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Celebrate the season
Your guide to holiday gifts and happenings
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Nov 11, 2025
Super Irvine opens
Persian sweets and cakes are just a few of the specialties at new, family-owned Super Irvine International Market in Parkview …
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Nov 11, 2025
Lights that dazzle
Check out the Hikari light festival at Tanaka Farms and many more celebratory events through the end of the year.
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Nov 11, 2025
Greenest city in Southern California
Irvine has again been recognized among the nation’s most sustainable cities.
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Hundreds unite at Love Irvine’s Citywide Serve Day
A gentle mist filled the air as the sun rose over Woodbridge Village Center, where nearly 200 volunteers in emerald-green…
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Irvine 2025
What does success look like for a modern American city? In 2025, Irvine once again showed the way.
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Left Coast Brewing wins gold nationwide
Left Coast Brewing Co. in Irvine earned a gold medal for its Trunk Box American-Style Brown Ale at the Great…
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Gram Cafe & Pancakes to open at Culver Plaza
Gram Cafe & Pancakes, known for its jiggly Japanese soufflé pancakes, is set to open next month at Culver Plaza.
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Mini-bowl spot opens at Walnut Village
Tigawok, a new fast-casual Asian restaurant, has opened at Walnut Village Center on Culver Drive, marking its first OC location.
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UC Irvine finds home for vast art collections at OCMA
UC Irvine recently completed its acquisition of the Orange County Museum of Art, adding the building in Costa Mesa to…
HIghlights
Columnists
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Trojans seniors determined to deliver success
The University water polo team is off to a strong start behind co-captains’ leadership.
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Irvine sports roundup (October 2025)
Portola H.S.Great start for flag football Portola High’s girls flag football team jumped to a 9-2 start under coach Julie Primero. The Bulldogs won the…
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Athletes of the Year
These Irvine students performed at the highest level in multiple sports.
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A stunning start
Irvine’s Learner Tien took Professional tennis by storm to start this season, beating two of the best players in the world before the French Open.
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UCI’s summer sports camps offer life skills and growth
Each summer, UC Irvine’s fields, courts and pools come alive with the energy of thousands of young athletes.
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Seasonal photo spots
Take advantage of the vast open space around Irvine to use as a lush background for your festive family portraits.
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Residents celebrate fall and nature at Bommer Canyon
Families gathered beneath the shade of sycamore trees at the renovated Bommer Canyon Cattle Camp for Irvine Company’s annual Fall Festival – a morning of…
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Wildlife wonderland within easy reach
Hiking is great for physical and mental health. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to encounter wildlife on the trails that crisscross and surround Irvine.
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Great Hikes
Join a full moon hike plus two more special treks this month.
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Hike Quail Hill to Laguna Canyon and back: Bring a picnic lunch
Many Irvine hikers and walkers know about Quail Loop, a pretty – and pretty easy – 2-mile trail that begins at the trailhead near the…
Master Plan
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Irvine is area’s best city for renters
Irvine once again affirmed its reputation as one of the nation’s premier places to live by earning the top spot among Southern California cities for…
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Best city for families in Southern California
WalletHub recognized Irvine as the fourth-best city for families in the U.S. for 2025.
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Irvine is top city in the state
Irvine has been named California’s best city to live in – and the fifth best in the U.S. – by Niche, a national platform for…
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Irvine earns Master Plan accolade
The master-planned city of Irvine has been recognized as the nation’s best planned community by Zonda, an international real estate research organization.
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Hidden in plain sight: Subtleties of the Master Plan
A master plan may sound like a formidable document full of statistics and theories, but done right – as in Irvine – it’s a blueprint…
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A secret to Irvine’s beauty
The landscape architecture of Irvine is a key part of why the city is such a desirable place to live. Pick a place in Irvine,…
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Early attention to infrastructure pays off
Every great city is built upon a solid foundation, known as infrastructure. Across America, it’s often overlooked or crumbling. In Irvine, however, infrastructure was master…
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Irvine home values are strongest in U.S.
The city’s Master Plan is key to continuing appreciation, experts say.
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IUSD ranks No. 1 in statewide testing
The Irvine Unified School District continues its tradition of excellence, ranking No. 1 in California in science, mathematics and English language arts/literacy among public school districts with 35,000 or more students.
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Study, stream, repeat: Irvine student documents her life at Harvard
Irvine native Helaine Zhao has tapped into social media marketing at Harvard.
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Irvine Valley College marks 40 years of excellence
In 1985, Irvine Valley College became the 105th community college in the state.
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IUSD leads county in merit semifinalists
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has named 62 IUSD seniors as semifinalists in its prestigious 2026 program – the most of any district in Orange…
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Program connects students with leaders
More than 200 students, educators and industry leaders gathered recently at UCI Beall Applied Innovation Center for University Lab Partners’ annual ROCK the Science event,…
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Irvine tops area as innovation hub
Irvine has been ranked the leading innovation hub in Southern California, according to a new CommercialCafe study comparing cities across the Western U.S.
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Flex+: A blueprint for small-business success
Next IT Solutions co-founder Josiah Schaffer, addressing his team at the company’s Innovation Office Park space, says the Flex+ program has helped the company move…
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Aspiring students join business leaders
More than 150 high school and college students in UC Irvine’s Future Leaders Initiative visited Irvine Spectrum Center for a day of learning with local…
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Irvine tableware shop dishes out creative cutlery
A ceramic resting place for chopsticks that’s in the shape of a smiling orange rabbit.
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A perfect blend: McClain Cellars pours fun
In August, for many of us a lazy time of year, McClain Cellars winery founder Jason McClain will be crazy busy – as usual.
Sustainability
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Irvine among first Clean California Communities
The city of Irvine has been named one of the first 33 communities in the state to earn the new Clean California Community designation from Caltrans, the state agency responsible for highway maintenance and transportation infrastructure.
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Greenest city in Southern California
Irvine has again been recognized among the nation’s most sustainable cities.
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Concepts of environmental sustainability were pioneered in Irvine and continue to guide the city today
Nature was on the minds of Irvine Company planners as far back as 1959. Though “environmental sustainability” is widely recognized today, it was largely unknown…
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Irvine among nation’s greenest cities
Thanks to its abundance of parks, open spaces and trees, Irvine has been named one of the “Greenest Cities in America” by the finance website…
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EV drivers boosted by more city chargers
Electric vehicle owners in Irvine have a growing number of options to charge up.
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CommunityWelcome to the holidays
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Connect with Us
Welcome to Irvine Standard, a community paper that celebrates the people, places and experiences that make Irvine America’s best master-planned city. Thanks for reading.