15-year-old Richard Ung was arrested at his parents' home in Arcadia, where sheriffs recovered nine guns, including an AK-47 assault rifle and an assault pistol. Ung is being investigated for alleged involvement in the stabbing death of Boo K. 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.
An 8-foot tall bronze tribute to Arcadia's official bird, the peacock, will be unveiled August 5, as part of the city's centennial celebration. The statue will be located in the fountain at Peacock Corner, in the front of Arcadia County Park, at the southwest corner of Huntington Drive and Santa Anita Avenue. The sculptor of the peacock is Dave Chapple and the sculpture cost $30,000.
Arcadia City Council appointed the following: Bob Hoherd to the Arcadia Beautiful Commission, Richard Cordano and Carmine Falabrino were reappointed. James Hanrahan was reappointed to the Human Resources Commission and John Fung to the library board. David Olsen will serve on the Planning Commission and on the relocations appeal board. Michael Cook and Randy Fowler were named to the Recreation Commission. Jim Lewis and Arlene Okamoto were reappointed to the Senior Citizen Commission, as were Carol Curtis, Harlene Hamann and Dick Milefchik.
The Arcadia City Council has adopted an ordinance with rules for using Bonita Park's Skateboard Park. The city will follow state requirements that skateboarders must wear a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads. Hours are 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. Alcohol, drugs, and smoking are forbidden, as are graffiti and reckless skating.
Arcadia High School to celebrate its 50th anniversary. See related stories Arcadia Weekly, p. 25 on September 27, 2001 and Arcadia Weekly, p. 8 on September 20, 2001.
Arcadia police shot a mountain lion, or cougar, at 8 PM in the backyard of a home in the 2200 block of Canyon Road. The mountain lion had just mauled a dog to death and was charging at police when police shot the cat with an assault weapon.
Arcadia stockbroker Richard Robert Russo was found guilty of first-degree murder for killing his wife Carmen one year ago. He faces 50 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Arcadia Weekly columnists:Jake Armstrong writes general news, p. 1; Patrick Basham provide commentary, p. 3; Charles Cooper reports on Arcadia news, p. 1, 18; John LaRocca reports on real estate, p. 20; Bill Lee reports on real estate, p. 20; Eph Konigsberg reports on fruits, p. 24; Julia MacKenzie-Miller and Terry Miller write restaurant reviews, p. 8; and Luis Romero writes general news, p. 1.
Billy Cottrell, a Cal Tech graduate student who took part in a fire bombing spree that caused millions of dollars in damage to SUV dealerships in the San Gabriel Valley, was sentenced to more than 8 years in prison. See inset for chronology of ecoterror events.
Bradbury resident Richard Dootson, founder of the Arcadia-based Dootson School of Trucking, died from a heart attack and brain hemorrhage on Tuesday, May 24, 2005. He was 79 and famous for his wacky television commercials.
British food giant Tesco is going to open Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Markets in West Covina and Arcadia on November 8, 2007. Fresh and Easy stores are relatively small and lean heavily on fresh food offerings, including prepared meals and sushi.
Burglars stole computers, cash, and Viagra from a medical building at 612 Duarte Road on the night that Arcadia Police were occupied at the stand-off at Richard and Carmen Russo's house that ended in Carmen Russo's death.
Charles Cooper continues his Arcadia city centennial series "Memories of Arcadia" with a story about Arcadia's mayors. A. N. Multer was the first person to be given the title of mayor of Arcadia. City founder Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin was the city's first presiding officer, but he held the title of president of the Board of Trustees. The title of mayor was not adopted until 1927, when the Board of Trustees changed to the City Council. Arcadia will have 4 mayors this year to mark the city's centennial. Each city council member will rotate into the position. More interesting facts: Floretta Lauber was the first woman to serve as mayor. She paved the way for Mary Young, Barbara Kuhn, and Gail Marshall to follow. Other history of mayors is recapped. The first city manager was William J. Richards in 1951, when a charter was adopted. The longest serving city official was City Clerk Christine Van Mannen, who held the job for 32 years. See hard copy in VF Arcadia (City) History.
A chart shows school enrollment numbers from 1998 to 2004. More than 40 percent of the public school districts in California are experiencing declining enrollment. Experts say it is due to a decline in the birth rate and families' migration patterns.