Man charged with kidnapping, beating ex-girlfriend in Arcadia. Robert Michael Mendez faces one count each of kidnapping and criminal threats and three counts of injuring a girlfriend or child's parent.
Ex-boyfriend of Arcadia woman charged with kidnapping. The ex-boyfriend's name is Robert Michael Mendez, age 27. The woman was hospitalized. Doorbell camera footage showed a man dragging a woman.
Robert Michael Mendez was arrested for attempted murder and kidnapping of his estranged girlfriend, on the 1500 block of South Santa Anita Avenue, near Camino Real Avenue.
Successful opener. Jockey sets stakes record on first day of Santa Anita Park meet. Jockey John Velazquez won both the Chandelier Stakes and the American Pharoah Stakes, riding Bast and Eight Rings, respectively. Both horses are trained by Bob Baffert.
Santa Anita Park opens Friday September 27 for 23-day Autumn Meet. A team of equine veterinarians, including Dr. Dionne Benson and Dr. Dana Stead, will oversee every aspect of Santa Anita Park's training and racing operation.
Leon Logothetis, star of Netflix show “The Kindness Diaries” spoke at Holy Angels School in Arcadia on April 12. He said, “Kindness is literally the coolest thing, the most epic thing you can do. How you show up to the world matters. The most beautiful way to make a person feel that they matter is to be kind. And kindness is free.”
Fall of the House of Baldwin. Part 3 of a 6 part series: What happened to the Jinks Room murals by Maynard Dixon? The Jinks Room had nine Dixon murals. The Lowry B. McCaslin family, which owned Anoakia at the time, held onto three murals, the rest were donated to the University of Southern California (USC). The McCaslin family bought the Anoakia estate after Anita Baldwin passed. By Galen Patterson. See hard copy in VF Baldwin, Anita
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 based Cub Scouts go Supernova. Four Scouts recently earned the highest accomplishment a Cub Scout can receive for science, technology, engineering and math. Gianni Carrano, Vincent Docimo, Ian Parsons and John Short, fifth graders at Holy Angels School in Arcadia and members of the school’s Cub Scout Pack 114, achieved the Supernova Award.
Arcadia’s iconic windmill restoration almost complete. Mid-November slated as tentative schedule for installation. The former Van De Kamp windmill atop what is now Denny’s, was restored once, but broke in a freak accident. The current restoration is being done by Joe Sargis and his company Creative Fabrication and Design on St. Joseph Street in Arcadia.
Opening Day of horse racing at Santa Anita Park for the Autumn meet. Photos and captions only showing jockey Giovanni Franco riding horse Iron Alex, jockey Diego Sanchez, jockey Rafael Bejarano riding I Am the Danger, jockey Stewart Elliott, jockey Heriberto Figueroa riding Empress of Lov.