President's Message - Spread the Word
By Tapas Dutta, P.E.
The President of the Orange County Branch makes a case for educating everyone on…
Read More »Secretary's Column - ASCE National Programs and Initiatives
By Cindy Miller, PE
I recently attended the joint ASCE 2013 Workshop for Section and Branch Leaders (WSBL)…
Read More »Branch News - 2013 Legislative Luncheon
By Josue Vaglienty, P.E.
Mr. Lance M. Larson, Executive Director of Government Relations with the Orange County Transportation…
Read More »In This Issue
President's Message - Spread the Word
By Tapas Dutta, P.E.
The President of the Orange County Branch makes a case for educating everyone on what civil engineers do and how we are critical for the community and the economy. "Spreading the Word" would help get the attention of our elected officials in making infrastructure funding a priority. Infrastructure spending has to be elevated to its appropriate importance level in everybody’s mind. ASCE's Infrastructure Report Cards and the Failure to Act initiatives are cited, with data to support the fact that the US is increasingly falling behind in infrastructure and what is at stake.
Secretary's Column - ASCE National Programs and Initiatives
By Cindy Miller, PE
I recently attended the joint ASCE 2013 Workshop for Section and Branch Leaders (WSBL) / Western Regional Younger Member Council (WRYMC) meeting in Sacramento, CA. I was impressed! The round-table discussions were productive, the activities informative, the networking constructive and the workshops enlightening. This article highlights three National ASCE campaigns --Raise the Bar, eCareer Mentor Program and the Key Contact Program -- that I learned about at this Workshop and provides more information on becoming involved if they happen to interest you.
Branch News - 2013 Legislative Luncheon
By Josue Vaglienty, P.E.
Mr. Lance M. Larson, Executive Director of Government Relations with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) joined ASCE members this past January 17th for a Legislative Luncheon at the Center Club in Costa Mesa. As ASCE-Orange County Branch’s first guest speaker of the year, Mr. Larson provided a legislative overview of OCTA’s government relations at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as providing a future outlook for legislation.
Membership - Welcome New Orange County Branch Members
By Cindy Miller, PE
Please join the ASCE OC Branch's Board of Directors in welcoming our newest members. These individuals have made a commitment to themselves, and to ASCE, to participate in a professional society for ongoing professional development and support. The best encouragement is to lead by example. Introduce yourself to a new member at a dinner meeting. Encourage our new members to participate, take on leadership roles to enhance their own professional development and leadership skills, or just engage them and make them feel welcome.
History and Heritage - Villa Park Dam – 50th Anniversary
By Carl Nelson, P.E.
The Santa Ana Mountains of Orange County constitute a northwesterly extension of the Peninsular Range of Southern California trending southeasterly from the Chino Hills in Orange County to northern San Diego County. Santiago (5,687 ft.), Modjeska (5,496 ft.) and Pleasants (4,007 ft.) peaks form the ridgeline between Orange and Riverside Counties and drain westerly to Santiago Canyon, there melding with the alluvial plain of the Santa Ana River. The watershed of Santiago Creek runs westerly from Santiago Peak through the Trabuco District of the Cleveland National Forest (established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908) before crossing the northerly portion of Irvine Ranch. Principal tributaries are Silverado, Black Star, Limestone and Fremont Canyons.
Awards - 2013 ASCE OC Annual Awards Dinner
By Ziad Mazboudi, PE
On February 21, 2013, during National Engineers Week, ASCE OC recognized some of Orange County's finest Civil Engineers and Projects at the Annual Award Dinner - this year held at The Center Club in Costa Mesa. We would like to thank our generous Award Dinner sponsors who helped make this night of recognition special. Please join us in congratulating the winners on their engineering ingenuity.
Failure to Act: Investing in Infrastructure
By Economic Development Research Group, Inc. for ASCE
ASCE’s Failure to Act economic report series shows the economic consequences of continued underinvestment in our nation’s infrastructure, and the economic gains that could be made by 2020 in terms of GDP, personal disposable income, exports, and jobs if we choose as a country to invest in our communities. The culminating report was released on January 15, 2013 and presents an overall picture of the economic opportunity associated with infrastructure investment and the cost of failing to fill the investment gap.
Law & CE - Two Times the Copyright Protection for Some Types of Work
By Collins, Collins, Muir & Stewart, LLP
Civil engineers are entitled to copyright protection for the drawings and plans they create. This protection is generally not as broad as that provided for architectural work. Nevertheless, there may be times when certain engineering work may qualify for this wider scope of protection. In any event, regardless of the scope of protection available, it is still important that engineers take advantage of the copyright protections available to them. So, What Gets Copyright Protection?
Legislative - Making CEQA Modernization a Priority
By Mobility 21 Forward Motion Newsletter
From Mobility 21's Forward Motion newsletter - an interview with California State Senator Michael J. Rubio (D-Shafter), Chair of the Environmental Quality Committee answers Mobility 21’s questions on his plans to modernize the California Environmental Quality Act.
Legislative - Legislators Take Action to Lower Voter Threshold
By Mobility 21 Forward Motion Newsletter
With the final ballot count in Los Angeles and Alameda counties resulting in razor thin losses for transportation sales tax measures, members of the state legislature have been moving quickly to introduce amendments to lower the percentage of votes needed to pass such measures.
Geo-Institute - Announcing the Orange County Geo-Institute Chapter
By
Announcing the Orange County Geo-Institute Chapter The ASCE Orange County Branch is pleased to announce the creation of the Orange County Geo-Institute Chapter. The Geo-Institute (G-I) is a specialty membership organization focused on geo-professionals and the geo-industry. Clint Isa, PE will be Chairman for the newly formed Chapter. Under Clint’s direction the OC G-I Chapter will be dedicated to advancing the geo-professional community in a manner consistent with the purpose of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Geo-Institute
TTG - Metro Crenshaw / LAX Light Rail Project
By Adrian Anderson, P.E.
On February 4, 2013, Mr. Robert “Rob” Ball, Deputy Executive Director – Metro, provided an informative and interesting presentation to the ASCE Transportation Technical Group on the estimated $1.76B Crenshaw / LAX Transit Corridor light rail project. The Metro Board will be awarding the Design-Build contract soon. The 8.5 mile light rail project is being funded in part by Measure R and Federal funds...
YMF - Balancing Soft and Technical Skills Jan 2013
By
The Board of OC YMF was pleased to host the “Balancing Soft and Technical Skills Workshop” on January 17, 2013.
YMF - General Meeting Dec 2012
By
On December 11th 2012, a group of Orange County YMF members and future members met up at Pita Jungle in Newport Beach for a general meeting/happy hour.
YMF - General Meeting Jan 2013
By
Orange County YMF started the year off to a fantastic start. The first general meeting of 2013 was held on January 8th at the Lazy Dog Café in the city of Orange.