Arcadia-born artist Quinton Bemiller is painting a mural to be displayed at The Armory Center for the Arts through March 21, 2010. This work was inspired by the natural environment of Hahamongna Watershed Park.
The California Horse Racing Board authorized Oak Tree Racing Association to have its traditional fall meet at another thoroughbred venue in Southern California since the association's use of Santa Anita Park is still uncertain. MI Developments, which is chaired by Frank Stronach, recently voided Oak Tree's contract after acquiring the race track from Stronach's Magna Entertainment Corp (MEC) through federal bankruptcy proceedings. Oak Tree's director Sherwood Chillingworth said, "If we can't make a deal with Santa Anita...we can take our dates and run them in Hollywood or Del Mar."
MI Developments, the new owners of Santa Anita Park, defended canceling Oak Tree Racing Association's lease for fall racing, saying the contract did not account for the true economic cost of running the race track, according to Dennis Mills, vice chairman and chief executive officer of Canada-based MI Developments. On the other hand, Oak Tree's director and executive vice president Sherwood Chillingworth said the race track was getting the better deal, as Santa Anita Park got 75% of Oak Tree's profits. Chillingworth is talking about running Oak Tree at Hollywood Park or Del Mar.
Santa Anita Park's owner MI Developments canceled a meeting with the Oak Tree Racing Association last week and said they could not meet the association's June 4 deadline to agree on terms for a new lease. Sherwood Chillingworth of Oak Tree Racing Association would prefer to stay at Santa Anita Park but has to consider Hollywood Park and Del Mar.
A recent audit of fire department response times in 12 cities shows San Marino and Pasadena firefighters were the quickest in responding to emergency calls. The report covered April, May and June. San Marino's and Pasadena's average response times were 4:03 and 4:02, respectively. Arcadia's average, in comparison, was 4:21.
The Oak Tree Racing Association plans to move its annual fall meet to Del Mar in 2011. Oak Tree has raced at Santa Anita Park since 1969, but will be run this fall at Hollywood Park, before moving to Del Mar. Santa Anita Park ended Oak Tree's lease.
The final seven members of the 2011 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Royal Court were announced. The princesses are Tatyane Anaid Berrios of Arcadia High School, Sarah Frederickson of Maranatha High School, Evanne Friedmann of La Canada High School, Jessica Montoya of Flintridge Preparatory School, Tenaya Senzaki of Pasadena High School, Kathryn Thomson of Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and Michelle Washington of Pasadena City College.
Seventeen year old La Canada High School student Evanne Elizabeth Friedmann was crowned the 93rd Rose Queen. The 2011 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Royal Court includes Friedmann, Tatyane Anaid Berrios of Arcadia High School, Sarah Frederickson of Maranatha High School, Jessica Montoya of Flintridge Preparatory School, Tenaya Senzaki of Pasadena High School, Kathryn Thomson of Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and Michelle Washington of Pasadena City College.
Evanne Elizabeth Friedmann was crowned the 93rd Rose Queen by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses President Jeffrey Throop. She is a seventeen year old La Canada High School senior and will reign over the 122nd Rose Parade. Rose Princesses on the Royal Court are Tatyane Anaid Berrios of Arcadia High School, Sarah Frederickson of Maranatha High School, Jessica Montoya of Flintridge Preparatory School, Tenaya Senzaki of Pasadena High School, Kathryn Thomson of Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and Michelle Washington of Pasadena City College.
Last Tuesday's election showed that most of the San Gabriel Valley voted for Democrats--Governor-elect Jerry Brown and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer. The majority of voters in Arcadia, Bradbury, Glendora, La Mirada, San Dimas and San Marino voted for the Republican candidates.
Miss Junior Taiwan Verena Wong, 5, of Arcadia (photo) and Miss Taiwan Paula Wu of Palo Alto together give away toys to preschoolers at La Casa de San Gabriel Community Center. They also presented the center with a $3000 check from Chinatrust Bank.
A high speed police chase that began in Pasadena, then went through Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte and several other San Gabriel Valley cities, ended in the driving crashing into another car. The suspect was Edgar Angarita, 45, of Hollywood and the 21-year-old woman from Baldwin Park that he crashed into, are both being treated at the hospital. Police say Angarita was intoxicated. The chase occurred Monday, January 24. He is being held on suspicion of felony evading a police officer, but additional charges may be coming.
A group of friends that grew up together in or near Arcadia, who joined a Camp Fire Girls troop together seven decades ago, reunited 6 years ago and now meet monthly. They are (pictured): Donna Tyler, 81, of Hemet, Sharon Lasken, 80, of Arcadia; Judy Ramaker, 70 of Pasadena, and Marian Walski, 83, of Duarte. They meet at the house of their leader, 97 year old Hazel Williams. Other troop members not shown include Betty Quinn, 81, of La Mirada and Betty Emick, 80 of Claremont.
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.
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.
The Westfield Santa Anita mall will be adding new tenants and is expected to submit plans for a new anchor store. Red Robin restaurant is scheduled to open in the open-air Promenade section by the end of the year. Forever 21 may move into the Robinsons May space and Target may be an anchor store.
A pictorial collection of historic estates and vintage homes from the collections of the Arcadia Historical Society is now exhibiting at the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum, through August 20, 2011. Carol Libby curated it. On exhibit are Anoakia, the Southern California Nursery (later a residence), La Cuccia, Prince Eric of Denmark's home, and the Burnell Oaks Estate, among others.