Rose Queen Natalie Innocenzi, of Arcadia, and her 6 member Royal Court of princesses, one of whom is June Ko, of Arcadia, prepare for the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade, by first getting made up at Amadeus Salon at 1:30 AM on January 1.
Local Arcadia ice skater Mirai Nagasu, a 16-year-old who is home-schooled, is part of the United States ice skating team going to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics. She has no aspirations for a medal, but is fulfilling a dream by just going to compete. Two years ago, when Nagasu was a freshman at Arcadia High School, she won the 2008 U.S. title in St. Paul, MN.
Gayle Brewer, a 26 year-old Arcadia resident, runs a Pasadena-based business called Celia Caseta Inc. She provides professional makeup services. She plans to open locations in Arcadia and Northridge.
Three area schools will be heading to the state competition after earning high scores in this year's Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon. The Arcadia High School team is shown in a picture with its second place "Super Quiz" trophy.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has voted to fully fund the $690 million Gold Line Foothill Extension, from Pasadena to Azusa, and to complete it by 2014, with money from Measure R. Measure R was approved by voters in the November 2008 election. It created a half-cent county sales tax intended for transportation projects. The MTA has the funding for the first phase of the Gold Line light rail to Azusa. The first phase is an 11-mile extension that includes stops in Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa.
With a slight increase in unemployment in March, the state of California reached a post-Great Depression jobless rate high of 12.6%. Los Angeles County's unemployment rate remained locked at 12.4% from February to March. Economists say unemployment has hit bottom. The jobless rate for Arcadia in March, 2010 was 7.1%, or 1,900 people unemployed. A chart shows numbers for nearby cities.
Arcadia High School Apaches baseball team member Garrett Tuck is shown pitching in a Pacific League baseball game against Pasadena. Arcadia High School won 1-0.
Arcadia High School's Constitution Team won the state championship in February and is now competing in the 23rd annual "We are the People: the Citizen and the Constitution National Finals" in Washington D.C. The last time an Arcadia High School team won the national title was in 1993. Team advisor is teacher Kevin Fox. Catherine Tong, Andrew Taylor, Frank Huang, Andrew Lin and Jesse Li are pictured.
Arcadia High School's Constitution Team won the national competition in Washington D.C. California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger offered his congratulations to the 30 member team. The team's advisor is teacher Kevin Fox. Arcadia High School students James Griswold and Kiko Sunata are pictured.
Arcadia High School's team took 4th place among 68 schools in the 2010 National Science Bowl held in Washington D.C. last weekend. First Lady Michelle Obama addressed the importance of science education and greeted the teams personally. The team is comprised of seniors Jason Jong, Alex Wang and Eddie Xue and juniors Samuel Zeng and Derek Chou. The team coach and advisor is Cheryl Mynster.
Eight school districts in the West San Gabriel Valley, including Arcadia Unified School District, showed year-to-year increases in Academic Performance Index (API) scores. The API measures student proficiency in English and math.
For the first time in Pacific League history, the Arcadia High School boys baseball team became the first team to go undefeated in the regular season. Arcadia High School's Jonathan Tom and Jonathan Wong are shown.
Arcadia Unified School District's superintendent Joel Shawn writes a column bragging about the many notable accomplishments and achievements of Arcadia High School students during the 2009-2010 school year.
Honorary degrees were awarded to Japanese-American former Pasadena City College students who had their educations cut short by internment during World War II. Japanese-American "nisei" students at what was then Pasadena Junior College never got the chance to graduate with the Class of 1942. One honorary graduate, Fusae Hamane (died in 1997), born and raised in Pasadena, was told to report to Santa Anita Park race track before being sent to a camp in Gila Bend, AZ. The graduation came 68 years later.
The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension had a ground breaking ceremony at Newcastle Park in Arcadia, for a project that would extend the line from East Pasadena to Azusa, with stops in Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte and Irwindale. This phase is fully funded through Measure R, the Los Angeles County half-cent sales tax increase that voters approved to fund transportation projects. Eventually the Gold Line will reach the Inland Empire.
A Los Angeles County report showed that life expectancy in Los Angeles County reached 80.3 years, an all-time high, according to the county Department of Health Services. Arcadia, East San Gabriel, Walnut and Rowland Heights had some of the highest life expectancy rates in the county. Arcadia's life expectancy is 84.7 years. Females of Asian-Pacific Islander descent have the highest life expectancy in the county and all four of the SGV communities with the highest life expectancy rates also have high populations of residents of Asian Pacific Islander descent. In general, the report found that people in affluent communities tend to live longer while residents of poorer cities in more urban parts of the county had some of the lowest life expectancy rates.