Senior citizens competed in the Senior Olympics powerlifting event held at the home gym of Arcadia personal trainer Harry Sneider as part of the California Senior Games Championships. The highlight of the games was seeing 89-year-old Eugene Mailin lift 140 pounds, winning gold in his weight division. Other participants named were 53-year-old Val Olotoa and 75-year-old Ernie Smith. Legendary competitor Beatrice Maullin died two weeks before the games began.
A Monrovia firefighter, Fernando Rodriguez, 41, shot his wife, Katherine Rodriguez, and then himself in the parking lot of City of Hope National Medical Center. Arcadia and Los Angeles County fire teams watched over Monrovia after all Monrovia fire personnel were called in to hear the news.
Edmund Wu of Arcadia, founder of AMAC Violin Center, donated two chinese-made violins and a viola to the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
As their own volunteer project, local boys from Arcadia acquire shelving and install it at Bienvenidos Children's Center in Altadena. Sam Pievac Co. in Santa Fe Springs donated the shelves.
Foothill Unity Center had its annual Back to School Distribution event at Santa Anita Park. The project provides new school supplies and clothing for children from kindergarten through 12th grade, to low-income families in Altadena, Arcadia, Bradbury, Duarte, Monrovia, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, and South Pasadena. Dionna Robledo, shown in photo, gives haircut to boy.
As the United States goes to war with Iraq and the threat of retaliatory terrorist attacks raised the national threat level to High Risk Orange, the cities of Monrovia and Arcadia are prepared for the worst. City officials are talking about emergency response. The city has developed the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), where representatives from all city departments can gather to organize and respond to any emergency.
The parking lot at the Arcadia Community Center will be expanded by including the lot where the Arcadia Historical Museum was formerly located. New electrical equipment will be installed. Total cost will be $104,600.
Westfield Group has vowed not to donate to City Council campaigns in the April 2006 election, joining mall rival Rick Caruso and Caruso Affiliated, who made a similar pledge in September.
A profile on Jill Harkema, director of community outreach for Methodist Hospital, who was given the Heart in Hand Humanitarian Award by the Foothill Unity Center.