Mountain Views News          Saturday, December 18, 2010

5

 
Mountain Views News Saturday, December 18, 2010 

Holiday Decorating Award Winner!

From Arcadia’s Best:

Huntington Drive Closing Temporarily


In addition to all the Gold Line bridge expansion 
projects set to start soon and continue 
for a couple years, now comes word 
that L.A. County is about to undertake a 
major seismic retrofit project on the railroad 
bridge over Huntington Drive at Second 
Avenue that will require lane closures 
on Huntington starting Jan. 3 for more 
than three months (14 weeks).

That project, which will reinforce the 
bridge connections to the abutments, needs 
to be completed before the Gold Line Foothill 
Extension begins its own work in May 
2012 on building a second bridge side-by-
side with the current bridge.

Seven weeks of work will be required on 
each support leg, so contractors will work 
on one leg at a time and close the outside 
lane (#2 lane) under the bridge for eastbound 
traffic for nearly two months, and 
then close the outside lane of westbound 
traffic on the opposite side of the street for 
the next seven weeks, according to city engineer 
Phil Wray.

Meanwhile, another significant road nearby 
will be closed sporadically during business 
hours over the next several months in 
a completely unrelated project by the MTA 
to build sound walls along the 210 freeway. 
The project to build sound walls at various 
locations between Santa Anita Avenue and 
California Avenue in Monrovia, began in 
October 2009 and has caused delays at on-
ramps at exit-ramps and lane closures and 
detours on First Avenue under the freeway 
bridge ever since. It is already well past its 
scheduled completion date.

First Avenue under the freeway bridge 
will be closed the rest of this week and for 
a short while after the first of the year to 
build the barrier. Contractors will continue 
to work on the block wall, which will take 
a few months to complete, according to 
Wray.

Work on the ramps and shoulders won’t 
get cleaned up until the wall is completely 
constructed.

- Story Courtesy of Scott Hettrick/Arcadia’s Best

MOUNTAIN VIEWS NEWS BEST OF ARCADIA AWARD WINNER 700 W. Camino Real (Story Pg. 13)

From Arcadia’s Best:

Westfield Quietly Dropped Caruso 
Lawsuit?


Sled Dogs Coming 

to Arcadia Library!

On Saturday, January 22 at 2:30 p.m. come 
join the fun and learn what it would be like 
to lead your own dog sled team. Come meet 
the mushers of Adventure Quest! Learn 
about life on the Iditarod and meet the four-
legged members of Southern California’s 
only competitive dog racing team. 

For more information, please call (626) 
821-5566 or visit online at http://library.
ci.arcadia.ca.us. 

 For more upcoming fun programs, follow 
us on Facebook and Twitter too.

The Arcadia Public Library is located at 20 
W. Duarte Rd. Arcadia. 

 What happens to a major lawsuit and 
pending appeal when a $500 million 
retail development that was the target of 
the suit filed nearly four years ago against 
the city of Arcadia and developer Caruso 
Affiliated by mall owner Westfield doesn’t 
exist anymore?

 Arcadia City Manager Don Penman 
explained to all attendees that the City 
Council unanimously approved the 
830,000 square-foot Shops at Santa Anita 
in April 2007, but later had to rescind that 
approval when a court ruled that 11 points 
in the massive Environmental Impact Report 
needed to be reviewed and improved.

Suddenly, there was no more City-approved 
project.

 While that was happening, Westfield and 
partner Arcadia First! appealed the court’s 
ruling in favor of the City and Caruso on 
18 other points. In March of 2009, that appeals 
process was put on hold when the 
owner of Santa Anita Park filed for bankruptcy 
protection.

Suddenly, everything was up in the air.

 A year later, the unit of track owner Magna 
Entertainment Corp. that struck the 
joint venture deal with Caruso in 2005, 
pulled out of that joint venture in April of 
this year. The track emerged from bankruptcy 
under a new Magna entity called 
Magna International (MI) Developments.

Suddenly, there was no project at all on 
which the lawsuit and pending appeal 
were based.

Everyone was back to square one, as if 
all the work of the last six years never 
happened.

Rick Caruso and Magna/Santa Anita Park 
owner Frank Stronach are negotiating a 
potential new deal that could be completed 
and announced as early as this month. 
Even a slightly scaled-down new project 
rumored to be in the works would take an 
estimated two years to open from the time 
it would finally be allowed to begin construction. 
The original development was 
projected to bring more than $2 million 
in sales tax revenue to the city each year, 
and potentially much more in ancillary 
benefits.

 Penman was not the City manager when 
the Shops at Santa Anita project was begun. 
And there have been two City Council 
elections and two new City Councils 
and four different Mayors since the original 
approval. But four of the same five 
Councilmen who approved the Shops at 
Santa Anita in 2007 — Mayor Amundson 
and Councilmen Mickey Segal, Bob 
Harbicht, and Roger Chandler — are on 
the current Council. Only Mayor Pro Tem 
Gary Kovacic was not among that body in 
2007.

-Story Courtesy of 

Scott Hettrick/Arcadia’s Best

Monthly Family Fun Nights 

Join in for an evening of stories, crafts, 
games and surprises just right for the 
whole family. Thursdays, January 6, 
February 10, and March 3; 6:30 p.m. No 
registration necessary. The Arcadia Public 
Library is located at 20 W. Duarte Rd. 
Arcadia. For more information, please call 
(626) 821-5566.


Book to Movie: Take 3!

Exclusively for sixth through eighth grade 
students featuring The Lightning Thief 
January 7 at 3:30 p.m. Enjoy a snack and a 
themed craft too at the Arcadia Public Library. 
No registration necessary. For more 
information, please call (626) 821-5566.

Arcadia Police Blotter

Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010

A LIVE STAGE/DINNER EVENT

Arcadia Masonic Center 

50 West Duarte Road.

 1930s/40s movie musical song writer Harry Warren

Harry Who?, the first live stage production of the 
2010-2011 winter celebrity season of Theaters of 
Vision Productions (TOVP), features the toe-
tapping, nostalgic rhythms of Harry Warren, performed 
by the Theaters of Vision Productions trio 
(Writer/Producer/Director: Lani Ridley Pedrini; 
Technical Director: Charles Offenhauser; Choreographer: 
Pamela Kay & Lani Ridley Pedrini) and 
a talented cast.

 The program will be staged at 4 p.m., followed by 
a catered dinner at 6 p.m.

Dinner theater ticket prices are $20.

 Among Warren’s more than 800 published songs, 

several of which won Academy Awards, are Home 
in Pasadena, At Last, 42nd Street, Shuffle Off to 
Buffalo, You Must Have been a Beautiful Baby, 
We’re in the Money, Jeepers Creepers, Chattanooga 
Choo Choo, I only Have Eyes for You, an The 
Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.

All were written for classic films produced by Paramount, 
MGM, Fox and Warner Bros. during the 
1930s & ’40s.

 The dinner theater will feature an elegant Art 
Deco ambiance, with performers clad in white 
gloves, top hats and tails, and musicians playing 
in big band style as the cast perform many of 
Warren’s award-winning numbers to the arrangements 
of Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Count 
Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, to name 
a few.

 Dinner theater reservations are now available by 
sending an e-mail to: ltlridl@aol.com or calling 
(626) 415-7390. .

For the period of Sunday, December 5, through 
Saturday, December 11, the Police Department 
responded to 982 calls for service of which 148 required 
foramal investigations. The following is a 
summary report of the major incidents handled by 
the Department during this period.

Sunday, December 5:

1. Units responded to Bar Louie located at 
Westfield Mall around 1:39 a.m. in reference to a 
possible fight in progress. During an altercation, 
a 21-year-old male Hispanic pulled out a knife 
and exposed it in a threatening manner towards 
other male subjects. He was arrested for exhibiting 
a deadly weapon.

2. A 58-year-old male Hispanic was arrested at 
the racetrack for possession of a forged identification. 
He tried to cash his winning ticket by 
using a fraudulent social security card.

Monday, December 6:

3. Between 3:30 p.m. on December 3 and 6:50 
a.m. on December 6, a commercial burglary occurred 
at the construction site located at Dana 
Middle School, 1401 South First. Unknown suspects 
broke into locked storage container units 
and stole about $34,000 in tools.

4. Around 9:12 p.m., a traffic stop was initiated 
at Colorado and Second for a code violation. 
The 18-year-old male Hispanic driver admitted 
to possession of a hunting knife and airsoft 
pistols in the vehicle. Two altered airsoft pistols 
that were made to look like real handguns and 
a wooden billy club with a lead weight attached 
were found. The man was taken into custody for 
possession of altered firearms and possession of 
a deadly weapon.

Tuesday, December 7:

5. Shortly after 12:30 p.m., units were dispatched 
to US Bank located inside a Ralphs market, 
1101 West Huntington, regarding a female 
Caucasian suspect attempting to cash a fraudulent 
check. The suspect fled the scene when the 
bank employee was verifying the account holder’s 
signature.

6. An employee from the Solstice store located 
at Westfield Mall reported a commercial burglary 
that occurred between 8:00 p.m. and 8:51 
p.m. Three male Hispanic suspects entered the 
store on several occasions to steal five designer 
sunglasses for a total reported loss of $1,315.

Wednesday, December 8:

7. A victim came to the station around 4:43 
p.m. to file a fraud report. Unknown suspect(s) 
obtained the victim’s personal information illegally 
and used it to open four credit card 
accounts.

8. Between 6:45 p.m. and 8:46 p.m., an auto 
burglary occurred in the 300 block of South 
First. Unknown suspect(s) smashed a car window 
and stole an iPhone, wallet, and credit cards 
for a total loss of $1,160.

Thursday, December 9:

9. A residential burglary occurred in the 100 
block of Wistaria between 8:00 a.m. and 2:45 
p.m. Unknown suspect(s) entered the house 
through an unlocked window and stole three 
laptop computers, jewelry, and an iPod.

10. Units were dispatched to Tasty To Go, 142 
East Duarte, around 10:00 p.m. in reference to a 
fight. The victim/owner advised that two male 
suspects, an Hispanic and a Caucasian, approached 
him and asked if there was any food 
left. The victim indicated that the location was 
closed, and the suspects then proceeded to beat 
and kick the victim. The 18 to 20 year old suspects 
then fled in an older model black Honda 
Accord.

Friday, December 10:

11. Between 8:10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., a residential 
burglary occurred in the 800 block of 
West Duarte. Unknown suspect(s) pried open 
a sliding glass door to make entry. Once inside, 
the suspect(s) ransacked rooms and stole video 
game consoles, laptop computer, and cash.

12. Officers responded to Wells Fargo, 444 East 
Huntington, around 3:12 p.m. in reference to a 
suspect attempting to cash a fraudulent check. 
The bank teller suspected that the check was a 
fake, and the 19-year-old female African-American 
became scared and fled the scene. An area 
check was conducted, but the suspect was not 
located.

Saturday, December 11:

13. An attempted robbery was reported in the 
1400 block of Lovell around 9:00 p.m. The victims 
arrived home and were confronted by three 
male Hispanics, two of whom were armed with 
handguns. The victims ran to the backyard and 
one suspect smashed the victims’ car window, 
possibly looking for property. All the suspects 
then fled in a black Honda Accord driven by a 
fourth male Hispanic suspect.

14. Around 7:00 p.m., units were dispatched 
to Westfield Mall regarding two female juveniles 
detained for theft. Investigation revealed that 
the girls stole merchandise from Zumiez, Cotton 
On, Sidecca, Hot Topic, Cali, Classic for Ladies, 
and H&M stores. Private persons’ arrests were 
made, and the 13-year-old Hispanics were taken 
into custody for commercial burglary. The juveniles 
were booked, cited, and later released to 
their parents.


APARTMENT FOR RENT

753D Arcadia Ave 
Arcadia

1 BR Refrigerator/Stove 
A/C - Carport 

$1095 per month 

 Call 626-893-0473

Recreation and 
Community Services 
Department New 
2011 Winter Classes!

This winter the City of 
Arcadia Recreation and 
Community Services 
Department is offering a 
variety of new classes for 
youth, adults and adults 
over 50 years of age. For 
youth we have Parent and 
Me Ceramics; Introduction 
to Tap; and Improv and 
Debate for Kids. For adults 
and adults 50+ we have 
Cooking; Pajama Bottoms 
Sewing Class; Brazillian 
Self Defense; Kinetic Tai 
Chi; Zumba Gold and 
Hoopnotics. You can register 
now on-line, by mail or in 
person! For times, location 
and fees go on-line to the 
City of Arcadia’s website: 
www.ci.arcadia.ca.us, to 
download the registration 
form or stop by the office, 
375 Campus Drive, Arcadia, 
CA 91007. 

 For more information please 
call 626.574.5113!