Actor and activist George Takei, 75, famous for his portrayal of Sulu on television series Star Trek, will talk about gay rights and a childhood spent in internment camps at Santa Anita Park (assembly center), Tule Lake and Rohwer, Arkansas, during World War II. He will be speaking at Cal Poly Pomona on Tuesday.
Ed Inouye of West Covina, whose family was sent to the internment camp at Santa Anita Park during World War II, died on February 19th. He was instrumental in getting the government to pay reparations to some of the imprisoned families.
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to support legislation establishing February 19 as "Remembrance Day" for those Japanese who were sent to internment camps during World War II. Locally, an internment camp was set up at Santa Anita Park.
International businessman and horse owner Frank Stronach confirmed Tuesday that he and Meditrust, the parent company of Santa Anita Park, have signed a letter of intent under which he will buy the race track.
Drive-in movie fundraiser, a tribute to former addict and prison inmage, actor Danny Trejo, to help drug treatment organization CRI-Help. Features Universal Studio's award-winning documentary "Inmate #1: the rise of Danny Trejo" on a 50-foot screen at Santa Anita Park on May 14. The film chronicles Trejo's journey from addiction to Hollywood stardom. He will appear and his restaurant Trejo's Tacos will cater the event.
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.
Concerns about a proposed entertainment complex next to Santa Anita Park race track have been expressed by representatives of three stores in the Santa Anita Fashion Park.
Cal Poly Pomona hosted the 20th annual Science Olympiad for the Southern California region. Six San Gabriel Valley schools were among the 48 schools that participated. Arcadia High School student Alanna Mori competed.
Bill Dance Casting will hold auditions for extras in Universal Pictures' "Seabiscuit" movie. Racing scenes will be filmed at Santa Anita Park and Pomona's Fairplex.
In a major retreat from its campaign to develop land south of the Santa Anita Park race track, Santa Anita Realty Enterprises has withdrawn its application to build a $300 million entertainment complex.
Cal Poly Pomona student Melissa Cripe, 20, will work with junior high students to solve personal problems without resorting to violence as part of the AmeriCorps program, a $360 million national program launched by President Clinton to act as a domestic version of the Peace Corps.
Santa Anita Park's new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Verge, 44, a horse owner and entrepreneur, has big plans for the race track. He wants to expand its fan base, partly by reaching out to the local Asian community and to locals who grew up attending the track during the sport's heyday. While Santa Anita Park President George Haines is still running day-to-day operations, Verge will focus on bringing in more people, including celebrities, like actor Vince Vaughn.