds like something you'd do if you'd completely given up on life, but for now, it's just a solid place to grab a pint and pretend the world isn't on fire.
JOLEEN: Oh, shut up. The blanket workshop is for the holidays! Right now, it's all about the beer and the food trucks. They've got a rotating selection that's actually impressive. Last time I checked, they had a taco truck that was doing things with carnitas that should be illegal. It's a great 'hidden gem' because it's tucked away in that business park area. You don't get the Foothill traffic, you don't get the parking nightmares of the Colonies, and the AC is usually cranking. It's the smart man's retreat during a heatwave.
MARK: I do like a place where I don't have to fight a suburban mom in a Tahoe for a parking spot. But let's look ahead to next weekend, because if the heat breaks, it's going to be a massive Saturday. We've got the Lobsterfest 2026 on September 12th. It's at the Scheu Family YMCA. Five PM to midnight. I've never understood the appeal of eating messy seafood in a gym parking lot, but apparently, people pay good money for the privilege. It's a Rotary Club event, so at least the money goes to something better than my bar tab.
JOLEEN: It's not just 'messy seafood,' Mark. It's a whole experience! You've got the steak and lobster, the live music, and the whole community coming together. It's one of the biggest fundraisers of the year. If you can't get behind eating a giant lobster tail for a good cause, I don't know what to do with you. And if the YMCA isn't your scene, '2nd on 2nd' is happening the same night in Historic Downtown Upland. They're closing off the street for pedestrians, they've got vendors, and it goes until midnight. It's like a block party but with better shoes.
MARK: Pedestrians-only on 2nd Avenue. That's just a fancy way of saying I have to walk three blocks because I can't find a spot. But I'll admit, the night market vibe is better than the daytime heat. If it stays in the high eighties like the forecast says for Saturday, it might actually be pleasant. They've got karaoke and vendors like CustomsRyours doing their thing. It's nice to see downtown actually alive after dark. Usually, it's just me and the ghost of a pizza shop down there.
JOLEEN: You're so dramatic. Downtown is thriving! And Saturday is also the 'Got E-Waste?' event at 140 North Mountain Avenue. It's from nine to twelve-thirty. I know you've got a pile of old VCRs and cracked monitors in your garage, Mark. This is your chance to finally clear out the junk without just dumping it in a canyon. It's free, it's easy, and it keeps the chemicals out of our soil. No excuses this year.
MARK: I'll have you know those VCRs are part of a very specific historical archive. But fine, I might drop off the printer that hasn't worked since the Obama administration. If anyone's still looking for exercise, the 'Steppin' Into Fall' weekend walkers are meeting at Magnolia Park on Saturday morning at 8 AM. It's a good way to get your steps in before you go eat your weight in lobster and beer later that night. Though walking in this weather feels less like 'exercise' and more like 'heat exhaustion practice'.
JOLEEN: The walkers start early for a reason, Mark! It's about beating the sun. Let's look at that weather forecast properly, because it's a bit of a roller coaster. Today for Labor Day, we're looking at a high of ninety with that slight chance of rain. Tonight it'll dip to seventy-two. Tuesday is when the real pain starts, jumping up to ninety-eight. Mostly sunny, but that two percent humidity is basically just enough to make your hair look like a dandelion. It's going to be a long week.
MARK: Wednesday is the peak of the misery. One hundred degrees. Pure sun. If you have to go outside, don't. That's my professional advice. Thursday is only slightly better at ninety-four. The low stays around seventy-five, so your house never actually cools down unless you've got some high-end insulation. Friday we start the slow slide back to reality with ninety-one. By the time we hit the weekend events on Saturday and Sunday, we're looking at eighty-seven. Eighty-seven used to sound hot, but after a hundred, it's basically sweater weather.
JOLEEN: I'll take eighty-seven any day. At least for the Lobsterfest and 2nd on 2nd, the evenings will be in the mid-sixties. That's perfect for being outdoors. But we should talk about the roads, because even if the weather cools down, the traffic never does. The Foothill Boulevard Improvement Project is still lingering. They were supposed to be wrapped up with the Benson to Euclid stretch by August, but here we are in September and there's still median work and 'smooth pavement' promises being made. I'm starting to think 'under construction' is just Foothill's natural state.
MARK: It's like a thirteen-million-dollar art installation at this point. They've done the sidewalks and the curbs, but every time I drive through there, it's a new lane closure or a detour that makes no sense. They're working on the water pipelines too, which is great because I love it when my tap water smells like progress. They say it'll extend the pavement life and improve traffic flow, but I've lived here long enough to know that 'improved flow' is just city-speak for 'we added a bike lane no one uses and three more stoplights'.
JOLEEN: You're so cynical. Those bike lanes and the new lighting are going to make it much safer. And the water reliability is a big deal. I'd rather have a few detours now than a massive pipe burst in the middle of a heatwave. If you're frustrated, use that UplandConnect app we talked about! You can report the specific potholes or issues. It's better than just yelling into the void on a podcast. Or, you know, do both. It seems to work for you.
MARK: I'll yell into whatever void is available, Joleen. It's my primary form of cardio. But speaking of voids, let's look at the real estate market. The latest data for September 2026 shows the median sold price in Upland at seven hundred and seventy-two thousand, two hundred and fifty dollars. Now, that's interesting because just a month ago, people were throwing around numbers over nine hundred thousand. Either the market is finally taking a breather, or forty-two people sold their garden sheds to bring the average down.
JOLEEN: It's a weird shift, isn't it? Redfin has the market as 'very competitive,' scoring a seventy-seven out of one hundred. The average home price is technically down over twelve percent since last year according to some reports, but then Zillow is saying values are still up slightly. It really depends on which street you're on. If you're in North Upland near the hills, you're still looking at a fortune. If you're looking for a rental, though, it's not getting any easier. A studio is averaging over eighteen hundred dollars now.
MARK: Eighteen hundred for a studio. For that price, I better have a view of something other than my neighbor's overgrown lawn. Two bedrooms are pushing twenty-four hundred. It's getting to the point where it's cheaper to just live in a hotel and steal the continental breakfast. The 'cautious optimism' for 2026 that the experts were talking about seems to mean 'optimism for people who already own three houses.' For the rest of us, it's just a game of 'how many roommates can I fit in a one-bedroom apartment before the landlord notices'.
JOLEEN: It's tough, but Upland is still a seller's market. People want to be here. We've got good schools, despite the football score, and a sense of community that you don't get in some of the newer, sprawling Inland Empire suburbs. There were over two hundred homes for sale in the last snapshot, so there's inventory if you've got the cash. But buyers are definitely being more selective. They're looking at the condition and the upgrades. You can't just slap a 'For Sale' sign on a lemon and expect a bidding war anymore.
MARK: Good. It's about time people stopped paying a premium for 'vintage charm' that's actually just mold and bad wiring. If you're selling, you better have a working AC this week, or no one's even going to walk through the door. I'm looking at these price-per-square-foot numbers, and they're softening too. It's a sign that the fever is breaking, even if the weather isn't. People are looking for precision and value now.
JOLEEN: Well, if you can't afford a house, at least you can afford a beer at Last Name Brewing or a lobster roll on Saturday. Life is about the small wins, Mark. We've got plenty of events to keep us busy while we wait for the temperature to drop below ninety. It's been a busy start to September, and I'm sure the next few weeks will bring even more drama as we head toward the November elections and the heart of the fall season.
MARK: I'm just looking forward to the drama of my electricity bill. That's going to be the real horror story of the month. But that's all the news we have for now. Stay hydrated, stay inside if you can, and don't blame me if your car's engine gives up on Tuesday. It's going to be a hot one out there.
JOLEEN: Thanks for listening to Happening in Upland. If you liked the show, make sure to follow or subscribe so you don't miss an episode. We love hearing from our listeners, so if you've got a local story, a complaint about Foothill traffic, or a restaurant we need to try, send us an email at upland@thehappeningnetwork.com. We'll be back next Monday with more local news and probably more of Mark's complaining.
MARK: It's not complaining, it's observation. Have a great Labor Day, Upland. Try not to melt.