Rose Queen Natalie Innocenzi, of Arcadia, and her 6 member Royal Court of princesses, one of whom is June Ko, of Arcadia, prepare for the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade, by first getting made up at Amadeus Salon at 1:30 AM on January 1.
Missing Arcadia man Julius ("Cotton") Tinsley, 81, was found dead down a ravine at a turnout on Highway 18, about 2 miles north of the Snow Valley Ski Area. Julius Tinsley trained race horses for 54 years before retiring in 2000.
Santa Anita Canyon Road, aka Chantry Flat Road, has been jointly owned by Arcadia, Sierra Madre, Monrovia, and Los Angeles County for years. The 3-mile mountain road that leads to the Angeles National Forest will be turned over to Los Angeles County if the cities pay to fix it up. Arcadia and Sierra Madre have completed their repairs and are waiting for Monrovia to start a roughly $500,000 project.
A drainage problem forced the cancellation of horse racing at Santa Anita Park since three inches of rain fell yesterday. The track has had to cancel racing 12 times since the synthetic track was installed two years ago. In 2006, the California Horse Racing Board banned dirt surfaces from thoroughbred tracks. Santa Anita Park has tried two synthetic tracks but the surfaces have not worked out. Officials announced they will replace the synthetic surface before the Oak Tree Meet in the fall.
Arcadia-born artist Quinton Bemiller is painting a mural to be displayed at The Armory Center for the Arts through March 21, 2010. This work was inspired by the natural environment of Hahamongna Watershed Park.
Three women were violently robbed in a span of a week in the 99 Ranch Market parking lot at 1300 S. Golden West Avenue. In two of the incidents, a passenger leaned out of a car to grab purses, and in the other incident, two men pushed a woman to the ground, kicked her in the face and stole her purse.
The City of Arcadia is using $646,000 in federal stimulus funds for repairs, repaving, re-striping and adding bicycle lanes on Santa Anita Avenue, north of Foothill Boulevard. The city has received $534,000 in stimulus money to retrofit City Hall with an energy-efficient heating and cooling system and $80,000 for equipment and training for its police department. Sometime in late spring, officials plan to widen intersections along Santa Anita Avenue, adding turn lanes or through lanes at Foothill Boulevard, Live Oak Avenue and Duarte Road.
Caltech graduate Tyler Johnson, who had been identified as a suspect in the firebombing and vandalism of more than 130 sport utility vehicles (SUVs) at automobile dealerships in the San Gabriel Valley in 2003, has died in an avalanche while hiking in the Corsian mountains in France on December 26, 2009. Johnson has been a fugitive for the past six years. Surveillance cameras captured Johnson and William ("Billy") Cottrell spray painting environmental slogans on the cars at Rusnak Mercedes Benz in Arcadia in 2003. Cottrell was convicted.
Arcadia ice skater Mirai Nagasu is going to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Friends and family send her off with a party at Arcadia Presbyterian Church. She will skate in the singles competition starting February 23, 2010.
Local Arcadia ice skater Mirai Nagasu, a 16-year-old who is home-schooled, is part of the United States ice skating team going to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics. She has no aspirations for a medal, but is fulfilling a dream by just going to compete. Two years ago, when Nagasu was a freshman at Arcadia High School, she won the 2008 U.S. title in St. Paul, MN.
Gayle Brewer, a 26 year-old Arcadia resident, runs a Pasadena-based business called Celia Caseta Inc. She provides professional makeup services. She plans to open locations in Arcadia and Northridge.
Three area schools will be heading to the state competition after earning high scores in this year's Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon. The Arcadia High School team is shown in a picture with its second place "Super Quiz" trophy.
Arcadia residents may vote again on street lighting fees. Under the new proposal, single family homes on arterial streets would pay about $17 a year, while those not on arterial streets would pay about $27 a year, making the assessments more fair. Voters in 2008 rejected a proposal to fund the lighting and now the city is considering another mail-in vote.
Last year it seemed Santa Anita Park might be sold in a bankruptcy auction, but it appears owner Frank Stronach will keep an interest in the track. Under a deal arranged by Stronach's bankrupt Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC) and its creditors in a Delaware bankruptcy court, ownership of the track would be transferred to MI Development, a real estate holding company controlled by Stronach. If a judge accepts the plan, Stronach would also retain ownership of Golden Gate Fields in the Bay Area, and Gulfstream Park in Florida. Also, it sets up developer Rick Caruso to proceed with building the Shops at Santa Anita mall that is proposed for the track's parking lot.
Six candidates are running for three seats on the Arcadia City Council. They are Bob Harbicht, Paul Cheng, Mickey Segal, Peter Amundson, Jason Lee, and Sho Tay. They each answer the questions, "What should be done to improve the city's fiscal situation?" and "How should the city handle the Caruso mall proposal at Santa Anita (Park)?" The election will be in April.
Arcadia local Mirai Nagasu is in sixth place after her performance Tuesday night in the short program for women's figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.