Irvine Connect shuttle system is picking up steam, but can an Irvine-wide transit network work?

July 22, 2025 By Hanna Kang 1 Comment

When the Irvine City Council voted in April to shut down the city’s iShuttle program and roll its buses into the newer Irvine Connect system, councilmembers agreed the city’s approach to public transportation needed a second look.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

But they split on what comes next, and how far the city should go in building out a full-scale bus network in a suburb largely built around cars.

Irvine’s iShuttle officially ended service on June 28, closing the chapter on a nearly 20-year-old commuter program that primarily served business parks and office centers. Usage had declined since the pandemic, city staffers said, and over the past year, the single Irvine Connect route along Yale Avenue and Barranca Parkway carried more passengers than all three iShuttle routes combined.

Designed for local circulation within the city, Irvine Connect is aimed at residents, officials say, and launched as a city-run pilot in 2023. It was expanded in July with five new stops reaching north to Portola Parkway and an extra bus to keep wait times to under 20 minutes.

City spokesperson Linda Fontes said boardings rose 15% during the first week of the expanded service compared to the same weekdays the week prior, a sign that interest may be growing. But councilmembers and transit experts remain divided on whether a citywide system is realistic or sustainable in Irvine.

“I think we’re on our way with a terrific vision for a transit system,” said Mayor Larry Agran, who has long championed public transit. “Overcoming the one principal shortcoming from the very beginning in the city, which is, we didn’t put transit first.”

Agran and Councilmember Kathleen Treseder have been the strongest advocates for building out a much larger system, calling it a smart investment in mobility and climate goals. But others, including Councilmember Mike Carroll, have been wary of moving too quickly or committing too much money before gauging public support.

“Everyone we’ve heard from were mass transit advocates, the same people who gave us CicloIrvine, the same people who prefer less cars, and that’s fine, that is a position,” Carroll said during a council meeting in April. “But what about the rest of the people in Irvine?”

Carroll said he wants to poll residents before spending millions on buses they may never use.

“If you drive cars, will you get out of cars and get on buses?” he asked. “I think it’s a bridge too far.”

A city built for cars

Irvine’s master-planned design is car-centric. Wide arterial roads and abundant parking have resulted in lower local congestion, making it hard to convince residents to leave their vehicles behind.

“There is no congestion in Irvine,” said Michael McNally, a longtime civil and environmental engineering professor at UC Irvine and a researcher at the university’s Institute of Transportation Studies. “Yes, there is on the 5 and the 405, but that’s not Irvine. Drive on the city streets, even in the peak hours, traffic is flowing fast at the speed limit.”

That’s one of several reasons why UCI professor Michael Hyland, also with the institute, said he’s “generally skeptical of a kind of robust, high-quality transit network in Irvine.”

“It’s very challenging to operate any public transportation in Irvine, given the wealth of the area and the land use and the design,” he said.

Councilmembers who are open to expanding the transit system also recognize the logistical hurdles.

“The way Irvine is designed, it’s designed for cars. It’s designed for bikes, walking and trails,” Councilmember James Mai said. “This is the way that the city was designed, and that’s nobody’s fault now. Public transit would be great, but that’s going to need a shift in the mentality of the average resident.”

Mai added that many families in his district have told him they prefer to drive, saying it’s simply easier to take a car, especially with young kids, when going to places such as the beach or the Great Park.

Ridership of Irvine Connect reached 141,000 in its first year, peaking at 740 boardings on April 10, according to city staff.

Click here to read the full article in the OC Register

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: ,

Irvine nixes single-use plastics from city operations as it works on a citywide ban

December 2, 2023 By Staff 2 Comments

The proposed ordinance, as it’s written, may be the most comprehensive municipal single-use plastic ban in California, city officials say

Irvine is looking to do away with single-use plastics in what city staff say may be the most comprehensive municipal single-use plastic ban in California.

The City Council on Tuesday, Nov. 28, voted to eliminate single-use plastic and polystyrene (commonly known as Styrofoam) items from city operations and city-sponsored events. This would not apply to third-party vendors who sell products at city-sponsored events, at least for now.

But a proposed ordinance banning single-use plastic citywide — including plastic bags, polystyrene and plastic containers and utensils in what city officials are hailing as the strictest ban in the state — didn’t get the greenlight Tuesday evening.

After more than two hours of public comment, the City Council said more work was needed on a plan to curtail plastic use across Irvine, directing city staff to continue outreach with stakeholders and launch an educational campaign. The City Council will consider a revised plan later at an unspecified date.

The conversation about reducing the city’s plastic waste commenced in July when the council voted unanimously to develop a plastic waste reduction program.

The ordinance proposed to councilmembers Tuesday evening would:

• Ban the use of Styrofoam and plastic containers and utensils in food service and retail

• Ban the sale of non-compostable single-use plastic utensils and cups, as well as Styrofoam containers and coolers

• Ban the sale of single-use plastic water bottles of one liter or less

• Ban all types of single-use plastic bags

The proposed ban would apply to restaurants and food retailers and be phased in in three cycles, with the first focused on education and outreach. Instead of using punitive measures from the get-go, the city would initially take an educational approach and help businesses transition away from plastics before taking more typical enforcement measures, such as citations and monetary fines.

There are some exemptions, said Jenelle Shapiro, the city’s sustainability manager, including correctional institutions, health facilities, residential care facilities and public and private school cafeterias. UC Irvine property will also be exempt from a citywide ban.

“It’s important for us to set attainable policies,” said Mayor Farrah Khan. “We need to do a deep dive into what works and what doesn’t work for the industry.”

Councilmember Larry Agran asked city staff to compile a spreadsheet to illustrate what Irvine’s proposed citywide plastics ban brings in added value to the state’s plastic pollution prevention efforts, most notably, Senate Bill 54, adopted last year. SB 54, on a phased implementation cycle through 2032, mandates packaging and plastic foodware sold in California are recyclable and compostable.

“This is going to require a lot of studying, a lot of understanding on our part moving forward,” he said. “I could not vote for an ordinance that is in a form where it’s evolving.”

But Councilmember Mike Carroll, the lone member who voted against working on a citywide ban, said he found it difficult to understand what Irvine’s efforts would accomplish given the existing efforts at the state level. He wanted to send the entire proposal back to the city’s Sustainability Commission for it to come back with a report on Labor Day.

“I cannot imagine the City Council banning the plastic that covers dry cleaning and boba cups,” Carroll said. “I don’t think you’re realizing what you’re doing. This is an academic discussion. You’re going to make a decision based on academic ideas, and this is a City Council where we have to discharge duties. With all due respect, I disagree with all of this.”

“We can let the state do its job and be the vanguard on this issue, rather than a disjointed effort in Irvine,” he continued.

Among other things councilmembers suggested the city should do going forward were adding more outreach to local businesses, bringing waste management into the conversation to hear about how they’re handling recyclables, developing a list of product alternatives (such as bamboo and sugarcane fiber) that the city can disseminate to the community and starting to ban Styrofoam from restaurants and releasing balloons into the air outright.

The community weighs in

Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, city staff posed a survey to local businesses on the city website and advertised it on various platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. In the three-week time period the survey was open, from Oct. 24 to Nov. 15, around 130 businesses responded, staff said.

“We have 17,000 businesses that have licenses here in Irvine producing 275,000 jobs,” Councilmember Tammy Kim said, expressing her disappointment at the low number of responses.

City manager Oliver Chi said there were time constraints placed on staff that made it difficult for them to adequately reach the wide breadth of businesses in Irvine.

Nearly 90 stakeholders addressed the City Council Tuesday, including representatives from various statewide and local environmental groups, UC Irvine students studying environmental science, environmental attorneys, the Asian American Business Association of Orange County, the International Bottled Water Association and Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling.

Around 55 spoke in support of the proposed ordinance and approximately 27 were opposed.

Hoiyin Ip, an Irvine resident and member of the Sierra Club, said Tuesday’s decision to work toward a citywide ban was “a victory of the industries.”

“It’s very expensive to use all single-use plastics all the time,” Ip said. “The (proposed) ordinance is not perfect, but a step in the right direction. The council’s decision of not moving forward with any element of the ban was disappointing.”

France recently banned disposable packaging and utensils in restaurants, and some photos of a McDonald’s in France show fries, chicken nuggets and burgers placed in reusable containers and holders.

“This can be done,” Ip said. “It’s not a foreign concept anymore.”

The city is causing too much plastic waste, said Richard Busch, co-chair of the Surfrider Foundation of North Orange County, who worked with the city to draft the original plastic waste reduction ordinance.

Solid waste is the third highest source of Irvine’s carbon emissions, according to city staff, and the plastic waste carried downstream via the San Diego Creek ends up in local bays and estuaries, affecting wildlife habitats.

“Some of the trash, possibly trash that gets thrown away properly, somehow finds its way into the watershed system, goes through the drain system and finds its way from Irvine, possibly to the San Diego Creek, which then dumps into the Upper Newport Bay State Marine Conservation Area,” Busch said.

But city officials say they understand that small businesses, especially those that may have relied on single-use plasticware more heavily than others, could disproportionately be affected by a ban due to the lack of resources to transition into a plastic-free operation.

Funding and grant opportunities for businesses that need them could be explored, said Shapiro, Irvine’s sustainability manager.

Matthew Sutton, senior vice president of government affairs at the California Restaurant Association, said plastic alternatives are costly and will place a burden on businesses that continue to struggle with pandemic-related economic losses.

“It’s adding price onto our products, which are already at a high due to inflation,” Sutton said. “So it’s just really tone-deaf to the community.”

The original ordinance poses a “fundamental change to the restaurant landscape,” Sutton said.

“In a quick-serve setting — a sandwich shop, a local burger joint, a pizza joint, you name it — you can’t use paper plates. You have to use real plates, glassware, silverware,” he said. “You’re taking places that were built and sited and have no storage capability for those kinds of quantities of dishware we’re talking about and saying figure it out. We don’t have the ability to bust down a wall and put in a new dishwasher. We don’t have control over our footprint.”

The ban up for consideration by the City Council has already been stripped of some suggestions, including a $0.25 charge for disposable cups, because of community input, Shapiro said.

The ordinance had also originally prohibited the sale of Mylar and latex balloons in Irvine, but Shapiro said the city wants to be supportive of businesses that rely on balloon sales for a majority or exclusive source of their revenue. Balloons would be allowed for celebration, she said, but should be disposed of properly in the garbage and not intentionally released into the air.

Click here to read the full article in the OC Register

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , ,

Irvine Won’t Investigate Attempted Bribery of Councilmembers, Waits on FBI

January 27, 2023 By Noah Biesiada Leave a Comment

Irvine leaders narrowly voted against conducting a review of their city’s inner workings amid allegations of attempted bribery of two council members in 2018, opting to wait and see whether an investigation from the FBI sheds any light on the issue. 

Melahat Rafiei, a high-profile Democratic leader and consultant, admitted to attempting to bribe those council members and has remained a regular presence at city hall since news of her crimes came to light last May, according to city manager Oliver Chi. 

Some councilmembers called for an immediate investigation to root out possible corruption, while others pointed to a controversial investigation surrounding the Great Park in 2013 as a rationale for avoiding a city probe.

Questions around potential corruption in Irvine have been circulating since last May, when an FBI affidavit focused on an alleged pay-to-play scheme in Anaheim over the sale of Angel Stadium mentioning that a source known as CW1 attempted to bribe two Irvine City Council members.

In a sworn affidavit released last May, FBI special agent Brian Adkins said former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu tried ramming through the Angel Stadium sale for $1 million in campaign contributions from team officials. 

According to the affidavit, after CW1 was arrested for the attempted bribe, they began cooperating with the federal investigation and wore a wire to meetings with consultants involved in Anaheim’s pay to play scheme.  

The Anaheim land sale fell apart and Sidhu resigned, maintaining he’s done no wrong and hasn’t been publicly charged with a crime.

[Read: Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu Resigns After FBI Reveals Anaheim Corruption Probe]

Melahat Rafiei later identified herself to Voice of OC as CW1, but maintained her innocence over the past year until she signed a plea deal last week. 

[Read: OC Democratic Power Broker Admits To Attempted Bribery of Irvine Councilmembers and Attempted Wire Fraud]

She also admitted to the attempted bribery case in her signed plea deal, saying she arranged for $225,000 to go to two Irvine City Council members in 2018, but was not charged for it by prosecutors. 

That shined a spotlight on Rafiei’s past work in Irvine across numerous city council campaigns, most notably for her role in helping elect Farrah Khan as Irvine’s mayor. 

[Read: Consultant’s Controversial Plea Deal Spurs Calls for Irvine City Hall Probe, Puts Spotlight on Mayor]

It also opened questions over who it was she tried to bribe after the U.S. The Attorney’s Office refused to disclose the council members’ identities to the public, saying their names would not be released unless they were charged with a crime. 

[Read: Questions Swirl Over Former Irvine City Councilmembers Discussing Accepting Bribes With Cannabis Lobbyist]

At Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Khan called not to investigate Rafiei’s work, saying she had concerns that any investigation could turn into a politicized attack against herself at taxpayer expense and claiming she cut ties with Rafiei after the news of the arrest broke. 

“If she has had communication with staff, it has been outside my work here,” Khan said. “It’s important for us to seek justice and be sure there is no corruption, but more importantly putting out false information and accusing people falsely is even more dangerous.” 

Councilman Larry Agran agreed, pointing to an investigation of the Great Park that he said cost the city over $2 million, went on for years and was criticized by the state auditor as an improper audit in 2016. 

[Read: Former Great Park Auditor Surrenders Accounting License]

“There is an ongoing public corruption investigation by the FBI, having read that plea bargain and agreement, it’s pretty clear that there was more than just an attempt to solicit a bribe, that somebody was biting on the other end,” Agran said. “They don’t quit. It’s not going to stop here.” 

Councilwoman Kathleen Treseder disagreed, pointing out how it took three years for Rafiei’s arrest by the FBI to become public knowledge and that the city could have questions the FBI fails to answer. 

“I appreciate the FBI does investigate, they’re working on at least certain aspects of the issue, we can’t guarantee they’re working on the issues we care about,” Treseder said. “They have limited person power. They’ve told me this, they would like to investigate much more potential corruption in Orange County but they only have so many agents.” 

Treseder called for an immediate investigation from an outside contractor, with plans to report their progress within a month. 

Anaheim commissioned their own investigation into corruption after the FBI affidavit was released, with investigators pledging they found “great stuff,” last October, but nothing has been released yet. 

[Read: City Hired Investigators Find ‘Great Stuff’ in Anaheim Corruption Probe]

Councilwoman Tammy Kim, another former client of Rafiei’s, said she also wanted an investigation quickly to clear anyone of any perceived wrongdoing.  

“I don’t want to get in the way of what our residents are asking for,” Kim said. “They’re really asking for a level of transparency and really wanting to understand how someone who is not affiliated with the city was able to engage in multiple parts of the city.”

Councilman Mike Carroll was the last council member to speak on the issue, and his answer was simple – wait and see what the FBI does. 

“If we act now, we won’t know what would have happened potentially,” Carroll said. “But if we don’t act…we preserve our ability to consider to do something.” 

Ultimately, the council voted 3-2 to do nothing, with Treseder and Kim voting to move forward with an investigation. 

It remains unclear when Orange County could get its next peek at the FBI’s investigation. 

Click here to read the full article at the Voice of OC

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , ,

Porter Berated Irvine Mayor in Texts After Town Hall: ‘Lecture Me’ on ‘Professionalism’ and ‘See What Happens’

October 18, 2022 By Houston Keene 4 Comments

California Democrat Rep. Katie Porter berated Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan in their text conversation after trashing the Irvine police department after her violent town hall last year.

Fox News Digital obtained the full text message exchange between Porter and Khan following a fight that broke out at the congresswoman’s July 2021 town hall that saw the man Porter lives with arrested.

In the texts, Porter criticized Khan, saying she would not call the mayor after the arrest of Julian Willis after he allegedly punched a pro-Trump protester, giving the protester a bloody nose.

Fox News Digital previously reported that Porter trashed the Irvine police department after Willis’ arrest, calling the force a “disgrace” and that she “will never trust them again.”

“I see that you’re upset, but it would be more professional of you to just call me for clarification,” Khan said in the text messages exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

“I have never done anything to you. You cannot say the same,” Porter wrote. “I have helped you with your campaign and tried to be a good partner. I don’t owe you a phone call.”

“You should have called me with [the] complete fail by [the] city yesterday,” Porter continued. “I am a United States Congress woman (sic).”

“You can lecture me on professionalism. And see what happens,” Porter added, despite famously wearing a Batgirl Halloween costume to the House of Representatives on the same day Democrats voted for a resolution on ground rules for the impeachment inquiry surrounding then-President Trump. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and other Republicans mocked the costume on Twitter.

“As I have been with you, even though I feel like I’m treated very poorly,” Khan responded.

Porter asked Khan to tell her how she has “helped” her, texting “I’m listening” and telling Khan she “can take the advice about Bogarting stuff or not.”

“Up to you. But I am not alone,” Porter wrote. “I am just [the] only one who respects you enough to give you the advice.”

“I have supported you for a very long time in many ways and continue to do so,” Khan responded.

The pair of Democrat officials also sparred over Khan and her executive assistant Cory Allen going to a Mexican restaurant where Porter was eating, with the congresswoman taking aim at the mayor’s reputation and making the barbs personal.

“And the next time I have a high ranking official come, only come to things you are invited to,” Porter wrote. “Stopping by the Mexican restaurant was ridiculous. You have a reputation for not staying in your lane and seeking attention. And the result is we’ll keep things out of Irvine next time.”

“You need to hear this [because] it is damaging others willingness to work with you (sic),” Porter continued. “Tammy, Dave, Santa Ana mayor [Vicente Sarmiento], etc all great. You created stress on staff.”

“That’s quite a leap you’re taking,” Khan fired back. “I’m sorry, but Cory and I were planning on going to the Mexican restaurant that day, when we saw the security vehicles we went somewhere else. I attended all events I was invited to either by Secretary [Marty] Walsh’s staff, [the Orange County Labor Federation], your staff or [Irvine Unified School District].”

“You just happened by that particular Mexican restaurant????” Porter responded. “Please.”

It is unclear what sparked the Mexican restaurant spat, but it further illustrates the tumultuous relationship between the two California Democrats.

Following the exchange, the pair of Democrats reverted to incredibly formal salutations and communication style, addressing each other by their titles.

Neither Porter’s nor Khan’s offices responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

In the initial report by Fox News Digital, Porter spokesperson Jordan Wong told Fox News Digital the congresswoman “was upset that a planned family-friendly town hall was hijacked by extremists, who made constituents feel unsafe, including using hateful slurs in front of children.”

“She was disappointed that despite our staff alerting police days before the event that the extremists were openly advertising their intention to disrupt the town hall, officers on the day of the incident were hundreds of feet away and did not intervene immediately when fighting broke out,” Wong said.

“Since then, Rep. Porter and our office have worked productively with the Irvine Police Department, including the Congresswoman hosting the new police chief in her office for a constructive and cooperative meeting,” he continued.

The congresswoman — a former law professor who was paid more than $285,000 one year during her time at the University of California, Irvine — made headlines when it was revealed she earned thousands of dollars in royalty fees from law school textbooks that she required her own students to purchase for the courses she taught.

In 2017, Porter, who is now seeking re-election to the House this November, was paid $286,674 to teach two courses per semester at the institution, according to Transparent California.

Click here to read the full article at Fox News

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Rep. Katie Porter Draws Scrutiny for Calling Irvine Police ‘Disgrace’ in 2021

September 29, 2022 By Kaitlynn Schallhorn 2 Comments

The OC congresswoman expressed frustration with how Irvine police handled an altercation that broke out at her event after far-right protestors interrupted it.

Rep. Katie Porter’s Irvine event in July 2021 was memorable not because it was her first in-person town hall since the COVID-19 pandemic started but because a physical altercation broke out after far-right opponents disrupted the gathering.

In the aftermath, Porter texted Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan, voicing her frustration with what happened at the event and how it was handled by law enforcement.

“I will never trust them again,” Porter said, noting she was set to meet with the chief of police. “Well, your police force is a disgrace.”

The texts, critical of the Irvine Police Department, were first reported on by Fox News and have been shared by conservative media outlets.

“Rep. Porter was upset that a planned family-friendly themed town hall was hijacked by extremists who made constituents feel unsafe, including using hateful slurs in front of children,” Jordan Wong, a spokesperson for the Democratic congresswoman, said in a statement shared with the Register. “She was disappointed that despite our staff alerting police days before the event that the extremists were openly advertising their intention to disrupt the town hall, officers on the day of the incident were hundreds of feet away and did not intervene immediately when fighting broke out.”

A spokesperson for the Irvine Police Department did not respond to emailed questions about its handling of the event.

Julian Willis of La Jolla was cited and released for his actions during the altercation, police said at the time. Willis reportedly has lived at Porter’s Irvine home, although it’s not clear if that is still the case.

A self-proclaimed “American Nationalist” group led by Nick Taurus — who has been involved in other protests that turned physical — interrupted the July 2021 event by shouting personal insults at the congresswoman.

Click here to read the full article at the OC Register

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Rep. Katie Porter’s Sweet UC Irvine Housing Deal Raises Eyebrows

September 10, 2022 By Sheila McClear 2 Comments

Houses in Orange County go for $1 million, but Porter snagged one for half that with the help of some college friends

Although Orange County Congresswoman Katie Porter represents an area where houses typically sell for $1 million, Porter’s four-bedroom, three-bath in a sweet subdivision of the University of California Irvine campus is a steal at $523,000, the Associated Press reports.

The Democrat and law professor didn’t just luck into a good deal on a house. She purchased it in 2011 at below-market price through an arrangement in which the university helps out academics who couldn’t otherwise “afford to live in the affluent area.” There is only one eligibility requirement—that Porter continue to work for UC Irvine and meet with students.

But some are raising their eyes since this high-class subsidized housing continues even though she’s spent years away from the classroom. Porter taught for eight years, and then left for Congress after she was elected in 2018. That’s when she first took unpaid leave from her teaching job—which paid $258,000 a year—to serve in the House of Representatives.

Emails obtained by AP show Porter had at least one person working on her behalf, a law school administrator who had donated to her political campaign and “helped secure extensions of her tenure while she remained in Congress.”

Administrators agreed to two separate one-year periods of leave that enabled Porter to keep her house, AP’s documents show. School officials, however, started questioning the arrangement as her 2020 reelection.

“Is there any fixed limit on the number of years of leave without pay… One of our administrators mentioned that they seemed to recall a two-year limit,” law school Vice Dean Chris Whytock, who donated $500 to Porter’s 2018 campaign, wrote in a April 2020 email, adding, “Some government service may, of course, last for a number of years.”

Whytock wrote a memo outlining the case for extending Porter’s leave, according to AP, while suggesting that there are no limits on how long such an arrangement could continue. The plan required the approval of the school’s vice provost, which was granted in 2020, according the the emails.

Whytock did not return AP’s request for comment.

Porter did not address whether or not her housing arrangement was kosher in an interview with AP, but she said she “followed the applicable [University of California] policies, as well as all applicable state and federal law.”

“I am always happy to be transparent with voters,” Porter said. “I take a lot of pride in my record on transparency and good governance and have been asked about this before by voters and have always been happy to give them full and complete information.”

Porter’s housing situation does not violate U.S. House ethics rules. Porter will seek a third term in November.

Click here to read the full article in Los Angeles Magazine

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , ,

Irvine Mayor Distances Herself From Former Top Democratic Party Official Involved in FBI Probe

May 28, 2022 By Noah Biesiada 1 Comment

When one of Orange County’s top Democratic Party power brokers, Melahat Rafiei, got caught up in the FBI’s investigation into Anaheim last week, there were immediate calls from the state and local Democratic Party officials, with many calling on her to resign all her positions and take a step aside. 

But not Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan.

She was one of the few public officials who initially stood firm by Rafiei, calling her a “friend and advisor.”

Following the announcement of the FBI’s investigation, Rafiei publicly identified herself as Cooperating Witness 1, described by FBI officials as a confidential source in their affidavit who wore a wire to multiple meetings with Anaheim officials to aid them in their investigation. 

The affidavit is part of an FBI corruption probe into Anaheim City Hall, which led to former 

Mayor Harry Sidhu resigning and the Angel Stadium land sale getting canned this week.

According to the documents released by the FBI, CW1 “was arrested on a complaint (based on the 2018 corruption scheme involving Irvine officials) and subsequently brought to the FBI office in Orange County where CW1 was interviewed. CW1 agreed to cooperate with the FBI during CW1’s interview. The complaint was dismissed without prejudice based on the government’s motion. CW1 has been assisting the FBI since the date of his/her arrest.” 

In footnotes, agents continued, with special agent Brian Adkins writing “CW1 and the government have not been able to reach an agreement on a pre-indictment resolution, and at this time, there is no further cooperation expected. Based on the government’s interaction with CW1 and CW1’s counsel, I believe CW1’s motive for cooperating in this investigation was to receive leniency for the federal criminal violation CW1 was originally arrested for, as well as other possible criminal conduct.” 

On Tuesday, Rafiei began to publicly dispute that she was ever arrested by the FBI, claiming through a spokeswoman that the documents had it wrong and that while she was detained, she was allowed to leave. 

FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller declined to comment, but said the affidavits are accurate in a text message to a Voice of OC reporter. 

When Rafiei’s name originally came up, Khan was one of her strongest defenders, putting out a statement calling her a “friend and advisor.” 

“I also want to be unequivocal in my support for my friend and advisor, Melahat Rafiei. I have seen her integrity and ethics up close and personal. She is a leader who deserves credit for rooting out this corruption,” Khan wrote in a post on her Facebook and Twitter last Friday. “I stand with her, and believe our justice system will do its job and clear her name.” 

Less than a week later, she issued a new statement. 

“I am horrified by what I have learned in the last week about the depth of manipulation of the public, our institutions, and our communities,” Khan wrote in a second statement posted exclusively on her Facebook page on Wednesday. “The press has reported that a former consultant for my campaign, Melahat Rafiei, is a cooperating witness in the investigation, unrelated to her work on my campaign. Ms. Rafiei is no longer involved in any way with my campaign.” 

When asked by Voice of OC about the second statement, Khan said that the only thing that changed for her was that Rafiei was no longer working as a campaign consultant. 

“I don’t have any contact with her. I still consider her a friend and I hope that justice will be served,” Khan said in a phone call with Voice of OC Thursday morning. 

While Khan did not say in any of her statements when she became aware of Rafiei’s cooperation in the investigation, Ann Solomon, Rafiei’s spokesperson, said Rafiei called and informed all of her clients about her role in the investigation in February. 

“I was on the phone with her through the process. She told every one of her clients what was going on in February,” Solomon said in a Wednesday phone interview. “Every one of them knew.”

But when Voice of OC followed up a day later with Solomon to confirm whether Khan had been notified, she said she didn’t have a full list of clients and could not say for sure whether specific people were informed.  

Cory Allen, who served as both Khan’s assistant on city staff and worked for Rafiei’s campaign consulting company Progressive Solutions Consulting, is still working for Khan, but left Progressive Solutions this month according to his LinkedIn page. 

Khan did not respond to a follow up text from reporters asking when she first became aware of Rafiei’s work with the FBI. 

This isn’t the first time this year that Khan has issued seemingly competing statements on a controversial issue. 

In March, she was called out for having Ergun Kirlikovali, who openly disputes the existence of the Armenian Genocide, serving on her mayoral advisory committee after a video surfaced showing the two laughing together at a meeting over a basket of Turkish delights. 

Click here to read the full article in the Voice of OC

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , , ,

Watchdog group identifies ‘financially sick’ California cities

February 1, 2019 By Teri Sforza and Tony Saavedra 1 Comment

Irvine_City_HallIrvine is the financially healthiest big city in America, while New York is the sickest, according to a new study by a nonprofit dedicated to financial transparency in the public sector.

California’s other big cities fall firmly in the middle, with Southern California burgs healthier than many of their Northern California counterparts, says Chicago-based watchdog group Truth in Accounting.

The group doesn’t report on any cities in Yolo County since they are too small in population size. However, Bay Area cities as well as Sacramento were looked at.

The “taxpayer burden” — what each resident would have to pay to eliminate a city’s debts — hit $7,200 per person in Anaheim, $6,000 in Los Angeles, $5,100 in Santa Ana, $5,000 in San Diego, $3,700 in Riverside and $1,300 in Long Beach. Meanwhile, Irvine boasts a “taxpayer surplus” of $4,400 per person. …

Click here to read the full article from the Daily Democrat 

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , , , , ,