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Looking Back on 2019 in Arcadia
Arcadia Weekly Dec 26, 2019
This year, Arcadia set trends and standards, vindicated prior troubles and set laws that will last for generations to come. – Courtesy Photo / Beacon Media News
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This year, Arcadia set trends and standards, vindicated prior troubles and set laws that will last for generations to come. – Courtesy Photo / Beacon Media News
By Galen Patterson
2019 has been a turbulent year for Arcadia. Murders, robberies and scandals overshadowing a larger problem of horse fatalities that had an entire industry focused on the mid-sized city in the foothills.
This year, Arcadia set trends and standards, vindicated prior troubles and set laws that will last for generations to come.
Here is a countdown of Arcadia’s biggest moments in 2019.
- The Eisenhower Memorial Park Basketball Courts
In a contentious series of City Council meetings, the Eisenhower Park renovations were modified following the remarks of several concerned and angry citizens in the park area. The original plans called for removal of the courts, but after several residents argued that they did not believe they were properly informed or considered in the decision making process, the council agreed to install a single basketball court.
- Structure Fire Reveals Marijuana Cultivation Site
In a strange discovery, a burning building on the 300 block of Walnut Avenue turned out to be a cannabis cultivation site in a garage-like structure. Los Angeles County HAZ-MAT (hazardous materials disposal) was called in to clean up the area. Nobody was injured in the fire.
- Fair Political Practices Commission Faults Chandler / Harbicht Mailers
During the 2018 City Council elections, mailers were distributed to voters in Arcadia supporting then-candidates Bob Harbicht and Roger Chandler. The mailers were from The Arcadian’s Rights Protection Association, an organization headed by two attorneys practicing law outside Arcadia. The organization was faulted by the FPPC for failing to comply with disclosure requirements for advertisements, and failing to timely file campaign statements and reports. Meaning the mailers were an illegal attempt to manipulate voters from an undisclosed standpoint. Both Harbicht and Chandler denied having anything to do with them. However, it was later discovered that appointed councilmember Sho Tay was spending his campaign funds, after having been appointed to office, on Roger Chandler’s campaign.
- Justice for Chyong Jen Tsai
Chyong Jen Tsai was a 76 year-old woman having her home in Arcadia renovated when she was brutally attacked, murdered and burglarized. Police arrested Heber Enoc Diaz, a Pasadena construction worker who had recently been working on her home prior to her death in April.
- Pasadena Humane Society Contract Increase
PHS decided to increase their cost of services by 578 per cent in 2019. According to PHS, the drastic increase happened because the contracts had not been updated in many years while the quality of care for the animals and services provided increased exponentially.
- City confirms illegal votes from John Wuo
During the 2018 voting scandals, eight votes came from the residence of former Mayor John Wuo, while records showed that no more than three people lived there. The city confirmed that the votes were counted during the election, and issued a public apology to an Arcadia resident who tried to bring the matter to the Council’s attention earlier that year.
- Arcadia Man Funneled Money to Influence U.S. Elections
Forty-nine year-old Imaad Shah Zuberi illegally solicited millions of dollars from his foreign account clients using his standing as an operator of Avenue Ventures, a venture capital firm here in California. Zuberi then concealed his foreign-backed agency while meeting with officials, making illegal donations and skimming money off the top. Zuberi faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.
- Arcadia’s First Historic Preservation Ordinance
In April of 2019, Arcadia modified and adopted an official historic preservation ordinance for the city. The ordinance allows for homeowners to seek historic preservation status on their property if they so choose. This marks the first step in Arcadia making a conscious decision to preserve itself for the future.
- Passing Measure A
Measure A was the raising of the sales tax in Arcadia by ¾ percent to its maximum allowable level. Passing Measure A meant that Arcadia chose to help the city maintain its budget though sales tax, rather than sink downward toward bankruptcy or pay for the deficit by any other means. Arcadia’s regional draw causes people from outside Arcadia to spend money in Arcadia, and raising the sales tax meant that the money will be generated from those sales.
- The Santa Anita Investigations
Following the deaths of dozens of race horses at Santa Anita, the track was shut down, reopened, delayed races and investigated. All eyes were on Arcadia and an entire industry held its breath to see what would happen if the problem could not be fixed. Finally, in a monumental move by the race track, new animal healthcare standards were installed. The new standards included thorough animal screening prior to entering the track, veterinary observation during races and training, and new technology to scan the animal’s skeletal system before races. Santa Anita believes it set the new standard for horse care within the industry and is trying to stay on the cutting edge for the sake of the animals.
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