November 4, 2025

Hi, . Hello darkness, my old friend. Now that Daylight Saving Time has ended, we gained an hour but lost the sun. Great trade. At least I’ll finally be on time…for last week. In this week’s Buzz:

Prepare your pocketbooks. Like most products and services, the cost of maintaining Lake Mission Viejo is going up. To meet its 2026 operating budget of $11.7 million, the Lake Association announced a 7.8% increase to residents’ semi-annual assessment beginning January 1. The new fee of $193 will go to funding a broad range of capital improvements and expense increases, including replacement and repairs to obsolete technology and systems, resolving the golden algae problem, and covering higher insurance and payroll costs. The assessment also pays for lake facility operations, landscape maintenance, administration, and events and programs like the Summer Concert Series and Movie Nights. More info.

Marguerite Pkwy regularly sees some of the city’s heaviest traffic. As Mission Viejo’s longest street, it provides direct access to city hall, shopping, schools and freeways, but the drive can be a slog due to the many red lights one often hits. The City Council has voted unanimously to approve a Marguerite Pkwy traffic signal synchronization project to tackle the issue. This will offer benefits such as reduced travel times, decreased fuel consumption, and lower pollutant emissions by allowing large groups of vehicles to pass through multiple intersections with fewer stops. A timetable for the project was not announced.

Photo ©Eric Staudenmaier

Did you know that one of the country’s top institutions of higher learning is located right here in Mission Viejo? It’s Saddleback College, recently cited as the No. 1 Community College in Orange, San Diego and Los Angeles counties for wage gains after earning a degree and salary 10 years after graduation. WalletHub also named it the No. 8 Community College in America. Opened in 1968, Saddleback features five schools and more than 100 academic programs. “Graduates leave Saddleback with thinking skills, experience and knowledge that translate into good jobs that transform their lives,” said school president, Dr. Elliot Stern. “The work we do to prepare our students for transfer and careers is meaningful and adds value well beyond their time at Saddleback.” More info.

Mission Viejo High School’s drama department will present Parfumerie November 13-15 in the PAC. Based on a 1937 romantic comedy by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, and adapted in English by E.P. Dowdall in 2009, Parfumerie tells the story of two perfume shop clerks who unknowingly fall in love through anonymous letters while constantly bickering at work. Sound familiar? László’s original play inspired the 1940 film The Shop Around the Corner, starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, the 1949 musical In the Good Old Summertime starring Judy Garland, and 1998’s You've Got Mail, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Don’t miss this timeless tale of mistaken identity and unexpected romance! More info.

Prime Pizza, one of L.A.’s most popular pizza chains, has set up shop in Mission Viejo, its first location in Orange County. Dishing up authentic New York-style pies, pasta, subs, sides and salads, Prime celebrated its Mission Viejo grand opening yesterday with free slices for all. Thin, foldable and crispy, their pizza puts a California spin on the pies you expect to find in the Big Apple. The dough is fermented for 48 hours and then stretched by hand into both traditional round and Brooklyn-style square pies. The menu includes a selection of specialty pizzas, as well as vegan and gluten-free options. All this without the hassle of flying to the East Coast! More info. 📍 24420 Alicia Pkwy.

$1,400,000, 4 beds, 3 baths, 2,108 sq. ft.

Nestled in the Auburn Ridge neighborhood, this beautifully maintained home offers a bright and open floorplan with a double-door entry leading to the formal living and dining rooms. The spacious kitchen opens to the inviting family room featuring a cozy brick fireplace and sliding doors that lead to the expansive backyard with a brick-lined patio. Upstairs, the primary suite boasts vaulted ceilings, a walk-in closet and a spacious ensuite bathroom with dual sinks, a walk-in shower and a soaking tub. Three additional bedrooms share a full hall bathroom with dual sinks. More info.

Listing agents: Brian Morales, 949-735-2300, and Stephen Polito, 949-547-1007, Redfin

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Having a yard or garage sale? Got stuff you want to sell or give away? List it here for free! Simply send your listing, including contact information and a photo to [email protected].

A special thank you to active and retired service members. Residents can honor our heroes at the City’s Veteran’s Day ceremony at the Arthur P. Murray Center on November 11 (details in the Happenings section above).

Keith Lissak

Publisher/Editor

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