Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 25, 2011

14

OPINION

 Mountain Views News Saturday, June 25, 2011

Mountain 
Views

News

Publisher/ Editor

Susan Henderson

City Editor

Dean Lee 

Sales

Patricia Colonello

626-355-2737 

626-818-2698

Production 

Richard Garcia

Photography

Lina Johnson

Chris Bertrand

Contributors

Teresa Baxter

Pat Birdsall

Bob Eklund

Howard Hays

Paul Carpenter

Stuart Tolchin

Kim Clymer-Kelley

Christopher Nyerges

Peter Dills 

Hail Hamilton 

Rich Johnson

Chris Bertrand

Mary Carney

La Quetta Shamblee

Glenn Lambdin

Greg Wellborn

Ralph McKnight

Trish Collins

Pat Ostrye

Dorothy White

Webmaster

John Aveny 

HAIL Hamilton My Turn

CITIES LIKE SIERRA MADRE NEED HELP 
AND THEY NEED IT NOW!


America’s continuing economic 
crisis is not only a national crisis. It is 
also a local government fiscal crisis. 
Coping with the worst economic 
downturn in 50 years, U.S. cities -- 
especially smaller communities like 
Sierra Madre -- could face sizable 
budget shortfalls next year.

With the pace of recovery still sluggish, local government 
budget tightening and spending cuts over the next year 
could well impose a significant drag on the nation’s 
economic performance. It could be that a deepening 
local government fiscal crisis—less remarked upon 
than the one challenging state governments—could 
hobble the nation’s incipient recovery with several 
years of layoffs, cancelled contracts with vendors, and 
reduced services.

Local government fiscal conditions matter for national 
economic performance. Small cities, in particular, 
are important economic agents that not only provide 
services important to the functioning of regional 
economies, but also serve as major employers in many 
metropolitan areas. For example, local government 
has grown relatively more important in recent years 
as a source of jobs and wages, and now accounts for 
some 10 percent of total non-farm metropolitan area 
employment. 

Small cities in California, like Sierra Madre, face one 
of the most daunting and widespread fiscal crises in 
decades—and it’s only just beginning. As a whole, these 
cities face nearly 3 percent budget shortfalls on average 
this year. And the sense of trepidation is ubiquitous 
across a diverse range of metropolitan areas, regardless 
of which aspect of the national crisis impacts them 
the most: declining consumption rates and increased 
property foreclosures; job losses in manufacturing or 
financial services; or record state budget shortfalls. 

Sierra Madre could be been especially hard hit, 
experiencing a one-two punch to its key revenue 
sources, as a result of declining consumer spending 
(sales taxes) and depressed home values (property 
taxes). 

Yet this is still only the beginning of what will likely 
remain an ongoing crisis. That’s because while income 
and sales taxes are typically the earliest sources of 
city revenue to decline as job losses in a community 
increase and consumer purchases slow, property tax 
collections— which make up the bulk of city revenue 
nationwide—decline much more slowly as real property 
assessments are adjusted to reflect declining housing 
values. These continue to slump, meaning that cities 
and other localities will be contending with increasing 
budget pressure for the next several years.

In Sierra Madre, like most places, the local response to 
deteriorating conditions has consisted of a predictable 
round of unfortunate but unavoidable service cutbacks 
and layoffs. Since 2009, the city has cut spending 
each year in real terms and is expected to continue 
reducing expenditures in the near future. This will 
result in workforce reductions, delayed or canceled 
infrastructure projects, or general service cuts. As the 
full impact of the national economic crisis degrades city 
fiscal conditions over the next 18 to 24 months, these 
sorts of responses will continue—and likely expand.

The nation needs a partnership between all levels of 
government to ease the local government fiscal crisis. 
Local governments, like Sierra Madre, are innovating. 
And yet, city and suburban leaders are unlikely to avoid 
severe service pull-backs, major workforce reductions, 
and various capital project delays—retrenchments that 
will reduce economic demand, undercut metropolitan 
vitality, and place a drag on national recovery. 

There are, however, a number of options the federal 
government could take to lessen the extent to which 
cities must take actions that harm the national economy. 

For example, it could:

• Target temporary fiscal assistance directly to cities to 
stabilize local budgets. 

• Establish a public service employment program to fund 
local hiring for positions

 needed to respond to the consequences of the economic 
downturn.

• Strengthen and stabilize the housing market by 
opening up mortgage finance markets, investing in 
neighborhoods, and protecting homebuyers from 
predatory lending.

• Invest in transportation and transit in ways that provide 
flexibility for meeting city- and metro-specific goals.

• Enhance municipal credit to lower borrowing costs for 
municipal bond issuers and facilitate financing for local 
capital projects.

By taking actions like these the nation can safeguard a 
still-shaky recovery. Cities like Sierra Madre need help 
and they need it now! 

DOING THE RIGHT THING

STUART Tolchin..........On LIFE

Right about seven p.m. as I finished 
my evening walk around the canyon, 
I noticed a new neighbor out in front 
of his house tending to his garden. 
You know, up here in the canyon the 
ground is pretty hard and growing 
things can be real tricky; I took a 
chance and greeted him and said 
something like, “How do you like it up 
here?” His response was wonderful. “I 
love it up here,” he said. “Five minutes 
away from the freeway and it’s a different world. It’s so 
quiet and so beautiful. For once I know I’ve done the right 
thing.”

He didn’t mention the incredible jacaranda trees that 
amazingly turn a gorgeous purple at this time of the year. 
He didn’t have to mention them as I pictured their purple 
plumage in my mind as he spoke. He has only been here a 
few days and probably doesn’t know about the floods, fires, 
and earthquakes that periodically cause us all to evacuate. 
He doesn’t know about the incredible in-fighting that 
seems to involve all of Sierra Madre from time to time and, 
in fact, right now there’s no need to worry him about our 
probable future catastrophes. There’s plenty of time and I 
decided to let him live on blissfully for a while. For once, 
I too, think I did the right thing.

This doing the right thing stuff is pretty interesting. 
Recently, I have returned to the vegan diet that led me to 
the pages of this newspaper. My very first articles were 
about my successful dietary program and I would generally 
conclude my articles with helpful dietary hints. This was 
184 weekly articles ago and I have long ago abandoned 
the diet for reasons that remain a mystery to me. One 
day I couldn’t eat another all-vegetable meal and the diet 
and my 60 pound weight loss soon disappeared. I think 
I expected something magical to occur and, although 
there were changes, the changes did not seem worth the 
sacrifice or something like that.

Now I view the whole process differently. I am following 
the diet because I now believe it is the right way to eat. 
I know it’s strange to say, but the May 14th issues of our 
hometown paper had a very special impact on me. Katie 
Tse, a person I have never met, wrote an article describing 
the film “Forks Over Knives” which is a discussion of the 
benefits of a manner of eating which avoids all animal 
protein. I was familiar with the book called the China 
Study which provides the scientific research that supports 
the benefits of the diet. Katie concluded her article with 
the command See the Film and I followed her advice.

I went to see the film, (it’s still playing on the weekends 
at the Laemmle in Old Town), saw it twice in fact and I 
started following the diet again. At first, figuring what 
to eat was awkward and kind of expensive. Then one 
afternoon I discovered the Zen Buffet all-you-can-eat 
place on Huntington in Monrovia. This place is just 
filled with fresh vegetables and allows for the creation 
of vegetable plates which are grilled according to one’s 
own specifications. The variety is tremendous and it’s 
all beautiful and - get this - there is a Senior Citizen’s 
Discount so that the whole thing costs $8.55. It’s not like 
Soup Plantation, which also has plenty of vegetables but 
also plenty of people in line such that finding a table feels 
like an athletic event.

Zen Buffet is easy. When I order tea they bring me a 
whole pot and I don’t have to go scrambling around for 
that second or third cup. The important thing for me is 
that the place makes my lunches easy and comfortable and 
gives me the overall experience that I am doing the right 
thing following my diet. Unfortunately this experience 
cannot be duplicated on weekends as the price on Sunday 
doubles and my family is not overjoyed with the non-
vegan choices. Okay, so on Sundays Zen Buffet is not the 
right place for us. The important element is to stay aware 
and be focused enough to notice when one is doing the 
right thing.

In order to do this one must stay pretty focused and 
be aware and notice one’s own experience. It’s not about 
being critical or constantly complaining or being real hard 
to please. Really it is a commitment to being awake and 
enjoying one’s life. I think it is possible for all of us to get 
into a flow where, just about from our individual point 
of view, everything is working even though other people 
might disagree. Look, my dear friends and neighbors, I 
think we have all done the right thing. We all ended up 
here in Sierra Madre and really it wasn’t by accident. We 
chose this place and most of us love it. On the Fourth we’ll 
all be out on the Boulevard, either in the parade or waving 
to our friends as they march past. It’s always such fun 
and is the right way to celebrate our intelligent decisions 
unless we decide to something else that is equally right.

This being positive feels like the right thing, at least for 
now.


Mountain Views News 
has been adjudicated as 
a newspaper of General 
Circulation for the County 
of Los Angeles in Court 
Case number GS004724: 
for the City of Sierra 
Madre; in Court Case 
GS005940 and for the 
City of Monrovia in Court 
Case No. GS006989 and 
is published every Saturday 
at 55 W. Sierra Madre 
Blvd., No. 302, Sierra 
Madre, California, 91024. 
All contents are copyrighted 
and may not be 
reproduced without the 
express written consent of 
the publisher. All rights 
reserved. All submissions 
to this newspaper become 
the property of the Mountain 
Views News and may 
be published in part or 
whole. 

Opinions and views 
expressed by the writers 
printed in this paper do 
not necessarily express 
the views and opinions 
of the publisher or staff 
of the Mountain Views 
News. 

Mountain Views News is 
wholly owned by Grace 
Lorraine Publications, 
Inc. and reserves the right 
to refuse publication of 
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materials submitted for 
publication. 

Letters to the editor and 
correspondence should 
be sent to: 

Mountain Views News

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Curbing Bad Behavior: 

WAITING ON GOD

 by Ron Carter

 I am requesting that anyone 
reading this who doesn’t 
believe there is a God, Allah, 
Buddha, Jehovah or any 
other religious being, please 
indulge me as I remark on “waiting on God.”

Many of us, humans, can reflect on certain situations 
where if we had obtained the opportunities 
we were seeking, our victories would have been 
short-lived. In other words, we were not ready 
for God’s blessings. We should try to not covet 
what someone else has attained. We must refrain 
from being envious of others’ successes, because 
we “truly” don’t know how long and diligent the 
individual worked to attain his/her blessings. My 
motto is “if you see a man or woman on the side 
of a mountain, you know they have worked to get 

there.” Derrick Rose, 2010/2011 NBA MVP, humbly 
stated, after losing the 2010/2011 NBA Eastern 
Championship, he would work on his game this 
summer and return next year, 2011/2012 season, 
for another chance at a NBA Championship. I believe 
that Mr. Rose understood what it meant to 
be humble, hardworking, diligent and “to wait on 
God.”

Some of us are so malicious that we attempt to 
“willingly” run, ironically speaking, into someone 
else’s path hoping that they’ll trip and fall. 
We are so determined to get ahead of others that 
we neglect to create our own path. When does 
this bad behavior ends? Success can be attained 
without malice by being prepared when opportunity 
presents itself and “we have waited on God”. 
Some individuals call it (success) luck. I don’t believe 
in luck, I believe that when opportunity and 
preparedness cross, one is granted God’s blessings 
from them converging.

My friend Steve Bradford is an example of someone 
who waited on God. Steve ran for the Gardena, 
California City Council four times before 
he finally won a seat on the council. After serving 
notably several years on the city council, he ran for 
the California State Assembly twice before he won 
his current seat in the 51st Assembly District. He is 
now front and center working diligently in a leadership 
role crafting state legislations in the California 
Assembly. While some might say Steve is lucky, 
I say he prepared himself and waited on God.

In my humble opinion, one should create their 
own path. Don’t be envious of others’ successes, 
don’t covet what others have attained, be prepared, 
be diligent and most of all “wait on God.” 

REV James L. Snyder 

A DELIGHTFUL AFTERNOON WITH THE IRS


I do not get as many letters as I 
used to do, which may be due to 
the Internet or to the fact that I do 
not have as many literate friends 
as I used to. I still like getting a 
letter, as long as it is a letter and 
not a bill. Bill used to write me but 
he was always asking for money.

 I did get a letter this past week. It was unexpected but it 
was from a family member. Good old Uncle Sam sent me 
an epistle this past week. I was anxious to see how he was 
getting along. I hear all these rumors, you know, but it is 
good to hear straight from the donkey’s mouth.

When I opened the letter it was not a personal letter. 
It was addressed to me, all right, and it had to do with 
personal matters, of a sort. But he was not chatting about 
what he was up to these days. Rather, it was a request for 
money.

It seems that way back in the year of our Lord 2003, 
there was a mix-up in my tax return and somehow I still 
owed the IRS money. My attitude was, let bygones be 
bygones. That is ancient history. Let us just get along.

There was a phone number on the letter inviting me to 
call. It was right after lunch so I thought why not get this 
over with and get on with the rest of my life. I hummed 
a little tune as I dialed the number and then waited for it 
to ring.

I finally got an automated service and was asked to 
press a certain number if I wanted to continue in English. 
My English is not that good and in high school, I got a 
D-plus in my senior year. But as it is the best language I 
know, I opted for English. For some reason I pressed the 
wrong number and got something that sounded a little bit 
like Spanish. My Spanish is not good, actually not at all, 
I had no idea what they were saying. I really hate to hang 
up on people while they are talking but I finally hung up 
and re-dialed the number.

I do not want to complain, but I hate punching a 
number for this and punching numbers for that and 
finally getting someone on the other end of the line that is 
not a real person but they’re telling me what to do. Who 
do they think they are? My wife?

After several tries and punching more numbers, I 
finally got back to the automated system. Through no 
skill of my own, I finally punched the right numbers and 
actually got a live person. Now, I thought to myself, I will 
get this taken care of, and that will be that.

The gentleman on the other end of the line was none 
other than a friendly IRS person. After exchanging a few 
pleasantries, we finally got down to business. I finally 
was able to ask what all of the paperwork meant that I 
received.

He began what turned out to be a very long spiel and 
it sounded somewhat similar to my high school teacher’s 
explanation of Einstein’s theory of relativity. I could not 
relate to my high school teacher’s explanation anymore 
than I could relate to what my IRS man was talking about 
on the other end of the phone. If what he was talking 
about was in any way relative to my well-being, I had no 
way of knowing.

When he was finished with his long, drawn-out 
explanation all I could say was, “Huh?”

He then proceeded to go through the whole process 
again, ad nausea. After the second time of explaining 
what these taxes were, I knew less about its then after 
the first time of explaining it. I am beginning to see a 
conspiracy here.

“Exactly why do I owe these taxes?”

Obviously, he thought I said, “Where do you buy your 
axes?” And began talking in Chinese, or so it sounded like 
Chinese. When he was finished, I could not remember 
why I called him in the first place.

Finally, in somewhat of a desperate mood, I asked 
him how much I owed. As it turned out, I owed the IRS 
$363.94. Why I owed that much, I still have not figured 
out. I must say good old Uncle Sam knows what he is 
doing when he hires people to man the IRS phone lines 
who know Chinese.

The only thing I could say was, “The check is in the 
mail.” He did mention something about putting a lien on 
my bank account. Ha ha! There is barely enough money 
in my banking account to keep my account open. If 
anybody, especially the IRS, liens on my bank account 
they will fall smack on their face. I would like to be 
around for that one.

 Paying taxes is one of the responsibilities of every 
American. Someone has well said that the only certain 
thing in life is death and taxes. Good old Uncle Sam has 
found a way for us to pay taxes after we have died.

I remember the words of Jesus. “And he said unto 
them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be 
Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s” (Luke 
20:25 KJV).

That is the best separation of church and state I know.

The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God 
Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with 
his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 352-
687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web 
site is www.whatafellowship.com.

Mountain Views 
News

Mission Statement

The traditions of 
the community 
newspaper and 
the concerns of 
our readers are 
this newspaper’s 
top priorities. We 
support a prosperous 
community of well-
informed citizens. 
We hold in high 
regard the values 
of the exceptional 
quality of life in our 
community, including 
the magnificence 
of our natural 
resources. Integrity 
will be our guide.