Thanksgiving is a Time to Give to Those In Need

We have much for which we are grateful.

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.

Another worthy organization is the California Association of Food Banks, founded in 1995 to help hungry people throughout California, including our local Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and the Community Action Partnership of Orange County Food Bank.

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.

Gift cards for Firefighters can be mailed or delivered to the OCFA Firefighter’s Benevolent Association for Firefighters in need.  Monetary donations can be made to Firefighter organizations such as the OCFA Foundation and the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.  Donations can also be made to the California Fire Museum and Safety Leaning Center.

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.

Please bless them in their own time of need.

Amen.

Wear a mask. Stay safe.

Melissa

Let Us Remember and Honor Those Who Fought for Korea’s Freedom

The Korean War started on this day — June 25 — seventy years ago, when when North Korea invaded South Korea.  By early July, the United States had sent troops into battle against the North Koreans, who were aided by their fellow Communist ally, China.

My father. Stan Kay, in Korea.

More than 36,000 Americans, 170,000 South Korean soldiers, 400,000 North Korean soldiers, 200,000 Chinese soldiers, and 2-3 million Korean civilians would die before the intense three-year conflict came to an end in an uneasy truce that has lasted to the present.

My family was deeply affected by the Korean War.  My father, his brothers, and all of his male first cousins served in combat.  My father’s cousin PFC Irwin Handler, USMC, was 20 years old when he killed in action on December 5, 1950, at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.  My father served in the U.S. Air Force, flying combat missions as the bombardier on a B-26 Invader.  He lost most of his hearing.

Photo taken by my father during a bombing mission.

Long called “The Forgotten War,” news of the Korean War was censored at the time, and decades later its memory is far overshadowed in public consciousness by World War II and the Vietnam War.

It was not until July 1995, 42 years after the end of the war, that a memorial was finally dedicated in Washington, D.C., to those who served.

But my father and his family have never forgotten those who suffered and died fighting for Korea’s freedom, nor have the millions of Koreans and Korean-Americans whose lives and families were shaped, in part, by those three very bloody years of war.

Let us remember and honor their bravery and sacrifice today and always, as we continue to pray for a Korea that is united and free.

Help Celebrate the 100th Birthday of WW2 Army Air Force Veteran Captain Frank Wendzel!

Join the Irvine 2/11 Marine Adoption Committee in celebrating and brightening the 100th birthday of a distinguished Orange County veteran of World War Two and the Cold War.

Captain Frank Wendzel, a Lake Forest resident (and formerly an Irvine resident) who has been in quarantine in assisted living for over 90 days, will be celebrating his 100th birthday on Flag Day, June 14.

Born in Wyoming on June 14, 1920, Captain Wendzel flew B-17s with the United States Army Air Force in World War Two, participated in the nuclear weapon tests of Operation Crossroads, and then worked as an engineer on the Mercury, Atlas, Apollo, space missions.  He moved to Orange County in 1957.

Due to the pandemic, his big party was canceled and he has only had window visits for the last few months.

His mailing address is:
Captain Frank Wendzel
Freedom Village Health Care Center
23442 El Toro Road
Building 2
Room 111-B
Lake Forest, CA 92630

Please join us in thanking Frank for his military service and wishing him a Very Happy 100th Birthday!

Here is a video on the life of Captain Frank Wendzel, USAAF, ret.:

Honor Our Fallen Heroes on Memorial Day

Orange County 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, as the cousin of a Marine who was killed in action, and as an Irvine City Council Member, I am proud of Irvine’s commitment to honoring our veterans, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

For many, many years, my family and I have attended Irvine’s two beautiful Memorial Day ceremonies — a community-led candle-lighting ceremony at the Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial and the official City of Irvine Memorial Day Ceremony at Col. Bill Barber Marine Corps. Memorial Park next to the Civic Center.

Sadly, this year both ceremonies have been cancelled due to the need to limit non-essential gatherings to combat the spread of COVID-19 in our community.

This year, the official City of Irvine Memorial Day Ceremony will be presented online beginning May 25, 2020, for the community to view at their convenience.  The presentation will include words from our mayor, remarks from officers from the City’s adopted 2/11 Marine Battalion, and musical performances from past ceremonies.  For more information, call 949-724-6606.

The Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial, dedicated in 2010, located at 4531 Bryan Avenue, Irvine CA 92620, 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 ensure that generations of Americans will remember and honor them with gratitude as we do today. Regarding the Northwood Honor and Gratitude Memorial Ceremony, the following notice has been posted on their Facebook page:  

“To all our SoCal friends, it is with great sadness that we announce the City of Irvine, in keeping with the stay at home order, has CANCELED the Memorial Day Ceremony at the Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial.

The City will be generously donating a beautiful wreath of remembrance.  American flags will be placed around the perimeter of the memorial and candles for lighting for those who would like to visit during the Memorial Day weekend.

There will be staff at the community center if anyone needs help finding the name of a loved one or needs name rubbing materials.

We encourage everyone to please take a few minutes of your time to stop by and pay your respects during the holiday weekend.

To our beloved Gold Star families . . . please know that even though there is no ceremony we will never forget the sacrifices your heroes made for our freedom. Thankfully this beautiful memorial is a daily reminder that our community has not forgotten those who bravely put on our Nation’s cloth and gave the ultimate sacrifice.”

As in past years, I will thinking especially of my cousin, PFC Irwin Handler, USMC, who was killed at the Battle of Chosen Reservoir during the Korean War, and of the son of family friends, Lance Corporal Donald J. Hogan, USMC, Navy Cross, who was killed in Afghanistan.

 

I will also be remembering Irvine’s own fallen heroes:

Petty Officer Regan Young

Second Lieutenant Mark J. Daily

Lance Corporal Sean Horn

Chief Warrant Officer Steven Michael Larrabee

Major Michael David Martino

Specialist Justin W Pollard

Lance Corporal Michael S. Probst

Major Charles R. Soltes Jr.

Lieutenant Commander Keith E. Taylor

Although we are not able to gather together physically this Memorial Day, we will be gathered together in our hearts

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.

The People Have Spoken: The Irvine City Council Should Designate the ARDA as the Site for the Orange County Veterans Cemetery. UPDATED!

UPDATE[May 13, 2020] At last night’s Irvine City Council meeting, the Council voted 4-1 to agree with me and to adopt the citizens’ initiative calling for locating a state veterans cemetery at the originally designated ARDA site adjacent to the Great Park on the ground of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS El Toro).  The ARDA is located in the 68th Assembly District.  As the Assemblymember for the 68th Assembly District, I will work to ensure that the state fulfills its promise to “acquire, study, design, develop, construct, and equip a state-owned and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery” on the hallowed grounds of the former El Toro Marine Base.

The time has come to settle the issue of where to locate a state veterans cemetery in Irvine. The people have spoken – twice – on this issue. Accordingly, at the next Irvine City Council meeting, I will propose that the City Council adopt, as an ordinance, the recent citizens’ initiative calling for locating a state veterans cemetery at the originally designated ARDA site adjacent to the Great Park.

Adopting the initiative as an ordinance will finally settle this long-divisive issue in the way that the people of this City have now twice demanded — first, by their overwhelming rejection in 2018 of Measure B and the land exchange, and most recently, by gathering nearly 20,000 signatures expressing the residents’ desire to locate the veterans cemetery on the ARDA.

Adopting the citizen’s initiative as an ordinance would also allow construction of the much-needed Orange County State Veterans Cemetery to begin as early as possible without any further political delays.

I have been fighting for a veterans cemetery on the hallowed grounds of the former El Toro Marine Air Station for many years, beginning in 2013, long before I was elected to the City Council.  As I wrote to the Irvine City Council in early 2014:

Melissa Fox in May 2014 urging the Irvine City Council to fulfill its promise to create an Orange County Veterans Cemetery without delay.

“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. 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. I believe that a portion of the Great Park in Irvine, which was once the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, would be an altogether fitting and proper location for this Orange County Veterans Cemetery, as well as a lasting memorial to the Great Park’s military heritage. As an Irvine resident and a member of the Irvine Community Services Commission – and as the daughter of an Orange County Korean War combat veteran – I urge you to create an Orange County Veterans Cemetery and, also, to locate this cemetery in a portion of the Great Park that was once the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.”

Control Tower of MCAS El Toro, still visible on the ARDA site.

On March 11, 2014, I cheered with others in the audience when the City Council unanimously voted to designate the Amended and Restated Development Agreement [ARDA] site in the Orange County Great Park in Irvine as the future site of a veterans cemetery. But when I became an Irvine City Councilmember in 2016, I learned that there had been no progress on a veterans cemetery in the intervening two years. The reason for this lack of progress, I was informed, was the high cost of the decontamination and demolition necessary on the ARDA site.

Marine Corps A4 Skyhawks in flight over El Toro, 1961

Because construction of a veterans cemetery at the ARDA site did not appear to be financially viable for the City of Irvine, I supported the Strawberry Fields site (and the land exchange with FivePoint) as a less expensive, more practical, and faster alternative to the ARDA site. This land exchange proposal became Measure B, which was placed on the ballot for the voters in June 2018. The land exchange was supported by the Orange County Veteran’s Memorial Park Foundation and many national and local veterans organizations, as well as both the Democratic and Republican Parties of Orange County. 

The voters, however, decisively rejected Measure B and the land exchange, with 63 percent opposed. I understood from the defeat of Measure B that Irvine residents did not trust the City Council to put the people’s interests ahead of the interests of Irvine’s powerful developers, and, specifically, did not want to risk the possibility that the land exchange with FivePoint that would lead to massive development and more traffic congestion.

MCAS El Toro patch, designed by Walt Disney.

Following the voters’ rejection of Measure B, it again seemed that the construction of a veterans cemetery at the Great Park had stalled. However, several members of the California State Legislature continued to look for a way to create an Orange County Veterans Cemetery on the grounds of the former El Toro Marine Base.

Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, who taken the lead in earlier legislation regarding an Orange County Veterans Cemetery, introduced Assembly Bill 368, which requires the California Department of Veterans Affairs toJoining Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva (AD 65) in support of this bill was a bipartisan group of Orange County legislators, including Republican Assemblymembers Tyler Diep (AD 72), William Brough (AD 73) and Philip Chen (AD 55), as well as Democrats Senator Thomas J. Umberg (SD 34) and Assemblymember Tom Daily (AD 69).  These legislators wrote to the Irvine City Council stating, “Today, we are ready to work with State and Federal officials to secure funding for the Southern California Veterans Memorial Park and Cemetery.  We ask that you stand by your previous commitment to provide a resting place for California veterans at the ARDA site.”

Most important to me, this legislation committed the State of California, rather than the residents of Irvine, to provide the funding for the veterans cemetery. Initially, the legislation specified state financial support only for the ARDA site. After pressure from FivePoint and Mayor Christina Shea, the bill was amended to apply to either the ARDA site or a new site now proposed by Mayor Christina Shea and developer FivePoint. This newly proposed site was called the “Golf Course” site because it was comprised, in part, of land in the Great Park that had originally been designated to become a city-run golf course. However, the new site also included land that had previously been designated as part of the Orange County Great Park’s long-awaited “Cultural Terrace,” meant to include museums, botanical gardens, and other very popular cultural amenities that the people of Orange County had been waiting for a very long time. 

WW2 Era Marine aviators at MCAS El Toro.

Crucially, this new and hastily unveiled “Golf Course” site has never been studied or evaluated – by either the City or the State — for use as a veterans cemetery. As a result, the claims of FivePoint and Mayor Shea that the Golf Course site is a significantly less costly alternative to the ARDA are wholly conjectural. The truth is, since we have not actually studied the question, we have no idea whether locating the veterans cemetery on the Golf Course site rather than the ARDA would save a penny for the taxpayers.

We do know, however, that FivePoint very much wants to develop the ARDA site. Of course, this development of the ARDA site by FivePoint can not happen if the ARDA becomes a veterans cemetery.

We also know that Mayor Shea very much wants FivePoint to be able to develop the ARDA. In fact, when discussing this new alternative site with a group of Great Park residents, Mayor Shea stated that her plan was to give FivePoint a 99-year lease for development on the ARDA. Mayor Shea further said that Golf Course site was really a “diversion” or “short-time solution” to buy time and ensure that the ARDA did not become a veterans cemetery. She made it clear that to her, whether a veterans cemetery was actually built on the Golf Course site – or anywhere in Irvine — was secondary to making sure that the ARDA site remained available for development by FivePoint. In other words, Mayor Shea and FivePoint still intended to do precisely what the voters in defeating Measure B had specifically rejected.

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro Air Show Poster, 1991

For these reasons, when it again came before the City Council in April 2019, I supported designation of the ARDA as the site for a veterans cemetery, for the State of California to “acquire, study, design, develop, construct, and equip a state-owned and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery” on the grounds of the former El Toro Marine Base. Nevertheless, the Irvine City Council rejected the ARDA and designated the Golf Course site for a veterans cemetery by a vote of 4 to 1, with only myself opposed.

The citizens’ initiative drive followed. Advocates for the ARDA site were able to collect nearly 20,000 signatures of Irvine residents to force the City Council to locate the veterans cemetery at the ARDA or place the issue on the ballot in November 2020.

I have never approached this issue from a partisan perspective, or with concern for anything but properly honoring O.C. veterans like my father. My sole concern now — as it has been from the beginning of this effort — is doing whatever I can to ensure that an Orange County Veterans Cemetery becomes a reality.

My criteria for deciding where to locate the veterans cemetery has also remained consistent: I support the site that I believe is most viable, most likely to be completed, and at the least cost to Irvine taxpayers. That site is the ARDA.

Our veterans deserve a final resting place close to their families and loved ones. Veterans like my father have waited long enough for Irvine to do the right thing.

Let’s build an Orange County Veterans Cemetery at the ARDA without further unnecessary delay.

Let’s listen to the people.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Fox Family! Thanksgiving is a Time to Give to Those In Need

We have much for which we are grateful.

We are grateful for this great nation, 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.

We are grateful for the blessings of our beautiful planet and our beautiful state of California.

We are grateful for our Police and Firefighters, our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and Airmen.

We are grateful, too, 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, care for the young and the aged, share their knowledge and skills, and keep us moving forward.

We are also 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.

Another worthy organization is the California Association of Food Banks, founded in 1995 to help hungry people throughout California, including our local Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and the Community Action Partnership of Orange County Food Bank.

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.

Gift cards for Firefighters can be mailed or delivered to the OCFA Firefighter’s Benevolent Association for Firefighters in need.  Monetary donations can be made to Firefighter organizations such as the OCFA Foundation and the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.  Donations can also be made to the California Fire Museum and Safety Leaning Center,

Many other worthy non-profit organizations that provide assistance to the residents of Irvine and surrounding areas can be found on the Charity Directory of the City of Irvine’s website.

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.

Please bless them in their own time of need.

Amen.

Melissa

Honor Our Veterans at Irvine’s Veterans Day Ceremony on Monday, November 11, 2019

Veterans Day is a time to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and commitment to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

In honor of our veterans and in support of their families, the City of Irvine will host a special Veterans Day Ceremony on Monday, November 11th from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the formal garden area at the Colonel Bill Barber Marine Corps Memorial Park.

The ceremony will honor all our service members – past and present Honor Guards from the Irvine Police Department and Irvine’s own adopted 2/11 Marines will lead the opening and closing ceremonies.

As the daughter of a combat veteran, I know the tremendous value of veterans’ service, their core principles of honor, courage, and commitment.

As a member of the Irvine City Council, I am proud that Irvine truly appreciates the commitment and sacrifice of our military veterans. It is always an honor to celebrate the service of our men and women of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard, and to thank them for what they’ve given to keep our nation free.

Please join me in honoring our veterans on this Veterans Day.

Colonel Bill Barber Marine Corps Memorial Park is located at 4 Civic Center, Irvine CA 92606

For more information, call 949-724-6606.

Join Me on Saturday, June 22, to Support the Irvine 2/11 Marine Adoption Committee Car Wash Fundraiser 2019

Join me on Saturday, June 22, 2019, for the Annual Car Wash fundraiser in support of Irvine 2/11 Marine Adoption Committee to directly benefit the 2/11 Marines.

The car wash will take place from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm at Lakeview Senior Center in Mike Ward Community Park in Woodbridge.

Irvine is proud of its military heritage, especially its close connection to the United States Marine Corps.

From 1943 to 1999, Irvine was the home of Marine Air Station El Toro, which was once the largest Marine air station on the West Coast. Thousands of Marines served here, and thousands more flew from here to battles in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

Many never returned.

On September 15, 2007, the 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division (2/11) from Camp Pendleton, was officially “adopted” by the City of Irvine. The City of Irvine and the 2/11 Marines made a pledge to encourage mutually beneficial interactions between the community and the battalion.

The 1st Marine Division is the oldest, largest and most decorated division in the United States Marine Corps. The 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines (2/11) is a 155mm howitzer battalion based at Camp Pendleton, California. Its primary mission is to provide artillery support to the 5th Marine Regiment in time of conflict. At any time, the command has roughly 750 Marines and Sailors assigned to it.

The battalion’s exemplary service ranges from France in World War I to the Battles of Guadalcanal and Okinawa in the Pacific in World War II to Inchon and the Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War (where my cousin USMC Pvt. Irwin Handler was killed in action), to Hue and Phu Bai in Vietnam to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in the Gulf War to Operation Enduring Freedom in Kuwait to the more recent campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Irvine 2/11 Marine Adoption Committee , a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, provides charitable and educational activities and support for the benefit and welfare of the United States Marines and their families assigned to Camp Pendleton, with special emphasis on the Marines and families of the 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines (“2/11 Marines”).

Additionally, the Committee seeks to educate and inform the community regarding the 2/11’s activities and responsibilities.  The Committee accomplishes its goal by soliciting private and public donations of cash, food, beverages, and new and used material goods to help underwrite the cost of sponsoring 2/11 Marines and their families.

The Irvine 2/11 Marine Adoption Committee welcomes the Irvine community to support our adopted battalion by participating and donating to a variety of activities. These activities include holiday and pre-deployment events, care packages, toy drives and more.

What: Annual Car Wash fundraiser in support of Irvine 2/11 Marine Adoption Committee to directly benefit the 2/11 Marines.
When: Saturday, June 22, 2019, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Where: Lakeview Senior Center Parking Lot, 20 Lake Rd, Irvine, CA 92604 

See you there!

Join Me to Honor our Fallen Heroes in Two Ceremonies this Memorial Day Weekend

Please join me on Memorial Day  weekend as we honor the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation and pays special tribute to our local service members and veterans.

Orange County 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, as the cousin of a Marine who was killed in action, and as an Irvine City Councilmember, I am proud of Irvine’s commitment to honoring our veterans, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
Irvine will honor our fallen heroes in two ceremonies this Memorial Day weekend:

Sunday, May 26, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. 

Candle Lighting Ceremony: Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial 

4531 Bryan Avenue, Irvine CA 92620 

The 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 include presentations from and honor Gold Star families. Please bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating.

Monday, May 27, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. 

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

4 Civic Center Plaza, Irvine CA 92606 

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 Card 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.

Irvine will also specifically honor our own fallen heroes:

Petty Officer Regan Young

Second Lieutenant Mark J. Daily

Lance Corporal Sean Horn

Chief Warrant Officer Steven Michael Larrabee

Major Michael David Martino

Specialist Justin W Pollard

Lance Corporal Michael S. Probst

Major Charles R. Soltes Jr.

Lieutenant Commander Keith E. Taylor

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

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.

Orange County Veterans Deserve a Final Resting Place. The ARDA is the Only Site that has a Real Chance of Receiving the Necessary Funding. Let’s Get it Done!

I have been fighting for a veterans cemetery on the hallowed grounds of the former El Toro Marine Air Station for many years, beginning in 2013.

As I wrote to the Irvine City Council in early 2014:

“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.”

“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.  I believe that a portion of the Great Park in Irvine, which was once the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, would be an altogether fitting and proper location for this Orange County Veterans Cemetery, as well as a lasting memorial to the Great Park’s military heritage.”

“As an Irvine resident and a member of the Irvine Community Services Commission – and as the daughter of an Orange County Korean War combat veteran – I urge you to create an Orange County Veterans Cemetery and, also, to locate this cemetery in a portion of the Great Park that was once the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.”

On March 11, 2014, I cheered when the City Council unanimously voted to designate the Amended and Restated Development Agreement [ARDA] site in the Orange County Great Park in Irvine as the future site of a verterans cemetery.

But when I became an Irvine City Councilmember in 2016, I learned that there had been no progress on a veterans cemetery in the intervening two years because, I was informed, of the high cost of the decontamination and demolition necessary on the originally designated ARDA site.

Because the ARDA site did not appear to be financially viable, I, along with the Orange County Veteran’s Memorial Park Foundation and many national and local veterans organizations, supported the Strawberry Fields site as a less expensive, more practical, and faster alternative.

When the voters rejected the Strawberry Fields site as causing too much traffic and being too close to the freeway, I then proposed, along with Irvine City Councilmember Christina Shea, using a portion of the Orange County Great Park (and the former MCAS El Toro) that is currently planned for a golf course to be used instead for a veterans cemetery.

Subsequently, a site was proposed in Anaheim Hills near the 91 Freeway.  While I am not opposed to that site, the fact is that it has not received support from the Assembly, has not received any financial backing from either the county, state, or federal government, and is not located on the historically appropriate grounds of the former MCAS El Toro. It does not appear to be viable.

Now several of our state legislators have recently indicated a strong preference for the ARDA site originally designated by the Irvine City Council.

Assembly Bill 368, authored by Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (AD 65) and currently before the Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee, states that the California Department of Veterans Affairs “shall acquire, study, design, develop, construct, and equip a state-owned and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery, which shall be located at the site of the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, on 125 acres known as the Amended and Restated Development Agreement [ARDA] Site in the Orange County Great Park in the City of Irvine.”

Significantly, several Orange County members of the legislature, from both sides of the aisle — Democrats Senator Thomas J. Umberg (SD 34) and Assemblymembers Sharon Quirk-Silva (AD 65) and Tom Daily (AD 69) and Republican Assemblymembers Tyler Diep (AD 72), William Brough (AD 73) and Philip Chen (AD 55) — have pledged to allocate the funds necessary for the decontamination of the site and the construction of a veterans cemetery in that location and urged the Irvine City City to re-designate it as the official site.

Their letter states, “Today, we are ready to work with State and Federal officials to secure funding for the Southern California Veterans Memorial Park and Cemetery.  We ask that you stand by your previous commitment to provide a resting place for California veterans at the ARDA site.”

In addition, Nick Berardino, President of VALOR (Veterans Alliance of Orange County) and a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War, who has been advocating for a veterans cemetery for years, has responded to the legislators’ letter by saying “We are excited that the legislature is poised to support the veterans cemetery and impressed that the Orange County delegation is able to secure the funding in this years budget.”

This week, on April 9, 2019, Assembly Bill 368 was unanimously approved (10-0) for passage by the Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee and referred to the Appropriations Committee.

Accordingly, it is now clear that the only site that has a real chance of receiving the necessary funding for an Orange County veterans cemetery is the ARDA site.

For this reason, I am withdrawing my support for the golf course site option and joining with these state legislators in calling for the Irvine City Council to again designate the ARDA as the site for a veterans cemetery and calling on the state and federal government to provide the funding needed to build a veterans cemetery on the ARDA site in the Great Park on the hallowed grounds of the former El Toro Marine Station.

Further, this month, United States Representative Gilbert Cisneros (CA 39), a retired naval officer and a member of the Congressional Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies has urged the federal government to step up and provide financial help for our long-overdue veterans cemetery in Orange County.

He wrote to the Subcommittee: “I urge you to provide increased funding for the Veterans State Cemetery Grant program in order to support a veterans cemetery in Orange County. With 3.19 million residents, Orange County has a disproportionately high population of veterans. However, it does not have a single veterans cemetery. Local veterans have been campaigning for a veterans cemetery for years, but the federal government has failed to rise to the occasion. While local entities are pursuing a state veterans cemetery, federal funding should be made available in order to get this project across the finish line. I urge you to increase the VA’s State Cemetery Grant program funding to ensure this long overdue project does not suffer any further delays.”

Along with the Orange County Veterans Memorial Park Foundation, which has led the fight years-long fight for an Orange County veterans cemetery, I say “Hurrah!” to Rep. Cisneros’ letter.

Based on all these factors, as a member of the Irvine City Council and the daughter of a combat veteran, I hereby fully commit to the goal of building a Southern California Veterans Cemetery on the grounds of the former MCAS El Toro at the ARDA site.

I have never approached this issue from a partisan perspective, or with concern for anything but properly honoring O.C. veterans like my father. My sole concern now — as it has been from the beginning of this effort — is doing whatever I can to ensure that an O.C. Veterans Cemetery becomes a reality.

I look forward to working in a positive, bipartisan way with our state and federal representatives, other Irvine City Councilmembers, the Orange County Veterans Memorial Park Foundation, veterans organizations, community groups, and private donors, doing whatever it takes and pulling together in the same direction, to finally establish the Orange County veterans cemetery that we have fought for and needed for so long.

Our veterans deserve a final resting place close to their families and loved ones.

Let’s get it done.

An Irvine Guide and Thank You for Giving Tuesday

Today is Giving Tuesday.

The City of Irvine’s website provides Irvine Gives, a comprehensive online resource to help locate the giving opportunities you seek.  If you want to donate time, money or materials, this is the place to start.

Donating online is as easy as clicking a button. Select blue “Donate Now” button on the right side of this page to link directly to the area of your choice. All donations to City programs are tax-deductible

The City of Irvine’s website also provides information on many volunteering opportunities.

I also want to take a moment to suggest some charitable organizations that our family supports.

Our family supports 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.

We also support the California Association of Food Banks, founded in 1995 to help hungry people throughout California, including our local Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and the Community Action Partnership of Orange County Food Bank.

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 support 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 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.  Socks for Heroes was founded by friends of ours from Orange County whose son, Lance Corporal Donald Hogan, 20, was killed by a roadside bomb while his unit was on foot patrol in southwest Afghanistan’s Helmand province. LCpl Hogan noticed a command detonated, pull-string IED being activated and hurled his body into the Marine next to him, throwing him out of harm’s way. He then yelled to his squad, warning them of the impending blast and giving them the split second needed to move to relative safety. For his heroism and sacrifice, LCpl Hogan received the Navy Cross, our nation’s second highest military honor.

We are a firefighter family and the needs of firefighters and other first responders are often on our minds during the holiday season. Gift cards for Firefighters can be mailed or delivered to the OCFA Firefighter’s Benevolent Association for Firefighters in need.  Monetary donations can be made to Firefighter organizations such as the OCFA Foundation and the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.

Donations can also be made to the California Fire Museum and Safety Leaning Center, a local organization dedicated to preserving our California firefighter heritage and advancing community knowledge of fire safety.

Of course, not all giving is through monetary donations.  Irvine is fortunate to have so many residents who give their time and their personal efforts to support our many community events and organizations.  Thank you all!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Fox Family!

We have much for which we are grateful.

We are grateful for this great nation, 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.

We are grateful for the blessings of our beautiful planet and our beautiful state of California.

We are grateful for our Police and Firefighters, our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and Airmen.

We are grateful, too, 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, care for the young and the aged, share their knowledge and skills, and keep us moving forward.

We are also 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.

Another worthy organization is the California Association of Food Banks, founded in 1995 to help hungry people throughout California, including our local Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and the Community Action Partnership of Orange County Food Bank.

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.

Gift cards for Firefighters can be mailed or delivered to the OCFA Firefighter’s Benevolent Association for Firefighters in need.  Monetary donations can be made to Firefighter organizations such as the OCFA Foundation and the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.  Donations can also be made to the California Fire Museum and Safety Leaning Center,

Many other worthy non-profit organizations that provide assistance to the residents of Irvine and surrounding areas can be found on the Charity Directory of the City of Irvine’s website.

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.

Please bless them in their own time of need.

Amen.

Melissa

Veterans Day: Join Me as Irvine Honors All Who Served

Veterans Day is a time to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and commitment to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

In honor of our veterans and in support of their families, the City of Irvine will host a special Veterans Day Ceremony on Sunday, November 11th from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the formal garden area at the Colonel Bill Barber Marine Corps Memorial Park.

The ceremony will honor all our service members – past and present  Honor Guards from the Irvine Police Department and Irvine’s own adopted 2/11 Marines from Camp Pendleton will lead the opening and closing ceremonies.

As the daughter of a combat veteran, I know the tremendous value of veterans’ service, their core principles of honor, courage, and commitment.

As a member of the Irvine City Council, I am proud that Irvine truly appreciates the commitment and sacrifice of our military veterans. It is always an honor to celebrate the service of our men and women of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard, and to thank them for what they’ve given to keep our nation free.

Please join me in honoring our veterans on this Veterans Day.

You can find the Facebook event page here.

Colonel Bill Barber Marine Corps Memorial Park is located at 4 Civic Center, Irvine CA 92606

For more information, call 949-724-6606.

See you there!

 

Irvine City Councilmembers Christina Shea and Melissa Fox Seek Relocation of the Veterans Cemetery to Area Currently Planned for a Golf Course in the Great Park

The following is a press release that was sent out on July 13, 2018.

July 13, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Daniel Robertson 949-874-3442

IRVINE CITY COUNCILMEMBERS CHRISTINA SHEA AND MELISSA FOX SEEK POTENTIAL RELOCATION OF VETERANS CEMETERY TO AREA CURRENTLY PLANNED FOR A GOLF COURSE IN THE GREAT PARK.

IRVINE, CA – Based on the voters rejection of Measure B, Irvine City Councilmembers Christina Shea and Melissa Fox have sent a memo to Acting City Manager Grace Leung directing the City’s planning staff to consider the potential relocation of the Orange County Veterans Cemetery to the area currently planned for a golf course in the Great Park.

The memo is as follows:

As we continue to seek a site for the Veterans Cemetery, it has occurred to us and others, as mentioned July 10th at our council meeting, that the area within the Great Park planned for a golf course offers several benefits as a potential location. The golf course site has ample space, at about 195 acres; it is within the Great Park and in the heart of the former MCAS El Toro, honoring those who served there; it is not located adjacent to neighborhoods or schools, and it could provide multiple points of access for future visitation and processions. If up to 125 acres were to be dedicated to the Veterans Cemetery, 70 plus acres would still be available for a smaller golf-related use, other recreational uses and a potential for the expansion of the Organic Circle Farm, helping with annual revenues for the Great Park.

The golf course site wouldn’t require the 40 million dollars demolition and remediation costs that the ARDA site requires. The golf course site has also gone thru the CEQA process. Additionally, by creating a veteran’s cemetery in the heart of the Great Park, not outside the Great Park where the ARDA site is located, our Veterans would realize a true resting place inside the Great Park, where so many citizens have requested the cemetery to be developed. In lieu of a full length golf course, there may be financial savings that can be used for cemetery construction.

For the reasons outlined above, we believe this is worthy of our planning staff to add this second site to their present review and due diligence study for the City’s review process of the ARDA site. This will allow staff to review this concept along with any other alternatives we may deem of value for our Veterans Cemetery.”

Councilmember Christina Shea stated that “We are listening to our voters and we want to find what works best to create a veterans cemetery and to bring peace and civility back to our city.  We are determined to find a positive solution to provide a veterans cemetery in our city and ensure that our residents’ voices are heard.”

Councilmember Melissa Fox stated that “The voters have spoken. We are listening. We need to find a location for the veterans cemetery that responds to the voters’ concerns. I have been a strong and consistent supporter of a veterans cemetery within the hallowed grounds of the former Marine Air Station El Toro, where so many brave men and women flew to Vietnam and other war zones, some never to come back. The Great Park is an altogether fitting and proper location for this veterans cemetery, where it would also be a lasting memorial to the Great Park’s military heritage.”

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Note:

Anyone who wishes to express support for this proposal — to consider the potential relocation of the Orange County Veterans Cemetery to the area currently planned for a golf course in the Great Park — can contact the Irvine City Council here.

Press Release: Irvine City Councilmember Melissa Fox Refers Email Threat to Orange County District Attorney

July 9, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jason Mills (714) 576-4303

IRVINE CITY COUNCILMEMBER MELISSA FOX REFERS EMAIL THREAT TO ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY

IRVINE, CA – Irvine City Councilmember Melissa Fox referred an email communication from Harvey Liss to the Orange County District Attorney’s office today.

In his email to Councilmember Fox, Liss directed her to vote for a motion regarding the veterans’ cemetery to be presented by Councilmember Jeff Lalloway at the July 10, 2018, City Council meeting or face an end to her participation on the Irvine City Council.

Liss’s email to Councilmember Fox may constitute a violation of several California criminal code sections designed to protect public officials from being extorted for their votes.

Liss is a close ally of Larry Agran and Ed Pope of the “Save the Veterans Cemetery” campaign committee, and an editor of the Irvine Community News & Views, which was one of the major donors to the campaign urging a “No” vote on Measure B, lending over $300,000 to the campaign, without transparency as to where its money came from.

Liss’s communication to Councilmember Fox via her private email account may also violate the City of Irvine’s Ethics and Lobbying Ordinance, since Liss is demanding that Councilmember Fox take a position on a municipal question on which Irvine Community News & Views has spent money far over the threshold reporting amount without reporting or registering as a city lobbyist and without reporting the lobbying activities that he and other agents of Irvine Community News & Views have undertaken.

In response to the email, Councilmember Fox said, “Liss’s threat is a misuse of the political system.  It is to the people of Irvine that I owe my best efforts, my best judgment, my faithfulness, and my sole allegiance.  I will not be bullied, threatened, or extorted into voting against what I believe to be the best interests of the City of Irvine.”

 

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The Veterans Cemetery: What Should Irvine Do Now?

Current view of the original (ARDA) site for a veterans cemetery.

The voters in Irvine recently rejected Measure B. The issues now are what, in rejecting Measure B, did the voters really decide, and what should the Irvine City Council do in response to the voters’ decision.

Some argue that the rejection of Measure B means that the voters said that the proposed veterans cemetery should be located at the ARDA site that was originally selected by the City Council in July 2014, and that the City Council should begin immediately to build a veterans cemetery at that location.

But the actual language of Measure B said nothing about the original ARDA site, except that the development previously zoned for the strawberry fields site would be moved there.

Looking at the specific language of Measure B, what the voters said No to was “allowing the previously planned development for the Bake Parkway Site to be relocated to the intersection of Pusan and Irvine Blvd and allowing the development of a veterans cemetery near the intersection of I-5 and Bake Parkway.”

Thus, by its express language, the no vote on Measure B rejects that zoning decision, but does not authorize the city to place a veterans cemetery on the ARDA site.

Sign used by Measure B opponents warning of thousands more cars on Irvine roads if Measure B passed.

In addition, the City Council’s approval of the ARDA site in 2014 was based on the belief that the City would provide the land for the veterans cemetery, but the costs of construction and subsequent maintenance of the cemetery would be wholly paid by state and federal government.

Crucially, the City Council’s approval of the ARDA site also came several years before we learned that construction of the veterans cemetery at the ARDA site would cost nearly $80 million, mostly due to the need for decontamination of the soil and the decontamination and removal of numerous existing structures, and that in addition to providing the land, the City would have to bear a significant portion of these construction costs.

In particular, Measure B said nothing at all about approving the spending of tens of millions of dollars that are now earmarked for creating the features of the Great Park that residents have said they want – such as museums, botanical gardens, a new Wild Rivers Water Park, and a permanent amphitheatre for live music – and, instead, using that money for a veterans cemetery.

My belief is that the rejection of Measure B means that the voters did not want a zoning change that, as the No on B campaign said, would have allowed “massive development projects” at the ARDA site, add “812,000 square feet of development,” and “bring 10,000 more cars and trucks to Irvine streets and neighborhoods every day.”

For me, the lesson of Measure B is that the voters did not want to risk the possibility that the land exchange would lead to more development and more traffic congestion, as well as the voters believing that it was too favorable a deal for the developer.

In other words, I see the rejection of Measure B as a vote against more development and traffic congestion, and not a vote in favor of spending $40 – $80 million dollars on a veterans cemetery rather than building other popular features of the Great Park.

In a survey of Irvine voters I conducted from my blog and through email, the great majority said that they voted against Measure B because they did not want more development and traffic.

Even more significantly, 64% said that Irvine should not spend $40 to $80 million dollars for a veterans cemetery, compared to only 13.5% in favor.

Current view of the original (ARDA) site for a veterans cemetery.

In a new and promising twist to the veterans cemetery saga, the Orange County Board of Supervisors has now agreed to have its staff study and advise whether county-owned open space outside Irvine might be a feasible location for an Orange County veterans cemetery. The approximately 234-acre site is in the city of Anaheim, near the 91 and 241, adjacent to Gypsum Canyon.

This site would provide a larger veterans cemetery for Orange County veterans, at no cost to Irvine, and be free from the divisive politics that has characterized the veterans cemetery debate in Irvine.

In fact, many of the veterans who initiated the fight for a veterans cemetery now favor this site, because, as Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran Nick Berardino has said, it appears that “veterans are removed from the political equation, and are now heading in a practical, reasonable direction to give all the brave men and women a final resting place.”

If the Irvine City Council approves Jeff Lalloway’s motion to spend $40 to $80 million dollars to clean up the original site for a cemetery, it will deplete the Great Park budget for at least a decade.

As the Irvine City News noted, “It sounds noble when [Jeff] Lalloway, [Larry] Agran and their followers hold up the service of our veterans. But when you understand that the veterans still can’t get what they were promised without taking away the gardens, the museums, the music, the culture and the future of the Great Park, it puts Lalloway’s political power move in perspective.”

I have been a strong and consistent supporter of a veterans cemetery in Irvine.  But I have also been a strong supporter of fulfilling the promises that the City made to residents when it created the Great Park, and I am not in favor of giving up on those promises.

I believe the Great Park should have great gardens and a great museum, as well as other features for the enjoyment of all residents, and I do not believe that the City can afford to spend $40 to $80 million on a cemetery and continue with these other projects.

What do you think?  

Do you favor spending $40 to $80 million dollars to clean up the original site for a cemetery or should that money go to create other features for the Great Park?

The City Council will decide on Tues, July whether to approve Lalloway’s motion or whether some other course is more sensible and also responsive to the will of the voters and the needs of the community.

As always, the public is invited to attend and speak on these issues at the City Council meeting.

I also urge interested residents to contact the Mayor and the City Council by email and tell us in writing what you think we ought to do.

Here is how to contact the Mayor and the City Council:

Irvine City Council
949-724-6233 or irvinecitycouncil@cityofirvine.org

Mayor Wagner: donaldwagner@cityofirvine.org
Mayor Pro Tem Christina Shea: christinashea@cityofirvine.org
Councilmember Jeff Lalloway: jeffreylalloway@cityofirvine.org
Councilmember Lynn Schott: lynnschott@cityofirvine.org
Councilmember Melissa Fox: melissafox@cityofirvine.org

Thank you.

Message from General Robin Umberg: Vote Yes on Measure B!

Here is a message I recently received from my friend Brig. Gen. (ret) Robin Umberg urging us to vote Yes on Measure B.

I want to share it with you:

“Dear Melissa,

As a soldier for 36 years and an Army Brigadier General (ret), I know that the women and men I have served with are the bravest and most devoted people I have ever met. They were all willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for our country and deserve to be honored and remembered within a sacred military cemetery.

Passing Measure B is the only way that veterans will get the cemetery in Orange County that they deserve. That’s why I’m writing to you today — to make sure that you and your friends are prepared to vote Yes on Measure B.

Here are the facts: It has been endorsed by the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and both Republican and Democratic Parties of Orange County. Think about that. A Yes on Measure B will cost citizens less, achieve the mission of constructing the cemetery in the quickest time frame, and this change of site will not increase Orange County’s traffic. It will ensure the establishment of a gorgeous cemetery that will be visible from two highways.

We are closer than we have ever been to providing this much-needed space for remembering our veterans. We can’t let them down now — please vote Yes on Measure B by J‌une 5‌th.

Thank you for honoring our veterans.

Brigadier General (ret) Robin Umberg.”

[Please note: The use of military rank or photos does not imply endorsement by the Department or Defense or the Army.]

For more information about the veterans cemetery, please see:

Setting the Record Straight on the OC Veterans Cemetery

Putting Politics Aside to Honor Veterans with a Final Resting Place

Stop Playing Political Games with Veterans Cemetery

Stop the Politics and Build the Veterans Cemetery Now

Distinguished Environmental Group Laguna Greenbelt Endorses YES on Measure B for Veterans Cemetery!

Irvine Takes Historic Step Forward for a Veterans Cemetery at the Former El Toro Marine Base

Tell the Irvine City Council to Keep Your Promises to Our Veterans

The Strawberry Fields Site is the Best Location for the Veterans Cemetery. Now Let’s Get it Done!

Don’t Be Deceived By The “Save The Veterans Cemetery” Petition!

OC Register Slams Agran, Lalloway, and “Despicable,” “Misleading” Veterans Cemetery Petition

Help Us Defeat the Paid Mercenaries who have Invaded Irvine and their Fraudulent “Save the Veterans Cemetery” Petition!

As the daughter of an Orange County Korean War combat veteran, I am proud to have participated in making sure that Orange County’s veterans – who have sacrificed so much for us – will at last have a final resting place close to their families and loved ones.

Please help by voting YES on Measure B.

Thank you.

Melissa

 

 

Join Me at the Car Wash in Irvine to Support our 2/11 Marines on Sat., June 2

Please join me on Saturday, June 2, 2018, for the Annual Car Wash fundraiser in support of Irvine 2/11 Marine Adoption Committee to directly benefit the 2/11 Marines.

The car wash will take place from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm at Lakeview Senior Center in Mike Ward Community Park in Woodbridge.

Irvine is proud of its military heritage, especially its close connection to the United States Marine Corps.

From 1943 to 1999, Irvine was the home of Marine Air Station El Toro, which was once the largest Marine air station on the West Coast.  Thousands of Marines served here, and thousands more flew from here to battles in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Many never returned.

Irvine’s commitment to its military heritage continues into the present, as the Irvine City Council has now dedicated 125 acres of the former El Toro Marine Base to serve as an Orange County Veterans Cemetery, providing a final resting place for those served, close to their families and loved ones.

On September 15, 2007, the 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division (2/11) from Camp Pendleton, was officially “adopted” by the City of Irvine.  The City of Irvine and the 2/11 Marines made a pledge to encourage mutually beneficial interactions between the community and the battalion.

The 1st Marine Division is the oldest, largest and most decorated division in the United States Marine Corps. The 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines (2/11) is a 155mm howitzer battalion based at Camp Pendleton, California. Its primary mission is to provide artillery support to the 5th Marine Regiment in time of conflict. At any time, the command has roughly 750 Marines and Sailors assigned to it.

The battalion’s exemplary service ranges from France in World War I to the Battles of Guadalcanal and Okinawa in the Pacific in World War II to Inchon and the Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War (where my cousin USMC Pvt. Irwin Handler was killed in action), to Hue and Phu Bai in Vietnam to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in the Gulf War to Operation Enduring Freedom in Kuwait to the more recent campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Irvine 2/11 Marine Adoption Committee, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, 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 (“2/11 Marines”). Additionally, the Committee seeks to educate and inform the community regarding the 2/11’s activities and responsibilities.  The Committee accomplishes its goal by soliciting private and public donations of cash, food, beverages, and new and used material goods to help underwrite the cost of sponsoring 2/11 Marines and their families.

The Irvine 2/11 Marine Adoption Committee welcomes the Irvine community to support our adopted battalion by participating and donating to a variety of activities. These activities include holiday and pre-deployment events, care packages, toy drives and more.

Animals for Armed Forces Special Adoption Event!

In honor of Memorial Day, Irvine Animal Care Center is waiving adoption fees for veterans Friday, May 25, through Sunday, May 27.

The program is made possible through the Animals for Armed Forces Foundation, which is covering adoption fees for the veterans.

The adoption discount applies to active duty, reserve and veterans of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and National Guard, and their immediate family members.

2889fd0babeec81fb068cda2be897ed1--red-white-blue-yellowThe discount does not apply to licensing or puppy wellness fees.

In order to qualify for the discount, the potential adopter needs to bring their photo ID and one of the following:

  • Military ID
  • Dependent ID
  • Veterans ID
  • DD-214
  • NGB Form 22

The Irvine Animal Care Center is at 6443 Oak Canyon Road.

The center is open weekdays noon-7 p.m., weekends 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and is closed Tuesdays and holidays.

The center will be closed Monday, May 28, in observance of Memorial Day.

For more information, call 949-724-7740.

Animals for Armed Forces Foundation is dedicated to providing our US Armed Forces families with free pet adoptions.

Its mission is to save shelter animals by finding them safe and loving homes and thank the heroes of the US Armed Forces and their families with free pet adoptions

Animals for Armed Forces Foundation started in 2010 when Matt MacFarland and Amanda Han, drove by a local animal shelter during Veteran’s Day Weekend and came up with an idea. That following spring, Matt and Amanda had their first event on Memorial Day at the Orange County Animal Shelter.

In just one day, they had 37 adoptions, and in February 2012, Matt and Amanda officially began their lifelong mission of uniting our service men and women with a loving furry companion.

Since that time, Animals for Armed Forces has helped 1,300 adoptions happen.  To Matt and Amanda, one of the biggest rewards is meeting veterans and military families, hearing their stories, and seeing them leave alongside a new pet with a smile on their face.

Currently, the organization is partnering with 29 shelters throughout Southern California and Utah for their annual Memorial Day Weekend adoption event. 

With more awareness and volunteers, Animals for Armed Forces will be able to bring a smile to our heroes’ faces and give shelter animals a second chance at a loving forever home.

You can contact Animals for Armed Forces at animalsforarmedforces@gmail.com or (714) 509-5823.

Celebrate Armed Forces Day — Vote YES on Measure B!

Armed-Forces-Day-683x1024

Today, May 19, 2018, is Armed Forces Day.  First observed in May 1950, the day was created to honor Americans serving in the five U.S. military branches – the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard – following the consolidation of the military services in the U.S. Department of Defense.  To all active duty, reserve and veteran members of the U.S. armed forces – thank you for your service to our nation!

099550e8635598e306c4b09874a0272fOrange County has a long and proud military tradition. Currently, more than two million veterans live in California – more than in any other state.  Orange County has over 130,000 veterans — one of the highest populations in the United States – including more than 7,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Yet Orange County veterans do not have their own dedicated military cemetery.  Those in Orange County who want to visit a veteran’s grave in a military cemetery must travel several hours to Riverside, San Diego, or Los Angeles counties.

Please join me in showing your support for Orange County’s military veterans by voting YES on Measure B to facilitate the creation of a veterans cemetery on the grounds of the former El Toro Marine Base.

Orange County veterans – who have sacrificed so much for us – deserve a final resting place close to their families and loved ones.

For more information about the veterans cemetery, please see:

Putting Politics Aside to Honor Veterans with a Final Resting Place

Stop Playing Political Games with Veterans Cemetery

Stop the Politics and Build the Veterans Cemetery Now

Distinguished Environmental Group Laguna Greenbelt Endorses YES on Measure B for Veterans Cemetery!

Irvine Takes Historic Step Forward for a Veterans Cemetery at the Former El Toro Marine Base

Tell the Irvine City Council to Keep Your Promises to Our Veterans

The Strawberry Fields Site is the Best Location for the Veterans Cemetery. Now Let’s Get it Done!

Don’t Be Deceived By The “Save The Veterans Cemetery” Petition!

OC Register Slams Agran, Lalloway, and “Despicable,” “Misleading” Veterans Cemetery Petition

Help Us Defeat the Paid Mercenaries who have Invaded Irvine and their Fraudulent “Save the Veterans Cemetery” Petition!

As the daughter of an Orange County Korean War combat veteran, I am proud to have participated in making sure that Orange County’s veterans – who have sacrificed so much for us – will at last have a final resting place close to their families and loved ones.

Please help by voting YES on Measure B.

Thank you.

Melissa

Distinguished Environmental Group Laguna Greenbelt Endorses YES on Measure B for Veterans Cemetery!

The leaders of the distinguished environmental group Laguna Greenbelt recently issued a strong statement urging voters to support Yes on Irvine’s Measure B in order to facilitate the creation of a veterans cemetery on the site known as the strawberry fields.

Laguna Greenbelt is a grassroots organization that has worked ceaselessly to protect wildlife habitat in Orange County since 1968. Over the last fifty years, it has led efforts to preserve a coastal wilderness area that is now 22,000 beautiful acres. Today Laguna Greenbelt continues to defend this iconic landscape for the sake of its wild inhabitants and the people who love it.

The Measure B Strawberry Fields Veterans Cemetery site is bisected by the lower part of the “Central Reach” of the Nature Greenbelt, which is crucial to preserving our environmental heritage.

One of Laguna Greenbelt’s major projects has been the creation of an essential nature corridor across Irvine to connect the coastal wildlife habitat west of the I-5, to the much larger open space of the Santa Ana Mountains, including the Cleveland National Forest.

Last March, I had the opportunity to join Laguna Greenbelt President Elisabeth Brown, Ph.D, along with Irvine Mayor Donald P. Wagner and Councilwoman Christina Shea at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Orange County Great Park Wildlife Corridor.

As envisioned by Laguna Greenbelt, this nature corridor will link our coastal wilderness with the Santa Ana Mountains/Cleveland National Forest and will ensure the health and future of wildlife and their habitat in our region’s 22,000 acres of coastal parks.

As the leaders of Laguna Greenbelt noted, “A cemetery built on the strawberry-growing site [i.e., the Yes on Measure B site] would be bisected by the wildlife corridor, greatly increasing the amount of green space available to the animals. The lush greenery of the cemetery would help support wildlife to feed and mingle before moving on.  In contrast, the original cemetery site on Irvine Blvd is not near the wildlife corridor, and would have no benefits for wildlife movement or encouraging genetic mixing. Animals moving downslope from the mountains that found their way to the cemetery across busy Irvine Blvd would be blocked from moving safely inland or seaward. Surrounded by urban development and Irvine Blvd on all sides, the cemetery would be just another isolated fragment of open space”

For this reason, they “urge Irvine voters to approve the land swap in June, and vote yes on Measure B.”

Here is their statement:

“Last September, the City of Irvine agreed to a land swap with developer Five Point Communities. This moved the cemetery site to land near the Spectrum V development and the I-5/I-405 interchange. The gently sloping new site is currently being used as agricultural land to grow strawberries. In exchange, the city deeded over the parcel along Irvine Blvd, where the cemetery was originally planned. After the land swap was completed, the City deeded the new site to the State of California, which is responsible for building the cemetery.

There is now controversy over whether the land swap is in the best interest of the City of Irvine. Political squabbles aside, Laguna Greenbelt, Inc., would like the public to consider the land swap’s merits through the lens of land use principles, open space preservation, and wildlife movement.

Representatives of Laguna Greenbelt, FivePoint, and the City of Irvine at the groudbreaking for the Great Park Nature Corridor in March 2018.

Our grassroots organization has been working with the City of Irvine since before 2000, and since 2012 also with the developer Five Point Communities, to design and complete an essential wildlife corridor across Irvine to connect coastal wildlife habitat west of the I-5, to the much larger open space of the Santa Ana Mountains (including Cleveland National Forest). This wildlife corridor, that we have come to call the Coast to Cleveland Wildlife Corridor, is currently taking shape on the only possible route that will ensure that the coastal wild lands, including Shady and Bommer Canyons, and several other parks and preserves, will not wither and die over time (ecologically speaking), throwing away hundreds of millions of dollars that the community has invested over the many decades it took to set aside and manage our parks and preserves.

In mid-March, as a community, we celebrated the groundbreaking of the last stretch of the wildlife corridor between the Santa Ana Mountains and the coastal open space. In short, it’s a dating corridor for wildlife, at a time when they are increasingly isolated from one another by multi-lane roadways and urban development.

The event was important; the corridor is about 6 miles long, and the stretch under construction will be almost half of that, as it crosses Irvine between Irvine Blvd and the I-5. The so-called Great Park stretch will be entirely on the former Base, but not near the park. Instead, it will be adjacent to future urban development around the park on the East side, and, depending on the June fifth vote, it might meet the Veterans Cemetery.

When considering land uses that will be neighbors of habitat and wildlife corridors, it’s clear that some are better than others. Animals exploring for food, cover, and water are spooked and avoid moving towards noisy areas with human activity, lights, cars, unfamiliar smells, and domestic pets. Land uses that are quiet at night and minimize human activity near a wildlife corridor are favorable for animals moving through the area, allowing them to continue on their journeys.

In general, a cemetery is one of the best complementary land uses for natural areas and wildlife; a dark and quiet place at night, when many animals are active. However, in real estate, it’s all about the location, and one of the sites proposed for the Veterans Cemetery is much better than the other for animals traveling along the corridor.

A cemetery built on the strawberry-growing site would be bisected by the wildlife corridor, greatly increasing the amount of green space available to the animals. The lush greenery of the cemetery would help support wildlife to feed and mingle before moving on.

In contrast, the original cemetery site on Irvine Blvd is not near the wildlife corridor, and would have no benefits for wildlife movement or encouraging genetic mixing. Animals moving downslope from the mountains that found their way to the cemetery across busy Irvine Blvd would be blocked from moving safely inland or seaward. Surrounded by urban development and Irvine Blvd on all sides, the cemetery would be just another isolated fragment of open space.

The health and future of wildlife and their habitat in 22,000 acres of coastal parks rides on the success of the wildlife corridor. The land swap supports the bottom line, too: In sheer dollars, so much has been invested in our public lands, don’t we want to protect our investment? We urge Irvine voters to approve the land swap in June, and vote yes on Measure B.”

Learn more about the Coast to Cleveland Corridor here.

You can watch a video on the Great Park Nature Corridor here.

Elisabeth M. Brown, PhD is a biologist and the president of Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. She has resided in Orange County for 51 years. Elisabeth’s involvement in managing local wildlands has included founding roles in the Nature Reserve of OC and the Coastal Greenbelt Authority.

Gabriela Worrel is the outreach coordinator at Laguna Greenbelt, Inc and a freelance writer. She is a Southern California native currently living in Los Angeles, and holds degrees in biology (Westmont College) and urban planning (UC Irvine).

To learn more about why it is so important to Vote YES on Measure B, please see:

Vote YES on Measure B on June 5 for an OC Veterans Cemetery!

Putting Politics Aside to Honor Veterans with a Final Resting Place

Stop Playing Political Games with Veterans Cemetery

Stop the Politics and Build the Veterans Cemetery Now

Irvine Takes Historic Step Forward for a Veterans Cemetery at the Former El Toro Marine Base

Tell the Irvine City Council to Keep Your Promises to Our Veterans

The Strawberry Fields Site is the Best Location for the Veterans Cemetery. Now Let’s Get it Done!

Don’t Be Deceived By The “Save The Veterans Cemetery” Petition!

OC Register Slams Agran, Lalloway, and “Despicable,” “Misleading” Veterans Cemetery Petition

Help Us Defeat the Paid Mercenaries who have Invaded Irvine and their Fraudulent “Save the Veterans Cemetery” Petition!

As the daughter of an Orange County Korean War combat veteran, I am proud to have participated in making sure that Orange County’s veterans – who have sacrificed so much for us – will at last have a final resting place close to their families and loved ones.

Please help by voting YES on Measure B!

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

Please join me on Memorial Day weekend as Irvine honors the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation and pays special tribute to our local service members and veterans.

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.

Irvine has now dedicated 125 acres of the former El Toro Marine Base to serve as an Orange County Veterans Cemetery, providing a final resting place for those served, close to their families and loved ones.

As the daughter of a combat veteran, as the cousin of a Marine who was killed in action, and as an Irvine City Councilmember, I am proud of Irvine’s firm commitment to our veterans.

Irvine will honor our fallen heroes in two ceremonies this Memorial Day Weekend:

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Candle Lighting Ceremony: Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial 

4531 Bryan Avenue, Irvine CA 92620

4:00 p.m.

The 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 include presentations from and honor Gold Star families.

Please bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating.

Monday, May 28, 2018

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.

Help Hayden Raise Funds for Fisher House on his D-Day Remembrance Walk!

My friend Hayden Blumenfeld is making a pilgrimage this month to the D-Day beaches of Normandy, France, in order to honor the Americans, Canadians, and British who participated in the great invasion that lead to the liberation of Europe.

He is also walking the D-Day beaches to raise funds for Fisher House, which provides a network of homes where families can stay at no cost while a loved one is receiving treatment.  These homes are located at major U.S. military and VA medical centers nationwide, close to the medical center or hospital it serves. Since inception, the program has saved military and veteran families an estimated $200 million in out of pocket costs for lodging and transportation.

Hayden is a resident of Irvine, a graduate of UC Berkeley, an Army veteran, and currently serves as an infantry officer in the United States Army Reserve.  Here is how he explains his project:

Normandy D-Day Remembrance Walk

Hayden Blumenfeld

“On June 6th, 1944, more than 160,000 American, Canadian, and British soldiers landed on five beaches (Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha, and Utah), located on the Coast of Normandy, France. Up against a heavily fortified Nazi German Army, the Allies’ mission was to secure a foothold in Europe. More than 9,000 Allied soldiers would be killed or wounded along the 50 miles of Normandy Coast that fateful day. The success of the mission ultimately led to the Allies’ victory in Europe on May 8th, 1945.

In honor of those who have served, I will walk from the Museum of the Atlantic Wall to the Utah Beach Landing Museum. On my way, I will stop at the five landing beaches as well as the Normandy American Cemetery. I will set out on May 16th, 2018 and complete the walk by May 18th, traveling roughly 55 miles.

I am an Army veteran and Army reservist. On this pilgrimage to remember those who sacrificed so much in the invasion of Normandy, I will also be working to raise awareness of, and contributions for, an organization that works to support our veterans and their families.

I am a believer in Fisher House’s mission to help families stay connected while loved ones receive treatment at nearby VA facilities. Your donation can help military and veterans’ families feel that glimmer of hope when they need it the most, at a time of a medical crisis. 100% of all donations will go to Fisher House.

Donate with confidence: Fisher House has received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator 14 years in a row and an A+ rating from CharityWatch/American Institute of Philanthropy.

Thank you in advance for your support!”

Hayden Blumenfeld is an an outstanding young man and his cause is tremendously deserving.

Please help him if you can.

You can find his Fisher House Donation Page here.

You can continue to follow Hayden’s Remembrance Walk his own site here.

Thanks.

 

Vote YES on Measure B on June 5 for an OC Veterans Cemetery!

YES on Measure B is endorsed by an amazing bi-partisan coalition of political leaders and organizations, veterans organizations, environmentalists, labor union leaders, and editorial pages, including:

  • The Orange County Democratic Party
  • The Orange County Republican Party
  • The Orange County Register
  • Congressman Lou Correa 
  • Congresswoman Mimi Walters 
  • Congressman Alan Lowenthal
  • Congressman Dana Rohrabacher 
  • Governor Jerry Brown 
  • California Board of Equalization Member Fiona Ma
  • State Senator Josh Newman 
  • State Senator Janet Nguyen 
  • Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva 
  • Assemblymember Steven Choi 
  • Assemblymember Matt Harper 
  • Assemblymember Tom Umberg (ret.)
  • Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer 
  • Orange County Supervisor Michelle Steel 
  • Irvine Mayor Donald Wagner 
  • Irvine Mayor Pro Tem Christina Shea 
  • Irvine City Councilmember Melissa Fox 
  • Irvine United School District Board Member Paul W. Bokota
  • Irvine United School District Board Member Lauren Brooks
  • Irvine United School District Board Member Ira Glasky
  • Irvine Community Services Commissioner Lauren Johnson-Norris
  • Irvine Planning Commissioner Anthony Kuo
  • Irvine Finance Commissioner Roger Sievers
  • The American Legion
  • The American Legion Riders
  • The American Legion Auxiliary
  • The Veterans of Foreign Wars
  • The Marine Corps League
  • The American G.I. Forum
  • The Vietnam Veterans of America
  • The 40 & 8
  • The Orange County Veterans Memorial Park Foundation
  • Veterans Alliance of Orange County
  • The League of United Latin American Citizens
  • Nick Berardino, President, Heroes Hall Veterans Foundation
  • Jennifer Muir Beuthin, General Manager, Orange County Employees Association
  • Bobby McDonald, President/Executive Director, Black Chamber of Orange County
  • Brig. General (ret.) Robin Umberg, Undersecretary, California Dept of Veteran Affairs
  • Irvine Chamber of Commerce
  • Orange County Business Council
  • Los Amigos of Orange County
  • Irvine City News
  • Laguna Greenbelt, Inc.
  • UCI Law Professor Katie Porter
  • UCI Ecology Professor Kathleen K. Treseder

My family has a long history of service. My father sacrificed his hearing flying combat missions over North Korea as a bombardier and crew chief.  We lost his cousin in combat at Inchon.  All of my uncles served in the Marine Corps.  My grandfathers and my father-in-law served in WWII in the Navy.  There are many more.  I respect and honor our military tradition and I serve the residents of Irvine.

I was one of the earliest and strongest advocates for a Veterans Cemetery located at the old El Toro Marine Air Station.  I attended and spoke at every Irvine City Council meeting where the Veterans Cemetery was discussed.

My strong commitment to an Orange County Veterans Cemetery located on the grounds of the old El Toro Marine base in Irvine has never wavered.

My goal always was, and remains, to establish this cemetery as expeditiously as possible.

The choice is now yours.

A “YES” vote on Measure B means there will be a veterans cemetery. 

By voting YES on Measure B on June 5th, we can break ground on the Orange County veterans cemetery immediately — a location that has already been approved by local, state, and federal governments.

A “no” vote means the promise will be broken.

The necessary decontamination of the original site is far too expensive (more than $77 million) for the state or city to undertake.

Moreover, if Measure B fails, the original site will not remain as a contaminated junk yard, but instead will no doubt be sold or leased to a developer willing to invest in the extreme costs of a massive cleanup.

Both sites will then end up being used for more commercial buildings and residential development.

I campaigned on the promises to ensure a veterans cemetery on the old El Toro Marine Base and to safeguard taxpayers’ dollars, as well as to reign in runaway development. The land exchange — Measure B — allows me to keep each of these promises.

The June 5 vote is NOT an “either/or” vote on the location of a veterans cemetery, but rather a “yes/no” vote on whether there will ever be a veterans cemetery at the former El Toro Marine Base.

This is not  – and should not be  – a partisan or divisive issue.  It is a commonsense matter that we can all get behind to respect and honor our veterans.

I campaigned on the promises to ensure a veterans cemetery on the old El Toro Marine Base, reduce traffic congestion, and safeguard taxpayers’ dollars,  The land exchange — Measure B — allows me to keep each of these promises.

Let’s do what’s best for veterans and for the residents of Irvine.

Vote YES on Measure B on June 5!

Note: For more information about the veterans cemetery, please see:

Putting Politics Aside to Honor Veterans with a Final Resting Place

Stop Playing Political Games with Veterans Cemetery

Stop the Politics and Build the Veterans Cemetery Now

Distinguished Environmental Group Laguna Greenbelt Endorses YES on Measure B for Veterans Cemetery!

Irvine Takes Historic Step Forward for a Veterans Cemetery at the Former El Toro Marine Base

Tell the Irvine City Council to Keep Your Promises to Our Veterans

The Strawberry Fields Site is the Best Location for the Veterans Cemetery. Now Let’s Get it Done!

Don’t Be Deceived By The “Save The Veterans Cemetery” Petition!

OC Register Slams Agran, Lalloway, and “Despicable,” “Misleading” Veterans Cemetery Petition

Help Us Defeat the Paid Mercenaries who have Invaded Irvine and their Fraudulent “Save the Veterans Cemetery” Petition!

As the daughter of an Orange County Korean War combat veteran, I am proud to have participated in making sure that Orange County’s veterans – who have sacrificed so much for us – will at last have a final resting place close to their families and loved ones.

Please help by voting YES on Measure B.

Thank you.

Melissa

What I’m Listening for in the Mayor’s 2018 State of the City Address

On Tuesday, February 27, Irvine Mayor Don Wagner will present his second “State of the City” address at the City Council chambers.

Mayor Wagner and I are members of different political parties and have very different views on many state and national issues. Yet in the year that we have served together on the Irvine City Council, we have been able to work in cooperation and with mutual respect to improve the lives of the residents of our City.

We have accomplished a lot in this past year. Since last year’s State of the City, Irvine has been rated:

• No. 1 Major American City in Fiscal Strength.
• No. 1 FBI’s Safest American City. Lowest rate of violent crime among cities with a population of 250,000 or more (12th consecutive year that City of Irvine has earned the Safest City accolade).
• No. 2 Safest Big City, based on categories that go beyond violent crime rates, including motor vehicle safety.
• No. 3 Most Prosperous City.
• No. 3 Happiest Residents.
• No. 6 Least Stressed American City
• No. 8 Best Public Parks.
• No. 8 Best City to Raise a Family, based on crime rate, vehicle safety, air quality, and educational attainment.
• No. 9 Healthiest Lifestyles.
• No. 15 Best Places to Buy a Forever Home.
• One of 20 Western Dream Towns.

While I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, much more remains to be done and problems remain to be solved. We have moved past the partisan bickering and gridlock that prevented progress for so many years, but we need to continue to work together to improve the lives of all of Irvine’s residents.

Here’s what I will be listening for in this year’s State of the City Address:

More plans to solve Irvine’s traffic and transportation problems.

Every person who ran for Mayor or City Council in 2016 – including myself and Mayor Wagner – promised to take bold and meaningful action to reduce traffic congestion.

In fact, in our first year, we have already accomplished a great deal:

• The City Council did not approve a single new entitlement for housing or offices in 2017.
• Reinstated Irvine Transportation/Traffic Commission (with my appointee, Ken Montgomery, as Chair).
• Created and filled new City of Irvine staff position of Director of Transportation.
• Curtailed traffic in and out of Concordia University.
• Approved $19 million plan to reduce traffic congestion throughout Irvine.
• Approved plan to widen University between MacArthur and Campus, adding a lane in each direction and upgrading traffic signals.
• Working with CalTrans to upgrade and improve timing on 40 traffic signals near freeway ramps.
• Moved forward the construction of a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over Jamboree at Michelson.
• Defeated proposed 1,960-unit “Travel Land” apartment complex at the 5 and Sand Canyon, based on negative impact on traffic congestion.

But more needs to be done.

Irvine still needs to increase the safe, effective, and efficient transportation choices available in the City (including public transportation, bicycle routes, and active transportation) and will need to continue to hold developers accountable for resolving traffic issues before any entitlements and building permits are issued.

I look forward to hearing more detailed and concrete plans for resolving our traffic and transportation issues, and for increasing the transportation alternatives that are needed to reduce automobile congestion in our streets. In addition, I would like to hear about working with our school board to offer transportation to students to and from school to reduce congestion in the mornings and afternoon rush.

Building the Cultural Terrace at the Great Park.

For far too long, the residents of Irvine and Orange County were given nothing but empty promises about building our Great Park on the grounds of the old El Toro Marine Base.

This year we have finally succeeded in creating a Great Park that residents can enjoy.

• We opened the temporary 12,000-seat live music FivePoint Amphitheatre while planning the permanent Great Park Amphitheatre.
• We broke ground on and will soon open a new ice skating facility in the Great Park (largest public ice skating facility in the West).
• We opened our 5,000-seat Championship Soccer Stadium and numerous other sports fields and facilities in the first phase of 194-acre Great Park Sports Park, the largest of its kind in Orange County – larger than Disneyland and Disney California Adventure combined.
• Our Great Park Sports Complex was presented with the Orange County Business Council’s Turning Red Tape into Red Carpet Award for Public-Private Partnership.
• The Great Park Championship Stadium opens its second season as the home of the Orange County Soccer Club, Orange County’s only professional soccer team.
• We reached an agreement with Wild Rivers for a new 30-acre water park in the Great Park.

This year, I will be listening for details of even more progress on the Great Park.

I will be listening for details of the opening this year of the “bosque” (tree-lined walking and biking trail area), as well as further development of the Great Park Sports Complex, including additional soccer and softball fields and a baseball stadium.

I want to hear about more specific plans and dates for the reopening of Wild Rivers. I will also be paying careful attention to the Mayor’s plans for the Cultural Terrace. I have advocated for the City Council to make commitments regarding placing museums, a library, and world-class botanical gardens so that we will have a truly Great Park.

Education and childcare.

It is time to squarely address the shortage of childcare for families in Irvine.

Nearly 2,500 Irvine families do not have adequate child care, with the most acute shortage for children under 2 years-old and children 6 to 12 years-old. Churches and other houses of worship traditionally provide a third of childcare. Our Irvine City Council and the Planning Commission must zone sufficient areas for churches and houses of worship, as well as take other steps, to meet our growing child care needs. I have been working with City staff, my Community Services Commissioner Lauren Johnson Norris, developers, childcare providers, and the business community to increase childcare through an overall city childcare development plan. I will be listening for the Mayor’s plans to help us in this important area.

Commitment to building the Veterans Cemetery and Memorial.

One of my proudest moments as an Irvine resident was when the City Council in 2014 voted unanimously to set aside 125 acres for an Orange County Veterans Cemetery. Since that time, we learned that the cost of building a veterans’ cemetery on the originally designated site would be more than $77 million – in other words, prohibitively expensive. For this reason, I support the land exchange according to which the Great Park developer will build the cemetery in another, close-by, location known as the “strawberry fields.”

This strawberry fields site, overwhelmingly preferred by veterans and all veterans’ groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, saves at a minimum $77.5 million in city, state, and national tax dollars, does not require the substantial remediation and decontamination of the original site, and reduces traffic through the City. The land exchange to build the veterans cemetery is also officially supported by the Democratic and the Republican parties.

Despite this near unanimous and bipartisan recognition that the strawberry field site is the better location and that land exchange is the only way to build the veterans’ cemetery, a deceptive and cynical campaign with paid signature gatherers placed the land exchange on the ballot on June 5.  If these nay-sayers prevail, there will never be a final resting place for veterans in Orange County, and certainly not in Irvine.  A “YES” vote on the cemetery referendum means there will be a veterans cemetery.  A “NO” means our promise to Orange County veterans will be broken.

I look forward to hearing the Mayor make a clear call to all who are grateful for our veterans’ service to vote YES on the referendum on June 5.

Affordable housing and county-wide help for the homeless.

Our state has a severe housing crisis that is getting worse. Our supply of housing has not kept pace with the growth of jobs and population.  As a result, housing prices continue to rise, and rents are skyrocketing. As housing costs rise, more people are being pushed into poverty and even homelessness.

Many students in Irvine’s public schools qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. Too many of the jobs created in recent years do not pay a middle-class or even a living wage. We don’t have enough places to live, and too many people can’t afford the places that do exist.  Millennials and working families have a tough time finding places they can afford to live in our City.

Our lack of affordable and workforce housing has also been a significant cause of our traffic problems. As an economically  successful city and an expanding regional job center, Irvine is inundated by commuter traffic because so many people who work in Irvine cannot afford to live here.

I have advocated for more affordable housing and for additional municipal affordable housing requirements.  I would like to hear the Mayor say he agrees and will be offer proposals to increase affordable housing.

In addition, our local region has a severe homelessness crisis that our city, along with other cities and Orange County, must pitch in together to solve. I want to hear the Mayor commit to meaningful steps that Irvine can take now to help the homeless find both the shelter and the full range of services that they need to transition into permanent housing.

Innovative and Responsible Leadership.

I want to hear an inspiring vision for Irvine’s future as a world leader in education, smart planning, environmental awareness and responsibility and technological innovation.

This past year, Irvine has made tremendous progress in environmental awareness and responsibility. We have reinstated the Irvine Green Ribbon Environmental Commission, which I am honored to Chair.  We have received the Organic Landscape Leadership Award from Pepperdine Center for Sustainability for Irvine’s exclusive use of organic non-toxic materials in its gardens, parks, and grounds-keeping. We were named Sustainable Government of the Year for recycling and waste reduction from Sustain OC and received the 2017 Eco-Award from U.S. Green Building Council.

I want to hear the Mayor commit to continuing to ensure that all City of Irvine pest pressure is maintained organically, and that our public gardens and fields are not only beautiful, they are safe.

In addition, Irvine needs to move forward with state-of-the-art communications and smart transportation systems, as well as environmental protections for its residents and incentives for entrepreneurs and innovators.

Our great City of Irvine is blessed with the tools and resources needed to continue to be among the best cities in the world. I look forward to hearing Mayor Wagner’s vision for Irvine that continues our quest for being the best place in the world to live, work and raise a family.

The event begins with a reception at 5:00 pm, followed by the Mayor’s address at 6:00 pm.

Both the “State of the City” address and the reception are open to the public. No RSVP is necessary to attend.

The Civic Center is located at 1 Civic Center Drive. Call 949-724-6077 for more information.

I hope to see you there!

Welcome 2018!

Irvine 2017 by the Numbers:

  • No. 1 Major American City in Fiscal Strength.
  • No. 1 FBI’s Safest American City. Lowest rate of violent crime among cities with a population of 250,000 or more (12th consecutive year that City of Irvine has earned the Safest City accolade).
  • No. 2 Safest Big City, based on categories that go beyond violent crime rates, including motor vehicle safety.
  • No. 3 Most Prosperous City.
  • No. 3 Happiest Residents.
  • No. 6 Least Stressed American City
  • No. 8 Best Public Parks.
  • No. 8 Best City to Raise a Family, based on crime rate, vehicle safety, air quality, and educational attainment.
  • No. 9 Healthiest Lifestyles.
  • No. 15 Best Places to Buy a Forever Home.
  • Listed as one of 20 Western Dream Towns.
Great Park Progress:
  • Opened new 12,000-seat live music FivePoint Amphitheatre in in the Great Park. The inaugural concert in October 2017 was headlined by Irvine’s own “Young the Giant.”
  • Groundbreaking for new ice skating facility in the Great Park (largest public ice skating facility in the West).
  • Opened new 5,000-seat Championship Soccer Stadium and numerous other sports fields and facilities in the first phase of 194-acre Great Park Sports Park, the largest of its kind in Orange County – larger than Disneyland and Disney California Adventure combined.
  • Great Park Sports Complex presented with the Orange County Business Council’s Turning Red Tape into Red Carpet Award for Public-Private Partnership.
  • Great Park Championship Stadium becomes home of Orange County Soccer Club, Orange County’s only professional soccer team and official affiliate partner of the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) of Major League Soccer (MLS). Orange County SC is a part of the United Soccer League (USL), the fastest growing Division II professional soccer league in the world comprised of 34 teams across the United States.
  • Reached agreement with Wild Rivers for a new 30-acre water park in the Great Park.
Traffic Progress:
  • City Council did not approve a single new entitlement for housing or offices in 2017.
  • Reinstated Irvine Transportation/Traffic Commission (with my appointee, Ken Montgomery, as Chair).
  • Created and filled new City of Irvine staff position of Director of Transportation.
  • Curtailed traffic in and out of Concordia University.
  • Approved $19 million plan to reduce traffic congestion throughout Irvine.
  • Approved plan to widen University between MacArthur and Campus, adding a lane in each direction and upgrading traffic signals.
  • Working with CalTrans to upgrade and improve timing on 40 traffic signals near freeway ramps.
  • Working on pedestrian/bicycle bridge over Jamboree at Michelson.
  • Defeated proposed 1,960-unit “Travel Land” apartment complex at the 5 and Sand Canyon, based on negative impact on traffic congestion.
Environmental Progress:
  • Reinstated the Irvine Green Ribbon Environmental Commission (with me as Chair and my appointee, Krishna Hammond, as Vice-Chair).
  • Organic Landscape Leadership Award from Pepperdine Center for Sustainability for Irvine’s exclusive use of organic non-toxic materials in its gardens, parks, and grounds-keeping.
  • 2017 Sustainable Government of the Year for recycling and waste reduction from Sustain OC.
  • 2017 Eco-Award from U.S. Green Building Council.
  • Continued working with Non-Toxic Irvine to ensure that all City of Irvine pest pressure is maintained organically, and that our public gardens and fields are not only beautiful, they are safe.
  • Worked with Irvine-based Wyland Foundation to provide education in water and ocean conservation.
 Civic, Educational, and Cultural Progress:
  • Expanded Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial.
  • Submitted bid for Amazon HQ2.
  • Opening of the new Charlie and Ling Zhang Musical Arts and Education Center, including Orange County Music and Dance, a non-profit school in Irvine, and headquarters for Arts OC and the Pacific Symphony.
  • All of Irvine’s high schools rated in the top 10% of the nation’s high schools.
  • Cadence Park School (K-8) opens in Great Park Neighborhoods.
  • Dedicated 125 acres of land from the former El Toro Marine Base for Orange County’s first veterans’ cemetery and held dedication ceremony attended by hundreds of veterans.
  • Opening of the Quail Hill Community Center.
  • UC Irvine breaks record with 116,192 undergraduate applications.
  • 16th Annual Global Village Festival.
  • 8th Annual Korean Festival.
  • 4th Annual Diwali Festival.
  • 4th Annual Persian New Year Nowruz Festival.
  • 3rd Annual Winter Wonderland Festival.
  • 12th Annual Orange County Fire Open House.
  • 3rd Annual Irvine Police Open House.
  • 1st Annual “Days of Remembrance” Proclamation, remembering the Holocaust and calling on all of us to be “vigilant against hatred, persecution, and tyranny.”
  • Deployed firefighters to Houston, saving thousands from flooding.
  • Deployed firefighters throughout California to fight worst fire season in California history.
  • Instituted first-ever Irvine Police Mounted Unit.
  • 12th Annual Super Pet Adoption at Irvine Animal Care Center.
  • 12th Annual Home for the Holidays Pet Adoption at Irvine Animal Center.
  • 4th Annual Spooktacular Fun Days at Great Park.
And some personal accomplishments:
  • “Best Politician” by the Orange County Weekly.
  •  “Taxpayer Watchdog Award” by Orange County Auditor-Controller.
  • “100 Most Influential” by Orange County Register.
  •  “Hero of Children Award”  by Child Abuse Prevention Network.
  • “Active Transportation Change Maker Award” by Alliance for a Healthy OC

Serving the residents of Irvine this year as a member of the Irvine City Council has been a great joy and privilege.

Together we can do even more in 2018!

Michael, Max, our entire team, and I wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!
The best is yet to come!
 
Melissa

Happy Thanksgiving from the Fox Family!

We Americans have much for which we are deeply grateful.

We are grateful for this great nation, 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, diverse City of Irvine.

We are grateful for the blessings of our beautiful planet and our beautiful state of California.

We are grateful for the volunteers who comfort the sick, care for the young and the aged, share their knowledge and skills, and keep us moving forward.

We are also 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.

Another worthy organization is the California Association of Food Banks, founded in 1995 to help hungry people throughout California, including our local Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and the Community Action Partnership of Orange County Food Bank.

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.

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.

We are grateful for our police and firefighters, our soldiers, sailors, marines, coast guardsmen and airmen.

We are grateful, too, for everyone in our community and our nation who protects us and serves those in need.

Our friend Michael Kinslow, who we lost three years ago, wrote a 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.

Please bless them in their own time of need.

Amen.

Melissa

OC Weekly: Fox Trot

The OC Weekly just published another story about my continuing fight for a veterans cemetery in Irvine.

Here is the story:

FOX TROT

“Nine days after being named Best Politician in OC Weekly’s massive Best of 2017 issue, Irvine City Councilwoman Melissa Fox was hit by a dude. Coincidence? Yes and no. Raul Ricardo Rodriguez-Peltz of Westminster, Colorado, probably has never heard of your favorite infernal rag. However, the 28-year-old’s Oct. 29 booking into Irvine City Jail on misdemeanor assault does stem from the same stand Fox took that earned mad respect from OC Weekly’s Best of 2017 Board of Governors.

Here’s how we began what was published Oct. 20 about the county’s reigning best politico:

‘Having run a warped, money-hungry Irvine political machine that trampled the concept of public transparency and wasted hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, Larry Agran wanted to maintain control over the city’s Democrats even after his forced retirement in the 2014 election. But this year, a fellow party member, first-term City Councilwoman Melissa Fox, let the 72-year-old former mayor know she isn’t one of his stooges, bucking him on his preferred location for a future veterans’ cemetery at the Orange County Great Park site.’

Fox was part of a City Council majority that approved placing the state-run memorial park in what are now strawberry fields but used to be part of the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. In exchange, the current land owner gets property within the nearby Great Park that is currently contaminated [note: the property that the develop gets from the City, like the property that the City gets from the developer, is not within the borders of the Great Park; both properties are adjacent to the Great Park, and —  most importantly — both properties were part of the former El Toro Marine Base, which was closed in 1999].

Many in the audience cheered the council’s 3-2 vote for the land swap, prompting Vietnam War veteran and Orange County Veterans Memorial Park Foundation leader Bill Cook to remark, “This is an historic day.”

But Agran is not one to lose a fight without going down in another fight. He and the infernal rag in his back pocket—not us, silly; the Irvine Community News and Views—continued to lobby for “The Great Pork” to host the vet cemetery, and a local “Save the Veterans Cemetery” campaign was soon launched. Backers had until our day of publication (Nov. 9) to submit around 12,000 valid signatures from registered voters in the city to get a referendum on the November 2018 ballot affirming or denying the council’s decision.

And so it was, nine days after we named Fox the best politician in the county, she was at Alton Square shopping center advising constituents against signing the petitions being spread by paid signature gatherers from out-of-town, including—you guessed it—Westminster, Colorado. (Rodriguez-Peltz told police he is a political consultant and paid petitioner.)

Fox says residents complained to her about signature gathers being aggressive, so she snapped photos of them (that you can see on melissafoxblog.com). She told police that led to a confrontation in which Rodriguez-Peltz grabbed a sign she had stating, “Do not sign the misleading veterans cemetery petition. Get the facts”; swung it at her; hit her leg with it; then tore it up and threw it in the trash.

When Fox called the cops, he scrammed but later surrendered. Shaken by the scary encounter, Fox vows to keep warning residents about Save the Veterans Cemetery. We expect no less from OC’s best politician.”

 

 

Open Letter to Larry Agran: “You are Doing a Disservice to the Nation, the State, and the Community. Stop Your Petition Efforts.”

The following letter was written to Larry Agran and his followers about their petition regarding the veterans cemetery by former Irvine Company Executive Mike Padian. Padian worked for the Irvine Company between 1985 and 1996 and has first-hand knowledge of the politics and personalities involved in the current dispute. 

His views are well worth reading for anyone interested in the facts about the veterans cemetery.

Here is the letter in full:

Harvey, Ed, Frank, Larry,

Oh dear, where to begin.

I have read your numerous diatribes; I hope you will give me some courtesy by reading the below.

I am primarily responding to Harvey’s email of 11-2, and an accompanying ‘fact sheet’.  I will attempt to not repeat myself.

1) Yes, the entire ARDA site would be cleaned up with the land-clearing process. However, the ARDA site is significantly more polluted than the Freeway site, and the use of the ARDA site for commercial/industrial purposes would be less costly to develop and have less impact than a residential or a cemetery use.

To determine the potential risk of exposure from a hazardous site requires an analysis of the location, type, and concentration of the hazardous materials, the potential sensitive receptors (people), and the potential pathways between them. The ARDA site contains a ‘witches’ brew’ of above ground, surface, and below ground known and probably unknown chemicals, in known and probably unknown concentrations, quantities and locations. At the time of the Base’s closure, it was one of the larger federal Superfund sites.  As noted in CalVets June 2016 report, FOST 7,  a source of regional groundwater contamination, is located on the ARDA site.  FOST 8 (IRP 3), a former landfill dump site, is also located on the ARDA property. The June 2016 report also states that many of the 77 buildings on the site contain hazardous material such as asbestos and lead-based paint, numerous documented impacts on the site have been discovered, and very probably other impacts will be discovered during development.  Regardless of the ultimate land use, the buildings will have to be appropriately abated and abolished, but the extent of surface and subsurface mitigation is dependent on the ultimate use.

The 2016 report estimated $3.5 million for hazardous wastes, $2.5 million for the site demolition of the first 12.5 acres ($200,000 per acre), $6.2 million for the remaining 112.5 acres ($55,000 per acre, no reason is given for why the 112.5 acres costs less per acre than the initial 12.5 acres), and $18 million for building demolition, for a total of $30 million.  Note that the 2016 report repeatedly recommends additional soils surveys to identify any impacted soil, and to define its appropriate mitigation.  Also note the 2016 estimates do not include any costs for the remediation of contaminated soils, and assumes the State of California will pay for those costs.

Residents are one of the higher potential risk receptors on the site due to their potential rate of exposure, 14-24 hours every day, with an expectation that they could enjoy their outside yards, patios, and parks; their pathways could be reduced with the removal of substantial amounts of soil, and the capping of large areas with hard surfaces.  Cemetery workers would also be a higher risk group, as they would be directly exposed to the contaminated soils during excavation for interments; thus, the reason for the 2016 report’s recommendation to overex the entire site 8′ to 10′.  Commercial/Industrial development will require the least amount of soil remediation, and their employees and clients are the least potentially impacted receptors, because most will be inside an enclosed building for 8 hours a workday, on a site with significant hardscape and parking.

I am currently paying about $40/cy to export non-hazardous material to a local landfill or another construction site a maximum of 30 miles away utilizing a large 7cy bucket excavator and associated dozers, blades, and water trucks, and I am paying about $20/cy to import clean material, both via 14cy double-belly dumps.  If the materials are heavily contaminated the export rates would be significantly higher because they would have to be taken to a licensed hazardous material landfill in north LA County or Banning, using smaller capacity end-dumps.

Worst case, 10′ over 125 acres equals 2,000,000 cy of material. To accomplish the complete export of all 2,000,000cy  would require 575 one-way truck trips per day for a year (250 work days). Total export truck trips would result in 1,150 truck trips per day.  To match the export rate, the import rate would have to be equal to the 1,150 truck trips per day, for a total of 2,300 truck trips per day, or 280 truck trips per hour, or almost 5 trucks per minute for 250 days. The cost to export and import 2,000,000 cy would cost $120 million, and again definitely higher if it had to be exported to a licensed hi-hazard landfill. This is somewhat of a linear equation, that is, if only 1,000,000 cy of material had to be exported and imported, the total cost and total truck trips would be cut in half.  However, it is not a question of if the ARDA site has soil contamination, it is a question of how much. Regardless, I am sure the existing residents would not be agreeable to any large quantity of hazardous material hauling trucks rumbling along Sand Canyon and Portola.

(As an aside, I worked for The Irvine Company between 1985 and 1996.  One of my primary responsibilities was the development of the Irvine Spectrum.  I was the Company’s representative on the El Toro Base’s Cleanup and Reuse Committees.  I also managed the design and construction of infrastructure improvements, including local and regional flood control facilities, around, upstream, downstream and on the Base while it was still in operation.)

The Freeway site, on the other hand, has no buildings, is not the site of any groundwater or landfill contamination sources, and does not contain the ARDA site’s  ‘witches’ brew’.  Instead, the Freeway site has been exposed to only known, controlled amounts of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, which do not require extensive mitigation.

2) The proposed Freeway site was part of the Federally-owned El Toro Base, as an extension of the approach and take-off runways.  The Base, as you know, was used for training aircraft carrier pilots, among others.  One of their procedures was the Field Mirror Landing Practice, where they performed ‘touch and go’ landing/takeoff maneuvers.  Before the area was developed, the jets flew almost wherever they wanted.  Once the Irvine Company started developing the areas around the Base, the Company and the Marines agreed to land and air restrictions and easements.  The Freeway site was part of the runway extension.  It was not fenced off because it was not considered a security risk.  It was however, considered a ‘crash’ zone.

The reason the tall buildings in Irvine Spectrum, the Irvine Hospital, the low-profile buildings in Irvine Spectrums 3 & 5, and the old diagonal limit to the residential Northwood area to the west of Jeffrey are where they are, are due to these easements.  In essence, the Company agreed to not allow any residential in the FLMP flight path outside of the runway extension ‘crash’ zones owned by the government, and to limit commercial/industrial within the FLMP flight path outside of the ‘crash’ zones, in an effort to limit the Marines potential risk based on an assumption that a fueled aircraft crash would wipe out basically an acre.

3) Many people use the term “Great Park” to refer to the entire Base area, while others use it more restrictively to just the formal public recreational park.  In any event, the Great Park, both as a larger area, and as a public facility, has morphed significantly over the decades.  When it was originally acquired by Lennar, the master-plan included a potential location for a cemetery, but not specifically a Veterans Cemetery, and it was never part of the public recreational “Great Park.”

The ARDA is adjacent to, but was never part of a formal public “Great Park”.  No one has ever claimed that the Freeway site is part of the public recreational “Great Park”. The Freeway site is as much of  the overall Great Park development as the adjoining Broadcom property (which was part of the aforementioned FLMP zone).

4) The $30 million was never officially approved.  It was part of a proposed budget, but was withdrawn once the potential total costs, especially the extra costs for the pollution mitigation, of the ARDA were determined.  In addition, the federal government, in their review of the pre-grant application, would contribute only $10 million out of $30 million requested, leaving a significant funding shortfall.

On the other hand, the State has approved $500,000 for design, and $5 million for construction of the Freeway site.  Five Point has pledged an additional $10 million.  CalVet is proceeding with the Freeway site design, and is currently reviewing the qualifications of three design firms.

5) Admittedly, I do not know the President of the Chinese Cultural Association.  However, I know that he does not represent all of the residents in the City, nor all in the Great Park neighborhoods in particular.  One only has to look at the contentious public hearings (some theoretically only for Asian residents) and the statements of various City Council and Mayoral candidates to ascertain the depth of the residents’ concerns.

6) Yes, the ARDA site will have to be decontaminated.  However, because it is such a polluted site, the impact to the taxpaying public – national, state, and local –  would be significantly less if that substantial cost was incurred by a developer.  The general public will be better served by developing the less-polluted, less costly, Freeway site instead.

7) All of the major veteran cemeteries in Southern California – Los Angeles, Riverside, and Miramar – are adjacent to a freeway.  The Freeway site clearly presents visible exposure to more people than a cemetery hidden in the middle of a residential area.

8) Location, location, location.  Adjacency to a freeway significantly increases the value of a piece of property. as compared to parcels that are remote from a freeway.  Another major developer has purposely retained ownership of large swaths of freeway adjacent property because of its long-term value.

9) The City’s own traffic report, as approved by the Transportation Commission, concluded that the land swap has no impact to the City’s traffic.  I could go into why this is, but will summarize by saying the ‘cat was out of the bag’ decades ago when the entitlement for the entire City was approved.

For instance, the primary reason that the Airport area is seeing such an increase in traffic is due to a previous Mayor’s vision (Larry Agran) of converting the area from industrial to a more urban, high density commercial/residential community.  The buildout of the Airport area is not complete.  Unfortunately his dream of creating places for people to live walkably closer to their work for the most part has not materialized. The area is not highly urbanized like Chicago or New York City, there will not be a mass-transit system that will work for a long time, and the only solution, unfortunately, is wider roads to accommodate the continued demand for personal vehicular transportation, and more congested traffic.

10) Construction of a veterans cemetery has not been delayed.  The previous submittals and approvals are being revised for the Freeway site.  And as noted above, CalVet is proceeding with the design.  The Freeway site can be developed much quicker because it does not have to endure the lengthy hazardous material mitigation period.

11) Admittedly, the Freeway site would be a great commercial/industrial site.  However, after weighing all of the factors, the Freeway site would also be a great location for a Veteran’s Cemetery.

12) 21-gun salutes at the Freeway site may have some impact to the existing wildlife, who are used to living in a deteriorating agricultural ditch surrounded by roads and industrial development, but less than 21-gun salutes in a neighborhood full of residents and schools.  Also, the term ‘wildlife corridor” is not limited to birds and mammals; the intent is to provide habitat and connectivity for all types of living organisms, including plants, insects, amphibians, and reptiles.

In addition to the above, you have never mentioned the following facts.

1) The ARDA site has the support of only two local elected officials.  The Freeway site on the other hand has wide bi-partisan support of elected national, state, county, and local officials, including members of Congress, the Governor, members of the State legislature, County officials, the Mayor, and other Council members.

2) The SOVC [Larry Agran’s phoney “Save the Veterans Cemetery” group] is not a grass-roots organization.  There is no great out-pouring of concern from the residents.  Rather it is a trumped up, blatant attempt to thwart the efforts of the developer, by playing up a minority nimby ‘development is out-of-control’ sentiment. One of the primary SOVC proponents is the Irvine World News and Views, a political mailer, run by an owner who is not local. The issues being raised by the SOVC have nothing to do with a veterans cemetery, and they are using the veterans for political reasons.The primary reason there is substantial public Great Park elements at all – including the soccer stadium, concert venue, and streets – is due in large part to the developer’s funding and construction involvement. The SOVC has resorted to using paid predatory out-of-state non-veterans, who you admit have no stake in or knowledge of the issues, to collect signatures based on misleading and false representations.  Calling your signature gatherers ‘mercenaries’ is at least truthful.

3) The SOVC continues to violate state and federal laws by utilizing the logos of and implying it has the support of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.  As far as I know, the SOVC has not responded to the American Legion’s ‘cease and desist’ request.

4) You also insinuate that Council member Fox and veteran Bill Cook will receive some massive return for their participation.  Such an insinuation is shameful and unfounded.

5) Last, labeling the groundbreaking as a sham is also shameful, and disrespectful of the hundreds of veterans, concerned citizens, and elected officials who attended the event.  No one has ever claimed the Freeway site is part of the public recreational Great Park, as opposed to the SOVC who claims the ARDA site is within the recreational public ‘Great Park’.

Bottom line, which is a more fitting site to honor those who sacrificed their time and lives to maintain your privilege to live in a free country – an unfunded, polluted, more expensive, hidden, and unapproved property, or one that is funded, not-polluted, less expensive, visible, and approved.  You are doing such a disservice to the nation, the state, and the local community.  Please stop wasting taxpayer time and money by stopping your petition efforts.

I would be glad to review the real facts, not your alternate ones, at any time.

Respectively,
Mike Padian

 

Watch My Town Hall Meeting!

I held a public Town Hall Meeting at the Irvine Championship Stadium in the Great Park on Saturday, October 21, where we discussed traffic, childcare, the Southern California Veterans Cemetery, affordable housing, and other issues of interest to Irvine residents.

I was joined by several of my city commissioners, as well as by members of the Irvine Police Department, who were also there to answer questions.

Several dozen Irvine residents spoke and asked questions, and I thank everyone who attended.

Here are some photos from the event:

I really enjoyed the open, public dialogue with Irvine residents, and I intend to make these Town Hall Meetings a regular part of my work as an Irvine City Councilmember.

You can watch the complete October 21 Town Hall Meeting on my YouTube channel (Melissa Fox, Irvine City Council) here:

 

 

 

 

 

OC Register Slams Agran, Lalloway, and “Despicable,” “Misleading” Veterans Cemetery Petition

The Orange County Register published a powerful editorial this week entitled “Stop the Politics and Build the Veterans Cemetery Now.”

It condemns the deceptive “Save the Veterans Cemetery” petition.  It points out that the cemetery does not need saving (since it is already moving forward) and it condemns the aggressive and sometimes violent tactics of its paid out-of-town signature gatherers.

It urges Irvine voters not to be “fooled by the propaganda or petition gathers. They are simply attempting to mislead and deceive the community in an effort undo the approved veterans cemetery and move it.”

Here is the editorial in full:

“Politicians will exploit anything to gain political power. That’s exactly what is happening over the veterans cemetery in Irvine. It’s despicable to use veterans as pawns and our entire community should be outraged and informed.

A misleading petition drive has been launched in the city to “Save the Veterans Cemetery.” But the cemetery doesn’t need saving; it’s just a veiled effort to derail the current cemetery plans. There is already a great space approved, the veteran community supports it and the city had a dedication for the land last Friday.

But this is all about politics and trying to win next year’s city election. Sadly, this is par for the course in Irvine where creating a political wedge issue and riding it to the election seems torn right out of the pages of former Irvine Mayor and Councilman Larry Agran’s playbook. It should come as no surprise that the pro-Agran Irvine Community News and Views publication supports the referendum. Agran even wrote a column in its pages supporting it.

Don’t be fooled by the propaganda or petition gathers. They are simply attempting to mislead and deceive the community in an effort undo the approved veterans cemetery and move it.

To make matters worse, one of the petition gathers seeking to block the approved veterans cemetery allegedly assaulted Councilwoman Melissa Fox over the weekend. Fox has been an incredible advocate for veterans and the cemetery in Irvine. While demonstrating against the misleading signature gathers, one of them, a paid political consultant from Colorado, allegedly took her sign and hit her with it, according to the Register.

It’s disgusting to see how some of the political forces in the community behave. Even more despicable perhaps was the response from Councilman Jeff Lalloway who insinuated that Fox shouldn’t have tried to inform people signing petitions against the cemetery.

Lalloway has been a disappointment on the council, opposing the current plan for the veterans cemetery and bringing utter nastiness to city politics. Don’t be fooled by the bogus antics of some in Irvine trying to undo the veterans cemetery location. The creation of a veterans cemetery shouldn’t be a political football. It should be a proud moment for the city and the county.”

For more information about the Veterans Cemetery, see my blog posts:

Help Us Defeat the Paid Mercenaries who have Invaded Irvine and their Fraudulent “Save the Veterans Cemetery” Petition!

Don’t Be Deceived By The “Save The Veterans Cemetery” Petition!

Irvine Takes Historic Step Forward for a Veterans Cemetery at the Former El Toro Marine Base

Tell the Irvine City Council to Keep Your Promises to Our Veterans

The Strawberry Fields Site is the Best Location for the Veterans Cemetery. Now Let’s Get it Done!

If you signed the petition because you mistakenly believed that it would support the veterans cemetery, please contact me at melissa@melissafoxlaw.com and I will see that you get a form to revoke your signature.

Thanks!

 

 

 

Help Us Defeat the Paid Mercenaries who have Invaded Irvine and their Fraudulent “Save the Veterans Cemetery” Petition!

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Do not be deceived by a petition that pretends to “Save the Veterans Cemetery.”

The truth is that our veterans cemetery does not need saving — except from these out-of-town mercenaries who want you to sign their fraudulent petition!

They pretend that they support our veterans when the truth is that if their petition succeeds, the veterans cemetery will be (at best) delayed and likely destroyed.

They pretend to have grassroots support, but the truth is that they are paid out-of-town mercenaries, while the current “Strawberry Fields” location of the veterans cemetery is supported by every veterans’ organization and a formidable bipartisan array of local officials from across the political spectrum.

They will lie and tell you that they want the veterans cemetery to be in the Great Park, when the truth is that the original (and highly contaminated) was never in the Great Park.

They will not tell you that the current “Strawberry Fields” location was once part of the former El Toro Marine Base, which was the last American soil that many Marines stood on before they left for World War Two, Korea, and Vietnam, never to return.

They will not tell you that creating the veterans cemetery in their preferred location would cost the taxpayers $80 million in decontamination and demolition before the cemetery could even start to be built.

The truth is that the land exchange that the petition seeks to stop will ensure that the Veterans Cemetery is build faster and with approximately $80 million in savings for state and local taxpayers.

They use stolen valor when they claim to be supported by veterans organizations.  The truth is that the American Legion has ordered them to stop using their organization’s symbol, but they’ve refused:

Now they’ve brought in hundreds of out-of-town paid signature gatherers from Los Angles, San Bernardino and Oakland and put them up in hotels.

And they are violent.

This weekend, other anti-petition volunteers and I were threatened and menaced multiple times by these out-of-town paid signature gatherers.

One of these paid mercenaries threatened me and then grabbed my sign, hit me with it and tore it up.  He ran away when I called the police, but was caught when pointed out by several witnesses.  He later told the police he was a “political consultant” who lived in Colorado.

Another volunteer reports that she was “spat at, called some of most horrible names you could call a woman, physically intimidated and shouted at by paid signature gatherers who came from out-of-town to get $3 per signature to lie about ‘saving the cemetery’. They are angry that we are so effective and let the public know they are lying. Please don’t sign their petitions!”

Here is a rogues gallery of these paid out-of-town signature gatherers: