Kounalakis given look at how $65M in state funding will be used toward housing UCI students
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, April 12. We are Carol Cormaci and Vince Nguyen bringing you this week’s TimesOC newsletter. Together we’ve aggregated the latest local news and events for you.
UC Irvine put out the welcome mat this week for California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and invited media to report on her appearance Monday afternoon to tout a planned $80-million expansion of the university’s Mesa Court residence halls, as well as other projects that are underway at the campus.
According to the Daily Pilot report on the lieutenant governor’s visit by our colleague Matt Szabo, Kounalakis spoke to students and school officials as she was given an up-close look at the hall that will benefit from $65 million in state housing grants earmarked for the expansion.
The new housing will be located on the north end of campus, off of Campus Drive near University Drive, Szabo reports, and will provide about 300 new affordable residence hall beds for lower-division undergraduates. Tim Trevan, the UC Irvine assistant vice chancellor for student housing, said groundbreaking for the project, which is expected to be completed in 2026, will take place in about six months.
In an understatement, Trevan noted, “The local housing market has been pinched for rental units.”
Kounalakis’ visit to Irvine was part of a mini-tour this week of campuses that have received state grant money.
“Irvine is one of the larger recipients of grant money, and it’s clearly being put to good use,” Kounalakis said. “The bottom line is that students deserve to be able to focus on their studies and not worry about where they’re going to sleep at night.
“We need more affordable housing in California,” she said. “The grant funds allocated here will help students from lower-income, underrepresented communities to have housing. It’s a great project.”
Among the people greeting and escorting the state dignitary Monday were several UCI resident advisers, who toured around the Mesa Court Towers residence halls, which were completed in 2016, Szabo reported. After Kounalakis popped into a dorm room, one of the touring RAs, third-year student Ella Lee, quipped she felt fortunate the lieutenant governor had not opted to drop by the room she occupies.
“If she went into my room right now, it would be a mess,” she told Szabo, laughing.
MORE NEWS
— Officials keeping tabs on mosquitoes in the county saw a boom in their larval population at local wetlands after a parade of storms passed over Southern California. To mitigate those possibilities, crews have been sent into the field to reduce mosquito populations. They have been dispatched to Fairview Park in Costa Mesa, Banning Ranch in Newport Ranch and the Harriet M. Wieder Regional Park at the Bolsa Chica Conservancy.
— Former Rep. Harley Rouda, a Democrat, announced yesterday via a social media post he will withdraw his bid for a seat representing California’s 47th District in the U.S. Congress being vacated by Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine), after having suffered a traumatic brain injury stemming from a recent fall. In related news, Newport Beach resident and businessman Max Ukropina, a Repubican, announced that he would be running in the upcoming primaries for the same district. Ukropina was born and raised in Orange County and is a graduate of Corona del Mar High School and USC.
— The battle between the city of Huntington Beach and the state over housing continues to ratchet up as the four-member conservative majority of the Huntington Beach City Council maintains its defiant stance against the state’s mandate to provide zoning to allow for at least 13,368 more housing units. The council majority voted last week against passing a housing element that would comply with state’s requirements. (Regular newsletter readers might recall the same city leaders in early March approved filing a federal lawsuit centering on the issue.) The state announced Monday it was amending its own already existing suit against the city to include claims against the City Council’s latest action.
— The nonprofit Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center treats up to 7,000 wild animals each year and receives funds from the county and many O.C. cities. Last year the center took in 451 animals from Costa Mesa and despite frequent use has contributed no funding to the nonprofit for its work, according to this story by our colleague, Daily Pilot reporter Sara Cardine. Costa Mesa city staff is in the process of reviewing the matter.
— Betsy Kovacs, nurse practitioner at the Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Irvine, is one of many health officials praising the FDA’s approval last month for over-the-counter sale of opioid inhibitor Narcan to block potentially fatal overdoses. According to the Orange County Health Care Agency, between 250 and 290 opioid-related deaths took place each year between 2016 and 2019 in the county.
— Sylvia Alva, the California State University executive vice chancellor of academic and student affairs, was named Thursday the interim president of Cal State Fullerton. She will take on the new post Aug. 1 and continue until a CSUF president is chosen by the CSU Board of Trustees. Current CSUF President Framroze Virjee, who has been president of the university since 2018, is retiring on July 31.
— A joint community service day will see 25 projects fulfilled in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach on April 22. Hundreds of volunteers will be needed to cover the projects, each requiring at least 10 and up to 200 willing and able volunteers to complete them. Most projects will include neighborhood cleanups and restorative efforts, food donations, park improvements and more. Most are scheduled to be completed by noon. To view a list of available projects and sign up, those interested can visit justserve.org.
— Laguna Beach, known for most of its existence as an artist’s haven, has over the years seen its stock of affordable homes diminish, mirroring trends just about everywhere. It was decided last week that City Council members Mark Orgill and Alex Rounaghi will form a subcommittee with city staff to explore options to address the need for affordable artists live-work spaces.
— Full passenger service between San Diego and Orange counties is expected to resume next week following a near six-month suspension to stabilize a landslide in San Clemente, transit officials said Monday. Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner trains will return to full service through San Clemente on April 17. Metrolink plans to resume seven-day-a-week rail service to Oceanside, along with all regular passenger service along its Orange County and Inland Empire-Orange County lines through San Clemente, according to the Orange County Transportation Authority.
— On Sunday, hundreds of dark blue creatures called Velella vella surrounded both sides of a boat filled with second-grade whale watchers just off Dana Point. The L.A. Times reports thousands of these hydroids have littered beaches from Marin to Orange counties recently. Experts attribute this year’s abundance of the invertebrates commonly referred to as “by-the-wind sailors” to windy weather and hearty food conditions.
PUBLIC SAFETY AND COURTS
— Dean Joseph Backlund, 62, was arrested by Costa Mesa police Monday, after an attempted traffic stop led to a pursuit that ended in a tactical PIT maneuver on Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach. The incident took place at around 11 a.m., when patrol officers on Newport Boulevard attempted to stop a blue Chevrolet Camaro whose driver was believed to have had a felony warrant. According to a Daily Pilot report, Orange County court records show Backlund pleaded guilty to resisting an executive officer on Feb. 8.
— Police arrested a driver of a sedan that rolled over a curb and through sand, then crashed into a boardwalk at Main Beach in Laguna Beach last Wednesday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. The Honda Accord‘s hood was folded in half, and its front bumper was wedged beneath the boardwalk’s planks in photos posted on social media. A beam underneath the walkway just west of Pacific Coast Highway at Broadway was also damaged.
— A Mission Viejo dermatologist has been charged with allegedly poisoning her husband, also a physician, by putting Drano in his tea. Yue “Emily” Yu is charged with three counts of poisoning and a count of corporal injury on a spouse, all felonies, according to court records. The alleged dates of poisoning are July 11, July 18 and July 25 of last year, according to the complaint. Yu and her estranged husband, Dr. Jack Chen, have also been in a child custody battle since last year.
— California law enforcement seized 54 so-called ghost guns last year from people who can’t legally own firearms. The ghost guns, which are privately made firearms without a serial number, were part of nearly 1,500 guns taken statewide last year through an only-in-California program called the Armed and Prohibited Persons System. In one case, an attempt to contact a man in Costa Mesa led to an eight-hour armed standoff after he fired at the officers.
BUSINESS BUZZ
— Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien is expected to join Southern California Teamster Locals, representing workers at United Parcel Service facilities throughout the region, at a rally in Orange on Saturday. National negotiations between the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and UPS are set to begin Monday. “We have 12 weeks to negotiate the largest private-sector collective bargaining agreement in the U.S.,” O’Brien said in a statement. “We will set the tone for organized labor and the entire country with this contract. There is no better organization to set that bar high than the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. We are not going to accept and take what UPS gives us. UPS Teamsters have fire in their eyes and the intestinal fortitude to take on this company.”
— Local developer Intracorp Homes sent our way an announcement that work has begun on 40 contemporary townhomes near Old Town Tustin, after the project was green-lighted by the Tustin City Council earlier this year. The new homes, which are expected to be completed in 2024, were designed by Bassenian Lagoni Architects of Newport Beach, and the landscapes were created by Land Concern of Santa Ana, according to the news release.
LIFE & LEISURE
— The Portola Park community basketball court has a new, bright look to it. Inspired by the excitement surrounding March Madness, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, nonprofit Project Backboard and the city of Santa Ana teamed up to revitalize the court with a new blacktop, nets and backboards. It also features a vibrant mural of players in pop-art style with primary colors designed by Media.Monks and Project Backboard artists.
— Uniquely patterned hues have recently been lighting up the Laguna Beach City Hall lawn. The source comes from Taylor Dean Harrison’s mixed-media public art installation “Polymery,” a 14-foot sculpture with LED lighting emitting from a pair of suspended, pod-like figures. The artwork brings together multiple pieces of steel and LED lighting to create a singular effect, casting a shadow that places the colors and patterns on the ground. Polymery was installed in mid-March and is scheduled to remain on the lawn through June 18, according to Laguna Beach officials. The lights come on from 5 to 7 a.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to midnight.
SPORTS
— With girls’ flag football set to become an official CIF Southern Section sport next school year, one local coach has started a club — Seals Football Club — as the sport’s popularity continues to boom throughout Orange County. Many of the girls on the team, spearheaded by Newport Harbor girls’ flag football coach Jason Guyser, have played the sport for fun since first grade coming up in the Matt Leinart Flag Football League, but now they have the opportunity to compete in club tournaments. The 13-and-under girls team competed in their first one last weekend, the Hollywood Havoc tournament put on by Flag Football Life.
— Daily Pilot reporters Andrew Turner and Matt Szabo released the Daily Pilot Dream Teams in girls’ volleyball and boys’ basketball this past week. Newport Harbor senior outside hitter Anabel Kotzakov earned Player of the Year honors for the girls’ volleyball team, while Sage Hill junior Carter Bryant was named the area’s best in boys’ basketball.
— The Huntington Beach Union High School District brought special education and general education students together at the districtwide Unified Sports track meet at Marina High on Thursday. Nearly 250 young athletes competed in the event, which featured sprints and races up to 400 meters, alongside relay races, a long jump and softball toss. Students from host Marina, Ocean View, Edison, Fountain Valley and Westminster high schools all participated. Each district school hosts a Unified Sports event during the school year, and the final will be at Westminster when it hosts a football day on May 25.
— Angel Stadium welcomed fans for the first time Friday, and with that welcome came a variety of new and returning ballpark delicacies. L.A. Times sportswriter Sarah Valenzuela wrote about what Halos fans can expect throughout the 2023 home schedule, including fan-favorite items like beef birria nachos, the barbacoa burrito and the chopped BBQ brisket mac and cheese bowl. Al pastor ribs and the California steak board are among the new additions to the menu. The park’s new executive chef Dennis Radcliffe has also introduced a trio of plant-based options like the kung pao cauliflower available at Brewery X.
— As Angels fans ponder what to grub on as they see their team in action, Halos players and staff alike start their day trying to solve crossword puzzles and Sudoku. “It’s just kind of a focus thing,” said relief pitcher Ryan Tepera, one of the Angels’ Sudoku aficionados. Major League clubhouses have offered crossword puzzles for a long time, but Sudoku, in particular, became a tradition for the Angels about four years ago.
CALENDAR THIS
— The 33rd annual Southern California Spring Garden Show, “At Home in the Garden,” will be held Thursday, April 20 through Sunday, April 23 at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. The show on three levels of the retail mecca’s west wing unfolds under a 25-foot-high floral creation. Eight outdoor living vignettes will be found on level one of the Crate & Barrel/Macy’s Home Store wing. Levels two and three of the show will feature 35 specialty vendors with plants for sale, as well as nonprofits and horticultural organizations offering advice to gardening enthusiasts. In the Jewel Court wing, Fleurs de Villes VOYAGE features elaborately decorated mannequins and installations created by local floral artists. More details about the show can be found here.
— Orange County Superhero Run Walk Health & Safety Expo is set for this Saturday morning, April 15, at Mason Regional Park, 18712 University Drive, Irvine. Organized by the Crime Survivors Resource Center, the event opens at 7 a.m. for registration, with the run/walk stepping off at 9 a.m.
— The Huntington Beach Art Center is staging an exhibition “By Degrees: Art and our Changing Ecology” from April 15 to June 10. The show is juried by Luciana Abait and Lawrence Gipe. The new works selected for the exhibit out of submissions received from more than 120 artists examine “our changing ecology as seen through the artist’s eye,” according to organizers. The Huntington Beach Art Center is located at 538 Main St. Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; noon to 8 p.m. Thursdays; and noon to 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Call (714) 374-1650 for more information.
KEEP IN TOUCH
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