Arcadia Chinese Association installs new officers on July 31, 2016. Aaron Rose will be president. VPs are Francine Chiu, Jamie Lee, Lily Lam, Treasurers are Ning Liu and Alice Wang and secretaries are Sherry Liang and Caroline Rose.
Arcadia Chinese Association's biggest fundraiser of the year to benefit the Arcadia community takes place November 5 with the theme "That 70s Show." Funds raised are donated to Arcadia High School, Arcadia Public Library, Arcadia Police Department, Arcadia Fire Department, Arcadia Methodist Hospital, Assistance League of Arcadia, Foothill Unity Center, Arcadia Historical Museum and more.
City of Arcadia in partnership with Arcadia Chinese Association, will offer a free Ask-a-Lawyer Program on Saturday, May 19, 10 AM - 1 PM at the Arcadia Public Library, to celebrate Law Day. This is the 20th consecutive year this free public service has been offered by the City of Arcadia and Arcadia Chinese Association.
Assistance League of Arcadia installs new officers. New President is Kay Kinsler. In photo Keppi Sullivan, Kay Kinsler and 2014-2015 new board members.
Arcadia Rotary Club and Arcadia Chinese Association (ACA) announce plans to restore Fort Rotary, a two-story western-style Boy Scout fort in the foothills behind Monrovia. This is historic, the first coordinated project between these two organizations. Architect Kevin Le from Le Architecture in Monrovia, has already volunteered his time to help. The project is expected to cost up to $140,000. So far, Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has pledged $25,000, ACA has pledged $25,000 and Arcadia Rotary has pledged $22,000 on behalf of Mary Hansen of Arcadia.
HQH Chinese American Equalization Association demands electoral changes. It alleges the city of Arcadia is in violation of the California Voting Rights Act and should convert from at-large voting to a by-district system to allow more Asian American representation on the Arcadia City Council.
Social media for Chinese-speaking users. City of Arcadia is adding WeChat to the Arcadia Conect social media program in an ongoing effort to improve outreach to the city's Chinese community. See also Arcadia Weekly, February 1, 2018, p. 1, 10.
Arcadia City Council member Sho Tay aims to bridge city's cultural gap between Chinese immigrants and Caucasians. Tay says there are three distinct batches of Chinese immigrants. The first came from Taiwan in the 1980s and went to college here. The second came from Hong Kong after Tiananmen Square, and the third, most recent, batch is from mainland China. They came with wealth.
On September 8, 2011, Arcadia Mayor Gary Kovacic had an emergency procedure to put a stent in one of his 3 major heart arteries. His Left Anterior Descending (LAD) artery was 90-95% blocked. He was released from Arcadia Methodist Hospital (AMH) the following day and was back at AMH 24 hours later for a dedication ceremony of the new patient tower that has been under construction for some time now.
Recently, about 140 people attended the 16th Annual Law Day at Arcadia Public Library. This free Ask-a-Lawyer Program is a joint effort of the City of Arcadia and the Arcadia Chinese Association.
In a letter sent to Mayor Tom Beck, the HQH Chinese American Equalization Association demands district voting in Arcadia. The association claims at-large system dilutes influence. According to 2010 U.S. Census, Asians represent 60% of the city's population of 56,364 and about 46% of its registered voters. The letter points out that no more than 2 Asian Americans have served on Arcadia City Council at the same time. Beck said Arcadia doesn't have the problem of Asians being underrepresented.
Arcadia vote-by-mail ballots contain translation error in Chinese-language instructions which could cause some votes to be invalidated. Five candidates vie for the two seats on Arcadia City Council in this April's General Municipal Election, but erroneous instructions in Chinese language said to choose up to three candidates.
Yuanji dance and Tai Chi going strong for 10 years in Arcadia. Chinese Yuan Ji dance is a mixture of martial arts, physical therapy, meditation, dance and qigong exercise.
Arcadia's first Lunar New Year Festival (Year of the Monkey) is set for Sunday in downtown Arcadia, will feature traditional Chinese lion and dragon dances at Huntington Drive and Santa Anita Avenue.
None of the three Chinese-American candidates received enough votes to win one of the three open seats in Tuesday's Arcadia City Council elections. With the departure of Mayor John Wuo, who was the second Chinese-American to be elected to the council, Arcadia, an ethnically diverse city, is reverting to an all Caucasian council for the first time in 12 years. Many in the Chinese community prefer to relay a concern to someone of their own race and culture "because this person understands what they say, what their concern is based on," former council member Dr. Sheng Chang said. Councilman Roger Chandler, however, believes that the city has enough volunteers, associations and resources to facilitate communication and to aptly handle any issue that could come up.