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.”

Three years ago, the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) was established with the promise that Irvine electricity ratepayers would receive greener energy at lower rates, and that the agency would provide the public with full transparency.

Through its own audit, the County of Orange found the same problems, resulting in its decision to pull out of OCPA. Why won’t Irvine protect the City’s taxpayers and ratepayers?

There is an ongoing FBI investigation into public corruption at Irvine City Hall involving disgraced political consultant Melahat Rafiei.

It should be obvious to everyone that it would be a conflict of interest to have the City investigate itself … with the Council directing and overseeing the investigation. A friend who teaches legal ethics and is an expert witness in these matters told me that any internal investigation by the City that was controlled by the Council would itself be unethical, lack credibility, and viewed as highly questionable.

For most of us, the beginning of the year brings a renewed sense of optimism and hope. When it comes to the Irvine City Council, I am cautiously optimistic that many of the contentious items from last year may be overcome.

We’ll have to watch the next few Council meetings to see if this new Council really will work together on behalf of the City’s residents to deliver on the promises they have made. Stay tuned!

Years ago, I served as Chair of Irvine’s Transportation Commission. Later, I also had the...

Tuesday, November 8th is Election Day!

Before you vote, we encourage voters to take a look at where the candidates stand on the issues.