Santa Anita Park cancels Friday racing due to recent storms. Friday's card will be redrawn Saturday and held February 15. Santa Anita Park V.P. and General Manager Nate Newby said more than 10 inches of rain fell in Arcadia since Sunday afternoon.
Half Day After School Camp Offered at Two Arcadia Elementary Schools.
As the 2020-2021 school year begins, Arcadia Recreation and Community Services Department will be offering a half day after school camp that will follow approved modifications by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. These guidelines are subject to change, based on the local protocols related to COVID-19 and will be sent out to parents at registration.
The half day after school camp will be offered at Baldwin Stocker Elementary School and Camino Grove Elementary School from 1-5 p.m. beginning Aug. 24. Registration is $92 per week and will open on a monthly basis. Camp will still offer a variety of organized recreational activities for ages 5-12, led by trained activity leaders. Registration is now open for camp taking place Aug. 24 – Oct. 2 online at ArcadiaCA.gov/recreation.
Two more horses die after injuries at Santa Anita Park. Jockey Joe Bravo was hospitalized after a tumble on horse Decorated My Life. Decorated My Life and Merit Song are the names of the horses euthanized. Six animals in all have been euthanized this year at the racetrack where twelve died last year. Santa Anita Park officials have said they've made major improvements in horse safety after 2019, when forty-two horses died at the track.
Obituary/death notice. Arcadia leader Roger Chandler dies. Law enforcement professional (more than two decades in LA Sheriff's Department, Chief of Police for LA Housing Authority, created Hawaiian Gardens Police Department) and longtime resident served 24 years on Arcadia City Council.
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).
Santa Anita Park will stay closed; Derby to be rescheduled. Santa Anita Park will remain closed for live racing, at least through the upcoming weekend, as a result of last week's order by the Los Angeles County Health Department in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. More than 1700 horses are stabled at Santa Anita Park and are cared for by more than 750 people who live and work at the track. A track press release said, "We will continue to work with county officials and health authorities to familiarize them with the protocols already in place and our plans to protect the health and safety of the community who works with the horses and calls Santa Anita home."
Los Angeles County Arboretum selects new CEO, Michael Desplaines. He has more than two decades of experience in historic property development and restoration, public garden management, environmental education and fundraising. He begins in July. He previously served as president and CEO of the Norfolk Botanical Garden in Virginia. He replaces Richard Schulhof, who retired after 14 years as CEO.
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.
Medical hub marks rebirth, rebrand at USC Arcadia Hospital. In July the 119-year-old Methodist Hospital of Southern California officially became USC Arcadia Hospital. It's a new era for the 348-bed hospital on Huntington Drive. The "new hospital" will build on the history of Methodist, which operated in Arcadia for more than 50 years, and grow into a "one-stop."
Bobcat Fire, on its 9th day in the San Gabriel Mountains, continued to grow north of the San Gabriel Valley. It had charred 38,299 acres Monday with containment at 3%. The fire has crossed to west side of Santa Anita Canyon. On Sunday, residents in Arcadia and Sierra Madre who live north of Elkins Avenue and east of Santa Anita Avenue were ordered to evacuate. About 305 homes were in the evacuation zone. Most are in Arcadia and 32 are in Sierra Madre.
Stuck in the backstretch. At Santa Anita Park racetrack, coronavirus cuts off horse caretakers from the outside world More than 750 backstretch workers at Santa Anita Park now live and work in isolation to prevent the spread of COVID-19. They sleep in worn dormitories, sometimes in pairs, tucked among the barns. New restrictions bar visitors. There is a sense of anxiety in the community about the novel Coronavirus and the future of their jobs. No cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus have been reported at Santa Anita Park, which ceased racing last month, but there isn't any proactive testing either. The worries have to do with the track being shut down, or trainers moving to other states and these workers having nowhere to work or stay. If they lose their jobs, they lose their medical benefits and will be struggling.
Santa Anita Park workers rally, seeking return of horse racing. More than 50 backstretch workers at Santa Anita Park rallied outside Board of Supervisors offices in downtown Los Angeles to request county support for a proposal to resume live horse racing. They argue they are onsite daily already caring for horses stabled at the racetrack and there would be little additional risk to host racing without spectators.
Santa Anita Park cancels all weekend racing due to unprecedented winter weather forecast for Southern California. A storm is expected to drop 6 inches of rain through Saturday.
First phase of Le Meridien Hotel taking shape across from Santa Anita Park. Ground broke more than two years ago. The five-story building, on the site formerly occupied by the Santa Anita Inn (its address was 130 West Huntington Drive), was set to open first quarter of 2020, but it has been delayed. It will have a combination of Art Deco elements, inspired by nearby Santa Anita Park, with Modernist features. Architecture firm Architects Orange, interior design firm Linda Snyder Associates, and Snyder Langston is the construction team building the Le Meridien development that spans 6.5 acres.
Second horse dies in two days at Santa Anita Park racetrack. Barraza, a 4 year-old colt is the second horse to die in two days, after a sesamoid injury Saturday morning during a workout, requiring euthanasia. Four year-old filly named Pray for My Owner died the day before. A total of eight horses have died at Santa Anita Park this year.
Chinese company's Arcadia subsidiary to pay more than $1 million in Los Angeles City Hall bribery case. Jia Yuan USA Co., Inc. part of China-based Shenzhen Hazens, is a developer that bribed LA City officials to secure official acts to benefit their real estate projects.
Effort underway by Arcadia resident and environmentalist Cameron Stone to save historic Adams Pack Station after Bobcat Fire destroyed 15 of the 100-year-old cabins in Big Santa Anita Canyon above Arcadia.
Two horses die in the span of two days from training injuries at Santa Anita Park racetrack. They were named Cayton Kid and Magnolia. Track officials noted the number of fatalities dropped sharply from 2019, when 42 horses died. According to Santa Anita Park, 17 horses died at the track in 2020 and 12 died last year. The track's safety rate has improved by 43% compared to last year.
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.
Young women begin journey to becoming 2024 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Rose Queen. More than 30 hopefuls attend first day of Royal Court tryouts at the historic Tournament House on Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena. Former Rose Court members, including Sahanna Rajnikantha of Arcadia, share stories and answer questions from the 2024 Court hopefuls.