Arcadia city council agrees to accept gift statue of Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin. His great-great-great granddaughter, Margaux Viera, 34 of Pasadena, will commission a bronze statue for display next to Arcadia Community Center. The statue will be worth close to $60,000. The city will pay for pedestal, lighting and landscaping, up to $25,000.
Lucky Baldwin statue to be unveiled at Reverend Monsignor Gerald M. O'Keefe Rose Garden at Holly Avenue and Huntington Drive. Bronze sculpture commissioned, donated by city founder Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin's descendants Margaux Gibson-Viera and Heather Gibson (Baldwin's great-great-great granddaughters). Statue was designed and made by artist Alfred Paredes. See also VF Statuary #20.
Lucky Baldwin statue dedicated. at Reverend Monsignor Gerald M. O'Keeffe Rose Garden at Holly Avenue and Huntington Drive. Bronze sculpture commissioned, donated by city founder Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin's descendants Margaux Gibson-Viera and Heather Gibson (Baldwin's great-great-great granddaughters). Statue was designed and made by artist Alfred Paredes. See also VF Statuary #20.
Revisiting Anita Baldwin. Margaux Viera (photo) of Riverside, the great-great-great granddaughter of Arcadia founder Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin, has unexpectedly come into possession of some personal items that belonged to Anita M. Baldwin, the only daughter born to Lucky Baldwin and his third wife, Jane Virginia Dexter. The items were discovered by a farmer on a rural, central Nevada ranch once owned by the Baldwin estate. The items include Anita Baldwin's daily journal from 1935, a gold calligraphy pen and Art Deco glass bottle used as an inkwell, an address book with her name and signature, a leather passport holder with her name and a wallet containing several of her identification and membership cards. See hard copy in VF "Baldwin, Anita."
Gilb Museum of Arcadia Heritage has a permanent exhibit on Anita Baldwin. The daughter of Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin was a quiet woman of great compassion.
A statue of Arcadia city founder Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin, has been proposed by his great-great-great granddaughter, Margaux Viera, of Pasadena, for placement in the rose garden next to Arcadia Community Center. City council will consider the issue tonight. City council must agree to provide a location for the proposed statue, purchase a pedestal, and provide any electrical, lighting, and landscaping deemed appropriate. (Article erroneously states that Margaux Viera is the great-great-granddaughter of Elias J. Baldwin. In her proposal to the City of Arcadia, she states that she is, in fact, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Baldwin.)
Sheriff's homicide detectives arrested Arcadia man, 72-year-old Richard Cole, in the 2001 fatal stabbing of his wife, Charlotte S. Cole, who was found slumped over the steering wheel of her minivan in an Arcadia parking lot. Although he was a person of interest initially, the case remained open and went cold for 10 years. Investigators gathered evidence in the last year, leading to his arrest on Sunday, November 4, 2012. This was his second arrest in the killing.
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Baldwin family push to revive Baldwin Lake. The 4-acre lake in the middle of the Arboretum stands polluted, filled with tons of mud and filth from years of urban runoff. Tony Zampiello, executive officer of the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster, along with the county's Department of Parks and Recreation, have formed a task force with goal of dredging the old lake built by Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin in the late 19th century. Margaux Viera, Baldwin's great-great-great granddaughter, a member of the "Save Baldwin Lake" task force, says the shoreline around the lake is collapsing and eroding. See hard copy in VF "Arboretum."
War veteran Mike Velarde, 78, of Arcadia, tricked his Spanish-speaking mother into signing the paperwork to enlist in the U.S. Army at age 16. He had served in the Korean War. A photo of Velarde is shown in honor of Memorial Day. He remembers his wartime buddies who did not make it home alive.
Arcadia resident Bob Wieland, a 65-year-old Vietnam veteran who lost both legs in an explosion, is currently riding a hand-powered bicycle across the country and back to raise money for charities. In the 1980s, he walked across the country on his knuckles. He is an inspirational speaker.
Arcadia City Council appoints ex-mayor Mickey Segal to fill seat vacated by John Wuo's resignation, until the municipal election in April. Wuo, who served on City Council for 12 years, resigned two weeks ago amid mounting allegations over his endorsement of USFIA and Gemcoin, in addition to an ethics investigation launched in September by the Fair Political Practices Commission. Segal is a CPA. Also the zoning code update resumes.
Three women were violently robbed in a span of a week in the 99 Ranch Market parking lot at 1300 S. Golden West Avenue. In two of the incidents, a passenger leaned out of a car to grab purses, and in the other incident, two men pushed a woman to the ground, kicked her in the face and stole her purse.
Ron Charles, 61, who has been president of Santa Anita Park for 5 1/2 years, is resigning. His final day is today. General Manager George Haines will take over as interim president while MI Developments (MID) searches for a replacement.
Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Art Sherman (photo) says the "lucky gene" helped race horse California Chrome win the 140th running of Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs last Saturday. Jockey Victor Espinoza is also shown in photos.
Li Zhu, a 68-year-old Arcadia man suspected in the death of his daughter-in-law, Xiaolin Li, was found dead in his jail cell at Twin Towers Correctional Facility at 450 Bauchett Street in Los Angeles. Deputies found him hanging in his cell, in an apparent suicide.
The trial of Isaac Campbell, a San Gabriel man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend Liya "Jessie" Lu and stuffing her body in a trash can at his friend Michael Darby's home in Arcadia, has begun at Alhambra Superior Court.
Arcadia City Council actions proving to be divisive. Charges of campaign finance misdeeds and board racism alleged. Arcadia finds itself a town divided with feelings split about Councilman Sho Tay, who was passed over last month when it came time for his ceremonial turn for mayor. On one side, several people are accusing Tay of campaign finance fraud for spending money, donated to him, on behalf of two other candidates. Others are accusing City Council members of racism for bypassing the selection of Tay for mayor during its annual reorganization.
Los Angeles County Arboretum. $8 million cleanup and restoration of Baldwin Lake sought. Flood control district assigns funding; expense to go before supervisors in July. Baldwin Lake is severely polluted centerpiece of the county Arboretum, visited by 400,000 people annually. The 144-year-old lake, dug out by 19th century real estate pioneer Elias Jackson “Lucky” Baldwin on his estate, has been dying a slow death because of the accumulation of street runoff laced with heavy metals, automobile brake fragments and other chemicals that create algae blooms and strong odors. Supervisor Kathryn Barger is championing the project.
Richard John Villareal, Jr., 28, received a sentence of more than 15 years in prison for a car crash following a police pursuit in Temple City that killed his passenger. The defendant led Arcadia police officers on a high-speed pursuit after they attempted to pull him over for driving a stolen car near Workman and Baldwin Avenue.