Mission Viejo

The City of Mission Viejo is grateful to the employees at Alcon Laboratories who contacted staff last week looking for a way to give back.

Armed with shovels and community spirit, about 20 company employees spent several hours last Thursday filling up wheel barrows and spreading the recycled wood chips from the slope renovation project on Alicia Parkway along the La Paws Park trails.     

Folks throughout the community are gearing up to walk Lake Mission Viejo for the OC Walk for CURED on Sunday, May 21.

The Capistrano Unified School District is accepting applications from people interested in filling a seat on its Board of Trustees. 

The open seat comes after Trustee Lynn Hatton-Hodsun resigns on June 2.

Residents of Trustee Area 7, which covers portions of Rancho Santa Margarita, Mission Viejo, and Coto de Caza, who are registered to vote and have no disqualifying criminal record are eligible to apply.

Discount Dance Supply is moving from 24451 Alicia Parkway in the Alicia Towne Center to a larger retail space at 28251 Marguerite Parkway, across from South County Lexus at Mission Viejo.

The business sells ballet, jazz and pointe shoes, leotards, tights, bags and accessories.

For more information, call 949-770-7107 or visit http://www.discountdance.com.

The Planning and Transportation Commission gave the green light to Hatam restaurant to expand by 2,270 square feet into a neighboring suite in the Jeronimo Business Park. 

When the tenant-improvement work is finished, the restaurant will occupy 5,830 square feet at 25800 Jeronimo Road.  The restaurant plans also include outdoor seating, live entertainment and the addition of beer and wine.  Hatam features ethnic cuisine from Iran such as kabobs, Khoresht stew, soups, salads, flatbread and pastries.  

Local sports icon Julie Foudy, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion, will discuss her new book "Choose to Matter: Being courageously and fabulously you" at 6:30 p.m. on May 23 at the Norman P. Murray Center.
 
"Choose to Matter" is for the teenage girl just starting her journey or woman at a critical fork in the road. It's for anyone who needs a little push to find courage, motivation and confidence.
 

Imagine an 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck - trapping, injuring and killing people within a blink of an eye. Would you know what to do? That's the scenario 32 people had to contend with Tuesday as part of the final drill for the Community Emergency Preparedness Academy (CEPA).

The Civic Center parking lot was transformed into the disaster site, testing the skills CEPA participants learned over the 27-hour course about earthquake preparedness; terrorism awareness; fire suppression; disaster psychology; search and rescue; and other vital skills.

Nostalgic photos of faces, places, activities and families spanning five decades in Mission Viejo will be on display during a special presentation at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 7 in the Council Chamber at 200 Civic Center Drive.
 

The countdown is underway for the 2nd Annual Mission Viejo Film Festival from 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.  Saturday, June 3 at Saddleback College's McKinney Theatre.
 
The Film Festival will showcase aspiring filmmakers as well as support City of Hope's Pediatric Center for Cancer Research and Treatment.
 
The short screenings will be based on categories that include "Young Filmmakers: Exploring Mission Viejo"; "Short Films: High School"; "Short Films: College/Indie"; and "Music Videos."
 

In an effort to better serve residents with disabilities, the City of Mission Viejo installed its first Polara Audible Pedestrian Pushbutton System on the traffic signal at Alicia and Trabuco. 

The system uses audible tones, speech messages and vibrations to communicate to pedestrians how and when to safely cross the street. The system is designed for people with visual impairments but is beneficial for all pedestrians, especially children, by alerting them to the instant when the walk sign turns on and the status of the walk cycle.