Kevin Modesti writes about the race horse Zenyatta, winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park. Zenyatta stunned the world's fastest thoroughbreds with a last-to-first rally in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic. Zenyatta is owned by Jerry and Ann Moss. Jerry Moss is the co-founder of A & M Records (with Herb Alpert) and was named after an album by 1980s rock group The Police.
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.
Inglewood's race track Hollywood Park might be developed into a site for big-box retailers, cookie-cutter condos, and franchised theme restaurants. Developer Wilson Meany Sullivan presented a $2 billion proposal to Inglewood City Council for this mixed use development. If the track is torn down, Hollywood Park's 100-or-so days of racing would be split up between Fairplex in Pomona, Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, and Del Mar in San Diego.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board approved $10 million for the 24-mile Gold Line Foothill Extension that is going through Arcadia to Claremont. The money comes from Measure R.
A county transportation committee has recommended the Gold Line extension receive $10 million in initial funding from Measure R, instead of the $127,000 that was originally budgeted for the light rail line.
The California State Department of Education has released test scores and rankings. Every spring the state gives each public school two rankings from 1 to 10. A "statewide" rank compares each school in the state and the "similar schools" rank compares schools with similar demographics and populations. Oak Avenue Intermediate in Temple City Unified School District and Huntington Middle School and San Marino High School in San Marino Unified all got 10s in both categories. All schools in the Arcadia Unified School District earned a rank of 10 in the "statewide" category, but ranks varied in the "similar schools" category.
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.
Hundreds of people gathered at Santa Anita Park to honor the slain Ortega family, which lost nine members in a Christmas Eve mass murder on the 1100 block of East Knollcrest Drive in Covina, CA. The tribute and fundraiser was organized by Jerry and Jim Rocha. Jockey Joseph Talamo rode "Return of the King," a horse owned by Charles and James Ortega, in the fourth race yesterday. The horse finished second in the race dedicated to the Ortegas.
Horse racing community feels the loss of James Ortega, Joseph Ortega, and Charles Ortega, 3 of the 9 victims killed by Bruce Pardo, a disgruntled former in-law who crashed a Christmas Eve party in Covina, dressed at Santa Claus. James, Joseph and Charles Ortega all owned race horses and loved the sport.