r/irvine

Transcript:

Martinez Franco:

Thank you. I wanna first a start in addressing a few, uh, myths that I hear today um... about traffic. I mean, for someone who works in LA a lot, this is not traffic. Um, I decided to go visit the golf course just a few days ago. Beautiful space, beautiful, beautiful.

However, I see where the traffic is: in the golf course. All these people that go play golf, come from outside our city to make more, uh, traffic. Um, with the golf course...

(Interruption from the public)

...gone, there....

(mayor gavels)

Mayor: Just a moment, please allowed the councilmember to proceed uninterupted, alright?

Martinez Franco: With a, an a open space, um, dedicated there, not only we are helping IVC students to have an open space that they can walk and... do... um... leave their cars behind—if they even have cars; they like bicycle. Um, our seniors will have a chance to go and walk freely without being hit by a golf course [sic], because let’s be honest, you cannot just run across the golf course, and, uh, let your toddlers run across the golf course without somebody yelling at you and telling you, "What are you doing in the green?"

Um...

And the kids will have a, a, good place to play in the water and, uh, the hills, and, uh, there will be so many trees preserved. And again, there will be less traffic if we, uh, dedicate that open space, uh...

(Interruption from the public)

because people will come less from outside our city, and this park will be for our community.

Now, I’m not taking the, the... value of putting this back in the ballot... if that happens. But let me ask you something about change.

Somebody voted to... uhh, for Segregation. Does that make it right? No. We have to change with the times. We have to change with the times. And I’m not taking away the... this... might go to a vote. I'm not taking that...

(Interruption from the public "Segregation? Seriously?")

Mayor: (Gavels) Uh, I'm gunna ask you again to please...

(Interruption from the public "She's talking about segregation! That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard")

Mayor: Sir, I'm gunna ask you to... to... (interruption from public). Umm, I'm going to politely ask you to allow the Council Member to conclude her remarks, and then we will just go on. Please. Your interruptions... um, they don't... they don't help your case, let me put it that way, alright?

(Interruption from the public "Someone's gotta counter that conversation, because segregation is not what we're talking about here!")

Mayor: We're going to have a round of comments here, by council members, and I would plead with you that you see to it that those comments are not interrupted. We didin't interrupt you. We didn't interrupt any of the 100 or so speakers who spoke. We want to accommodate all voices in an orderly way. Go ahead councilmember

Martinez Franco: Thank you, Mayor. Um, well... I didn’t get here, uh,to be quiet or to be the "quiet Latina," right? I’m here because I’m that a "spicy Latina" that is a going to speak up. So, while I’m pleased with the... um... uh... what the Irvine Company recent public outreach, I want to see more from them, especially in my district. I will strongly encourage them to sit with organizations like the Woodbridge Village Association and really listen, compromise, and be open to new ideas.

And while I understand tonight’s item does not approve any specific development, my future support will depend in the deep level of engagement with my community. Under those terms, I am prepared to support the motion. Thank you so much.

https://www.ocvector.org/large-area-mosquito-control-efforts

Dear Capitalism,

I’m writing this letter to express the utmost gratitude I have for you. Words cannot capture how much you shape my life every day. From the little moments, like watching my go-to boba order cost $7.10 when the same order used to cost $5.65 three years ago, to the bigger things like when you denied my healthcare coverage for mental health services because it wasn’t considered necessary, you have truly never failed to show up in my life consistently. Your dependability is one of a kind.

I’ve moved across the country, studied abroad and traveled internationally. Somehow, no matter where I go, you’re always there — just as reliable as ever. 

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to watch my career goal of becoming a professor of social science shrink and become borderline unachievable, all because universities are maximizing profit by hiring fewer tenured professors. The social sciences, which I argue are incredibly important if we value constructing a fair society, have been gutted. Meanwhile, areas of research, such as AI, that are heavily linked to the private sector have seen their funding explode. 

Thank you, Capitalism, for always valuing money over humanity.

Average rent prices have risen from about $300 per month 40 years ago to over $2,000 per month today. 

Making millions of people feel as if they aren’t successful enough because they can’t afford to spend half their paycheck alone on rent is one of the things I admire most about you.

Nothing beats the countless times I’ve been told that majoring in the social sciences without immediately monetizing it through law school afterward is a waste of time and money, even though learning about the world is what brings me fulfillment. 

Your ability to enslave academia to you is unmatched!

My quarterly parking pass in my apartment complex went from $305 to $365 in just three years. That is a 20% increase — when there was never a shortage of parking spaces to begin with. 

I absolutely adore how much you’ve normalized greed in our homes!

It’s incredible how dozens of unhoused people are mocked or blamed for their difficulties, all due to the normalization of individualism in our society. If someone doesn’t make it, it is automatically their fault, even if they were dealt a bad hand of cards to start with.

I am grateful to you, Capitalism, for normalizing victim-shaming. 

I admire how much you care about the health of the American people. Food corporations lobby our government officials to keep cancer-causing ingredients in our foods, just so the corporation can keep its production costs low and maximize its profits at the expense of our health.

I never knew how much I needed to see corporate interests valued over the health of the people in my life until I met you. Your charm is truly intoxicating.

If I broke the New University word limit and named every capitalist facet of our society that I was grateful for, this letter would be so long that Jeff Bezos would make $1.4 million by the time you finished reading it. Oh, wait, Bezos already made that much while you’ve been reading this letter, even with the New University word limit.

$1.4 million would change my life. I wouldn’t have to cap myself at $50 every time I put gas in my car, which doesn’t even fill my tank because gas is six dollars per gallon ever since President Donald Trump bombed Iran. 

I truly appreciate every little way you’ve sown greed into the lives of Americans and defined success as monetary rather than happiness. Your beauty, especially in late-stage capitalism where the level of wealth of the rich is inconceivable to the average American, has captivated me entirely.

My life is dedicated to you. Not out of loyalty, but because I, like everyone else, don’t have any other option. Many non-capitalist societies that have emerged have been sabotaged by American intervention.

Your effort, love and care have infiltrated so much of our government that you’ve somehow convinced the people that funding universal healthcare or affordable education will always be too expensive, but funding $16.5 billion to bomb other countries is totally doable. 

Anything to keep the top 1% wealthy and the rest struggling. 

In a world full of uncertainty, it’s comforting to know that it will never change. 

Cheers to many more years of injustice, worsening wealth gaps, ignoring the climate crisis because it would hurt corporate profits, blaming the individual instead of the broken system and teaching people not to care about others if they are struggling. 

Sincerely,

Every college student who is just trying to live a simple life. 

Alexander R.

Transposed from the original found here: https://newuniversity.org/2026/04/19/a-love-letter-to-capitalism/

Hi all, did anyone lose a set of car keys for a Honda at the Great Park Tennis Center tonight? My group found them on one of the benches outside the #23/24 tennis courts. The key chain had a few keys and other things on it as well. As we were leaving we checked with anyone still on or around the courts but no one claimed them. We also checked if the car was still in the parking lot but no car responded to the key fob. The front office was closed when we left around 10pm, so I’ll drop them off at the front office of the tennis courts tomorrow morning. Hopefully they make it back to their rightful owner!

We are a newly married telugu couple in late 20’s moving to Irvine in a couple of months. We have been to the place a couple of times and have decided on settling down and starting a family here. Looking forward to make new friends and wondering if there is any way we could do that. Any suggestions??

Irvine Co. Colonnade at the Marketplace. If you are not living on the 5th floor, do you hear your neighbors above? I’ve seen some newer multi story builds have a gap space between floors but not sure that is true for apartments. Also, true you can use amenities in either building? Thanks!

My son is graduating college in a couple weeks and am looking for a great place to have a celebratory dinner. We have visited him and we have been to Orange county many times having used to live in Vegas. But I am always underwhelmed with the food choices. It’s either $80 a head or fast casual. Does not seem like there is a whole lot of non chain, nice places in the $30-60/head range. Help me find something.

As a former Angelino, planning to move to Irvine:

• What do you love most about the city?
• What are some tips or advice you can give to someone who‘s looking to integrate into the community?

I’ve visited several times, enjoyed it very much, and have heard only great things about the city.

San Diego Creek trail right under the Harvard bridge. Glass all over the place.

Just be careful with your pets & bicycle tires.

It might be dystopian but we still love it lol. In fact, that’s why we are here, living in our little bubble.