Santa Anita Park Opening Day this season was December 28, 2019. Mike Smith, Hall of Fame jockey, rode 4 stakes winners, including Omaha Beach for Grade 1 record. The attendance was 35,085.
California Horse Racing Board (CHRB): ban more drugs, release tests. The CHRB wants California Governor Gavin Newsom to pursue changes to state law that would allow the agency to immediately release results of a positive horse drug test and permit more stakeholders, including jockeys and track veterinarians, to access a horse's medical history. Currently, drug test results are confidential. The changes are part of an effort to curb equine deaths and improve safety at California race tracks. Nearly 40 horses have died at Santa Anita Park in the last year.
Ex-boyfriend of Arcadia woman charged with kidnapping. The ex-boyfriend's name is Robert Michael Mendez, age 27. The woman was hospitalized. Doorbell camera footage showed a man dragging a woman.
Arcadia's energy efficient street lighting program to start next month. Southern California Edison (SCE) is replacing SCE-owned inefficient High Pressure Sodium (HPS) street lights with energy efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights. Conversion to LED technology will help reduce energy usage and cost by approximately $11,500 annually.
Arcadia wrestles with homeless issue. Metro Gold Line is seen as factor by some in the growing numbers camping nearby. In 2016, the Arcadia Station of Metro Gold Line opened and police began seeing a marked increase in calls for service regarding homelessness, said Sergeant Dan Crowther.
Arcadia opens first Veterans' Administration (VA) clinic in the San Gabriel Valley area in eight years, called the Interim San Gabriel Valley Community Based Outpatient Clinic, located at 7 West Foothill Boulevard, Arcadia. It is called interim because this is a temporary location. This is a branch of the West Los Angeles VA Hospital. In an email from Gene Glasco, elected City Clerk, after years of advocacy, this veterans health clinic had its grand opening celebration on August 23, 2019.
Arcadia gets new power provider Clean Power Alliance. Arcadia has selected lean power as the default for all customers. Lean power provides 36% renewable energy at a 1-2% discount. Southern California Edison will continue to provide billing and customer support.
Veterans Administration (VA) opens clinic medical offices in May in San Gabriel Valley, in Arcadia, eight years after a VA clinic closed in Pasadena. It is called San Gabriel Valley Community Based Outpatient Clinic and provides--on an interm basis--basic clinical services that do not require surgery, such as physical exams and X-rays. Veterans also will have access to primary care, mental health care, telehealth and basic lab services. It will remain operational for 3-5 years and eventually be replaced by a permanent, full clinic. It is at 7 West Foothill Boulevard.
Arcadia. Is horse racing addicted to drugs? Medication use is widespread, and critics say it contributes to deaths like those at Santa Anita Park. Half of the three dozen horses that died at Santa Anita Park in the 12 months before the current meet were on at least one anti-inflammatory medication, a major focal point in the investigation into equine deaths at the racetrack. Critics argue overuse of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, or NSAIDs, masks the injuries of horses and increases the chances of a fatal breakdown. The California Horse Racing Board’s research indicates 90% of breaks stem from preexisting injuries. Animal rights organizations say these medications likely contributed to the deaths of 23 horses at Santa Anita Park since the season began December 26, 2018.
Santa Anita Park. Jockeys’ Guild wipes whip plans. California Horse Racing Board accepting comments on ‘corrective safety measures.’ Jockeys’ Guild postponing an apparent stunt in which jockeys planned to ride without whips. The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) is currently accepting comments for a proposed statewide change that would limit the use of whips, or riding crops, to “corrective safety measures.” The guild is opposed to the change. Thoroughbred Owners of California asked the jockeys to cancel the plan, according to Terry Meyocks, guild president and CEO.
2019 Mardi Gras Food Fest, a fundraiser for Cancer Care at Methodist Hospital nets $230,000. Dr. Dino Clarizio and wife Hope were “King and Queen.” For 30+ years, Arcadia native Dr. Dino Clarizio and wife Hope have served the San Gabriel Valley community.
Women are stronger together. The Wandering Foot Quilt Guild meets in Arcadia. This group of women teaches quilting and gives back to the community by giving 50-70 items a month to USC Medical Center for low income people with illnesses.
Fat Tuesday in Arcadia was celebrated in the annual Mardi Gras event to benefit Cancer Care at Arcadia Methodist Hospital. Dr. Dino Clarizio was King Mardi Gras, 2019.
Fall of the House of Baldwin. Part 3 of a 6 part series: What happened to the Jinks Room murals by Maynard Dixon? The Jinks Room had nine Dixon murals. The Lowry B. McCaslin family, which owned Anoakia at the time, held onto three murals, the rest were donated to the University of Southern California (USC). The McCaslin family bought the Anoakia estate after Anita Baldwin passed. By Galen Patterson. See hard copy in VF Baldwin, Anita
Arcadia Citizen’s Financial Advisory Committee releases last report. The committee, an independent, ad-hoc advisory body of civic volunteers empaneled by the City Council to review the City’s General Fund long-range financial forecast and provide recommendations to the City Council for cost containment and/or revenue enhancements, recently released its final report. The 40-page report includes 15 recommendations to Arcadia City Council to address the $8,000,000 structural budget deficit. A key recommendation is for the city to consider increasing the city’s local sales tax rate by ¾ of one cent in order to maintain current levels of services.
Taking the A Train: Metro nixing colors. Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority is getting rid of the colored names of the train lines and switching to letter names. The transition period will begin in about nine months, during which both colors and letters would be used, then the colors will be phased out. The revamped Blue Line to Long Beach will become the A Line. The Red Line subway will become the B Line. Parts of the Green Line will become the C Line. The Purple Line will become the D Line. The Orange Line bus rapid transit in the San Fernando Valley will be the F Line. The Silver Line rapid busway will become the G Line. The Gold Line light rail from Azusa to Los Angeles will be renamed once the downtown Regional Connector is completed at the end of 2021 or early 2022.
Maha Hakim, 52, of Arcadia, was struck by a car in the 1100 block of Duarte Road at 3:30 PM on Friday, November 30, and died of her injuries at Huntington Memorial Hospital. She was attempting to walk across the road near Sunset Blvd.