- October 31, 2020
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Branda Lin15 Posts
Branda Lin is an Irvine native and was appointed to the Community Services Commission in January 2019 by Councilmember Farrah Khan. She is one of the founding members of Irvine Watchdog whose passion is to promote civic engagement on local Irvine issues.
Special Meeting – All American Asphalt
Residents in the North Irvine villages of Eastwood, Stonegate, Orchard Hills, Northwood, and Northwood Pointe have been battling toxic fumes from a nearby asphalt factory for over a year. Lesley Tan, one of the leaders of this effort, provided background in this Opinion article asking, “what is the City’s responsibility to disclose of pollutants and […]
Election 2020: Where Do The Candidates Stand On The Issues? Recap of Last Night’s Candidate Forum (UPDATED)
(This post has been updated for clarity) Irvine Watchdog held its Irvine Mayor & Council Candidates Forum last night, but not without technical issues. We sincerely apologize to the viewers and candidates for the technical issues and the late start. We are grateful for everybody’s patience and understanding. Despite the technical difficulties, the Forum did […]
Another Step Closer to Community Choice Energy for Irvine?
Community Choice Energy (CCE) is a program that offers residents an alternative choice for electric energy sources while seeking to bring local control and competition into the electricity marketplace. The City of Irvine approved an initial CCE Feasibility Study and Technical Assessment (Feasibility Study) that was completed on January 16, 2020 and the City Council […]
Op-Ed: City Manager John Russo’s $24k Raise Request
In July 2018, the City Council, led by then Mayor Don Wagner, replaced long-standing City Manager Sean Joyce with John Russo. Joyce had served our city for 12 years while Russo had just been fired by the City of Riverside, but that didn’t stop the 2016-18 City Council from hiring Russo. Currently, Russo is in […]
City to Kick-Off the One Irvine Program
The City’s Neighborhood Services Department is rolling out a new program on preserving and enhancing our established Irvine neighborhoods. The One Irvine program is dedicated to bringing resources, education, and community projects to neighborhoods to address home maintenance issues. Each year, One Irvine will focus on addressing the unique opportunities of an individual neighborhood. The […]
Op-Ed: Land Trust – Why Hide General Payroll Information?
The following is not intended to take away from the wonderful and important work the Irvine Community Land Trust (ICLT) does to provide our city with building much needed permanent affordable housing. I simply seek the same level of transparency as was provided before the ICLT separated from the city since they are still funded […]
Sunshine Ordinance to Include the Land Trust
On November 19, 2018, The Board of Directors held its monthly meeting and per correspondence from Executive Director, Mark Asturias, “decided to open its meetings to the public beginning with its next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board anticipates that the open meeting format will allow members of the community to come, hear and be heard on […]
Setting the Record Straight
With election day rapidly approaching, the rhetoric on social media has heated up. Irvine Watchdog has received our fair share of complaints and we’d like to address some of the issues. The great news is people are paying attention and for that we are thankful. Criticism #1: You misquoted John Park (and hence the […]
Wagner, Kuo, O’Malley: It’s Raining PAC Money
When it comes to donations, Mayor Wagner’s slate with Anthony Kuo and Carrie O’Malley has no competition. For those who haven’t seen the post Mayoral Campaign Thoughts, almost $800,000 is being funneled through political action committees (PACs) to support Mayor Wagner’s slate. To provide perspective, the average non-developer backed city council candidate actively campaigns in hopes to receive […]
Johnson-Norris: Misleading Statement and Corruption in One Night
Misleading Voters: On August 20, 2018, I attended the Democratic Party of Orange County’s endorsement meeting. Unexpectedly, I was given a minute to speak before the Central Committee cast their votes to endorse two of the three democrats running for Irvine City Council: Farrah Khan, Kev Abazajian, and Lauren Johnson-Norris. My message was clear: We […]
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