George Haines leaving as President of Santa Anita Park to head Southern California Off Track Wagering, Incorporated. Tom Ludt has been appointed the new President, effective April 7, 2014. Ludt was hired a year ago as Senior Vice President, Racing and Gaming-Stronach Group. See hard copy in VF Santa Anita Park 2011-2020.
Temple City hires Don Penman, former City Manager of Arcadia, as Interim Temple City Manager, while city officials search for a permanent replacement for Jose Pulido, who was terminated January 13.
Dr. Andrew Lee is the Mardi Gras King at Arcadia Methodist Hospital's Mardi Gras gala, an annual fundraising event. Photos of Dr. Lee and his wife, and Bev and Ron Street.
New Arcadia City Council member April Verlato brings a new voice. She is a lawyer born and raised in Arcadia. She has been an activist against mansions. She is president of Downtown Arcadia Improvement Association (AIA). Her goals for her time in office are 1) to address the uptick in residential burglaries and 2) to improve Arcadia's business districts.
First Transit, Inc. takes over the city's dial-a-ride system, which has been operated by Southland Transit for the last 30 years. The city is transitioning from a dial-a-ride to a full service transit system. The contract with First Transit is $8,248,078 for 5 years.
Breeders' Cup will take place at Santa Anita Park November 1-2 this year. It is the 30th running of this championship race. Tickets are on sale now. It is thoroughbred racing's most prestigious event.
Arcadia Unified School District adds Common Core Days to the 2014-2015 school calendar. This means students will be released at 11:40 on 9/18, 10/9, 11/6, 1/8, 2/5, 3/5, and 5/14.
Decision 2018: Arcadia's April election is for three City Council seats, for Districts 2, 3 and 5, for 4-year terms. Candidates are Tom Beck, Roger Chandler, Robert Harbicht, Joyce Platt, Sho Tay, and Jolly Wu.
4th Annual Downtown Arcadia Patriotic Festival, an Independence Day celebration, takes place on First Avenue between Bonita Street and Diamond Street, Sunday, July 1, 5-9 PM.
John Wuo resigns from Arcadia City Council, "due to personal and health reasons." City and residents settle "Save the Arcadia Highlands" lawsuit, which highlighted the issue of mansionization. City Attorney Stephen Deitsch announced the terms of the settlement, which include these key highlights: 1) Bowden Development must submit a revised design for the 1600 Highland Oaks Drive home that will not exceed 5800 sq. ft. and is a single-story house. 2) The revised plan for 29 E. Orange Grove Avenue from Mur-Sol Construction must not exceed 5775 sq. ft. with a single story that won't exceed 17 feet, 6 inches. 3) The council will approve or disapprove the revised plans. 4) The developers must pay Save the Highlands' attorney fees. 5) The council will vote on resuming the residential zoning update and the Highlands portion of the historical survey at its next public meeting.
Arcadia City Council approves Arcadia Highlands land development projects at 29 East Orange Grove Avenue and 1600 Highland Oaks Drive. The larger scale new construction of mansions will replace existing homes. The primary bone of contention came down to whether or not property owners' rights to maximize their investment and exercise freedom to build as they see fit should prevail over homeowners associations and residents concerned with maintaining a neighborhood's traditional aesthetic character while protecting neighboring properties' scenic views and privacy.
Arcadia Mayor Sho Tay pays tribute to Cherry Liu as the Oct 2 City Council Meeting was adjourned. Liu, 50, who was murdered by her estranged husband August 1, who then turned the gun on himself in a murder-suicide. Liu was a long-time resident of Arcadia and volunteered for the City of Arcadia, frequently acted as an interpreter for city staff to help bridge the gap between cultures.
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.
The K-9 program returns to Arcadia Police Department. Police dog Zoli has been on the job for a month. The K-9 program was previously in place for many years before being discontinued in the mid-2000s.
Santa Anita Park CEO, Mark Verge, resigns, after some criticism from California Horse Racing Board and a verbal altercation with trainer Bob Baffert's wife. George Haines, General Manager, is expected to run Santa Anita Park.
A study session before the Arcadia City Council regarding recreational vehicles (RVs) will take place November 20, 2012 at 5:30 PM at Arcadia City Hall.
Arcadia Mother/Daughter business owners celebrate new expansion. Jeanette Behara and Raquel McLaughlin (pictured) celebrated 5 years of their business Vintage Treasures & Antiques Arcadia and the launch of the new addition, Mid Century Furniture Showroom, adjacent to their vintage clothing and hats showroom.