The City Council voted Tuesday to impose a temporary ban on new Karaoke clubs after police reported such clubs increasingly attract gangs and lawlessness.
The City Council agreed that private karaoke rooms, which have been associated with criminal activity in the area, should be barred from the city. The proposed ordinance, which will be considered August 3rd, would allow alcohol in restaurants with karaoke.
The City Council voted 5-0 to extend the 45-day moratorium on karaoke permits to 10 months, following city officials' reports recommending further study.
Rhythm Karaoke Club was closed by owners tired of the problems associated with it, such as 2 shootings in 4 months and a recent citation for serving alcohol to minors.
City Council approved a 12% pay increase for City Clerk June Alford. The raise comes just as city voters are considering changing the city clerk's office from an elected one to an employee position.
James Jason Stathum was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the videotaped fatal shooting of Arcadia resident Munther Farah Gharib. At the time of the shooting, Gharib was working in a La Puente convenience store.
The Arcadia Police Department is considering using the old National Guard Armory as a storage area for seized cars and stolen property, among other things.
The City Council voted to fund 1/3 of the nearly $700,000 cost for the 1584-foot sound wall from 2nd to 5th Avenues. The state of California, following a 1991 senate measure, will pay the remaining 2/3.
Two men, including 22 year old Arcadian Jimmy Palma, were convicted of five counts of first-degree murder for shooting three adults and two children last year in El Monte.
The Arcadia City Council has rejected the Asian Pacific American Legal Center's request that the city revoke a rule limiting the amount of space foreign languages can occupy on business signs. Councilman Robert Harbicht noted that the ordinance has been on the books for several years and the city has not received a single complaint about it.
A scam that tricks pager user into calling a high-toll phone number in the Virgin Islands is blitzing numbers in the area, including several Arcadia Police Department officers.
Arcadia City Council voted 4-0 to approve a voluntary spending limit of 50 cents per resident for campaign spending. The law comes up for a second vote at the next council meeting.
The City Council approved a proposal Tuesday that would place a voluntary cap on the amount candidates spend in the April municipal election. The limit will be 50 cents per resident.