We Rise Above (WRA) is a national student-led nonprofit that works to educate and prevent sexual harassment and sexual violence.
Irvine’s local chapter, IUSD WRA, was recently honored with the “Brighter Futures Youth Award” for their work.
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Last year, the City of Irvine was accused of violating the California Voting Rights Act by continuing to elect members of the City Council through an “at-large” election process rather than “by-district.”
An at-large election system often precludes local neighborhood representation because voters throughout the entire City elect all members of the City Council; this often results in two or three elected Councilmembers living in the same area of the City, leaving other ares of the City unrepresented. District elections would divide the City into geographic districts, allowing voters in each district to elect their own City Councilmember, who must also live in that district.
As cities grow, most decide to switch to district elections since it’s viewed as a more equitable voting system to ensure that every part of town has its own elected representative. In recent years, a majority of Orange County cities have transitioned to district elections.
For the past year, Councilmember Larry Agran has asked his Council colleagues to publicly discuss the City transitioning to district elections. However, Khan and Kuo have kept Agran’s request off the Council meeting agenda, even though the City has been threatened with a possible lawsuit that could cost Irvine taxpayers millions of dollars if the City does not transition to the more equitable system of district elections.
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In 2019, the previous City Council — led by now-Mayor Farrah Khan, now-Vice Mayor Anthony Kuo and current City Councilmember Mike Carroll — decided to have the City of Irvine join Orange County Power Authority (OCPA).
Carroll is Chairman of the six-member OCPA board and Khan is also a board member. (Both Carroll and Khan receive compensation for their positions on the OCPA board.)
This year, every business operating in the City of Irvine and every Irvine household will be transferred from their current provider of electricity, Southern California Edison (SCE), and enrolled in the OCPA plan.
In April, all Irvine-based businesses were transferred over to the new OCPA plan, with commercial customers now paying as much as 6% more each month for their electricity usage. In October, all Irvine households will be transferred from SCE to OCPA, with a similar price hike.
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UCI students gathered Tuesday afternoon (May 10th) outside the Student Center to protest the...
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The Orange County Public Libraries has partnered with California State Parks and the California State Library to offer free State Parks vehicle-day use passes, which are now available at all branches of public libraries in California.
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The Orange County Public Libraries (OCPL) offers all library cardholders access to resources to...
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On April 1st, all businesses in Irvine were transferred from their current provider of electricity, Southern California Edison (SCE), and enrolled in the new Orange County Power Authority (OCPA).
The OCPA promised to deliver cleaner electricity at lower rates. However, that promise was broken as soon as rates were released. Both residential and commercial customers in Irvine will see an increase in their electricity costs once they are enrolled in the new OCPA plan.
Two of the largest consumers of electricity in Irvine have signaled their lack of confidence in the OCPA by opting-out.
According to an article in the Voice of OC, the Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) and the Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) say that their organizations — which spend tens of millions of dollars on electricity each year — never received the legally-mandated notification from OCPA and that their questions concerning the new OCPA plans were never answered.
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Jaci Woods has lived in Irvine for nearly 50 years. At a time in life when a lot of her generation...
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In February, Irvine Community News & Views launched a new series of articles: The Veterans...
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With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to impact our local economy, there are a lot of families...
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Irvine Community News & Views updates you on important issues impacting our community. We also keep Irvine City’s residents informed about local events and fun things to do in Irvine every week.
