Two related stories.
Early to the party - Voting: Poll workers say regional centers are swamped on first day of in-person balloting.
Scattered paper jams, tech glitches don’t spoil first in-person day at the polls. many of 2020’s early voters showed up to voting centers before they even opened on Saturday, Oct. 24, the first day of in-person balloting in Los Angeles County.
But much to the relief of voters and elections officials, the kind of polling-place meltdowns that left voters angered and election officials worried back in March, when the county debuted its $300 million network of vote centers, did not repeat. Back in March, for the primary, many voters were left seething after tech glitches delayed the opening of some sites and even forced the Hollywood site to close down.
But Saturday’s voting played out much more smoothly. And when issues did pop up, they appeared to have been resolved quickly in most cases.
Behind the scenes, poll workers reported paper jams and other tech issues, some of which caused short delays.
Many voters were certainly eager to cast their ballots. Several voting centers saw a line wrapped around the building before they opened. Such hubs included large polling locations, such as the Arboretum and Botanical Gardens in Arcadia, stocked with 45 of the county’s new voting devices.
HQH Chinese American Equalization Association demands electoral changes. It alleges the city of Arcadia is in violation of the California Voting Rights Act and should convert from at-large voting to a by-district system to allow more Asian American representation on the Arcadia City Council.
More than 500 residents packed the Community Center last week regarding a proposed entertainment complex at Santa Anita Park. Opponents of the project have become increasingly vocal in recent weeks.
Curtailment and changes in the Five Year Capital Improvements program as adopted by the City Council last week have drawn disapproval of some Arcadians.
Are April Verlato and Peter Amundson the new City Council? Election totals could change after 1300 more votes are counted. The late and provisional votes will be counted at Arcadia City Hall today.
ELECTION 2020 - breaking down every area race - Voting: A look at who is on the ballots around the San Gabriel Valley, Whittier neighborhoods. So what’s going to be on the ballot?
Congress
Pasadena, Arcadia, Rosemead, Glendora and Claremont residents will choose between incumbent Judy Chu (D) and challenger Johnny Nalbandian (R) to represent the 27th District.
Arcadia City Council rejected a proposed draft resolution last week that several argued would give city-designated homeowner associations (HOA) too much power. During a study session, the Council discussed amending and consolidating the five HOAs' development standards, design guidelines and design review procedures into one cohesive document. Some argued the draft would give the associations' Architectural Review Boards (ARB)--which have architectural design review authority over the association area--too much control over the size of homes, setbacks and other issues. ARBs should look favorably on someone's dream home plans "unless it was so garish and outlandish that it might negatively affect property values," said Councilman Bob Harbicht. Opposition from Kevin Tomkins and Laurie Thompson.
Horses at Santa Anita Park suffered fatal racing injuries at more than twice the rate of horses competing at California's other 3 major thoroughbred tracks over the last fiscal year, according to statistics. The fatality rate spiked at Santa Anita Park after the switch from a synthetic running surface back to a dirt track in 2010. There were 12 fatalities, or 3.7 per 1,000 starts, at Santa Anita Park in the last fiscal year.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón facing further opposition. Two more cities, Norwalk and La Habra Heights, are preparing to cast votes of no confidence in Gascon. So far, 18 cities have had similar votes, including Arcadia, Azusa, Beverly Hills, Covina, Diamond Bar, Hidden Hills, Lancaster, La Mirada, Manhattan, Palos Verdes Estates, Pico Rivera, Redondo Beach, Rosemead, Santa Clarita, San Gabriel, Santa Fe Springs, Temple City and Whittier.
Candidates for City Council express views on homeless people in Arcadia, recycling, whether they voted in the last election, and whether they are in agreement with voting records of Assemblyman Bob Margett and Senator Richard Mountjoy.
The boundaries for the 6 elementary and 3 middle schools are going to be changed so that enrollments at each of the schools are more balanced. About 300 of the district's 6000 students will be affected by the changes.
Candidates discuss their positions on charter change at a forum presented by the Arcadia Republican Women's Club last week. The amendment will be on the April 10 ballot.
Arcadia High School's Student Executive council convened behind closed doors last week to cast its vote on whether the Apache mascot is insulting to American Indians or is a tradition which should remain at the school. They present their vote to the School Board on Tuesday.
Question & Answer with Arcadia City Council candidates Roger Chandler, Bob Harbicht, Gary Kovacic, Gail Marshall, and John Wuo. This week they answer the question: "When the state takes money from the cities, as expected, and we must cut to accommodate, name some of the #1 areas you would want to look at for savings."