A special report on the Asian population of the San Gabriel Valley. Arcadia is a city with an Asian population near or above 50 percent. A chart shows Asian presence in the San Gabriel Valley and the percentage who speak English "not well" or "not at all."
A chart shows the API scores for West San Gabriel Valley schools for 2004 on page A4. 85 percent of schools in the West San Gabriel Valley maintained or increased their Academic Performance Index ranking compared to schools across the state.
Asian immigrants are changing the face of San Gabriel Valley. Los Angeles County reports 1.3 million Asians, with many of them moving to Arcadia for jobs and schools.
Summary of Los Angeles County reform efforts that perhaps will make unnecessary the efforts of the San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley and other areas to secede from Los Angeles County.
A meeting has been set for October 1 for a committee to report to the entire Association on the feasibility of seceding from Los Angeles County. What happens here may well determine the future course of events in the San Gabriel Valley.
A shortage of trauma centers leaves people in the East San Gabriel Valley unprotected. Officials from the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments are upset that the valley received 1.4 percent of Measure B though it paid 19.8 percent of the tax.
An association of various discontented areas seeking to secede from Los Angeles County has been formed, but the San Gabriel Valley has not yet joined. The six proposed counties are: San Fernando Valley, Canyon, Chumash, Santa Monica, South Bay and Peninsula.
Secession took a new turn with the news that the San Fernando Valley is also considering splitting off from Los Angeles County. Background of the reasons and feelings behind these moves in both the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys is outlined.
Tony Walker, new director of the West San Gabriel Valley Juvenile Diversion Project, is optimistic about the organization's work with juveniles. The program, whose service area includes Arcadia, deals with young, first-time offenders whose problems are still minor.
By the 2010 census, Asians and Pacific Islanders will make up more than half of the population in Arcadia and 10 other communities in the San Gabriel Valley.
The Association will prepare a profile of the San Gabriel Valley within the coming month. A second project will be to organize themselves to deal with the "incoherence of Los Angeles County government."
Harry Hufford, the chief administrative officer for Los Angeles County, predicted that taxes would double for residents of Newhall-Saugus-Santa Clarita Valley area if they were to break away from Los Angeles County. The same would hold true for the San Gabriel Valley.
Plans have been made to form an Association of San Gabriel Valley Cities. The banding together is a preliminary step to give strength to a move to secede from Los Angeles County.
In this ailing economy, San Gabriel Valley property values have dropped significantly, as reflected in the county's home assessments. The county property roll is at $1.1 trillion, a nearly 1% decrease compared to 2008. Homeowners will have smaller tax bills but cities are having to reduce services and employees as they lose businesses, sales tax revenue, and property tax revenue. See a chart of Los Angeles County Assessor's Office property values report showing Arcadia and neighboring cities. Arcadia is a city whose 2009 value increased 2.2% compared to last year.
Getting a permit to install solar panels on homes in the San Gabriel Valley is costly. A Sierra Club report shows that San Gabriel Valley cities charge more than other Southland communities. The average permit cost to install a typical 20-panel system in Southern California is about $493. Arcadia's fee is $283. A chart shows the fees of surrounding cities.
At a meeting on November 20, County Assessor Philip Watson's representative and County Supervisors Peter Schabarum and Baxter Ward and others tackled the possibility of the San Gabriel Valley seceding from Los Angeles County.