Some members of Arcadia Christian Academy's boys basketball team acted as heroes after a 65 year-old woman lost control of her Mercedes and ran it through a group of children and adults in Eagle Rock, where the team attended a game. The boys ran to the scene and helped lift the car off two children and an adult. There were no fatalities.
Gracie Gao, 57, and Steve Wang, 58, were arrested on suspicion of operating a house of prostitution on the 200 block of West Palm Avenue in Arcadia. Gao and Wang were booked on a misdemeanor charge and later released on $500 bail. The arrests at the well-kept ranch-style house surprised neighbors.
New Arcadia police station opens to the public on Friday, October 3, 2003 at 4:30 PM. It is a state-of-the-art facility that is now bigger and better equipped than the old station that has since been demolished. It waas built using an $8 million bond measure in addition to $8 million that had alerady been allocated from the city general fund and city redevelopment funds.
The first Lucky Baldwin Day community picnic takes place October 28, 11:30-3:30 at Arcadia County Park. Activities will include pumpkin carving, three-legged race, water balloon toss, spelling bee, magic show, live music, penny carnival, relay races, inflatable rides, and more.
Westfield Group expects to complete its second expansion project at Westfield Shoppingtown Santa Anita in three years -- an $85 million, 185,000 square feet wing that would convert the mall into a cross between a traditional indoor mall and an outdoor shopping center.
Dave and Buster's is due to open in October at the Westfield Shoppingtown Santa Anita. It will include arcade-style games and a restaurant, estimated at cost of $10 million.
City Manager Bill Kelly outlined a $16 million program to finish all public building projects for Arcadia in three years, as part of the city's five-year capital budget. The spending would include a new $6.5 million City Hall, a $1.3 million upgrade to Fire Station 106 on Baldwin Avenue. The city plans to build a new fire station to replace Fire Station 105 on Santa Anita Avenue. A city gym for the civic center property is in planning stages. The city plans to re-roof the community center for $150,000 and to put up 1/2 of the $800,000 cost to make the high school sports field an all-weather facility.
Arcadia police station will have a grand opening on October 3, 2003 at 4:30 PM. The building cost $16 million. Picture of the demolition of the old police station.
Arcadia City Council has approved a new contract with the Pasadena Humane Society (PHS) to provide animal services to Arcadia. The contract is for $69,838, a 3% increase over the current year's agreement. The city has contracted with PHS since 1994. PHS handles dog licensing, answers calls for service and offers low-cost spay and neuter clinics. Other items were approved, including a contract with Engineered Plumbing Inc. for water mains and valves, the purchase of Mobile Data Terminals for the Arcadia Fire Department from Nida Companies, and massage therapist permits.
Virginia Brown recalls memories of early Arcadia having chicken farms everywhere. She has lived in Arcadia since her birth in 1917. Her father Scott Lee came to Arcadia in 1907 to dig water wells. Lee was a graduate of Throop Institute, which became California Institute of Technology. Her mother was Delia Chandler. Virginia Brown talks about where her family lived and her family's friendship with Anita Baldwin. The article includes a photo of Virginia Brown and her parents.
Wallace Wells was sentenced to 6 years for vehicle manslaughter. Arcadia residents Kevin Bruggeman and Melissa Dicke were killed when Wells ran a stop sign and hit their car.
Disabled Therese Coppi will ride a special adaptive handcycle in a 350-mile trek from Big Bear to Mammoth in October in fundraising event for the U. S. Adaptive Recreation Center.
The Apache Pit, a new after-school teen center in the heart of the Arcadia High School campus, is funded and operated by the school district and Arcadia's Youth Services Coordinating Council. The project opened in mid-October.
California home sales are growing as values fall. A chart of October's median home prices gives a picture of the local real estate landscape. Arcadia's median home price in October, 2008 was $697,500, down 12.1% from the median price of $793,500 in October, 2007.
The City Council has created three new lighting assessment zones to replace lighting districts established in the 1970s. Residents will be sent mail-in ballots later this year to decide whether or not to approve changes to fees for street lighting. Lighting costs about $1.15 million a year.