Update on Jay Cohen and other Santa Anita news. Joan Schmidt writes that former beloved Santa Anita Park trumpeter Jay Cohen has Bell’s Palsy, which has caused paralysis of the right side of his face. Jay was born in Camden, NJ. Includes other biographical information. Jockey Ruben Fuentes was voted “Jockey of the Week” by Jockeys’ Guild Foundation Detox. Happy 98th birthday to Santa Anita Park worker John Shear, who still has no intention of retiring.
Arcadia Mayor's Breakfast / State of the City and Methodist Hospital update at Community Connections by Joan Schmidt. Mayor Peter Amundson was born and raised in Arcadia and spoke about what a great city it is to live, love, learn and leave a legacy. He spoke about the great Arcadia Public Library with its 42 high tech computers.
The Danish Prince who called Arcadia home. The story of Prince Erik and his home on Santa Anita Avenue. He was nephew of King of Denmark, born 1890, moved to Arcadia 1924.
New Arcadia City Council member April Verlato brings a new voice. She is a lawyer born and raised in Arcadia. She has been an activist against mansions. She is president of Downtown Arcadia Improvement Association (AIA). Her goals for her time in office are 1) to address the uptick in residential burglaries and 2) to improve Arcadia's business districts.
Denny's Restaurant at Huntington Drive and Santa Anita Avenue in Arcadia hosts a monthly "Carcadia" car show. Any car enthusiast is welcome to show his/her car. The event was founded by Scott Hettrick and Glenn Oyoung.
Arcadia High School student Nathan Chou earns rare perfect score on Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus BC Exam. Chou is one of just 11 students in the world that reached perfection on this test. Nathan was born and raised in Arcadia.
Arcadia city officials are cracking down on "maternity tourism" boarding houses by dedicating a full-time police detective to investigate the issue. Maternity or birth tourism is a phenomenon in which women, often from China, pay a handsome fee to have their babies in the United States, so the children can be citizens. While that is not illegal, at least five establishments have been shut down for violations, such as unlawfully operating boarding house businesses in residential zones.
"Baby factories" in Arcadia? City of Arcadia forms a task force to look into the matter of motels, such as Santa Anita Inn, and residential homes, being used to house expectant mothers from overseas, particularly China. These women want their children born in the U.S. to garner citizenship for that child.
Arcadia Library and Museum Director Mary Beth Hayes in photo in front of a display in honor of Constitution Week by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)--Santa Anita Chapter.
Erica Wu's parents are ready to cheer for their daughter, competing in table tennis in the summer Olympics in London, UK, on August 3. Wu, 16, was born and raised in Arcadia and attends Westridge School in Pasadena.
Revisiting Anita Baldwin. Margaux Viera (photo) of Riverside, the great-great-great granddaughter of Arcadia founder Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin, has unexpectedly come into possession of some personal items that belonged to Anita M. Baldwin, the only daughter born to Lucky Baldwin and his third wife, Jane Virginia Dexter. The items were discovered by a farmer on a rural, central Nevada ranch once owned by the Baldwin estate. The items include Anita Baldwin's daily journal from 1935, a gold calligraphy pen and Art Deco glass bottle used as an inkwell, an address book with her name and signature, a leather passport holder with her name and a wallet containing several of her identification and membership cards. See hard copy in VF "Baldwin, Anita."
Congressional Gold Medal of Honor presented to Sierra Madre Nisei soldier Shoso Nomura, age 93. It has been 68 years since Nomura served as a Japanese-American intelligence officer for the U.S. Army in World War II. He was born on Lucky Baldwin's daughter Anita Baldwin's ranch (corner of Foothill Boulevard and Double Drive--known today as Santa Anita Avenue).
Arcadia High School girls named to 2011 All-Area Tennis first team include Francis Dean and Nadia Pacheco-Amaro. Elizabeth Lieu of Arcadia is on the second team.
Make-a-Wish recipient Elizabeth Victoria, 12, of San Gabriel, hugs former recipient Jayne Philbin, 14 of Sierra Madre. Elizabeth's wish for a shopping spree was fulfilled yesterday in Arcadia as part of Macy's National Believe Day. Elizabeth suffers from renal disease.
An ancient Chinese maternity tradition, from the Sung Dynasty (960-1275 AD), known as "Zuo Yue Zi," is translated as "doing the month."It refers to the care of a Chinese woman during the first month after giving birth. The practice is explained here by Wei-Chen Tung, a former registered nurse at Arcadia Methodist Hospital and now an assistant professor of nursing at University of Nevada, Reno. The practice requires new mothers to follow a strict diet and rest for 3-4 weeks following a pregnancy. Tung says a lot of Chinese women still practice this, so hospitals should be aware of this part of Chinese culture. Maternity tourists--women who want to come to the United States to give birth to a full-fledged American citizen, have given rise to businesses that cater to them, such as the maternity home that was shut down in the 1300 block of South Palm Avenue in San Gabriel on March 8. It had been 5 townhomes illegally converted into a maternity home.