Maria C. Martinez, a former employee of a Rite-Aid store in Arcadia, was awarded $3.4 million by a jury, which found she was discriminated against because of a medical disability and for complaining that a company manager sexually harassed her.
Clean-up may cost millions in the aftermath of the windstorm that hit in the early hours of December 1. Power is still out in many communities, hundreds of homes damaged and thousands of trees have snapped.
Southern California Edison (SCE) works to restore power to crisis areas after a destructive 70 mph windstorm hit yesterday early morning, and caused power outages in Pasadena, San Gabriel, Alhambra, Arcadia, Altadena, Monrovia, El Monte, Sierra Madre, Temple City, and San Marino.
Arcadia officials urge residents to report wind damage from the overnight windstorm that hit on November 30 and December 1, to help with efforts to receive state and federal emergency assistance. Damages in the city may reach the millions of dollars. Residents are asked to report their storm-related costs to the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, 211a.org or by calling 211.
Southern California Edison (SCE) workers continued their round-the-clock efforts to restore the San Gabriel Valley's power grid following the extensive damage that occurred during early Thursday's windstorm. The hardest hit customer areas were Arcadia, Altadena, Covina, Duarte, El Monte, Montebello, Monrovia, Rosemead, San Gabriel and Temple City. About 135,000 SCE customers remained without electricity.
Leon San Blas had planned to bring a medical marijuana dispensary to the site of a former car wash at 4332 East Live Oak Avenue in unincorporated Arcadia, but the Los Angeles Regional Planning Commission unanimously rejected the use permit.
Make-a-Wish recipient Elizabeth Victoria, 12, of San Gabriel, hugs former recipient Jayne Philbin, 14 of Sierra Madre. Elizabeth's wish for a shopping spree was fulfilled yesterday in Arcadia as part of Macy's National Believe Day. Elizabeth suffers from renal disease.
Bob Wieland, Arcadia resident who lost his legs in Vietnam walked the entire Los Angeles Marathon on his hands finishing in 173 hours, 45 minutes in a weeklong journey.
Individual students and the Arcadia Educational Foundation (AEF) raised about $840,000 for the Arcadia Unified School District (AUSD) during its annual appeal last year, enabling the district to reinstate 12 teaching positions. Budget cuts from the state have created "serious challenges" for Arcadia schools over the past 4 years, said AUSD superintendent Joel Shawn.
Wind-swept cities slowly recover from a severe windstorm that blew through the San Gabriel Valley early Thursday morning. Arcadia was hit hard and "city crews and contracts are continuing to work hard to clean roadways," said Arcadia police Lieutenant Tom Leveque. Road closures that remained in effect in Arcadia on Friday morning included: westbound Colorado Street at Santa Anita Avenue; westbound Camino Real Avenue at El Monte Avenue; Longden Avenue between El Monte Avenue and Holly Avenue; Colorado Place between Colorado Boulevard and Huntington Drive; the 200 block of W. Leroy Street; the 1100 block of S. Fifth Avenue.
More high winds expected. Clean-up efforts remain ongoing across San Gabriel Valley. With Santa Ana winds expected to batter Southern California for several days this week, residents and work crews scrambled yesterday to clear downed trees, replace utility poles and restore power after the historic storm that hit Thursday, December 1, 2011. A small army of Southern California Edison (SCE) workers gathered in the Santa Anita Park race track parking lot--some waiting for orders, others moving the dozens of replacement transformers. SCE will need to bring power back to the 78,000 customers still without electricity as of yesterday afternoon.
With about a dozen Southern California cities, including Arcadia, potentially seeking new city managers this fall, some local officials are worried demand could drive up the salaries. Arcadia City Councilman Roger Chandler, whose city manager Don Penman is retiring in October, after 3 years as top administrator, said the opportunity to work for certain cities will outweigh the competitive market. He said this will not create a bidding war for city managers. Penman's annual salary is $214,032 plus $4000 in deferred compensation. He receives $14,076/year in medical benefits, 4 weeks vacation, 2 weeks management leave, and use of a car and BlackBerry.