Council Unanimously Approves Park Smoking Ban

June 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Ordinance bans smoking at parks, city-sponsored events and recreation areas, with the exception of the Par-3 Golf Course.

By Connie K. Ho

The Arcadia City Council has unanimously passed a ban on smoking in parks and recreation areas, with the exception of the Par-3 Golf Course. The ordinance follows a report by the American Lung Association that gave Arcadia an “F” grade in air quality.

“I think that it’s great,” Arcadia resident Jenny Chou said of the ban. “A lot of children use the parks and recreational areas and it’s unfair to expose them to second-hand smoke. I think it’s better for the environment, better for our air quality.”

The City Council first directed the staff to prepare an ordinance prohibiting tobacco use in city parks and recreation areas at the March 6 meeting.

The ordinance would cost an estimated $6,000 for the manufacture and installation of signs at each location where smoking would be prohibited, city officials said.

Other cities in the San Gabriel Valley have also prohibited smoking in recreation areas, including Alhambra, El Monte, Monterey Park, South Pasadena and Temple City.

 

COURTESY OF YOUR NUMBER ONE ARCADIA REAL ESTATE AGENT

Filed Under: Arcadia News, Community, Elections Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Home sale contracts declined last month in California

May 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

home sales

A worker tapes a window ledge while working on a home in San Diego’s San Elijo Hills community. (Sam Hodgson / Bloomberg / May 22, 2012)

By Alejandro LazoMay 22, 2012, 10:47 a.m.

The number of contracts signed for new home purchases in the Golden State dropped nearly 8% last month as the inventory of homes for sale remained tight, according to a real estate group.

The California Assn. of Real Estate’s home sale index of pending sales declined 7.9% from March, though that was up 11.9% from April 2011. The index is based on the number of contracts signed by potential buyers and is one indicator of where the housing market is headed.

“Inventory constraints could be a contributing factor to lower pending sales,” said LeFrancis Arnold, president of the real estate group. “The tight inventory we’ve been experiencing in the distressed market over the past several months is now spreading.”

Sales overall in the last few months have been better than last year, but real estate agents have complained that they might be better if there were more properties on the market. Investors have snapped up properties vigorously in recent months. Non-distressed sales are also becoming increasingly competitive, real estate agents said.

A separate report by the National Assn. of Realtors said that the number of closed sales nationally were up 3.4% from March and were up 10% from the same month last year.

Filed Under: Arcadia News, Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,