There was no regular Board meeting this week. The next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 12, at 9:30 am.

SR-241/SR-91 Connector- On Wednesday, the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency (F/ETCA) Finance and Operations Committee received a presentation on OCTA and Caltrans’ efforts to add an additional lane on the eastbound SR-91 freeway between the SR-241 and the SR-71 freeways. While this additional lane is needed on the SR-91, the work to add this lane has resulted in severe traffic congestion on the SR-241 connector to the SR-91. The F/ETCA is working with Caltrans and OCTA to reduce this congestion. Lane restriping took place this week to make the merge of the SR-241 lanes onto the SR-91 safer. F/ETCA is still working with Caltrans and OCTA to determine if the 91 freeway improvement work causing the congestion can be sped up so that relief to SR-241 patrons can come as soon as possible. To view the presentation, click here.

January Commission Meeting- The Children and Families Commission received a presentation from Dr. Lorie Hoggard, director for Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s Early Childhood Education. The presentation reported on the Early Development Instrument (EDI) pilot program from 2008 and 2009 which measures: physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, and communication skills and general knowledge, in January of the kindergarten year. The EDI serves as a tool in tailoring early elementary services to the specific needs of the child and the community. For the presentation, click here.

Newport Avenue Rehabilitation Project- The County of Orange has been granted $1.84 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding towards the repair of Newport Avenue, from Wass Street to Hyde Park Drive. The County anticipates awarding the project to the low bid construction contractor on March 2, 2010, with construction to begin in mid to late April of 2010. The roadway rehabilitation work should be completed by the end of August 2010. For more information about the project, click here.

On Tuesday, I traveled with TCA Chairman Peter Herzog and staff to the State Capitol to meet with representatives from the Governor’s office to discuss plans for the Foothill South Extension.

I attended the grand re-opening ceremony for Irvine University Park Library with Irvine Mayor Sukee Kang, Mayor Pro Tem Beth Krom, Councilman Steven Choi and Councilman Larry Agran. The Board of Supervisors allocated $400,000 and approved OC Public Libraries contribution of $537,000 to support the renovation and refurbishment of the Library with additional funding from the City and the Friends of the Library. For pictures, click here.

I met with Brea City Manager Tim O’Donnell and other representatives of the City of Brea to discuss OCTA’s Renewed Measure M Environmental Mitigation Program and the City’s interest in acquiring opening space near their city limits through that program.

I joined representatives from the Tustin Unified School District, Foothill High School faculty, students, and representatives from the community for the groundbreaking of the new Foothill High School Aquatics Center. In 2008, the Orange County Board of Supervisors allocated $750,000 in matching funds for its development to serve as a future community asset. Construction is underway and the final project is expected to be completed before the end of summer. For pictures, click here. For a rendering, click here.

I met with Orange County Treasurer Tax-Collector Chriss Street and received an update on the County investment pool and the on-going State financial problems.

I met with Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) Chief Executive Officer Steve Delaney and received an update on OCERS investment funds and his plans for the system in 2010.

Mary and I attended a breakfast of the Ben Franklin Forum of Orange County. The keynote speaker was Dr. Esmael Adibi of Chapman University’s Anderson Center for Economic Research who presented his economic forecast for 2010. For pictures, please click here.

I met with Orange County Fire Authority Chief, Keith Richter to discuss upcoming issues related to the Fire Authority.

It is a pleasure to serve the constituents of the Third District.

Please pray for our armed forces and our foreign services personnel.