Irvine

All Five IUSD High Schools Earn Top National Rankings

U.S. News & World Report recently released its annual rankings of America’s Best High Schools, and all five Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) high schools made the list:
Irvine High School, Northwood High School, Portola High School, University High School, and Woodbridge High School.

The magazine evaluated nearly 25,000 public high schools across the nation on college readiness, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth, and graduation rates.

All five IUSD high schools were ranked among the top 5% in America.

Everyone here at Irvine Community News & Views congratulates IUSD leadership, teachers, staff, and students on this latest achievement.

OC Music & Dance Coming to the Great Park

Another milestone in the development of the Great Park occurred just last week when ground was...

Study Finds that Irvine is the 10th Healthiest City in America

According to the financial website, WalletHub, location matters when it comes to health.

Some cities promote wellness by expanding access to nutritious food and recreational facilities. Others strive to keep healthcare costs affordable for everyone or keep parks clean and well-maintained. When a city doesn’t take care of these critical issues, it can impact the community’s health.

To determine which cities prioritize residents’ well-being, WalletHub compared 182 of the most populated U.S. communities across 41 key indicators of good health. The data set ranged from the cost of a medical visit to fruit and vegetable consumption to the share of physically active adults.

Irvine earned the No. 10 spot in the study, indicating that our City’s residents are among the healthiest in the nation.

First Few Aircraft Arrive for the Great Park’s Flying Leathernecks Museum

One of the last Marine Corps aircraft to leave Vietnam during the fall of Saigon will be coming...

Residents in North Irvine Prove that Citizen Activism Works!

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OCPA’s Non-Existent Wind Energy Polluting the Air

If windmills are not producing electric power — and no one notices — can OCPA still claim credit for the non-existent wind energy?

Unbelievably, the answer is yes! It’s the oldest trick in the renewable energy bag, and it’s hidden on Orange County Power Authority’s (OCPA) Power Content Label, which is used to disguise reliance on filthy, fossil-fuel electricity generators (brown power).

This is unacceptable behavior considering Community Choice Energy (CCE) agencies like OCPA were created to outperform Southern California Edison (SCE) and eliminate fossil-fired power, not continue its hidden use behind technical definitions and euphemisms.

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Irvine Has Lost One of Its Most Cherished Volunteers: Ed McNew

It is with deep sadness that we report the passing of longtime Irvine resident, veteran and volunteer extraordinaire, Ed McNew.

Ed & his wife Louise spent 60 wonderful years together. They settled here in Irvine in the 1970s, living in the Turtle Rock and University Park neighborhoods.

Ed was instrumental in the City’s naming of Sepulveda Vista Point in South Irvine. This year, the City is naming the road leading up to the park after Ed.

Ed also volunteered alongside other veterans and their families in support of the Veterans Memorial Park & Cemetery at the Great Park. In fact, he gathered more than 4,000 signatures for the Veterans Cemetery ballot initiative.

On behalf of everyone here at ICNV: Irvine was lucky to have Ed McNew for as long as we did. Our condolences go out to Ed’s daughter Linda, his family, and all of those who knew and loved him.
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Keeping Your Family Safe This Pool Season

It’s that time of the year again — pool season! As temperatures rise, there’s nothing more fun for...
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The Deal That Keeps on Giving: The Gateway Preserve

Last year’s agreement among the City, Irvine Company and All American Asphalt has already resulted in the closure of the noxious plant that was making life miserable for thousands of North Irvine residents.

Now that deal, brokered by Vice Mayor Larry Agran with Council support, is on the verge of also putting hundreds of millions of dollars into the City’s coffers.

Last year’s deal had All American Asphalt agreeing to sell its North Irvine plant and property to the City. The City would then shut the plant down and use the site and adjacent City-owned parcels to create a 700-acre nature preserve.

The Irvine Company agreed to dedicate to the City a 70-acre parcel at Jeffrey Road and Portola Parkway zoned for residential development, which the City would then sell to developers to cover the cost of purchasing the plant.

The cost of the asphalt plant purchase and site cleanup was estimated at $330 million, and the sale of the residential property was estimated to just about cover that.

Now, a year later, the bids are in and the Council has accepted Brookfield Residential’s offer of $600-650 million for the land and development rights to what’s been dubbed Gateway Village.

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Publisher’s Perspective: Comparing the Environmental Records of the Two Leading Candidates for Irvine Mayor

As we commemorate Earth Day on April 22nd, elected officials will no doubt talk about their bold...
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City of Irvine Breaks Ground on JOST Bridge

With the recent groundbreaking on the Jeffrey Open Space Trail (JOST) bridge over the I-5 Freeway, the City has embarked on the last step — or last pedal — in the creation of a bicycle and pedestrian trail system linking the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ana Mountains.

When completed, the 1,200-foot JOST bridge will be the longest bridge in the City and will be “a critical step in finishing the Jeffrey Open Space Trail and making the route more accessible to Irvine residents,” said Mayor Farrah Khan.

Senator Dave Min secured $14.5 million in state funding for the project. “Connecting the Jeffrey Open Space Trail from the mountains to the coast will continue to make Orange County a central destination for those who love the outdoors,” he said.

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The IVC Arts Village is Now Open

There is a renaissance underway at Irvine Valley College (IVC) with the recent opening of the new...
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