Arcadia's Best is pleased to announce that veteran journalist and longtime Arcadia resident Larry Stewart, who spent more than 30 years with the Los Angeles Times and, before that, 8 ½ with the old Los Angeles Herald Examiner, will become a regular contributor to ArcadiasBest.com.

Stewart was the subject of an Arcadia's Best People video profile last year (click here for video) and previously contributed a blog comparing two Arcadia fitness centers (click here to read blog) and recommended longtime watering hole The Station to Arcadia and nearby residents.

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Venerable L.A. Times Journalist Larry Stewart Joins Arcadia's Best

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His next recommendation in his first new blog (coming soon) is his favorite restaurant, Pepper's. In addition to recommendations of favorite places and activities in Arcadia, Stewart will have free reign to share his thoughts about any topic relating to Arcadia or anything else that strikes him as worth providing his thoughts and insights. That may even include topics relating to his former beats of the Santa Anita Race Track and sports on TV and radio.

He certainly has the credentials.

“I got my first by-line (that’s the line over a story that lists the author’s name, such as By Larry Stewart) when I was 14,” he said. “I’m now 62.”

Stewart grew up on a citrus farm in the Fresno area and has a degree in journalism from Fresno State.

“By the way, I am proud to say, Fresno State just earned its first national NCAA championship, having won the recent College World Series,” he said, “just in case there are readers who weren’t aware of that.”

Stewart was best known for his weekly TV-Radio column that ran in the Times Sports section.

Before going to the Times in 1978, he wrote a similar column for Herald Examiner, where he was also the paper’s assistant sports editor his last four years there.

“I had a good run,” Stewart said. “Now it’s time to move on to another chapter of my life.”

A little over a year ago, he took over the horse racing beat at the Times and enjoyed it very much. But the newspaper decided to no longer cover horse racing on a regular basis, so Stewart and long-time horse racing handicapper Bob Mieszerski were laid off. In all, the Times laid off 250 employees in one day, with more layoffs expected to be forthcoming.

Stewart plans to address that situation in a future column for Arcadia’s Best.

In the meantime, please join us in welcoming Larry Stewart to the fold and feel free to offer your comments below about his previous writing and/or topics you would like to see him write about here in at ArcadiasBest.com.