Author: ICNV Staff

Since taking office last December, Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan and her Council majority — Vice Mayor Tammy Kim and Councilmembers Anthony Kuo and Mike Carroll —  have downplayed the more than 1,000 complaints lodged by north Irvine residents regarding toxic and noxious emissions from the nearby All American Asphalt (AAA) plant.

Senator Min responded to the City in a remarkable letter — which was almost a legal brief — disputing claims by the Mayor and her Council majority that there was nothing the City of Irvine could do to help residents impacted by the asphalt plant. Min explained that “the City of Irvine possesses broad and sweeping authority to act immediately and decisively in addressing the problems created by the AAA plant.”

The Great Park ARDA site makes up about 10% of the land that was transferred to the City of Irvine from the U.S. Government when the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station was decommissioned after nearly 60 years of operations.

Councilmember Larry Agran has a plan for how the City can preserve the ARDA site forever … and add a beautiful new amenity to the Great Park. Agran is proposing that the City begin building a Veterans Memorial Park on the ARDA site — a vast park filled with trees, trails, and memorial gardens that honor our City’s rich military history and our veterans.

Isabela Lugo is just 15 years old and is already a self-published author, having recently released her first book: Illusions of the Desert.

Isabela says her love of writing (and reading) was sparked when she was 9 years old after reading her first Harry Potter book. Within a couple of chapters, she was totally immersed in the fantasy world … which led to her desire to create her own adventure book.

The Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) was established last year —  by the previous City Council —  promising to deliver to residents and businesses in Irvine and other Orange County cities cleaner, less expensive electricity than what they currently purchase from Southern California Edison (SCE).

When the Power Authority officially launches — scheduled for about a year from now —Irvine residents will automatically be transferred from their current provider of electricity (SCE) and enrolled in OCPA. On December 14th, the City Council will be asked to vote on what energy tier Irvine residents will be enrolled in, even though OCPA has not provided the public with the associated costs for each energy tier.

Just before midnight during the October 26th City Council meeting, Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan and her Council majority — Tammy Kim, Mike Carroll and Anthony Kuo — voted to rescind the City’s “Sunshine Ordinance,” which requires City Council meeting agendas to be made available to the public 12 days prior to Council meetings.

Rescinding a City ordinance requires two readings, so the item was supposed to receive its final vote at the November 9th City Council meeting. In a surprising turn of events, Irvine residents were apparently able to stop Khan, Kim, Kuo and Carroll from taking that second vote.