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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 another glorious Monday in the city of gracious living, or as I like to call it, the city of people who drive forty-five in a sixty-five zone. It's Monday, May 11, 2026, and you're listening to 'Happening in Upland'. I'm Mark, your guide through the local nonsense, and I'm currently wondering why the hell I didn't buy a lottery ticket at the Circle K last week.
JOLEEN: Oh, god, don't even start with that, Mark. I'm Joleen, and I'm upbeat only because I've accepted that the universe hates me specifically. Some lucky bastard just walked into the Circle K on East Foothill and walked out with a thirty-two million dollar SuperLotto Plus ticket. Thirty-two million. That's enough to finally buy a house in San Antonio Heights and maybe have enough left over for a medium-sized order of fries at a local bistro.
MARK: It's insane. That win actually ended a massive jackpot drought for the entire state of California for the first part of 2026. We've gone months without a winner, and of course, it happens at the shop down the street while I was busy buying generic brand antacids. The owner's son, Jason, was all over the news looking happy as hell because the store gets a hundred and sixty thousand dollar bonus just for selling the thing. I bet they're going on a vacation that doesn't involve a road trip to Barstow.
JOLEEN: They deserve it, honestly. But back to the reality of the rest of us peasants. While someone's out there planning their early retirement, the rest of the city is still dealing with the usual collection of assholes. Upland police are currently on a hunt for a guy who pulled a knife on a poor worker at an ice cream shop. Imagine being that much of a dickhead. You're robbing a place that sells sprinkles and happiness with a deadly weapon? Get a life.
MARK: It's pathetic. And the crime reports don't stop at the dessert counter. We also had a wild chase involving some teens in a carjacking that ended right here in our backyard. They're facing attempted murder and burglary charges now. It's like 'Grand Theft Auto' but with significantly worse graphics and higher stakes. I'm telling you, the K-9 units are the only ones getting any real work done lately. One of them just sniffed out sixty-six pounds of cocaine in a traffic stop. That's a lot of 'energy' off the streets.
JOLEEN: Maybe that's why everyone's so damn stressed at the school district. But hey, let's pivot to something that doesn't involve handcuffs. Upland High School was just named a 2026 California Distinguished School. Apparently, despite the budget drama where they're planning to spend a cool hundred and eighty-four million bucks this year, the kids are actually learning stuff. Or at least they're really good at the tests that make the state feel better about itself.
MARK: The U-College Academy is actually doing some impressive shit, too. Fifty-seven seniors are graduating, and sixteen of them are walking away with associate degrees before they can even legally buy a beer. It makes my high school experience of barely passing woodshop look pretty damn sad. And the theater program just killed it at the state festival. I guess if you're going to be dramatic, you might as well get a trophy for it.
JOLEEN: Speaking of drama, I went to the Buffalo Inn over the weekend. If you want a vibe that says 'I own a horse but I also have a LinkedIn profile', that's the spot. It's been around since 1929, and it's basically the antithesis of everything in Claremont. No one's going to judge you for wearing boots or having a truck with actual mud on it. I had the buffalo burger, and I'm pretty sure it's the only thing keeping my soul attached to my body at this point.
MARK: That place is a goddamn relic, and I love it. It's gritty, it's dark, and the beer list is actually respectable. It's the kind of place where you can hide from the world and pretend it's still the sixties. I'll take a wood cabin interior over a minimalist white-tiled hipster cafe any day of the week. Plus, it's right on Route 66, so you get that lovely background noise of people regretting their commute.
JOLEEN: The commute's going to get even worse, by the way. If you live near fourteenth street, prepare to suffer. The city's kicking off that pavement rehabilitation project. They're doing the whole song and dance: new curbs, gutters, and that fresh asphalt smell that'll linger in your nostrils for a week. They say it's for 'traffic calming', which is just code for 'we're going to make it impossible for you to get home in under twenty minutes'.
MARK: Traffic calming is just a polite way of saying they're putting the road on a diet. At least some of the work on First and Second Avenue is officially marked as completed, so we've got a few blocks of smooth sailing before you hit the next construction cone. It's the Upland circle of life. We pave the roads, then we dig 'em up six months later to fix a pipe, then we leave a metal plate there for three years.
JOLEEN: Let's talk sports because the Highlanders are actually giving us something to cheer for that isn't a winning lotto ticket. The baseball team is staring down a playoff series against Riverside Poly starting this week. These games are high-stakes, win-or-go-home type of shit. If you've got nothing better to do, go out there and yell at some teenagers. It's therapeutic.
MARK: The softball team is also in the thick of the CIF playoffs. Upland has always been a powerhouse for sports, which is probably why the real estate market up there in the Heights is so damn competitive. Speaking of which, the median sale price in San Antonio Heights just hit one point seven million. I saw a place on Park Boulevard sell for nearly one point seven mil, and there's another one on Twenty-Sixth Street listed for over four million. Four million dollars, Joleen. For that price, it better come with a personal chef and a basement full of gold bars.
JOLEEN: For four million, I want the house to literally cook me breakfast and tell me I'm pretty every morning. The market's still tight, too. Homes are selling in about forty days. If you're looking for a 'bargain', you're looking at the ranch-style homes in North Upland that still go for nearly nine hundred thousand. It's a joke. But hey, it's better than living in a tent in the park, right? Anyway, let's look at the weekend because I need a drink and a distraction.
MARK: This Friday, May 15, the Cooper Museum is doing a spring magic show called 'The Phil Factor'. It starts at six. I assume the magic trick involves making my paycheck disappear. Then on Saturday, we've got the Color Fun Run at Sierra Vista Park at nine in the morning. If you've ever wanted to be pelted with neon cornstarch while trying not to pass out from cardio, that's your event.
JOLEEN: I'll pass on the running, but there's also the fifth annual Anti-Human Trafficking Walk at Memorial Park at eleven on Saturday. It's a good cause, and it's a hell of a lot more meaningful than speed dating at a coffee shop. And for the parents who haven't lost their minds yet, Lakeshore Learning is doing a 'Garden Wonders' event for kids. It's free, which is the only price I can currently afford.
MARK: If you want something louder, Hi Brow Pub is hosting 'Rock the Pub with a Vengeance'. I don't know who the vengeance is against, probably the neighbors, but it'll be loud. Baldy Brewing is also having live music. Just remember to use a rideshare, people. The Upland cops don't play around, and getting a DUI is a great way to ruin your thirty-two million dollar lottery dreams.
JOLEEN: Let's check the weather so we know exactly how much we're going to sweat. Today is Monday, and it's a brutal ninety-four degrees. It's mostly sunny, which is great if you're a lizard, but terrible if you're a human with a functioning sweat gland. Tuesday stays hot at eighty-four, then we finally get some 'morning clouds' and a dip into the high seventies by Wednesday and Thursday. It's that classic Inland Empire mood swing where the sky can't decide if it wants to tan you or drown you.
MARK: The weekend looks like it'll heat right back up into the mid-eighties. It's perfect weather for complaining. Honestly, Upland wouldn't be the same if we weren't all a little bit dehydrated and cranky. But we love this place, even if the traffic on Euclid makes me want to scream into a pillow. It's our little slice of chaos.
JOLEEN: That's a wrap for this episode of 'Happening in Upland'. Make sure you like, subscribe, and comment. Tell us what you'd do with thirty-two million dollars. I'd probably buy the city council and fire everyone who voted for more road construction. If you've got a tip or a story you want us to cover, email us at upland@thehappeningnetwork.com. We might actually read it if we aren't too busy crying over our rent.
MARK: Stay classy, Upland. Don't pull a knife in an ice cream shop, don't run from the cops, and for the love of everything holy, if you won that lottery, send us a check. We'll see you next time.