The 11.5 mile light rail Gold Line extension from Pasadena to Azusa was awarded to Foothill Transit Constructors. Kiewit-Parsons, a joint venture company, will design and build the project. Funding comes from Measure R.
12-year old Kyrsti Chavez from Arcadia, will be singing the National Anthem for the Metro Orange Line Extension opening on Friday, June 29, in Chatsworth.
$24 million winning lottery ticket purchased at Golden Donuts Place, 104 E. Foothill Blvd in Arcadia. It is unclaimed so far. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 1, December 25, 2014.
The 49th Annual Pasadena Showcase House of Design "Empty House Party" draws a crowd of nearly 500 design enthusiasts and architecture aficionados in Arcadia, at the showcase home designed by architect Roland E. Coate, Sr. The house was built in 1941 for furniture executive C. Lawrence Barker, of the former furniture company Barker Brothers.
69-year-old Arcadia resident David Tran is the owner of Huy Fong Foods, the maker of Sriracha hot sauce. Huy Fong Foods should be operational in a new $50 million, 650,000 s.f. factory in Irwindale, by September. The factory is moving from Rosemead.
210 Freeway sound wall is finished. The Metro project, which started in 2009, consists of 2 miles of sound walls along westbound and eastbound lanes of the 210 Freeway between Santa Anita Avenue and California Avenue in Arcadia and Monrovia, paid with Measure R funds. The sound walls provide at least 5 decibels of noise reduction. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held. Several Arcadia residents near Victory Chapel on N. First Avenue, where the sound wall ends, are disappointed the barrier doesn't extend farther west.
2010 U.S. Census data shows that 12 San Gabriel Valley cities, including Arcadia, saw the percentage of owner-occupied homes rise, something that experts said was extremely uncommon following the housing crisis. 63.1% of Arcadia's homes are owner-occupied, while 36.9% are occupied by renters. Other cities' figures are shown in chart. Arcadia's vacancy percentage is 5.3%. Vacancy rates are determined by the U.S. Census Bureau by sending out canvassers to homes that did not respond to Census mailers.
The abandoned rail bridge over Colorado Boulevard in Arcadia will be removed because it could not accommodate the two-track light rail system and the Gold Line Construction Authority determined it was more efficient and cost effective to remove the structure than to widen it or add a second structure directly adjacent to the ole one. Bridge demolition was the first significant construction effort for Foothill Transit Constructors (FTC) and the alignment project. The Construction Authority will have three open houses in the next two weeks to update the community.
Adams’ Pack Station in the Angeles National Forest for sale. It’s the last animal-assisted goods delivery system in SoCal. Pack donkeys carry 130 pounds of roofing material, flooring, food, tools, wood, whatever the cabin owners or renters need for their stays in Big Santa Anita Canyon, above Sierra Madre and Arcadia. Deb Burgess has owned it since 2006.
The Adams' Pack Station, owned by Deb Burgess, in the Chantry Flat area, 3 miles up a road starting from the top of Santa Anita Avenue in Arcadia, fights to remain open as it faces costly upgrades required by the Los Angeles County Health Department. Forest authorities want it to remain a historic landmark, which would limit the amount and types of renovations that can be done.
An activist group called Save the Arcadia Highlands is suing the City of Arcadia over two residential developments that Arcadia City Council approved in February, citing possible violations to "specific provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the California Planning and Zoning Law, filed March 12. The addresses involved are 29 East Orange Grove Avenue and 1600 Highland Oaks Drive. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 1, 17, March 19, 2015.
Angeles National Forest fire officials raise fire danger level to extreme, effective Friday, September 2. This change is in response to September's seasonal drying combined with the 5th year of a drought.
April 12, 2016 municipal election divides the community. The big issues are mansions (over-building) in Arcadia and Measure A, the repeal of the Utility Users Tax (UUT).
Arcadia Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) held a holiday program at Church of the Good Shepherd on December 12, featuring the Brighter Side Singers of Temple City High School, directed by Matt Byers.
Arcadia City balks at surge in animal control bill. New contract with Pasadena Humane Society would raise costs fivefold, from $90,000 to $525,000 annually. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 4, September 12, 2019.