1."Make your voice heard" mailed to residents calling for attendance at the November 16, 2005 City Council meeting. 2. "The devil is in the details: the fine print. What is the racetrack's developer hiding from Arcadia?" mailed to residents discussing differences in what the developer Caruso Affili…
1."Make your voice heard" mailed to residents calling for attendance at the November 16, 2005 City Council meeting.
2. "The devil is in the details: the fine print. What is the racetrack's developer hiding from Arcadia?" mailed to residents discussing differences in what the developer Caruso Affiliated promises and Arcadia's reality if The Shops at Santa Anita are built.
3. Introduction to Arcadia First!, key concerns of the organization, and vision statement. Printed from the World Wide Web, February 23, 2006, URL: http://www.arcadiafirst.org
4. Letter from Arcadia First! sent to Arcadia residents, dated June 20, 2005. Regarding race track development proposal. Signed by Rouben Jardemian, Ann Durgerian, Efrain Cabrera. Includes Chinese translation, vision statement, key concerns of the group, and a response form.
5. Information/membership packet for Arcadia First! Includes clipping "Racetrack mall concerns Arcadia First! group" from Arcadia Weekly, April 13, 2006; press release "Arcadians sound off on concerns over racetrack development" by Bernetta K. Reade, March 2, 2005; Letter to Mayor John Wuo and City Council regarding "Racetrack development-breaking the cycle of failure" and attachments, January 23, 2006.
6. "Arcadia Voter Turnout Success" mailer from Arcadia First!
7. "Guest [sic] What? A New Proposal-Same Problems!" mailer from Arcadia First!
8. Urgent Response Needed: make your voice heard on the race track project. Call for residents to attend public hearing November 28, 2006.
9. Letter to residents signed by Willie Xue and Sonia B. Williams. Calls for comments on the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report (RDEIR) on the "Shops at Santa Anita" project. With enclosures A) Comments form letter and B) Shops at Santa Anita Regional Mall Proposal Revised Draft Environmental Report Outstanding Questions, December 1, 2006.
Arcadia First!, a group opposing the Caruso mall project, is made up mostly of residents and business owners but bankrolled by Westfield Corporation. Arcadia First's revenues and expenditures are revealed in this article.
The Arcadia First Medical Association held a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house to celebrate the opening of their new clinic in the medical complex at 624 West Duarte Rd, Suite 103. The association, with support from Methodist Hospital has opened the facility to provide service to Chinese-speaking residents of Arcadia and San Gabriel area.
Caruso Affiliated's proposed mall, The Shops at Santa Anita, may be hit with a second lawsuit. Anti-development group Arcadia First! said it will sue on the grounds that the environmental impacts of the project have not been fully addressed. The suit will make a ballot referendum unnecessary.
City council members refute charges that they met in private with a developer and property owner. Arcadia councilman Bob Harbicht said council did not meet in closed sessions, but met only with city staff to discuss land located in the parking lot of Santa Anita Park. The Council has never met privately with Caruso Affiliated or Magna Entertainment.
A court hearing today will provide clarification on Judge James Chalfant's July ruling that stopped progress on an upscale mall proposed by developer Rick Caruso at the Santa Anita Park parking lot. The proposed mall is known as the Shops at Santa Anita. In July, Judge Chalfant ruled that the environmental impact report (EIR) that Arcadia officials relied upon in approving the mall was faulty in 11 areas and would have to be revised before the project can move forward. Chalfant could modify his ruling today, or allow the existing ruling to become final judgment.
A full page advertisement authorized by Arcadia First! speaks out against Caruso Affiliated's plans to build a mall on the parking lot of Santa Anita Park race track.
Judge Dzintra I. Janavs said she will likely hold a non-jury trial on the two petitions, one by Westfield, another by Arcadia First!, against Caruso Affiliated next April. The two legal challenges will not be consolidated but will have joint hearings to save time. Plaintiffs allege the environmental study for the proposed The Shops at Santa Anita mall is flawed.
Judge James C. Chalfant stands by his July decision that the environmental impact report (EIR) that Arcadia officials relied upon in approving the mall was faulty in 11 areas and that it would have to be revised before the Caruso mall project, proposed for the Santa Anita Park race track parking lot, known as the Shops at Santa Anita, can move forward.
Local activist group Arcadia First was misinformed about plans to put 240 slot-style gambling machines known as "Horse Wizards" at The Shops at Santa Anita, the proposed Caruso mall development. George Haines, General Manager of Santa Anita Park race track, and Arcadia city officials say this is incorrect. There are no slot machines planned for the new mall.
One candidate for City Council, Sheng Chang, has signed a pledge issued by Arcadia First!, the Westfield-funded organization formed to defeat the Shops at Santa Anita mall. Chang opposes the proposed new mall project.
Opponents of the proposed mall The Shops at Santa Anita have filed a complaint accusing the City Council of breaking open meeting laws. An attorney for Arcadia First! asked the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office to investigate whether negotiations between the city and developer Caruso Affiliated violated the Brown Act because they were held outside of public view.
Red Rock Chili restaurant's co-owner Brent Beckwith defends Westfield and the Arcadia First! coalition in this letter. He feels business owners and residents have a right to voice their best interests and that the group is not merely a front for Westfield's interests.
Responding to allegations made by Westfield-funded Arcadia First! that Caruso representatives met privately with City Council, Caruso Affiliated spokesperson Julie Wong said Arcadia First! should apologize and get their facts straight. Sung Tse, Arcadia First! spokesperson said there is nothing to apologize for.
1. "The Shops at Santa Anita"aren't right for Arcadia. Mailed to residents in February, 2006 by Westfield Santa Anita in opposition to new mall. Photos in the flyer are not of Arcadia Fire Department or Arcadia Police Department. 2. "Date Night at The Grove," invitation from Caruso Affiliated, Apri…
1. "The Shops at Santa Anita"aren't right for Arcadia. Mailed to residents in February, 2006 by Westfield Santa Anita in opposition to new mall. Photos in the flyer are not of Arcadia Fire Department or Arcadia Police Department.
2. "Date Night at The Grove," invitation from Caruso Affiliated, April 2006.
3. "Stop The Shops at Santa Anita" and billboards, wall signs, animated signs, mailer paid for by Santa Anita Shoppingtown, L.P.
4. "Public Scoping Meeting: the Shops at Santa Anita Park-Revised Project," June 13, 2006.
5. Grand opening and open house of the office of The Shops at Santa Anita and Caruso Affiliated. May 2006.
6. "Caruso Project Faces Key Test on Wednesday." San Marino Tribune, April 5, 2007.
7. Caruso Affiliated newsletter "Speaking Santa Anita, an update on The Shops at Santa Anita" sent to residents. December 2006. Arcadia firefighters support the shops. Planning Commission hears from Arcadians such as Ruth Dunlop. Supporter spotlight on Nancy Chan.
Westfield Group is funding a new "grass roots" coalition to oppose the Santa Anita Park race track mall development by Caruso Affiliated. The coalition is called Arcadia First! but includes Westfield representatives, Westfield tenants and downtown businesses, and not only citizens, as the membership in a grass roots organization might suggest.