In 2020, the previous City Council agreed to fund the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) through 2022. So far, the City has advanced $7.5 million of Irvine taxpayer money to the Power Authority, with no oversight by the current Council.

Last week, Councilmember Larry Agran stated: “I have been on this Council since December of last year. Here we are nearly a year later and because of the ‘Rule of Two,’ I can’t even get a presentation from the OCPA to determine if the City should be a part of this entity or if we are being put at grave financial risk.”

Climate scientists say that we must achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, if we are to avoid an irreversible ecological tipping point. That is 20 years earlier than previous estimates, which means we must immediately accelerate our efforts.

Thanks to the commitment of more than 200 Irvine residents who have volunteered to be Cool Block leaders, our City joins two others (Los Angeles and Petaluma) in receiving a $1 million grant from the Empowerment Institute to help fund a climate “moonshot strategy.”

We recently asked readers to let us know where YOU think the long-promised Veterans Memorial Park & Cemetery should be built — here in Irvine on the ARDA site at the Great Park, or alongside the 91 freeway at the Gypsum Canyon site out towards Riverside County.

We are sharing a small sampling of the many, many comments we have received.

During the October 12th Irvine City Council meeting, Councilmember Larry Agran expressed strong concerns regarding the City’s funding of the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA).

Instead, Agran was forced to use his time during the “Council Announcements” portion of the City Council meeting to raise his concerns — including the fact that since taking office last December, the Council “has yet to receive even one public briefing, with appropriate disclosures and accountability for all OCPA financial dealings.”

Make plans now to visit the Irvine Fine Arts Center (located at 14321 Yale Avenue in Heritage...

It’s been more than six weeks since the Irvine City Council heard from residents in north Irvine who believe that emissions from the asphalt plant located about a mile from their homes has led to a public health crisis.

Agran was the only Councilmember to vote against the Resolution. After the vote, Agran proposed his own Resolution to at least establish a beautiful Veterans Memorial Park on the ARDA site. The Mayor refused to even discuss the park.

Every other Friday morning, the Heritage Park Library hosts the online Chapter-A-Week Book Group....

The September 14th Irvine City Council meeting included nearly three hours of public comments from frustrated residents in north Irvine who believe that emissions from the asphalt plant located about a mile from their homes has led to a public health crisis.

The issue finally made it onto the Council agenda as a City staff “presentation.” However, residents took advantage of the Public Comments portion of the meeting to voice their concerns over the plant’s proximity to homes and schools.

The Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) was established last year, promising to sell Irvine and other Orange County residents cleaner, less expensive electricity than what they currently purchase from Southern California Edison (SCE).

According to an article in the Orange County Register, OCPA’s target of 57% clean energy (free from fossil fuels) by 2030 doesn’t even meet the State’s minimum goal of 60% by 2030. It is worth noting that SCE is on track to reach 80% renewable energy sources (mainly solar and wind) by 2030.

Each year, the City of Irvine hosts an annual fall food drive throughout the month of October....