Irvine City News

09/10/2025

🚨 Update from today’s Irvine City Council Special Meeting on the Great Park 🚨

It’s becoming clear that the Great Park Framework Plan was badly mismanaged under former City Manager Oliver Chi (now in Santa Monica—his 7th city job). Two big issues stood out today: the Amphitheater and the Cultural Terrace.

🎶 The Amphitheater
Residents were promised a world-class amphitheater at the Great Park for $100M, open within two years. Today, staff admitted the cost has doubled to $200M, with still no operator in place. Under the prior Live Nation deal, the venue would already be built and generating $7M+ per year for Irvine and the Great Park. Instead, Great Park Live is costing taxpayers $8M+ annually, delivering few top-tier acts, while millions have been spent on design work with little Council oversight. Even the Pacific Symphony has received millions in subsidies to perform there.

🎭 The Cultural Terrace
Oliver Chi also shifted the fully funded Pretend City Children’s Museum project to the Cultural Terrace and struck a deal with OC Music & Dance—but now both projects are at risk without immediate Council action. Despite the PR campaigns and headlines, the Council has yet to decide in closed session whether to move forward with these two anchor projects.

💡 The Bottom Line
City staff are now left trying to untangle the financial mess and are looking to the Council for real direction. The future of the Great Park depends on it.

08/28/2025

If you're curious what a ROVE is, check the nearest one out in Santa Ana on 17th Street before they expand to Irvine!!!

A former restaurant near John Wayne Airport could become a convenient store with 56 electric vehicle charging stations.

08/26/2025

Did you know Irvine's official motto was "City of Innovation?" Robots, equipped with GPS sensors, will be inspecting curb ramps and sidewalks throughout Irvine!

The robots will survey city streets beginning in August for several weeks Monday through Friday during the day.

08/21/2025

"Young Dabang [at Diamond Jamboree] offers other tteokbokki varieties, too, including cheese waterfall (with melted mozzarella), whole fried squid, original, spicy chicken, pork katsu and bulgogi, as well as a creamy carbonara version inspired by the Roman pasta dish. They can also be made “rosé-style” with a slip of cream in the sauce."

Craving the singular chew that only tteokbokki can deliver, I made my way to Irvine’s Young Dabang, a South Korean street food chain.

07/09/2025

Councilwoman Betty Martinez Franco stunned Irvine residents tonight when she appeared at the dais of the Irvine City Council wearing a T-Shirt with the phrase "Chinga La Migra" emblazoned on it.

One speaker from the public, Mr. Sepulveda, criticized the Councilwoman and said that the display was indecent and inappropriate for a public official.

The phrase "Chinga la Migra" is a vulgar Spanish phrase that translates to "F**k Border Patrol". "Migra" or "La Migra" is an informal term in Spanish for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Border Patrol, and related institutions.

Councilwoman Martinez Franco spoke of her past as an "undocumented immigrant" and leveled harsh criticism against what she labelled immigration "raids" conducted by federal agents in Irvine.

05/29/2025

The Irvine City Council voted against Mayor Larry Agran’s proposal early this morning at a meeting that went past midnight, to develop a 20- to 30-acre municipal veterans cemetery by Memorial Day 2028.

The city will retain its support for a proposed state- and county-funded cemetery at Gypsum Canyon in Anaheim Hills — a proposal endorsed by all 34 OC cities.

05/23/2025

BREAKING NEWS: City Manager Oliver Chi Expected to leave the City of Irvine Amidst Numerous Questions Regarding his Competence and Ethics.

More news to follow as it develops.

05/16/2025

The Irvine City Council unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, this week with the Irvine Company to continue a city analysis of the developer’s proposal to eliminate the golf course and a nearby office complex to build what City Manager Oliver Chi said could be Irvine’s last traditional “residential village.”"

Councilmembers agreed to continue a city analysis of the Irvine Co’s proposal for a mix of single-family homes and apartment units.

05/02/2025

Today, Federal agents served a search warrant in Turtle Rock connected to an investigation on the doxxing of ICE agents.

Read more at --> www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/federal-agents-raid-irvine-turtle-rock-doxxing-investigation

04/08/2025

District 5 Special Election Endorsement - Anthony Kuo

Voters in Irvine’s new District 5 have had ballots for nearly a month now as they weigh in on candidates to fill the year and half left on Larry Agran’s City Council seat he vacated in December to become Mayor.

Irvine City News endorses former Councilman Anthony Kuo for Council District 5. Kuo has the experience, temperament, and dedication to the community that one would want to see in a local elected official. He has garnered a wide-ranging coalition of support that includes business and taxpayer advocacy groups to organized labor and Irvine’s Police officers. More impressive than endorsements from organizations is the support and praises Kuo has received from a bi-partisan coalition of Mayor Larry Agran, former Mayor Farrah Khan, and former Mayor Christina Shea. Those praises are a testament to his ability to work with others on a Council that’s currently marked by dissention and disagreement.

Kuo supports the long-promised Veterans Cemetery and could take significant credit for amenities (like Wild Rivers) currently at the Great Park, while Betty Franco has waffled on the cemetery issue and has no history of advancing Park progress or any civic participation.

Kuo supports withdrawal from the scandal-ridden Orange County Power Authority, as where readers have reported that Betty Martinez Franco shares different answers depending on which groups she’s speaking with.

And, unfortunately, Martinez Franco has strong professional ties to, and has taken campaign contributions from players involved with the Anaheim political bribery scandal. In contrast, Kuo has built strong relationships and partnerships with his support of affordable housing initiatives, environmental programs, taxpayer rebates, and others with job creators and PTA’s and everyone in between.

Cornelius, for whom we cannot even find a campaign website, touts being a “Grand Jury candidate.” We’ve been monitors of local government for a long time and we have no idea what that means. Submitting an application to serve is not an accomplishment nor a source of experience.

Former Councilwoman Tammy Kim was previously a candidate, but was removed from the ballot by a judge as a result of a settlement surrounding questionable residency claims.

We appreciate the candidacies of newcomers Cornelius and Franco, but they’re just not ready to lead an award-winning Master-Planned community like Irvine.

03/28/2025

As the result of the Irvine Police Department's ongoing investigation, Christian Yeager, was arrested and booked at Orange County Jail for Criminal storage of a firearm and Child endangerment.

Yesterday afternoon, a local teenager suffered a gunshot wound and later died.

Preliminarily, Irvine Police Detectives believe the injury was self-inflicted. The victim did not live at the residence.

The Irvine Police Department has continued to work closely with the Irvine Unified School District and to offer support and resources to their students and staff at Southlake Middle School.

The name of the deceased is being withheld, pending notification to the next of kin. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Detective Steen at [email protected].

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UPDATE:
As the result of our ongoing investigation, Christian Douglas Yeager, 56, of Irvine, was arrested and booked at Orange County Jail on the following charges:
•Penal Code 25100(a) – Criminal storage of a firearm
•Penal Code 273a(a) – Child endangerment

ORIGINAL NEWS RELEASE:

Irvine, Calif. (March 27, 2025) – Today, at 2:42 p.m., the Irvine Police Department and Orange County Fire Authority responded to a residence in the area of Heathergreen and Weepingwood regarding a juvenile suffering from a gunshot wound. When officers arrived, they found an injured juvenile and immediately began rendering medical aid. Sadly, he died a short time later.

Preliminarily, Detectives believe the injury was self-inflicted. Whether the injury was intentional or accidental remains under investigation. The victim did not live at the residence. We are trying to understand what occurred before the incident.

The Irvine Police Department is working closely with the Irvine Unified School District and offering support and resources to their students and staff at Southlake Middle School.

To learn more about fi****ms safety, please visit:
https://www.cityofirvine.org/department-administration/fi****ms-safety. Complimentary gun locks are available at the Irvine Police Department Business Desk.

The name of the deceased is being withheld, pending notification to the next of kin. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Detective Steen at [email protected].

03/27/2025

City of Hope Orange County's Annette Walker Named Among Most Influential Leaders in US Healthcare

CEO Annette Walker of Irvine's City of Hope Orange County campus has been named by Healthcare Magazine as one of America's 25 Most Influential Leaders in Healthcare.

A 45-year veteran of healthcare, Walker inspires others with the word "hope." City of Hope's growth in Southern California, and specifically Orange County, can largely be credited to Walker.

Learn more at --> https://youtu.be/65fn5wUQy8k