Mirai Nagasu, an ice skater who was born in Montebello and raised in Arcadia, shown in photo, is training and competing hard to become an international skating champion.
A new exhibit at the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum is about the Santa Anita Assembly Center, a temporary facility at Santa Anita Park that held Japanese Americans before they were sent to more permanent internment camps during World War II. The opening reception will feature speakers Osamu Miyamoto, Akkiko Nomura and others. Dana Dunn is the curator.
World War II pilot Walter "Pat" Hollywood, a longtime Arcadia resident, celebrated Veterans Day and his 90th birthday yesterday. He was born in Pasadena in 1919 and served as an Army C-46 Commando pilot during World War II. He works out at the Fortanesce and Associates Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Center in Arcadia and walks for an hour at the Los Angeles County Arboretum every day.
Arts & Culture spotlight on the new exhibit at the Ruth & Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum. The exhibit is called "Roll 'em!: Motion Pictures Filmed in Arcadia and Surrounding Communities." Photos include Dana Dunn, curator at the museum, and movie posters of "A Star is Born" starring Judy Garland and James Mason, and "The African Queen," starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.
Robert Seares, born in Pasadena in 1909, had an amazing career as a journalist, photographer, and police official. He was chief of police in Arcadia and remained there for 15 years until retirement. He wrote a memoir called "Eighty Years: a Memoir." A copy is in the Pasadena Museum of History library.
A state law scheduled to take effect in September is expected to set standards in the massage industry. Arcadia City Manager Don Penman commented that the new law may not stop people who want to commit a crime and do illegal acts. In the last few months of 2008, Arcadia shut down seven massage busineses for illegal activities.
Charles Norm Stevens is a World War II veteran and former bombadier who shares his experiences flying in the Army Air Corps and Air Force in his two books, "The Innocent Cadet" and "An Innocent at Polebrook." Stevens, a resident of Monterey Park, signed books at a Friends of the Arcadia Public Library event last week.
Obituary/death notice. Restaurateur Sue Campoy, who owned and operated Julienne in San Marino, CA, has died of breast cancer. She died on March 4, at the age of 70. She was born in Arcadia on February 10, 1939.
Arcadia High School Apaches girls soccer team loses to Harvard-Westlake in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division II playoffs. Arcadia High School players Nailah Elmasri and Kimberly Marrone are shown in the photos.
George Schwary's horse Georgie Boy and jockey Garrett Gomez won the $150,000 Grade II San Carlos Handicap at Santa Anita Park. Georgie Boy was trained by Kathy Walsh. Georgie Boy won last month's Sunshine Millions Spring.
Omar Francisco Garcia, 24, of Arcadia, was fatally shot by two West Covina police officers on November 17, after he allegedly attacked officers with their own baton. He has a history of fighting with police.
Pasadena Fire Department officials spent more than $320,000 to purchase breathing apparatus from distributor L.N. Curtis and Sons, which is at the center of a lawsuit filed by rival equipment company, Arcadia-based Allstar Fire Equipment against the city and county of Los Angeles. 57 self contained breathing apparatus remain unused at Pasadena Fire Station 34 pending a judge's ruling next month.
About 20 demonstrators organized by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) protested the perceived mistreatment of race horses in front of Santa Anita Park during the Breeders' Cup. Pictured is Natalie Stauffer of San Francisco.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant has voided a $30 million contract that Los Angeles County awarded to L.N. Curtis and Sons for fire equipment. Arcadia-based Allstar Fire Equipment sued the city and county of Los Angeles, claiming the selection process used to award the contract was improperly handled and the judge agreed. The actual funding for the contract came from the federal Department of Homeland Security. The judge's orders require the county to either restart the bidding process or re-evaluate all the bids properly.
A $30 million plan to provide standardized breathing equipment for every fire department in Los Angeles County has been suspended after a lawsuit alleged the contract process was mishandled and firefighters complained about the quality of the equipment. Arcadia-based Allstar Fire Equipment is suing the city and county of Los Angeles, contending the contract process was improperly handled in a manner that ignored firefighter input and unfairly favored the winning bidder, L.N. Curtis and sons.
New City Manager Don Penman will promote Public Works Services Director Pat Malloy to the Assistant City Manager position and will promote Community Development Administrator Jason Kruckeberg to the job of Development Services Director. The City Council still needs to approve these appointments.
Obituary/death notice.
In Loving Memory of David Saunders II, March 28, 2007 - Aug. 28, 2007. David was born in Illinois, and he moved with family to Arcadia, Ca, where he attended Arcadia Schools. He served in the U.S. Army field artillery from 1944 to 1946. He is predeceased by father, Joseph, mother, Marion, sister Nanette and brother, Joseph. He worked many years at the Zanibar Restaurant in Duarte, Ca. For many years, he was a devotee and friend of Stan Laurel, which brought a tremendous sense of humor to him and his friends. He joined the Motor Yacht Tacinda Jean as steward and traveled across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and traveled extensively there. Dave returned to So. Ca. to care for his mother and worked at PSA storage until his retirement in Pasadena, Ca. At his request Neptune Society handled the final arrangements. He will be greatly missed by John Haddad, Col. Alan Fox (US Army ret.), Jerry Salthouse, and a multitude of friends.
Sara Olivia Bravo, 28, of La Puente, is being charged in a pretrial hearing with second degree murder and vehicular manslaughter for the death of a 3-year-old boy, Talmin Moye II.
Westfield, Santa Anita Shoppingtown, and Santa Anita Fashion Park, are the three plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the City of Arcadia, the City Council, and developer Rick Caruso, aimed at stopping the new mall The Shops at Santa Anita. Plaintiffs allege the environmental study done was flawed. Assistant City Manager Don Penman said the study was the most thorough one he had ever seen.