Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 28, 2014

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Mountain View News Saturday, June 28, 2014 

WALKING SIERRA MADRE……The Social Side 
By Deanne Davis

Development Issues Dovetail Water Woes

By Susan Henderson

 
Residents packed the council chambers 
Tuesday to express their concerns about two 
things, the water that we don’t have and the 
impact of pending development projects on it. 

 Three projects in particular were singled out 
because of the additional demands they would 
place on Sierra Madre’s water resources: The 
Mater Dolorosa Project with its potential of 50 
new homes, Stonegate (formerly 1 Carter) with 
29 new homes, and Stonehouse with 19 new 
homes. The Kensington Assisted Living Facility 
was also mentioned, however that project is well 
underway and was approved by voters in 2013.

 It is not possible to speak of water conservation 
without discussing the impact these projects 
will have on the city’s water, said speaker after 
speaker. Planning Commissioner Kevin Paschal 
summed up the audience’s sentiment best when 
he said, “Keep water for our current residents.”

 The council, which was focused on finding 
solutions to ease our current water crisis, did 
not undertake the issue of the development 
projects. Mayor Harabedian reminded the 
audience that the development projects were 
not on the agenda. He was gracious enough to 
allow all who wanted to speak the opportunity 
to do so without time limits.

 The most controversial comments of the 
evening came from Richard McDonald, attorney 
for the Stonegate Development, who spoke 
during public comment. His statement drew a 
loud disapproving response from the audience 
when he said, “…… when your District Manager 
is telling you you’ve got two years of water and 
a contract with MWD to provide you with any 
more that you need, and there’s no evidence of 
anything from MWD not providing you with 
what you need, then you don’t have a current and 
immediate threat.” (McDonald’s reference to 
the “District Manager” was actually a reference 
to Public Works Director Bruce Inman. Inman 
had indicated that there were no assurances that 
the MWD would go beyond the original 2-year 
commitment.)

 McDonald went on to say that the city wasn’t 
implementing the existing conservation laws and 
pursuing “best practices” as a first step rather 
than taking the “draconian” step of imposing 
a building moratorium. His words were so 
startling that resident Elaine McPherson, who 
followed just started with an astonishing, Wow”. 

 The absolutely most charming speaker of the 
evening was 44-year resident Victoria Randall, 
who spoke against the Mater Dolorosa project. 
She said that over the years she had watched 
city government but never before come to 
speak. After articulating all the reasons that the 
Monastery property should remain as it is, she 
thanked the council and said, “I never raised my 
voice for what wrong they do, but now I will. I 
want [you] all [to] think before you give them 
permission to build any houses back there.” She 
ended her remarks with, “Thank you very much 
for listening and I hope I don’t have to see you 
again for the same problem.”

Walking Sierra Madre this week, 
just a few days before July 4th, my 
favorite walking buddy, John, and 
I were struck with how great the 
town looks already! So many 
houses, including ours, with 
red white and blue bunting and 
flags… oh my! Big ones, little 
ones, stuck in plants, on porches, 
on fences and we know Sierra 
Madre is just getting started! 
Plans are underway for our 
annual parade and we know it will 
be the best one ever!

It’s our day to celebrate,

Our Nation’s story.

Is your hand on your heart?

Here she comes! It’s Old Glory!

Speaking of the American spirit 
of “Can Do!”… I met a couple of 
splendid women this week who 
truly embody that spirit: Renee 
Cossutta and Debbie Ross, who 
happen to live in one of our 
favorite houses to walk admiringly 
past; reason being they have an 
orchard in their front yard, every 
citrus you can think of. Renee 
and Debbie have put in dwarf 
lemon, tangerine, grapefruit, 
lime, Meyer lemon and blood 
orange. I don’t think their trees 
know they are supposed to be 
dwarf size, though, as they are 
happily growing and spreading all over. Debbie Ross 
has been a Sierra Madre resident since 1987 and Renee 
has been here since 2003. They live in a “little stucco 
house” that was built in the late 1940’s and with a huge 
fencepost cactus anchoring their property, they have 
built a peaceful place they share with Stella, a sweet 
and very affectionate pit bull-boxer blend, and Felix 
the cat. And, yes, I couldn’t resist a few bars of the 
Felix theme, which got me an ears-up look from Stella.

Renee is half of the firm: Lausten & Cossutta, graphic 
designers who specialize in books, museum catalogs, 
bonding identities, and print graphics. Renee has 
been a graphic artist for thirty years or so and she 
also teaches graphic design at Cal Arts, Cal State Long 
Beach, and The Art Center. Her website: http://www.
laustencossutta.com shows dozens of prestigious 
clients, awards, publications and pictures! Oh my 
word, the pictures! Gloriously beautiful books, and 
catalog pages. Partner, Debbie Ross, is a building 
contractor, specializing in residential remodels and 
refurbishments in the San Gabriel Valley/Los Feliz-
Los Angeles area. 

Ok, so where’s the Can Do Spirit part? Four years 
ago, Renee was on the roof of her studio, a one-story, 
flat roofed building up in the Canyon, cleaning her 
gutters. She stepped into a roof cutout that she just 
didn’t realize was behind her and fell onto the street. 
Business partner, Jude Lausten, called 911, the EMT’s 
took one look at Renee, and made the decision to 
transport her to Huntington Hospital as she had 
suffered severe head trauma. She was operated on 
immediately, brain surgery, then two weeks later, 
another surgery to repair all the broken bones in her 
face. They did an excellent job, putting plates in her 
cheekbones and forehead, as Renee is beautiful! 

She was at Huntington for three weeks, a period she 
only vaguely remembers. Then another three weeks 
at Casa Colina Rehab Hospital in Pomona, which 
was a whole lot of really hard work with speech 
therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists. 
Everybody knows these therapists are all task masters! 
As she had a great deal of trouble seeing, Debbie 
brought her an iPad so she could do a little Sudoku 
and read a few headlines. Renee was able to come 
home about this same time of year, very weak, dizzy, 
and then slowly, mildly start to reengage the world. 
A month or so later, her right eye totally shut down 
and was gone forever. But none of this stopped Renee! 
Here is a woman who has totally conquered the public 
transportation system. She has learned how to get 
herself anywhere she wants to go…Long Beach…the 
Valley…via bus, the Gold Line, or whatever it takes 
to reach her destination as she decided early on that 
driving wasn’t going to be happening anymore and 
she just wasn’t going to be dependent on friends and 
family for rides here and there. The beautiful thing 
about taking the bus and the subway is that one can 
read… and nap. Renee thinks the L.A Metro works 
pretty well. She rides her bike, which is equipped with 
an electric assist, as getting up our Sierra Madre hills is 
just a little too challenging to whatever transportation 
system she needs. Renee’s carbon footprint is 
extremely light! 

Adapting to monocular vision has been difficult but 
not impossible, the worst part being depth perception, 
i.e., is the glass right here or really right there; and 
curbs are difficult. Renee feels she has been incredibly 
fortunate in the support of friends and family. 
Debbie adds that it was a remarkably blessed time 
and, as opposed to being devastating, it was actually 
inspirational. “Friends and family were inspirational 
and we created a remarkable support network. A 
poem was written by her stepmom. This led to us 
calling Renée “Humpty.” My daily emails were then 
sent to Team Humpty and I was Captain Humpty. 
Team Humpty gets annual emails of gratitude and 
love.”

Lovely Precious( Humpty)
Had a great fall
All the best doctors
All the best friends
Put Lovely Precious (Humpty)
Together again!

As we were saying goodbye, I asked Renee if she was 
still cleaning her own gutters! She laughed and said 
there are no ladders and no roofs in her life currently 
or at anytime in the future! Renee, by the way, is 
diabetic and has been for 52 years, which is another 
real challenge she continues to surmount. See what I 
mean? “Can Do” spirit! 

“Americans are a can-do people, an enthusiastic people, 
a problem-solving people. And when given a direction 
and given a plan, they’ll sign on.”

Henry Cisneros

“A clear passion, a resolute determination, a can-do 
spirit; these are the rods for creating a great mark!” 
Israelmore Ayivor

If you enjoy reading Walking Sierra Madre…The 
Social Side, you’d like my book:

 “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter” 

which is available on Amazon.com and at the following 
link: https://www.createspace.com/4561071 

Debbie Ross (right) and Renee Cossutta

SIERRA MADRE PLAYHOUSE ANNOUNCES 
NEW MISSION AND NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
The Sierra Madre Playhouse 
continues to make strides in 
its quest to join the first rank 
of small theaters in the greater 
Los Angeles area with its 
announcement this week of a 
new Mission, celebrating the 
American creative experience. 
A new Management Team 
has been installed to realize 
this mission, including Estelle 
Campbell as Managing 
Director, Ward Calaway as 
Operations Director and Ben 
Womick as Technical Director. 
Significantly, the Playhouse has 
named its first Artistic Director 
in nine years, Christian Lebano. 

Lebano is well known on 
and off the Playhouse stage 
as the leading actor in To 
Kill a Mockingbird, Our Town, and God’s Man in Texas and as the director of Driving Miss 
Daisy, Woman in Mind, and Battledrum. As Artistic Director, he will oversee the artistic vision 
and integrity of the theater, selecting its season and hiring directors, designers, and other artists 
for each production. Recently, Lebano has been the driving force behind the Field Trip Series, 
the Playhouse’s new educational outreach program which brought over 1700 students to school-
day performances of Battledrum last Spring, and the Sunday Music Series: Emerging Artists at 
the Playhouse, the Playhouse’s collaboration with the prestigious Colburn Conservatory of Music 
bringing young classical musicians to Sierra Madre. 

The new Mission Statement is an effort to recognize the Playhouse’s changing role in our foothill 
community since the theatre was first constructed in 1923. It reads:

The Sierra Madre Playhouse is dedicated to the American creative experience. It produces American 
plays and puts them into a historical context. It celebrates and produces music by emerging 
artists. It encourages and fosters an appreciation of live performance in people of all ages. 

 “What better place to celebrate the American experience than in the All-American small town of 
Sierra Madre,” said Lebano. “I want to make the Playhouse a destination theater – to encourage 
people to come for the day to hike the beautiful trails, shop in our stores, have a great meal, and 
see a wonderful show.” Lebano says that the Playhouse will be announcing their new Season next 
week and he promises that it will be a wonderful mix. 

6 Rms Riv Vu, a delightful romantic comedy, opens at the Playhouse on August 1 and plays 
through September 6. Tickets are available at www.sierramadreplayhouse.org or by calling 
626.355.4318.


Christian Lebano


SIERRA MADRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION CONCERT 
TO ROCK MEMORIAL PARK

Memorial Park will be a boot 
stomping party this Sunday 
night June 29th from 6:00 – 
8:00 pm as the Sierra Madre 
Community Foundation is the 
proud sponsor of this concert 
featuring a Johnny Cash tribute 
band named CASH UP FRONT.

“From atop a flatbed truck 
inside California's Norco State 
Prison to the fabulous Wiltern 
theatre in Los Angeles, Cash 
Up Front is a riveting, driving 
ensemble that plays the music of 
Johnny Cash like no other act! 
This Los Angeles-based quartet 
leaves crowds at theatres and 
festivals shouting for encores of its up-tempo renditions of classic hits and lesser-known gems that 
Johnny Cash made popular during his award-winning career.”

Seating is on the green so bring those blankets and lawn chairs. Sierra Madre’s very own Ice Princess 
will also be on hand selling her frozen treats. Sierra Madre Community Foundation is a non-profit 
organization which encourages support of the community through philanthropic gifts. In the past 
year, Sierra Madre Community Foundation awarded over $15,000 in grants to the Sierra Madre 
community including the Sierra Madre Playhouse’s student guide for the Battledrum production; an 
Eagle Scout project to rehabilitate all the wood benches in Sierra Vista and Memorial Parks; supplies 
and tools for the volunteers who maintain the hiking trails in Little Santa Anita and Bailey Canyons; 
sponsoring the Mt. Wilson Trail Race Kids Run, the Library’s One Book One City and children’s essay 
contest programs, a literacy protect with the Sierra Madre Middle School, and programs with the 
Creative Arts Group to bring art to local schools.

Additionally, working with Sierra Madre youth sports organizations, SMCF provided funding from 
special projects “Fix the Field” to install a drinking fountain, new fences, shade over the dug-outs and a 
pair of bleachers in enjoying viewing the games at the Sierra Madre Elementary School field. SMCF also 
continues our partnership with the volunteers who organize the Sierra Madre 4th of July celebration. 
The SMCF Board will continue to look for opportunities to make Sierra Madre a great community. You 
can learn more about the Sierra Madre Community Foundation and ways to support the mission at 
www.sierramadrefoundation.org.

For more information of the City of Sierra Madre’s Concert Series please contact (626) 355-5278.