Blue Zones reports year-one milestones, partnership funding and neighborhood initiatives

Mihai Patru, executive director of Blue Zones Palm Springs, presented a year-one update to council on the Blue Zones Project and said the initiative met the milestones set out in its year-one blueprint and is moving into a transformation phase that runs through March 2028.

Patru highlighted the project's three pillars (people, places, policy) and described community outreach that attracted more than 1,300 Blue Zones adopters by March 2025, a well-being festival, cooking demonstrations and workshops. "We met all the milestones that were included in our blueprint for year 1," Patru told council.

Patru and sponsoring organizations emphasized financial transparency. Greg Bridal, CEO of the IHP Foundation, said the city's $60,000 contribution is dedicated to local staffing for the Blue Zones team and noted that other sponsors (Inland Empire Health Plan, Riverside University Health System, Kaiser Permanente and Eisenhower Health) cover the remaining project costs. Patru listed policy priorities including street safety and accessibility projects already moving forward and a countywide tobacco retailer licensing ordinance being pursued regionally.

Council members thanked the Blue Zones team and community partners; several public commenters described local programs tied to Blue Zones (walking groups, wellness series, pop-up events) and forthcoming community activities such as a community garden and a pop-up dog park.

Next steps: Blue Zones will post its revised year-two blueprint on its website, continue neighborhood-level events and partner on regional policy initiatives. Staff said more detailed dashboards and monthly progress reports are available to sponsors and the city.