Construction has begun on Arcadia Unified School District's $20 million Performing Arts Center. The 40,000 square feet, state-of-the-art facility is due to open in fall of 2012. It is funded by Measure I.
Arcadia High School senior Paul Mekailian's classical music composition has won a national award from the Young Arts Foundation. He was also awarded a spot in the LA Philharmonic's coveted Associate Composer Program.
Plans to expand Rusnak Mercedes-Benz in Arcadia should move ahead with Rusnak buying four commercial properties from the former Arcadia Redevelopment Agency. Arcadia became the first city earlier this month to have its long-range property management plan approved by the state Department of Finance--something required of former redevelopment or "successor agencies" to dispose of their properties.
Santa Anita Park race event 2012 Sunshine Millions tomorrow. Horse named Caracortado is shown with jockey Paul Atkinson (from a 2010 Preakness Stakes photo).
Songwriter and composer Marvin Hamlisch dies at age 68. He had been the Principal conductor of Pasadena Pops Orchestra. His last concert was July 21 at the Los Angeles County Arboretum.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The new Norman S. Johnson Aquatics Center at Arcadia Community Regional Park (Arcadia County Park) is officially open and was celebrated yesterday by county supervisor Michael Antonovich and other local officials. The nearly $10 million project replaced the old 50-meter pool with a 6,150 s.f. competition swimming pool, and a 6,300 s.f. recreation and therapy pool with an integrated splash pad.
Santa Anita Park opens today. It kicks off its 75th winter/spring meeting with its first post at noon. The 79-day race meeting continues through April 22.
Santa Anita Park winning horse "I'll Have Another," ridden by jockey Mario Gutierrez, wins the 138th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. Trainer is Doug O'Neill and owner is J. Paul Reddam.
Sex offender Paul Allan McQuown, 55, of Azusa, was found nude, armed with a knife, surrounded by pornography and a vibrator on the grounds of Arcadia Congregational Church at 2607 S. Santa Anita Avenue. He was arrested and accused of indecent exposure. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 1, 16, March 19, 2015.
Trouble at Santa Anita Park. According to figures taken from Equibase, Santa Anita Park's total handle was down $77.1 million, or 17.7% from a year ago. If the current trend continues, the track's all-sources handle could show a decline of more than $100 million for the 2010-2011 meet. George Haines, the president of Santa Anita Park, has other troubles, including some wet weather, a players' boycott, and the inconsistencies of a new dirt racing surface.
Police seek San Marino High School student Mira Hu, who is believed to have run away after being dropped off at 7:30 AM at Arcadia High School for the SAT exam on Saturday.