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.
Carol Libby and Scott Hettrick of the Arcadia Historical Society are both on the Baldwin Adobe Restoration Committee, which wants to restore the Hugo Reid Adobe on the grounds of the Los Angeles County Arboretum. They want to re-create the adobe as it was in its heyday, when Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin lived there from 1875 until he died in 1909.
Westfield Santa Anita celebrated the opening of The Promenade, its $120 million open-air expansion of 30 stores. The 115,000 square foot addition was built on the former parking area adjacent to Nordstrom and Macy's. The 30 new stores, including Coach, J. Jill, Banana Republic and other upscale retailers, are set among landscaped walkways featuring fountains, seating areas, and shade trees.
Federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested Dr. Daniel J. Healy, 52, of Arcadia, operator of Dr. Healy's Diet Centers and Clinics in Duarte and Rancho Cucamonga. He is accused of selling addictive painkillers from his office over a 3-year period to patients he often did not examine. Federal authorities allege Healy dispensed oxycodone and hydrocodone, among other drugs, essentially using his practice as a drug-dealing operation.
62-year-old Gary J. DiSano of San Juan Capistrano, formerly of Arcadia, is the new Tournament of Roses president. He unveiled the theme for next year's parade: "2010: a cut above the rest." He has been a Tournament of Roses volunteer since 1972.
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.
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.
Judge James C. Chalfant stands by his July decision that the environmental impact report (EIR) that Arcadia officials relied upon in approving the mall was faulty in 11 areas and that it would have to be revised before the Caruso mall project, proposed for the Santa Anita Park race track parking lot, known as the Shops at Santa Anita, can move forward.
In a 50-page ruling issued Wednesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant found the environmental impact report (EIR) faulty in 11 areas ranging from traffic to air quality. This means Caruso's mall project is stalled until changes are made to the EIR.
Terry J. Harmon, funeral director and co-owner of Chapel of Remembrance Funeral Home in Arcadia, was given the "Funeral Director of the Year" award at the California Funeral Directors Convention on May 7, 2008, in Long Beach.
Ted J. Butler, 42, of Madison, Wisconsin, aka "Fellow Human", is walking coast to coast to spread a message of human understanding. He walked through Arcadia on Foothill Boulevard wearing a sign with his Website address: talkingaboutus.org
A murder charge has been filed against Isaac J. Campbell, 32, of San Gabriel, a suspect in the murder of his girlfriend Liya "Jessie" Lu. He is currently at large. Her body was found in a trashcan on Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia.
Isaac J. Campbell, 32, of San Gabriel, is wanted for questioning in the death of his girlfriend Liya "Jessie" Lu. He is suspected of killing her and dumping her body in a trashcan in the 1700 block of South Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia.
Rick J. Caruso, founder and CEO of Caruso Affiliated, who is seeking to build The Shops at Santa Anita in Arcadia, has been named to the University of Southern California Board of Trustees.
The Hugo Reid Adobe still stands in disrepair at the Los Angeles County Arboretum five years after preservation and restoration efforts should have started. At issue is whether it should be preserved as the Hugo Reid Adobe or reinterpreted as the Elias J. ("Lucky") Baldwin Adobe.
Obituary / death notice. James C. Lesperance, died January 20, 2006 at the age of 74. He was a long-time resident of Arcadia until retiring to Mammoth Lakes. Jim is survived by his wife Marylin, their children Laura, Jim, Doug (d), Renee, Corinne, and Jeff, eight grandchildren and four stepchildren. Services will be held at St. Luke's Catholic Church, 5605 Cloverly Avenue, Temple City, on Saturday, January 28, at 12:00 p.m.