City Council Examining Ways to Address E-Bike Dangers
On October 22nd, the City Council voted unanimously to take another stab at dealing with the...
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A New Era Dawns in Irvine with a New City Council
Irvine’s first City Council with more than five members took office on December 10th in front of a celebratory overflow crowd at the Irvine City Council Chamber.
New Mayor Larry Agran, re-elected Councilmember Mike Carroll, and new Councilmembers William Go, Melinda Liu and James Mai took their oaths and joined incumbent Councilmember Kathleen Treseder on the Council dais.
These six Councilmembers will be joined by a seventh and final colleague after a special election next April 15th to fill the Council seat vacated by Agran upon his elevation to Mayor.
It is the first seven-member Council — with six Councilmembers elected by district and the Mayor elected by a citywide vote — in the City’s history. It’s a change approved by Irvine’s voters in the March primary election this year.
OCPA Asks Council to Opt-Down to Lower Renewable Electricity Plan
The City of Irvine will be paying about $60,000 less each month for the electricity that runs its many operations. This savings is a result of a vote by the City Council to opt-down to the lowest-cost plan offered by the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA).
The City government, like other electricity customers in Irvine, is currently enrolled in OCPA’s most expensive tier, which the agency claims to be 100% renewable energy.
However, the City recently received an urgent request from OCPA to opt-down the entire City to the agency’s mid-tier plan, called “Smart Choice,” which OCPA says provides 55% renewable energy.
The agency stated the request was being made because of steep increases in the cost of renewable energy in the past 12 months.
Irvine’s First Class IV Protected Bikeway is Now Open
Ivine is cycling into the future this week with the opening of a first-in-the-City Class IV protected bikeway along 1.25 miles of Cadence — linking Portola High School with the Great Park Neighborhoods to the west.
A Class IV protected bikeway is one that is not defined by just a stripe or other painted markings but is physically separated from the auto traffic on the road, in this case by a small raised median separating the bike lane from the passing cars.
“The addition of a Class IV lane to Irvine’s vast bikeway and trail system is what will continue to set the City of Irvine apart as a premier bike destination,” said Mayor Farrah N. Khan.
The new bike lane is open to all bicycle types, including e-bikes.
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Vice Mayor Agran Secures Unanimous Council Support for Exploring an Expanded Solar Rooftop Program
During the October 22nd City Council meeting, Vice Mayor Larry Agran — who will be sworn-in as...
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Election Results in Irvine
On December 3rd, the Orange County Registrar of Voters certified the election results in the...
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Real Heroes at Irvine-Based Second Harvest Food Bank
One out of every 12 people in Orange County may not have the means to eat today. That’s a challenge that Irvine-based Second Harvest Food Bank has been helping people meet since 1983.
In that time, Second Harvest has grown into a large and sophisticated operation — coordinating hundreds of volunteers; setting up donation programs with supermarkets and food distributors; operating its own vehicle fleet with a distribution center in Irvine; and since 2021, running a 45-acre farm in the City.
“Levels of food insecurity in Orange County are now higher than before the pandemic,” said Second Harvest CEO Claudia Bonilla Keller. “Almost 400,000 people currently rely on Second Harvest and our network of partners for nutritional assistance each month. In 2019, we served closer to 250,000 local residents.”
Those are daunting numbers. But so are these: In 2022, Second Harvest truck drivers traveled 97,000 miles to distribute 32.4 million pounds of food, including 2.7 million pounds of broccoli, squash, melons, cabbage and green beans harvested at its own Harvest Solutions Farm.
Irvine is Creating a 30-Year “Urban Forest” Master Plan
Irvine is developing a 30-year master plan for its “urban forest.” The urban forest is made up...
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City Council Votes to Prohibit Unauthorized Camping in Irvine
The Irvine City Council has approved an ordinance to prohibit unauthorized camping on public and private land in the City, but delayed its enforcement for 120 days to allow the new Council that will take office in December to review it first.
The new ordinance strengthens a previous ordinance prohibiting sleeping in public and comes after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that expanded the powers of local governments in dealing with homeless persons and encampments.
The ordinance includes a 24-hour notice to homeless encampments of pending removal and a provision for the city to hold any personal belongings swept up in a removal for 90 days to allow them to be reclaimed.
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City Council Backs Out of Property Purchase, Voting to Forfeit $1 Million in Irvine Taxpayer Money
Councilmember Tammy Kim took a few minutes out of campaigning for Mayor on Election Day to pop...
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