Creative Housing Options in Arcadia (CHOA). Local efforts to address the lack of affordable housing and homelessness. On Saturday, April 20, 2024, a group of about 30 community members met at The Hills Church in Arcadia for a 2-hour "Sharing Session" to learn about what is being done in the city to address these issues. Safe Parking Programs were discussed. Arcadia City Council member Eileen L. Wang and Arcadia Mayor April Verlato attended.
Longtime Arcadia City Clerk Gene Glasco retires. Glasco has served 12 years as its elected City Clerk. In 2022, Arcadia voters approved an update to the City Charter that eliminated the position of the elected City Clerk. With Glasco's retirement, the City Manager will appoint a City Clerk. Most of the traditional City Clerk duties are currently performed by professional staff in the City Manager's Office, ensuring uninterrupted service to the public. Photo of Glasco with Arcadia City Council. See press release dated April 18, 2024 in VF for full-text.
2024 ELECTIONS - Pasadena City College: Four candidates compete for two Board of Trustee seats on the March 5 election. Voters elect a trustess from each of the seven districts in an area that includes Arcadia, a portion of El Monte, La Canada Flintridge, Pasadena, Rosemead, San Marino, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, and Temple City. Area 2 candidates are Kevin D. Strotz and James Aragon. Area 6 candidates are Ryan Liu and John Quintanilla.
San Gabriel Mountains-Veterans seeking expansion of forest. Advocates ask White House to add acreage to federal protection. Iraq War veteran Steve Dunwoody leads veterans struggling with PTSD on hikes through the Angeles National Forest. The veterans group joins legislators, cities, tribal, and environmental groups in support of adding forest land to the San Gabriel Mountains monument. The proposed addition borders the cities of Santa Clarita, Monrovia, Arcadia, and Sierra Madre, as well as Los Angeles communities of Sylmar, Tujunga, and Sunland. Twin bills from House of Representatives Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena and U.S. Sentor Alex Padilla, D-Calif. propose an expansion that would grow the monument by one-third.
Monterey Park mass shooting one year later. City still lives in massacre's shadow. Permanent memorial to the 11 victims is still in planning stages. In Arcadia, doughnut business owners Francois Ung and his wife Shally Ung remember and honor their friend Andy Kao, a victim of the shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio on January 21, 2023, with a pledge that they will send proceeds from sales at their Arcadia Donuts store on January 20 and 21 to the Monterey Park Hope and Resiliency Center and the Andy Kao Memorial Ballroom Dance Group to assist funding the nonprofit organizations. See also related article, "Who were the Monterey Park shooting victims? A year later, a reflection," Pasadena Star News, p. A13, January 21, 2024.
Arcadia City Council members standing, left to right: Michael Cao, April Verlato, Eileen Wang, Sharon Kwan, and Paul P. Cheng. Seated is Gene Glasco, retiring as City Clerk as of April 16, 2024.
Arcadia Veterans Day recognition. City of Arcadia is compiling a comprehensive list of veterans to honor and recognize them. Please call Arcadia Community Center at 626-574-5130 to make sure your name is on the list.
Millions take part in annual earthquake drill called The Great Shake Out. From schools to food banks, Los Angeles County learned how to drop, cover, and hold. Municipalities whose local government employees participated include Arcadia, Glendale, Glendora, Culver City, Cudahy, Inglewood, Lakewood, Diamond Bar, Covina, Burbank, and many more.
With the House of Representatives leaderless and legislation going nowhere, President Biden has been urged to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. More cities, elected officials, ask president to use his executive power to add acreage to the area, including Alhambra, Monterey Park, Santa Clarita and South Pasadena. The proposed addition of 109,000 ares to the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument includes forest sections just above the cities of Monrovia, Arcadia, and Sierra Madre, and up to Santa Clarita.
Los Angeles County Court official says zero-bail policy working as intended. Risk is deciding factor in determining if suspect is released without payment. Zero bail eliminates the financial requirements for release from all but the most serious offenses prior to arraignment. Police will instead cite and release, or book and release, suspects for a majority of misdemeanors and some felonies. Serious and violent crimes (such as killing, kidnap, robbery, assault with deadly weapon), are not eligible and still retain previous bail amounts. More than a dozen LA County cities have joined a lawsuit attempting to reverse the policy. Attorneys for the cities, include Whittier, Downey, Beverly Hills, and Arcadia, argue the Superior Courts have balanced the system too heavily in favor of offenders, so much that "victims and public safety are given a zero value."
Indictment implicates Baldwin Park's ex-city attorney Robert Tafoya in $70,000 bribery scheme to help secure cannabis permit from a vote by Councilman Ricardo Pacheco. Special agents with the FBI and IRS arrested former Compton Councilmember Isaac Galvan, 36, and another person, a 50-year-old Arcadia resident, who is the owner and operator of a cannabis grower that obtained a permit in Baldwin Park.
Asian night markets share a common language: food. Evening events draw thousands to LA, Orange, and San Diego counties. In 2012, the first 626 Night Market took place at Old Town Pasadena. Then the event moved to Santa Anita Park in Arcadia and it has become a signature event, becoming kind of synonymous with Arcadia, says Jason Kruckeberg, assistant City Manager, and Development Services Director.
Arcadia through the years: Mayor Paul Cheng hosts 48th Annual Community Breakfast and State of the City on September 6, 2023 at Le Meridien hotel at 130 West Huntington Drive. Ed Andersen of Arcadia Historical Society and Rotchana Sussman, owner of White Springs Cafe, are featured speakers.
La Verne's mayor Tim Hepburn to lead as President of San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments. The other newly elected leadership includes: Claremont Mayor Ed Reese, first VP, Arcadia Mayor Pro Tem April Verlato, second VP, and City of Industry Mayor Cory Moss, third VP.
New York's Carnegie Hall hosts young musicians from San Gabriel Valley's Classical European Music Academy Los Angeles (CEMALA). A list of young people who performed include a few from Arcadia--Allen Chen, Andrea Li, Evan Girard-Sun, Farrah Chan, Halley Wang, Ngai Zou, and Sunny Xu.
Ryan Liu, a former Pasadena City College (PCC) Valedictorian enters race for PCC's board of trustees Area 6 seat. The seat, which represents portions of El Monte, San Gabriel, Rosemead, Arcadia and Temple City, is currently held by John Martin, first elected in 1979.
Housing grades for Los Angeles County jurisdictions. Every city and county in California is required to plan for adequate housing across income levels. This is Southern California News Group's fourth housing permit report card. Arcadia has received an overall D grade, same as last year.