Month: May 2017

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Join Me as Irvine Honors Our Fallen Heroes

“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.” — President John F. Kennedy

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”  — President John F. Kennedy

Please join me this weekend as Irvine honors the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.

Irvine has a long and proud military tradition. From 1942 to 1999, Irvine was home to Marine Air Station El Toro, the largest Marine Corps Air Station on the West Coast. During World War II, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War, thousands of United States Marines, as well as airmen, sailors and soldiers, departed for war from MCAS El Toro.

Many never returned.

As the daughter of a combat veteran and as an Irvine City Councilmember, I am proud that Irvine will honor our fallen heroes in two ceremonies this weekend:

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Candle Lighting Ceremony: Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial 

4531 Bryan Avenue, Irvine CA 92620

4:00 p.m.

Northwood memorialThe Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial, dedicated in 2010, is the nation’s first and only memorial dedicated exclusively to listing the names of all the fallen American service members in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The names of every service member who has died in Afghanistan and Iraq are engraved in granite in a permanent memorial, to assure that future generations of Americans will remember and honor them with gratitude as we do today.

The ceremony will honor our fallen heroes from all generations, with special tribute to those fallen heroes of the recent and ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  The candle lighting ceremony will also a dedication ceremony for the memorial expansion.  We will also hear from and honor Gold Star families. Please bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating.

Monday, May 39, 2017

Memorial Day Ceremony: Col. Bill Barber Marine Corps Memorial Park

4 Civic Center Plaza, Irvine CA 92606

10:00 a.m.

Col. Bill Barber Marine Corps Memorial Park, located next to City Hall, is named in honor of Korean War Medal of Honor recipient and Irvine resident Marine Corps Colonel William E. Barber (1919-2002).  Attendees will have the opportunity to memorialize our troops’ sacrifice by writing a brief remembrance to be posted on a memory board.  As I have done in past years, I will be filling out a memorial card for my cousin, PFC Irwin Handler, USMC, who was killed in Korea, and for the son of family friends, LCPL Donald J. Hogan, USMC, Navy Cross, who was killed in Afghanistan.

Cards will also be available for well-wishers to send a message of appreciation and support to Irvine’s adopted 211/Marine Battalion.

Click here to download a pre-made remembrance card.

As stated so beautifully and appropriately by the Veterans of Foreign Wars:

“Pausing to remember and honor America’s fallen service members is a practice dating back more than 100 years. Since the days of the Civil War, humble Americans have gathered together on Memorial Day to remember and pay tribute to all who have fought and selflessly surrendered the precious gift of life, so that other could live free.

Again we gather this Memorial Day, as a nation solemnly united in remembrance of the fallen defenders of our great nation. Freedom is not free. It has come at great cost, paid for with the lives of our sons and daughters, husbands and wives, sisters and brothers, friends and comrades.

Every American owes a great debt to the courageous men and women who have selflessly given their all to defend and protect our way of life. And while giving back to the extent they deserve is impossible, celebrating their memory and honoring their most selfless deeds offers a start.

This Memorial Day, pause to reflect on the absolute selflessness of the 1.3 million members of our nation’s military who paid the price needed to ensure our way of life endures, and let us not forget the families whose pain will never go away, but may lessen with our thanks and prayers.

God Bless our fallen, their families, and our men and women in uniform all over the world.”

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Celebrate Harvey Milk Day — Be an Agent of Change!

I am proud to join millions of people in California and throughout the world today in celebrating the life of Harvey Milk, born on this day in 1930 and murdered in 1978 because of his outspoken and courageous activism in the fight for equal rights for all people regardless of sexual orientation.

When Harvey Milk first ran for supervisor in San Francisco in 1977, he was told that an openly gay man could never get elected. When he won, he became the first openly gay non-incumbent ever to win an election for public office in the United States.

Harvey Milk stamp, Melissa Fox, Irvine Commissioner Melissa Fox, melissafoxblog, melissajoifox, Melissa Fox blogNow there are hundreds of openly gay men and women serving their communities and states in elected office.

We’ve come a long way, thanks in large measure to the courage of Harvey Milk.

But much more needs to be done.

We must fight for the elimination of violence and discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity – in our own communities and throughout the world.

We must ensure that governments everywhere respect the dignity and human rights of every minority group and every marginalized community.

When President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Harvey Milk the Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest civilian award, he said Milk was “an agent of change” who “saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way.”

Let’s honor Harvey Milk by each of us, in our own way, being an agent of change.

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Join Us Tonight for the Ride of Silence

Join us tonight, Wednesday, May 17, for the Ride of Silence, as we meet once again at Irvine City Hall to remember and honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways.

We will begin gathering at 6:00 p.m., assemble at 6:30, and start the ride at 7:00 p.m.

We ride to promote sharing the road and provide awareness of the rights and safety of bicyclists.  Our silent ride also commemorates those who have been killed or injured doing what each of us has a right to do – a right that, far too often, motorists fail to recognize, sometimes with deadly consequences.

Irvine is a wonderful city for biking, whether for commuting, exercising, or just enjoying the outdoors. We have more than 300 miles of on-street bike lanes and more than 50 miles of off-street bikeways.  Our bicycle trails are some of the most beautiful, and peaceful, places in Irvine.

Yet in Irvine, as everywhere else, motorists must learn to better share the road safely with cyclists; that cyclists have the same rights to the road as motorists; and that cyclists are the most vulnerable users of the roadways.

A dozen people were killed in Orange County in 2016 while riding their bikes. This year so far, three cyclists have been killed.  The youngest victim, Brock McCann, was only eight years old.

These individuals were fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, co-workers, as well as cyclists.

Irvine’s Ride of Silence is part of a larger, international movement to commemorate cyclists killed or injured while riding on public roads and to raise awareness among motorists of the dangers they pose to cyclists.

As a bicyclist myself, the mother of a bicyclist, an Irvine resident and an Irvine City Councilmember, and as an advocate for more active transportation as a way to cut pollution and our reliance on fossil fuels, I will ride in the Ride of Silence as a way to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways and to urge the public (and local governments) to do more to protect bicyclists’ safety.

The Ride of Silence asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph, follow the rules of the road, and remain silent during the ride.  Helmets are mandatory. There are no sponsors and no registration fees. The ride aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for and honor the lives of those who have been killed or injured.

As the organizers of the Ride of Silence have said: “A pack of single file – silent riders – pacing out for 8 to 10 miles. We will share this hour with each other, and know that thousands across the planet will also have marked the hour in their own time zone; but also raise awareness among the many local motorists who will be witnesses of our sombre parade.”

We must remember that cyclists have legal rights to the road as do motorists and bicyclists are the most vulnerable users of the roadways.

We ride to show respect for and honor the lives of those who have been killed or injured.

We ride to promote public awareness of bicycling safety.

We ride so that no bicyclist is ever again killed or injured because of a motorist’s failure to share the road.

See you there.

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Join Me at Tonight’s Irvine Green Ribbon Environmental Committee Meeting!

Irvine’s Green Ribbon Environmental Committee seeks to increase public participation in energy conservation and sustainable practices, helping the City serve the community through advancing environmental policy initiatives and programs. The Committee is supported by the Public Works Department. Comprised of 10 members, the committee is an advisory body to the City Council and provides advice on sustainability policies related to energy, recycling and waste management, mobility, open space and water issues.

For some time, Irvine’s Green Ribbon Committee has been dormant because there were not sufficient members to constitute a quorum.  One of my goals in joining the Irvine City Council was to get this important committee going again.  Working with Irvine’s mayor, Donald Wagner, we were able to bring the committee back to functioning strength.  The first meeting of the newly reconstituted Green Ribbon Environmental Committee will be tonight, Tues., May 16, at 4:30 p.m. at the Conference and Training Center inside of the Irvine Civic Center (City Hall).  

Below is an invitation to attend tonight’s committee meeting from Krishna Hammond, my Green Ribbon Environmental Committee appointee.  Krishna is a professional chemist and is passionate about protecting, improving, and conserving our environment,  He is a native of San Diego and a resident of Irvine.  Krishna holds a degree in chemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara.  I feel very fortunate that he has agreed to serve on the committee.  I am also a member of the Green Ribbon Environmental Committee and, like Krishna, I hope you’ll able to join us this evening.  All Irvine committee and commission meeting are open to the public.

Join Me at Tonight’s Irvine Green Ribbon Environmental Committee Meeting!

by Krishna Hammond

Krishna Hammond, Member, Irvine Green Ribbon Environmental Committee

Hi everyone! I am lucky enough to be a committee member on the Irvine Green Ribbon Environmental Committee! This is an official advisory committee, which means we can make direct recommendations (which are submitted into the public record) to the Irvine City Council! We work on issues related to energy, recycling and waste, mobility, open space, and water issues.

The committee is having it’s first meeting tomorrow, May 16th, at 4:30 p.m. at the Conference and Training Center inside of the Irvine Civic Center.  We meet about four times a year, so catch us while you can!

I encourage you all to attend! The meetings are open to the public, and there will be a period for public comment.  If you have concerns or want to submit your ideas for improving our city, please don’t hesitate to drop by.

The more people there, the merrier!

Again, the meeting is at 4:30 p.m.  at the Conference and Training Center inside the Irvine Civic Center.

You can read our agenda here.

Hope to see you there!

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City Councilmember Melissa Fox Appoints Traffic Expert Kenneth Montgomery to Irvine’s New Traffic Commission

I am pleased to announce that I have selected Kenneth Montgomery as my appointee to Irvine’s new Traffic Commission.

Kenneth Montgomery is a retired Civil Engineer with more than 40 years of experience in managing public works and traffic and transportation issues as Director of Public Works for 3 Southern California Cities: Norwalk, Redondo Beach, and Laguna Niguel.  Ken retired from the City of Laguna Niguel in 2009 after 18 years as that City’s first Director of Public Works/City Engineer.  He has been closely following transportation issues in Irvine for decades.

I am delighted that Ken Montgomery will be contributing his expertise and insights to fixing Irvine’s traffic problems and building a transportation system that will serve Irvine in the 21st Century.

When I ran for election to the Irvine City Council, I promised to reduce Irvine’s traffic congestion both in the long and short term, while providing more transportation choices for Irvine’s residents and commuters, and to reduce travel time, reduce noise, improve safety, improve resident access to employment and entertainment centers, improve parking and reduce emissions. Ken Montgomery is also deeply committed to these goals – and he has the expertise, experience, and vision necessary to achieve them.

As Laguna Niguel’s Director of Public Works/City Engineer, Ken managed transportation and traffic issues for this new and developing city, including hiring the traffic engineering staff and managing their Transportation Commission.  He has also worked with Caltrans for years on redesigning freeway interchanges to minimize impacts on city streets.  Ken is an expert on traffic control devices such as stops signs, new traffic signals, street striping changes and school zone traffic management, and has designed and implemented dozens of major and minor street improvement projects to improve traffic safety, capacity and traffic flow.

Ken is a strong advocate for increased transportation choices as a means of traffic reduction.  He was instrumental in building train stations in each of the cities he has served.  He was personally responsible for the Metrolink station that serves Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo, and has worked closely with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) on the bus lines and bus stops and shelters that serve Laguna Niguel.

He is also an avid bicyclist, who knows and champions the Irvine bike trail system.  Like Councilmember Fox, he is an advocate for making bicycle commuting safer and more practical.

Ken holds a degree in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He and his wife Judy have resided in Irvine for 37 years and have lived in the same Woodbridge home since 1980.

Ken is an active member of Irvine Rotary Club and serves on its board.  He is also an Irvine CERT member, has served on the Arborlake Home Owners Association Board of Directors, and was a volunteer for the two Solar Decathlons held in Irvine’s Great Park.

“I’m excited to seriously tackle Irvine’s traffic and transportation issues, “Montgomery said. “I look forward to working with Councilmember Melissa Fox, my fellow traffic commissioners, city staff, and all our community stakeholders in getting Irvine moving again.”

The first meeting of the Irvine Traffic Commission is scheduled for Tues., May 16, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. at the City Council chambers.  Like all Irvine commission meetings, it is open to the public.

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Join Me at the Irvine Korean Cultural Festival, Sat. May 13th!

Join me at the Irvine Korean Cultural Festival on Saturday, May 13th, at the Irvine Civic Center.

2017 marks the 8th anniversary of the Irvine Korean Cultural Festival, an event designed to celebrate and share Korean cultural heritage and artistic traditions with the broader Irvine community and Orange County.

The Festival is a culture-filled extravaganza full of fine Korean food, games, art, music and entertainment.

The Irvine Korean Cultural Festival is committed to making the festival an educational opportunity for children and the community of Irvine. Enjoy dynamic cultural performances while sampling delicious cuisine from Irvine’s premier restaurants.

Along with the Irvine Korean Festival founders, sponsors, and dedicated volunteers, I strongly believe that the festival experience will help bring about mutual understanding and appreciation of different cultures, which will result in the promotion of peace and harmony among all people in the Irvine community and beyond.

Please join me!

What:  Irvine Korean Cultural Festival

When: Sat., May 13, 2017. 10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Where: Irvine Civic Center, 1 Civic Center Plaza, Irvine, CA 92606

Free Admission. Free On-site parking and Off-Site parking with Shuttle.

Shuttle info: 3377 Michelson Drive, Irvine, CA 92612. Ride the shuttle and get a Free Raffle Ticket!

For more information, visit the Irvine Korean Festival website here.

 

 

 

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Councilmember Melissa Fox Meets with State Senator Josh Newman, Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, and Governor Brown’s Office to Secure State Support for Veterans Cemetery

Sacramento, CA — Councilmember Melissa Fox recently met with Senator Josh Newman, Assemblywoman Sharon-Quirk-Silva and Governor Jerry Brown’s Office in Sacramento to secure state support for an Orange County Veterans Cemetery located in Irvine.  Senator Josh Newman is chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. He is also a U.S. Army veteran, having served as an artillery officer in South Korea and elsewhere.  Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva authored the legislation (AB1453) that set in motion the State and Federal approval of plans that will lead to the construction of the veteran cemetery.  “We discussed the availability of state funding for the veterans cemetery, and I am certain that Senator Newman and Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva are committed to doing whatever they can to see that the veterans cemetery becomes a reality.”

Councilmember Melissa Fox has stated that she agrees with Senator Newman that “Any successful site for a future veterans cemetery should be consistent with the enabling legislation authored by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva and passed in 2013; acceptable to the Orange County Veteran’s Memorial Park coalition; and in the best interests of Irvine, both fiscally and as part of the broader planning for the responsible development of the land around the El Toro site” and that “the alternative site solution may fulfill all three of those parameters, and as such would seem to merit a full exploration by the City Council.”

On April 4, the Irvine City Council adopted Councilmember Fox’s motion to both consider putting up $38 million of the City’s own money toward building the cemetery on the current proposed site in the Great Park and also to open discussions with developer FivePoint Communities on a land swap that would build the cemetery on a site next to the 5 Freeway that was also once part of MCAS El Toro.

Governor Brown has said that he intends to visit both the original site and the alternate site. “We’ll take both sites very seriously,” Assemblymember Quick-Silva said. “The governor’s interested in seeing both sites.”

Councilmember Fox has been on the forefront of Irvine residents calling for an Orange County veterans cemetery located in Irvine. Even before she was elected to the Irvine City Council, Fox worked closely with the members of the Orange County Memorial Park coalition to create a veterans cemetery on land that was once the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

As early as March 2014, Fox stated that “Orange County has a long and proud military tradition. Currently, more than two million veterans live in California – more than in any other state. This military tradition continues into the present, as nearly 7,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars live in Orange County. Yet Orange County veterans do not have their own official military cemetery and those in Orange County who want to visit a veteran’s grave in a national cemetery must travel to Riverside, San Diego or Los Angeles counties. As an Irvine resident and as the daughter of an Orange County Korean War combat veteran, I believe that it is time that Orange County offered its veterans, who have sacrificed so much for us, a final resting place close to their families and loved ones.”

“We are very close to fulfilling our promise to create a veterans cemetery in Irvine on the grounds of the old El Toro Marine base,” Fox said. “We cannot allow the veterans cemetery to be derailed by political vendettas and the personal grudges of politicians who care more about where it is located than whether it is actually built.”