Happy Father’s Day To All


SATURDAY JUNE 19, 2010

VOLUME 4 NO. 24

Tim Donnelly Wins 
59th Assembly District 
Republican Nomination

 

 On Friday, the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters 
confirmed that Minuteman Activist and Tea Party 
member Tim Donnelly won 367 more votes than his 
closest opponent, former Covina Councilman Chris 
Lancaster. At press time, there was no talk of a recount.

 
Donnelly will face Democratic Nominee Darcel Woods, 
a college professor and former law enforcement officer 
in November.

Thank You Phyllis!

Council To Discuss 
Street Resurfacing 
Project

 

 A subject that has been on the minds 
of residents of Sierra Madre for a while 
will be on the agenda. The repaving of 
streets.

 Construction bids were sent out for 
Phase 1 of the project for the FY 2009-
2010, came in at less than 50% of the 
estimated cost, so the council directed 
staff to research ways utilize the unused 
funds for additional repaving projects.

 The funds available are from 
numerous sources including Measure 
R, Proposition 1B, Metropolitan Transit 
Authority/LA County Department 
of Public Works Swaps and Prop C 
money. The budget for street projects, 
according to staff reports, for the fiscal 
year 2009-2010 which ends on June 30th 
was $816,732. As of the June 22nd, only 
$364,450 has been spent.

 Staff is recommending that the 
remaining funds be used for the Phase 
2 projects. Proposed Phase 2 streets are:

West Alegria - Baldwin to Auburn

Monterey Place - Cul de Sac to Monterey

 Lane

Monterey Lane - Cul de Sac to Sierra 

 Madre Blvd.

Sierra Meadow - Cul de Sac to Wistaria

 Way

Sierra Meadow - Wistaria Way to Carter

East Bonita - Mountain Trail to Cul de 

 Sac

East Bonita - Cul de Sac to Baldwin

and

Grove Street - Highland to Grandview.

Other items on Tuesday’s agenda include 
the proposed Proposition 218 Process 
and Proposed Water Rate Increase, 
appointments to the Green Advisory 
Committee, and a public hearing 
on the fees for Public Facilities Rate 
Adjustments.

 The council meets at 6:30 June 22, 2010.


The Donnelly family

City of Sierra Madre - Courtesy

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

From: The City of Sierra Madre

Subject: PUBLIC FACILITIES FEE RATE 
ADJUSTMENT (RESOLUTION NO. 10-46) 

Applicant: City of Sierra Madre

Project Location: Citywide; in the City of Sierra Madre, 

 County of Los Angeles, State of California.

The City of Sierra Madre gives notice, pursuant to State of California law, 
that the City Council will conduct a public hearing to review an increase in 
the rate of the Public Facilities Fees. Pursuant to Section 15.52.060 of the 
Municipal Code, the rate of the fee shall be established from time to time 
by resolution or ordinance of the City Council in the manner required by 
Government Code Sections 66004 and 66018 and beginning July 1, 2007 
and on each July 1 thereafter, the rate of the fee shall increase without 
further action by the City. Furthermore, the Municipal Code states that the 
City Manager or her designee shall calculate the increased fee annually and 
give notice of that calculation. 

PLACE OF HEARING DATE AND TIME OF 
HEARING

City of Sierra Madre City of Sierra Madre

City Council meeting City Council Chambers

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.

(Hearing begins at 6:30 p.m.) Sierra Madre, CA 91024

All interested persons may attend this meeting and the City Council will 
hear them with respect thereto. For further information on this subject, 
please contact the Development Services Department at (626) 355-7138.

By Order of the City Council

Elaine Aguilar

City Manager

 Sierra Madre’s own Phyllis Chapman, often called the foremost authority on Sierra 
Madre History, was recently honored by the Los Angeles County Arboretum at the Los 
Voluntarios Annual Awards for 40 years of volunteer service.

 Shown here with Phyllis is Russ Guiney, Director of Los Angeles County Department of 
Parks & Recreation who presented the award from Supervisor Michael Antonovich.

 Phyllis became part of The Arboretum’s volunteer family, Los Voluntarios, in 1970, just 
three years after the organization was formed to assist with the many ongoing projects 
and needs. Phyllis was on the Executive Board in the early years, and in 1975 she created 
Arborvitae, the volunteer newsletter that is still in circulation today. Phyllis is an active 
and knowledgeable local historian and has shared her many skills with The Arboretum. 
Phyllis was a natural fit as school and historic building docent; she is an enthusiastic public 
greeter and can be found championing The Arboretum at everything from special events 
to monthly cleaning sessions in the historic buildings. Photo courtesy of Amy Putnam

Commission Vacancies 
Still Challenge Council

 Volunteers are still needed to serve on 
three important commissions in Sierra 
Madre. At the last council meeting, it was 
noted that there are a total of five open 
seats on three commissions. As of July 
1st, when several other terms expire, there 
will be 4 addtional vacancies.

The commissions with openings are (as of 
July 1, 2010:

 Senior Community Commission: 3 
vacancies; Tree Advisory Commission 
3 vacancies; Community Services 
Commission 1 vacancy; Library Board of 
Trustees 1 vacancy and the Community 
Arts Commission which still has 1 
vacancy. Residents interested in serving 
shoud contact city hall at 626-355-7135. 
To learn more about the commissions, go 
to: www.cityofsierramadre.com.

So Much to Taste, So Little Time!

Savor The Flavor’s Madeline Romo Judges Prestigious SOFI Awards in New York

Sierra Madre, CA Madeline Romo, 
part of the mother daughter team running 
Sierra Madre’s Savor The Flavor specialty 
food boutique, was one of nine food industry 
experts chosen to judge this year’s SOFI™ 
(Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation) for 
the National Association for the Specialty 
Food Trade (NASFT). Romo calls them the 
Oscars® of the fancy food industry, recognizing 
outstanding foods and beverages. Savor the 
Flavor represented the entire west coast at the 
judging this year.

Over three days, eight other judges from 
Oprah’s magazine, prestigious restaurants, 
gourmet food buyers, culinary professionals, 
educators and food journalists joined Romo 
in evaluating 1571 products. They included 
products from Stonewall Kitchen, Barefoot 
Contessa, Earth & Vine, Robert Rothschild 
and Di Camillo Bakery.

On just the first day, the group tasted and 
studied 505 products in eleven categories 
including gift foods, jams and butters, crackers 
dressings, cheese, vinegars, oils and cookies. 
Professional chefs prepared entries according 
to package instructions. “That day,” Romo 
reflected, “brought the most memorable 
indulgent product I tasted during the whole 
experience, a sweet potato butter. It was 
absolutely amazing, like nothing I’ve ever 
tasted! Absolutely exceptional! Great to add to 
chicken, sauces, etc.”

The hard work continued the second day with 
617 more food products laid out on trays 
and in cups with one sample for each judge, 
including sauces, flavor enhancers, grains and 
pastas, beverages, confections, condiments 
and desserts. The smoked, whole deboned pig 
was a real conversation starter and certainly 
unforgettable! Delicious, too! You could host 
a spectacular meal for fifty using it as an 
extraordinary culinary centerpiece!”

The flavor enhancer and sauce 
submissions intrigued Romo the 
most, with a wide range of exotic 
flavors in the 137 different entries.

The second and third days both 
extended into the evening as there 
was “so much to taste and so little 
time,” Romo chuckled. The third 
day’s food categories seemed to 
provide an amusing antithesis. 
After tasting 110 chocolates at 
nine in the morning, Romo and 
the other judges moved right into 
diet foods, followed by 74 salsas for 
a full array of 475 more foods that 
day. And very full stomachs.

“Our daunting job was to choose 
the finalists in each category, 
with the overall winners to be 
chosen by the trade group’s entire 
membership at the Fancy Food 
Show this month, back in New 
York City,” explained Romo.

“Look for two new trends this season: truffle 
and curry” she predicts. “These two rich and 
often exotic ingredients appeared in almost 
every category. In addition to the expected 
truffle oil, I tried truffle pâté, truffle pasta, 
truffle risotto, truffle salsa, truffle fagottini, 
truffle Carpaccio, balsamic truffle vinegar, , 
truffle mustard, truffle honey, truffle butter, 
truffle jam and even black truffle popcorn! 
When it came to curries, we tasted everything 
from curry pretzels and popcorn, curry 
vindaloo sauce and curry ketchup to curry 
marinara sauce!”

All the products are ready for market, so now 
Romo and her mother, Karen Keegan, will sift 
through the entries to choose the right new 
products to carry in the store and in their 
online marketplace. Currently, they’re meeting 
with their chosen vendors to plan an exciting 
rollout over the next few months.

Keegan commented about the integral role 
the show plays in their offerings. “The SOFI 
awards and the Fancy Food Show are critical 
to our business, as most of these products 
are not found in the mass market stores. This 
makes our store a destination for high quality, 
fabulous tasting gourmet foods tested by 
famous chefs, restaurateurs and experienced 
gourmet foods buyers from around the world. 
Adding these wonderful treats to our signature 
gift baskets takes gift giving to a whole new 
level.”

To venture into the exciting and tasty fancy and 
gourmet food world, visit Savor the Flavor at 11 
Kersting Court, Sierra Madre. Contact them at 
626-355-5153 or www.SavorTheFlavor.net.


Inside This Week

New: Music News Pg. 2

Calendar Page 2

Around San Gabriel Valley

 Page 3

Pasadena/Altadena 
Page 4

Safety Page 5

Education Page 6

Good Food Page 7

World Around Us Page 8

Left Turn/Right Turn

 Page 9

Opinion Page 10

Legal Notices Page 11

Good Life Page 12

Homes & Property

 Page 13

One Of A Kind Page 14

Madeline Romo at the SOFI Awards


MountainViews-News 55 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 302, Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com www.mtnviewsnews.com