There was no regular Board meeting this week. The next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 2, at 9:30 am.

91 Express Lane Traffic and Revenue Data- During the month of January, traffic on the 91 Express Lanes increased 1.1% compared to January 2009. The revenues also increased in January by 1.0% compared to January 2009. Traffic volume on the general purpose lanes of the 91 freeway, however, decreased when compared to the prior fiscal year. According to the data gathered from the Freeway Performance Measurement System website, total volume decreased 3.85% in January 2010 when compared to the same period in January 2009.

TIGER Funding Award- As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Congress approved $1.5 billion for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant Program. This program provides competitive grants to states and local transportation agencies for capital investments in surface transportation projects that will have a significant impact on the Nation, a metropolitan area or a region. The Orange County Transportation Authority in cooperation with the State of California submitted projects for funding consideration. While several projects were awarded funding in California, none of the Orange County projects were funded. It is interesting to note that California, a state that has approximately 12% of the population in the United States, received $130 million in TIGER funding while Illinois, a state with approximately 4% of the population, received $128 million.

Mary and I attended the 2010 Orange County Business Council Annual Dinner featuring keynote speaker, Rich Karlgaard, Publisher of Forbes Magazine. For pictures, click here.

Mary and I attended the annual Catholic Charities Mardi Gras Ball. I presented a proclamation which was also signed by Supervisor Pat Bates to Jim and Susan Tecca, this year’s king and queen of the ball. For pictures, click here. To read the proclamation, click here.

I attended a meeting of the Santa Ana River Trail and Parkway Partnership where we briefed Col. Thomas Magness, district commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, on the progress of the Santa Ana River Trail and Parkway. For pictures, click here. For a map of the Santa Ana River Trail alignment alternatives, click here. For a copy of the Santa Ana River Trail Project Schedule, click here.

I gave a presentation to the Pacifica Institute on County budget issues, the OC Sunergy Program, and the proposed open space transfer between the Irvine Company and the County. For pictures, click here. For a copy of my presentation, click here. For more information on the Pacifica Institute, please click here.

I met with Lynn Jurich of SunRun and Randy Bishop of Verengo to discuss using their full service Power Purchase Agreement model as an option for the County’s OC Sunergy program for residential solar power systems. I see this multi-vendor approach as an opportunity to provide County residents with choices in their options for installation and financing of residential systems.

Mary and I attended the Southern California Edison (SCE)/Coast Keeper luncheon at The Villa in Orange. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss new landscaping plans for the SCE substation at the corner of Tustin Avenue and Taft Avenue in Orange. The current landscape (trees and grass) requires 13 acre-feet of water per year. The proposed plants will be drought tolerant and will require 1.2 acre-feet of water per year. For pictures, please click here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Brea Library- The Brea Library was reopened on February 16 after nearly four weeks of refurbishing. The refurbishment included new carpeting, interior wall painting and patchwork, electrical and carpentry repairs. Funding for the refurbishment was provided in the OC Public Libraries budget as on-going maintenance and was supported by the Board. For more information on the Brea Branch Library, please click here.

Lunar New Year Celebration- This Saturday, February 20, 2009, come celebrate the Lunar New Year with Metrolink at the Irvine Transportation Center. The Orange County celebration will feature a Lion Dance, along with other entertainment and free parking. The New Year’s celebration will then continue with a Metrolink ride to the Chinese New Year Celebration in Los Angeles. Metrolink will be giving away 100 free tickets to the Los Angeles celebration. For more information on this event, click here.

Irvine Park Railroad’s 14th Anniversary Celebration- The Irvine Park Railroad is hosting an anniversary celebration event on Saturday, February 27 and Sunday February 28. In commemoration of the opening, the railroad is rolling back the cost of a train ride to the original 1996 pricing of $2.00 per train ride. For more information, please click here.

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

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