Arcadia ice skater Mirai Nagasu is going to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Friends and family send her off with a party at Arcadia Presbyterian Church. She will skate in the singles competition starting February 23, 2010.
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.
Arcadia residents may vote again on street lighting fees. Under the new proposal, single family homes on arterial streets would pay about $17 a year, while those not on arterial streets would pay about $27 a year, making the assessments more fair. Voters in 2008 rejected a proposal to fund the lighting and now the city is considering another mail-in vote.
Police are seeking three men who attacked, robbed and carjacked a mother and son in front of their home in the 200 block of West Lemon Avenue. The crime occurred on March 4, before 9:30 PM, as they pulled into their driveway. The suspects got away in the victims' blue 2006 Lexus.
Peter Chang, 60, of Long Beach, admitted in court that he shot his estranged wife, Liya ("Sandy") Lu, 32, in front of her Arcadia home on Bonita Street. He was immediately sentenced to 29 years to life in prison. The murder occurred on January 27, 2008.
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.
Arcadia's Catrina McAlister wins the 3200-meter invitational during the 43rd Arcadia Invitational track and field event. She clocked a personal-best time of 10 minutes, 27.86 seconds.
None of the three Chinese-American candidates received enough votes to win one of the three open seats in Tuesday's Arcadia City Council elections. With the departure of Mayor John Wuo, who was the second Chinese-American to be elected to the council, Arcadia, an ethnically diverse city, is reverting to an all Caucasian council for the first time in 12 years. Many in the Chinese community prefer to relay a concern to someone of their own race and culture "because this person understands what they say, what their concern is based on," former council member Dr. Sheng Chang said. Councilman Roger Chandler, however, believes that the city has enough volunteers, associations and resources to facilitate communication and to aptly handle any issue that could come up.
California's median home price posted its biggest annual gain in more than 5 years last month, rising 20.8% to $301,790, as reported by California Association of Realtors. Arcadia has the second-largest increase in the state with its median home price jumping 40.2% in March to $726,136 compared to $518,000 a year earlier.
The historic Adams' Pack Station is having a fundraiser tomorrow. The funds are needed for the 50+ year old general store at Chantry Flat, to make upgrades to meet health codes. The pack station, originally established in Sierra Madre before it moved to Chantry Flat in 1936, uses a team of donkeys to carry supplies to the cabins in the Big Santa Anita Canyon, a camp owned by the United Methodist Church.
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.
Twelve citizens from Arcadia raised thousands of dollars to help a woman named Yessica Hernandez Millan, 31, of Whittier, who had to bury her three children. They died in a traffic accident in Newhall on April 12. Their funeral was on Thursday, April 29. The deceased are Cynthia Hernandez, 9, Edgar Hernandez, 8, and Xochitl Hernandez, 5.
The California Horse Racing Board authorized Oak Tree Racing Association to have its traditional fall meet at another thoroughbred venue in Southern California since the association's use of Santa Anita Park is still uncertain. MI Developments, which is chaired by Frank Stronach, recently voided Oak Tree's contract after acquiring the race track from Stronach's Magna Entertainment Corp (MEC) through federal bankruptcy proceedings. Oak Tree's director Sherwood Chillingworth said, "If we can't make a deal with Santa Anita...we can take our dates and run them in Hollywood or Del Mar."
MI Developments, the new owners of Santa Anita Park, defended canceling Oak Tree Racing Association's lease for fall racing, saying the contract did not account for the true economic cost of running the race track, according to Dennis Mills, vice chairman and chief executive officer of Canada-based MI Developments. On the other hand, Oak Tree's director and executive vice president Sherwood Chillingworth said the race track was getting the better deal, as Santa Anita Park got 75% of Oak Tree's profits. Chillingworth is talking about running Oak Tree at Hollywood Park or Del Mar.
Dennis Mills, vice chairman and CEO of Canada-based MI Developments, which owns Santa Anita Park, said the company will be unveiling a new business plan. This new business plan has many horse racing industry people worried about the future.
The Breeders' Cup announced that its internationally recognized thoroughbred horse racing event will be hosted by the Churchill Downs race track in Louisville, KY in 2011 for the second consecutive year. Breeders' Cup spokesman Jim Gluckson said, "It became a difficult situation to select Santa Anita Park for 2011 with the problems that occurred with the cancellation of Oak Tree lease."
Isaac Campbell, a man charged in the murder of his former girlfriend Liya "Jessie" Lu, appeared in court for a pre-trial hearing and was ordered to return to court July 14. Campbell has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody on $1.2 million bail. Lu's body was found September 2007 at an Arcadia residence. Her body was wrapped in a plastic bag, placed in a blue trash bin and buried under 10 gallons of cat litter.
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.
Frank Stronach, chairman of MI Developments, is scheduled to address the California Horse Racing Board to address a number of issues, including a potential new racetrack surface for Santa Anita Park and the recent cancellation of its lease with the charitable Oak Tree Racing Association. Dennis Mills, MI Development's CEO and vice chairman has said Santa Anita Park might replace its synthetic track soon, which could jeopardize hosting Oak Tree's meet there.