Arcadia ranks at the top among US cities with the highest-paid employees, yet charges its residents less for municipal services and receives less aid than most California cities of similar size. No other US city outside California with a population between 10,000 and 50,000 pays its employees more; the average city employee earns $32,767 per year.
Dajin Tang, 52, employee of Arcadia-based Millennium Trucking Company filed a negligence lawsuit against his employer and his supervisor Xu Chen. Tang was involved in a crash near Rockwood, Tennessee. The suit alleges his employer forced him to wait a week to get medical care, after he was seriously hurt.
Television show “Trading Spaces” transforms teachers’ lounges at First Avenue Middle School and Holly Avenue Elementary School. Shown in photo “Trading Spaces” host Paige Davis and Arcadia Unified School District educators Karalee Nakatsuka, Megan Forbes, Regina Ringo and Teresa Oakland. The show airs on the TLC network.
Maria C. Martinez, a former employee of a Rite-Aid store in Arcadia, was awarded $3.4 million by a jury, which found she was discriminated against because of a medical disability and for complaining that a company manager sexually harassed her.
TV's Mario Lopez to host Lucky Baldwin Poker Tournament on June 10. It is a fundraiser to preserve the 1880s architecture of Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin's home at the site of Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.
Pension reform is happening with Arcadia city employees. Arcadia City Council approved an ordinance last week whereby police officers and firefighters hired by the city are now required to pay their full employee share, or 9 percent, of their pension costs--an amount previously covered by the city. In addition, tentative agreements are in place with 4 out of 5 employee unions, to have members pay their full share by the next 3 years. Annual increases in employee costs during that period would be offset by equivalent annual raises. Other San Gabriel cities may follow suit.
Two Arcadia High School teams go to Tennessee for Global Destination Imagination for National STEAM Challenge. STEAM is Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math.
City employees press council for stepped up salary talks. Representatives of the three employee groups told council that negotiations have bogged down.
The Arcadia City Council has approved a $46 million budget for fiscal year 2009-2010. The city made deep budget cuts across the board, including freezing positions and cutting employee travel. The budget includes roughly $2 million in cuts and concessions from all four city employees' unions, and projects about $45.1 million in estimated total revenues, $45.7 million in proposed expenditures, and $270,000 in employee compensation and benefit deferrals.
City Council approved a 12% pay increase for City Clerk June Alford. The raise comes just as city voters are considering changing the city clerk's office from an elected one to an employee position.
Arcadia issues $10,000 in fines since June to homeowners who have not been helping the city reach its water conservation rate of 36% amid California's worst drought on record, and installs flow restrictors on homes.
Maria McCann was named 1988 Queen of the Arcadia Tournament of Roses Association Royal Court. Princesses on the Royal Court are Lyn Bowen, Lisa Guiffrida, Jill Johnson, Jennifer "Gigi" Yount.