Arcadia Public Library hosts workshop on January 18, 2020 called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, based on the KonMari Method, developed by author Marie Kondo. The presenter is Tiffany Ng.
Arcadia Public Library hosts Lunar New Year celebration on January 18, 2020. Celebrating the Year of the Rat with fun stories, activities and a Lion Dance and presentation by Shin Dance Academy, sponsored by Sino U.S. Performing Arts Organization.
Arcadia Police Department S.W.A.T. Team busted a marijuana cultivation operation in the 300 block of Walnut Avenue. Three suspects, Xiaoshen Zhang, Te Zhang and Peng Song were arrested. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 3, January 23, 2020.
Third horse in three days dies at Santa Anita Park, while animal rights activists continue to push for a nationwide ban on racing. The race horses were named Tikkun Olam, Uncontainable, and Harliss. The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) was given authority, in legislation backed by Governor Gavin Newsom, to suspend racing. Officials at Santa Anita Park released a statement reaffirming their commitment to horse safety. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 1, January 23, 2020.
Arcadia kicks off 2020 City Council election. Final candidates in District 1 are Mayor April Verlato running for reelection and newcomer Yuli J. Sira. Verlato is currently on the last year of her first term on city council and she as elected mayor her last year. She is an attorney with Verlato and Roberts law firm in Arcadia. She is a native of Arcadia, with a long list of endorsements, including former mayors of Arcadia. Sira is a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker. District 4 has two candidates--longstanding council member and former mayor Peter Amundson and newcomer Paul Cheng. Amundson has completed three terms on City Council and served twice as mayor. He is an Arcadia native, with a long list of endorsements. Paul P. Cheng is a highly publicized attorney specializing in business operations and commercial realty transactions. He previously ran for Arcadia City Council in 2010. Also up for reelection is City Clerk Gene Glasco. He is running unopposed.
Arcadia Methodist Hospital workers vote to unionize. The nearly 700 technical employees, nursing assistants and other workers have voted to join the Caregiver Healthcare Employees Union (CHEU). The CHEU is a sister union to California Nurses Association. The employees want to win strong union representation, better benefits and improved conditions for employees and patients.
City of Arcadia employee Tim Schwehr, Senior Economic Development Analyst, will talk to Arcadia Community Coordinating Council on February 3, 2020 about what's happening in Arcadia. In his role, he oversess efforts to attract new business and development, fosters economic growth and acts as liaison to the business community. Includes some biographical information.
Locally oned Chick-Fil-A to open in Westfield Santa Anita today. Restaurant will employ upwards of 50 team members. The owner of this franchise location at Westfield Santa Anita mall, in the food court, is Zach Zimmerman. He was born in Mission Viejo and graduated with a business economics degree with a minor in education from University of California Irvine.
Arcadia City Council elections to be held on Tuesday April 14, 2020. This will not be a district-wide election. Only registered voters in Districts 1 and 4 will receive a vote-by-mail ballot beginning March 16, 2020. Completed ballots must be postmarked by April 14, 2020. The candidates are District 1: April Verlato and Yuli Sira and in District 4: Paul Cheng and Peter Amundson.
University of Southern California (USC) student Xiaoke Ying, a sophomore from Arcadia, will compete in the television game show Jeopardy! College Championship on April 6, 2020 for a $100,000 grand prize.
The votes are in! We have a name for our newest Arcadia Police Department K-9 Officer (canine): Kaiser. Students and staff at Arcadia Unified School District selected the name. Kaiser and Officer Cvetkovich are training to work together in both apprehension and narcotics detection.
Ed Andersen of Arcadia Historical Society will present a program about Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin to the Arcadia Community Coordinating Council on March 2, 2020.
NASA Ambassador Rosanne Sachson to speak at Arcadia Woman's Club meeting on March 4, 2020. The topic will be Apollo: to the moon and beyond, about how Apollo 11's Moon landing on July 20, 1969 brings us to today's space accomplishments and where NASA is headed in their next missions.
Arcadia Unified School District has a Latino Literacy middle school program. Nearly seven years ago, the Latino Literacy program started at the elementary school level by Alejandra Worozaken, Catherine Merel and Andrea Mendoza. Then four years ago, the program expanded to the middle school level and Perlita Guzman has been working hard since then to get Latino families to meet weekly for six weeks. All families have the opportunity to learn from various speakers and specialists about topics such as college admissions, high school, trending topics about today's youth, and life experiences in general.
Bradbury man Steve Chen, CEO of U.S. Fine Investment Arts, Inc. Gem Coin, and other companies, allegedly conspired to commit fraud with his Arcadia-based marketing company, to plead guilty. He promised potential investors gemstones from their mines along with valuable digital currency. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 4, February 27, 2020.
More than 30 years later, USC professor pays off debt. Real estate broker David Hyun and his former student at USC Marshall School of Business, Frank Gangi, president of Gangi Development, are having Peking duck together, which Hyun promised his business students if they made $1 million within 5 years of graduation. Frank Gangi was in Hyun's real estate development class in 1984. Hyun is an Arcadia resident, architect, and real estate broker.
Arcadia adopts comprehensive pension management plan, saving $85 million. It addresses the City's $154 million in unfunded pension liabilities. It focuses on:
-use of reserves to prepay existing liabilities
-refinancing existing debt to lower interest rates to free up cash flow
-prepaying costs with surplus funds from voter-approved Measure A sales tax increase
-financing long-term capital improvements
-using pension obligation bonds to lower the overall costs of pensions
-negotiating for more employee cost-sharing.
See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 3, February 27, 2020
Elections in Arcadia: what you need to know. The election for Arcadia City Council members in District 1 and District 4 is on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. It is a mail-in ballot, which can be dropped off no later than 8:00 PM on Election Day. In District 1, incumbent April Verlato is seeking re-election and is being challenged by businesswoman Yuli Sira, a real estate agent and partner in a local engineering company. In District 4, incumbent Peter Amundson seeks re-election and his challenger is Paul Cheng, an attorney