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.
The Wilderness Park, now to be known as the Arcadia Wilderness Preserve, will be open to the general public on weekdays and to non-profit organizations and small groups that have reservations on weekends.
A plan to convert the 87 acre Rodeffer Quarry pit in Arcadia into an inert materials landfill has stirred debate among nearby residents and water district officials.
This past week, Arcadia officials said Rodeffer Industries will resume its plans to convert an 85-acre quarry pit into a landfill. The plan is opposed by El Monte residents.
The Arcadia City Council voted to request an analysis of the initiative petition submitted by the citizens group Neighbors for Arcadia. The measure would keep the Santa Anita Park race track property zoned for horse racing unless Arcadia residents voted for a change.
The City Council is split over who should serve as its liaisons to Santa Anita Park, as new owner Frank Stronach prepares a blue print for a massive development at the race track.
In a 5-0 decision, City Council gave Santa Anita Park the land-use designation it needs to develop movie theaters, restaurants and retail stores on its property.
The City Council approved a proposal Tuesday that would place a voluntary cap on the amount candidates spend in the April municipal election. The limit will be 50 cents per resident.
A bill approved by the state Assembly with a 41-21 vote would require the state Integrated Waste Management Board to take into account how the proposed Rodeffer landfill would affect El Monte residents before the board issues permits for the project. It now goes to the state Senate for a vote.
A new exhibit at the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum is about the Santa Anita Assembly Center, a temporary facility at Santa Anita Park that held Japanese Americans before they were sent to more permanent internment camps during World War II. The opening reception will feature speakers Osamu Miyamoto, Akkiko Nomura and others. Dana Dunn is the curator.
The Arcadia City Council voted 4-0 in favor of the state-required plan submitted by Fountain Valley-based Rodeffer Investments that would create a landfill in an 85-acre gravel pit on the border between Arcadia and El Monte.
The State Supreme Court ended a three-year battle between El Monte and Arcadia, dismissing a lawsuit filed against Arcadia for approving a proposed landfill along El Monte's border. Rodeffer Industries, Inc. must still get approval from several state and regional agencies before proceeding.
Promoters expect 20,000 people a day to attend Festival Santa Anita, a Labor Day weekend event featuring Latin music, food, and arts and crafts. This will be the first major event at Santa Anita Park since the City Council decided in July to allow its use as a concert venue.
The City Council has temporarily closed Wilderness Park on weekends (at least until September 7) because of overcrowding. About 200-300 visitors use the park each weekend, although it has a capacity for 100 people and 50 parking spaces.
El Monte City Council members voted to take out newspaper advertisements and send hundreds of mailers to Arcadia residents in an effort to foster opposition to the controversial Rodeffer Quarry Landfill Project, a project that El Monte has opposed since the 1960's.
Plaza de las Fiestas, a new multipurpose arena in the northwest quadrant of the infield at the Santa Anita Park, has been created to accommodate Family Faire weekend outings for groups of 25 or more, as well as company picnics, concerts, trade shows, equine shows and other special occasions that can share the day with racing.