World War II internees reunite. Japanese Americans detained at Santa Anita Park before being sent to camps share photos, memories and friendship, at 75th anniversary event in Little Tokyo. See hard copy in VF Assembly Center.
Two of the four Arcadia "tree-sitters"--Julia Jaye Posin and Andrea Bowers--have pleaded no contest to one count each of trespassing, while protesting the destruction of an Arcadia woodland. The two women were fined $60, waived for jail time served, and ordered to do 10 hours of community service. The two other tree-sitters John Quigley and Travis Jochimsen are scheduled to appear in court in late July.
Miss Junior Taiwan Verena Wong, 5, of Arcadia (photo) and Miss Taiwan Paula Wu of Palo Alto together give away toys to preschoolers at La Casa de San Gabriel Community Center. They also presented the center with a $3000 check from Chinatrust Bank.
Paul Graf, 90, of New Albany, Indiana, came back to Arcadia to see Santa Anita Park again. He had been based there as a United States Army staff sergeant during World War II, when the track was turned over to the Army Ordnance Corps for training purposes and was officially renamed Camp Santa Anita. Graf said he used to run for exercise on the Anita Chiquita training track, which was eliminated when the Santa Anita Fashion Park was built in the 1970s. Graf had arrived at Camp Santa Anita around November 1942, after the site had already been used as the Japanese Assembly Center. Photo shows Graf holding an issue of Man O' War, a newspaper issued by army personnel at Camp Santa Anita.
Honorary degrees were awarded to Japanese-American former Pasadena City College students who had their educations cut short by internment during World War II. Japanese-American "nisei" students at what was then Pasadena Junior College never got the chance to graduate with the Class of 1942. One honorary graduate, Fusae Hamane (died in 1997), born and raised in Pasadena, was told to report to Santa Anita Park race track before being sent to a camp in Gila Bend, AZ. The graduation came 68 years later.
Actor and activist George Takei, 75, famous for his portrayal of Sulu on television series Star Trek, will talk about gay rights and a childhood spent in internment camps at Santa Anita Park (assembly center), Tule Lake and Rohwer, Arkansas, during World War II. He will be speaking at Cal Poly Pomona on Tuesday.
Camp Santa Anita Ordnance Training Center, at Santa Anita Park, from 1942-1945, is featured in a temporary exhibit at Gilb Museum of Arcadia Heritage, through March 30.
Two of four "tree-sitters" that were arrested while protesting the destruction of an 11-acre Arcadia oak woodland in January appeared in Alhambra Superior Court on Thursday and had their arraignment postponed until February 18. They are John Quigley, 50, of Glendale, and Julia Jaye Posin, 23 of Venice Beach. Travis Jochimsen, 28, of Lancaster and Andrea Bowers, 45 of Los Angeles, were also arrested but did not appear for arraignment.
Personal sketches behind barbed wire--Riyo Sato (1913-2009) will be on exhibit at Gilb Museum of Arcadia Heritage from September 14 through November 2, 2013. Riyo Sato was interned at Santa Anita Assembly Center.
Westfield Santa Anita mall, Santa Anita Park race track, and other businesses cope with power outages and wind damage. Westfield Santa Anita mall was unable to open due to a widespread power outage although power was restored to the center's east end by 4:30 PM yesterday. Santa Anita Park was closed yesterday due to a power outage. The race track also sustained wind-related damage to the roof in its stable area and also had several uprooted trees. Huge, old trees were blown down in Arcadia.
Marriott seeks two hotels in Arcadia. Andrew Chang, of Continental Assets Management, and owner of Santa Anita Inn, is proposing to build two Marriott hotels on the property. His proposal seeks to add 110 rooms to the West Huntington Drive property and would include a six-story Residence Inn and a four-story Fairfield Inn and Suites (Marriott brands). The Santa Anita Inn was built in 1955. The project will require approval from the Planning Commission and City Council.
Ready to rumble. Two of the nation's best 4-year-olds, California Chrome and Shared Belief, will squre off at Santa Anita Park tomorrow. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith will ride Shared Belief. The two horses finished third and fourth in last fall's Breeder's Cup Classic. So this rematch is highly anticipated in tomorrow's San Antonio Stakes. See also Pasadena Star News, p. B1, B6, February 6, 2015.
If race horse "California Chrome" wins the Belmont Stakes tomorrow to complete a Triple Crown sweep, then this could help the racing industry. The industry will try to turn attention attracted by the first Triple Crown in 36 years into a revival of the sport's popularity. Santa Anita Park executives hope a crowd of 30,000 will show up Saturday to watch the Belmont on TV screen. Betting at Santa Anita Park has declined 40% between 2002 and 2011 before ticking up the last two years.
1980s pop group Air Supply plays at the Arcadia Performing Arts Center on January 25, 2014. Also playing this season are America (2/22), Susan Egan (3/1), and The Temptations (6/7).
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.