Arcadia through the years: Mayor Paul Cheng hosts 48th Annual Community Breakfast and State of the City on September 6, 2023 at Le Meridien hotel at 130 West Huntington Drive. Ed Andersen of Arcadia Historical Society and Rotchana Sussman, owner of White Springs Cafe, are featured speakers.
Shrimp and crab-stuffed salmon at The Derby, 233 E. Huntington Drive, Arcadia, is recommended and the restaurant's menu and reputation are also described.
Mall buyer a local resident. Wen Shan Chang, 71, of Bradbury, is new proprietor of The Shops at Santa Anita, formerly owned by Westfield. It was sold in August for $537.5 million. The property is at 400 South Baldwin Avenue and is now called The Shops at Santa Anita. Mall is 1.48 million square feet. Chang purchased it from France-based Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield in a sale considered the largest for a mall in the U.S. since 2018. The Arcadia mall site has been thriving through Asian retailers catering to the large Asian community in Arcadia and San Gabriel Valley.
Arcadia resident, Ruixue "Serena" Shi, gets 20-year sentence for Coachella Valley fraud involving $22.8 million in funds for a condominium and hotel complex called Hyde Resorts and Residences Coachella Valley. Shi was president and owner of Global House Buyer (GHB), a China-based real estate development company, and also was CEO of the Beverly Hills-based company Hyde Morgan Development, LLC. Chinese investors in the Hyde project were falsely promised visas through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.
Arcadia Unified School District to reconsider Apaches as mascot amid online petition drive, officials say it is on agenda. It is a revival of a 20-year-old controversy to remove Apaches name and imagery amid a nationwide movement to erase offensive emblems. Shayan Farooq, a 2013 graduate of Arcadia High School, felt the issue needed to be addressed. Farooq started a petition at Change.org. AUSD spokesperson Ryan Foran said the issue will be addressed in its list of priorities after reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic and recent sexual assault allegations involving current and former students who were video recorded, without consent, having sex. Controversy surrounding the Apaches mascot dates back two decades when Native American activists protested the Apache Joe mascot at Arcadia school board meetings in 1999. Then Principal Martin Plourde sought the White Mountain Apache Tribe's blessing to use the imagery and tribal leaders approved, but many students at Alchesay High School (Arcadia High School's sister school on Apache reservation) found the mascot offensive and urged Plourde to change it. 2018 Arcadia High School graduate Yumei Lin is leading a Facebook group to change the emblem.
IKEA opened at The Shops at Santa Anita, formerly Westfield Santa Anita. It is a 9,092 s.f. space of a new concept known as a Planning Studio. You can't actually buy something and leave with it the same day. Everything is delivered.
Four men sought in smash-and-grab thefts of purses and watches from the store Rebag at The Shops at Santa Anita mall, at 400 South Baldwin Avenue, on Sunday afternoon, December 3. See also Mountain Views News, p. 1, December 9, 2023.
Assistance League of Arcadia holds annual holiday boutique to fund clothing and school supplies for Operation School Bell Program at the Bargain Box Thrift Shop, 64 East Live Oak Avenue, Arcadia, CA
The Derby could highlight new hub. If developers get their way with a zone change and other approvals, the area around the 1920s-era Derby restaurant will be transformed into a mixed-use development with the eatery as its centerpiece. Right now the 2.23 acre project site has 2 structures, the two-story restaurant at 233 East Huntington Drive and a vacant one-story building at 301 East Huntington Drive, once occupied by Souplantation. The new development would include 205 market rate residential units and 9 affordable units.
Arcadia Assisteens Auxiliary accepting applications February 1-28. It is a co-ed auxiliary that provides community service opportunities for high school students. Assisteens staff the Book Buddies Program, in partnership with Arcadia Public Library, and volunteer at the Assistance League of Arcadia's Bargain Box Thrift Shop. A group photo of Assisteens is shown.
Husband shot wife and himself. Deaths of Arcadia couple--Paul Thornton, 58, and his wife Maria Lockwood, 54--ruled murder-suicide. He died of a gunshot wound to the head and she died of a gunshot wound to the chest. They had been married a little over a year. They lived in the block of 600 West Huntington Drive.
The Shops at Santa Anita (formerly Westfield Santa Anita mall, changed name in 2022) hosts a holiday winter wonderland with synthetic ice rink, hot cocoa, and face painting, 6-8 PM today. Event is on the Promenade area. Skating rink is free but donations accepted. Proceeds benefit the Arcadia High School Marching Band. The Shops at Santa Anita is at 400 S. Baldwin Avenue.
Medical hub marks rebirth, rebrand at USC Arcadia Hospital. In July the 119-year-old Methodist Hospital of Southern California officially became USC Arcadia Hospital. It's a new era for the 348-bed hospital on Huntington Drive. The "new hospital" will build on the history of Methodist, which operated in Arcadia for more than 50 years, and grow into a "one-stop."
Arcadia City Council approves a temporary permit for an inflatable Fun Box play area in the parking lot of The Shops at Santa Anita mall (formerly Westfield Santa Anita mall, name was changed in 2022). It will run from March 1 through May 23. The Shops at Santa Anita is at 400 S. Baldwin Avenue.
Los Angeles County - Congressional races include some on national stage
District 27: Judy Chu (D) vs. Johnny Nalbandian (R)
The District: District 27 encompasses parts of L.A. and San Bernardino counties including Pasadena, Arcadia, Rosemead, Glendora, and Claremont. Home to approximately 709,231 people, this district has been represented by Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) since 2013. Most residents of District 27 are Asian (37.94%), White (29.22%), or Hispanic (26.88%).
Woman gets 20 years in prison for bilking investors. Ruixue "Serena" Shi, 38, of Arcadia, bilked investors in a Southern California hotel and condominium project of at least $26 million. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 8, 14, November 24, 2022.
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.