September 26, 2013 by Melissa Fox

Irvine Global Village Festival 2013

It’s almost here!

This Saturday, September 28, 20013, is the Irvine Global Village Festival!

We are proud of saying that the Irvine is not only among the most diverse cities in the nation, it is also the most fully integrated. In Irvine, there are no ethnic, linguistic, religious, or cultural enclaves: every neighborhood reflects Irvine’s growing and harmonious ethnic, linguistic, religious, and cultural diversity.

How diverse is Irvine? A non-English language is spoken in a remarkable 58% of Irvine homes, with more than 70 different languages spoken in residences throughout Irvine. Nearly 40 % of Irvine’s public school students have a primary language other than English. Irvine is also home to more than 80 different churches, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship, serving Irvine’s expanding cultural and religious diversity.

Irvine’s Global Village Festival is truly an expression and a celebration of Irvine’s diversity.

This year marks the 12th anniversary of the Irvine Global Village Festival – Irvine’s largest and most attended community event. Founded in 1998 by a group of Irvine residents to help promote understanding and build harmony within Irvine’s many diverse cultures, the Global Village Festival is now Irvine’s signature event, featuring more than 100 performances on five stages; international cuisine and food from more than 50 restaurants; an international marketplace filled with unique crafts and textiles; interactive, educational and entertaining cultural displays, demonstrations, and performances; an international village just for kids; and a world religions area, providing an opportunity to explore and interact with many of the numerous faith-based organizations in the Irvine area.

Among the groups whose members have been integral in organizing the Irvine Global Village Festival are the Algerian Cultural Society of Southern California, the Asian American Senior Citizen Service Center, EKTAA Indian Cultural Center, First Drops Interfaith Group, Friends of Outreach (for Irvine seniors), Hindu Swayam Sevak Sangh, Humanity United, the Irvine Chinese School, the Irvine Evergreen Chinese Senior Association, the Irvine Iranian Parents Association, the Irvine Multicultural Association, the Irvine Thai Arts & Culture, the Orange County Jewish Community Center, NEDA Iranian Senior Group, Network of Arab American Professionals, Orange County Chinese Artists Association, Orange County Veterans Employment Committee, South Coast Chinese Cultural Association, and TTIYA Foundation.

Among the performers scheduled to appear at the Irvine Global Village Festival are the Ada Bollywood Dance Academy, the American Association For Chinese Culture Promotion, the Ava Persian Dance Studio, Ayres De Los Andes, Ballet De Sally Savedra, Ballet Folklorico Casas Guanajuato, BBoys Anonymous, Benjamin Ordaz, Bit-O-Irish Trio, Bolivia Internacional, Butler Fearon O’Connor School Of Irish Dance, Brian Young & The Blues Station, Caribbean Jems Dance Group, English Joy Stiltwalking Duo, Fraternidad Diablada Bolivia, Galaxy Youth Arts Performing Group, Hawai’i Club At UCI, Hollis Long, Hozan Murat, IKPA (Irvine Korean Parents Association) – Samulnori (traditional Korean percussion), Ilhan Ozulu, International Peace Choir, Irvine Korean Line-Dance Group, Irvine Thai Arts And Culture, It’s Samba Show Time!, JJ & The Habibis, Joy Shannon And The Beauty Marks, Kerry & The Surftones, Kids Imagine Nation, Kuhai Halau ‘O Leilanileikukuiokalani & Aloha Hawai’i Dancers, La Sirena Y Mar De Ashe’, Las Estrellas Ballet Folklorico, Lisa Haley & The Zydekats, Mahoor Ensemble led by Alireza Khademi, Mainstreet German Trio, Maple Youth Ballet, Mei-Ling Lee Chinese Dance Group, Mexikas, Moonsville Collective, Naked Rhythm, Nartthasin Thai Dance Group L.A., Nicholson Pipes And Drums, Nika Imani, O’ahu Hawaiian Band, OC Ikeda Youth Ensemble, Orange County Friendship Choir, Renascence School International, Rising Phoenix Morris, SANAD Academy Group, SCCCA/ICS, Street Beat, Syrtaki International Dance Ensemble, the Cambodian Family Dance Troupe, the Filipino American Community Of Orange County, the Miner 49′-ers, the Jewels That Raq! Belly Dance Group, and the Tuscany Trio. What an incredible array of world and American music, dance, and performance!

I am looking forward to celebrating the many facets of Irvine’s diversity at the Global Village Festival – and I look forward to seeing you there!

P.S. Here are some important Festival details:

What: Irvine Global Village Festival

When: Saturday, September 28, 2013, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Where: Bill Barber Park, 4 Civic Center Plaza, Irvine, CA

Cost: Admission is FREE! Food tasting tickets are available for purchase at the event. Tickets are $1 each; with tasting prices ranging from 1 to 3 tickets per item. Cash, checks, MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover are accepted at designated ticket booth locations. Prices for sample sized items range from $1 to $3; it is recommended to purchase $10 per person. Tickets are non-refundable. For your convenience, a Schools First automatic teller machine (ATM) is located at the Irvine Civic Center, adjacent to the Irvine Police Department entrance.

Parking: There is no on-site parking at the event. While parking is not available at the event site, FREE shuttle buses will be in service to transport guests to and from the Festival’s satellite parking locations at Main and Jamboree and Woodbridge Community Park. Shuttles will be running from 7:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Handicapped parking will be available at the San Juan or Civic Center parking lots adjacent to Bill Barber Park. Note: By far the easiest and greenest way to get to the Festival is by pedal power. The City of Irvine has an extensive system of bike trails to get you to the event, and once inside, riders can safely and securely store their bikes at the Festival’s free Bike Valet area, hosted by the Bicycle Club of Irvine and the Orange County Bicycle Coalition.

Pets: Dogs are welcome at the Irvine Global Village Festival! However, owners must be responsible for their pets; dogs must be on leash, interact well in a large crowd and remain in the charge of a person competent to restrain them.

September 25, 2013 by Melissa Fox

Irvine is for Seniors, Too

Irvine is the fastest growing city in Southern California and one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. From July 2011 to July 2012, Irvine grew at a pace five times the Southern California average, its population leaping 4.2% to nearly 230,000.

As you might expect, most of this growth has been spurred by young families attracted to Irvine because of our superior public schools, our vibrant economy, and our numerous sports facilities and recreational opportunities.

But children, youth, and young families are not the complete picture of Irvine.

Irvine is for seniors, too.

Irvine’s strategic plan addresses the needs of all our community members — children, youth, families — and seniors.

In 1978, just a few years after the city was incorporated, Irvine opened its first senior center – the Rancho Senior Center, an 11,000 square foot facility overlooking the beautiful Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course. Today, the Rancho Senior Center continues to provide programs and services Monday through Friday during regular business hours. The Rancho Senior Center now also features the Rancho Fitness Center, which provides seniors with a safe and comfortable workout environment. The Rancho Fitness Center is specially designed for adults age 50 and older, and offers a wide selection of cardiovascular and strength training equipment.

Also in 1978, Irvine established the Senior Citizens Council as an advisory body to the City Council. The Senior Citizens Council consists of seven members: five appointed (one by each member of the City Council) and two at-large selected through public recruitment. The Senior Citizens Council advises the City Council on matters pertaining to the special interests and concerns of senior citizens and serves as a sounding board for persons, schools and organizations who have an interest in senior citizens activities and programs.

In 1994, Irvine opened its second senior center — the beautiful Lakeview Senior Center — to address the needs of a growing older adult population. The 22,000 square foot facility is part of the 22-acre Woodbridge Community Park and offers educational opportunities, recreational activities, meal programs, physical activities, outreach assistance, plus additional resources and referrals. Lakeview Senior Center is also justifiably proud of its beautiful rose garden and gazebo. The Rose Garden Cafe, located at the Lakeview Senior Center, serves hot meals that are prepared fresh daily by a professional staff on site and served by the Center’s wonderful volunteers. Lunch at the Rose Garden Cafe is served Monday through Friday from 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., and costs only $4 for persons age 60 and older and $5 for adults age 59 and younger.

In 2001, the Center for Senior Resources at Lakeview Senior Center was renamed the Keen Center for Senior Resources in recognition of Al and Dorothy Keen’s dedication of time and financial support to Irvine’s seniors. The Keen Center’s experienced, caring, and trained team of staff and volunteers provide information about a wide range of services and programs for Irvine’s older adults, including healthcare, health insurance, social security, safety, finances, alternative living, transportation, home care and care giving. The Keen Center also offers services in Mandarin, Korean, and Farsi by appointment.

This year, Irvine’s Keen Center for Senior Resources was deservedly recognized for its outstanding service to Irvine’s older adults, receiving the prestigious “Creating Community Award of Excellence” from the California Park & Recreation Society.

Together, Lakeview Senior Center and Rancho Senior Center provide a tremendous variety of social, recreational, and wellness programs for seniors, including health, nutrition and outreach services through community collaborations. Both senior centers are also heavily used by the people of Irvine: approximately 45,000 participant visits take place at Rancho Senior Center each year, and 100,000 take place at Lakeview Senior Center.

In February 2009, Irvine’s Community Services Department and Senior Citizens Council began development of a Senior Services Strategic Plan to identify priority services for Irvine’s older adults. Between February 2009 and January 2010, Irvine engaged in a community planning process for seniors involving five task forces, an advisory committee, and participation of over 600 community members and professionals through various forms of outreach, including town hall meetings and community surveys. The result is the Irvine Senior Services Strategic Plan 2012-2017, which applies Irvine’s hallmark strategic planning and community participation to create a blueprint for improving the lives of Irvine’s seniors now and into future.

The plan focuses on five areas: education – providing information and assistance to older adults on topics such as financial, legal, insurance, employment, advocacy and policy issues; housing – supporting accessible, affordable and safe housing for older adults; mental and physical health – supporting programs and services to enhance the cognitive, emotional, and physical health of older adults; recreation and leisure programs – promoting physical and social health in older adults through recreation and leisure opportunities; and transportation – supporting effective local and regional transportation services among public and private sources that provide transportation for older adults.

As Irvine continues to grow larger, and as our residents grow older, Irvine has taken the right steps to plan for and serve the needs of our seniors, who are as diverse as the rest of Irvine’s wonderfully diverse population.

As with other aspects of urban living that set our city apart, Irvine plans for seniors, too.

August 24, 2013 by Melissa Fox

Irvine Tops List of America’s “Thriving Cities”

The popular news and opinion website The Daily Beast recently set out to discover the cities that most exemplify America’s post-recession progress – America’s Top 20 “Thriving Cities.”

They discovered that Irvine is Number One.

According to the article, they “wanted to find the cities with growing populations, with more job prospects, and a better chance to climb the income ladder. Once we found where people were going, we looked at the environment they would find. These are cities with a thriving housing market and the intellectual capital to innovate and improve. Finally, we considered municipal bond ratings.”

To come with their list, they “looked at the 100 largest cities in the U.S. and compared them in categories of population growth (20 percent), employment and earnings (30 percent), market strength (20 percent), infrastructure (15 percent), and intellectual capital (15 percent) and weighted them accordingly. We used data from the U.S. Census, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Equality of Opportunity Project, Moody’s Credit Services, Zillow, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.”

The Top 20 “Thriving Cities” are:

1. Irvine, California
2. San Jose, California
3. Fremont, California
4. Austin, Texas
5. San Francisco, California
6. Seattle, Washington
7. Plano, Texas
8. Gilbert, Texas
9. Orlando, Florida
10. San Diego, California
11. Washington, D.C.
12. Chandler, Arizona
13. Denver, Colorado
14. Madison, Wisconsin
15. Scottsdale, Arizona
16. Boston, Massachusetts
17. Irving, Texas
18. Raleigh, North Carolina
19. Minneapolis, Minnesota
20. Lincoln, Nebraska

The article points out that while some economists and journalists – and, of course, politicians — have been acting like Chicken Littles telling us that the economic sky is falling, the evidence shows that “local economies are actually improving. In fact, it’s perhaps more illustrative of the state of the nation to find places that are thriving post-recession.” This is certainly true in Irvine, where we have seen our property values increase and our population surge, our unemployment decline, and city revenues far exceed budget estimates.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “thrive” as “grow or develop well or vigorously.”

Yes, Irvine is thriving — but is it Irvine developing too fast? Has growth exceeded planning? Is Irvine now in danger of too much growth, too fast, creating overcrowded schools, traffic congestion, and presenting a danger to our quality of life?

Moving forward, we can do even better for our schools, our parks, our neighborhoods, our seniors, and our local businesses.

August 22, 2013 by Melissa Fox

Irvine Most Bicycle Friendly City in Southern California

As an Irvine Community Services Commissioner – and even more as an Irvine mom who enjoys riding our city’s bicycle trails with her teen-age son – I am happy that Irvine has been recognized as a “Silver” Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists, the oldest and largest membership organization of cyclists in the United States.

Each year, the League evaluates all 50 states for the extent to which they have made “bicycling a real transportation and recreation option for all people.” Communities, as well as businesses and universities, are evaluated through a voluntary application process. The Bicycle Friendly Community Award is for a three-year period and comes in five levels: Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze, measured by categories such as bike ridership, bicycle friendly laws and ordinances, availability of bike lanes, and how often bicycling classes are offered. According to the League, “A community recognized by the League as Bicycle Friendly welcomes bicyclists by providing safe accommodation for cycling and encouraging people to bike for transportation and recreation.”

In its previous assessment in 2009, Irvine received a “Bronze” award, which means that the League believes that Irvine has made significant progress in bicycle friendliness. One reason for Irvine being perceived as more bicycle friendly is the amendment and updating of Irvine’s Bicycle Transportation Plan. The plan is a detailed, 260-page guiding document for the development and maintenance of a bicycle infrastructure network in Irvine that is safe, efficient, and enjoyable, and includes plans for additional on-street bicycle lanes and off-street bikeways and bicycle trails in the near future.

Irvine is indeed a wonderful city for biking, whether for commuting, exercising, or just enjoying the outdoors. We currently have 301 miles of on-street bike lanes and 54 miles of off-street bikeways. Our bicycle trails are some of the most beautiful, and peaceful, places in Irvine. My own local neighborhood favorite is the Hicks Canyon Bicycle Trail. There is also the Woodbridge Trail, the Walnut Trail, the Jeffrey Open Space Trail, the Sand Canyon/Quail Hill Loop Trail, the San Diego Creek Trail, the Back Bay Loop Trail, the West Irvine Trail/Peters Canyon Bikeway, the Shady Canyon Loop Trail, and Peters Canyon Wash Trail.

You can get great maps of Irvine’s bike trails and bikeways at the City of Irvine Bikeways page, including an amazing interactive map of Irvine’s bike trails. The page also provides bicycle safety tips and information and a bike safety video.

Silver is great — only three California cities with populations of 50,000 or more were rated higher than Irvine, all in Northern California. We are the best bicycle city in Southern California – and we can – and we will — do even better!

August 16, 2013 by Melissa Fox

Irvine’s Parks and Recreation Rated in America’s Top 10

According to the financial advice website NerdWallet, Irvine is the 9^th best city in America for recreation and an active lifestyle.

That’s great – but I think we should have been rated even higher.

The website asked “Which cities are best for recreation and living an active lifestyle? If you value exercise and personal health, then finding a city that can offer you a variety of recreational activities should be high on your list of priorities when it comes to choosing a place to live. Cities with lots of parkland, playgrounds and recreation centers can provide you with plenty of options to maintain your particular level of physical activity.”

They then evaluated 95 American cities for recreational activities based on these questions:

Does the city have plenty of recreational options for those with varying skills and interests? We assessed the volume of available options by reporting the number of recreational facilities per 100,000 residents. Recreational facilities include ball diamonds, skateboard parks, basketball hoops, ice-skating rinks, golf courses, swimming pools and tennis courts. Only public facilities were included.
Does the city have a lot of green space? We included the acres of parkland as a percentage of city area.
Does the city have recreation options for those of all ages? We included the number of recreation and senior centers per 20,000 residents.
Does the city have playgrounds? We included the number of playgrounds per 10,000 residents to assess whether there were kid-friendly recreation options in the city.

Based on these criteria, their top cities were (1) Minneapolis, MN, (2) Madison, WI, (3) St. Paul, MN, (4) Cincinnati, OH, (5) Norfolk, VA, (6) Baton Rouge, LA, (7) Anchorage, AK, (8) Washington, D.C., (9) Irvine, CA, and (10) Pittsburgh, PA.

Here’s what they had that to say about Irvine:

“Irvine offers residents access to trails in the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, Bommer Canyon, Turtle Rock Nature Center and acres of open space. You can find aquatics centers, athletic fields, neighborhood and community parks, skate parks and tennis courts. The city has adult sports leagues for basketball, softball and soccer, and many youth sports options. The city provides an array of summer camps for children and UC Irvine’s Campus Recreation offers Anteater Recreation Summer Camps and weekend activities for local kids. Your dog can get some exercise on the nearly three acres of field at Central Bark.”

That’s all true – but, as I said, I think we should have been rated higher.

Unlike the other cities on the list – especially Minneapolis, Madison, St. Paul, and Anchorage – our parks and recreational facilities are open, accessible, and unfrozen all year. You can enjoy our parks and play most sports year round, and never have to shovel a path through the ice and snow. And we don’t have many rain days, either.

Plus, they didn’t even mention the Orange County Great Park’s seven-acre North Lawn recreation area and the South Lawn’s soon-to-open four tournament-quality soccer fields, four full-size basketball courts, and new jogging and exercise trail.

Or Irvine’s Incredible Edible Park a 7.5 acre community garden, where volunteers grow beans, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, oranges, potatoes and squash that are donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County to help feed thousands of hungry families.

So, thank you, NerdWallet, for rating Irvine among the 10 very best cities in America for parks and recreational activities.

But in my opinion, we’re number one.

August 9, 2013 by Melissa Fox

Irvine’s Open Spaces

One of the best — and most distinctive — things about Irvine is our commitment to preserving open space.

The City of Irvine has more than 16,000 acres of permanently preserved parkland and open space – remarkable for a city of our size.

In 1974, early in our city’s history, voters approved multimillion dollar measures to fund public parks and recreational facilities, and for the acquisition and development of bicycle trail and hiking trail improvements.

In 1989, the City negotiated an historic agreement with the Irvine Company that set aside more than 9,500 acres as permanent open space marshlands, bike trails, parks, nature conservancies and agricultural areas, protecting fully one-third of the city from development.

In addition, in 2006, nearly 37,000 acres of the Irvine Ranch were selected as a National Natural Landmark, a designation which reflects the outstanding condition, rarity, diversity, and value to science and education of the natural resources on the land.

As our Irvine Open Space Preserve website explains:

“Since its incorporation in 1971, Irvine has had a strong desire to balance the built and natural environment. As this incredible master-planned community has grown, each phase of development has been accompanied by the preservation and enhancement of natural open spaces, creating the network of parks, trails, and wildlands that residents and visitors may enjoy today and for generations to come.

The Irvine Open Space Preserve comprises a significant portion of this landscape, protecting thousands of acres of native habitat, and providing linkages between natural resources found in the region, including the Cleveland National Forest, the San Joaquin Marsh, and the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park among many others. The City’s commitment to preservation of local natural resources is reflected in the mosaic of native habitats, including chaparral shrub thickets, riparian wetland, native grass meadows, oak woodlands, and extremely rare coastal sage scrub. Here – in this wildlife sanctuary – deer, bobcats, mountain lions, coyotes, and hundreds of endangered birds, mammals, and reptiles thrive. A protected habitat for flora and fauna alike, the Preserve also provides a rare recreational opportunity for the community. Irvine’s residents and visitors may explore the land through myriad activities – from hiking, biking, and equestrian treks, to plein air painting, to stewardship and restoration programs – or may simply retreat into the open space to find peace and solace.”

Some of the things you can do in the Irvine Open Space Preserve are:

Hike, bike, or ride your horse along the trails and across the bridges in beautiful Bommer Canyon, where you can also see remnants of the old cattle ranch that operated here until the second half of the 20th century. If you want to push yourself a bit harder, continue onto the trails in the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, a beautiful nature preserve operated by Orange County Parks.

Sign up for a guided sunset hike along the Orchard Hills Loop Trail, where you will be rewarded for your exertions with a gorgeous view of the city from Loma Ridge. On clear days, it’s also possible to see Camp Pendleton, Catalina and San Clemente Islands, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the distance.

Sign up for a guided sunset hike along the Orchard Hills Loop Trail, where you will be rewarded for your exertions with a gorgeous view of the city from Loma Ridge. On clear days, it’s also possible to see Camp Pendleton, Catalina and San Clemente Islands, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the distance.

Please visit the Irvine Open Space Preserve website to find out more. You can also visit the website for the Irvine Ranch National Landmarks, which has a terrific interactive map, explaining more about the nearly 40,000 acres of open space on the historic Irvine Ranch that have been designated a Natural Landmark by both the State of California and the U.S. Department of Interior.

If you have any questions, contact our City of Irvine staff, who will be happy to help you enjoy Irvine’s parks and open spaces.

You can also contact me at mefox@cityofirvine.org (for Irvine Community Service Commission matters) or melissa@melissafoxlaw.com.

Please visit Irvine’s open spaces!

Let me know about your adventures!

August 5, 2013 by Melissa Fox

Melissa’s New Blog

Thank you for visiting my new blog! This is my very first post. I’ll be posting news, events, and comments about the City of Irvine and the work of the Irvine Community Services Commission.

I’ll be posting information about events like hikes, bike rides, and community activities. I’ll also be sharing information about Irvine’s many community and neighborhood parks, and our recreational, cultural, and youth facilities.

And I’ll be writing about other matters, including new business openings, educational opportunities, and cultural events, concerts, and performances, that I believe might be of interest to my neighbors and friends in Irvine.

Irvine is a remarkable place to live. It is at once a charming suburb, a thriving international business center, the home of a distinguished and dynamic university, a preeminent location for cutting-edge medical and scientific research, a center of high tech and computer innovation, and a vibrant cosmopolitan community bringing together people of many cultures from all over the world.

As Irvine residents, we are justly proud of our schools, our low crime rate, our neighborhood and community parks and recreational facilities, our bicycle trails, our services and facilities for children and seniors, our entrepreneurs, our local businesses, our innovative programs for environmental protection and conservation, and our more than 16,000 acres of permanently preserved parkland and open space.

I believe we can make Irvine even better by working together.

I am proud to serve Irvine as a Community Services Commissioner. I hope that you will find this blog — which is dedicated to making Irvine an even better place to live — a useful and fun place to visit.

Thanks.

Melissa

P.S. You can reach me by email at mefox@cityofirvine.org (for Irvine Community Service Commission matters) or at melissa@melissafoxlaw.com.

You can also connect with me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/melissajoifox.

Please note: this blog is maintained by me, Melissa Fox, and is not an official blog or website of the City of Irvine.