Horse euthanized two days before new season starts at Santa Anita Park. Truest Reward, a 3-year-old gelding died during a period when the track was closed to workouts but open for jogging and galloping. The horse broke its left front leg on the training track, which is considered the safest surface. This is the 38th horse to die at the track since December 2018.
Arcadia Public Library hosts Lunar New Year celebration on January 18, 2020. Celebrating the Year of the Rat with fun stories, activities and a Lion Dance and presentation by Shin Dance Academy, sponsored by Sino U.S. Performing Arts Organization.
Arcadia kicks off 2020 City Council election. Final candidates in District 1 are Mayor April Verlato running for reelection and newcomer Yuli J. Sira. Verlato is currently on the last year of her first term on city council and she as elected mayor her last year. She is an attorney with Verlato and Roberts law firm in Arcadia. She is a native of Arcadia, with a long list of endorsements, including former mayors of Arcadia. Sira is a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker. District 4 has two candidates--longstanding council member and former mayor Peter Amundson and newcomer Paul Cheng. Amundson has completed three terms on City Council and served twice as mayor. He is an Arcadia native, with a long list of endorsements. Paul P. Cheng is a highly publicized attorney specializing in business operations and commercial realty transactions. He previously ran for Arcadia City Council in 2010. Also up for reelection is City Clerk Gene Glasco. He is running unopposed.
Holly Avenue Elementary School named as a 2020 California Distinguished School for the second time in three years by the California Department of Education.
University of Southern California (USC) student Xiaoke Ying, a sophomore from Arcadia, will compete in the television game show Jeopardy! College Championship on April 6, 2020 for a $100,000 grand prize.
Arcadia Unified School District has a Latino Literacy middle school program. Nearly seven years ago, the Latino Literacy program started at the elementary school level by Alejandra Worozaken, Catherine Merel and Andrea Mendoza. Then four years ago, the program expanded to the middle school level and Perlita Guzman has been working hard since then to get Latino families to meet weekly for six weeks. All families have the opportunity to learn from various speakers and specialists about topics such as college admissions, high school, trending topics about today's youth, and life experiences in general.
City of Arcadia receives over $1.5 million in annual revenue from Santa Anita Park, according to a report from Keyser Marston Associates, which was commissioned for the city's Economic Development Division. Over the next five years, the racetrack is estimated to generate $7.5 million in sales tax, pari-mutuel revenue and property tax. According to the report submitted in the fourth quarter of 2019, Santa Anita Park is responsible for 1,160 jobs annually.
Arcadia Unified Launches Mental Health Mondays. As May is Mental Health Awareness Month, the Arcadia Unified School Districts (AUSD) has decided to launch Mental Health Mondays. Each Monday, for the remainder of the school year, AUSD will provide mental health resources to help support everyone navigating the coronavirus pandemic and school closures simultaneously. In addition to helping support students, these resources are also available to AUSD parents, staff, and community.
Decades-long debate over Arcadia High School's use of Apache imagery resurfaces. The controversy began in 1997. In the late 1990s, Native American activists threatened to sue Arcadia High School over the use of the Apache mascot. "Apache Joe" mascot is no longer used. In 2020, a year of massive protests and change in the United States, perhaps another look at the logo and name may be in order. Arcadia schools Superintendent David Vannasdall responded, in part, with why Arcadia High School continues to use the Apache name, citing the strong partnership between Arcadia High School and the White Mountain Apache Tribe, who granted the use of their name to the school. He said, regardless of the school's mascot name, he will continue to honor the relationship he and Arcadia High School have with the White Mountain Apache Tribe and is fortunate to call them friends. He believes revisiting this issue on a regular basis is wise.
Arrest made in Arcadia High School sexual assault investigation. 18-year-old former Arcadia High School student Dylan Chan has been arrested on allegations of sexual assault involving current and past students at Arcadia High School.
LASD Homicide Assisting Arcadia Police Department With Murder Suicide Investigation. Husband, a 75-year-old and wife, a 68-years-old, are described as Asian and found dead in their home on the 500 block of Los Altos in Arcadia.
Taste of Arcadia Has Been Canceled. Last Thursday afternoon, the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce announced the cancellation of Taste of Arcadia 2020, which would have been held on Sept. 28.
The Taste of Arcadia is an annual event which showcases local food vendors and other businesses in a festive atmosphere at the L.A. County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. Normally, the event sees over 1,500 members of the public attend to sip and sample food, wine and distilled liquors. This might be the first time the event has been canceled in its nearly 40 year history.
Arcadia Chinese Association Installs New Board of Directors.
The incoming Arcadia Chinese Association Officers and Board Members for 2020-2021 are as follows:
President: Connie Qun Liao
Co-President: Diana Chang
1st Vice President: Susan Guo
2nd Vice President: Mary Huang
. 3rd Vice President: Lily Lam
Treasurer: Alice Wang
Secretary (Interim): Mary Huang
Presidential Counsel: Edward Wong
Directors: Jamie Lee, Francine Chiu, Joanna Liang, Sherry Liang, Sherman Shi, Stella Gu, Winnie Li, Arnold Chien, Sage Zeng.