Ray Catalano

UC Irvine professor Ray Catalano, a former Irvine city councilman and prominent slow-growth advocate, has decided to take a teaching and research job at UC Berkeley. Catalano, 42, said his new position will allow him to spend all his time on teaching and research. "It was a difficult decision," said Catalano, who also served on the Irvine Planning Commission. "But for me, this is an opportunity that comes only once in a professional career." Catalano, a UCI professor for the last 16 years, said more than half of his academic time is taken up by administrative duties.

Ray Catalano came to the new town of Irvine from Syracuse 17 years ago to see if Irvine and Orange County could meet the "social, political and physical expectations of the new residents." For the most part, Catalano says, Irvine and Orange County have done just that.

Name-callers are a destructive nuisance. In a letter printed (Aug. 10) a resident of Orange attacked Irvine Mayor Larry Agran without backing by facts. It would not be fair to leave her diatribe unanswered. I and a landslide majority voted for and continue to support Agran because of his well-reasoned approach to Irvine's future that utterly belies her insults. Agran patiently studies and listens to positions held by "the saner heads." He analyzes competently, carefully and moves to represent us, the tax-paying residents.

The Irvine Conservancy will hold a dinner Friday to honor Ray Catalano, a UC Irvine professor and former city councilman and planning commissioner who recently accepted a job at UC Berkeley. Catalano, who was instrumental in negotiating the city's open space preservation plan, was on the Irvine Planning Commission for 6 years and on the City Council for 2 years. Irvine Mayor Larry Agran will speak at the dinner, at 8 p.m. in the University Club on the UCI campus. For information, call (714)

I was personally disheartened to read my council colleague Ray Catalano's commentary, "New Cities to Face Old Problems" (May 17). I like and respect Ray, and believe him to be intellectually honest in his search for solutions to various problems that he believes to be threats to our "quality of life." Having said that, I am more than curious as to the reasoning behind a position that does little more than direct the readers' attention away from solving the real problem. Pointing a finger of blame at the Board of Supervisors does not facilitate improvements to our regional transportation system, nor does it facilitate the kind of multijurisdictional cooperation which is an absolute requirement to solving the transportation crisis we all face in Orange County.

Ray Catalano came to the new town of Irvine from Syracuse 17 years ago to see if Irvine and Orange County could meet the "social, political and physical expectations of the new residents." For the most part, Catalano says, Irvine and Orange County have done just that.

The Irvine Conservancy will hold a dinner Friday to honor Ray Catalano, a UC Irvine professor and former city councilman and planning commissioner who recently accepted a job at UC Berkeley. Catalano, who was instrumental in negotiating the city's open space preservation plan, was on the Irvine Planning Commission for 6 years and on the City Council for 2 years. Irvine Mayor Larry Agran will speak at the dinner, at 8 p.m. in the University Club on the UCI campus. For information, call (714)

Ray Catalano, a nationally recognized urban planner and professor at UC Irvine, was named Tuesday to fill a vacancy on the Irvine City Council. The four-member council voted unanimously to fill the seat vacated by David Sills, who was recently appointed to the Superior Court bench. The post pays $300 per year.

The City Council voted 4 to 1 late Tuesday to seek voter approval for direct election of the mayor for two-year terms beginning in June, 1988. The proposal, opposed by Councilwoman Sally Ann Miller, will be on the November citywide ballot this fall. By a 3-2 vote, the council named Larry Agran to his fourth one-year term as mayor. Agran's support came from the same coalition of slow-growth advocates that took control of the council last year.

Laguna Beach Community Development Director June Catalano will leave her job next month to become Santa Ana's executive director of planning and building safety, Santa Ana City Manager Dave Ream announced Friday. Catalano has held her current post for about five years. She previously worked as deputy director of development services in Huntington Beach and as a senior level planner with the county Environmental Management Agency.

UC Irvine professor Ray Catalano, a former Irvine city councilman and prominent slow-growth advocate, has decided to take a teaching and research job at UC Berkeley. Catalano, 42, said his new position will allow him to spend all his time on teaching and research. "It was a difficult decision," said Catalano, who also served on the Irvine Planning Commission. "But for me, this is an opportunity that comes only once in a professional career." Catalano, a UCI professor for the last 16 years, said more than half of his academic time is taken up by administrative duties.

I was personally disheartened to read my council colleague Ray Catalano's commentary, "New Cities to Face Old Problems" (May 17). I like and respect Ray, and believe him to be intellectually honest in his search for solutions to various problems that he believes to be threats to our "quality of life." Having said that, I am more than curious as to the reasoning behind a position that does little more than direct the readers' attention away from solving the real problem. Pointing a finger of blame at the Board of Supervisors does not facilitate improvements to our regional transportation system, nor does it facilitate the kind of multijurisdictional cooperation which is an absolute requirement to solving the transportation crisis we all face in Orange County.

Name-callers are a destructive nuisance. In a letter printed (Aug. 10) a resident of Orange attacked Irvine Mayor Larry Agran without backing by facts. It would not be fair to leave her diatribe unanswered. I and a landslide majority voted for and continue to support Agran because of his well-reasoned approach to Irvine's future that utterly belies her insults. Agran patiently studies and listens to positions held by "the saner heads." He analyzes competently, carefully and moves to represent us, the tax-paying residents.

Leaders from both sides of Orange County's growth debate will discuss the slow-growth initiative live at 8 tonight on public television station KOCE, Channel 50. Initiative supporters participating in the forum are Belinda Blacketer, a Laguna Beach lawyer and one of the drafters of the initiative; Ray Catalano, a professor of social ecology and an Irvine city councilman, and Norm Grossman, a member of Citizens for Sensible Growth and Traffic Control, the group supporting the initiative.

The City Council will consider final approval of a proposed new massage parlor ordinance at its next regularly scheduled meeting June 14. The council Tuesday approved the first reading of the measure, which would require applicants who seek to open massage parlors to prove that they are free from contagious or communicable diseases. The ordinance also would require massage parlors to show proof of medical malpractice insurance and at least 500 hours of massage training.