Great Park

Thousands of new homes could be built along the perimeter of a retired Marine base in Orange County that officials envision being turned into one of the nation's great urban parks, according to a proposal being considered by city officials in Irvine. The proposal from developer Fivepoint Communities Inc. would more than double the number of residences that would be built on the property surrounding the Great Park by changing the zoning of land that had been marked for commercial use and offices, city officials said.

A Superior Court judge in Sacramento on Thursday rejected Irvine's attempt to block the state from taking millions of dollars of property taxes that were set for use in its construction of a sprawling urban park that boosters said would rival Griffith Park or San Diego's Balboa Park. Irvine had asked for a temporary restraining order to keep the state from taking the money until the issue of redevelopment funds in California had been settled. A Sacramento judge made a similar ruling a day earlier in a case involving a group of California cities, including Glendale, Pasadena and Huntington Beach.

The grand park that officials had promised would be built on a retired Marine base in the heart of Orange County was in jeopardy Wednesday after state officials ruled that $1.4 billion in property funds can't be spent to transform the sprawling stretch of land into what had been billed as America's next great urban park. The funds make up much of the money that was to be tapped to turn the old base into urban parkland that would feature a rugged man-made canyon, lakes, orchards, meandering pathways and dozens of athletic fields.

INDIO, Calif. - In one corner stands a music promoter that made its mark in L.A.'s punk scene, throwing gritty events at warehouses and velodromes, giving voice to songs like "Beat Me Senseless" and "I Kill Children" before birthing an annual desert bacchanal that might be the world's most successful music festival. In the other corner is the master-planned community that put the O.C. in Orange County, where safety, schooling and temperance are hallmarks and a homeowners association can overrule one's choice of house paint.

Construction of a massive new project in Irvine consisting of nearly 5,000 homes and 1.2 million square feet of commercial space is underway, according to the company in charge of the effort. FivePoint Communities Management Inc. broke ground on the Great Park Neighborhoods project Tuesday. The development sits on the site of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. Irvine approved the first phase of the construction last year. "With today's groundbreaking, we are moving forward with the first phase of Great Park Neighborhoods.

Courting more than the vote Re "What makes them stray?" Opinion, May 22 Frank Farley focuses on sexual philandering by prominent politicians. While defining a "Type T personality" profile that fits these individuals, he tries to answer this question: "So why do we keep electing such people?" If, as Farley says, people admire their charisma and risk-taking behavior but often overlook their infidelities and narcissism, are we to accept his characterization of the United States "to some extent as a Type T nation, tilting in the risk-taking direction"?

In Southern California, there's nothing like a very large piece of real estate to cause discord. And the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station is nothing if not a large piece of real estate. Ever since the military decided to unload the base in the 1990s, Orange County residents have been bickering over what to do with the land, and the decision in 2005 to turn it into the Great Park hasn't ended the conflict. But first the history. Even before the military moved out, county residents divided into two bitterly opposing camps: those who supported using the site for a commercial airport and those who envisioned it as a vast and impressive park.

The private developer partnering with the city of Irvine to build its Great Park project said that he has the financing to move forward ? more than two years after the housing bust and economic crisis put the project on hold. FOR THE RECORD: Irvine project: An article in the Jan. 10 Business section about private developer FivePoint Communities Inc.'s securing additional financing to move forward with a housing project said construction of homes at the Great Park would begin next year; in fact, construction at the Orange County Great Park is expected to begin in 2013.

Bill Greenhouse spent nine months at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in 1943. Now 95, the former Marine master sergeant remembers the area well ? it was full of eucalyptus trees and orange groves. Today, the planes are long gone. All that's left of the station is a hangar. The property has become the sprawling Orange County Great Park. But Greenhouse and about 80 other veterans and their families celebrated their memories of the station Saturday afternoon as part of a yearly El Toro Homecoming.

More than 100,000 people have ascended skyward in Irvine's balloon ride to savor aerial views of Orange County, take panoramic photographs and even make the occasional marriage proposal. But imagine the shock the pilot of the Great Park balloon must have felt just before 9 p.m. Sunday when, high above the ground, the gondola shook and a young man parachuted out. The orange-hued helium balloon had ascended to a height of 330 feet when one of the 12 passengers climbed up and out of the netting enclosing the gondola, unfurled a hidden parachute, threw it ahead of him and jumped out, said Irvine city spokesman Craig Reem.