Oak Tree Racing leaves Santa Anita Park after 41 years and races at Hollywood Park for its 42nd season, starting today. It is a 22-day season that consists of four 4-day race weeks. Oak Tree's lease at Santa Anita Park was voided by MI Developments.
Pat Diroll recaps opening day of Santa Anita Park's 74th season as a social event. In attendance (and photographed) were actress Bo Derek, jockey Rafael Bejarano, Gary and Barbara Kovacic, Robert and Patsy Harbicht, trainer Bob Baffert, Joe Harper, Adrienne Haines, Roger Chandler, Don and Debbie Penman, Andrea Van de Kamp, and Sandra Chillingworth.
All four "tree-sitters" arrested while protesting the destruction of an 11-acre oak woodland in Arcadia appeared in Alhambra Superior Court and pleaded not guilty to one count each of trespassing and obstruction a police officer. They are John Quigley, 50, of Glendale, Julia Jaye Posin, 23 of Venice Beach, Travis Jochimsen, 28, of Lancaster and Andrea Bowers, 45 of Los Angeles. They rejected an offer of community service and payment of restitution from the District Attorney's office. The four will appear in court again April 22 for a pre-trial hearing.
Birth-tourism sites not easily detected.Terry Moore-Corse, a code enforcement officer in Arcadia has encountered three maternity homes in the past six years, most recently in 2009, when a resident reported "a lot of pregnant women" coming out of a house. Beyond building code and business license violations, there is nothing illegal about coming into this country to give birth, according to the U.S. State Department, which issues visas. Maternity tourism is a money-making cottage industry in which wealthy women from Asia pay anywhere from $25,000-35,000 to have American-born infants.
An ancient Chinese maternity tradition, from the Sung Dynasty (960-1275 AD), known as "Zuo Yue Zi," is translated as "doing the month."It refers to the care of a Chinese woman during the first month after giving birth. The practice is explained here by Wei-Chen Tung, a former registered nurse at Arcadia Methodist Hospital and now an assistant professor of nursing at University of Nevada, Reno. The practice requires new mothers to follow a strict diet and rest for 3-4 weeks following a pregnancy. Tung says a lot of Chinese women still practice this, so hospitals should be aware of this part of Chinese culture. Maternity tourists--women who want to come to the United States to give birth to a full-fledged American citizen, have given rise to businesses that cater to them, such as the maternity home that was shut down in the 1300 block of South Palm Avenue in San Gabriel on March 8. It had been 5 townhomes illegally converted into a maternity home.
Santa Anita Park opens today. It kicks off its 75th winter/spring meeting with its first post at noon. The 79-day race meeting continues through April 22.
Santa Anita Park race track draws 44,000 plus fans on this season's opening day December 26. Hero John Shear (photo) returns to track duties as paddock guard after saving a child's life last spring. Jockey Mike Smith rides Mr. Bossy Pants to win the 7th race (photo).
Arcadia High School will present "Oklahoma" the musical, on March 22-24, and March 29-31. It stars Shirish Sarkar, Paul Nestor, Ariana Rayoza, Alex Garcia (photos).
Breeders' Cup World Championships take place this weekend at Santa Anita Park, with a lot of celebrity support from Tim Conway, Jr., Tim Conway, Sr., Mel Brooks, Dick Van Patten, Bobby Flay, Dustin Hoffman, Bo Derek, Kurt Russell, Jim Rome, and more.
Arcadia city officials are cracking down on "maternity tourism" boarding houses by dedicating a full-time police detective to investigate the issue. Maternity or birth tourism is a phenomenon in which women, often from China, pay a handsome fee to have their babies in the United States, so the children can be citizens. While that is not illegal, at least five establishments have been shut down for violations, such as unlawfully operating boarding house businesses in residential zones.