Arcadia Police Chief David Hinig bestowed the Police Department's Medal of Merit on Detective Stan Flores and Life Saving medals on patrol officers John Jurman and Jennifer Casillas.
Ed Huang, an architect who works as a senior planner for the city of Los Angeles, gives a tour of his "green" home in Arcadia. His house is a model of energy efficiency, using solar panels and other environmentally and ecologically friendly design elements. Huang had been Arcadia's planning commissioner from 1992-2002.
Obituary / death notice. James C. Lesperance, died January 20, 2006 at the age of 74. He was a long-time resident of Arcadia until retiring to Mammoth Lakes. Jim is survived by his wife Marylin, their children Laura, Jim, Doug (d), Renee, Corinne, and Jeff, eight grandchildren and four stepchildren. Services will be held at St. Luke's Catholic Church, 5605 Cloverly Avenue, Temple City, on Saturday, January 28, at 12:00 p.m.
The race horse "Return of the King" with jockey Martin Pedroza, won a race at Santa Anita Park. The horse belonged to the Ortega family, some of whom were killed by Bruce Pardo in a Christmas Eve massacre in Covina.
Horse racing community feels the loss of James Ortega, Joseph Ortega, and Charles Ortega, 3 of the 9 victims killed by Bruce Pardo, a disgruntled former in-law who crashed a Christmas Eve party in Covina, dressed at Santa Claus. James, Joseph and Charles Ortega all owned race horses and loved the sport.
In an opinion piece, writer Frank C. Girardot laments the suicide of Hunter S. Thompson. He shot and killed himself on Sunday, February 20, 2005. He had written two of his famous works, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", and "Strange Rumblings in Aztlan", when he lived in an Arcadia hotel in 1971.
Arcadia Methodist Hospital opened a new four-level parking structure this week, completing the first phase of its expansion. The second phase will include a 152,000 square feet, five-story patient tower, with a bridge connecting the top three floors to the existing Berger Patient Tower. The new North Tower, to be completed in 2010, will house a new emergency department, medical and surgical inpatient beds, two intensive care units, and a pharmacy.
Hundreds of people gathered at Santa Anita Park to honor the slain Ortega family, which lost nine members in a Christmas Eve mass murder on the 1100 block of East Knollcrest Drive in Covina, CA. The tribute and fundraiser was organized by Jerry and Jim Rocha. Jockey Joseph Talamo rode "Return of the King," a horse owned by Charles and James Ortega, in the fourth race yesterday. The horse finished second in the race dedicated to the Ortegas.
Walter R. Hoefflin, former Tournament of Roses president, died February 24 of the complications of old age. He was 87. See also Pasadena Star News, March 1, 2001 p. A4.
Downtown 2000, the redevelopment project that has served as a lightning rod for discontent at City Hall, received an Award of Excellence this week from the California Redevelopment Association.