The 4th Annual Veteran's Day Celebration took place November 11 at Arcadia County Park. Sponsored by Mike Antonovich of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. In photo, veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor James R. Wire.
The $16 million Arcadia Police Station building, built with bond money and city and CRA funds, is on target for completion in July. WWM Associates designed the building. Mallcraft of Altadena is the contractor and Construction Control Group is the manager of the project. The station is the first civic project constructed with bond funding.
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.
70-year-old Mulji Patel of Arcadia was sentenced to 12 years in prison for hitting a workers' compensation attorney in the head with a hammer. The assault happened on January 31, 2006. Erwin A. Nepomuceno was the victim.
After 21 years with the Arcadia Unified School District, superintendent Mimi Hennessy, 63, is retiring. Her last day will be July 1, 2008, and Joel Shawn will take her place.
Arcadia celebrates its 100th birthday on August 5, 2003. The date reflects the anniversary of the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors certifying the results of the cityhood election. Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin was talking about creating a city as early as 1886. He wanted to name the city Baldwin. On July 27, 1903, thirty-nine residents voted for cityhood.
The Arcadia City Council has approved a 12-month pilot program to expand its Dial-a-Ride service to include a new non-emergency medical appointment transportation program for seniors and disabled persons. The program includes service to five hospitals outside the city limits--Huntington Hospital, Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park, City of Hope Medical Center and Santa Teresita Hospital, both in Duarte, and Mountainview Dialysis Center in Monrovia.
Arcadia City Council rejected objections filed by Los Angeles County and declared a redevelopment district for South Arcadia. The district, which covers business properties along Las Tunas and Live Oak, will be operated as a non-contiguous part of the Arcadia downtown redevelopment district. The City Council declared the area does suffer from both economic and physical blight, and hope to spend $12 million to upgrade the district.
Arcadia city officials have adopted a voluntary water conservation program that aims to reduce annual water consumption by 10 percent. Currently there is a state wide drought and a local water supply shortage. Metropolitan Water District (MWD) has voted to raise water rates 14 percent in July 2009. The other two main sources of the city's water are the Main San Gabriel Basin and Raymond Basin.
Arcadia resident Gary R. Dimkich has been appointed to the Los Angeles County Beach Commission. He is a graduate of California State University Los Angeles and owns DeLacey's Club 41 restaurant in Pasadena.
Arcadia's neighboring cities of San Marino and Pasadena are worried about the impact of mall traffic. Caruso spokesperson Julie Wong says the developer is listening and will respond to all concerns as part of the environmental review process.
Arcadia's new city government first formed in 1903 and its first meeting took place at Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin's Oakwood Hotel, located at First Avenue and Santa Clara Road. Baldwin's hotel featured gambling and fine dining along with city government. The Oakwood Hotel burned down in 1911, and the city government moved to the McCoy Building at First Avenue and St. Joseph Street. Two years later, City Hall moved across the street to the Hibbard Building. In 1917, the first building was constructed as a City Hall at Huntington Drive and Second Avenue (?). A two-story colonial building was built for $18,000. This City Hall opened on July 13, 1918. City Hall moved in 1949 to a 13-acre parcel between Huntington Drive and the Pacific Electric railroad tracks.
Arcadia's official city birthday party will be held August 5, a date that reflects the official declaration of Arcadia cityhood by the Board of Supervisors, back in 1903. The 100th birthday party includes a scavenger hunt, the release of the anthology "Visions of Arcadia," unveiling the bronze peacock statue at Peacock Corner, a mixer at the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum, and a birthday party at the Community Center. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 1, 18, July 31, 2003.