Gold Line Foothill Extension Authority officials unveiled a San Gabriel Valley-themed design for a rail bridge honoring local wildlife and native cultures. The span of the 739-foot bridge will stretch diagonally across the 210 Freeway to Santa Anita Avenue in Arcadia. It will be adorned by four basket-shaped columns and the bridge itself will have individual grooves resembling the scales of a snake. Andrew Leicester is the artist and designer.
Measure R, by which voters approved a half-cent sales tax last November, was to fund dozens of new transportation projects across Los Angeles County. However, rather than launch new projects, several San Gabriel Valley cities plan to use the windfall to keep municipal bus routes and Dial-a-Ride shuttles in operation. Arcadia may store up some of the funding it is due to receive, 290,000 this year and $496,000 next year, for a larger project down the line, said Transportation Services Manager Linda Hui. Possible projects include funding part of a grade separation at a future Gold Line station in Arcadia, or funding other Gold Line station enhancements, such as shuttle services. Street improvements are also a possibility for Arcadia.
A new exhibit at the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum is about the Santa Anita Assembly Center, a temporary facility at Santa Anita Park that held Japanese Americans before they were sent to more permanent internment camps during World War II. The opening reception will feature speakers Osamu Miyamoto, Akkiko Nomura and others. Dana Dunn is the curator.
Helen Meredith is the founder of Pegasus Ranch in Tehachapi, CA, a place where 60 retired thoroughbreds live. She is struggling financially and estimates that the United Pegasus Foundation is $80,000 in debt. Some of the famous race horses there are Cardmania, winner of the 1993 Breeders' Cup Spring at Santa Anita Park, Music Merci (another Breeders' Cup veteran), Time to Pass, Sand Lizard, and Kingdom Found.
A U.S. District judge overturned convictions for bribery, mail, wire and tax fraud and harboring illegal immigrants, against George Torres, 52, of Arcadia, the former owner of Numero Uno supermarket chain. The judge threw out the more serious convictions for racketeering, conspiracy and solicitation of murder, back in June. Torres has been set free after 2 years in custody.
Vision21, an art portfolio and college preparatory school, has locations in Arcadia, Buena Park, Cerritos, Diamond Bar, La Crescenta and Los Angeles. The school offers classes in advertising, architecture, animation, digital media, fashion design, fine arts, film, illustration, photography, product and transportation design. Vision21 was founded in 1999 by Angie Kim, a graduate of Otis College of Art and Design. Daniel Cho is Kim's son and executive vice president. Classes are for elementary-aged students up to adults.
Bankrupt Santa Anita Park race track will not go on the auction block Tuesday as planned because no acceptable opening bid has been offered. The sale of the track has been postponed. The track has court-sanctioned access to operating funds at least until the first quarter of next year.
Artist Andrew Leicester, 61, has been chosen to design a bridge meant to be an iconic gateway to the San Gabriel Valley along the Gold Line Foothill Extension. The bridge will cost an estimated $20-25 million to build. Leicester, who is based in Minneapolis, plans to incorporate artistic traditions from the Native American tribes of the San Gabriel Valley (Chumash and Gabrielenos a.k.a. Tongva), and references to the region's native animal and plant life, into a contemporary structure.
Los Angeles County's median home price is rising. In July, 2009, it was $339,430, up from $319,860 in June 2009, but well below $395,240 a year ago. Broker Chris Vigil thinks the market has hit rock bottom. Arcadia's median home price in July 2009 was $663,000, up from $626,500 a year ago (July, 2008). A chart shows figures from surrounding cities.
Arcadia city officials have approved across-the-board fee increases that are expected to generate $500,000 in revenue this year. Parking tickets will go up from an average of $40 to $50. Other fees going up include building permits, towing fees, business license fees, water, street, and engineering services.
Arcadia's median home price dropped to $719,000, down 3.2% in June 2009 from June 2008. A chart shows June median home prices in San Gabriel Valley areas.
In this ailing economy, San Gabriel Valley property values have dropped significantly, as reflected in the county's home assessments. The county property roll is at $1.1 trillion, a nearly 1% decrease compared to 2008. Homeowners will have smaller tax bills but cities are having to reduce services and employees as they lose businesses, sales tax revenue, and property tax revenue. See a chart of Los Angeles County Assessor's Office property values report showing Arcadia and neighboring cities. Arcadia is a city whose 2009 value increased 2.2% compared to last year.
Arcadia City Council is reviewing revisions in the city's General Plan to create land-use concepts that meet statewide density requirements and still preserve Arcadia as a "Community of Homes." The revisions call for increasing the maximum density from 24 units per acre to 30 in high density-zoned areas and following mixed-use development in downtown, First Avenue and Live Oak Avenue areas. Officials want the new land-use guidelines to meet the requirements of SB375, the "anti-sprawl" legislation passed last year that aims to cut down on carbon emissions by requiring local agencies to minimize vehicle travel time through city planning.
American Chinese Culture Association, an Arcadia-based group that promotes greater understanding between the U.S. and China through cultural exchange, will have members give a dance performance at the National Independence Day Parade in Washington DC. Artist Tao Haixin shows his work at Arcadia County Park.
San Gabriel Valley home values went up in May, the third month in a row in which median home prices rose across the state. Arcadia had the highest median price at $700,000. A chart compares SGV cities.
The Arcadia City Council has approved a $46 million budget for fiscal year 2009-2010. The city made deep budget cuts across the board, including freezing positions and cutting employee travel. The budget includes roughly $2 million in cuts and concessions from all four city employees' unions, and projects about $45.1 million in estimated total revenues, $45.7 million in proposed expenditures, and $270,000 in employee compensation and benefit deferrals.
A federal judge overturned several charges in the case of Arcadia man George Torres, 52, accused of running his Numero Uno grocery store chain in Los Angeles like an organized crime ring. He had been convicted of racketeering charges, solicitation of murder and multiple tax and fraud charges when prosecutors came forward with new evidence that appeared to exonerate him on the more serious charges. Torres was released from federal custody after being held without bail for two years.
Registered nurse Shawn Douthit, of Cerner Corp., promotes the "Smart Semi," a mobile caregiver station that travels across the country and is making a stop at Arcadia Methodist Hospital. This new technology integrates different systems and devices, including electronics, IV pumps, monitors, into the electronic medical record. Kara Marx, the hospital's chief information officer, already has plans to install a system similar to Cerner's by August.
The Arcadia City Council matched a $20,000 reward offered by Los Angeles County, making a combined reward of $40,000, for information about the 2007 killing of restaurant owner Jason Wei.
County officials are offering a $20,000 reward for information in the slaying of Jason Wei, an Arcadia restaurant owner. He was held up and shot at his Osaka Ya Restaurant on November 25, 2007.