23-year-old Arcadia man Joshua Martin Parra-Davis was booked by Arcadia Police on suspicion of possessing an explosive device and leaving it in a backpack near a Bank of America on Foothill Boulevard on Friday, January 14, 2011. Witnesses said Parra-Davis first went to Foothills Middle School and may have been trying to open classrooms when he was confronted and ran off. The suspect was then seen dropping a backpack in bushes near the Bank of America and then running through the parking lot, where officers detained him. Arcadia Police called the bomb squad. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Bob Squad successfully detonated the device. Parra-Davis could be arranged in Pasadena Court today.
Anita Baldwin seated on a camel in front of the Great Sphinx and one of the pyramids in Giza, near Cairo, Egypt. She is accompanied by Ray Knisley, her business manager, on another camel. They are assisted by three local camel handlers in native dress. Anita is dressed in black dress and black hat with veil.
Arcadia 16-year-old Roger A. Lewis, who was struck by a car while bicycling, has died. The accident occurred over the weekend at Santa Anita Avenue and Duarte Road. The driver who struck Lewis was driving a 2008 Chrysler Sebring. Lewis was a former student at Arcadia High School.
Arcadia city's nearly 29,000 voters were sent election ballots last week with a critical error in its Chinese language instructions that could cause votes to be invalidated. The mail-in ballots directed voters in Chinese, to choose up to 3, instead of 2, City Council candidates, in the race for two open seats. City Manager Don Penman said the error is estimated to cost between $7,000 and $10,000 and that the election consultant Martin and Chapman Co., in Anaheim, should reimburse the city.
Arcadia High School Principal Martin Plourde's attempts at racial sensitivity over the school's use of an Apache mascot have not only left the mascot question unsettled, they have also incensed Los Angeles' Native American community.
Arcadia Mayor Peter Amundson defends his speaker of choice at next month's Mayor's Community Breakfast. He has invited H. B. London, of Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group that opposes same-sex marriage. Residents and activists upset about this choice are organizing two counterevents of their own. Activists are planning a "peaceful" demonstration March 4 outside Arcadia Community Center and a bar-b-que at Pasadena's Unitarian Church for all families. Focus on the Family was founded in Arcadia by Dr. James C. Dobson and believes marriage is meant to be between a man and a woman. Amundson said the event is not about sexuality but about the Arcadia family.
Arcadia Mayor Peter Amundson's selection of Reverend H. B. London, Jr. to speak at the community breakfast on March 4, is drawing criticism from some residents and gay-rights activists. London is a vice president of ministry outreach at Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group that opposes gay marriage. Some residents are asking Mayor Amundson to reconsider and they feel Focus on the Family delivers hateful messages. The city estimates it will pay between $5000 and $5500 for its contribution to the event, which will include the speaker's plane fare.
Arcadia resident Edward N. Lewis has been appointed executive director of the Los Angeles County Republican Headquarters. Article outlines Lewis' background and describes the work of the Headquarters.