5,133 attended the first day of inter-track wagering at Santa Anita Park where wagering was offered on racing at Del Mar. $1,069,980 was wagered on the simulcast races. Santa Anita Park is one of 10 off-track wagering satellites.
The $10.5 million renovation project at Santa Anita Fashion Park has begun, with a formal ground-breaking ceremony to be held January 26. The project is expected to last 10 months.
200 people turned out to honor retired Arcadia Tribune editor, Helen Schrader. The retirement party included mayors and public officials from surrounding communities served by the Foothill Inter-City newspapers which were edited by Mrs. Schrader.
According to Superintendent of Schools, Stephen Goldstone, if Governor George Deukmejian's budget passes as it now stands, the Arcadia School District will have to make "tremendous cuts" in personnel.
After serving 17 years as a crossing guard, 83-year-old Harry Christianson is retiring. The children at Highland Oaks honored him with a special Mr. Chris Day.
An Arcadia undercover police officer, 28, helped a Drug Enforcement Administration team and the LAPD in Sylmar for the biggest drug bust in history, a cache of 20 tons of cocaine valued at $20 billion. Federal agents also confiscated $10 million in cash.
Anoakia School plans to relocate to another city. The Fire Department has cited the school with many violations in the past year. Last month the Department closed a group of 10 classrooms for being unsafe.
The Arcadia Board of Education ratified a new contract with the district's teachers by a 4-1 vote, but with some reservations about a binding arbitration provision (which would have district-teachers disputes resolved by a 3rd party). The contract includes a 10% salary increase for 1984/85 and an increase from a 177-day a year student school year to 180 days, along with lengthier instructional time per day.
Arcadia business people apparently favor a no-smoking ordinance in principle, but might have difficulty with it in practice, according to a Chamber of Commerce survey recently delivered by City Manager George Watts. Sixty percent favored an ordinance controlling smoking. However, 60% also said they would not be able to provide segregated areas for smokers and non-smokers.
The Arcadia City Council appointed Thomas C. Clark to the Planning Commission and approved an ordinance reducing the number of members on the commission from 7 to 5.
The Arcadia City Council has grounded a proposal that would have allowed hang glider pilots to land their grafts on an unused LA County floodplain in the north end of the city. The 30 pilots of the Mr. Wilson Soaring Society need a landing site because the one used for the last 8 years in Pasadena has been developed with the new Pasadena Rose Court homes.
The Arcadia City Council will receive a recommendation from City Manager George Watts to require an independent audit of Best Disposal's books to justify a proposed rate increase for rubbish collection services. Best is seeking the increase of offset a 100% increase charged them by landfill owners.
Arcadia may follow the lead of Pasadena, Los Angeles and other communities by considering the possibility of adopting a no-smoking ordinance. According to City Manager George Watts, the council has not decided on any specific rules and probably will not receive a study report from staff until mid-November.
Arcadian Luben Balabanoff, a Bulgarian by birth, was in Dresden, Germany when it was bombed during World War II. Retired now, he has spent the last 10 years making travel films and touring with them.
The Arcadia Planning Commission approved a request for a variation in the distance between buildings for a proposed 20-unit condominium project at 412-422 California St. and 417-421 Diamond St. The variance would allow a 10-18 foot distance between buildings, instead of the standard 20-foot requirement.
The Arcadia Redevelopment Agency has filed a suit against the Clifford C. Bong & Co., a former owner of the 1.6 acre redevelopment site on Huntington Drive. The ARA hopes to recover the $855,000 spent on removal of toxic waste and other debris.
The Arcadia Redevelopment Agency won a $495,000 settlement for removing toxic waste from 1.6 acres of downtown Arcadia land it bought from Clifford C. Bong and Co. last year. The agency sued Bong in April of 1988 to recover the money it spent to dispose of soil contaminated with high levels of lead, cadmium and hydrocarbon wastes. The agreement was reached two days before the June 27 trial was to begin.
Arcadia resident Richard C. Durkee has been elected Chairman of the Board for the American Heart Association, Greater Los Angeles Affiliate. Biographical notes included.