Massage therapists will have to pay a $265 fee to be licensed in Arcadia under a new city ordinance. A background check will be done on applicants and they will be fingerprinted.
The Arcadia City Council will decide on an ordinance to regulate massage therapy. Provisions will regulate massage therapists, practitioners or technicians, and require them to have identification cards from the police and a business license. The ordinance contains other restrictions.
Arcadia City Council adjusts an ordinance pertaining to massage therapists. The ordinance originally required 500 hours of training for a massage therapist to have a license in the city. The council decided to let currently employed therapists substitute on the job hours for any shortage in training under 500 hours. The Council also dropped a requirement for windows in rooms where therapy is provided and decided therapists will not be required to wear white. The therapist will be required to have an identification card in his/her possession but will not be required to display it.
Arcadia City Council members voted to place a 45-day moratorium on all new license applications for businesses that supply massages as a secondary service such as spas, acupuncturists and chiropractors. Arcadia will also stop issuing new licenses to massage therapists. Arcadia is overwhelmed by the surge in license applications and concerned about the possibility of prostitution. The ban could be extended for up to one year.
City officials have extended a moratorium on issuing massage therapy business licenses by another 10 1/2 months. Believing that such businesses are often a front for prostitution, officials first enacted a 45-day ban on October 21 on all new license applications for businesses that supply massages as a secondary service. The extension would give authorities time to study the issue more.
A state law scheduled to take effect in September is expected to set standards in the massage industry. Arcadia City Manager Don Penman commented that the new law may not stop people who want to commit a crime and do illegal acts. In the last few months of 2008, Arcadia shut down seven massage busineses for illegal activities.
State officials have shut down 5 Arcadia massage parlors and fined one business $1.83 million for alleged labor code violations. Inspectors discovered that employees were not being paid hourly wages but got paid every time a massage was given. New Life Acupuncture at 610 E. Live Oak was fined $1.83 million for allegedly violating laws requiring employers to provide pay stubs and workers' compensation insurance. The four other locations fined were Ocean Health Center, C.H. Health Center, Arcadia Spa, and Best Health Center. The fines and closures continued a crackdown on massage-related businesses in Arcadia.
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.
New regulations require that Arcadia, among other cities in the Los Angeles River basin, reduce the amount of trash put into the system to "zero tolerance" in twelve years. Arcadia has joined other cities in the Coalition for Practical Regulation to appeal the order.
City staff projects a $3.5 million deficit in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, due in large part to rising retirement costs. City Manager Bill Kelly told City Council that even with the Caruso mall, expansion at Westfield Shoppingtown and at Rusnak auto dealership, the city still faces a budget shortfall in about 5 years. He suggested a library assessment district as a potential revenue source.
Local business owners tell Assemblywoman Carol Liu that Temple City needs more affordable housing. The article includes a photograph of Christine Hernandez, Arcadia resident and owner of CKW uniforms.
Westfield Group is funding a new "grass roots" coalition to oppose the Santa Anita Park race track mall development by Caruso Affiliated. The coalition is called Arcadia First! but includes Westfield representatives, Westfield tenants and downtown businesses, and not only citizens, as the membership in a grass roots organization might suggest.
Arcadia City Council approved the first of a projected series of ten annual 5% increases in the city water rate. Sewer and trash rates will also increase.
City Council was briefed on Arcadia's redevelopment efforts which includes the construction of a new police station, creation of affordable housing and improvements to the city's business districts.
Arcadia City Council has approved $55,000 to the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce for services such as providing information on the city to brokers, real estate agents, merchants, business people, new residents, and the general public. The Chamber prepares a monthly community calendar, a business hotline, a newsletter, an annual Civic Directory, a bi-annual map and a business directory. The city also lets the Chamber use the building they're in for no charge.
South Pasadena and Arcadia Edison customers lost power as a result of winds of up to 45 mph at times. Some households regained power but some Arcadia customers remain without power.