Creative Housing Options in Arcadia (CHOA). Local efforts to address the lack of affordable housing and homelessness. On Saturday, April 20, 2024, a group of about 30 community members met at The Hills Church in Arcadia for a 2-hour "Sharing Session" to learn about what is being done in the city to address these issues. Safe Parking Programs were discussed. Arcadia City Council member Eileen L. Wang and Arcadia Mayor April Verlato attended.
Longtime Arcadia City Clerk Gene Glasco retires. Glasco has served 12 years as its elected City Clerk. In 2022, Arcadia voters approved an update to the City Charter that eliminated the position of the elected City Clerk. With Glasco's retirement, the City Manager will appoint a City Clerk. Most of the traditional City Clerk duties are currently performed by professional staff in the City Manager's Office, ensuring uninterrupted service to the public. Photo of Glasco with Arcadia City Council. See press release dated April 18, 2024 in VF for full-text.
David Wei Lin, father of slain teens William Lin and Anthony Lin, testifies emotionally at brother-in-law Deyun Shi's murder trial. Anthony and William were beaten to death by a bolt cutter in their Arcadia home in the 400 block of Fairview Avenue in Arcadia. Deyun Shi is the uncle of the two boys and stands trial for their murders and for injuring his wife Amy Lin with a maul.
Tough task for no. 15 for Rio Hondo Prep's Kares football team. Rio Hondo Prep has 66 boys on its campus in Arcadia. Top-seeded Rio Hond Prep (12-2) will travel to take on no. 3 seed Santa Monica (9-4) on Friday in the CIF Southern Section Divion 9 championship. Pictures of the Kares players at a luncheon.
Arcadia police wound woman, 21, advancing toward officer while wielding knife. This occurred Saturday, August 12 at 9:09 P.M. on the 50 block of California Street.
Readers share hobbies started during the COVID-19 Pandemic and after, with columnist David Allen. Annick Downhower got hooked on streaming horse racing and reading blogs. She has returned to watching in-person racing at Santa Anita Park and continues to stream races on Fan Duel.
Rod's Grill, Arcadia's beloved classic diner, announces its closure after nearly 70 years. Closing date will be Sunday, February 12, 2023. It is located at 41 West Huntington Drive, along Historic Route 66. The diner began as a small chain of restaurants in 1946, with the Arcadia location opening in 1957.
Monterey Park shooting aftermath. Lunar New Year is typically a festive and family affair, but was marred by a mass shooting in Monterey Park, which killed 10 at a dance hall. David Lee, co-president of Arcadia Chinese Association, said Lunar New Year is supposed to be "a happy time for family reunions because Chinese tradition and culture is very family-oriented."
Cities fighting a sports betting ballot initiative. A coalition claims the state measure, from Pechanga Resort Casino, referred to as the Tribal Sports Wagering Act, would fuel excessive litigation against card rooms, potentially shutting them down, effectively killing 32,000 jobs. It would allow sports wagering at tribal casinos and at four California racetracks-Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Del Mar in San Diego, and Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley.
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.
Arcadia Unified School District's Profiles in Excellence returns as an in-person ceremony after a 2-year halt due to the pandemic. Profiles in Excellence recognizes 12 certificated staff and 12 classified staff. The recipients reflect the district's tagline--Imagine, Inspire and Inquire--and go above and beyond in helping the students, teachers, families and the entire district. Photo of the recipients.
Los Angeles County will lift mask rule on K-12 schools and child care sites. Set for March 12, change coincides with state's, in response to falling coronavirus numbers.
Anita Baldwin statue to be unveiled at Le Méridien Hotel in Arcadia
The Anita May Baldwin statue at the Le Méridien Hotel will be unveiled on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021 at 11 a.m. Anita is the daughter of city founder, Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin. The statue will be featured on the opposite end of the Huntington Drive islands’ hotel property.
“We are very excited to be bringing Anita back to Arcadia,” said Mayor Sho Tay in a statement released by the city. “I would like to thank the Shen, Liu and Chen Families, Jeff Lee, the Dextra Baldwin McGonagle Foundation, Heather D. Gibson and Margaux L. Gibson, and the Arcadia Historical Society, for their generous donations.”
“On behalf of the Baldwin family, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Arcadia City Council, the Arcadia Historical Society, the Le Méridien Hotel and all those who have supported this effort to pay homage to my great-great grandmother, Anita May Baldwin,” said Margaux Gibson. “This magnificent statue of Anita will showcase a strong woman who was ahead of her time. I am proud to call Anita May Baldwin my great-great grandmother, and I am truly proud to be a part of this historic project.”
The Anita statue was sculpted by local artist and southern California native Alfred Paredes — who created the Lucky Baldwin statue on the corner of Huntington Drive and Holly Avenue — and is aptly named, “A Legacy of Charity” in honor of Anita’s contributions to life in early Arcadia and throughout California.
Businesses rejoice as Coronavirus restrictions are relaxed. On Friday, California met the vaccine equity goal that allowed public health jurisdictions in Los Angeles County, including Pasadena, to move into the less restrictive red tier of the state’s reopening roadmap on Monday. As Los Angeles County geared up for some semblance of familiarity after an extraordinary 12 months of lockdown, the defining red tier reached is a delineating moment for better days ahead. The staggering loss of life, political turmoil and concerns of becoming another statistic weigh heavily on the minds of Southern Californians as we enter into the next phase of reopening businesses which we used to take for granted. As of Monday, indoor dining, movie theatres and other businesses were allowed to reopen with limited capacity — restaurants at 25% for example.
Arcadia donor receives 12 years. Accused influence peddler Imaad Zuberi also must pay $18M in lobbying, tax and campaign finance case. His crimes include unregistered lobbying for foreign governments, said prosecutors.
10 People in L.A. County test positive for COVID-19 every minute. Every minute, on average, 10 people in L.A. County test positive for COVID -19, and these 15,000 individuals who test positive each day were capable of infecting others for two days before they had any symptoms or knew they were positive, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said Monday. At least 10-12% of people infected with the virus end up hospitalized at some point, and more than 1% of people diagnosed with COVID-19 end up dying.
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.
Local school districts just say 'no' to physical school reopenings.
Last week, the L.A. County Department of Public Health and the L.A. County Office of Education (LACOE) issued new guidelines and protocols for opening K-12 schools in the new academic year. Public Health stated that, given current health data, we must all prepare to remain in a remote learning environment in the new school year.
In response to the feedback from a survey, Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) will offer a 100% online option in the core curriculum for K-12 students during the upcoming school year. “This online option will vary from the emergency remote learning model that was temporarily in place for Spring 2020 and have increased live interaction as a foundational feature,” PUSD officials said.
“We cannot and will not take chances with the health and safety of our students and staff. Pasadena Unified will open in a 100% distance learning model on Aug. 17,” Superintendent Brian McDonald said.
The Arcadia Unified School District has been planning multiple contingencies for their reopening plan that will allow the district to flex and adjust plans as guided by Public Health and LACOE.
On Thursday, Arcadia Unified School District announced it will be utilizing distance learning to start the year. Their full update is on the district’s Facebook page and website.