- September 21, 2023
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Joshua Moore11 Posts
Joshua Moore is an Orange County native and grew up in Irvine. His chief passions for reform in local government are expanding the size of the Irvine City Council; switching to district-based seats and implementing ranked choice voting; and, ultimately, converting Orange County into a consolidated city-county.
Opinion: The Mystery of the Missing Transit
On either side of Irvine Blvd, east of the 133, is a transit-oriented development. Or that’s what the zoning map says, anyway: Figure 1: From the Irvine Zoning Map, a “Transit Oriented Development” It is part of a larger area composed of parts of the Great Park neighborhoods and Portola Springs. At the time of […]
Great Park Board and City Council Agenda Highlights for June 27, 2023
The wheels of government will start to turn early this week with a meeting of the Great Park Board at 2:00 pm, and a Special Meeting of the Irvine City Council starting at 3:00 pm. The only items on the agenda for the Great Park Board are a presentation reviewing the details of the Great […]
Opinion: Irvine’s Master Planning Has a Long Way to Go: The Walkability Problem
Correcting an Outright Failure in Irvine’s Master Planning: Introducing Human-Scale Design into Communities Designed for the Scale of Automotive Travel There is much to love about Irvine. It’s safe, clean, and has great schools, and I’m especially proud of the vast open spaces it has protected from development and the urban forest that permeates the […]
Opinion: Why Irvine needs ranked Choice voting
An official from one of the county political parties once told me that he doesn’t care about voter mandates, and that if a candidate wins with only a minority of votes cast, the voters have in some sense spoken. Sure, I answered him, but how much are we allowing the voters to say? And is […]
City Provides Livestream on YouTube! Now Let’s Increase Access.
A little over ten months ago I wrote my first opinion piece for Irvine Watchdog, in which I called upon Irvine to livestream its City Council meetings on YouTube and store them there for subsequent viewings. Today I’m happy to report that Irvine has provided for half of my ask. For about a week now, ICTV […]
Opinion: If You’re Not Insisting On Democracy, You Might Not Have One — How Minority Rule All Too Often Presides Over The Irvine City Council
There’s a saying that poses a warning to consumers of media: “if you’re not paying for the product, you’re not the customer; you are the product.” It’s a useful reminder to be wary of your relationship to the powers-that-be in that particular market. If there is a rough political equivalent to it, perhaps it is […]
Sunshine Ordinance Saved For Now. Will Agenda Item 4.4 Be Used to Revoke It?
On Tuesday, November 9, 2021, the City Council “deleted” Consent Calendar Item 2.8 “Rescinding City Council Ordinance No. 18-10 [Irvine’s Sunshine Ordinance] relating to Brown Act Agenda Procedures” from the meeting agenda. We view this as a temporary victory and thank all those who signed the petition. However, the City Council can add the 2nd […]
Opinion: Fivepoint Lobbyist Patrick Strader Serving on the Irvine Community Land Trust is Like a Fox Guarding a Hen House
When I hear the word “trust” in the name of an entity, it resonates with me. “Trust” is a strong word which speaks of confidence, reliability, and uprightness. It brings to mind honorable custodians of a sacred charge: people sworn to protect and advance interests beyond their own. Perhaps the City of Irvine had something […]
Opinion: Evolving City, Devolving Democracy?
“I view what we do here as a vision,” FivePoint Holdings Founder and Chairman Emeritus Emile Haddad says, redundantly, in a promotional video on the company’s website. “When you lead from the front, it is easier for people to follow” is another Haddad head-scratcher. What it does not say is that FivePoint has reportedly spent over $2 […]
The People Before Pixels: Banning Cell Phone Use During Council Meetings
My Grandpa Dan had a rule: only one person was allowed to get up from the dinner table at a time. He was adamant about it. The story goes that there would come a point during dinners when Granny and their four kids would leave the dining room and dart about after seconds, for dessert, or to clear the table. […]
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