Arcadia is taking a "zero tolerance" position against violence in the schools. The new program, called 'Peaceful Arcadia through Community Efforts 2000' or 'PACE 2000' is a joint effort with city officials, the Arcadia Police Department and school district leaders.
Arcadia High School administrators have instituted a 24-hour student telephone tip line to increase campus security and decrease the risk of campus violence.
Jason Bingham, a 16-year-old Arcadia High School student, is facing expulsion after he used a pipe as a weapon during an on-campus fight with a fellow student.
Federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested Dr. Daniel J. Healy, 52, of Arcadia, operator of Dr. Healy's Diet Centers and Clinics in Duarte and Rancho Cucamonga. He is accused of selling addictive painkillers from his office over a 3-year period to patients he often did not examine. Federal authorities allege Healy dispensed oxycodone and hydrocodone, among other drugs, essentially using his practice as a drug-dealing operation.
Facing expulsion from Arcadia High School for striking another student with a metal pipe, 16-year old Jason Bingham testified at a school district hearing that he used the weapon only to defend himself. The three-member panel sent its recommendation to the school board, which will make a decision in the matter.
The Mexican Mafia, also known as La Eme, has a stronghold on illegal drug trafficking in the San Gabriel Valley. Fighting within the gang is causing violence, even as some key members are in prison.
Five Arcadia High School students face criminal charges after allegedly beating a 16-year old classmate, stripping her naked and taking photographs, then threatening to distribute the pictures if she told police. The alleged assault took place on January 24, 2005.
Kianji Zhai and Hua Kiang of Arcadia were arrested and booked on charges of kidnapping, extortion, slavery and assault with a deadly weapon. They are accused of enslaving and torturing their 20 year old babysitter.
Clean of drugs for nearly 2 1/2 years, April Hubert will graduate from Arcadia High School. After a bout of drug use and behavior problems, she now looks to the future.
Arcadia High School opened the school year with an added 800 9th grade students, bringing total enrollment to 3050. 50% of the students are new to the school.
Cal Poly Pomona student Melissa Cripe, 20, will work with junior high students to solve personal problems without resorting to violence as part of the AmeriCorps program, a $360 million national program launched by President Clinton to act as a domestic version of the Peace Corps.
Arcadia police shot a mountain lion, or cougar, at 8 PM in the backyard of a home in the 2200 block of Canyon Road. The mountain lion had just mauled a dog to death and was charging at police when police shot the cat with an assault weapon.
Phillip Sutliff, 34, of Azusa, an Arcadia High School English teacher, has been arrested and charged with multiple sex crimes against a former student.
Arcadia Unified School District officials prepared for a second try at a bond measure to rehabilitate school facilities by taking a group of seniors to Arcadia High School for a meeting and tour.
Local gang violence is on the upswing. Racial hatred and territorial disputes fuel battles over unincorported county areas of Monrovia, Duarte and Arcadia.
The family of Kelly Salomone, a 21 year old University of La Verne student who was killed when a car driven by Gary Southworth, 45, slammed into her vehicle on December 12, has started a letter writing campaign urging people to pressure the state into taking away his teaching credential. School Board members defended their decision to allow Southworth to return to the Arcadia Unified School District.
Attorney Michael Oddenino is seeking $3 million from the Arcadia Unified School District on behalf of his daughter who was yelled at by her coach Don Riggio. Oddenino is suing for assault, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligence, a civil rights violation and sex discrimination.