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.
15-year-old Richard Ung was arrested at his parents' home in Arcadia, where sheriffs recovered nine guns, including an AK-47 assault rifle and an assault pistol. Ung is being investigated for alleged involvement in the stabbing death of Boo K. Lee.
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.
A 20-year-old Arcadia resident charged with murdering his father remained in custody. The son is charged with the strangulation death of 48-year-old Wenda Peter Liu in their Longden Avenue home.
23 year old Arcadian Jimmy Palma was ambushed and stabbed to death October 13 in the exercise yard of San Quentin State Prison. A Superior Court judge sentenced him to die for killing two children and their mother in El Monte in 1995.
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.
2024 ELECTIONS - Pasadena City College: Four candidates compete for two Board of Trustee seats on the March 5 election. Voters elect a trustess from each of the seven districts in an area that includes Arcadia, a portion of El Monte, La Canada Flintridge, Pasadena, Rosemead, San Marino, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, and Temple City. Area 2 candidates are Kevin D. Strotz and James Aragon. Area 6 candidates are Ryan Liu and John Quintanilla.
About 1,000 local Taiwanese-Americans protested a proposed anti-secession law Saturday outside the Chinese Consulate General office in Los Angeles. Arcadia resident James Liang was one such protester.
The ad (open letter to the Arcadia community) that was paid for by the three members of the Arcadia Unified School District Board of Education who are targeted for recall--Cung Nguyen, lori Phillipi, and Kay Kinsler--was printed in the Pasadena Star News August 11, 2013. Fired Arcadia High School cross country coach James O'Brien and his supporters say the letter was a public relations bid to derail the recall effort. See hard copy of the letter in VF "Arcadia High School." See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 1 and 27, August 15, 2013.
After a five-year hiatus, Arcadia City Council is considering reinstating a policy that would let property owners pay to be assigned a more auspicious house number, which some believe would improve the value of their home. The number 4 in a street address is considered a bad omen in many Asian cultures. In Mandarin language, the word "four" sounds like the word for death, while the number eight is considered lucky, because it sounds like the word for prosper. Arcadia's Asian population is approaching 60% and most potential buyers will be Asian. In a 3-2 vote, Arcadia City Council endorsed the move in principle and directed staff to report back on the costs involved.
Arcadia certifies city council election victories for John Wuo and Gary A. Kovacic. The results were certified this week after election officials were able to verify and count 661 of the remaining 681 ballots of the April 10 election. There were 105 ballots that had to be disqualified because voters selected more than 2 candidates in the all-mail election. At least some of those were caused by an error in the ballots' Chinese-language instructions that directed voters to select no more than 3 instead of 2 candidates, prompting the city to send out correction notices. Gene Glasco was elected City Clerk. Measure D, the hotel room tax, passed.
Arcadia City Council today will once more reconsider whether to allow customer-requested address changes in light of concerns about a Chinese superstition involving the number four. Since the number four sounds like the word for death in Mandarin and is considered unlucky, some realtors and residents have argued that addresses that end in the number four are more difficult to sell and affect home prices. The cost of processing an address change would be about $2600.
Arcadia couple Edward Chen, aka Jianqiao Chen, Jian Qiao Chen, and Jian Chen aka Jing Jiang and Jean Jiang, accused of fraud involving defrauding investors through EB-5 visa schemes. The couple's companies raised more than $22.5 million from 45 Chinese investors, purportedly to build an interior design center in Ontario and a condominium building in Los Angeles. See also "Arcadia couple faces court hearing for stealing $12 million," Arcadia Weekly, p. 1,3 October 5, 2017.
Arcadia firefighter Mike Herdman died instantly after falling from a cliff in the Sespe Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest. The Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office said Herdman died in a fall from the edge of the mountain or cliff. It was ruled an accidental death. See also Arcadia Weekly, July 3, 2014, p. 1, 20.
Arcadia High School boys Eric Garibay, Sergio Gonzalez, Allen Leung and Ryan Vargas, are on the 2010 All-Area Cross Country boys team. Arcadia High School freshman Veronica Yamane and junior Alejandra Quintero are on the 2010 All-Area Cross Country girls team. James O'Brien of Arcadia High School, is named Coach of the Year for the boys. Ammar Moussa and Catrina McAlister, both from Arcadia High School, were named Star News Runners of the Year. All preceding people are photographed. Also chosen (not photographed) were on the second team: Arcadia High School senior boy William Tsai and Arcadia High School girl Glyndie Mancia.
Arcadia High School boys Sergio Gonzalez (Runner of the Year), Ryan Vargas, Mitchell Pratt and Estevan DeLaRosa, have been named to 2011 All-Area Cross Country boys first team. James O'Brien of Arcadia High School, is named Coach of the Year. Francis Lee of Arcadia High School, is on the second team.
Arcadia High School coach James O'Brien, who has led the cross country team to two CIF State and three CIF-Southern Section championships, has been fired. He was told the reason was, "We want to go in a different direction." He will remain a teacher at Arcadia High School.
Arcadia High School reported CIF-SS rules violation before firing coach James O'Brien. CIF-SS spokesman Thom Simmons declined to elaborate on the notification. O'Brien's supporters have begun a recall campaign targeting Arcadia Unified School District board members Cung Nguyen, Lori Phillipi, and Kay Kinsler.