During the February 8th Irvine City Council meeting, Councilmember Larry Agran outlined his proposal to build a beautiful Veterans Memorial Park on the 125-acre Great Park “ARDA” site.

After the meeting concluded, one veteran who had spoken in support of Agran’s proposal stated: “Mayor Khan and her Council majority have once again betrayed veterans. First, they took away our Veterans Cemetery that we were promised, and now they want to erase any memory of the El Toro Marine base and those of us who served there.”

In April, all businesses in the City of Irvine will automatically be transferred from their current provider of electricity, Southern California Edison (SCE), and enrolled in the new Orange County Power Authority (OCPA).

However, OCPA released residential rates on January 11th of this year, it was discovered that Irvine households will pay between $4.25 and $6.38 per month more than they currently pay for energy provided by SCE.

At the January 11th Irvine City Council meeting, the Council voted to make the temporary...

In January, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) issued two new Notice of Violations (NOV) to the All American Asphalt (AAA) plant in north Irvine, for causing odors that impacted the public.  

On the City side, former Irvine Mayor and current Councilmember Larry Agran has repeatedly called for the City of Irvine to take bold legal action to shut the asphalt plant down in Irvine and relocate it to a safer, remote location.

Once the OC Power Authority (OCPA) launches later this year, Irvine businesses and residents will be transferred from their current provider of electricity, Southern California Edison, and automatically enrolled in the new OCPA plan.

This week, the OCPA board approved an executive employee benefits program that provides 10 weeks of paid leave and a $500/month auto stipend to the agency’s CEO Brian Probolsky — a longtime political operative in County government with no energy sector experience, who was hired to run the Power Authority at an annual salary of $239,000.

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.