Due to construction of new headquarters buildings, the adjacent road and visitor parking at the Forest Service office at 701 N. Santa Anita Avenue, will be closed to public visits beginning March 26 until about May 7.
House of Representatives appropriations bill to offer money for shuttle system to forest area. Nearly
$1 million will provide for project to local areas. US Forest Service planning a shuttle to Chantry Flat, a
forest site north of Arcadia and Sierra Madre, that links to trails and Sturtevant Falls.
Arcadia's energy efficient street lighting program to start next month. Southern California Edison (SCE) is replacing SCE-owned inefficient High Pressure Sodium (HPS) street lights with energy efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights. Conversion to LED technology will help reduce energy usage and cost by approximately $11,500 annually.
Bobcat Fire continues to wreak havoc. Nearly 24,000 acres burned above foothill communities, north of Monrovia, and still spreading out of control yesterday as firefighters contended with powerful winds. The fire has burned 23,890 acres of pristine forest lands. It was 6% contained. Evacuation warnings are still in effect in Monrovia, Arcadia, Azusa, Sierra Madre, Duarte, Pasadena, Altadena & Bradbury.
Tonight Arcadia City Council will explore building a new $12 million City Hall after the proposal was shelved in 2009 for financial reasons. The existing City Hall is undergoing a $2.3 million renovation and remodeling that includes a new heating and air conditioning system, energy efficient windows, new wiring, carpeting and painting. If Council moves forward with new building, the existing one could be used as a community center.
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.
There’s something about Mary. Mary Hansen (photo) honored by Arcadia Rotary Club with the Paul Harris Fellow award for service “above and beyond,” according to Arcadia Rotary Club President Pat Dolphin. Mary was also selected as 2018 Senior of the Year because of her 46-plus years of volunteer work throughout Arcadia.
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla seeks wilderness protections, introduced in a bill covering 1 million acres of land and 500 miles of rivers. Padilla's bill incorporates the San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act, written by Representative Judy Chu, D-Pasadena. Under this provision, the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, established by President Barack Obama in 2014 will be expanded by 109,143 acres to include front facing portions of the Angeles National Forest north of Sierra Madre and Arcadia and into the forest's western edge near Santa Clarita.
Arcadia Library Board of Trustees appoints Mary Beth Hayes as interim Director of Library and Museum Services, following the sudden death of Jackie Faust-Moreno. Mary Beth Hayes has been employed by the City of Arcadia since 1989 and is currently Library Services Manager.
Mary Chiu sued nursing home Arcadia Health Care Center for the negligent care that her mother Sui Mee Chiu received. In October 2013, an arbitrator ruled that Sui Mee Chiu had been a victim of elder abuse, negligence and wrongful death, and her daughter Mary Chiu was awarded more than half a million dollars. The investigation is still in progress and Public Health is inquiring into the cause of the delay in the final report and closure of this case.
Vintage fashion show for Arcadia Woman's Club. Ladies modeling past fashions in photo include Carol Libby, Mari Clavern, Julie Fendrick, Cheryl Alberg, Mary E. Hanson, Beverly Street, Alice Tangey, and Marge Totter.
Nearly all of region's national forest areas, including the Angeles, Los Padres, San Bernardino and Cleveland national forests, reopened yesterday, one week after the expiration of the California regional closure. The forests also lowered their fire danger level from critical to extreme, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The closure order was issued August 31 in response to statewide wildfires. Although the majority of the Angeles National Forest will reopen, a significant part will remain closed due to the 2020 Bobcat fire. The closure order for Angeles National Forest has been in place since September 2020 and remains in effect until April, to allow for affected areas to recover from the 100,000-plus-acre Bobcat Fire. Still closed are Chantry Flat Picnic Area and Buckhorn Campground.
Westfield mall properties in West Covina, Sherman Oaks, Arcadia, and Palm Desert, have a new tenant--Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries. Forest Lawn has information carts in malls in a new marketing effort.
Damage saps fun from Angeles forest. Angeles National Forest's Chantry Flat Road remains closed after suffering damage from the 2020 Bobcat fire and subsequent fires. Storms and fires force closure of trails, roads and campgrounds, some for years. The forest's second-most visited area, Chantry Flat, in the section north of Arcadia, Monrovia and Sierra Madre, has been closed since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. A sign in Arcadia (photo) advises motorists of the Chantry Flat Road closure.
Arcadia's Jason Lee donates $10,000 to Arcadia Police Foundation. He presented the check to Mary E. Hansen, the founding board member and Vice President of the Arcadia Police Foundation.
House passes preservation bill on a bipartisan vote. The Protecting America's Wilderness and Public Lands Act, or House Resolution 803 seeks to conserve 1 million acres of public land in California, much of it in Southern California. HR 803 incorporates two local measures, including the San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act that will protect the Angeles National Forest, located just north of Arcadia.
Angeles National Forest fire officials raise fire danger level to extreme, effective Friday, September 2. This change is in response to September's seasonal drying combined with the 5th year of a drought.