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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5 - FEBRUARY 11, 2009 VOLUME 14, NO. 6
George Fasching Stops Selling Gas after Pumping 31 Years in Arcadia “Enough is Enough” Fasching Tells State Regulators By Terry Miller Photos By Terry Miller
Dozens of gas stations a rou nd Ca l ifor n ia have turned off their pumps rather than comply with a new state mandate that requires owners to purchase new, hi tech equipment in an effort to reduce polluting vapor emissions at the pump. The requirement, slated to go into effect April and known as Phase II in the state’s Enhanced Vapor Re-
covery Program, essentially forces owners of smaller gas stations to saddle the high costs of the equipment upgrades, which in Faschings case would have been around $35,000 for the Healy System that the state suggests in its mandate. According to George Fasching, the state mandates were too much to handle: he’s now going to have to spend about $40,000 to remove his 3 gas tanks and will also have to close the car wash at least for a week. Additionally, Fasching will have to lay off one employee as a result of this business decision, as well as having to clean out the three tanks on his property at Santa Anita Avenue which will hit his wallet for another $3400. The tanks will be removed within the next nine Fasching on 3
State Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in Prop 8 Legal Challenges Attorney General, Governor, and nation's top civil rights groups agree: Invalidate Prop 8 The California Supreme Court announced this week that it will hear oral arguments on Thursday, March 5, 2009 in the Proposition 8 legal challenge. The National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the American Civil Liberties Union — with support from civil rights groups, religious organizations, labor unions, and legal scholars—argue that Proposition 8 is invalid because it violates underlying principles of the California Constitution which prohibit Prop 8 on 10
Schiff Seeks to Stimulate Schools Rep. Adam Schiff told local school officials Friday about the $819 billion A d a m S c h i ff federal ecooutlines potential dollar handouts nomic stimulus to the local school districts plan. Friday Sch i f f, a Democratic congressman from Pasadena held a summit of sorts with superintendents and board members Schiff on 12
Eddie Logan at the 2006 Stakes named after him.
-Photo by Terry Miller
Eddie Logan Dies at the Age of 98 after Suffering Stroke in January “Footman” was a fixture at the race track for 75 years Eddie Loga n, Sa nt a Anita’s iconic shoeshine attendant since opening day, Dec. 25, 1934, and a former boxer and Negro League baseball player, passed away at his home in nearby Monrovia early Saturday morning at the age of 98. Born in 1910, he would have been 99 on May 20. A self-described “footman,” Logan was a shining ray of optimism and good humor throughout his near 75-year reign at Santa Anita. Blessed with sparkling eyes and quick wit, Logan greeted all of his customers with a customary smile and
a work ethic truly borne of another era. “Eddie was here from the start,” said Santa Anita President Ron Charles. “I know this may sound predictable, but truly, Santa Anita will never be the same without him. He was an inspiration to all of us and I personally feel that my life has been enriched by having known him all these years. “Eddie loved racing and the people in it. He was indeed a window to our past and although he lived a very long and healthy life, we just wish we could have had a lot more time with him. I think
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all of us will cherish our memories of Eddie and what he meant to Santa Anita,” he added. Logan, who appeared in the Santa Anita winner’s circle to present the trophy for the Eddie Logan Stakes on Dec. 27, never recovered from the effects of a seizure and stroke he suffered on Jan. 3. Blessed with remarkably good health, as recently as two years ago, Logan shadow-boxed for camera crews and regaled them with stories about his time spent in professional baseball in the 1920s and early ‘30s.
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Logan would often lecture horsemen about the care of their boots and shoes and the perils the stable area presented for leather. “This leather’s got four things working against it on the backside,” Logan would say. “Salt, brace, alkali and urine,” were invariably cited as the primary culprits. Logan who ser viced jockeys such as Eddie Arcaro and John Longden to Bill Shoemaker, Laffit Pincay and Chris McCarron, is as much a part of the fabric of Santa Anita as any Hall of Fame horseman. Eddie on 3
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