Neighbors of 16 year old Russell Simon, killed in August while riding his bicycle home from football practice, are banding together to have a memorial plaque installed at the corner where the high school sophomore was struck by a truck.
Santa Anita Park opens the 2010-2011 season with a new $3 million dirt surface on its track. The on-track attendance was 34,268, which was 1,400 less than last year. Trumpeter Jay Cohen calls the horses to the gate (photo).
Friends and family of former Arcadia City Clerk Christine Van Maanen gathered at Live Oak Memorial Park to pay their last respects. Her exact date of birth is not known, but she is believed to have been 86-88 years old when she died.
Obituary/death notice. Alice Zhang, an Arcadia High School student, was struck and killed by a car driven by a 20 year-old in the 600 block of Duarte Road. Her 16 year-old friend from Upland was seriously injured.
Arcadia registered voters received the second in a series of mailings last week, urging them to vote in the $27.9 million bond election on April 20th. A similar bond measure failed by less than 1% in an election on September 15, 1992.
An 81-year-old West Covina man, Hao Liang, was struck and killed by a car when he was walking across Santa Anita Avenue, south of Duarte Road, last Wednesday, December 18, approximately 5:36 PM, at La Sierra Drive. The driver was a 36-year-old Monterey Park woman.
More than 500 residents packed the Community Center last week regarding a proposed entertainment complex at Santa Anita Park. Opponents of the project have become increasingly vocal in recent weeks.
A video created by three Arcadia High School graduates went viral and brought people to a school board meeting alst week, in support of fired cross country coach James O'Brien. The creators of the video are Esmond Wei, Ben Hsueh, and Sergio Rodriguez. The video was posted on YouTube.com and had more than 10,000 views in three days. A week later, it had more than 16,000 views.
Santa Anita Park race track attendance is on the upswing. It drew 40,810 on Friday, its biggest opening day turnout since 2011. On-track attendance was up 33% over last year, partly because of the free infield admission program, which drew more than 10,000 people. Total wagering, including bets placed from all over the country, rose nearly 30% to more than $17 million. On-site betting was more than $3.4 million. The City of Arcadia gets 1/3 of 1% of all on-site wagering.
Horses at Santa Anita Park suffered fatal racing injuries at more than twice the rate of horses competing at California's other 3 major thoroughbred tracks over the last fiscal year, according to statistics. The fatality rate spiked at Santa Anita Park after the switch from a synthetic running surface back to a dirt track in 2010. There were 12 fatalities, or 3.7 per 1,000 starts, at Santa Anita Park in the last fiscal year.