POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore stated a bill he will introduce in January to allow nuclear power in California will detail a process for dealing with spent fuel.

“The people of California have been fed this fairy tale that the state can generate enough power from solar and wind, and it’s simply not the reality,” DeVore said. “ The policies we’ve put in place are not sustainable.”

The bill will be a resurrected version of a bill that died in legislative committee earlier this year.

DeVore’s renewed nuclear efforts come on the heels of his canceled attempt to gather enough signatures to get the issue on the ballot next year.

DeVore dropped his ballot initiative last week after surveys showed a lack of support for nuclear power in the state.

DeVore’s revised bill will detail a process for reprocessing spent fuel, something the French have been doing for years, DeVore said.

Nuclear reprocessing involves separating usable elements such as uranium and plutonium from nuclear waste to create new fuel for a nuclear power plant.

The process reduces the radioactivity of waste, DeVore said.

Combining efforts

Two prominent Newport Beach environmentalists and a business leader who don’t always see eye-to-eye on local issues have joined forces to support a proposed city deal with the Irvine Co.

Richard Luehrs, president of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, community activist Jan Vandersloot and Jean Watt, a former councilwoman and president of the group Stop Polluting Newport, sent a joint letter in support of the deal to Mayor Steve Rosansky earlier this week. The letter also was sent to members of the City Council, Planning Commission and City Manager Homer Bludau.

“We decided to come together to support the Newport Center mixed-use plan and development agreement because we believe that this proposal provides the unique and right opportunity for the future of our community,” the community leaders wrote.

As part of the deal, zoning for the area would create a new planned community that would merge two blocks of Newport Center, Fashion Island and San Joaquin Plaza to form North Newport Center Planned Community.

The deal includes about $43 million in development fees, road and park improvements and other public benefits from the Irvine Co.

The development agreement also includes an option for Newport Beach to purchase property in the 500 block of Newport Center between Santa Rosa Drive and San Nicholas Drive for a new city hall.

The Planning Commission will take a look at the deal at a public meeting tonight before it goes to City Council. City officials say they hope to have the deal approved by the end of the year.

Mayor says no bonus

Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor was one of five on the Orange County Transportation Authority board to vote against a salary increase for the agency’s top official.

The mayor, who represents Costa Mesa on the agency’s board, joined the unanimous support for a 6% pay raise for chief executive Art Leahy, but he voted against a 3% bonus because he didn’t think it was fair that many bus drivers and mechanics were averaging only 3 to 4% pay raises this year.

“Art Leahy has done a great job, and that is why I voted in support of the 6% pay raise,” he said. “I believe we need to be consistent and fair when we compare that raise to what the bus drivers and mechanics are getting.

“In today’s economy, a 6% raise is something to be thankful for.”

The raise brings Leahy’s annual salary to $263,635.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com. CHRIS CAESAR may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at chris.caesar@latimes.com.