Kim’s request to contribute the money in return for booth space at the World Korean Business Convention was considered at the Council’s September 26th meeting.

The convention is being hosted by the Overseas Koreans Foundation (an affiliate of the Korean Foreign Ministry); Overseas Koreans Economic Organizations; and the Korean American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County.

Kim’s request was criticized by public commenters as subsidizing an event outside of Irvine and with no strong connection to the City.

There, the Tanakas run one of biggest farm stands in the county, complete with its own gift shop. This is where they host some 120,000 children, parents and teachers each year who come to learn about the farm and agriculture. Visitors enjoy the petting zoo, the corn maze, the wagon rides and, this month, a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. The Tanaka Grill provides hot sandwiches, sides and snacks to the public Wednesday through Sunday.

There’s also a U-Pick Vegetable Patch where visitors can get their hands dirty harvesting their own carrots, radishes, green onions and cilantro. “The carrots are the kids’ favorites,” says Ken. “There’s this green plant and they start to wiggle it around and lift it and a whole carrot comes out!”

The new service, which families sign up and pay a fee for, appeared to be an immediate hit. IUSD spokesperson, Annie Brown, reported that the 50-seat bus is fully subscribed, with a 30-name waiting list.

The bus service had long been sought by Quail Hill families, with the school district offering to start bus service if the parents could raise $75,000 to underwrite its cost. The parents asked the Irvine City Council to fund $50,000 of that, with affected families chipping in to raise the rest.

The asphalt plant has been the subject of swirling controversy for years as its noxious odors and chemical emissions affected nearby residents, who organized and demanded City action. Under the agreement, the City will acquire the plant for $285 million and close it down later this year.

The action came at the urging of parents in the Quail Hill area, which is remote from the high school, and requires driving a circuitous route in morning or afternoon traffic — roughly 25 to 30 minutes each way.

Several parents testified that the need to drive their kids to and from school was holding them back from getting full-time employment.

 
On a 3-2 vote on a motion by Councilmember Larry Agran, the City Council declared the long-running and controversial negotiation with Live Nation terminated. Agran was joined by Councilmembers Kathleen Treseder and Tammy Kim in voting for the motion while Mayor Farrah Khan and Councilmember Mike Carroll voted against it.

The successful motion directed City staff to return to the Council with a “process and timeline” for reviewing and approving an amphitheater of 8,000-10,000 seats, with a house sound system under City control.

When it arrived at the Ranch, the car pulled up to an odd two-story wooden building from which a 3-foot-wide metal pipe extended as far as the eye could see into the darkness.

The car door opened and Albert Einstein stepped out into the dim lamplight from the scientific station, to be greeted by another giant of 20th century physics, Dr. Albert Michelson. (Michelson Drive in Irvine is named after Dr. Albert Michelson.)

This year, the team repeated as a division champion in the elementary division at the 2023 VEX-IQ world robotics competition in Dallas.

To win, the pair had to design, build and code a robot to complete a set of specific tasks in 60 seconds. The course this year involved collecting plastic discs from different containers around the game board and and then disgorging the discs into a target area of the board.

Ezra and Kenneth, who both attend Turtle Rock Elementary School, spent a year developing and honing their robot, as they competed first at the county level, then state and national, and finally at the world championship.