2021 - Irvine Community News and Views

Yes, Children as Young as 12 Should Get a COVID-19 Vaccination

Vaccines are proving to be the way to navigate out of the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why it is important to vaccinate those eligible as quickly as possible. Currently, just under half of the residents in Orange County are fully vaccinated.

The Pfizer vaccine is now available for children 12 years of age and older. The majority of those working in the medical field have already had our children and grandchildren vaccinated. I encourage other parents to do this as well.

A Year After the City Rezoned the ARDA Site Exclusively for the Veterans Memorial Park, Will the Council Finally Move Forward?

Five years ago, the 125-acre ARDA site at the Great Park had been planned, designed, and approved by the State for a Veterans Memorial Park & Cemetery. Just as construction was set to begin, Irvine land developer FivePoint intervened with their own plan — a backroom political deal to block construction on the ARDA site so that FivePoint could grab the multi-million-dollar property to build massive office, commercial, and industrial projects.

Frustrated by years of delays, 19,790 Irvine residents signed an initiative petition designating the ARDA site as the only property legally available for a Veterans Memorial Park. In May 2020, the City Council adopted the initiative, making it the binding law of the City. So, when will construction begin?