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.
Arcadia City Clerk June Alford, who has served in the elective office since 1988, will retire at the end of her current term in April. City Council approved the creation of a new job of Chief Deputy City Clark with a salary of $5600/month.
The Arcadia City Council has decided to seek a new operator for the Arcadia Par 3 Golf Course, located adjacent to the Peck Road Water Conservation Park, at the city's border south of Live Oak Avenue, by putting the contract up for bid. American Golf Corporation has operated the golf course for the past 20 years. There was discussion of the land's worth and increased city profits with a new golf course operator.
The Arcadia Public Library is now offering a new 24-hour, 2 days a week email reference service and a live interactive chat reference service called "Ask the Librarian."
Arcadia residents Lucia Jimenez and her father Byron are shown in a photo. Lucia is in remission from a disease called reflex sympathetic dystrophy, or RSD. Dana Gambill is raising awareness of RSD and runs a support group for disease sufferers 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.
Charles Cooper continues his Arcadia city centennial series "Memories of Arcadia" with a story about Arcadia's mayors. A. N. Multer was the first person to be given the title of mayor of Arcadia. City founder Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin was the city's first presiding officer, but he held the title of president of the Board of Trustees. The title of mayor was not adopted until 1927, when the Board of Trustees changed to the City Council. Arcadia will have 4 mayors this year to mark the city's centennial. Each city council member will rotate into the position. More interesting facts: Floretta Lauber was the first woman to serve as mayor. She paved the way for Mary Young, Barbara Kuhn, and Gail Marshall to follow. Other history of mayors is recapped. The first city manager was William J. Richards in 1951, when a charter was adopted. The longest serving city official was City Clerk Christine Van Mannen, who held the job for 32 years. See hard copy in VF Arcadia (City) History.
City Clerk June Alford will retire in April, 2004 with her elected successor being paid a $500 monthly stipend and only handling mostly ceremonial duties.
The city council voted 4 to 1 in closed session not to accept Kare Youth League's offer of $2 million to purchase 1.5 acres of the Arcadia Par 3 Golf Course, which is owned by the city and is more than 20 acres in size. Councilman Gary Kovacic thinks the property is more valuable than Kare Youth League's offer.
Dog owners could be fined up to $1,000 and their pet impounded or destroyed under an ordinance the City Council introduced to protect residents from dangerous or vicious dogs.
Foothills Middle School music teacher Sandra Ragusta resigned after 12 years, after receiving her lowest employee evaluation since 1990. She tried to withdraw her resignation but Arcadia Board of Education decided not to give Ragusta her job back.
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.
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.
Jennifer Consalvi and Julie Gu, both of Arcadia High School, went to Washington DC to participate in the Presidential Classroom Scholar's Program. They met with Congressman David Dreier and Ralph Nader.