“Life’s persistent and most urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?” 

— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968 

Celebrate The Legacy


VOLUME 7 NO 3

SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 2013

BURGLARIES IN SIERRA MADRE AND 
SURROUNDING CITIES ON THE RISE 

SONIA NEEDS YOUR HELP

In February, 2012, the Sierra Madre community was asked 
to come forward and assist Sonia Kosker, a former employee 
of Taylor’s Meats for more than six years. Sonia had been diagnosed 
with advanced lung cancer that had metastasized to 
other organs, including her brain. With no health insurance 
and trying to raise two daughters, she desparately needed 
help. 

 Too sick to continue working, the challenges have been 
many. Her share of costs for medical expenses is an outrageous 
$875.00 per month because the money she recieves 
from disability payments precludes her from recieving full 
medi-cal/medi-care coverage. She barely has enough money 
to make it another month.

One friend, Glenda Vanni of Arcadia, who knew Sonia initially 
only from shopping at Taylor’s, sent out a call to the 
community for help and the community responded in a 
mighty way. You see, Sonia, like all of the staff of Taylor’s 
Meats, was always willing to go that extra mile and help her 
customers, which was greatly appreciated, so coming to her 
aid in a time of crisis was something people were more than 
willing to do. 

So, for the next 11 months, while friends helped her spiritually, 
financially and physically, she has battled the disease 
that has no cure. Sonia even faces that challenge with a most 
positive spirit. She believes that she will overcome the cancer, 
despite the deteriorating condition of her body. She 
still hopes and speaks of tomorrow, when things will get better, 
and her family and friends have chosen not to tell her 
anything different. 

However, Sonia has been placed on Hospice Care in her 
home as of Friday. She barely has funds to sustain herself 
for another month and is too ill to really be aware of it. According 
to Vanni, this single mother, who has worked her 
entire life and raised two daughters primarily by herself, is 
at the end of her life journey without the resources to wrap 
up her affairs.

As a result, Vanni who has been posting updates on Sonia’s 
condition at Taylor’s, is asking the community once again 
to help provide for Sonia in these last days. “If you would 
like to make a donation it would be greatly appreciated. On 
behalf of Sonia, we appreciate your kindness”, says Vanni. 
Donations can be made at Taylor’s Meats in Sierra Madre.

S. Henderson/MVNews


It appears from the barage of press releases from local law enforcement in Sierra 
Madre, Arcadia, Duarte and other cities, that the predictions are true. With the 
implementation of California’s Early Release program, the anticipated increase 
in crime has come to pass, especially residential and commercial burglaries and 
other property crimes. Since January 1st in Sierra Madre alone, there have been 
more than a half dozen burglaries with the most recent occuring on Thursday 
afternoon. 

In an interview with SMPD Chief Larry Giannone late last year when the increase 
first started, theives have expanded their targets beyond the theft of televisions, 
computers, etc. They are now also interested in stealing information 
that can be used for identity theft, such as mail, credit card statements, social 
security cards, etc.

According to Lt. Len Hundshamer at press time no arrests had been made in 
connection with the incidents and it is not clear at this time whether it is “teams 
or independent operators” carrying out these crimes. 

Commerial Burglaries Also Increasing

In neighboring Pasadena, in the 
commercial area where Albertson’s 
is located, four small businesses 
were broken into on Monday evening. 
Representatives of the Molly 
Maid franchise reported had their 
front door smashed and petty cash 
and other items that were inside 
taken. In addition, at least two other 
businesses were also broken into 
that night. The Pasadena police 
department had not responded to 
our calls regarding these incidents at 
press time. 

In a press release sent out by the City 
of Sierra Madre this week, officials 
stressed the importance of calling 
911 and reporting any suspicious 
behavior or crimes. (See inset)

Neighborhood Watch

 The SMPD has been encouraging 
residents for some time to organize 
Neighborhood Watch Groups in 
their area. More than one crime 
has been averted because of an alert 
neighbor who contacted police. 

 As reported on the SMPD’s website:

 “The Sierra Madre Police Department 
invites you to join them in 
combating crime by becoming a 
Block Captain or volunteering to 
host a Neighborhood Watch meeting 
on your block. Getting involved 
enhances the quality of life in your 
neighborhood by making it a safer 
place to live. Neighbors looking 
out for one another and reporting 
suspicious activities to police at an 
early stage, promote crime prevention 
and the timely apprehension of 
criminals. 

Want to start a neighborhood 
watch program on your block? 
Call Sgt. Ruben Enriquez at (626) 
355-1414.

Want a home security inspection? 
Call Sgt. Ruben Enriquez at (626) 
355-1414.

The Sierra Madre Police Department 
offers you the following crime 
prevention tips:

• Always lock the doors to your 
home and your cars.

• Use deadbolt locks and other secure 
locking devices.

• Use your alarm system, if you 
have one, and check it periodically 
to insure that it is in working order.

• Use motion sensor lights around 
your home.

• Keep valuables out of sight, especially 
valuables left in your car.

• Notify your neighbors when you 
will be away for an extended period 
of time.

• Request extra patrol service from the Sierra Madre Police Department when 
you are going to be away from home.

• Always be aware of your surroundings.

 The Importance 
of Calling 9-1-1

The City of Sierra Madre and neighboring 
communities are experiencing 
an increase in burgleries and 
other property crimes which is 
likely attributed to the California's 
corrections realignment plan, one 
of the most significant changes to 
California's criminal justice system 
in decades. City Officials and the 
Police Department want to remind 
residents to remain viligent and to 
immediately call 9-1-1 to report any 
crimes in progress.

Residents should call 9-1-1 to report 
any police, fire, or medical emergency, 
including: 

• Crimes in progress or crimes that 
have just occurred 

• Suspicious activity or behavior 

• Fights or domestic violence

• Suicide attempts 

• Building fires, brush fires, trash 
fires, or any other fires 

• Traffic accidents 

• Any medical emergency for which 
immediate care is needed 

• Vicious animals – but not a bear 
walking through the neighborhood 
or yard

Please do not call 9-1-1 to report 
any non-emergency problems or to 
ask questions; instead, please call the 
Police Department's non-emergency 
line at 626.355.1414.

When you call 9-1-1, a Sierra Madre 
Dispatcher will answer your call 
and request information about your 
emergency, including:

• Your exact location, or as much 
information about your location as 
possible 

• The nature of the emergency (someone 
has a gun, the house is on fire, a 
neighbor collapsed, etc.) 

• How many people are injured, if 
any? 

• Names and descriptions of the 
people involved in the emergency or 
situation

• Any conditions which could make 
the situation unsafe for responding 
personnel or bystanders (weapons, 
gas leaks, disabled vehicles, animals, 
etc.) 

Stay on the line until the dispatcher 
hangs up. You may be able to provide 
the dispatcher with additional 
information as emergency personnel 
respond, or the dispatcher may be 
able to provide you with emergency 
instructions.

ANTONOVICH ASKS PUC TO ENFORCE UTILITY 
REGULATIONS VIOLATED BY EDISON DURING 
2011 WINDSTORMS 

LOS ANGELES COUNTY — In a motion introduced for 
the January 22 Board agenda, Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich 
has called for the Public Utilities Commission to enforce 
regulations violated by Edison in the 2011 windstorms.

“The PUC investigative report revealed that Edison destroyed 
evidence that should have been available to inspectors, 
used substandard utility poles, and failed to conduct 
emergency training exercises,” Antonovich said. “Edison’s 
failure to comply with common industry standards resulted 
in prolonged outages, unnecessary damage, a complete customer 
communications blackout -- and ultimately, an increased 
threat to public safety.”

In December 2011, powerful windstorms swept through the 
San Gabriel Valley and San Fernando Valley knocking down 
200 utility poles, uprooting 1,300 trees, and leaving 439,000 
customers without power for more than seven days. The 
utility company’s response to the disaster led the Consumer 
Protection and Safety Division of the California Public Utilities 
Commission to investigate. 

Their report released Monday concluded that:

Edison failed to preserve evidence for inspection by the 
Consumer Protection and Safety Division that proved their 
actions led to unnecessary damage and prolonged outages. 

Twenty-one of Edison’s utility poles and 17 guy wires did 
not meet industry safety requirements.

Several conductors showed signs of pitting and deformation 
indicating they failed to meet industry safety requirements. 

A lack of vegetation management by Edison may have contributed 
to utility pole failure. 

Edison did not dispatch dedicated staff to contact its 397 
critical care customers during the incident. 

Edison did not deploy a reverse-911 system to automatically 
contact its customers of an outage in a particular area. 

Edison provided the public inaccurate restoration time 
estimates.

Edison did not implement in-person “door-to-door” outreach 
activities during emergencies.

Edison did not request mutual assistance from other utilities 
or the California Utility Emergency Organization 
(CUEO) which could have reduced restoration times.

Edison’s Corporate Emergency Response and Recovery 
Plan is outdated, and some of its points of contact included 
retired PUC staff.

Edison representatives lacked specific operational knowledge 
and authority when contacted by the public and government 
entities.

Edison violated safety requirements by failing to conduct 
all of its emergency training exercises. 

Antonovich’s motion also directs the County’s Office of 
Emergency Management to provide the Board of Supervisors 
with quarterly reports on Edison’s compliance correcting 
these deficiencies. 






NOW IS THE TIME................................Page 13

This Week’s Highlights: 

Calendar Page 2

Sierra Madre News Page 3

Pasadena/Altadena Page 4

Around San Gabriel Valley Page 5

Looking Up Page 5

Arcadia Page 6

Monrovia/Duarte Page 7

Education and Youth Page 8

Good Food & Drink Page 9

Best Friends Page 10 

Arts/Health Page 11

Homes & Property Page 12

The Good Life Page 13

Business Today/Sports Page 14 

Left Turn/Right Turn Page 15

Opinion Page 16

Legal Notices Page 17-19

FYI Page 20

AROUND SG Valley

SIERRA MADRE NEWS

5

3

???

Love Is In The Air

ARCADIA NEWS

6

PASADENA/ALTADENA

4

MONROVIA/DUARTE

7

AVON Closing Distribution 
Facility