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.
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 6th annual fall racing meeting closed November 3 and the directors of the Oak Tree Racing Association held a celebration. Vice President and General Manager Ray Rogers is pictured.
10-year-old Arcadia resident Natalia Sanchez-Nigolian started a "Save the Trees" fund to maintain trees on Paloma Drive, where she lives. She plans to start an environmental club at Hugo Reid Elementary.
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 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"
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 $25,000 reward has been approved for information leading to an arrest of the ecoterrorists who attacked several sports utility vehicles in the San Gabriel Valley.
The 25-year-old City Council chambers will undergo its first major renovation, a project that will relocate meetings for the next few months to the Arcadia Public Library. Renovations will be completed in February.
25 year old Pomona man, Josh Connole, was arrested in connection with the vandalism and arson attacks on high priced SUVs and Hummers at several San Gabriel Valley dealerships.
The 35th annual Public Schools luncheon was held at the Masonic Center to honor 26 National Merit Scholarship students. The Foothills Middle School Sixth Grade Chorus performed.
The 50,000 square foot property on the northeast corner of Wheeler and First has been sold for $215,000. The former owners were Robert and Phyllis Walker. The site will be used for the corporate headquarters for HTL Industries and a two story office building to be built by Jeff Jons and Jim Kuhn. Hoy an Kehler's Arcadia Van Lives, presently on the site, will relocate.
The 65 year old statue of Hugo Reid created by Preston Prescott may be moved from Arcadia County Park to a spot between the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum and the Arcadia Community Center. The City Council will have to approve $57,362 contract for its removal.
81 percent of area schools met their growth targets on the California state Academic Performance Index (API). However, 35 percent of West San Gabriel Valley schools failed to meet the federal accountability targets determined by Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. See chart on page A6 for Arcadia Unified School District progress.
About 1000 feet of sound walls will be built by the westbound lanes of the 210 Foothill Freeway between Second Avenue and Fifth Avenue. There is also discussion of future sound wall construction projects.
Actor Doris Roberts from TV's "Everybody Loves Raymond" was the keynote speaker at a conference on aging at the Arcadia Community Center. It was sponsored by the Los Angeles Commission for Woman and the County Commission on Aging.
Adam Schiff has proposed a plan under which ten cities along the planned Gold Line extension route would gain effective control over the project's construction.
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.
After a 13-hour meeting, Arcadia City Council voted unanimously to approve the outdoor mall to be built on the Santa Anita Park race track parking lot, a development known as The Shops at Santa Anita. Opponents may push a referendum and possibly file lawsuits to block the project.