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.
A 3-year-old boy died when the car he was riding in was struck by a stolen vehicle being chased by Arcadia Police. The suspect that stole the car has been identified as Sara Bravo, 26, of La Puente.
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 16-year old boy was in custody Saturday after leading Irwindale police on a chase in a stolen car that ended when his vehicle collided with another car, killing its driver, 32-year-old Michael Lam of Monterey Park.
A 19-year-old man who was killed in a house fire in Arcadia was identified as Cheng Ming Dai of San Gabriel. A 16-year-old remains in critical condition and may be arrested and charged with arson. The house was located at 130 West Longden Avenue.
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.
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.
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.
62-year-old Gary J. DiSano of San Juan Capistrano, formerly of Arcadia, is the new Tournament of Roses president. He unveiled the theme for next year's parade: "2010: a cut above the rest." He has been a Tournament of Roses volunteer since 1972.
The 72nd $1 million Santa Anita Handicap is running today. Some of the top contenders are named Colonel John, Einstein, Cowboy Cal, Court Vision, and Matto Mondo. Helen Pitts is Einstein's trainer. Einstein is the son of horse Spend a Buck.
A $218 million school bond measure will go to voters in November, 2006. The Arcadia Board of Education voted to approve it for the ballot. The money will go to improvements and new facilities at all Arcadia schools.
A 1927 bust of Anita Baldwin, hidden away in storage at the Arboretum, is on exhibit at the Arcadia Public Library along with photographs of Anita, examples of her musical scores, poetry and cookbook.
2004 Graduation ceremony will be held on June 11 at 4:30 pm at Santa Anita Park Park race track. An estimated 850 students will graduate. The article also lists graduation ceremony information for other local schools.
About 95% of the more than 2,700 security alarms the Arcadia Police Department responded to last year turned out to be false alarms. Arcadia police Chief Bob Sanderson is asking the City Council to implement a $100 fine for a third false alarm issued in a 365-day period. A $200 fine for the fourth false alarm and $300 for the fifth and all subsequent false alarms would be part of the new ordinance that City Council will consider next month.
After five years of filing applications and lobbying in Washington, D C., Arcadia and Sierra Madre will share $6.5 million in federal funding to improve the earthquake safety of both cities' reservoirs.