Author: Roger Bloom

And then there were two. At the January 9th Irvine City Council meeting, many dozens of residents turned out to air their anguish over the Israel-Hamas war and the mounting mass casualties. Many spoke of relatives or friends either dead, injured or endangered.

However, Mayor Farrah Khan and Vice Mayor Larry Agran volunteered to stay and hear out the remaining speakers. In the end, everyone got their say and the meeting concluded without incident about 45 minutes later.

And silence fell upon the land. The Irvine City Council has voted to get a jump on state law and...

As the City moves to eliminate single-use plastics from its operations and considers an ordinance to ban them citywide, it doesn’t have to look far for a model: since 2018, UC Irvine has phased out plastic drinking cups, straws and convenience bags, replacing them with recyclable or compostable alternatives.

“Certainly, in developing our program to eliminate these items from our own City facilities quickly, and then working with the community to transition in the coming year or two, the UCI exprerience can be our guide,” Councilman Agran says.

After being listed for years on the City’s sustainability plan, the transformation of City Hall’s parking lots into solar generating centers began this past summer.

They are all now in the hands of the City’s new Project Delivery and Sustainability Department, whose sole job is to “get ‘er done.”

The Irvine City Council has endorsed a preliminary plan to create a temporary outdoor music venue in the Great Park — to bridge the gap in live music in Irvine until a permanent amphitheater is completed in 2027.

Assistant City Manager Pete Carmichael told the Council that the plan could possibly be a break-even proposition for the City, but if there is a shortfall in revenue, the existing Great Park Fund would cover it.