John Shear is gone but never forgotten at Santa Anita Park. Retired Paddock Captain John Shear died Tuesday at a rehabilitation facility in Arcadia. He was 102 years old.
Obituary/death notice. Victor Vener, Cal Phil and Pasadena Pops founder, dies at 78. Vener brought outdoor concerts to the Santa Anita Park Race Track, The Arboretum, Descanso Gardens, Rose Bowl, and others.
Arcadia Mayor Peter Amundson defends his speaker of choice at next month's Mayor's Community Breakfast. He has invited H. B. London, of Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group that opposes same-sex marriage. Residents and activists upset about this choice are organizing two counterevents of their own. Activists are planning a "peaceful" demonstration March 4 outside Arcadia Community Center and a bar-b-que at Pasadena's Unitarian Church for all families. Focus on the Family was founded in Arcadia by Dr. James C. Dobson and believes marriage is meant to be between a man and a woman. Amundson said the event is not about sexuality but about the Arcadia family.
Track, music world revered Jerry Moss. Jerry Moss, co-founder of A & M Records in 1962, was known as a big horse racing fan and owner of the great mare Zenyatta, the only female to win Breeders' Cup Classic in 2009 at Santa Anita Park. He was also a member of the California Horse Racing Board. He was 88 when he died on August 16 in his Bel Air home.