Barn Owls Are Taking Up Park Patrol
Grand Terrace, CA · October 2, 2026
Keep your sunglasses handy on the morning drive today—it will be a warm one before dusk settles in. If you are eyeing this weekend's local festivals and evening tours, now is the time to stake out your schedule.
The Lead
Faced with persistent gopher mounds digging up park turf and chewing through irrigation lines, Grand Terrace is taking an aerial approach to groundskeeping. The city has begun installing 12 custom barn owl nesting boxes on tall poles across municipal parks, inviting wild raptors to patrol after dusk.
Rather than relying on chemical rodenticides—which pose secondary poisoning risks to neighborhood pets, red-tailed hawks, and other native predators—the initiative leverages natural hunting habits. A single nesting pair of barn owls can catch upwards of a thousand rodents annually. Municipal analysts calculate that the 10-year program needs to save just 22 minutes of staff labor per week in filled holes and line repairs to offset its cost entirely. Maintenance crews are securing the final mounts across neighborhood green spaces ahead of the winter nesting search.
Local Pulse
Governor Approves Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission City Hall State legislation shifts San Bernardino County supervisorial line-drawing from elected supervisors to an independent citizen panel.
Contract Awarded for Citywide Signal Upgrades Roads New engineering agreements will modernize traffic signals and enhance pedestrian crosswalk safety along key local corridors.
Today's Outlook
- High 98°F · Low 60°F — Clear
- Slather on the sunscreen early before the intense afternoon heat sets in.
What's On Around Town
Today
GT Trotters Walking Club Grand Terrace Senior Center (22627 Grand Terrace Rd), 9:00–9:30 AM · Free A brisk morning stroll with neighbors around town.
Haunted Walking Tour Mission Inn Museum (3696 Main St), Riverside, 7:00–8:00 PM · Paid Tales of historic architecture and local ghost lore after dark.
Emo Night Tour Riverside Municipal Auditorium (3485 Mission Inn Ave), Riverside, 8:00 PM · Paid Nostalgic 2000s anthems and high-energy live band sets.
Tomorrow
- San Timoteo Fall Festival San Timoteo Canyon Schoolhouse (31985 San Timoteo Canyon Rd), Redlands, 10:00 AM–2:00 PM · Free
- Redlands Oktoberfest Sylvan Park, Redlands, 11:00 AM–7:00 PM · $12
- Proof (David Auburn Play) Centennial Complex (24760 Stewart St), Loma Linda, 7:30–9:30 PM · Free
Sunday
- Redlands Oktoberfest Sylvan Park, Redlands, 11:00 AM–5:00 PM · $12
- Matinee Performance of Proof Centennial Complex (24760 Stewart St), Loma Linda, 2:00–4:00 PM · Free
Spotlight & Story
- Veterans Wall of Freedom
- Spelling out "FREEDOM" in six-foot-tall block letters across Veterans Freedom Park, this monument was dedicated on November 11, 2016. Its surfaces hold over 1,600 engraved bronze plaques honoring service members, facing the quiet ballfields along Pico Street.
Grand Terrace Daily Digest — compiled from local sources as of 6 AM. For breaking updates, follow your local newsrooms.
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