2 articles. 1. Racing returns at Santa Anita. The historic Santa Anita racetrack reopened Friday for racing amid concerns for horse safety and the future of the track and the industry. There were no deaths in eight races Friday, which had been closed for racing since March 5.
2. Back in the saddle: racing resumes without incident after 26-day closure.
A 2-year-old legal battle between the city of Arcadia and Taboo Gentlemen's Club, a strip club, will most likely result in the club being closed or sold off by April, 2009. The federal court case started when the city revoked Taboo Gentlemen's Club's business license for breaking the city's adult business codes. The club's owners Bill Badi Gammoh and Chawkat Jajieh sued in response, claiming city and police had obstructed business and violated their civil rights. The city's adult business ordinance prohibits lap dances, sexual contact, private dance booths and direct tipping. It requires licensed dancers to perform on an elevated stage.
7-year-old Maria Lugo Rocha of Sinaloa, Mexico, is recovering after a surgery to remove a bone tumor from her chin, performed last week at Arcadia Methodist Hospital. LIGA International, a non-profit group of medical experts, pilots and volunteers, helped to bring the girl to Arcadia to have the surgery.
The 9th annual "Remembering Our Veterans and Their Families" event was held at Arcadia County Park to honor our soldiers. Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich attended.
$12 million headquarters of the Angeles National Forest Service was dedicated yesterday. It is an environmentaly energy efficient 24,000 square feet administrative facility at 701 N. Santa Anita Avenue. Mary McGrath, of Mary McGrath Architects, was the executive architect on the project.
The 13-member MTA board voted to leave the Gold Line Extension off a critical funding list. This delays the construction of the $1.4 billion project , a 24-mile rail link between Pasadena and Montclair, until at least the end of 2009.
A 13-year-old female was critically injured after a motorist lost control of a vehicle and struck her in front of Dana Middle School. A surgical team decided to amputate the lower portion of her right leg 5 inches below knee.
A 13-year-old girl named Susan Wiley was reportedly a prisoner in her home for all of her life until a social worker discovered the child abuse. Susan's parents Clark Wiley and Irene Wiley were arrested. The family home is at 6722 Golden West Avenue, in a county area of Arcadia. Susan Wiley was living in an environment of total isolation and deprivation and was malnourished. She cannot talk, is deformed, barely able to walk and is not toilet trained. She has been placed in the care of Children's Hospital. The child has come to be known by the alias "Genie." See hard copy in VF Wiley, Susan aka "Genie"
15-year-old Richard Ung was arrested at his parents' home in Arcadia, where sheriffs recovered nine guns, including an AK-47 assault rifle and an assault pistol. Ung is being investigated for alleged involvement in the stabbing death of Boo K. Lee.
17 children and two adults pose on a stage in three rows. Children are dressed in various costumes. Written on back: Arcadia Children's Chorale "Around the World in Song," a performance of Disney songs. Directors William Pirigyi and Adele Pirigyi. Saturday, March 29th. Prior to Holly Avenue PTA movie. According to the perpetual calendar, March 29 was a Saturday in 1969 and 1975, so it could be either.
17 students at Arcadia Alternative High School signed up as owner/operators of Medi-Kit Company, part of a 13-week Junior Achievement program sponsored by the Arcadia Rotary Club. The Medi-Kit auto safety first-aid kits sell for $8.
17-year-old Arcadia High School student Courtney Chou Lee has been named the 91st Rose Queen. Six other young ladies are princesses including another AHS student, Lauren Valenzuela. The Rose Queen and her royal court will reign over the 120th Rose Parade and the 95th Rose Bowl. Article contains some quotes from Courtney Lee's parents, Andrew Lee and Ulanda Lee.
A 20-year old baby sitter from mainland China testified about the events she said led to her enslavement by Arcadia couple Dianyi Zhia and Hua Jiang. See also Pasadena Star News, July 23, 1997, p. A1.
22-year-old Miguel Fernandez of Arcadia was thrown from the back of a pickup truck and killed when the truck careened out of control and flipped upside down at the intersection of Del Mar Boulevard and Hill Avenue.
23 "heroes and heroines" in the Arcadia Unified School District were honored by the Board of Education in the first "Profiles in Excellence" awards. The awards were presented to "individuals who maintain a standard of excellence in their work and who represent those values and qualities which make Arcadia a special place for students." Names and positions of winners are given.
23 year old Arcadian Jimmy Palma was ambushed and stabbed to death October 13 in the exercise yard of San Quentin State Prison. A Superior Court judge sentenced him to die for killing two children and their mother in El Monte in 1995.
25-year-old entrepreneurs Dustin Nicolarsen and Michael Thomas co-own The Derby, the historic Arcadia steakhouse. The two give back to their community by hosting a fundraiser to benefit their high school.