“For the spirit of Christmas knows no race, no creed, no clime, no limitation of time or space.
Yes, the spirit of Christmas breathes an eternal message of peace and goodwill to all men.”
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
During this special time of the year, I am filled with joy and gratitude for all of our blessings.
Michael, Max, Chief and I wish you a Merry Christmas and a joyous Holiday Season!
My family had a wonderful Christmas, but too many others were not so fortunate or so insulated this year.
My heart goes out to those in the hospital and their families, and to the healthcare workers and first responders who are dealing nonstop with COVID.
Please share the Christmas Spirit’s message of goodwill by following the recommendations of public health professionals. Please practice social distancing and wear a face mask!
We are grateful for for our freedoms, and for those whose sacrifices, past and present, have made those freedoms endure for generations.
We are grateful for our families and friends, and for the love that makes life worthwhile.
We are grateful for our beautiful City of Irvine, our beautiful state of California, and our beautiful planet.
We are grateful for our frontline health care workers, especially during this pandemic.
We are grateful for our firefighters, police and first responders, and for our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen.
We are grateful for everyone in our community and our nation who protects us and serves those in need.
We are grateful for the volunteers who comfort the sick and care for the young and the aged.
We are grateful for those who offer food, shelter, and medical care to those who have no home.
We are grateful that we are fortunate enough to be able to help others.
Our family, especially during the holidays, supports ClothingDonations.org, a service of Vietnam Veterans of America. ClothingDonations.org will pick up your used clothes and household goods at your convenience and use them to support programs that address the needs of all our veterans.
We also support Families Forward, an Irvine-based organization that assists Orange County families in financial crisis to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency and helps these families to once again become independent, productive residents of the community. During the holidays, Families Forward also provides in-need families with festive food baskets and personalized holiday gifts.
Our City of Irvine proudly and gratefully supports the Irvine 2/11 Marine Adoption Committee, which provides charitable and educational activities and support for the benefit and welfare of the United States Marines and their families assigned to Camp Pendleton, California, with special emphasis on the Marines and families of the 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines.
Donations of toys can be made to the 2/11 Marines Holiday Toy Drive benefiting families of Irvine’s adopted 2/11 Marine Battalion. Help bring joy to these families during the holidays by donating a new, unwrapped gift suitable for infants or children ages 12 and younger. Donations can be dropped off through December 14 at the Irvine Civic Center, Irvine Police Headquarters, and the Great Park Visitors Center.
We also endorse giving to Socks for Heroes, which ships socks along with other essentials to United States Marine Corps combat infantry units, provides Marine children the ability to take advantage of swimming lessons, sports, and camps, and provides other programs for single Marines and Marine families during deployments.
This year, through the involvement of my son, I learned about the great work of Wound Walk OC, which tends to the wounds of unsheltered people in Orange County. Founded three years ago by filmmaker Michael Sean Wright, Wound Walk OC’s mission is to “Practice equity in action. Bring relief to those most in need. Inspire empathetic future healthcare advocates and field medics. Provide encouragement to communities by showing what caring volunteers can accomplish.”
The members of Wound Walk OC, including our son, Max, are street medics who go to where unsheltered people live — in parks and other areas — with a “wound wagon” filled with emergency medical supplies donated by the community. They offer emergency first aid/medical care to homeless people with wounds and other injuries that, without Wound Walk’s intervention, would go untreated, with serious and potentially deadly consequences. They also provide food, drinking water, underwear and socks. Their work in helping unsheltered people with wounds and other medical issues is truly on the front lines of the homelessness crisis — even more so under the dangerous conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. As Spectrum News One has reported, “While doctors and nurses continue to battle on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wright [and Wound Walk OC] is in many ways on the front lines of its humanity.”
This Thanksgiving is a perfect time to help Wound Walk OC care for our unsheltered brothers and sisters, by donating or visiting their Amazon wish list for needed supplies. If you would like to know more, or learn more about how you can help, contact Wound Walk OC at woundwalkoc@gmail.com or call 949-973-3317.
Each year at Thanksgiving, we remember our friend Michael Kinslow and his beautiful Prayer of Thanksgiving for those who protect and those who serve:
Thank you God for every woman and man who risks their life for my freedom and safety.
Please bless their families with peace.
Thank you God for every child, woman, and man who volunteers in my community. All of those who feed the hungry, provide shelter, and all who put their hearts, minds, and souls into building up others and caring for all of your creatures.
Wound Walk OC tends to the wounds of unsheltered people in Orange County.
Founded three years ago by filmmaker Michael Sean Wright, Wound Walk OC’s mission is to “Practice equity in action. Bring relief to those most in need. Inspire empathetic future healthcare advocates and field medics. Provide encouragement to communities by showing what caring volunteers can accomplish.”
Grateful for the opportunity to help my friends Teresa Lai and Jerry Chen and Asian American for a Better Community contribute 5,000 face masks to Wound Walk OC. With Michael Sean Wight.
The members of Wound Walk OC are street medics who go to where unsheltered people live — in parks and other areas — with a “wound wagon” filled with emergency medical supplies donated by the community.
They offer emergency first aid/medical care to homeless people with wounds and other injuries that, without Wound Walk’s intervention, would go untreated, with serious and potentially deadly consequences. They also provide food, drinking water, underwear and socks.
Their work in helping unsheltered people with wounds and other medical issues is truly on the front lines of the homelessness crisis — even more so under the dangerous conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Spectrum News One has reported, “While doctors and nurses continue to battle on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wright [and Wound Walk OC] is in many ways on the front lines of its humanity.”
Max Fox of Wound Walk OC checks a woman’s blood pressure.
The street medics of Wound Walk OC protect themselves against the pandemic as best they can with disinfectant, multiple layers of personal protective equipment, and sets of gloves, as they provide direct relief for those who need it most.
As Michael Sean Wright recently told ABC News, “For the unsheltered communities, public libraries and fast food restaurants are sometimes their only access to restrooms, and so when those close down, as they have during this pandemic, it’s like the water turned off. If you’re not getting water flowing or the wound covered or cleaned outside, you are exposed to insects, or further trauma that’s coming and infections. When that happens, we urge them to seek medical attention. We have great clinics up and down here that folks don’t know they can go to, so our opportunity is to intro and help them get that care.”
I’m glad that I was recently able to help my friends Teresa Lai and Jerry Chen and Asian American for a Better Community contribute 5,000 face masks to Wound Walk OC.
I’m also proud that my son, Max Fox, has joined Wound Walk OC and is putting his EMT and HazMat training to much needed use while he is on pandemic-break from college and from the Fairbanks North Star Borough HazMat Team.
On May 28, 2020, Irvine City Councilmember Melissa Fox held a virtual Town Hall Meeting with special guest Dr. Ebony Jade Hilton on “Exposing Inequalities During COVID-19.” Irvine City Council Member Melissa Fox and Dr. Hilton discuss why people of color have a much higher risk of being infected and dying from COVID-19, what the pandemic reveals about the underlying racial and economic disparities in our society, and what we can — and must — do about it.
Dr. Ebony Jade Hilton is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Virginia Medical School, medical director of Goodstock Consulting, and a nationally recognized expert on how institutional racism has led to more severe impacts for communities of color from diseases such as COVID-19.
Dr. Ebony Jade Hilton received her M.D. from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in 2008. She remained at MUSC for completion of her Residency in Anesthesia, followed by a Fellowship in Critical Care Medicine. In 2013 Dr. Hilton made history as she was hired as the 1st African American Female anesthesiologist since the hospital’s opening in 1824.
Throughout her tenure at MUSC Dr. Hilton’s passions have centered on exploring the issue of health disparities, particularly as it pertains to race, and bridging the gap between physicians and the communities they serve. Her works have led to her integration in the medical school curriculum, serving as a clinical instructor for fourth year medical students in Intern 101 and has taken her across the globe as a participant in numerous medical mission trips via Project Madaktari at Bugando Medical Center in Mwanza, Tanzania.
Now as a practicing physician at the University of Virginia – Charlottesville, Dr. Hilton has continued advocating for underserved and marginalized populations.
Her efforts have been recognized by the National Medical Association as well as the National Minority Quality Forum as one of the top 40 under 40 Leaders in Health Care award recipients.
She is also the author of the children’s book “We’re Going to be O.K.,” a book about staying safe, healthy, and optimistic during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Watch the full Town Hall on “Exposing Inequalities During COVID-19” here:
As Orange County moves into the next part, Stage 2, of Gov. Newsom’s Resiliency Roadmap, the City of Irvine has prepared a guide for residents and visitors regarding what is now open in Irvine and what is required and recommended to maintain our safety during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.
✅ In Stage Two, the County of Orange will be allowed to have the following businesses re-open with adaptations:
🥙 In-person dining reservations.
🛍 Retail shopping with social distancing and curbside pickup.
🔗 Manufacturing.
🏢 Offices (when telework not possible).
🏯 Outdoor Museums.
▶️ Limited Services.
🚫 What is NOT allowed in Stage 2 🚫:
– Personal services such as nail salons, tattoo parlors, gyms and fitness studios.
– Indoor museums, kids museums and gallery spaces, zoos and libraries.
– Community centers, including public pools, playgrounds, and picnic areas.
– Limited-capacity religious services and cultural ceremonies.
– Nightclubs.
– Concert venues.
– Live audience sports.
– Festivals.
– Theme parks.
– Hotels/lodging for leisure and tourism – non-essential travel.
– Higher Education.
Please be mindful that the pandemic is not over. COVID-19 is still among us. It is still highly contagious and potentially deadly.
Face masks are still required by customers and employees in retail businesses and are strongly recommended for everyone whenever going out in public. Social distancing and hand washing remain our most important lines of defense against the spread of COVID-19.
As we re-enter the social world, we need to take care of ourselves and be careful not to harm others.
Early Childhood OC is working with agencies across Orange County to compile a searchable database of currently open child care centers and family child care homes serving children aged birth – 12.
Governor Newsom’s executive order allows essential workers to access child care payment assistance, regardless of their income, while schools are closed because of COVID-19.
Through these programs, in Fiscal Year 2018, CHS provided services to over 9,700 children and over 5,500 families. In all, more than 2,099,000 days of care were provided to children across California.
To find out more about child care payment assistance, click here.
If you operate a child care facility, are currently open, and would like it listed in the data base, click here.
The City of Irvine also has several hundred child care spots available for essential workers. To find out more, click here.
COVID-19 Notes
I’ve added a new “COVID-19 Community Resources and Information Pageto my blog, with links to up-to-date and reliable resources and information from federal, state, and county sources, as well as the cities and public schools in the 68th Assembly District.
I am pleased to announce that Irvine has several hundred spots now open for child care for essential workers.
I currently serve as the Irvine City Council’s representative on the board of directors of the Irvine Child Care Project, along with other representatives from the City of Irvine and Irvine Unified School District.
Established in 1984, the Irvine Child Care Project (ICCP) is a Joint Powers Agreement between the Irvine Unified School District and the City of Irvine, overseen by the Irvine Child Care Project Board of Directors. It is a unique partnership in which the City of Irvine and the Irvine Unified School District collaborate to accommodate more affordable and quality child care in the City.
On Thursday, April 9, 2020, the ICCP Board had a virtual meeting to discuss some of the critical needs of the ICCP during the COVID-19 crisis. We made several important decisions at this meeting to help facilitate and increase the availability of child care for essential workers during the COVID-19 crisis.
Crucially, we voted to waive rental payments from ICC providers for April, May, and June. Waiving the rent for these providers means that essential child care services will remain accessible to families in need of child care during this crisis.
Currently, 10 out of the 28 ICCP programs are open to serve children of essential critical infrastructure workers. The sites that are open are located on the following campuses: Canyon View Elementary, Deerfield Elementary, Oak Creek Elementary, Plaza Vista Elementary, Springbrook Elementary, Stonegate Elementary, Turtle Rock Elementary, University Park Elementary, Vista Verde Elementary, and Woodbury Elementary.
These 10 sites currently have the space to enroll approximately 200 additional children.
If you are an essential critical infrastructure worker and need child care, please click here to access a searchable database of currently open child care centers and family child care homes serving children aged birth –1 2 compiled by Early Childhood OC. This database will be updated every Friday. The Countywide list linked above lists all open programs in Orange County including, ICCP locations. In addition, each ICCP location below is identified as OPEN or CLOSED.
Kiddie Academy of Irvine, Prestige Preschool Academy and several family child care providers are open and able to serve school age children, including non-residents. These programs would be able to serve at least 100 additional children (combined capacity), even with the new guidance from the state regarding decreased capacities for best health and safety practices. Contact information for each of these programs is available in the searchable database of currently open child care centers and family child care homes compiled by Early Childhood OC. This database is updated weekly. I anticipate the number of providers on this list to increase as programs re-open to provide emergency child care to essential workers. Several providers have contacted child care coordination this week to discuss their plans to re-open.
ICCP sites (10 open operated by Child Development Incorporated) are only able to serve Irvine residents and/or children enrolled in the IUSD school district. This is based on the Joint Powers Agreement between the City of Irvine and the Irvine Unified School District. The ICCP Board has the authority to waive this stipulation, if that is something that the Board would be interested in considering at the May meeting.
You can find more information about these sites and enrollment here.
Please note: Essential workers include those who work in the following fields: healthcare and public health, emergency services, food and agriculture, energy, water and waste water, transportation and logistics, communications and information technology, government services, critical manufacturing, hazardous materials, financial services, chemicals, and defense/industrial base. For more details, click here.
COVID-19 Notes
I’ve added a new “COVID-19 Community Resources and Information Pageto my blog, with links to up-to-date and reliable resources and information from federal, state, and county sources, as well as the cities and public schools in the 68th Assembly District.
Did you know that every neighboring county of Orange County requires face coverings for all food service, grocery store, and other essential workers except Orange County?
Did you know that many of these workers are under the age of 18?
In order to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to protect both workers and customers, every neighboring county of Orange County — including San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles Counties — now require face coverings for all food service, grocery store, and other essential workers.
Only Orange County does not. I believe this failure to protect public health is unacceptable and unconscionable.
My friend, Gina Clayton-Tarvin, President of the Board of Trustees at the Ocean View School District, who has also been a classroom teacher in Orange County for 25 years, has started a petition to address this very serious problem.
I have signed this petition because I believe that all workers who are providing us with food, groceries, and other essential goods and services during this pandemic deserve to be as protected from this deadly virus as possible.
As customers of these businesses and as residents of Orange County, we also deserve to be protected.
The protection of public health is an essential responsibility — and must be a top priority — of any government.
Our Orange County Supervisors need to step up now and do the same, and stop putting our food, grocery and other essential workers — and ourselves — in unnecessary danger of contagion and death.
I’ve added a new “COVID-19 Community Resources and Information Pageto my blog, with links to up-to-date and reliable resources and information from federal, state, and county sources, as well as the cities and public schools in the 68th Assembly District.
Effective Wednesday, April 8, 2020, by order of the City Manager in his capacity as Director of Emergency Services, all retail personnel in the City of Irvine will be required to wear face coverings.
This executive order applies to all retail businesses in Irvine, including, but not limited to:
Grocery stores
Pharmacies
Restaurants providing take-out or delivery services
Banks, Savings and Loans, and Credit Unions
Home Improvement stores
Gas Stations
Convenience stores
The use of cloth face coverings could reduce the transmission of COVID-19 by individuals who do not have symptoms and may reinforce social distancing. Face coverings can include items such as bandanas, fabric masks, and neck gaiters.
It is important to note face coverings are not a substitute for social distancing and hand washing, which remain our most important line of defense against the spread of COVID-19.
For more information about the use of face coverings or to find a provider, visit cityofirvine.org/covid19.
Note: I’ve added a new “COVID-19 Community Resources and Information Pageto my blog, with links to up-to-date and reliable resources and information from federal, state, and county sources, as well as the cities and public schools in the 68th Assembly District.
I have also decided to use my Assembly campaign phone-banking and community outreach resources to call seniors and people in need of critical services in the cities of Assembly District 68 — Lake Forest, Tustin, Orange, Irvine, Anaheim Hills and Villa Park — to ask how they’re doing during this stressful time and to see whether they need any help, including food assistance and mental health assistance and other community resources. Our volunteer callers will be able to provide information and connect seniors with any community assistance or resources they might need.
We are grateful for our firefighters, police and first responders, and for our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen.
We also endorse giving to 
Dr. Ebony Jade Hilton is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Virginia Medical School, medical director of 
To find available child care, click 
Established in 1984, the Irvine Child Care Project (ICCP) is a Joint Powers Agreement between the Irvine Unified School District and the City of Irvine, overseen by the Irvine Child Care Project Board of Directors. It is a unique partnership in which the City of Irvine and the Irvine Unified School District collaborate to accommodate more affordable and quality child care in the City.
In order to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to protect both workers and customers, every neighboring county of Orange County — including San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles Counties — now require 
My friend, 
Effective Wednesday, April 8, 2020, by order of the City Manager in his capacity as Director of Emergency Services, all retail personnel in the City of Irvine will be required to wear face coverings.
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