Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 8, 2014

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 8, 2014 5AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 8, 2014 5
“What’s Going On?”

News and Views from Joan Schmidt 

AN UPDATE ON THE LIVE OAK 
VILLAGE PROJECT IN ARCADIA 


On a recent Wednesday evening, I attended the Monrovia-Arcadia-Duarte 

Town Council Meeting and got quite an earful. It is no wonder David Hall is 

still the Chair-twenty years since it began. That man is beyond awesome-he 

addresses people and stays calm. The nonsense that came out of their mouths 
was unbelievable and the worst part was a Duarte trouble maker who came to our county meeting 
and tried to stir things up.

Several months ago, I explained the Live Oak Village Project. This project is the work of 
WHCHC (West Hollywood Community Corporation). WHCHC is nonprofit and was founded in 
1986 to buy, build, rehabilitate, manage and advocate affordable housing for lower income people. 
They partner with local governments, funders, social service providers, community residents, 
architects, contractors and property managers to build their projects.

WHCHC came to two Town Council Meetings and made presentations. The residents came 
out and made their concerns known. Some statements were incorrect-pertaining to building height- 
as there are a few really tall ones on Live Oak Avenue as Mr. Hall pointed out. And there were several 
complaints about a business being on the bottom floor and not enough parking.

At the recent Town Council Meeting, Mr. David Moss, Project Manager explained all the 
changes that had been made in the design. (I don’t think any of the complainers had any clue as to the 
amount of time, effort and money it took to redesign the whole building, and parking facility to meet 
the residents’ concerns.)

Mr. Moss began by stating “The previous project has been abandoned. They began a new 
project…40 units; 28 one-bedroom, 12-three bedrooms…The height of the building is down from 
49 feet to 35 feet. It has been reduced from four stories to three stories…more parking-instead of 49 
spots, there will be 61 spots.” 

After listening to residents’ concerns and redoing the design of the project, WHCHC still had 
to deal with complaints. People stood up and were talking nonsense, “Who would move there? No 
Transportation.” 

The site is ideal. It is right on a bus route. There is the Live Oak Library close by and even a 
market. Then there was mention of Monrovia Transit. (626) 358-3538. An Arcadia realtor stood up 
and said, “Monrovia Transit doesn’t come here.” 

I REALLY took exception with that false information. Monrovia Transit recently celebrated 
its 30th Anniversary. In the beginning, it was established for residents of the city of Monrovia. (I can 
remember my girls walking a few blocks to Mayflower to catch it as we live in the county area.) But 
Carolyn Ziegler changed that! Carolyn, one of the original Town Council Members, worked on this 
transportation problem with Supervisor Antonovich. Discretionary funds were used so Monrovia 
Transit would provide transportation to ALL COUNTY AREAS when people needed rides to Arcadia 
Methodist, City of Hope, Santa Teresita and the Duarte Road / Baldwin Avenue Medical Offices. 
Council Member Gloria Huss told me that she has even seen the Transit go to both Target and Wal 
Mart. 
The transit situation was confusing at first (late ’93 or ’94). I received a frantic call from an elderly 
couple from my Church who lived in the county area. I drove to their home, and Ted said, “Arcadia 
Transit won’t pick me up.” So I had to explain it was MONROVIA TRANSIT that does all THREE 
county areas, but you must call 24 hours in advance to book a ride.

The gentleman from the City of Duarte stood up and said, “All families have several cars.” 
Mr. Hall calmly replied that if a person was low income, they would probably not be able to afford six 
cars! What a meeting! Stay tuned for updates on the Live Oak Project. 


VALENTINE’S DAY By Christoper Nyerges 

[Nyerges is the author of several books. He can be reached via School of Self-
reliance at Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041, or www.ChristopherNyerges. 
com, where one can view his various blogs.] 

 Now that January is behind us, the stores of Sierra Madre are now 
getting filled with red and pink hearts. Why? February 14 is the day set 
aside to commemorate a real historical person named Valentinus, the day 
we now call “Saint Valentine’s Day.” With just a little bit of research, we 
learn that this Valentinus person was stoned, clubbed, and beheaded in 
about the year 270 A.D. He was violently killed by an unruly mob. But 
why? And how have we come to associate Valentinus with chocolates and 
hearts and lovers?

 It turns out that there were at least two people called Valentinus – 
possibly more – who lived in the 2nd and 3rd Centuries. One – who the Catholic Church now called 
Saint Valentine – was beheaded in 270 A.D. 

 Another Valentinus lived about a century earlier and founded one of the most important sects of 
Gnosticism. He was born in Egypt and educated in Alexandria. He settled in Rome during the reign 
of Pope Hyginus and taught there for more than 20 years. He attracted a large following to his beliefs, 
due in part to his intelligence, his eloquence of speech, and his impeccable arguments. 

 But the teachings of this Valentinus differed in some ways from the Christian church of that time, 
and when the office for the Bishop of Rome opened up, he was not selected. Valentinus then chose to 
break off from the Christian church, left Rome, and continued to develop his doctrines as he saw fit.

 There are no original surviving documents from the teachings of Valentinus. So, if you want to 
discover what he actually believed and taught, you have to study fragmentary quotations found in the 
writings of his orthodox Christian opponents.

 Through research, we learn that Valentinus was influenced by Plato (the main source of the 
teachings of Socrates), Zoroastrianism, and Christianity. Valentinus also spoke of a spiritual realm 
which he called Pleroma, which consisted of “emanations” evolving from an original divine being. 
These have been described as the layers of an onion, with each layer being a wholly complete reality. 
It’s all very interesting, though it’s all a bit second-hand because whatever Valentinus wrote was 
apparently “lost” or destroyed by opponents.

 The term Gnosticism came from the word “gnosis,” defined as spiritual knowledge. Those who 
followed this line of study were called the Gnostics, and many were referred to as Christian Gnostics. 
But by the third century, the more orthodox Christian church (and the political power of the day), 
decided to oppose and persecute the Gnostics. By the end of the third century, Gnosticism as a 
distinct movement had largely disappeared.

 Now, here’s the quiz: Where in all this did you hear anything about chocolates, hearts, greeting 
cards, bunnies, jewelry, roses, or lace underwear? Plus, there doesn’t appear to be any historical 
connection with any of the individuals named Valentinus with the date of February 14.

 It turns out that in the pre-Christian days, there was a celebration in honor of Lupercus, a pastoral 
god, sometimes identified with Faunus or Pan. Faunus is depicted as having the body of a man but 
the horns, pointed ears, tail, and hind legs of a goat. That is, Faunus is more or less identical with the 
satyr, who was said to be lecherous, lustful, and always ready to party.

 The pre-Christian observance of this day was called Lupercalia, which fell on February 15. Most of 
what people do today in the name of “celebrating St. Valentine’s Day” has its roots in the ancient feast 
of Lupercalia. On Lupercalia, cards were given (often with subtle or overt sexual overtones), and men 
reportedly chased women through the streets (sounds somewhat like Mardi Gras).

 It is difficult to ascertain why the commemoration of Valentinus was used to supplant, uplift, and 
supercede the already-existing commemoration of Lupercus, but that’s what happened. Yet, very little 
of the trappings of modern St. Valentine’s Day have anything to do with the historical Valentinus. 

And that’s really a shame, since Valentinus was as important as, perhaps Socrates or Pythagoras, and 
yet most of us only associate him with the silly commercialism of Lupercalia’s remnants. Certainly it’s 
possible that the Church engineered this substitution so that people would elevate their practices on 
this day, though there is no evidence that that has happened.

 So rather than waste money and time on chocolates and red cards, why not take the time to study 
something meaningful about the great teacher Valentinus, or about the real meaning of that much-
used word “love.” One excellent book in this regard is Eric Fromm’s “Art of Loving.” Once you get into 
it, you may discover - as I did - that much of what he taught is very relevant today. 

NOTE: Every Sunday outdoors under a large banyan tree in Highland Park, there is a spiritual studies 
presentation on topics of current interest, such as the meanings of the holidays. The presentations are 
sponsored by WTI (see www.wtinc.info for details and schedule of upcoming talks. 


NORMAN C. PAYSON,
M.D., NAMED CHAIROF CITY OF HOPE 
BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

Manager and physician brings 30 years 
of health care experience to leadership 
role 

DUARTE, Calif. — Noted business leader and 
physician Norman C. Payson, M.D., has been selected 
as the new chair of the City of Hope board 
of directors. He began his three-year term on Jan. 
1, taking helm of the institution’s board as the research 
and treatment center launches a new era of 
growth and scientific investment. 
A senior advisor at Apria Healthcare Group 
since November 2012, Payson is a former chief 
executive officer of Oxford Health Plans Inc. and 
Healthsource Inc. He has more than 30 years of 
experience building and directing health care 
companies during times of growth and change. 
At Oxford, a leading provider of health benefit 
plans, Payson transformed the company financially 
and culturally into one of the most successful 
providers in the nation. During his tenure at 
Healthsource, which he co-founded, the health 
plan company grew to more than 3 million members 
in 15 states. 
"I am honored to serve as chair of the board of 
City of Hope, an institution that has touched so 
many lives and that stands poised to improve 
the lives of countless more," Payson said. "As the 
health care environment evolves and as the cancer 
rate increases, City of Hope’s role as a research 
institution and as a provider of specialized oncology 
care will become even more vital.” 
Payson also served as chairman and chief executive 
officer of Apria Healthcare, which has 
more than 500 locations and 13,000 employees; 
as chairman of Viant Holdings and its predecessor 
Concentra, the nation’s largest occupational 
health care provider; and as chief executive officer 
of Hawthorne Community Medical Group, a 
120-physician multispecialty group practice. 
"As a highly respected physician and a nationally 
known expert in the management of health care, 
Dr. Payson understands the challenges and opportunities 
now facing medical and research institutions,” 
said City of Hope President and Chief 
Executive Officer Robert Stone. "He has been an 
invaluable supporter of our work here, and I’m 
pleased to have his expertise and experience as 
we build upon our foundation of scientific excellence 
and commitment to high-quality, compassionate 
care." 
Payson joined the board in 2004 and has served 
as chair of its Finance Committee and Strategic 


Planning Ad Hoc Committee. He is also the chair 
of the City of Hope Medical Foundation board 
of directors and, together with his wife, Melinda 
Payson, helped establish City of Hope’s Graduate 
Studies Center as well as a graduate fellowship 
at the school. He succeeds outgoing chair Sheri 
Biller. 
A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology, Payson received his medical degree 
from Dartmouth Medical School. He is a sponsor, 
lecturer and mentor at The Geisel School of 
Medicine at Dartmouth and at the Tuck School 
at Dartmouth. He is also a board member of the 
Business Leadership Council for a Generation 
Born HIV Free, a campaign to end maternal-tochild 
HIV transmission. 
About City of HopeCity of Hope is a leading research and treatment 
center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening 
diseases. Designated as a comprehensive 
cancer center, the highest recognition bestowed 
by the National Cancer Institute, City of Hope is 
also a founding member of the National Comprehensive 
Cancer Network, with research and treatment 
protocols that advance care throughout the 
nation. City of Hope is based in Duarte, Calif., 
with community practice sites in South Pasadena, 
Glendale, Santa Clarita, the Antelope Valley 
and Palm Springs. Its hospital is ranked as one of 
"America's Best Hospitals" in cancer by U.S.News 
& World Report. Founded in 1913, City of Hope 
is a pioneer in the fields of bone marrow transplantation 
and genetics. For more information, 
visit www.cityofhope.org or follow City of Hope 
on facebook, twitter, youtube or flickr.