Fall of the House of Baldwin. Part 2 of a 6 part series: Anoakia's lifespan. History of Anita Baldwin's residence, a mansion named Anoakia. By Galen Patterson. See hard copy in VF Baldwin, Anita
Residents irate over plans for a mansion at 2235 Hollis Lane by designer Marvin Fong. The proposed project violates several provisions in the city's zoning code and is nearly 3x the size of homes in the neighborhood.
31-year old Kwan Chow of Monterey Park was arrested for fondling a 10-year-old boy in the restroom at Dave and Buster's at Westfield Santa Anita mall on November 10, 2014.
Monterey Park man Kwan Yuen Chow, 31, who was charged with committing lewd acts on two 10-year-old boys on separate occasions at Dave & Buster's restroom at Westfield Santa Anita shopping mall, was found not competent to stand trial and ordered to be transferred to Patton State Hospital
A home invasion robbery on December 12 resulted in the shooting death of 35 year old Jose Antonio Parra, while his girlfriend and three small children were locked in a bedroom. It happened on the 11000 block of Kristi Court in unincorporated county area near Arcadia.
In a unanimous vote, Arcadia City Council deals a blow to builder KVH Design Group, rejecting the developer's appeal and their plans to build a nearly 7,000 square foot two-story single-family house at 211 Monte Place. The Highlands Homeowners Association (HOA) Architectural Review Board (ARB) had turned down the plans on grounds that the proposed home was "incompatible in mass and scale to the surrounding buildings in the neighborhood." Arcadia City Council agreed.
Gayle Brewer, a 26 year-old Arcadia resident, runs a Pasadena-based business called Celia Caseta Inc. She provides professional makeup services. She plans to open locations in Arcadia and Northridge.
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden will have its historic buildings upgraded and a new 5-year strategic plan is being drafted for the first time in many years. Among items to be improved are the roof replacement and stabilization of the Hugo Reid Adobe (aka Baldwin Adobe), the rehabilitation of the library, as well as roof replacements for the 126-year-old Queen Anne Cottage of "Fantasy Island" fame, and the Coach Barn. Mitchell Bishop, curator of the historic collections, said he plans to rehabilitate Baldwin Lake.
Arcadia seeks to prohibit short-term vacation home rentals through Airbnb, VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner). Convenient and homey, short-term rental sites are resistant to regulation and willing to put up a fight.
Arcadia City Council delays vote on Arcadia Highlands home building projects. Council will address the matter again on February 3, to allow for more time to vet newly received petitions from area residents and a detailed letter from an attorney representing a leading opponent of the developments, that the City received last week. Both projects, one at 1600 Highland Oaks Drive, the other at 29 East Orange Grove Avenue, and both designed by Robert Tong of Arcadia-based Sanyao International Inc., involve the demolition of vintage homes to make room for larger residences.
Two Arcadia homes found by Arcadia Police Department to be used for indoor marijuana growing operations in the 1800 block of South Baldwin Avenue and the 300 block of West Woodruff Avenue. Gao Ming, 46-year-old male from Arcadia, Jia Hui Shen, 27-year-old male from El Monte, and Lan Lau, a 34-year-old female from Arcadia, were arrested and booked at Arcadia City Jail.
25-year-old Arcadia man Matthew Fay Echauri sentenced to 10 years and life in state prison with the possibility of parole for attempted murder, mayhem and domestic violence for stabbing his 18 year-old girlfriend in Temple City two years ago.
Last month's California Supreme Court decision that eliminates redevelopment agencies may jeopardize the Rusnak Mercedes-Benz dealership's expansion plans. Last year, Arcadia's redevelopment agency acquired the final piece of a two-acre site to sell to owner Paul Rusnak to expand his business to 6 acres. Rusnak is one of the city's top sales tax generators and wants to open a 40,000 square foot showroom on Santa Anita Avenue, just one block from the future Gold Line station downtown.
Basketball court returns to Arcadia's Eisenhower Park renovation plans. Arcadia City Council voted 3-to-2 to add one full basketball court. See also hard copy in VF Parks.
The California Second District Court of Appeals rejected Mulji Patel's claim that the restitution awarded to Erwin Nepomuceno for $20,250 in lost earnings was excessive. Patel was convicted in March 2009 on two counts of assaults with a deadly weapon for the January 31, 2006 attack on Nepomuceno, a workers' compensation attorney. Patel was a Rockwell International employee and a jury found him sane at the time. Patel was sentenced in May 2009 to 12 years in state prison.
John Shear, a 90-year-old paddock guard at Santa Anita Park, has been hospitalized for putting himself between a 6-year-old girl and a charging race horse called See and Sage. The girl was not hurt but Shear had several broken bones.
Arcadia City Council is divided over preservation vs. development. Should the city update a 2001 historic preservation survey of buildings and homes in Arcadia? Council members held a lively discussion about merits and costs of preserving Arcadia's historical commercial buildings and homes, designed by renowned architects.
Los Angeles County home sales dropped 8.6% last month from a year earlier. Arcadia, however, shows a 4.1% increase in median home price, from a year ago December. Arcadia's median home price was $692,000 last month. Figures for California state, Los Angeles and other San Gabriel Valley cities are shown.
Arcadia City Council puts restructure of zoning on hold; exempts Highlands from historical preservation due to ongoing lawsuit that Highlands residents filed against City Council. The lawsuit, filed in March by a group called Save the Arcadia Highlands, seeks to force the City Council to rescind its approval of two construction projects that would replace existing mid-20th century homes with significantly larger homes. Council members Tom Beck, Sho Tay, and Mayor Gary Kovacic voted to move forward with establishing historic preservation guidelines and exempt the Highlands HOA territory from the forthcoming ordinance.