Two large warehouses were rejected by the Redlands Planning Commission. One local news publisher believes local journalism played a crucial role.
Stephanie Hastings-Miranda, founder of Community Forward Redlands, shares how local news is boosting civic engagement.
STEPHANIE HASTINGS-MIRANDA: Community Forward Redlands is a digital news source for the Redlands Community. We prioritize reporting on stories before decisions are finalized -- empowering our residents and readers to actively engage in local government. We are fully digital and free to access. Residents can read Redlands news online on social media or by subscribing to our newsletters.
We started by providing deep dives into local public policy, like how do speed limits get determined? Or, what is the Climate Action Plan? The community response to this sort of hyperlocal reporting was overwhelming. And over the last year, we have become a go-to source for all sorts of local news in Redlands. From City Hall to business news, development and community events.
Can you speak about why you became motivated to cover local news in Redlands and some of the gaps that you identified in that coverage?
HASTINGS-MIRANDA: It really started as a personal desire to know better what's going on at City Hall. Oftentimes, reporting only happens after decisions are finalized, and you'll read something a couple of weeks later and feel this feeling of, "Oh, I wish I would have known, I might have said something" or "I might have supported that or spoken against it."
And really, local government can be complicated sometimes. And so it came out of a desire to know what's happening. And it turns out, a lot of other people have that desire as well.
What are Redlands residents saying about this growth in warehousing? Are they sharing the same concerns of residents in neighboring cities like Highland and San Bernardino?
HASTINGS-MIRANDA: Yeah, residents in Redlands are very united on their concerns about warehousing. You often hear the same things repeated: they are worried about air pollution and air quality, especially the location that was just proposed about 275 feet from an elementary school. They're concerned about traffic congestion. They're worried about mismatch and aesthetic. In one instance, the warehouse would have towered over the existing buildings in that neighborhood.
One mother stuck out to me. In her comment at one of the planning commission meetings, she said she's concerned that our land is being sold to developers and rented to corporations who care little about our community and who don't have a stake in our health and well being and quality of life. Her comment alluding to the developers who come from other cities often from LA or Orange County, and they're not living here. They're not part of the Inland Empire. And they're putting their developments here. And our residents are concerned that these are not decisions being made by local stakeholders.
How do you think journalists and news producers like ourselves could help continue to use our reporting to support civic engagement and encourage people to get involved?
HASTINGS-MIRANDA: When you talk about things at a local level, things that are going to impact your neighborhood, your community, your day to day life -- people don't feel hopeless, they don't feel disengaged. People care.
The gap that we're bridging is that information between what's being proposed, what might happen and the residents being able to make their opinions heard.
Learn more at www.communtiyforwardredlands.com
