The 75th anniversary of Santa Anita Park was celebrated with festivities including a parade of Budweiser Clydesdales and the unveiling of sculptor Nina Kaiser's life-size bronze statue of the race horse John Henry. The article includes a list of people in attendance at the party in the Directors' Room.
Art Wilson writes about some of the famous names in Santa Anita Park's 75 year history, including Charlie Whittingham, Bill Shoemaker, Laffit Pincay, Jr., Seabiscuit, Citation and John Henry.
Santa Anita Park race track will unveil a 1000-pound bronze statue of popular race horse John Henry and a historical marker covering 75 years of the race track's history, as part of its 75th anniversary this Saturday. The bronze statue cost more than $100,000. The marker was done by the Arcadia Historical Society.
Natalie Innocenzi, 17, of Arcadia, and student at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, was crowned the 92nd Rose Queen, by 17-year-old Dominic DiSano, son of the late Gary DiSano, the recently deceased President of the Tournament of Roses.
Omar Francisco Garcia, 24, of Arcadia, was fatally shot by two West Covina police officers on November 17, after he allegedly attacked officers with their own baton. He has a history of fighting with police.
Pasadena Fire Department officials spent more than $320,000 to purchase breathing apparatus from distributor L.N. Curtis and Sons, which is at the center of a lawsuit filed by rival equipment company, Arcadia-based Allstar Fire Equipment against the city and county of Los Angeles. 57 self contained breathing apparatus remain unused at Pasadena Fire Station 34 pending a judge's ruling next month.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant has voided a $30 million contract that Los Angeles County awarded to L.N. Curtis and Sons for fire equipment. Arcadia-based Allstar Fire Equipment sued the city and county of Los Angeles, claiming the selection process used to award the contract was improperly handled and the judge agreed. The actual funding for the contract came from the federal Department of Homeland Security. The judge's orders require the county to either restart the bidding process or re-evaluate all the bids properly.
17-year-old Arcadia High School student Courtney Chou Lee has been named the 91st Rose Queen. Six other young ladies are princesses including another AHS student, Lauren Valenzuela. The Rose Queen and her royal court will reign over the 120th Rose Parade and the 95th Rose Bowl. Article contains some quotes from Courtney Lee's parents, Andrew Lee and Ulanda Lee.
A $30 million plan to provide standardized breathing equipment for every fire department in Los Angeles County has been suspended after a lawsuit alleged the contract process was mishandled and firefighters complained about the quality of the equipment. Arcadia-based Allstar Fire Equipment is suing the city and county of Los Angeles, contending the contract process was improperly handled in a manner that ignored firefighter input and unfairly favored the winning bidder, L.N. Curtis and sons.
The death of retired Pasadena police lieutenant David Henry Richter, 55, of Arcadia, was thought to be a suicide. But now detectives are investigating it as a possible homicide.
The expansion of Rusnak Mercedes-Benz, Arcadia's largest sales tax generator, still faces hurdles. The Church of Arcadia has agreed to move from 21 Morlan Place, but it has encountered delays with the county's plan checks. The City of Arcadia still needs to acquire Rod's Grill at 41 W. Huntington Drive, but proprietor Manny Romero has not accepted any of the city's numerous offers. Tom Valasek, director of marketing at Rusnak Auto Group says the dealership will have to move if the city cannot deliver the land for the expansion plan.
The decomposed body of a missing Pasadena police lieutenant named David Henry Richter, 55, of Arcadia, was found under an overpass where the 605 freeway crosses Rivergrade Road. The cause of death has not been determined but it may have been suicide.
Officials confirmed that a body found beneath a freeway overpass is David Henry Richter, a retired Pasadena police lieutenant missing since last year. He was 55 and an Arcadia resident. The official cause of death is pending.
Dusty Gibbs, 17, a senior at Arcadia High School, has been named the 90th Tournament of Roses Queen. Photographs of Gibbs, princesses Gaelen Stanford-Moore and Katie Merrill are included.
William Chan and Scott Chen are co-owners of the Arcadia Badminton Club, a new 17-court badminton club on Lower Azusa Road. It is the largest badminton club in the United States.
Jonathan Robert Poyner, a former volunteer coach at Rio Hondo Preparatory School in Arcadia, will serve 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to molesting 10 middle school boys.