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.
Plans to expand Rusnak Mercedes-Benz in Arcadia should move ahead with Rusnak buying four commercial properties from the former Arcadia Redevelopment Agency. Arcadia became the first city earlier this month to have its long-range property management plan approved by the state Department of Finance--something required of former redevelopment or "successor agencies" to dispose of their properties.
Victoria Rusnak to accept Business of the Year award on behalf of Rusnak Arcadia Mercedes-Benz at the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce 2014 Annual Business Awards on July 17.
Feds move to seize homes in San Gabriel Valley, Rancho Cucamonga. The properties were allegedly purchased with millions in proceeds from what FBi investigators said was a fraudulent visa program. Victoria Chan and her father Tat Chan exploited the EB-5 visa program which offers legal permanent residence in the U.S. for foreign nationals who make job-creating investments of $500,000 or more in U.S. companies.
Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles celebrated the centennial birthday of the national organization with a party at the Arcadia Service Center, 100 E. Wheeler Avenue. Sylvia Wikle, 84, who has served for the past 75 years, and Victoria Hung Brooker, 15, in photo together.
Spotlight on Rose Queen Victoria Castellanos and the princesses of the Royal Court. Two of them, Maya Khan and Lauren Powers, are from Arcadia High School.
Diversity in Royal Court praised by Tournament of Roses President Brad Ratliff. Temple City's Victoria Cecilia Castellanos is the 99th Rose Queen. Two Arcadia High School students Maya Kawaguchi Khan and Lauren Emiko Powers are on the court.
Four Chinese investors are plaintiffs suing San Gabriel consulting firm California Investment Immigration Fund. Plaintiffs believed they were investing $500,000 in U.S. businesses in return for green cards. FBI allege the scheme was fraud and raided the firm and homes of lawyer Victoria Chan, her father Tat Chan, his wife Zheng Chan, in April.
Crystal Ball 2013: Arcadia Methodist Hospital Foundation's fundraising gala will take place October 19. Jane Wuo and John Wuo are this year's honorees. Co-chairs are K. Heiner Vogelbach, M.D., and Christine Antonovich. Motown legendary singer Smokey Robinson will perform.
Birth-tourism sites not easily detected.Terry Moore-Corse, a code enforcement officer in Arcadia has encountered three maternity homes in the past six years, most recently in 2009, when a resident reported "a lot of pregnant women" coming out of a house. Beyond building code and business license violations, there is nothing illegal about coming into this country to give birth, according to the U.S. State Department, which issues visas. Maternity tourism is a money-making cottage industry in which wealthy women from Asia pay anywhere from $25,000-35,000 to have American-born infants.
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.
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.