Orange County Great Park

The Orange County Great Park's agricultural programs will grow strong roots with the influx of $750,000 from Ohio-based ScottsMiracle-Gro over the next five years. The donation, which includes $500,000 in financial support and $250,000 in garden products, was commemorated by the replanting of a mature six-ton Jacaranda tree near the Great Park Farm & Food Lab on Sept. 17, according to a press release. The tree is one of many which will be rescued and replanted as the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro is transformed into a metropolitan park over the next decade.

El Segundo-based Partner Engineering and Science, a national environmental and engineering consulting firm, was awarded a contract to perform remediation services at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, according to a new release this week. The firm will be responsible for site demolition, remediation and restoration activities under the contract with the Irvine Public Works Department. The contract includes work on areas of the 4,712-acre base which have not yet been developed, but have already been remediated by the United States Department of the Navy and transferred over to the city, said Cliff Wallace, deputy chief executive of the Orange County Great Park Corp.

IRVINE - The City Council on Tuesday night approved a letter addressed to the Orange County Grand Jury that disagreed with the jury's findings that Irvine council members are among the highest paid countywide. The countywide compensation study completed June 3 concluded that Irvine has the highest annual compensated City Council members, with a base pay of $21,120 and benefits of $26,976. The council cited these findings as flawed, according to a draft of the letter. The letter states that "the Grand Jury erroneously added together the annual salary of each member of the City Council and the annual salary of those who also serve, in a separate and distinct capacity, as members of the Board of Directors of the Orange County Great Park Corporation.

IRVINE — The City Council has approved a $250,000 master plan to build the Orange County Great Park Museum of Heritage & Aviation. The Orange County Great Park Board Corp. had approved the plan in December. The museum will commemorate Marines and other military personnel who served at and visited the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, according to a staff report. After the council's approval during Tuesday night's regular meeting, city staff were directed to come back to the park's board of directors in 180 days with a proposed plan for implementing the project and building an interim site for the museum, according to the report.

The Irvine City Council plans to sign off Tuesday on a three-year contract extension for Orange County Great Park Chief Executive Michael Ellzey. The renewal of his more than $200,000 annual salary will come with perks, including a $750 monthly car allowance and a $250 cell phone and Internet service allowance, according to attachments to the meeting agenda. The contract would expire June 30, 2014. Ellzey's contract will be among a package of Great Park-related action items that the council is expected to finalize.

UC Irvine's Anteaters are about to start chowing down on a lot more oranges. Anteater athletes planted a grove of the citrus-bearing trees Wednesday afternoon near the Crawford Athletics Complex along West Peltason Drive. "They will grow there for years and years," said women's tennis team member Stephanie Hammel of the trees. "The fruit will give members of the community or athletes the opportunity to come here, pick the fruit and enjoy it. " The 24 trees were donated by the Orange County Great Park and are part of a project to upgrade the pool score board and beautify the surrounding area, said Cathy Lawhon, university director of media relations and community outreach.

Doner kebabs, baklava, dumplings and that stretchy ice cream — you can bet there will be plenty of great food at the third annual Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival this weekend at the O.C. Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. This year's event promises to be even bigger than last year's, which was held at the Orange County Great Park. There will be three-dimensional replicas of five different cities. Guests will enter the grounds through 14 gates, each dedicated to a different Anatolian civilization.

Teetotaling on New Year's Eve? Want to ring in 2013 twice? Irvine's Great Night! Family New Year's Eve celebration in Orange County Great Park has got you covered. Festivities will run from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday, with a countdown to the new year on East Coast time, according to the park's website . That means streamers, noise makers and kisses at 9 p.m. "This unique celebration allows parents to ring in the New Year with their children and make it home in time to attend other parties," Irvine Mayor Pro Tem and park Chair Beth Krom said in a statement.

More than 8,500 people raised $255,000 for autism research, awareness and family service last weekend at the Orange County Walk Now for Autism Speaks. The eighth annual event at the Orange County Great Park's El Toro Field attracted volunteers and family members of people with autism. Celebrity guests included Phillip Palmer, ABC7 news anchor and the event's master of ceremonies, and actress Tisha Campbell-Martin from the television show "Martin," according to a news release.

IRVINE — The City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved an ordinance that saves the Irvine Redevelopment Agency (RDA) from dissolution. The voluntary program opts the RDA into an alternative redevelopment program, thus bypassing any closure required by the Dissolution Act, which was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown into law June 29. The funds will be paid through the RDA, not the city's general fund, said Mark Asturias, city housing and redevelopment manager. The City Council also approved the city staff's recommendation to appeal the contribution amount — about $2.6 million for the fiscal year 2011-12 — which was determined by a state finance department alternative formula and varies by city.