City of Arcadia Development Services Department launches Arcadia EDGE, an online customer service portal that provides permit assistance and access to tools and information relating to development and permitting. It stands for Electronic Development Gateway. Arcadia EDGE features the ability to schedule a building inspection for an active building permit, view building inspection schedules, look up permit history on a specific address, report a code violation, apply for a business license, and more.
Sex therapist Dr. Susan Block is in a zoning fight with Arcadia City. Her building is zoned for office use, not residential, although building license inspectors found 10 bedrooms inside. The brick building is on Las Tunas Drive and is the business location of Saybrook Media, where The Dr. Susan Block Show is produced. Susan Block, aka Dr. Suzy, had an HBO Special "Radio Sex TV with Dr. Susan Block" in the 1990s.
Arcadia's historic Derby Restaurant may be relocated. A mixed-use project may take the place of The Derby and Embassy Suites at 211 East Huntington Drive - 233 East Huntington Drive. Local historian Sandy Snider expressed concern that the 99 year-old building may end up being razed. George Woolf bought the Derby in 1938, originally named Proctor Tavern when it operated in 1922. Councilman Paul Cheng supports the relocation of The Derby. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 2, August 13, 2020 for "The Derby-what's next?"
Arcadia Episcopal Church of Transfiguration buys land between Camino Real and Las Flores on 1st Avenue. They plan to build a temporary church building and a Sunday School building.
The Derby could highlight new hub. If developers get their way with a zone change and other approvals, the area around the 1920s-era Derby restaurant will be transformed into a mixed-use development with the eatery as its centerpiece. Right now the 2.23 acre project site has 2 structures, the two-story restaurant at 233 East Huntington Drive and a vacant one-story building at 301 East Huntington Drive, once occupied by Souplantation. The new development would include 205 market rate residential units and 9 affordable units.
Robert Maxie, a successful offensive coordinator who helped Arcadia High School's football team play for a CIF Southern Section Division 8 championship in 2018, was named head coach for Baldwin Park's football team.
El Monte man pleads guilty to killing boss in office. Zhong Qi Chen, 63, pleaded guilty to fatally shooting his boss Yining Xie, 58, of Arcadia, at a newspaper office in Alhambra in 2018, at The China Press, 2121 W. Mission Road, Alhambra, CA.
First phase of Le Meridien Hotel taking shape across from Santa Anita Park. Ground broke more than two years ago. The five-story building, on the site formerly occupied by the Santa Anita Inn (its address was 130 West Huntington Drive), was set to open first quarter of 2020, but it has been delayed. It will have a combination of Art Deco elements, inspired by nearby Santa Anita Park, with Modernist features. Architecture firm Architects Orange, interior design firm Linda Snyder Associates, and Snyder Langston is the construction team building the Le Meridien development that spans 6.5 acres.
License revocation upheld for internet studios run by couple Dr. Susan Block and Maximillian Lobkowicz. City says sex therapist Dr. Susan Block and husband allow people to sleep there overnight in the business building on Las Tunas Drive that is zoned for office use. City revoked their license on July 28. The couple appealed but the city's Planning Commission upheld the decision. The couple will appeal again.
Electrical accident blamed for deadly house fire in unincorporated county area near Arcadia that left 3 people dead and 2 others injured. It happened to a two-story home in the 5300 block of Tyler Avenue.
The Shops at Santa Anita (formerly Westfield Santa Anita mall, changed name in 2022) hosts a holiday winter wonderland with synthetic ice rink, hot cocoa, and face painting, 6-8 PM today. Event is on the Promenade area. Skating rink is free but donations accepted. Proceeds benefit the Arcadia High School Marching Band. The Shops at Santa Anita is at 400 S. Baldwin Avenue.
Arcadia Public Library hosts workshop for freelancers building values-focused business on Thursday, January 30, with speaker Jackie Lam, an Los Angeles-based content marketer and freelance writer.
U.S. deaths top 400k as Trump set to leave office. Methodist Hospital of Southern California in Arcadia says the 400,000th coronavirus (COVID-19) death is shameful. With its morgue full, the hospital has a refrigerated truck to hold bodies.