This Summer: One More Drowning is One Too Many
It’s that time of the year again — pool season! As temperatures rise, there’s nothing more fun for kids to do than splash away in the nearest pool.
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Month: June 2022
Irvine City Councilmember Larry Agran Finally Secures Special Council Meeting to Discuss OCPA’s Troubles
After months of repeated requests for a City Council meeting to publicly discuss the troubled operations and finances at the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA), Irvine City Councilmember Larry Agran has successfully been able to agendize the issue at a special Council meeting, scheduled for next Tuesday (June 14th) at 3pm.
Here is a timeline of Agran’s continuing effort to force OCPA to be transparent and accountable in its use of millions of dollars of Irvine taxpayers’ money. The timeline reveals Agran’s extraordinary perseverance in the face of united opposition from the other Irvine City Council members and Mayor Farrah Khan.
Nov. 28, 2020: The previous Irvine City Council, at the urging of then-Councilmember and now-Mayor Khan, forms OCPA. Khan and other supporters promise OCPA will deliver cleaner electricity at lower costs than Southern California Edison (SCE). (The City has loaned OCPA $7.7 million so far to cover start-up costs and initial operations.)
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Seven-Year-Old Irvine Resident Ivy ZhiYi Mao Takes Second Place in International Music Competition
Last August, seven-year-old Irvine resident Ivy ZhiYi Mao began violin lessons...
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Another Memorial Day Weekend and Irvine Still Hasn’t Followed Through on Its Promise to Build a Veterans Memorial Park
For many veterans and their families, the words spoken by public officials at Memorial Day ceremonies here in Irvine rang hollow.
Let me be blunt. Four members of the Irvine City Council continue to disrespect veterans and voters through their lack of interest in history — and their disregard for the law.
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Is the Orange County Power Authority in Crisis Mode? Board Members & Staff Appear to be Turning on One Another
Over the past year, news outlets across Southern California have been publishing articles that detail the troubles and missteps of the six-member Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) board.
The board is led by Irvine City Councilmember Mike Carroll. Mayor Farrah Khan is also a board member, serving with Carroll as Irvine’s representative.
The OCPA board first drew media scrutiny when they hired longtime County staffer and political operative Brian Probolsky. With zero experience in the energy field, Probolsky was named CEO of the newly created multi-million-dollar Power Authority.
Even though Irvine taxpayers are funding OCPA, neither Carroll nor Khan have allowed any public presentation or discussion regarding how Irvine taxpayer dollars are being spent. When asked about financial transparency, Carroll told Voice of OC last year: “We’re not in a typical public agency. This is not a civil service … this is about as private as a public agency can get.”
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