Honoring Black History Month BUSINESS PROFILE: A Snail’s Pace
ENTERTAINMENT: Play Review: ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Page 9
Page 10
Page 17 SPORTS: Arcadia Defeats Monrovia in CIF Game Page 23
rosemeadreader.com
Thursday, February 25, 2016 - March 2, 2016
Your Voice, Your Community
Since 1996
COMPLIMENTARY COPY VOLUME 20, NO. 8
Write-In Candidate Barry Gold Offers Sierra Madre Fresh Perspective BY TERRY MILLER
Barry Gold’s calm, thoughtful demeanor offers a unique, fresh take of politics in town.
Sierra Madre Mayor Hosts State of the City
On Wednesday, March 2, 2016, from 7 to 8 p.m. the Mayor of Sierra Madre will host the annual State of the City address in the Council Chambers in City Hall at 232 West Sierra Madre Boulevard. This year’s theme is “A Sustainable Sierra Madre” and the event will highlight last year’s achievements, this year’s challenges, and the City’s goals for the fiscal year. SEE PAGE 13
– Photo by Terry Miller
Popular Artist Lew Watanabe Diagnosed With Pancreatic Cancer Wife of 53 Years, Joyce, ‘In Shock’
Lew Watanabe at the Goodwill Gardens a few years ago. - Photo by Terry Miller
Sierra Madre Weekly has learned that longtime Sierra Madre artist, Lew Watanabe, is in the hospital in Wildomar battling pancreatic cancer, according to Arturo Garcia, longtime assistant to Lew. Watanabe was a fixture in Sierra Madre for decades and had designed numerous waterfalls and other stunning works of art like the one Memorial Park. SEE PAGE 12
It looked as though the Sierra Madre Municipal election April 12 would be as dull as dishwater with no one contesting John Harabedian and John Capoccia’s seats. That is, until Barry Gold became a write-in candidate. We wanted to know more about the mild-mannered man, and why at 71 Gold, who is in industrial property management, would want to dive headfirst into the rough, somewhat murky waters of Sierra Madre small-town politics. Apparently, this is the first time in 25 years that there has been a write-in candidate for a Sierra Madre municipal election. On Tuesday afternoon, we sat down with the candidate to find out what makes him tick and why people should consider going for the Gold, if you’ll pardon the pun. Gold is an experienced manager of public funds who oversees a $4 million annual assessment as the Chairman of the Downtown Los Angeles Fashion DisSEE PAGE 13
Sierra Madre Gives Sheriff Two Thumbs Up; CalPERS Debt: $9 Million BY TERRY MILLER
Sierra Madre Weekly has run several articles in recent weeks describing how LASD Deputies will be patrolling the nighttime streets starting Feb. 28. It seems now that the decision is final after Arcadia turned down Sierra Madre’s request for temporary services a couple of weeks ago. According to our good friends over at Sierra Madre
Tattler, Tuesday’s council meeting was somewhat of a ho-hum … except for this little gem: “It was revealed in an actual city report that Sierra Madre's total CalPERS debt exposure is $9 million dollars; this, in a city of 11,000 people. According to last year's UUT skeptic version of Martin Truitt, that comes out to $814 of city employee
SEE PAGE 12