Irvine officials voted last week to approve $130 million towards the construction of a new amphitheater in the city’s Great Park. The park’s board, which is composed of the city’s councilmembers, voted 4–1 in its approval with councilman Larry Agran dissenting. The new 25-acre amphitheater will serve as the Orange County equivalent of Los Angeles’s…

IRVINE, Calif.—As Irvine looks to make more than 1,000 apartment units more affordable for middle-income people through a new housing proposal, critics say it could have detrimental financial impacts on the city. “Middle-income housing,” also known as “workforce housing,” are residential units rented out at below-market rates to the “missing middle”—renters who are earning too…

IRVINE, Calif.—The City of Irvine voted unanimously on Feb. 8 to adopt 100 percent renewable energy for residents and commercial businesses just two months prior to the service launch of a new “community choice energy” program, though some are concerned about the entity’s financial capacity to sustain its operation and its ability to provide good…

ANAHEIM, Calif.—Orange County officials celebrated a groundbreaking for a new veterans cemetery at Gypsum Canyon in Anaheim Hills on Dec. 8 with the planting of a flagpole. To further advance the project, State Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) amended a Senate bill to order a feasibility study on the Gypsum Canyon site, which is a necessary step…

The University of California—Irvine (UCI) broke ground on a massive $1.3 billion medical complex Nov. 16, marking the second full-scale hospital that UCI Health will have under its belt. The complex, which was approved in January by the UC Board of Regents, will have a 144-bed, 350,000 square-foot acute care hospital with an emergency room,…

The City of Irvine is doubling down on rising catalytic converter thefts with a new law that will make it easier for police officers to arrest those with cut catalytic converters without valid documentation. The ordinance will make it illegal to “possess any catalytic converter that is not attached to a vehicle unless the possessor…

City council in Irvine, Calif. took no action to construct a Veteran’s Memorial Park and Cemetery at the Orange County Great Park, following long debates paired with mixed opinions from the public. Council held a June 22 presentation about two potential Great Park sites for the cemetery. Both are on the El Toro Marine Base. The first site is called Amended and Restated Development Agreement (ARDA), and the other is a land parcel zoned for a golf…

The City of Irvine is moving forward with its plans of equipping its police force with body cameras. During its March 9 meeting, city council will consider authorizing a $3.3 million, five-year contract to secure the recording equipment. Council previously approved the implementation of a body-worn camera (BWC) program last June, and will now vote…

Construction for 68 affordable townhomes is underway in Irvine to help the city meet its state-mandated affordable housing quota. Sage Park will include 16 two-bedroom, 36 three-bedroom, and 16 four-bedroom homes. The construction lot spans fouracres north of Irvine Boulevard in Portola Springs. When it’s complete, it will be the first ownership project by the Irvine Community Land Trust (ICLT), a non-profit…