Live Oak Library reopens new space at a new address. Previously located at 4153 East Live Oak Avenue in Arcadia, it is now 1.1 miles to the west at 22 West Live Oak Avenue. It has undergone a $7.3 million refurbishment.
Foul weather foils New Year's Day racing at Santa Anita Park--its New Year's Day racing was canceled 5 1/2 hours before first post after a light rain fell through much of Saturday's card and intensified throughout the night and into Sunday morning (January 1).
Cooling centers open for relief from heat wave. Arcadia Public Library is one of 165 Los Angeles County cooling centers, meant to help prevent heat-related illnesses. Until Sunday, high temperatures are expected to reach triple digits.
210 Freeway closure returns this week. For second time in a month, motorists face delays during a 5-day shutdown for bridge construction, closing eastbound lanes of the 210 Freeway from the 605 Freeway interchange to Irwindale Avenue. The delays may be more pronounced in the weekday afternoon during peak hours through Pasadena, Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, and Irwindale, as the eastbound lanes detour from 6 lanes into 3 lanes.
Malls taking different paths with operations. San Gabriel Valley: some in the region are bucking trend and staying open, with reduced hours during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Westfield Santa Anita (in photo) is mostly empty, with only a few stores and food places open in Arcadia. While malls in many parts of Southern California have temporarily closed because of the possible spread of the novel coronavirus, Westfield in Arcadia, the Shops at Montebello, and Plaza West Covina have remained open, but with reduced hours.
Rose Parade 2024. SOI RV Club is a primo event for RV enthusiasts. The Sports Coach Owners International (SOI) has been organizing Rose Parade rallies for 45 years. They park at Santa Anita Park and attend multiple events including Equestfest, Bandfest, and some horse racing at the track.
Grocery Outlet Bargain Market opens new store at 104 East Live Oak Avenue in Arcadia. This location created 30 new jobs. Independent owner-operators are Chris Phillips and Amanda Sandoval.
Arcadia High School student Stanley Liu, in photo, entered and earned second place at the annual Los Angeles County Science Fair, which staged its competition online this year due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Liu's project was a microfluidic device capable of pinpointing biomarkers associated with disease in human blood plasma. He will be a finalist for the International Science and Engineering Fair.
San Marino's Li sets record at CIF-SS finals swimming championships. There were impressive performances from the San Gabriel Valley. Sophia Xu of Arcadia was a second place finisher in the girls 100 butterfly with a time of 55.88.
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.
Santa Anita Park to host Breeders' Cup for a record 11th time, in 2023. Local horsemen were overjoyed at the announcement. Santa Anita Park is still the only track to host the Breeders' Cup for 3 consecutive years, in 2012-2014.
Horse racing regulations lead to fewer equine deaths. Fatalities in California have been cut in half in 2 years and plummeted to the lowest levels since 1990 as a result of reforms implemented after dozens of death at Santa Anita Park in 2019. The reforms in the last two years include strict limitations on use of whips by jockey, a prohibition on most medications before races, installation of new imaging technologies to catch injuries sooner, more opportunities for veterinarians and stewards to sideline horses and a mandatory requirement for trainers to participate in the postmortem.
Singers Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken perform at Arcadia Performing Arts Center on Saturday, 9/23/2023. They were two of the favorites on the second season of TV show American Idol. Studdard won the American Idol competition and Clay Aiken was the runner up 20 years ago. The tour is called "Twenty, the Tour."
All-Area Girls Soccer. Mimi Dominguez from Bishop Amat is Player of the Year. First Team Midfielder Skye Escobedo and Defender Destiny Delgado are from Arcadia. Second Team Midfielder Alaina Lee and Goalkeeper Ainsley Stephenson are from Arcadia.
Breeders' Cup. Teen boy dies day after namesake horse wins. Cody's Wish, which won the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile race at Santa Anita Park, was named after 17-year-old Cody Dorman. Cody's Wish won the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile for the second consecutive year. Cody Dorman had Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome.
Santa Anita Park looking for a brighter future. When Aidan Butler, Executive Director of California Racing Operations for The Stronach Group took over at Santa Anita about a year ago, he couldn't have envisioned the road blocks his first year--heavy rains that postponed opening day, the COVID-19 pandemic, recent brush fires that forced the fall meet to be postponed. He discusses the difficulties this year, the new turf chute and the future.
Decorated vet to celebrate 100th birthday. U.S. Air Force vetean Edward Lopez was a fighter pilot in both World War II and the Korean War. Born in Los Angeles and living in Arcadia for more than 50 years, he is one of the last living members of the Air Force's 365th Fighter-Bomber Group known as The Hell Hawks, a reserve fighter squadron in the U.S. Marine Corps. See hard copy in VF People.
Arcadia High School baseball. Arcadia gives Fernando Palencia big lead early in 9-0 win over Pasadena. Palencia, the 2023 Pasadena Star News player of the year, overpowered the Pasadena lineup and helped Arcadia cruise to its second consecutive sweep of Pacific League play.