Author: Franklin J. Lunding

This past week, the City of Irvine lost one of our most beloved leaders, Mary Ann Gaido, who passed away on September 6th after a valiant battle with cancer.

Through her decades-long service to our City, Mary Ann’s leadership was key in transforming Irvine into America’s leading planned community. A fierce advocate for master-planning, Mary Ann was instrumental in shaping Irvine’s General Plan, creating our amazing Open Space Preserve, and establishing thousands of attractive affordable housing units. She never shied away from standing up to land developers for the better interests of Irvine residents.

For years, climate scientists have urged us to transition to greener, cleaner energy because it’s the right thing to do to protect the environment. And, clean energy has the added benefit of being cheaper. Sounds like a win-win, right?

According to the Southern California Edison (SCE) website, Irvine residential customers are being charged, on average, $30.52 more every month by the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) for the same 100% renewable electricity that SCE provides. That means that, on average, Irvine families are now paying $366.24 more in electricity costs each year … and getting absolutely nothing for it.

It has now been a year since the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) launched. In April 2022, all Irvine-based businesses were automatically transferred from their previous electricity provider — Southern California Edison (SCE) — and enrolled in the OCPA electricity plan at a significantly higher rate. Six months later, in October 2022, Irvine residents were enrolled in OCPA, also at a higher monthly rate.

Irvine residential customers are also paying more. On average, residents are being charged $30.52 more every month by OCPA for the same 100% renewable electricity that SCE offers. That means, on average, Irvine families are now paying $366.24 more in electricity costs each year
 

On Saturday (April 22nd), we will commemorate Earth Day. In the run-up to this year’s...

After years of persisting in his efforts to implement the will of the voters … and to make good on the promise Irvine made to veterans and their families more than a decade ago, Councilman Larry Agran finally won Council approval for construction of the long-promised Veterans Memorial Park.

Kim spent several minutes complaining about Agran’s proposal being called a Veterans Memorial Park. She insisted that all of the elements in Agran’s plan — the control tower, planes, and military artifact displays; the Walk of Honor; the Great Memorial Meadow; and every other amenity honoring the former air station — should be referred to instead as a “botanical garden.”