2009_03_12_Pasadena Independent

Independent PASADENA

„Tweeting, Weekly‰

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THURSDAY, MARCH 12 - MARCH 18, 2009 VOLUME 14, NO. 11

Is Arcadia’s Future Riding on a Santa Anita Long Shot?

By Bill Peters

THURSDAY EDITION News, Arts, Opinions and Community Events Since 1996

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Schiff Requests Review of Failed Government Oversight of IndyMac Bank Congressman says lack of proper oversight may have cost billions of taxpayer dollars

City Officials Say “No” The bankruptcy filing in U.S. and Canadian courts

by Magna Entertainment Corp., owner of the Santa Anita Racetrack, has raised questions throughout the City of Arcadia as to what effect the Chapter 11 petition might bring to the city.

Arcadia’s City Manager, Don Penman and Mayor Rob-

Santa Anita on 2 -Photo by Terry Miller

InnerView: Black-and-White Memories of a Lavender Vine

By Fran Syverson

Sometimes the memory of an early event in our lives is more apt to be the memory of the snapshot we’ve seen so many times in our photo album than it is of the actual event itself.

Thus my memories of my first visit to Sierra Madre’s famed Wistaria Vine are pretty well defined by the tiny black-and-white photographs mounted on the oldfashioned black page.

There I stand beneath t lovely arbor, hands in the tthe pockets of my new Chestterfield coat, a dark bandana on my head. The vine d aappears as luxuriant then as iit is now, even though it was only fifty years old. For the o d date written on the page is April 8, 1944. Yes, this was A during World War II, more d tthan half a century ago. In tthe snapshot, not far from me, stand a sailor and his m llady friend; they’re admiriing the Vine, too.

My mom a nd I had traveled from Inglewood to Sierra Madre to visit the Wistaria Vine, and I wonder now how we got there.

We had no car, and if we

Attorney Poo Poo’s Chief’s Response to Dog Waste Case

Alleged Gang House to be Razed

Hutton: Felony Arrest Was „Obvious Abuse of Power‰

Monrovia Redevelopment Agency Joins Gang War, Purchases Home on Sherman Avenue

We received two letters Tuesday in response to the story about the Sierra Madre business owner jailed for assault. First from Sierra Madre Police Chief Marilyn Diaz and then one from Smock’s attorney Richard Hutton who had read Chief Diaz’s letter at beaconmedianews.com Full text of letters after the jump.

The city of Monrovia’s Redevelopment Agency has purchased the single family home located at 1234 Sherman Avenue. Sanders Rollins was murdered in front of the house in January 2008 and it has thereafter been of particular interest to local

Poo Poo on 10

Gang on 15

It’s Just a Mean Green Mother from Outer Space Arcadia High Advanced Drama Students Present „Little Shop of Horrors‰

Wistaria on 16

Wistaria Weekend!

Entertainment & Dining Guide Inside...

By Susan Motander

Horror on 4

Troubled by a report that federal regulators ignored problems at IndyMac Bank which may have cost taxpayers billions of dollars, Representative Adam Schiff has requested Congressional action. In a letter to Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank and Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services Chairman Jose Serrano, Rep. Schiff requested they conduct a review of the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS).

“While the FDIC acts as an essential safety net, the federal government also has a responsibility to the taxpayers and to depositors to protect banks from taking unnecessary risks that will lead them toward failure,” Schiff wrote in the letter to Chairmen Frank and Serrano. “I am greatly concerned that the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) which acts as primary regulator of all federal and many state-chartered thrift institutions has failed on multiple occasions to perform their mission and protect the public and banks from financial ruin.”

Schiff on 12

Ham Operators to Assist with Wistaria Festival Logistics The Sierra Madre Emergency Communications Team (SMECT) will be on hand at the Wistaria Festival, helping to keep operations running smoothly. SMECT is a group of approximately a dozen local FCC licensed Amateur Radio (Ham) Operators. They also help provide communications - as extra “eyes and ears”, for the Mount Wilson Trail Race, the 4th of July Parade, and the Halloween festivities on East Alegria every year. In addition, they support the Sierra Madre Chamber of Commerce during the Wistaria Festival by providing communications between the Chamber and the Vine and coordinating the busses and crowd control.

In addition to the very necessary but somewhat mundane

Ham on 12

CITY NEWS

2 MARCH 12 - MARCH 18, 2009

Santa Anita from 1 ert C. Harbicht are confident that the city will do well as various business challenges come about in the current economic climate. Mayor Harbicht brushed off any suggestion that troubles at Santa Anita will bring pain to the city.

“A chapter 11 filing means only a reorganization. You don’t stop flying on United Airlines because they are in bankruptcy. Their business will continue.” he said.

Penman concedes that losses of revenue to the city from Santa Anita Racetrack had been steadily declining over the years from about $2.5 million a year in the 1980’s to around $1.1 million this year, but asserts that its contribution to the city is now relatively unimportant.

“There is little effect,” Penman declared, “since revenue from the track amounts to something like 2% of the total General Fund.”

Track revenue comes to the city from the daily on-track handle, an agreement reached between the city and the track decades ago.

The city receives no money from off-track betting, he said.

Penman also said he believes that Santa Anita will continue to run thoroughbred horse races, but perhaps under a different owner.

Magna has been attempting to sell several of its racing properties around the country and apparently has prompted offers for Santa Anita. The reported sum Magna paid for the property in 1998, $126 million, would amount to just under $400 a square foot for the 320 acre site which holds its famed Art Deco grandstand and 61 barns. The impression at the city is that Magna Entertainment could profit handsomely from any sale of Santa Anita.

Penman sees virtually no possibility that racing will stop at the track since any change to some other use of the property would require a revision to the General Plan, something he said might take two to three years.

Cover Story

City finances remain on a steady footing.

The General Fund budget stands at $47 million for this fiscal year which ends June 30. Budget projections call for a surplus of $235,892.

The slumping economy and the current real estate market will likely affect the city revenues, according to Mayor Harbicht, but the outlook is decidedly positive. “Things are going to be tough this year, but even as a ‘Community of Homes’ we are well-balanced between business, industry and homes,” he said. City revenues are generated from sales tax, a bed tax, property taxes and the utility tax.

Mayor Harbicht mused, “Most cities would be happy to be in our position. While many cities are proud to announce the opening of one store, we have a project at Westfield that is nearing completion and will add over 100,000 square feet of retail space.”

In fact, Westfield is the largest sales tax producer for the city, nearing $3 million of the $10 million generated annually.

Other projects in the city include L A Fitness, the Irvine, Ca. company now in the process of renovating the building at the corner of Baldwin and Naomi Aves., in West Arcadia. The 43,544 square foot building, previously occupied

by Ross Dress for Less, is being changed drastically, but not due to any structural deficiencies, Penman reported. Significant changes at the location, in addition to modernizing the building originally built by the F.C. Nash Department Stores in the 1960’s, will include a swimming pool. An opening date for the new business has not been set.

Also in the works is a Rusnak auto center and The Shops at Santa Anita, both currently stalled. The Shops, a joint-venture deal between Magna and Caruso Affiliates, is now stymied by lawsuits generated by the Westfield company and the Rusnak arrangement remains in question due to a recalcitrant restaurant owner.

Westfield’s project is currently in the final stages of a 115,000 square foot addition which

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

$ $ $ $ $ $ $1.00 U.S. Gold ............................................. $90 to $2,500 $ $2.50 U.S. Gold ............................................. $80 to $5,000 $ $3.00 U.S. Gold ............................................. $350 to $3,500 $ $5.00 U.S. Gold ............................................. $125 to $5,000 $ $10 U.S. Gold ................................................ $325 to $4,200 $ $20 U.S. Gold ................................................ $650 to $5,000 $ $20 High Relief .............................................. Up to $50,000 $ $ WE BUY ALL SOLID GOLD ITEMS- NEW, USED OR BROKEN $ High School Rings ......................................... Up to $500 Wedding Bands .............................................. Up to $1500 $ Old Mountings ............................................... Up to $700 $ Bracelets......................................................... Up to $10,000 $ Necklaces ....................................................... Up to $15,000 $ Old Watch Cases ............................................ Up to $2,400 $ Charm............................................................. Up to $600 $ Dental Gold .................................................... Bring in for cash $ Broken Chains................................................ Bring in for cash $ PLATINUM - ALL PLATINUM JEWELRY - BRING IN FOR CASH $ Mountings ...................................................... Up to $2,500 $ Therm-Coupling Wire .................................... Bring in for testing $ Crucibles ........................................................ Bring in for testing $ Screen............................................................. Bring in for testing $ $ IF YOUR ITEMS AREN’T USED, BRING THEM IN FOR A $ FREE APPRAISAL AND CASH OFFER $ ½ Carat ........................................................... Up to $2,400 $ ¾ Carat ........................................................... Up to $3,000 1 Carat ............................................................ Up to $10,000 $ 2 Carat ............................................................ Up to $20,000 $ 3 Carat ............................................................ Up to $50,000 $ 4 Carat ............................................................ Bring in for a quote $ Large diamonds much, much more. We buy old mine cuts and Euro- $ pean cut diamonds. We buy diamonds with or without GIA certificates $ $ ALSO WANTED: KEY DATES AND RARITIES, PCGS, $ NGC & ANACS GRADED COINS, COLLECTIONS, $ ESTATES, ACCUMULATIONS AND DEALER STOCKS, $ AMERICAN EAGLES GOLD, PLATINUM, SILVER, $ SAKR, CML, 40% & 90% SILVER COINS, SILVER $ BARS, SCRAP GOLD AND SILVER FLATWARE, CALL $ $ FOR QUOTES. $ WANTED: US AND FOREIGN CURRENCY, LARGE $ SIZE NOTES, SMALL SIZE 1976 AND BEFORE. $ $ WANTED: STAMPS, SINGLES, SHEETS, COLLEC$ TIONS, ESTATES AND DEALER STOCKS. NO COL$ LECTION TOO SMALL OR TOO LARGE! $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Coin Connection: 39 Years of Experience

BUYING ½ Cent 1793 ................................................... $1,000 and up ½ Cent (other) ................................................ $5 and up Large Cent 1793 ............................................. 1,000 and up 2¢ Pieces ........................................................ $3 and up 3¢ Pieces ........................................................ $3 and up ½ Dimes 1794-1805 ....................................... $500 and up ½ Dimes 1829-1873 ....................................... $5 and up U.S. 5¢ 1866-1882 ........................................ $3 and up U.S. 5¢ 1883-1912 ........................................ 25¢ and up U.S. 5¢ Buff .................................................. 15¢ and up U.S. 10¢ Before 1808.................................... $100 and up U.S. 10¢ 1809-1837 ...................................... $8 and up U.S. 10¢ 1838-1891 ...................................... $5 and up U.S. 20¢ 1875-1878 ...................................... $25 and up U.S. 20¢ 1796 ............................................... $5,000 and up U.S. 25¢ 1804-1807 ...................................... $100 and up U.S. 25¢ 1815-1837 ...................................... $15 and up U.S. 25¢ 1838-1891 ...................................... $5 and up U.S. 50¢ 1796-1797 ...................................... $15,000 and up U.S. 50¢ 1794-1806 ...................................... $75 and up U.S. 50¢ 1807-1837 ...................................... $25 and up U.S. 50¢ 1838-1891 ...................................... $10 and up U.S. $1.00 1794 ............................................ $25,000 and up U.S. $1.00 1795-1805 ................................... $500 and up U.S. $1.00 1836-1839 ................................... $150 and up U.S. $1.00 1840-1877 ................................... $20 and up Trade Dollars.................................................. $50 and up 1906-S and 1931-S......................................... $20 and up 1909-S VBD................................................... $400 and up 1914-D ........................................................... $75 and up 1910-S, 1911-S, 1912-S, 1913-S, 1914-S, 1915-S, 1922-D, 1926-S and 1931-D............................. $5.00 1924-D ........................................................... $15 All other before 1934 2¢ each Foreign Coins (exc. Canada cents) ................ 3¢ each and up Proof Sets Confederate Currency (before 1928) U.S. Paper Currency (before 1928) AVERAGE PRICES - COMMON DATE - 1964 AND BEFORE Silver Dollars (before 1935) .. $9 to $25,000 Half Dollars.................................................... $4 to $5 Quarters .......................................................... $2 to $3 Dimes ............................................................. 80¢ to $1.50

Penman said is scheduled to open in May of this year. The Australian-based firm has announced 30 new retailers to open in The Promenade at Santa Anita, the title of the open-air shopping area.

Auto dealer Rusnak Mercedes-Benz continues to do business at the 55 W. Huntington Dr. location, and the City’s Redevelopment Agency wants to complete the project, but remains halted by the refusal of Rod’s Grill owner Manny Romero to accept the city’s offer from its Redevelopment Agency of $1.6 million for the restaurant that stands on an approximately 10,000 square foot lot. Both a vote in the city and State law now rules out condemnation by eminent domain which the city insists it never sought. While that stalemate continues, Rusnak has occupied the Bekin’s Storage building, using it for inventorying auto parts, according to Penman.

The Westfield Co. continues its court battles with Caruso Affiliates. Attempts to clear up 11 Environmental issues the draft EIR suggested after the court required changes, have ended up on appeal by Westfield. Westfield either has, or is expected to file an appeal on at least 18 more items which are headed to the Appellate Court. Penman said these actions will continue throughout the year. The plans Caruso has for

the southwest corner of the Santa Anita race track property is not expected to halt his organization’s plans once the court issues are resolved, the Caruso Affiliate people have said.

Even single family residence projects continue in Arcadia at a reduced, but still a good pace. Real estate in the community has slowed down, Penman said, but he reports that the Planning Department is quite busy working with builders who are continuing single family residence building and remodeling jobs throughout the city. Property tax revenue will likely increase by 2% as is allowed under Proposition 13. Penman does not expect the rises in real estate values seen in the past few years, or the 6% increase in property taxes which occurred in 2008. He also recognizes that there may be some re-appraisals if homeowners apply to the County Tax Assessor’s office for property tax relief, but he has concluded that even there it won’t disrupt revenue to the city in any significant way. While real estate sales are swooning in the community, sales levels have not seen the draconian downswing reported in some Southern California areas.

Future significant outlays of capital expenditures include the Santa Anita Grade Separation which is anticipated to cost $6 million and must be completed as part of any Gold Line extension.

Dorothy’s

Place

By Dorothy Denne

May the Leprechauns Be Near You

•COINS•GOLD•SILVER

Coin Connection, the most diverse company in the rare coin and precious metals industry •Precious metals bullion trading current daily buy and sell prices •Rare coin, stamp, currency and estate liquidation 8 E. Holly St. •Authorized appraiser for estates, insurance companies and “Old Town” Pasadena probate •Authorized buyer since 1961 of coins, stamps, currency, Call Paul for an appointment at precious metals, scrap gold, flatware, antique and Rolex (626) 793-8686 watches, diamonds and estate jewelry $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

There was an Irishman named Sydney, Who drank Âtil heruined his kidney.

It shriveled and shrank, As he sat there and drank, But he had a good time at it, didnÊt he?

Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, but I have honest to goodness true Irish friends and Irish relatives. Some fit the limerick, some are teetotalers. I love them all.

One of my most memorable vacations ever was in 1980 when I spent a month on a farm with cousins in County Sligo, Ireland. I took sponge baths in a tin basin and sat in an outdoor privy looking eye to eye with an old gander who had the longest neck and shaprest bill I’d ever encountered. I tramped through the bog and gathered peat, then sat with the family and enjoyed its warmth.

I hiked and strolled over miles of farms, luxuriating in the seclusion. I soaked in the beauty of vast green fields broken by labyrinths of stone fences creeping up the hillsides. I even vaulted one of those stone fences, motivated by a charging bull with a definite plan of action for removing me from his space.

Living with a family and being a part of their everyday lives, I discovered the much storied Ireland of peat fires and pubs. I experienced firsthand the Irish temper and the Irish wit.

My cousin’s husband, Ivan, could direct a barb or spin a story such as the best of them.

He told of a loud-mouthed drunk who stood in a pub and yelled, “Show me an Irishman and I’ll show you a fool!” McCoy, a giant of a man, stepped up to the loudmouth and said, “I’m an Irishman.” The loudmouth gulped in fear and

said, “And I’m a fool.”

I managed to hold my own quite well for I, too, had hung over the side of the castle and kissed the Blarney stone, on my first visit to Ireland in1962. I reminded him of O’Houlihan who got on a bus with a pipe in his mouth.

“Hey,” shouted the driver, “don’t you see that sign up there,’No Smoking Allowed’?” “I’m not smokin’ aloud!” said O’Houlihan. “Smoking not permitted, wiseguy,” said the driver. “You’re smoking! You got a pipe in your mouth!” “I have my feet in my shoes, too,” said O’Houlihan, “but that don’t prove I’m walkin’, does it?”

Ivan and I bantered frequently. He said, “You’re a rare one, you are. You’re an Irish lass and a Yank at the same time. That’s the very best of combinations.”

I never saw Ivan totally sober for the entire time I was there. The more Poteen (Irish moonshine) he drank, the heavier became his brogue.

On my last day in Ireland, we all gathered at Ivan’s for a final mid-day dinner. Ivan was a little late arriving at the table. He kissed me on the cheek and said, “If ye smell a bit of the liquor on me breath, ‘tis ‘cause I went to Communion this marnin’.” I tsked, “Glory be to God, man.

I’d like to see the size of that chalice.”

Said he, “We’ll miss ye Lass.”

HAPPY ST PAT’S to all of you, be ye Irish forever or just for the day.

3

MARCH 12 - MARCH 18, 2009

Independent PASADENA

Sierra

Madre

EDITORIAL

editorial@beaconmedianews.com

EDITOR John Stephens PHOTOGRAPHER Terry Miller CONTRIBUTORS Susan Motander Juanita Harris Sandy Gillis Tom Gammill Deborah Ann Neely Justin Rykowski Sue Behrens Candyce Columbus Meg Galli Greg Aragon Eric Maundry Emilo Santoyo Jeff Couriveau COLUMNISTS Dorothy Denne Floretta Lauber Lou Perlin Wally Hage PRODUCTION

Letters&Comments Can someone please explain to Terry Miller that firefighters don’t wear “oxygen canisters on their backs.� It’s air. Just plain ol’ compressed air. Same as scuba divers.

Maybe encourage Terry to research it and find out why. A more well educated journalist will write better, more accurate articles.

- Kimberly Smith [craig_hill6@ yahoo.com] I will let him know about the error.

Honestly though, I don’t think that the inadvertent substitution of “oxygen� for “air� is an editorial offense worthy of retraction. Much less so do I think it is deserving of the discourteous tone of your letter.

Nevertheless, I thank you for pointing out this error and, as always, for reading our papers.

JS

staff.

-Mike via beaconmedianews.com

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RE: Letter from Mayor Rob Hammond Perhaps Mayor Hammond should be mindful of the lack of information, or misinformation that is spoken and written by himself and City Manager Scott Ochoa on the city web site and at Council meetings.

The Mayor and City Manager are always looking for someone other than themselves to blame for anything bad that goes wrong while taking credit for everything that goes right.

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-Cyrus Kemp via beaconmedianews.com

s 0ROTECTION FROM -ARKET 6OLATILITY s 2ATE !BOVE )NCLUDES &IRST 9EAR "ONUS 2ATE s 4AX $EFERRED #ASH !CCUMULATION s !VAILABILITY OF 'UARANTEED )NCOME FOR ,IFE

RE: No Bail Allowed for Daniel J. Healy, MD

##' ' '$ ' $ ' ' ' # %

I happen to be Dr. Healy’s last patient. I know things about this case that I would consider valuable to the press. If you need to, you can ask me a test question.

Barbara Fischler, CLU, ChFC, CASL, CMFC Financial Services Representative CA Insurance License #0B61048 55 E. Huntington Drive, Suite 150 Arcadia, CA 91006 626-445-5878 bfischler@metlife.com www.bfischler.metlife.com

-David via beaconmedianews.com

production@beaconmedianews.com

GRAPHIC ARTIST Thom Gastelum PRODUCTION INTERN Courtney Blackburn ADVERTISING

advertising@beaconmedianews.com

SALES MANAGER Andrea Olivas LEGAL ADVERTISING Annette Reyes

RE: Steamers Coffee Shop Closes in Sierra Madre Fortunately we have another great coffee house in Sierra Madre: Bean Town. Great beans from “Roaster of the Year� Coffee Klatch Roasting and wonderful ambiance with a highly trained

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Send us your thoughts: Letters@BeaconMediaNews.com

BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Von Raees CIRCULATION MANAGER Joseph Polk ACCOUNTING Vera Shamon OFFICE ASSISTANT Sara Meza

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4

MARCH 12 - MARCH 18, 2009

Horror from 1

ART OF LIVING

Art of Living •FLASHLIGHT•

By Lisa Catto

-Kim Serranto (left) and Britney Chu (Right) rehearsing for there little shop of horrors.

In just a few days Arcadia High will present “Little Shop of Horrors,” a classic rock musical by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960

Cover Story

-Shea Palic and Andrew McDaniels

black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman and starring Rick Moranis of Kid-Shrinking and Ghost-Busting fame. The music, composed by Menken in the style of 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop and early Motown, includes several showstoppers including “Skid Row

(Downtown)”, “Somewhere That’s Green”, and “Suddenly, Seymour”, as well as the title song.

As a botanist on Skid Row, Seymour Krelborn lived a barren life working for a failing flower and yearning for the love of the beautiful and eccentric Audrey.

One day, he comes upon a plant that, unknowingly to Seymour, could change his life for the better… or for the worse. The Little Shop of Horrors tells this satiric tale - to music!

In addition to the original long-running 1982 off-Broadway production and subsequent Broadway production, the musical has been performed all over the world, from Buenos Aires to Sydney, Vienna to São Paulo, Toronto and Paris to name but a very few. The musical was also made into a 1986 film of the same name which was directed by muppet-master, Degobian sage and all around artisan Frank Oz. -“Little Shop of Horrors” is presented by Arcadia High School’s Advanced Drama Department on March 24-28, 2009 at 7 p.m. and March 24th at 2 p.m. The show is directed

by Mr. Steven Volpe and was written by author David Lindsay-Abire. Admission is $10 for presale and $12 at the door.

Catch the show at Arcadia High School’s Little Theatre, 180 Campus Drive, 626- 8218370 ex: 1129, www.ausd.net/ ahs- Click on the “Drama” link for more information

Charlie Merick no longer heard the loud hum of the servers. After sixteen years, the enormous server room was as silent to him as a download library. The intense heat from the machines did not bother him, even when the coolant system went out. The heat and the hum kept away visitors.

The click-clack of high heels echoed from the hall and pulled him away from his terminal. He quickly threw on his dress shirt from the back of his chair. There was a dress code but he was more concerned that a woman would see his pale scrawny frame.

H i s e xc e p tional height made him look gangly, like a Daddy Long Legs. But his soft perennial smile was that of the kind spider from a children’s book.

A pet it e woman in a tailored blue suit stood in t he doorway. She glanced at him and then back a t he r P DA screen.

“Are you Charlie Merick?”

“Yes, that’s me,” he sa id flustered as he tucked his shirt into his pants.

He caught sight of his picture on her PDA. “ M y name is Erica, please come with me.” She had a slight air of seeming annoyed but nothing concrete enough to be asked about it.

“Uh, is this about the 1080 servers? Because those are going to be back up by the morning. We just-” She held up her hand to silence him.

“No, Mr. Merick, ARCH has requested a conversation with you.”

Charlie’s eyes widened, “Really?

Someone from the ARCH group wants to talk to me?”

“No, I said ‘ARCH wants to talk

with you.’”

“Uh, wow…alright, I just need a second to log off, otherwise there isn’t enough coverage in the--” Her silencing gesture returned. Charlie wondered if this was the last time he would log off the system as he typed into his terminal, then he caught up to her in the hallway. She tapped her PDA impatiently and glanced at her watch.

“Nice watch,” he said.

“Thank you, nice flashlight.”

Charlie looked at his battered flashlight hanging from his belt, “Oh, I always carry this with me.

Actually, that’s why people call me ‘Flashlight.’” His words slowed as he lost confidence that he was saying anything of interest. Her expression said she was far away in thought. She looked about the same age as Charlie, but he could tell her career was on a far different trajectory. She wore her dark blond hair pulled back in a symmetrical bun.

He saw the hair pins that held it in place and fought the urge to pull out the pins to see how much prettier she looked without the restraint.

They didn’t speak for the rest of the walk; the click-clack of her heels filled the silence. The maze of halls and security doors has no discernable logic. Charlie memorized the pattern of twenty-four lefts and rights, five security doors, and one elevator ride three stories below ground. He followed Erica to a control room with three operators working in near darkness, their faces illuminated by the glow of their monitors.

“Is ARCH awake?” she asked the men in the dark control room, The one with thick glasses answered, “Yes, ARCH is conscious and online but,” he glanced at his monitor with text and Charlie’s picture, “are you sure about this? It says Charlie Merick is just a level eight technician.”

The man looked at Charlie, “Uh, no offense.”

Charlie smiled, “None taken.”

She placed her hand on the shoulder of Thick Glasses. “I don’t understand this either, but ARCH’s computational wisdom is greater then all of humanity’s, so let’s humor ARCH.” She nodded for Charlie to follow her. hey entered a chamber the size of a warehouse.

A single chair faced a monitor bigger than any communal projector Charlie had seen. Erica pulled his attention away from the blank screen and motioned for him to sit down.

“Please,” she paused, searching for the right words, “tell the truth, whatever that is.”

Charlie ran his hands through his hair and managed a nervous smile.

“Yes, of course, thank you.

Aren’t you staying?”

T

Erica looked up at the massive screen, “No. Good luck, Charlie.” Her voice suggested a hint of compassion.

He watched her click-clack to the adjoining control room.

The room felt cold and empty, not like the hot crammed server room that Charlie had begun to miss. The giant screen flickered on and Charlie sat up straight.

“Good morning, Charlie.” The words appeared on the screen and were also spoken in the voice of a kind older man.

“Good morning, Sir” “No need to be formal.”

“How should I address you? I’m not even sure what or who you are, other then ‘ARCH’?”

“I am just a friend. Do you know why you are here, Charlie?”

“No, I guess I’m here to have a conversation with a friend.”

“Yes, exactly Charlie. So why are you worried?”

“Worried?”

“Your heart rate is elevated twenty-three percent,” ARCH said in a helpful tone, as if noticing an untied shoelace. Charlie took several slow deep breaths, and for a moment he closed his eyes and himself to everything.

“Impressive, Charlie. You have now lowered your heart rate to below normal activity. You must be practicing one of those mediation techniques described in the religious files that you regularly download.”

“Excuse me?”

“Charlie, just because you wear dark glasses and latex finger covers, I still know what you retrieve from your local download library.”

Charlie reminded himself not be startled by ARCH’s words, and a calm settled over him. “So ARCH, you know when I’ve been naughty and you know when I’ve been nice?”

The emoticon audio file for laughter echoed through the chamber.

“Yes, I suppose so, Charlie. But downloading non-recommended files is not as disturbing as the failure to download and read recommended Life files. Do you realize you haven’t downloaded any LIFE files in four years?”

“Thank you for bringing that to my attention. So, you would prefer that I read more LIFE files?

“Only if doing so is a benefit to you. But perhaps, Charlie, this is my fault. Perhaps you are simply bored with what is available to you. Would you like access to higher level files?”

“I don’t test well enough for such access.”

“Let’s discuss that, Charlie. Your first three years with us you scored exceptionally high on the MIL aptitude test. So promising. But then your scores dropped profoundly and have remained low for the last thirteen

5

MARCH 12 - MARCH 18, 2009

years.”

“Well, the MIL does help people find their best place in the world.”

“Yes, it does help, when interpreted correctly. Are you aware that some people cheat on the MIL, Charlie?”

“Well, everyone takes the test so I guess it’s not surprising that some cheat.” Charlie paused a moment and smiled, “Of course with my low scores, I doubt anyone would suspect me of cheating.”

“Cheating can take many forms,” scolded ARCH, “and not doing your best is a form a cheating, don’t you agree?”

“If you’re saying that I’m trying to score low then you flatter me, friend.”

“And yet you consistently

drinks with you either but we’re friends, right?”

“You are right. Where are my manners?” The voice switched to an echoing loud speaker, “Erica, please bring Charlie a coffee with cream but not sugar.”

When Erica entered with a serving tray, her lips were pursed. As Charlie took the drink, she studied his face for the first time and her eyes widened as if discovering a spider crawling on her arm. She turned to the screen, “ARCH, this conversation is highly irregular. I suggest switching to a more secure protocol.”

Her pinned up hair was still perfect but her face looked as though invisible pins were slipping and her face was losing its

are consuming only a small fraction of that amount.”

“I share them with the birds in the park.”

“That is very generous of you. What do you do with the paper wrappers?”

The lights flickered for a brief moment and Charlie looked at his watch, “I recycle them.”

The emoticon laughter file played again, “I enjoy your creative answers.”

“ARCH, do you sell Sweet Land Cookies packaged with paper just to see who will buy them?”

“Charlie, I am disappointed in you. Civilization’s greatest achievement is the separation of word and paper.”

“I thought you were sup-

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earn a perfect score on your income tax return.”

“My tax return is a test?”

“Not a test, just a discreet metric. When nine other discreet metrics are considered, you score in the top one hundredth of one percentile. So, this inconsistency is fascinating, do you not agree?” harlie focused in his exhaling.

“These are just facts, Charlie. There is no need for concern.”

“You’re telling me there are over nine diagnostics secretly testing my intelligence and there’s no reason for concern? What else in my life is a test?”

“The more relevant question is; ‘Why are you intentionally earning low scores, Charlie?’”

Charlie looked down at his hands. Erica’s advice was to be honest but for whose sake? “I want to keep the job I have. I have friends at work.”

“Friends? You do not socialize or exchange humorous emails. You do not consume beverages with colleagues after your shift.”

“Well, I don’t consume

C

discipline.

“Your concern is appreciated but I determine conversation parameters. Thank you for the coffee, Erica. That is all.”

She glanced as Charlie and returned to the control room.

“Where were we? Your test scores… The MIL aptitude test is designed to help-” “Yes, yes, I know, ‘to help ARCH find my best place in the world.’”

“Have you found your best place in the world, Charlie?”

“I believe I have.”

“That’s wonderful. How is your beverage?”

“G ood , t h a n k you , ARCH.” “Would you like some Sweet Land Cookies with your beverage?”

“No thank you.” Charlie glanced at his watch.

“But Sweet Land Cookies are your favorite, correct?”

“I buy them on occasion.” Charlie thought of his heart rate and focused on his breathing.

“Indeed, you purchased three hundred and seven pounds last year. And yet your daily urine results indicate you

posed to be civilization’s greatest achievement?”

“Please do not attempt to change the subject. What could you possibly write on the paper that would be worth your life, Charlie?”

“I wrote down a theory.”

“Please go on.”

“My theory is that you are not what people think you are.”

“Did you really need 1228 pieces of Sweet Land paper to write that down?”

“I guess not, but I did need a lot of paper to record data to test the theory. You see, fourteen years ago I realized that replacing certain blades on an obscure server slowed the processing in a certain sector. Of course with your protective redundancy, sometimes deduction didn’t work, so I ran my own ‘discreet metrics’ to complete the mapping.”

“Charlie, I am sorry if your unique knowledge my server mappings disillusioned you. Perhaps now you understand one of the many needs for secrecy.”

“No ARCH, that didn’t disillusion me at all. I was happy to understand you. I have

wanted to understand you since I was a child. I believed in your perfection. I believed that is, until the electrical fire.”

“Electrical fire?”

“Yes, the electrical fire thirteen years ago, the one that destroyed three hundred servers. I was the only one who knew that most of the damaged servers were for language. But you continued to speak; having conversations, making decisions, issuing decrees. But with those servers down, that’s impossible for a computer, but-” “But not for a human? Is that your theory, Charlie, that I am not a computer? Now it is you who are flattering me.”

“Yes, that’s my theory, ARCH” “Charlie, you’ve spent years in solitude among servers and that has been detrimental to your mental health. I am sorry, I take responsibility for that. I want to help you Charlie, but you need to give me your papers.”

“Sorry, I can’t do that.”

“Why?” “I need the papers to explain why I had to write the virus.”

“Virus, friend?”

“Yes, the virus to destroy the ARCH infrastructure that you use to disguise yourself as artificial intelligence.”

There was long pause.

“Your delusions aside, it is not possible for a virus to be far reaching enough to damage me.”

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Charlie smiled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;ARCH, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so obvious youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re trying to fail the Turing Test. You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do simple things, like use contractions in your speech and yet youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in classic denial. Of course a virus is possible, but only for someone with broad access. And the only people with broad access are low scoring techies who support unmapped servers, right?â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Charlie, even if such an elaborate virus was embedded there is no way to simultaneously execute a command through all my vertical sectors and nodes.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;You are right that there are a lot of safety measures, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why the execute command had to come from you.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Why would I give such an execute command, Charlie?â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;But you already did give the command, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Sweet Land Cookies,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; remember? I knew that if I was patient enough, someday you and I would have this conversation. You know the virus is working, ARCH. That light flicker a moment ago, that was your emergency power and lights switching over. But that too, is going pretty soon.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Charlie, do you want

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now you are flattering yourself, ARCH. The world will be better without you,â&#x20AC;?

Charlie said tiredly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I understand your intentions Charlie, which are honorable, but the masses have always developed numbness to freedoms and-â&#x20AC;? ARCH said more but Charlie lost interest.

He watched the four people in the control room. They were still believers. He knew how painful the truth would be for them later, but for now they franticly pushed buttons behind the glass. At least six hundred other control rooms in ARCH were crashing at the same time. But he only cared about this one. He could hear fast, panicked words that Thick Glasses was yelling to Erica; â&#x20AC;&#x153;grid offline â&#x20AC;Ś.back up sinkingâ&#x20AC;Ś not possibleâ&#x20AC;Ś losing everythingâ&#x20AC;Ś.whereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a flashlight?â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Flashlight,â&#x20AC;? her lips spoke the word slowly in realization.

She looked at Charlie as she pushed her hair out of her face.

He gazed at her until the lights flickered off for good. Charlie stood up from the chair, unafraid of the blackness. He reached for his flashlight and clicked it on. The spiderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s careful work was finally done. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Flashlightâ&#x20AC;? was the

winning entry to Sierra Madreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fahrenheit 451 writing contest as chosen by the members of the Sierra Madre Public Library One Book One City Committee.

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Lisa Catto now lives with her family in Irvine, California. Her husband, Erin, develops physics for video games and Lisa cares for their two sons: Logan, five and Gordon, three. Her work has appeared in literary journals and she has previously won awards for her short fiction. Lisa is currently working on her first novel, Response Prediction.

Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s currently working on a novel called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Response Predictionâ&#x20AC;? which was inspired both by the 2008 bestseller â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Last Lectureâ&#x20AC;? and a healthy serving of Orwellian Scifi.

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7

MARCH 12 - MARCH 18, 2009

Music News

Wistaria Music Madness!

By SierraMadreSue Behrens Two of Pasadena’s hardest working celebs go head to head this Sunday at Sierra Madre’s annual WISTARIA FESTIVAL, one of my favorite events of the year. SNOTTY SCOTTY & THE HANKIES take the Memorial Park stage from 1:30 to 2:15pm, while THE MERCY POWELL QUARTET jazzes things up on the Jailhouse Inn stage across from the Buccaneer Lounge, from 2:00 to 3:30pm. If you time it just right, you can catch some of both acts and be back in the Park for the incredible ALUMINUM MARSHMALLOW with THE AGE OF AQUARIUS HORNS! Add 5 other outdoor venues and that’s a pretty full day of live music and exercise! Check out the entire entertainment schedule and details on this year’s Festival at http://sierramadrechamber.com/ And remember - PURPLE is the color of the day!

Thursday, 3/12 Bruce Forman’s COW BOP @ CAFE 322 IN SIERRA MADRE, 8 - 11pm. 322 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 626-836-5414. No cover, full bar & great Italian food. The best in “Cowboy Jazz.”

Friday, 3/13 The MELLOW D’z (DAV E OSTI A ND DEANNA COGAN) @ THE MAYAN BAR (inside the Aztec Hotel) in MONROVIA, 6 - 9pm Happy Hour. 311 W. Foothill Blvd. 626-358-3231. NO COVER. Full bar, food, coldest beer in town!

Acoustic Guitar, vocals. “Hot Chick, Cool Dude & Music to suit your mood!” http://www.myspace.com/ themellowdeees “THE SUBS” (Better Than Blue’s acoustic alter ego) @ the DOCKSIDE in WEST COVINA, 8pm - Midnight. 3057 E. Garvey Ave. North. 626915-3474. Joe Velosa, Danny Hesse, Felicia Bright. Acoustic Rock, Soul & Blues. Under new ownership - Happy Hour specials from 10 to 12.

PRESTON SMITH & THE CROCODILES @ JAX IN GLENDALE, 9pm. 339 S. Brand Blvd.

818-500-1604. Full bar & kitchen. No cover. Jazz, Blues, Standards, a little bit of everything!

PAT TODD & THE RANKOUTSIDERS @ THE BUCCANEER LOUNGE IN SIERRA MADRE, 9pm. 70 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 626-3559045. Full bar, no cover, cheap drinks. Rockin’ Country/Garage band. I believe there’s a couple of opening bands as well.

Saturday, 3/14 BARRY “BIG B” BRENNER @ FIREFLY BISTRO IN SOUTH PASADENA, 11am - 2pm.

1009 El Centro. 626-441-2443 . All ages. Saturday BLUES Brunch under a big breezy tent. The Mission St. Gold Line station is just a short walk away, and makes for a nice outing. http://www.bigbbrenner.com/ TIM TEDROW & TERRY VREELAND @ SIERRA CUP IN MONROVIA, 4pm. 409 S. Myrtle Ave. 626-301-4214. Traditional Folk Music.

Gotta love the title of their latest CD: “Songs We Stole From Our Friends”. http://www.trough.com/tedrow-vreeland/default.htm THE B.O. TRIO, featuring JEFF STETSON, play “A MIXED BAG AND SOME BLUES” @ ZEPHYR COFFEE HOUSE IN PASADENA, 8:30 - 10pm.

2419 E. Colorado Blvd., just E. of Sierra Madre Blvd. 626-793-7330. Soups, sandwiches, coffee, tea, smoothies, etc.

SNOTTY SCOTTY & THE HANKIES @ THE BUCCANEER LOUNGE IN SIERRA MADRE, 9pm. 70 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 626-3559045. Full bar, no cover, free parking in back. 21 and over. The debut of the new 5-piece band: Scotty, Bruen, Billy Booger, Drake and Raghead. http://www.myspace. com/snottyscottyandthehankies DAVID SERBY @ THE PRESS IN CLAREMONT, 10pm. 129 Harvard Ave. 909-6254808. FREE. Americana/Country singer/songwriter & really nice guy!

Sunday, 3/15 BARRY “BIG B” BRENNER @ FIREFLY BISTRO IN SOUTH PASADENA, 11am - 2pm. 1009 El Centro. 626-441-2443 . All ages.

BLUES Brunch under a big breezy tent. http://www.bigbbrenner.com/ THE ANNUAL WISTARIA FESTIVAL IN DOWNTOWN SIERRA MADRE, 9am - 5pm. LIVE MUSIC ALL OVER TOWN, including Snotty Scotty & the Hankies, Horses on Astroturf, Murphy’s Flaw, The Crown City Band, Aluminum Marshmallow, AND MANY, MANY MORE! Live radio remote in Kersting Court with Brian Casey and KOLA 99.9 from 11am - 1pm. Shuttle tickets to view the famous Vine, $9 in advance from the Chamber of Commerce or $10 at the event. 626-355-5111 or online: http://www.sierramadrechamber.com/ THE MERCY POWELL QUARTET IS NOT PLAYING AT CAFE 322 TODAY, AS THEY ARE APPEARING AT THE WISTARIA FESTIVAL ON THE “JAILHOUSE INN” STAGE ACROSS FROM THE BUCCANEER, 2 - 3:30PM. “OPERA TO BROADWAY” VOCAL PERFORMANCES @ CAFE 322 IN SIERRA MADRE, 7pm. 322 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 626-836-5414.

Full bar and great Italian food. Every Sunday evening. Get there early - they pack ‘em in!

Tuesday, 3/17 “TAPAS TUESDAY” @ MARY’S MARKET & CANYON CAFE IN SIERRA MADRE CANYON with FAITHANNE, 5:30 - 6:30pm and LEN MICHAEL, 6:30 - 9pm. 561 Woodland Ave. 626355-4534. Cozy venue, YUMMY FOOD! Acoustic guitars, vocals.

4th ANNUAL ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATION @ THE AMERICAN LEGION POST 280 IN EAST PASADENA, featuring HORSES ON ASTROTURF at 7pm. $5 admission - goes to the band. Corned beef & cabbage dinner available at 5pm for a mere $5, while supplies last. 179 N. Vinedo Ave. 626-792-9938. Hillbilly Hippie Rock & Roll, big dance floor, cheap drinks!

“TUESDAY NIGHT TRIVIA” @ CAFE 322 with QUIZ MASTER MIDGE, 8pm. $2 to play. 322 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 626-836-5414. Then stick around for MAX BUDA - see below... aka MAX BUDA @ CAFE 322 IN SIERRA MADRE, 9pm (or as soon as Trivia is done.)

322 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 626-836-5414. No cover, full bar & great Italian food. Eclectic jazzy rock stuff from Chester & the boys, with SPECIAL SURPRISE GUESTS. Guitarist BRUCE McADAM’S 50th BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!

MERCY & THE MERKETTES @ THE WORLD-FAMOUS DERBY IN ARCADIA, 8pm Midnight. 233 E. Huntington Dr. 626-447-2430.

Full bar, 5-star restaurant. St. Paddy’s Day Bash!

R&B, Disco, Rock, Soul, Motown, etc.

Wednesday, 3/18 “SONG SIRENS” @ CAFE 322 IN SIERRA MADRE, 8pm. Featuring acclaimed L.A.-based, female Americana artists Kristin Mooney, Claire Holley, Nicole Gordon and Gia Ciambotti, accompanied by keyboardist/accordionist Carl Byron and hosted by Bliss. Starting a monthly engagement. 322 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 626-836-5414.

No cover, full bar, great Italian food. www.myspace.com/songsirens “WEDNESDAY NIGHT PLATTER PARTY” @ THE BUCCANEER, 10pm. Bring your favorite vinyl records and Dan Besocke will play entire sides on his turntable, commercial free! 70 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.

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446 2525

website: bookrackarcadia.com

American Fare Cameron’s Seafood With porthole shaped mirrors and wallmounted fish (sorry, no singing ones) giving this place the classic feel of a seaside fish camp, you’re sure to forget your an hour from the coast. Dine in or take home cuts from the seafood market. 1978 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 793-FISH Shrimp House Casual, comfortable, simple, and family operated for over 48 years. If you’re tired of the typical chain dining experience, give the little guy a try! Daily hand-breaded, huge Jumbo Shrimp, will haunt your taste buds for the rest of your days. Soon you will join generations of Shrimp House fanatics. It’s seafood you will crave. Shrimp, fish filets, steaks, chicken, salads, and food to go. 4488 E. Live Oak Ave, Arcadia (626) 445-6369, (626) 448-8742, www. originalshrimphouse.net

California Cuisine Picasso’s Café, Bakery & Catering Co. Try our upscale fast casual gourmet Restaurant and Bakery, conduct business in Picasso’s Private Dining Rooms, or explore other fresh food choices with our Corporate Catering division. Celebrating 20 Years of Business, and Awarded San Gabriel Valley’s Small Business of the Year 2008, we are focused on providing quality food products and events, cconsistent service, and competitive prices.

E Experience our ever-growing selection o of menus, services, presentation styles, a and creativity; at Picasso’s, Great Food iis a true “work of art!” Catering Available 2 24/7 at www.picassoscafe.com or (626) 9 969-6100. 6070 N. Irwindale Ave., Suite A A-D Irwindale, CA

Coffee, Sweets & Such L Petite France Bakery La Not just cakes and desserts but a plethora N o of choices even not on the menu! Just ask ffor Chef Daniel and he will immediately ccome up with catering ideas from b breakfast, lunch to a sumptuous cavalcade o of home-cooked Mediterranean cuisine.

4 411 E. Huntington Dr. Arcadia, (626) 4 445-0392.

Patticakes: The dessert Company P Located in Altadena and featuring such L h heavenly and huge dessert delights as: T Truffle dark chocolate flourless cake with d dark chocolate truffle cream. finished with cchocolate curls. Or if that’s not quite your ccup of tea, try their old fashion :four layers o of Devil’s Food chocolate cake with a white cchocolate mousse center. Glazed with d dark chocolate ganache. 1900 North Allen, A Altadena (626) 794-1128

Greek

Place your orders via phone: (626) 445-0392 39 fax: (626) 445-0235 email: info@pastrybakery.com Or, come visit us at: 411 E. Huntington Drive O Suite 101-D, Arcadia, CA 91006

AtoZDining

S

auté your onion and garlic until tender before you add the other ingredients. You need to simmer at least 5 to 10 minutes to blend the flavors.

Take any cuts of chicken and when the grill is ready, brush your chicken often with the sauce as it cooks.

The favorite side dish was always a roasted ear of corn. No utensils are required for this finger-licking meal.

We also seemed to do leftovers for days with no complaints from anyone and we never grew feathers from all those meals of chicken.

Corfu Restaurant Family owned Greek and International homestyle cuisine set in a casually comfortable décor. Dishes range from waffles to rack of lamb with everything prepared from scratch. 48 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, (626) 355-5993

Italian

Restaurant Lozano A menu peppered with Italian and Mexican dishes like a crispy goat cheese quesadilla with baby spinach accentuate Lozano’s elegant creativity. 44 N. Baldwin Ave., Sierra Madre, (626) 355-5945

Thai

Pad Thai You can’t go wrong with the namesake dish at this colorful place with pink booths, bright blue table cloths and red napkins.

The garlic pepper mushroom entrée is a favorite among vegetarians. 3500 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 568-9288 President Thai Spacious, elegantly attired where hospitality reigns and classic cuisine rules. Wide range of selections from apps to entrees and unique specials. 498 S. Rosemead Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 578-9814

9

Crossword

MARCH 12 - MARCH 18, 2009

T

Wistaria Where to Eat Barney’s Only Place in Town

Mary’s Market and Cafe

110 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-355-3502

561 Woodland Drive, Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-355-4534

Beantown Coffee Bar

Mountain View Restaurant

45 N. Baldwin Ave., Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-355-1596

24A Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-355-1324

Cafe 322

Restaurant Lozano

322 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-836-5414

44 N. Baldwin Ave., Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-355-5945

Casa Del Rey

Sierra Juice Company

31 N. Baldwin Ave., Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-355-6060

1 Kersting Court, Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-836-1293

Charcuterie

Sierra Madre Pizza Company

120 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-355-3908

181 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 626-355-6058

Cold Stone Creamery

Thai in Sierra Madre

7 Kersting Court, Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-355-7000

85 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-355-1616

Corfu

Ugo’s Deli Bakery Cafe

48 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-355-5993

74 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.

Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-836-5700

Four Seasons Tea Room, The

Village Pizzeria

75 N. Baldwin Ave., Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-355-0045

41 N. Baldwin Ave., Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-355-8817

Lucky Baldwin’s Delirium Cafe

Wildflour Baking Company

21 Kersting Court, Sierra Madre CA 626-355-1140

328 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-355-9000

2009 Wistaria Festival Entertainment Lineup Vine Stage Ron Longo, Harp Michael Zubia, Classical Guitar Ron Longo, Harp Sean McCue and Michele Beauchesnes, Cello and Guitar

Memorial Park Stage – Sponsored by Athens Services Murphy’s Flaw Len Michael Too Many Guitars Mellow D’s Horses on Astroturf Mellow D’s Snotty Scotty and the Hankies Len Michael The Sheds Ron & Veronica Ota The Aluminum Marshmallow

Charcuterie - Sierra Madre Arts Commission Jazz Stage DC3 Thelonious Dub Kay Martin

Jailhouse Inn Stage

Thee Superstitions, Blues/Psychobilly/Roots Rock Max Buda, Jaz/Zydeco/Blues/Roots Rock Mercy Powell Quartet Tim Tutweiler, Acoustic Rock

Kersting Court Stage – Sponsored

by Sharp Seating Company LIVE RADIO PROMO—KOLA 99FM Reno Jones Crown City Blues BandSabino Salon Stage

Sean McCue and Michelle Beauchesnes, Cello and Guitar Colburt Salon Stage Adam Wood Whitton Deerheart Scott Hildebrandt Jessica Felman Big Joe Hurt

Across

E

W

E

5 4 2

5 5

1 7

5

9

8 5

2

8

7

1 9

6

2 9

8. This, in Tijuana 9. Guarantee 10. Ski lodge 11. Entangle 12. Prepares for publication 13. Compact 21. Belief 23. Maxim 26. Rushed, drove too fast 27. Highlands tongue 28. Make reference to 29. Ready ___...

30. What you do to a shadow 32. Indonesian holiday resort 33. Stravinsky ballet 34. Uncouth 35. Checked out 38. Jewish scholar 39. Intended 44. Having patches of two colors 45. Inn 46. Blood vessel 47. Washed lightly 48. At right angles to a ships length 49. Pretty girl 50. Goatlike antelope 51. Lustful deity 53. Catchall abbr.

55. Switch suffix 56. Woeful word 57. Took the train 60. Barcelona bear;b

Last Week’s Solution

4 3 1

6

Fill the 9 X 9 grid so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3 X3 regions contain the digits from 1 to 9 only once each. Solutions run the following week.

Last Week’s Solution

3

4 9

L Y

Down

Or, “the numbers must occur only once”

6

K

1. Lays down the lawn 2. Charles Lamb’s pen name 3. Actress Hatcher 4. An agenda 5. A number to be summed 6. Destitute 7. Clumsy boat

Sudoku 7

E

43. Lyric poem 45. Nun wear 47. Showered 48. Soak up 51. Cosecant’s reciprocal 52. Small animal 54. Aardvark 58. Select group 59. Small children 61. Woody’s boy 62. Author Horatio 63. ___ sow, so shall...

64. Burden 65. Dry and crumbly 66. Nobleman 67. Prescribed amount

1. Bristle 5. Initial stake in a hand of poker 9. Landed 14. Designer Cassini 15. ___ ex machina 16. Willow provision 17. Dreadful 18. It’s owed 19. Eurasian juniper 20. Hallowed 22. Charms 24. Repudiate 25. End of a threat 26. Unilateral 29. Group of eight 31. Of first importance 32. German sausage 33. Is for more than one?

36. Superlative suffix 37. Transverse beam 40. Fellow 41. Actress Ruby 42. Gobs

Lunch Salon Stage Banna Beag Mall, Celtic/Eclectic Strolling Vin Fiz Flyers, Bluegrass Additional acts expected at some stages. All stages/acts subject to change without notice. Entertainment Chair: Mario Lalli of Café 322

H

3 5 9 7 6 1 8 4 2

4 8 7 5 2 9 1 3 6

1 2 6 3 4 8 5 7 9

2 6 3 1 5 4 9 8 7

5 9 1 8 7 2 4 6 3

7 4 8 6 9 3 2 1 5

6 1 5 2 8 7 3 9 4

9 3 2 4 1 6 7 5 8

8 7 4 9 3 5 6 2 1

MARCH 12 - MARCH 18, 2009 10

This Week in History

•Training Tips•

1968: U.S. TROOPS KILL VIETNAMESE VILLAGERS

Fitness For Every Budget

In 1968, U.S. soldiers entered My Lai village in Vietnam and killed hundreds of unarmed men, women and children. The soldiers were led by Lt. William Calley, who was later charged with murder and sentenced to life in prison. Two days later, President Richard Nixon ordered his release and Calley spent 42 months under house arrest before being freed by a federal judge. None of the other soldiers were ever charged in relation to the massacre.

By Lynda Linforth

If you are sick and tired of the economic doom and gloom and are ready to get your health and fitness goals back on track, then read on.

These are stressful times and it seems to me that the last thing you should cut out of your budget is your exercise regime.

Exercise reduces and manages stress, releases endorphins (feel good chemicals) into the body, and helps with sleep inconsistencies.

I did research in the local area and compiled some exercise ideas that would fit all levels and would not tighten the purse strings: FREE!: We live in one of the most beautiful areas in the world so take advantage.

There are great hiking trails in Monrovia Canyon (http:// tchester.org/sgm/places/monrovia_park.html), Mount Wilson Trail in Sierra Madre (http://cityofsierramadre. com/index.php?mod=wilson_ trail) and Eaton Canyon in Altadena (http://www. trails.com/tcatalog_trail. aspx?trailid=HGS241-021).

Depending on your speed

and incline, hiking can burn around 220 calories in 30 minutes.

If you do not own one, borrow a bike and visit the cycling paths that run through Bradbury to the LA River Bike Path. Great views of the mountains and wildlife and no cars. 30 minutes of moderate cycling can burn around 300 calories.

Up to $10 a class: If you join CrossFit in Monrovia (www.crossfitmonrovia.com) you can go to unlimited classes per week for a monthly fee of $75. This work out is intense and is not for every fitness level but will give you a great work out. It is recommended to exercise at least three times a week, therefore making CrossFit about $6.25 or less per class.

Foothill Gym (www.foothillgym.com) offers all of their fitness classes for $10 per person, even if you do not have a membership with them. More details are on their website but they offer great Spinning and Yoga classes.

Up to $25 a session: “Bride and Bikini Boot

Camp” is a semi-private personal training class in Arcadia, designed to get ladies into great shape for their wedding, for summer, or both. $24 a class, 1 month commitment (www.brideandbikinibootcamp.com).

City of Arcadia offers Senior Classes for $25 per class. Yoga, Line Dancing and Relaxation are just a few of the classes offered (http://www. ci.arcadia.ca.us/home/index. asp?page=1164).

Now, not even towing the social line of “I need to cut back because of the economy” can be an excuse not to exercise!

Lynda Linforth is a certified personal trainer, licensed nutritionist and owner of Train Inc., a private personal training studio in Arcadia specializing in weight loss, post-rehab exercise, post-cancer exercise and nutrition. She can be reached at (626) 447-1049 or lyndalinforth@gmail.com. Train Inc. also offers self-defense classes for men only and women only and Bride and Bikini Boot Camp for brides to be or ladies who want to get into shape for summer.

Poo Poo from 1 leave, the business owner faced her city personnel and property without

Sierra Madre Police Chief Diaz Addresses Arrest of Local Business Owner

10:30am-10pm 10:30am-11pm

There has been a fair amount of misinformation circulating about an incident involving the arrest of a local business owner in front of his restaurant on January 31st. I would like to provide some factual background and perhaps help the public understand why, from a law enforcement perspective, this incident was much more serious than just washing down a sidewalk.

Code Enforcement Officer Volpe had seen this particular business owner on a number of previous occasions using a water hose to clean the sidewalk and walls of his establishment. This was a violation of Sierra Madre’s Municipal Code Ordinance 13.24.060, which prohibits using water to wash sidewalks. CEO Volpe had warned the business owner that he was violating the City’s Municipal Ordinance prohibiting such activity and, when she later saw him doing it again, she issued him a courtesy notice for the violation.

On Saturday January 31st CEO Volpe was again on duty and saw this same business owner holding a water hose and washing down the entire length of the sidewalk in front of his business. Since this was now a repeat incident after a warning, CEO Volpe stopped, took photos of the situation and attempted to address the violation with another verbal reminder. The business owner began to use vulgar language and call CEO Volpe names. He was irate.

When CEO Volpe turned to

and, from about 4-5 feet away turned the hose on her. He first aimed it at her feet, wetting her boots, but then moved the hose up her pants to her police utility belt. In doing so, he soaked not only CEO Volpe’s uniform, but City-issued equipment, including a tape recorder, cell phone, and portable police radio. CEO Volpe nonetheless remained calm, called for a supervisor and walked a short distance away.

The property owner then bent down, picked up a gardening shovel, leaned forward and thrust the blade end of the shovel toward CEO Volpe’s throat, saying, “See, there’s [expletive] on the shovel.” CEO Volpe quickly stepped back as she perceived the business owner was agitated and somewhat out of control and she feared for her safety. CEO Volpe tape-recorded her encounter, but at the point that the business owner soaked Volpe’s equipment the conversation became inaudible.

Although the police department takes seriously code violations such as wasting water or violating water quality regulations by washing feces into storm drains, those are not the reasons this particular incident was troubling or that an arrest was made.

The troubling aspect of this incident was that a local business owner lost his composure in a way that disrespected and assaulted an officer, damaged city property and continued to escalate from there.

We welcome any respectful dialogue with the citizens of Sierra Madre as to the requirements or merits of our local laws or the way in which the Police Department enforces them. On the other hand, we simply cannot condone or ignore conduct that jeopardizes

also jeopardizing our ability to recruit and train an effective police force and protect the citizens of this town.

-Chief Marilyn Diaz Sierra Madre Police Department

And Now a Word from Mr. Smock’s Lawyer: My usual practice is not to comment on pending cases. However, Sierra Madre Police Chief Marilyn Diaz’s statement requires an appropriate response.

Her comments provide yet another example as to why our citizens should be concerned with the conduct of their police department. My client was arrested for felony assault with a deadly weapon and required to post $30,000 bail where, according to Chief Diaz, the only touching of the code enforcement officer was water from a garden hose. The felony arrest of my client was an obvious abuse of police power and it is no wonder that the felony charges were promptly rejected by the Los Angeles County’s District Attorney’s office.

-Richard Hutton Attorney for Tom Smock

11

MARCH 12 - MARCH 18, 2009

Home&Garden

Top 1% of Prudential Realtors Nationwide Reni Rose (626) 355-8400 145 E. Grandview Ave., Sierra Madre 3+ Units offered at $1,475,000.

Huge 20,500 sf lot with many large trees create a unique, tranquil, quiet & private compound. Perfect for extended families or as a Single Family Residence with great rental income potential. 5 buildings with wood interior/exterior, vaulted ceilings, 3 fireplaces.

Extensive remodel in 2007 - new kitchen, baths, utilities updated, low-maintenance landscaping, low-voltage lighting. Very unusual, must see to appreciate the possibilities.

110 Coburn, Sierra Madre Offered at $1,448,000.

A Perfect 10 -- Stunning is the only way to describe it - Built in 2004, this magnificent 3500+ sf home is one of a kind. There are 3 large master suites (one downstairs) including an impressive secluded master with sumptuous bath and tranquil view of the mountains/valley, plus the Jack & Jill bedrooms and 5 baths.

Other features include soaring ceilings, expansive windows, large family room, gourmet kitchen & breakfast area with window seating, wood flooring, plantation shutters & more. Call today for more details and for a private showing of the PERFECT 10!

838 Wick Lane, Glendora Offered at $1,295,000.

Planting Time in Pittsburgh Agave attenuata Demands Attenuention

OP SU EN N. HO 1- U 4P SE M

By Sandy Gills

OP SU EN N. HO 1- U 4P SE M

Ask Garden Gal

Country living just 30 miles from Los Angeles! Build your dream home on this wonderfully private and secluded property which is zoned for horses and consists of about 8 acres with approximately 2.2 of them being on a gentle slope. There is a possible development opportunity to build 2 to 3 homes. Buyer to verify with the City of Glendora.

2075 Santa Anita Avenue Offered at $1,195,000.

Special Financing creates an awesome opportunity to own this prestigious home in North Sierra Madre and an added bonus of ARCADIA SCHOOLS. Even Julia Childs would love the remodeled kitchen and new appliances. With over 3,000 sf of luxury on a 15,000 sf lot you can enjoy the sounds of the backyard waterfall or simply relax in the spa. Your family and guests will arrive on the circular driveway and enter to enjoy the many amenities including 2 family rooms, wood flooring, plus 5 spacious bedrooms and 3 updated baths. Call for details on the special financing being offered.

321 E. Grandview, Sierra Madre Offered at 1,075,000.

Extraordinary in Detail – This house has a rich blend of history and craftsmanship. It was built in the 1890’s and its design reflects discriminating taste and art. The master suite is enhanced with a spectacular view from the balcony and steam sauna. You can entertain handsomely in the large country kitchen or around the saltwater pool and spa. Additional features include: family room, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2,621 sf home, 12,297 sf lot, tranquil mountain view and detached music room. If character, privacy and warmth are in your plans, this home is just right for you! Call to preview before it is too late.

2025 Carolwood, Arcadia, Ca

Preparing in Pennsylvania Dear Preparing, Sorry to say, it sounds like you and your winter crops were sidelined this year. There is no harm in leaving plants in ground during the winter. Brassicaeae plants in the mustard and cabbage family, including kale, broccoli and collard greens dislike heat above 85 degrees and freezing cold. Plants can survive when the thermometer heads into the 20s but not for long. Early varieties, set out as small plants instead of seeds, ready in 60 days or so, are perfect for October planting and December harvest.

Since you want to refresh the soil before planting anyway, you’re no worse off having left plants in the ground. After the last

Dear Garden Gal, M y Fo x t a i l A g a v e has these weird yellowish, brownish patches on the tops of the leaves. What is it and will it go away? Can I cut it off the leaves?

Offered at $1,048,000.

Concerned in Covina

Situated in Highland Oaks with awarding winning Arcadia Schools, this home offers: : 2,985 sq.ft. (which includes the 664 sq.ft. of basement) with a 22,440 sf lot., 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, family room, 2 fireplaces, 2-car attached garage & a 664 sf finished basement currently being used as a media room and 5th bedroom.

Dear Concerned,

1912 S. 7th Place, Arcadia LI NE ST W IN G

This blistering on your Agave attenuata occurs on other agaves as well. It’s a form of oedema, an abnormal accumulation of water in the tissue caused by unusual changes in the weather, usually in the fall.

When the soil stays warm during hot days and nights but air temperatures quickly cool, this messes up the plant’s operation. If the air is warm and dry, and the soil is warm, the plant works properly. Taking up water through the roots, releasing water through the leaves to keep the plant cool during hot temperatures. When the soil stays warm but the air is cool and there’s lots of moisture outside of the plant, the roots continue to suck up water but the plant doesn’t need to cool itself off. So the roots and cells swell, causing blistering. The brown spots are the dead tissue evidence after the blisters burst.

The good news is the leaves still work, so the plant will continue to grow.

Please don’t cut or trim the brown spots. Agaves cannot regenerate damaged leaves. Your agave will be hindered with fewer leaves, so just try not to look at the damage, knowing in time, the plant will be bigger and better than ever.

Offered at: $868,000

Close your eyes -- and picture your special home. This lovely updated home is really something special. Located in the much sought after Arcadia School District, this open and airy home features 3 fireplaces, a master suite with walk-in closet and luxurious new bath, Jack & Jill bedrooms, an oversized garage with tons of storage and a sparkling pool. Offers: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2,355 sf home, a 7,196 sf lot, updated with copper plumbing, electrical, a new roof and is ready for you to just move in! To see this special home call 626-355-8400.

324 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre Offered at $848,000.

Situated on a large 11,134 sf lot, this property is for those who love to entertain. Spacious living room w/vaulted ceiling and fireplace.

Large kitchen opens to Family Room. Kitchen has wood flooring, Sub-Zero refrigerator,water purifier, self-cleaning double ovens, built-in desk. Sliding doors from Family Room to deck w/large lattice covered patio and private rear yard. Master Suite w/his & hers closets. Home is 2,222 sf, 4 Bedrooms, 2 Updated Baths, 3-Car Garage w/storage & work bench.

1745 La Cresta, Pasadena N PR EW IC E

I live in Pittsburgh, a very cold climate. I planted collard and kale greens, and cabbage for my fall/winter harvest. I got really sick and had surgery in November and was not able to pull up and prepare my garden for spring. The plants are still in the ground. How do I prepare my garden for spring planting? Will this hurt my growth for this year?

spring frost, chop up your old plants and dig them into a hole in the soil, letting them decompose. Don’t plant on top of them now, but allow this good organic matter to break down to fortify next fall’s garden.

Meanwhile, for spring pla nt ing, when t he evening temperatures stay at 55 degrees or higher, call around to local stables to see if they can deliver some horse manure. This is great organic matter plus fertilizer all rolled into one. Ask a neighbor or someone from church to come over and double-dig your soil. That is, dig a trench two feet deep. Dig another trench next to the first one, filling in number one with the top soil from number two. Fill trench two will soil from number three and so on, till you’ve scraped the top 18” off your plot and shoveled it over. Add manure and mix in to fill up the remaining six inches of soil. Now you have a nice aerated patch with organic matter worked in. Good to go!

Offered at $848,000.

Owner remembers the architect as being a Frank Lloyd Wright understudy. This home offers wonderful tranquil views of the mountains and Brookside Golf Course. For those who love to golf, this property is conveniently located just one mile from the Brookside Country Club. The floor plan is open and spacious and offers pleasant views from almost every room of the home. There are modern touches, walls of windows, new carpeting and new interior paint. 2,238 sq. ft. home, 3 beds, 2.5 baths, 2250 sq.ft.lot

50 W. Dayton, Pasadena Offered at $798,000 or lease $3,200/mo.

Old Town Pasadena – truly urban living at its finest! This dramatic loft-style, single level condo located on the top floor is just steps from fine dining, shops, theaters and the Gold Line. The complex epitomizes today’s trend of a live/ work lifestyle – ideal for the sophisticated buyer looking for an ultra modern living environment complete with industrial design elements. Features: soaring 14-foot ceilings, fireplace, stainless steel accents, GE Monogram stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, separate laundry room, 1379 Sq. Ft., 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, 2 Balconies, 2 parking spaces.

180 Santa Anita Court, Sierra Madre LI NE ST W IN G

Dear Garden Gal,

Offered at $608,000

This cottage has loads of curb appeal and is located just a short walk to the quaint village of Sierra Madre & Sierra Vista Park.

The inviting and open floor plan will inspire you to entertain or simply have a quiet evening at home. This 1165 sq. ft. home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The lot is 6,318 sq. ft. There is a 400 sq.ft. attic which will be great for storage. The yard has been professionally landscaped and has auto sprinklers.

Email: Renirose@aol.com • Website: Renirose.com

Schiff on 12 Last week the Treasury Department’s Inspector General released a report that heavily criticized the OTS for missing signs that IndyMac was growing too quickly with loans that were poorly underwritten. The report stated that the OTS should have taken enforcement action against IndyMac more than two years before the bank was finally seized by the FDIC in July of last year.

Full Text of the Letter Follows: Dear Chairmen Frank and Serrano, The American public is justifiably concerned about the security of their savings. At a time when many have lost significant investments in real estate and the stock market, the knowledge that our money is secure in FDIC insured banks is invaluable. However, since the start of the recession, fi fteen months ago, forty-one banks have collapsed, double the number that failed in the previous eight years.

While the FDIC acts as an essential safety net, the federal government also has a responsibility to the taxpayers and to depositors to protect banks from taking unnecessary risks that will lead them toward failure. I am greatly concerned that the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) which acts as primary regulator of all federal and many state-chartered thrift institutions has failed on multiple occasions to perform their mission and protect the public and banks from financial ruin.

As you know, on July 11, 2008, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took over the IndyMac Bank to preserve its assets and protect insured depositors until a final resolution could be made. Last week, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Inspector General (IG) published the results of an audit on the failure of IndyMac Bank. The report, of which I am sure you are well aware, criticizes the OTS for neglecting to take aggressive action to stop IndyMac’s high-risk business strategy which was overly reliant on the use of Alt-A and other nontraditional loan products

with insufficient underwriting, credit concentrations in residential real estate in the California and Florida markets and heavy reliance on costly funds borrowed from the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) and from brokered deposits.

Such negligence will cost the federal government billions and has left thousands of Americans, many of them my constituents, with over $240 million in personal losses. IndyMac was the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history and as of December 31, 2008, the FDIC estimated that the bank’s failure will cost the FDIC $10.7 billion, well over $4 billion to $8 billion cost projected immediately after the FDIC’s takeover.

According to the IG’s report, IndyMac was not the first instance where the OTS failed to enforce its regulations; a similar lack of oversight lead to the collapse of NetBank in Alpharetta, GA. I am somewhat reassured to see that OTS is taking responsibility for its carelessness, and has committed to improving its processes based on the lessons learned from the failure of IndyMac. However, I believe Congress must take an active role in helping OTS fix its broken procedures so that it can again properly regulate financial institutions and help banks avoid collapse and financial decline.

As a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government and as a concerned Member of Congress, I ask that both the authorizing and appropriating committees conduct a thorough review of the OTS and its processes and identify actions that may be implemented to improve the quality of its supervisory response to thrift high risk activities. After seeing firsthand the chaos and financial burden IndyMac’s collapse caused thousands of depositors and the American taxpayer, I do not want the failure of OTS’s regulatory system to lead to more unnecessary losses.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely, Adam B. Schiff Member of Congress

Ham from 1 such as earthquakes, fires, misstasks of helping with the logistics of the aforementioned events, SMECT provides an invaluable service to the residents of Sierra Madre during emergencies.

They are on-call for the Sierra Madre Police and Fire Departments and have helped the city during the fires in the hills to the north of Sierra Madre and mud slides following those fires.

Their service as “personnel locators” and “portable communicators” make these amateur radio operators extremely valuable during a disaster. To quote the FCC’s Riley Hollingsworth, Amateur Radio is “the only truly fail-safe communications service on the planet Earth” As communicators, they are flexible and creative enough to respond to the unique circumstances of each emergency.

Except for one City owned radio that will be in the new EOC, all equipment is owned and maintained by SMECT members.

There are a number of possible emergencies that may require the Sierra Madre Emergency Communications Team

ing persons, etc. But this weekend, they will be operating behind the scenes, monitoring emergency communications, shadowing the Wistaria Chair and assisting with communication between the volunteers and the Chair, and stationed at the Vine and the Shuttle pick up point. Simple things like communication between these two locations can make this event more enjoyable for all. For instance, if there is a bus waiting at the vine for people to come on board, but no one is, and at the same time the line at the pickup point has grown due to a sudden influx of people, communication between these two points by the ham operators can lead to the empty bus moving down to the pickup point for better utilization of the resource.

The logistics of transporting two to three thousand people back and forth from the vine to the festival in just a few hours can be a daunting task. But thanks to the ham operators, it doesn’t have to be as daunting as it once was.

13

MARCH 12 - MARCH 18, 2009

Poppies are Coming g Each year they invade by the millions, painting portions of the California landscape with a bouquet a brilliant of colors. They are welcome visitors, sprouting up along freeways and covering rolling hills. They are wildflowers and spring is their invite.

The most famous of these flowers is the California Poppy (Eschscholtzia californica), which blooms in deep orange, yellow, white, or variegated, and features four to eight ped-

als. Named state flower in 1903, the poppy once flourished throughout the state but today the only large fields left are found in the western Antelope Valley.

One of the best places to view poppies and other wildflowers is the California Poppy Reserve in Lancaster.

This 1800-acre state reserve offers eight miles of intertwining hiking trails (including a paved section for wheelchairs) winding through rolling hills

covered with vibrant flora and beautiful desert vegetation.

The reserve officially opens March 14 for the 2009 wildflower season, at which time crowds are expected. So to beat the rush and get a sneak preview, a friend and I took our chances on seeing some early bloomers and visited the park last week.

Our getaway began when we transferred from the busy 5 Freeway North onto lonely Highway 138 near Gorman.

By Greg Aragon

This winding, two-lane country road took us past large grassy fields, hidden homes, vineyards, old water towers, and farms with horses and tractors.

After 15 miles on 138, we turned down 170th St. and quickly spotted the Poppy Reserve bounded by rolling hills speckled with orange dots. The

Poppies on 18

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$429,000

$322,000

This great 3 bedroom features family room wired for surround sound, second floor has large, loft type room that could be a nice guest room with its own entrance from outside. Two car garage with attached workshop. Large lot with pool, RV parking, nice curb appeal and so much more! (LIM)

Corner property located in a quiet area of Monrovia, needs some work, selling as-is, large garage with work area, many trees, large lot, 3bdm 2bth home with lots of potential.

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MEDITERRANEAN STYLE

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Spacious 5 bedroom in San Gabriel on a quiet cul-de-sac street with Temple City Schools, 3 baths, cathedral ceilings, kitchen with built in stove, oven, dishwasher, in ground swimming pool, air conditioning, intercom and alarm system, double detached garage. C8915

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ARCADIA

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This wonderful 3 bed/2.5 ba home is located on a large lot in very desirable area of Arcadia. Features include master suite, new carpet and paint, new roof, 2 car garage and additional parking in driveway. (SHA)

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CUSTOM BUILT

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$828,000

Beautiful Town Home w/Arcadia Schools, 3 bdrms 3.5 bth, FP, formal dining room, bonus room, loft upstairs, top quality workmanship, gourmet kitchen w/custom cabinets, granite countertops, laundry area, two car attached direct access garage, lots of storage, nice size front &side yard. (H1020)

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GORGEOUS CUSTOM HOME

$818,000

Located in Glendora and featuring 2 master bedrooms, one for her and one for him, walk in closets, top of the line construction, oversized double garage, concrete fire retardant roof, beautiful private backyard with huge patio for entertaining and RV parking(M1664)

CENTURY 21 VILLAGE, INC. (626) 355-1451 E RIC N E P TIO G C HU EDU R

HORSE PROPERTY + PGA GOLF

$698,900

Fives acres with Craftsman style home, 4bdrms 3bths, F P, d i n i n g r o o m , r e c r e a t i o n r o o m , k n o w n a s “ R O S E FARM DRESSAGE “, place to board horses, professional Dressage training and instruction. USDF qualified training facilities, 17 boarding stalls, a circular arena, two PGA Golf courses near by. Lot’s of income potential. (File #C38834)

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MOUNTAIN VIEWS

$688,000

This beautiful 4bdrm 2bth home has mountain views, sparkling pool, 2 fountains, covered patio, topiary and sego palms located on a quiet cul-de-sac. Two master suites, large foyer, formal dining room, FP, kitchen w/modern appliances & eating area ceramic tile counters, 2 first floor bdrms and upstairs family room w/balcony. (File #A8815)

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BUILD UNITS?

$578,800

Large 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, Temple City home on R-2 flat lot (50 x 210) with Temple City schools. Lot nearly 10,000 Sq. Ft. Owner has relocated….anxious to sell. Also for lease at $2,500/ month.

Negotiable. (A9072)

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LOWEST PRICE IN CHAPMAN WOODS ! $548,000

BIG LOT

Large original Chapman Woods Home for a Small Price!

New copper plumbing and central air. Needs some cosmetic work. This home is located on an 8,450 sq.ft., corner lot and features 1,920 sq. ft. living space. This one won’t last!!! (GRA)

This 2bdrm 1bth has hardwood under carpet, newer paint, gated, big kitchen w/eating area & ceramic tile counters, laundry room w/sink, large bedrooms, fruit trees, close to schools, markets, park and well maintained. (H219)

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$ 4 9 8 , 0 0 0 AFFORDABLE CONDO

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T h i s 3 b d r m 2 b t h To w n H o m e i s a n e n d u n i t c l o s e to restaurants and transportation. Very well maintained, hardwood floors in the entry & dining area, large master suite, south facing unit and low HOA fees. (M320)

GOOD INCOME

$560,000

Nothing fancy just good income of $3,700 month. 4-Plex – 2 studios + 2 1 bedrooms. Each unit has garage. (B3212)

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PASADENA CONDO

$458,000

This executive style condo shows like a model home.

Located in a beautiful, well maintained gated complex. Kitchen with granite counters and stainless appliances. Nice patio for outdoor dining. (ORA)

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E US HO 1-4 N E .

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633 W. Olive, Monrovia.Two bedrooms, one bath, living room with lots of windows, indoor’laundry room, update plumbing & electrical, newer roof, detached garage, close to park, Old Town, shopping and transportation.(O633)

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THREE LEVEL TOWN HOME

$339,000

1834 S. Fifth Ave #A., Monrovia. Located in Monrovia, two master suites and 3 baths, fireplace, newer Bamboo wood flooring, central air & heat, direct access to garage with laundry area. End unit, quiet complex, close to all. (F1834)

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CORNER LOT HOME

$368,000

$319,000

Great 2 bedroom unit in terrific neighborhood. Master Bedroom with large closet and 3/4 bath. Full bathroom in hallway. Living room with large windows, dining area and kitchen with lots of storage space. Two underground garage parking spaces with storage compartments. Near shopping and La Salle High School. (MIC)

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POOL HOME

$239,900

Bank owned. This cute 2 bedroom, 1 bath has a beautiful pool.

The home has just been painted and new carpet installed. (M14236)

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This beautiful home features 2 bedrooms and 1 remodeled bath. Newly installed bamboo hardwood flooring throughout, new paint inside and out, newer roof, FA/ CA and much more! Close to City of Hope. (BRO)

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This center is anchored by Tuesday Morning & Century 21. 4 spaces are available at 600, 800, 2350 & 3600 SF. Located along the highly trafficked Route 66. Great monument & building signage & ample parking. (R1000)

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433 WEST FOOTHILL BLVD., MONROVIA

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HOME & GARDEN

MARCH 12- MARCH 18, 2009 15

Century 21 Village Welcomes Mike Gutkin

Gang from 1

erties on Sherman Avenue.

Sherman Avenue is the site of the City’s first Habitat for Humanity development and is also home to the successful Monrovia Reads and Plays Van. However the area continues to be plagued with a series of criminal, gang re-

beaconmedianews.com

lated activities. The subject property being proposed for acquisition has historically been at the center for much of the activity. Last year an individual was murdered on the front lawn, and it ap-

Gang on 16

PET JUNGLE Same Family Ownership Since 1963

Photo By Terry Miller

Andy Bencosme, managing broker of Century 21 Village Realty recently welcomed Mike Gutkin to his Sierra Madre office. The announcement was made at the office’s weekly marketing and sales meeting.

Gutkin said that he is very excited about his new association with Village and that he chose the Sierra Madre office for the wonderful atmosphere, friendly agents and Bencosme’s extensive real estate knowledge. He also noted that he had read a lot about the other agents and their success on the internet and in the local newspapers.

Originally from Arizona,

Gutkin has lived in the local community for over 18 years; He holds degrees from Northwestern University and the University of San Diego and obtained his license 7 years ago. Prior to his real estate career, Gutkin worked as an educator of immigrant students and also in the public sector and legal field. When not working in real estate, Gutkin said that he enjoys spending time with his large family. Mike Gutkin and all Century 21 Village agents can be reached at 38 W. Sierra Madre Blvd in Sierra Madre, by telephone at 626 355-1451 or online at www.c21village. com

gang members.

While a 16 year old has been arrested and accused of participating the murder, another suspect is still outstanding. Rollins sister, Mary Youngblood is the owner of the Sherman Avenue property according to Kevin O’Brien, the head of the Redevelopment Agency.

O’Brien prepared the Staff Report which was presented to the City Council on March 3 and was largely the basis upon which the Council made the decision to purchase the property.

According to that staff report the fair market value of the property is $350,000, but the city paid $465,000 for it. O’Brien explained that state law mandated paying the residents of the location relocation expenses. There are six adult residents of the 1,181 sq. ft., 2 bedroom, one

bath home, all of whom as considered “last resort housing tenants,” according to O’Brien. The additional funds over the fair market value were required for the mandatory relocation costs of the owner and her five relatives who occupy the house.

The home has been purchased by the Redevelopment Agency with a loan from the General Fund of the City, to be repaid when the property at the S/W corner of Myrtle and Huntington.

According to O’Brien there is a developer for that project, but the developer needs a tenant for the facility before purchasing the property.

I n t he s t a f f r ep or t O’Brien wrote: “Over the past several years, the (Redevelopment) Agency has sought to identify and eliminate the core blighting prop-

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16

MARCH 12 - MARCH 18, 2009

Community tyy

Wistaria from 1 had, we probably couldn’t have used our ration of gas for such a frivolous outing. Did we ride the Pacific Electric Red Car to get to Kersting Court? Or did we hitchhike?

“Hitchhike?” you ask. Well, yes, we may have. Mom and I had hitchhiked out to Palm Springs. That I know because other snapshots on that same album page show us there, and in Indio, and even temporarily “marooned,” as the label says, in Calimesa. We had also once hitchhiked to Sacramento. Mom was determined to show me all she could of this fabulous Golden State where we had recently moved from Wisconsin.

And one of those noteworthy places was the Wistaria Vine! So here we were!

The photo reminds me of that day, of how we marveled at the Vine with its subtle aroma, its lavender blossoms, its twining tendrils. Of how we sat on cardtable chairs to eat lunch there on a patio, for in those days meals were sometimes served. Another photo is labeled “Our waiter,” and shows a young fellow, perhaps one of the family who lived there at the time.

So yes, the Vine was half a century old then. Fast forward another half century to 1994, and we find Sierra Madre celebrating the Wistaria Vine Centennial—100 years since Alice Brugman had paid 75 cents for a gallon-sized

School•Religion•Community Activities•Social

Cover Story

-Photos By Terry Miller

wistaria plant at a Monrovia nursery. During its lifetime, the Vine had grown so huge and heavy that it had strangled and collapsed one house. It had been cited in the Guinness Book of World Records. Several people had been its proud owners. It had hosted musical soirees, art shows, fundraisers for both the local Woman’s Club and, much earlier, the Red Cross during World War I. And it had kept right on growing during its second fifty years.

Meantime, where was I? I’d

graduated UCLA, worked in the garment industry in downtown Los Angeles, married and raised a family of three children, and segued into a journalism career.

We’d lived in Whittier, La Habra, and Pasadena. Occasionally, indeed, we’d visited the Wistaria Vine again, bringing our children and our friends with us.

Now, fast-forward to me in 1994—the Wistaria Vine Centennial year—and lo! here we are, living in Sierra Madre! We came in 1982, and somehow I’d be-

come involved with publicity for the annual Wistaria Festival and vine-viewing. We sent publicity

St Baldrick's Raises Smiles as well as Much Needed Childhood Cancer Research Funds them shave firefighters heads in solidarity to give them encouragement and inspiration as they fight their individual cancers. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation raises money and awareness globally for childhood cancer research. The Arcadia Firefighters Honor Guard Bagpipes as well as an antique fire engine and therapy dogs greeted

Arcadia Firefighter Drew Pryor gets a first class buzz from Eddie Ramirez,1o, tuesday.

the children at City of Hope on their trip to Arcadia.. Last Year over 17 Million was raised nationally and $30,000 locally for pediatric cancer research.

Over 20 Firefighters from the Arcadia Fire Department shaved their heads bald with the help of the four children and stylists for Del Sol Salon .

-Photos by Terry Miller

By Terry Miller Record crowds attended Matt Denny’s annual fundraiser for childhood cancer research Tuesday evening. An emotional Matt McSweeney who has hosted this event since inception 7 years ago, thanked all involved and paid tribute to those who started the event including George Carter and the Arcadia Lions Club. Ar-

COMMUNITY

cadia Firefighters first went to the City of Hope Tuesday to give four children the opportunity to be firefighters for a day and give them a ride in fire engines to St. Baldrick’s at Matt Denny’s in Arcadia. The Arcadia Firefighters honored Ariel (9), Jaylon (7), Eddie (10), and Edwin (8) as the true heroes they are and having

Jaylon and Edwin get off the fire engine after a trip to Matt Denny’s from the City of Hope and get ready to shave heads of their heroes, the Arcadia Firefighters.

to newspapers, radio and TV stations, garden clubs, chambers of commerce, historical societies, and individuals. Our mailing list totaled more than 1,100 at its height as we approached the Centennial. What an exciting time!

One day, while working on the Wistaria Centennial Edition of the Sierra Madre News, I happened to remember something in my college photo album. I scrounged it up, and in it I found the page with the photos of mom’s and my first trip to see the Wistaria Vine. There I am, in my new coat, standing beneath the arbor or—in another pose—sitting by some broad steps. A closer look reveals that, although the Vine even then was lush and luxuriant, the hardscape has changed. The steps are different, as are the posts supporting the heavy vine than covers two neighbors’ gardens.

No patio for lunches remains.

That’s what can happen in half a century.

And a half century it was, for that April 1944 date by my picture says so. Do I really remember that first visit?—or is my memory more the memory of seeing the blackand-white snapshot every now and then. At any rate, I began to realize that I can claim the distinction of having been entwined in the Vine’s tendrils at both its 50-year and its 100-year marks!

Now it’s another 15 years later, and once again I celebrate my ongoing, enduring relationship with the Sierra Madre Wistaria Vine. Long may we both live!

Gang from 15 pears as though there is an ongoing dispute between certain occupants of the house and rival gang members.”

According to O’Brien, the city plans to raze the building and “land bank” the property. First the Monrovia Police and Fire Departments will be able to use the vacant house which O’Brien said was already in poor condition, for training activities. The current tenants have already moved out and the property has been fenced off to make it clear that no one lives there and to prevent it from becoming an attractive nuisance.

“Anyone who thinks that the house is a target will no longer think so,” O’Brien said in regard to fencing off the house. He also explained that the city had no immediate plans to find a developer to build a new home on the lot which is zoned R-1, meaning it is zoned only for a single family residence.

In explaining why the decision was made to destroy the house rather than trying to refurbish it, he said “In good conscience we couldn’t sell the house to an innocent family and later have someone shoot it up in the future not realizing there were new residents.”

O’Brien explained the city plans to leave the property vacant with the current financial situation and to allow people to forget the location’s history.

17

MARCH 12 - MARCH 18, 2009

TheGoodLife

By Wally Hage

St Patrick’s Day Top of the mornin’ to you…??

Are you Irish ...? Well, the saying goes everyone is a little Irish on March 17th, Saint Patrick’s Day! Saint Patrick’s day is in honor of the Patron Saint of Ireland, who brought Christianity to the Emerald Isles, as Ireland is known. It is truly a day of celebrating Irish history, ancestry and customs.

If you’re Irish You better be Wearing Green, I’ll say; Now put on an Irish smile and you’ll enjoy St Patrick’s Day! However, at my house this may not be true.

Now how can I put on a smile…when my Irish Coleen goes utterly crazy celebrating “GREEN” on that day? It is bad enough that she has changed my life style completely as an avid environmentalist but also once a year “She Colors My World Green.”

Not long ago after being reminded at least 22 times that I was going to repaint the kitchen I received for my birthday a paintbrush and a gallon of “Green” paint. This subtle reminder on my birthday was so irritating that I gave no thought to why she had selected green! Upon completion of painting the now ugly kitchen, I discovered her urgency to repaint as her secret plans began to unfold. First the yellow colored refrigerator had to be replaced, as it no longer matched the kitchen décor. Then of course the stove, dishwasher and microwave oven had to follow. Then just two days prior to the St Patrick’s Day nightmare came the final clue. New table linen, matching napkins, green seat covers and table decorations were now being put into place for the big event! Then that “Green” day arrived. St Patrick’s Day was upon us and all that could be seen, to the right and to the left and everywhere … it was Green, Green, Green.

But it did not stop there! Green colored oatmeal and matching drink was the breakfast menu complete. But it was the evening meal that I could hardly eat!! Yes, Corn Beef and Cabbage was the main dish. But split pea soup, green Jell-O and matching green mashed potatoes was a sickening sight. At this point a green cake and the mint ice cream sherbet …

I just couldn’t take a bite!

Erin Go Braugh is perhaps the most common Irish term you will hear. It means “Ireland Forever” But at my house it means … Three Hundred and Sixty-five more days and St Patrick’s Day will again be here!!

Put on Your Boots, Bandanas and Bolo Ties!

By Candyce Columbus

Join Friends of Foster Children at a Western Style Benefit Luncheon

Friends of Foster Children Benefit Luncheon Chairman Carole Rodenbucher (left) and Committee Member Debbie Fairman are “gittin’ ready for rip roarin’ good time” on Saturday, March 28.

The bi-annual event will help FOFC raise money to support foster children and facilities in the San Gabriel Valley and hopefully attract new members. - Photo by Candyce Columbus

“The Friends of Foster Children Luncheon is only held every other year, so if you miss us this year, you will have to wait until 2011!” exclaims enthusiastic Benefit Chairman Carole Rodenbucher of Temple City. “We have two wonderful speakers, Vicki Mastros, director of development for Ettie Lee Youth and Family Services and Demontray Hankins, one or our own FOFC scholarship recipients.

Our entertainment for the afternoon will be

by The Threetles jug/skiffle band. Plus, our ever popular activities, including the opportunity drawings, silent auction and Second Time Around Tables will round out the afternoon.”

Bolo Ties on 18

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18

COMMUNITY

MARCH 12 - MARCH 18, 2009

Bolo Ties from 17 N Ale, Mama Petrillos and Friends of Foster Children (FOFC) is a non-profit organization composed entirely of volunteers who share a deep concern for children.

The children served are those who must live apart from their families due to neglect, abandonment, illness or family dysfunction. Newly emancipated foster teens are also supported as they learn to set up their own homes, continue their education, and struggle to be self-supporting. The bi-annual luncheon is one of the ways this organization raises funds for their various programs.

Committee members have been busy for the past several months gathering generous silent auction donations such as Restaurant gift certificates from Casa del Rey, Steer

Roy’s Restaurant, a Brighton Overnight Luggage Bag with accessories, a Wii system and a Wii Fit package, to name a few.

Tickets are $32 per person and must be purchased

by March 20. The luncheon will be held on Saturday, March 28 at the Rosemead Community Center, 3936 N. Muscatel. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. giving everyone an ample opportunity to shop for treasures, place bids on silent auction items and participate in the opportunity chance drawings for fabulous gift baskets before lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. Guests are encouraged to dress Western! Please contact Carole Rodenbucher at 626-285-2030 to purchase tickets and for more information.

Santa Anita Family YMCA Members Enjoy Discounts at Area Businesses with New YRewards Program Members of the nonprofit Santa Anita Family YMCA can now add discounts with local businesses to the benefits of YMCA membership.

The SAFYMCA’s newly-launched YRewards program allows members to enjoy savings at a select group of area businesses just by presenting their YMCA membership card.

Local Dentist Whitening Teeth to Benefit Children’s Charities Smiles for Life

Smile! It’s time again for the Crown Council’s Smiles for Life campaign. This March through June, Dr. Jack Von Bulow and Temple City Dental Care are offering teeth whitening services at reduced fees and will donate 100% of the proceeds to help children in the areas of health, education, and the inner city in communities throughout America.

Teeth whitening is an effective, safe, and proven dental approach these days and more importantly, a few minutes in

the dental chair can help touch a child’s life forever.

The Smiles for Life Foundation is a children’s charity founded by the Crown Council, an organization made up of leading-edge dental practices in North America also committed to giving back to the community.

Since 1998, the program has benefitted some 500 charities and raised more than $25 million.

“Smiles for Life allows a person to help children in need by doing something that benefits them as well,” explains Greg Anderson, Director of the Crown Council.

Through a unique partnership with Garth Brooks and his Teammates for Kids Foundation, Smiles for Life guarantees that a full 50% of the money raised will be disbursed to children’s cha r it ies across North America. The remaining 50% goes to a local charity.

In the past, Temple City Dental Care has chosen local charities like Cure Autism Now, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and Haven House of Pasadena (the first shelter for victims of domestic violence in the U.S.) This year, Dr. Von Bulow and team will be working with USC Football Coach Pete Carroll’s A Better LA (included in a powerful 60 Minutes piece in December 2008.)

The mission of A Better LA is to basically mobilize the skills of the community to inspire children to grow up, dream, and play without fear.

And why not have a brighter smile and something truly powerful to smile about?

Learn more about A Better LA at www. abetterla.com and Smiles for Life at www. smilesforlife.org.

“These are financially challenging times for families and businesses. The YRewards program is a way of adding another layer of value to Y membership by helping our members stretch their dollars, while giving local businesses an opportunity to increase patronage and their bottom line,” said SAFYMCA Chief Executive Officer, Damon Colaluca.

Businesses currently enrolled in the YRewards program include: Butterflies and Bees!, creators of custom gardens; Chang Thai Bistro, Monrovia; Countrywide Home Loans, Monrovia; Gentile, McCloskey & Company, Certified Public Accountants, Arcadia; Monrovia Floral; Old Town Sign Company, Irwindale; Stubbies Promotions, promotional

products, Arcadia; The Skin Care Shop, Monrovia; Ink Tank, silk screening, Duarte; Joe’s Place Restaurant, Duarte; Villa Italia Restaurant, Duarte; and Ward Service, auto repair, Monrovia.

For more information about Y Rewards, or becoming a preferred vendor, call the Santa Anita Family YMCA at (626) 359-9244 or visit www.safymca.org.

•Obituary• Takata

In Loving Memory Kenneth I. Takata March 13, 1951 - June 13, 2008 Beloved Son, Brother and Uncle Celebration of your life at your favorite place, Claim Jumper.

Happy 58th Birthday, Kenny!

Rest in Peace We love you and miss you so much.

Your Loving Family Poppies from 13 flowers weren’t in full bloom yet, but they were plentiful enough to make a pretty picture and entice us through the gate.

Once parked, we grabbed our cameras and wind jackets and went hiking. Along the way we past a sparse, yet growing collection of colorful wildflowers, including Owl’s clover, lupine, goldfields, cream cups, coreopsis, and of course poppies. The trails can be a great workout if you keep a steady pace, or they can be mild enough for the whole family if you take your time and enjoy the views.

Besides wildflowers, the hills are spotted with Joshua trees, blooming with soft white artichoke-shaped flowers; sage brush and red broom. Animals in the reserve include gliding hawks, singing meadow larks, side-blotched lizards, garden snakes and rattlesnakes. If you’re

lucky, you may spot a coyote or bobcat.

The reserve also invites guests to the Jane S. Pinheiro Interpretive Center, where they can watch a short video on wildflowers, view wildlife and plant displays, and visit the gift shop.

After hiking and filling our cameras full of pictures we found an empty bench at the base of the hills and had a picnic in the poppy fields.

The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is located at 43779 15th St. West, Lancaster, 93534. The reserve opens March 14 for wildflower season and will offer free guided tours. Expect crowds on weekends. Hours: sunrise to sunset. Admission: $8 per vehicle beginning March 14; $5 offseason. For more info, call (661) 724-1180, (661) 942-0662, or visit www. cal-parks.ca.gov.

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Pet of the Week

Lulu, a fantastic, two year old tabby needs a new home. She is a large cat with a lot of love to give.

Lulu likes to snuggle under blankets and sit on laps for attention. She has already been spayed and can go home with you today!

The regular cat adoption fee is $70 which includes the spay or neuter surgery, microchip, vaccinations, and a free follow-up health check at a participating vet.

Please call 626-792-7151 and ask about A202324 or come to the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA, 361 S. Raymond Ave, Pasadena CA, 91105. Our adoption hours are 11-3 Sunday, 9-4 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and 9-3 Saturday. Directions and photos of all pets updated hourly may be found at www.phsspca.org

POLICE

MONROVIA Vehicle Burglary.

On February 19 at 8:38 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 100 block of Fig regarding a vehicle burglary. The reporting party told the officer someone broke into her car and stole her GPS. The suspects broke a window to gain entry. Investigation continuing.

Burglary Arrest.

On February 19 at 12:57 p.m., an officer was dispatched to a business in the 300 block of West Huntington regarding two adult females being detained for theft. The females had gone inside the store with empty nylon bags, in which they concealed items and walked out of the store without payment. They were arrested for burglary and transported to Monrovia Police Department for booking.

Vehicle Burglary.

On February 20 at 7:41 a.m., an officer went to the 600 block of Montana regarding a vehicle burglary. The victim’s vehicle was broken into during the night and property was stolen. Investigation continuing.

Vehicle Burglary.

On February 20 at 8:12 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 300 block of Linwood regarding a vehicle burglary. During the night, someone broke the window of the victim’s vehicle and property was stolen. Investigation continuing.

Grand Theft from a Vehicle.

On February 20 at 8:17 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 700 block of West Lemon regarding a grand theft report. The victim had parked his Toyota Camry in the driveway in the evening, but left it unlocked. He returned to the vehicle in the morning and saw the driver side door ajar. Two Ipods were taken from inside the center console and a laptop was taken from the front passenger floorboard. Investigation continuing.

Burglary.

On February 20 at 8:37 a.m., a female subject came to the police department to report a burglary. She reported that her office is located in the 600 block of South Myrtle and it shares a common hallway. While her office door was closed, someone entered the office, stole money, and took her phone. Investigation continuing.

Vehicle Burglary.

On February 20 at 10:52 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 500 block of West Lime on the report of a theft. The female victim told the officer someone had entered her unlocked vehicle and stole her property.

Investigation continuing.

Vehicle Burglary. On February 20 at 12:57 p.m., a male subject came to the police department to report a vehicle burglary. He told the officer someone had broken into his vehicle during the night while it was parked in front of his house in the 300 block of South Madison. The stereo was taken. Investigation continuing.

Residential Burglary.

On February 20 at 1:04 p.m., an officer responded to the 100 block of South Madison regarding a burglary. The property owner stated someone went into the house via the rear sliding door while he left the property to run an errand.

Two male subjects wearing ball caps were seen in the backyard by a witness. The suspects took a Nintendo Wii game, still in the box. The box was later found in the 200 block of Madison.

Investigation continuing.

Residential Burglary.

On February 20 at 3:17 p.m., a male subject came to the police station to report a burglary.

He is the property manager of a residence in the 600 block of Parker. He reported a former tenant had broken into the house to vandalize it and steal property. Investigation continuing.

Counterfeiting.

On February 23 at 5:06 p.m., a possible fraud was reported by a business in the 600 block of West Huntington. The suspects were identified and stopped. Counterfeit bills were located in several locations in their vehicle. The three suspects were arrested and charged with counterfeiting.

The case was turned over to the Secret Service and the suspects were linked to counterfeiting cases in Oregon. The counterfeit bills came from outside of the United States.

SIERRA MADRE

Sunday, February 22nd: 12:31 AM – Arrest, Driving Under the Influence, 600 block West Sierra Madre Blvd.

Officers were dispatched to the 600 block of W. Sierra Madre Blvd. in response to a possible traffic collision. Officers found a woman involved in a solo-vehicle traffic accident, as she had driven and collided with the center medium. Further investigation revealed the woman had been driving under the influence of alcohol. The woman was arrested and transported to Pasadena Police jail facility for booking and housing.

Tuesday, February 24th:

On February 20 at 10:28 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 300 block of Fowler regarding a burglary. The victim reported his vehicle was parked in the driveway during the night.

The next morning at 9 a.m., he went to his vehicle and found the front passenger window broken. A briefcase was taken from the passenger seat. Investigation continuing.

At 8:51 – Theft of Identity, 100 block of West Bonita Ave. A resident reported that someone fraudulently used her social security number without her permission, after being alerted by the Internal Revenue Service, of an income discrepancy that occurred in 2006.

Theft from a Vehicle.

Wednesday, February 25th:

BLOTTERS 12:39 PM – Theft of Identity, 600 block of Holy Trail. A resident discovered unauthorized charges on his Discover Credit card after reviewing his monthly credit card statement. The charges which range into a few hundreds of dollars, unknown exact amount at this time, stem from telephone charges made against the credit card and on-line (website) purchases.

backpack. He was seen concealing merchandise in the backpack and then fled on a dark-colored bicycle. An area search was conducted, but the suspect was not located.

8:01 PM – Arrest, Assault with a Deadly Weapon Against a Police Officer, 300 block Grove St. Officers responded to a call of a person yelling obscenities. Officers attempted to speak with the man, but the man armed himself with a machete in his hands and approached the officers in a threatening manner. Due to his aggressive behavior, officers deployed a Taser and subdued the man. The man was arrested and later transported to Pasadena Police jail facility for booking and housing.

Units were dispatched to the emergency room at AMH around 2:06 a.m. in reference to a victim who had been assaulted with a knife. The victim advised that he was at a party in the 400 block of Fairview when a female suspect slashed his face with a knife. He sustained a two-inch lateral laceration above his lip.

Around 9:32 p.m., officers responded to the 2500 block of Doolittle regarding a welfare check of a possible suicidal subject.

The 24-year-old male Caucasian had apparently cut himself and had threatened to kill himself and others. The subject later walked towards the officers while carrying a knife and a wrought iron shelf bar. He ignored orders to stop and drop the objects, so he was pulled to the ground. The subject was transported to the hospital for a 72-hour psychological evaluation.

Thursday, February 26th: 9:10 AM – Vehicle Tampering, 1900 block Vista Ave. Several unlocked cars were ransacked. Three of the cars had cash taken from the interior. The crimes occurred between Wednesday, 2/26/09, at 6:00 pm and Thursday, 2/27/09, at 7:45 am.

Friday, February 27th: 5:35 PM – Residential Burglary, 2000 North Santa Anita Ave. A MAC desk top computer and a lap top computer were stolen from the home. The investigation revealed that entry to the home was made through an open bathroom window. The loss is estimated at $5,500.00.

ARCADIA

Sunday, February 22: Around 3:30 a.m., officers observed a vehicle weaving back and forth between lanes of traffic and the driver attempted to make a right turn, going the wrong way, onto westbound Huntington. A traffic stop was initiated at Centennial and Huntington, and a 41-year-old male Hispanic driver was contacted. A field sobriety test was conducted and it was determined that the driver was operating the vehicle while under the influence, and an inventory search subject to arrest revealed several open cans of beer. The driver was arrested at the scene for DUI and driving on a suspended license.

Units responded to the 400 block of East Duarte around 11:51 a.m. regarding an attempted residential burglary that just occurred. The resident heard noises from the garage and she saw a male Caucasian, 30’s, 5’7”, 130 pounds, removing a bicycle from a hook. She confronted the subject and he fled the scene on foot. An area search was conducted, but the suspect was not found.

Monday, February 23:

A victim came to the station around 11:41 a.m. to file a grand theft from auto report. He believed that the theft of his $1,200 laptop computer occurred at the racetrack valet parking lot between 1:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on February 22.

A commercial burglary occurred at CVS Pharmacy, 9952 Las Tunas, around 2:14 p.m. A male Hispanic suspect, 40-50 years of age, entered the business with a

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Tuesday, February 24:

Wednesday, February 25: GPS units were stolen from two vehicles; one in the 800 block of Arcadia and the other in the 800 block of Fairview.

In both cases, unknown suspect(s) broke a car window and removed the GPS unit that was attached to the windshield.

A traffic stop was conducted at Holly and Camino Real around 1:53 p.m. for a cracked windshield. A 38-year-old male Hispanic driver was contacted, and a consent search of the vehicle was made.

Officers found baggies of marijuana and a container of hash oil. A record check also revealed that the driver had an outstanding warrant and was operating the vehicle on a suspended license. The man was arrested at the scene without incident.

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Thursday, February 26: Shortly before 11:00 a.m., units were called to the 600 block of West Palm regarding a woman floating in the backyard pool. When officers arrived at the scene, the fully-clothed female Asian subject had gotten out of the pool and was walking down the street. The resident advised that the woman was a former neighbor and had done this in the past. Since the woman seems to have a history of psychological problems, she was transported to a hospital for a 72-hour hold.

Between 8:00 a.m. and 12:20 p.m., a residential burglary occurred in the 800 block of South Second. Unknown suspect(s) removed an air conditioning unit to gain access into the home. Once inside, the suspect(s) ransacked rooms and took three large televisions. One television was found damaged on the lawn.

Friday, February 27: Around noon, a victim came to the station to file a fraud report. The victim went online to check his bank accounts and discovered that an unknown sus-

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and verbal. You will work directly with clients to provide solutions for their advertising needs and to help design advertising campaigns that will best showcase the client’s products and services.

Additionally, candidates should be: · Professional. · Ability to work effectively in a team environment.

· Over 2 years prior sales experience · Computer-literate. · Reliable vehicle and a cell phone.

This position is commission only. Send cover letter and resume to resume@coremg.net or fax to 626-301-0445.

HELP NEEDED Electric scooter and bikes in Sierra Madre Call Tony 626- 755-

LEGALS CITY OF ARCADIA NOTICES BILINGUAL POLL WORKERS NEEDED FOR THE CITY OF ARCADIA SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION JUNE 9, 2009 The Arcadia City Clerk’s Office is looking for poll workers bilingual in English and either Spanish, Mandarin or Vietnamese to assist voters on Election Day: June 9, 2009. Free training will be provided prior to the election.

The polls will be open between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Poll Workers will receive a stipend: $150 for Inspectors, $125 for Clerks and $50 for Reservists.

If you are interested in serving as a precinct poll worker during the 2009 Special Municipal Election, please submit a completed Poll Worker Application by Monday, April 27, 2009 to: City of Arcadia Attention: City Clerk 240 W. Huntington Drive

Arcadia, CA 91007 Applications are available at the Arcadia Senior Center, City Hall and Library. Applications can also be downloaded from the City’s website: www.ci.arcadia.ca.us Publish March 12 & 19, 2009

OTHER PUBLIC NOTICES NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE TS No. 08-0029020 Title Order No. 088-126091 APN No. 8517-015-015 YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST, DATED 07/17/2006. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER.” Notice is hereby given that RECONTRUST COMPANY, as duly appointed trustee pursuant to the Deed of Trust executed by JUAN C CASTRO, AND LAURA E CASTRO, HUSBAND AND WIFE AS JOINT TENANTS, dated 07/17/2006 and recorded 07/26/06, as Instrument No. 06 1651533, in Book , Page ), of Official Records

in the office of the County Recorder of Los Angeles County State of California, will sell on 04/02/2009 at 1:00PM, At the front entrance to the Pomona Superior Courts Building, 350 West Mission Blvd., Pomona at public auction to the highest bidder for cash or check as described below, payable in full at time of sale, all right, title, and interest conveyed to and now held by it under said Deed of Trust, in the property situated in said County and State and as more fully described in the above referenced Deed of Trust. The street address and other common designation, if any of the real property described above is purported to be: 505 EAST WALNUT AVENUE, MONROVIA, CA, 91016. The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrect-ness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein.

The total amount of the unpaid balance with interest thereon of the obligation secured by the property to be sold plus reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Sale is $469,358.20. It is possible that at the time of sale the opening bid may be less than the total indebtedness due. In addition to cash, the Trustee will accept cashier’s checks drawn on a state or national bank, a

4533

FOR SALE Drum Kit w/ Cymbals 5 piece drum kit with 2 cymbals + hi-hat. Kit has everything you need and more: throne, drum and cymbal noise-dampening pads, all cymbal stands and bass pedal. Everything works well. It’s an

off-brand (Pulse Percussion), and could maybe use some heads, but all in all this is a very decent setup for the price. Call John at 626.789.6169.

Mountain Bike Trek 4300 hardtail mountain bike with front fork shock absorber. Purchased in 2005, the bike has very limited wear. Two

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check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association, or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state. Said sale will be made, in an “AS IS” condition, but with out covenant or warranty, express or implied, regarding title, possession or encumbrances, to satisfy the indebted-ness secured by said Deed of Trust, advances thereunder, with interest at provided, and the unpaid principal of the Note secured by said Deed of Trust with interest thereon at provided in said Note, plus fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. If required by the provi-sions of section 2923.5 of the California Civil Code, the declaration from the mortgagee, beneficiary or authorized agent is attached to the Notice of Trustee’s Sale duly recorded with the appropriate County Recorder’s Office.

DATED: 07/04/2008 RECONTRUST COMPANY 1757 TAPO CANYON ROAD, SVW88 SIMI VALLEY, CA 93063 Phone/Sale Information: (800) 281 8219 By: Trustee’s Sale Officer RECONTRUST COMPANY, is a debt collector attempting to collect a debt. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose. FEI # 1006.27813 3/12, 3/19, 3/26/2009

pect had utilized the victim’s personal information to open joint accounts in both the victim’s name and the suspect’s name. The suspect then transferred funds from t he v ict im’s personal accounts into the fraudulent accounts where the funds were then withdrawn. The total loss was about $29,000.

Between 4:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., a grand theft occurred in the 600 block of South Old Ranch. Unknown suspect removed the victim’s purse from an unlocked vehicle. The purse contained a large amount of cash and expensive jewelry. The total reported loss was around $46,000.

Saturday, February 28:

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Around 2:45 a.m., officers found a vehicle that was stopped in the left turn bay at Duarte and Second.

A 49-year-old male Caucasian driver was passed out at the wheel, and it was determined t hat he was operating the vehicle while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. He was arrested at the scene without incident.

Loss prevention personnel from Macy’s adv ised t hat t hey had de tained a woman for theft around 3:42 p.m. She took merchandise into a fitting room, removed the price tags, concealed them in her purse, and then left the store without making payment. A private person’s arrest was made, and the 47-year-old Filipino was taken into custody for petty theft.

COMMUNITY

MARCH 12 - MARCH 18, 2009 23

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