2 articles. 1. Racing returns at Santa Anita. The historic Santa Anita racetrack reopened Friday for racing amid concerns for horse safety and the future of the track and the industry. There were no deaths in eight races Friday, which had been closed for racing since March 5.
2. Back in the saddle: racing resumes without incident after 26-day closure.
$2 million in funding to help provide more homes. San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust gets state award for affordable, transitional housing. About 2 dozen cities have partnered, including Alhambra, Arcadia, Azusa, Baldwin Park, and others, to develop affordable housing.
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 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.
The 18,000-square-foot post office at 41 Wheeler Ave. has reopened more that 2 years after the 5.8 magnitude earthquake of June 28, 1991 forced its closure.
A 21-year-old woman was the third person raped at gunpoint this year, and police suspect that they may be by the same person. All three women were accosted by an African American man in his 20's or 30's wearing a black cap. They were accosted in the early morning with a gun while alone in their cars.
26-year-old Arcadia man Lucas Naccarati still shaken by deadly toll and tried to help people around him at a Travis Scott concert in Houston, TX where people were trampled to death.
A 38-year-old Los Angeles man, accused of setting four arson fires in Arcadia and of carjacking a woman trying to move her car away from one of the fires, is arrested. The first fire was in a rear corridor on the second floor of The Shops at Santa Anita mall, at 400 South Baldwin Avenue at 11:40 A.M. on Friday. The other three fires were in the vicinity of the 900 block of Arcadia Avenue.
A 47-page pamphlet on teen-age topics such as substance abuse, adolescent suicide and gangs was mailed last month to every Arcadia parent. "The Small Book of Big Issues for Arcadia Parents" was spearheaded by Foothills Middle School parent Carol Eifert.
A 50-foot-long "Sport of Kings" float will be the Arcadia entry in the 106th Rose Parade, whose theme is "Sports-Quest for Excellence." On the float, 5 horses are racing past a gazebo, featuring Arcadia's Royal Court, to the finish line. The 2 lead horses will be ridden by jockeys.
210 Freeway closure creates 5-mile backup for 5 days. 605 Freeway also affected by work on a bridge. Caltrans is repairing a 50-year-old concrete bridge on the 210 Freeway spanning the San Gabriel River. Most affected were motorists and truckers from eastern Los Angeles County and Inland Empire, driving the preferred route into Irwindale, Duarte, Arcadia, Monrovia, Pasadena, and San Fernando Valley.
210 Freeway closure returns this week. For second time in a month, motorists face delays during a 5-day shutdown for bridge construction, closing eastbound lanes of the 210 Freeway from the 605 Freeway interchange to Irwindale Avenue. The delays may be more pronounced in the weekday afternoon during peak hours through Pasadena, Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, and Irwindale, as the eastbound lanes detour from 6 lanes into 3 lanes.
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.
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.