Today's top stories from behind the Orange Curtain:
OC Business Group Rates County's Housing, Jobs Balance -- LAT
Irvine, Tustin, Newport Beach, Anaheim and Huntington Beach have received high marks for balancing housing and jobs from an Orange County business group, which also warned that a looming imbalance threatens the county's prosperity and quality of life.
Placentia Gets Horn Relief -- LAT
After upgrades along the rail tracks, the city gets a quiet zone designation next week.
Ficker Rallies To Build City Hall Next To Park -- DP
Newport Beach architect Bill Ficker is gathering signatures for a ballot measure that would build a city hall next to the central library on Avocado Avenue.
Editorial: Toward A Color-Blind Constitution -- OCR
Two school districts' racial-balancing plans are voided by the Supreme Court.
Alicia Robinson's Political Landscape: Assemblyman's New Addition -- DP (6/27/07)
Tran welcomes first child. Also, a ballot measure would cap retirement benefits new government employees could collect.
Immigration Bill's Result Relieves Local Officials -- DP
Many local lawmakers applauded the death of the immigration reform bill on Thursday that would have legalized millions of illegal immigrants and said the issue will spark debate in the 2008 presidential race.
Seal Beach Closes Its Privately Run Jail -- LAT
The O.C. city had been taking on increasing costs and responsibilities, officials said. The jail had repeatedly been cited by the state.
Parasol To Be Reincarnated -- OCR
In its next life, Seal Beach's architectural oddity will be a Mel's Drive-In, part of a chain of nostalgia-inspired restaurants.
Court Rules Against Schools Use Of Race -- OCR
The U.S. Supreme Court said many integration plans are illegal.
Inside Scoop: Shea Homes Suit Delayed -- OCR
A judge decides to wait and see what the California Coastal Commission has to say before hearing a lawsuit against Shea Homes.
Getting A Taste Of Anaheim -- OCR
R40 restaurants give participants a chance to sample.
JSerra In Midst Of New Debate -- OCR
Council to discuss signs and scoreboards appeal.
The WSJ has a major story about urban parks, and our own takes several paragraphs.
The story can be accessed for paid subscribers only - perhaps the Register can license it -
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118307543875952266.html
And here are a few paragraphs:
Few parks today match the cost or scope of the Great Park of Orange County in Southern California, on the site of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. The decision to build the park came after years of battles over the fate of the base, which closed eight years ago. In 1994, county voters narrowly approved a plan to convert the base into an airport, but opponents stalled the effort until 2002, when voters approved a measure overturning the airport plan in favor of a park.
n contrast to most urban green spaces, which are centered around pedestrian access, few people will be able to walk to the Great Park -- aside from residents in Lennar's new homes. (The site is in a remote area a few miles northeast of Interstate 5, far from anything resembling a neighborhood.) There are plans to create a light-rail service that will connect an enlarged train station in Irvine with stops at the park and a nearby shopping center, but even Roy Cooper, the park's operations director, admits that transportation is a major obstacle. "If we provide alternative, convenient transportation, we might have a shot at getting people out of their cars -- but this is Orange County," he says.
(More can be read on the OCConnect
http://www.occonnect.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=807
Posted by: Hanna | June 29, 2007 at 09:36 AM