🌱 How UCI’s new “Habitat” show reimagines Orange County’s environment

Hey hey Irvine! Your one-stop source for local news is here. Continue reading for all the updates. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

• How UCI’s new “Habitat” show reimagines Orange County’s environment
• Will Saddleback students form a pickleball club to challenge Irvine Valley?

Also on today's calendar: Skating Under the Stars: Holiday Hats ft. melin and 2 more events.

📸 Have a great pic of holiday decorations from around Irvine? Post it to Irvine photos of the day! ☃️ 🟢-🟠-🟣-🔴-🟡-🔵 ☃️

Today's riddle: Can February March? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Tuesday: Mostly sunny and pleasant, with a high of 74 and low of 46 degrees.
• Wednesday: Mostly sunny and pleasant, temps: high: 71, low: 48.
• Thursday: Partly sunny and pleasant, with a high of 77 and low of 49 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

• Where art meets ecology (uci.edu) — UC Irvine’s Langson Museum is hosting “Habitat: Making the California Environment,” an exhibition running through January 10, 2026 that reexamines historic California landscapes as ecological time capsules. Curated by UCI scholars, it blends art, botany, sound, and Indigenous perspectives to explore climate change, colonial legacies, and how Orange County’s environment has been reshaped over time.
   

• Saddleback College Embraces Pickleball in the Classroom, But Not as a Sport (lariatnews.com) — Saddleback College is expanding pickleball in its kinesiology classes but still hasn’t created a competitive team or club, even as nearby Irvine Valley College is cited as a potential rival. The article explains how other colleges nationwide have elevated pickleball to club and varsity status, and suggests Saddleback students could eventually organize a club to compete locally.
   

📸 Around Irvine

Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!

🗓 Upcoming Events in Irvine

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

Thursday December 18

• Skating Under the Stars: Holiday Hats ft. melin
  , Irvine
  6:00 pm

Friday December 19

• Marina Park Family Fun Night: 2025
  Marina Park Community Center , 1600 W. Balboa Blvd , Newport Beach
  5:30 pm

Monday December 22

• Glide & Groove
  , Irvine
  6:00 pm

Tuesday December 23

• Glide & Groove
  , Irvine
  6:00 pm

Wednesday December 24

• Library Closes at 1 p.m.
  Newport Beach Central Library , 1000 Avocado Avenue , Newport Beach
  1:00 pm

📣 Irvine Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

🗓 Events Nearby

Tuesday December 16

• FRC Parent Workshop: Public Assistance Programs
  Stephen R. Fitz Intermediate Santa Ana, CA 92704
  9:00 am
• Optimal Nutrition for Healthy Aging
  Sea Country Community Center , 24602 Aliso Creek Rd , Laguna Niguel
  10:00 am
• Class: Intermediate Photoshop (7 of 7), Art Ramirez
  Clubhouse 4 , 23501 Via Mariposa W , Laguna Woods
  10:00 am
• Winter Wonder Workout with EJ - Laguna Niguel, CA 2025
  Sea Country Community Center , 24602 Aliso Creek Rd , Laguna Niguel
  10:30 am
• The Campus Connection – Newport Harbor High School
  Newport Harbor High School , 600 Irvine Ave , Newport Beach
  11:25 am
• OCSBA Pastors Breakfast
  240 N Tustin St , Orange
  3:00 pm
• Senior Portraits @ Sunset Photos
  Sunset School Portraits , 827 S Main St , Santa Ana
  4:00 pm

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E !!!
  She needs someone to clean her eyes, to care for her, to love her 9 lb female terrier seaaca.org 562 803 3301 dial 4 You can place holds by phone … (Nextdoor Tiempo)
• ROBBYS BAKE SHOP
  After the tri-tip dinner I wanted something sweet and remembered how much I enjoyed the peanut butter cookies I bought Ralph’s a couple of weeks ago… (Nextdoor Willows Park)

• PrideStaff posted a job opening for Accounting Assistant in Irvine. Apply here.
• Lifetime posted a job opening for LifeCafe Assistant Manager in Irvine. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Irvine here.

🗞 Nearby News

Tustin

• Status Update: Manolo Blahnik one of several new stores open at South Coast Plaza (ocregister.com)
• Over $20K worth of drugs seized at a north Orange County traffic stop (newsantaana.com)
• Forward Trevor Connelly Assigned to Team USA for World Junior Championship (oursportscentral.com)

Santa Ana

Ok Irvine! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I don't know, but April May!
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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