Mountain Views News          Saturday, July 19, 2014

SECTION B

SATURDAY, JULY 19. 2014

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

CHEER ON THE BOYS IN BLUE

Meet Dodger Great Ron Cey, and Make a Positive Difference in the Lives of 
Struggling Youngsters at the Hathaway-Sycamores’ Celebrating Children Awards 
Reception at Dodger Stadium

FOOTHILL MWD REQUESTS CUSTOMERS 

TO COMPLY WITH STATE MANDATES

 Foothill Municipal Water District (FMWD) 
asks customers in its service area to comply 
with approved State mandates to reduce water 
consumption through the reduction of irrigation 
to three days a week. The State Water Resources 
Control Board adopted emergency regulations 
that prohibit certain outdoor water uses and 
require urban water agencies to implement 
mandatory outdoor water use restrictions under 
their water shortage contingency plans. Fines 
of $500 could be assessed by local agencies for 
violating the prohibitions. These restrictions are 
anticipated to go into effect around August 1, 
2014.

 “The largest use of water in our service area 
is for outdoor irrigation. Reducing irrigation 
to three days a week will help save water for the 
future should this drought continue into next 
year or multiple years,” said FMWD General 
Manager Nina Jazmadarian.

 FMWD continues to offer rebates to assist 
customers in cutting water use. Rebates include a 
turf removal program, rotating nozzles, weather 
based irrigation controllers and soil moisture 
sensor. Information about the rebates and pre-
qualification requirements can be found at: 
http://www.fmwd.com/Conservation.aspx.

 Foothill Municipal Water District provides 
imported water to Crescenta Valley Water 
District, La Cañada Irrigation District, Mesa 
Crest Water Company, Valley Water Company, 
Lincoln Avenue Water Company, Las Flores 
Water Company and Rubio Cañon Land & 
Water Association. Kinneloa Irrigation District, 
another retail agency, takes no water from 
Foothill.


(PASADENA, Calif., July 16, 2014)—Storied 
Dodger Stadium will again be the site of 
Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services’ 
annual fundraiser – the Celebrating Children 
Awards Reception. Those attending the Sept. 16 
event, which is being chaired by Sierra Madre 
resident Ken Goldstein, a Hathaway-Sycamores 
board member, will not only be raising money 
to help fund the crucial mental-health and 
other support services provided by Hathaway-
Sycamores to more than 8,500 children, youth, 
young adults and families annually, but they also 
will have the unique opportunity to have the 
entire stadium to themselves, as the Boys in Blue 
will be battling the Rockies in Colorado.

 Celebrating Children festivities will start at 
5 p.m. and conclude – hopefully with a victory 
celebration – at 9 p.m. The public can purchase 
tickets to this unique event that will include: 
an appearance by Dodger great and six-time 
National League All-Star Ron Cey; Stadium 
Club cocktail party and dinner buffet featuring 
panoramic Chavez Ravine views; after-dinner 
dessert and coffee; cheering on the Boys in Blue 
via DodgerVision and walls of flat-screen TVs; live 
auction; raffle drawing; complimentary parking; 
and gift bags for all in attendance. Sponsors and 
platinum suite donors also will enjoy a pre-game 
VIP stadium tour as well as a meet and greet with 
Ron Cey.

 The centerpiece of Celebrating Children is 
the presentation of the Hathaway-Sycamores’ 
Celebrating Children Award. Each year, the 
event honors an individual or family that 
exemplifies the values of integrity, leadership 
and commitment to the well-being of children, 
adults, families, and communities. For more 
than 110 years, these values have served as the 
foundation for the compassion and care that 
each child receives at Hathaway-Sycamores. The 
2014 Celebrating Children honorees are Annsley 
and George Strong, longtime residents of La 
Cañada Flintridge and longtime supporters of 
Hathaway-Sycamores.

 Annsley Strong’s roots with Hathaway-
Sycamores run particularly deep. Specifically, 
Strong was first introduced to the agency when she 
was a member of the Los Altos Auxiliary, which 
raises funds for the children and teens who are in 
residential treatment at Hathaway-Sycamores’ El 
Nido campus in Altadena. As Strong recalls, the 
Los Altos Auxiliary decided to devote its fund-
raising efforts to Hathaway-Sycamores “because 
we liked that the agency had started as Pasadena’s 
first orphanage and was a local organization.”

 The Los Altos Auxiliary thus served as a bridge 
to Hathaway-Sycamores, and Annsley Strong – 
along with her husband George Strong, Jr. – has 
been actively involved ever since. She served on the 
agency’s Board of Directors for 13 years and held 
the position of Board Chair from 2006 to 2008. 
Annsley Strong currently serves on Hathaway-
Sycamores’ Advisory Board and is a member of 
the agency’s Strategic Planning Committee.

 

To purchase Celebrating Children tickets, or to be 
a corporate sponsor, visit http://www.hathaway-
sycamores.org/, or contact Andi Sica at (626) 395-
7100 ext. 2516 or e-mail andreasica@hathaway-
sycamores.org.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY APPROVES FULL 
IMPLEMENTATION OF LAURA’S LAW 

MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM

A Compassionate, Cost-Effective Approach,

Proven to Reduce Incarceration and Homelessness

LOS ANGELES COUNTY – The Board of 
Supervisors unanimously approved implementing 
Laura’s Law, a comprehensive, treatment-based 
approach for the mentally ill -- many of whom are 
incapable of recognizing their illness, announced 
Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.

 “Laura’s Law has proven to significantly improve 
the lives of program of participants, decrease 
incarceration, reduce homelessness, and enhance 
public safety,” said Supervisor Antonovich. “It 
provides a humane alternative to the revolving door 
of mental hospitals, jails and the street.”

 Supervisor Antonovich, who has worked 
tirelessly to support this effort, collaborated with 
former Assemblywoman Helen Thomson who 
authored the legislation that reformed the 1967 
Lanterman-Petris-Short law. 

 Laura’s Law was named after Laura Wilcox who 
was killed by a delusional individual suffering 
with severe mental illness and patterned after New 
York State’s Kendra’s Law. Initiated by Supervisor 
Antonovich, the County had previously adopted 
a successful pilot program which has resulted 
in a 78% reduction in incarcerations and a 77% 
reduction in hospitalizations among program 
participants. 

Inside This Section:

Arts and Entertainment * From The Marquee

Business News & Trends * Opinion * Legal Notices

REP. SCHIFF SECURES $5 MILLION IN 
APPROPRIATIONS BILL TO DEPLOY FULL WEST 
COAST EARTHQUAKE EARLY WARNING SYSTEM

Funding Will Be Used to Hire New Staff, Purchase Equipment, 

and Begin Implementation of System

NEW GYN ONCOLOGY CLINIC OPENS 

AT METHODIST HOSPITAL, ARCADIA

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Adam Schiff 
(D-Burbank) announced that the Appropriations 
Committee has included $5 million in funding 
in the Fiscal Year 2015 Interior and Environment 
Appropriations bill for the Earthquake Early 
Warning System, the first time Congress has 
ever provided funding specifically for the system. 
Earlier this year, Schiff led a group of 25 Members 
from California, Washington and Oregon in 
organizing a request that the committee fund 
an early earthquake warning system. A limited 
system developed by Caltech, UC-Berkeley and 
University of Washington, in conjunction with 
the United State Geological Survey (USGS), has 
already been deployed and has proven that the 
early warning technology is sound. 

 This $5 million in funding will allow those 
developing the statewide system to begin 
purchasing and installing additional sensors, hire 
new staff members, and come closer to deploying 
comprehensive early earthquake warning 
coverage throughout earthquake prone regions of 
the West Coast. The Schiff language included in 
the Appropriations bill reads: “…the Committee 
provides $5,000,000 from within the funds 
provided for Earthquake Hazards to transition the 
earthquake early warning demonstration project 
into an operational capability on the West Coast.”

 “It’s critical that the West Coast implement 
an earthquake early warning system that will 
give us a heads up before the ‘big one’ hits, so we 
can save lives and protect infrastructure,” said 
Rep. Schiff. “We are constantly reminded of our 
vulnerability – with tremors, earthquakes and 
aftershocks rattling our homes and businesses 
– and even a few seconds of warning will allow 
people to seek cover, automatically slow or stop 
trains, pause surgeries and more. This first phase 
of funding will allow the work to begin expanding 
the system, and we will continue to work to secure 
future funding along with our other federal, state 
and local partners.”

 “Caltech and its partners are very grateful 
that the House of Representatives is sending 
a strong signal of support for implementation 
of an earthquake early warning for the West 
Coast,” said President Thomas F. Rosenbaum 
of the California Institute of Technology. “We 
look forward to moving ahead with this critical 
technology over the next few years.” 

 In April, Rep. Schiff and 25 Members from 
California, Washington and Oregon sent a letter 
to the Appropriations Committee urging them to 
fully fund an earthquake early warning system. 
Schiff’s letter requested additional funding for 
the Earthquake Hazards Program in USGS to 
kickstart the process of building out the early 
warning system so we can be ready for the next 
big quake. 

By Joan Schmidt

 Recently I attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony 
for the new GYN Oncology Clinic at Methodist 
Hospital. Heading the new institute is Dr. Alan 
Schaerth, MD, a talented and respected GYN 
oncologist with over 20 years of experience. 
Prior to coming to Methodist, Dr. Schaerth 
practiced in Pasadena. Dr. Schaerth was not able 
to attend the ribbon-cutting; he was performing 
emergency surgery. Dan Ausman, President and 
CEO of Methodist Hospital took over.

 When I arrived at the clinic, there was a warm 
welcome by Mr. Ausman and Kathleen Ellison, 
Chairman of the Methodist Hospital Board. Also 
attending were Mayor Pro Tem Gary Kovacic, 
Council Member Sho Tay and City Manager 
Dominic Lazzaretto. Representing the Chamber 
were CEO Scott Hettrick and President Denise 
Weaver. Right before the Ribbon-cutting, 
Ausman explained how this clinic came to 
fruition at Methodist. Fifteen years ago, a clinic 
was in the works at a hospital in Irvine, where Dr. 
Alan Schaerth was affiliated, but the clinic didn’t 
happen. For that reason, they went to Dr. John 
Schaerth- Alan’s father, and sought his help. Dr. 
John Schaerth had a network of thirty of OBGYN 
Oncology Clinics in California and Nevada-the 
largest clinic in the US. Ausman said, “This clinic 
(at Methodist) is the re-creation of his (Alan’s) 
father’s dream.”

?The GYN Oncology Institute features updated 
technology in two large procedure rooms, an 
exam room, a private family consultation room 
and a large, family-centered waiting room. The 
atmosphere is designed to be welcoming for 
both patients and family members. I was very 
impressed with the bright cheery rooms and was 
surprised to learn the building had been around a 
long time, but was recently refurbished. (A special 
“Thank You” to David Neal, Chief Nursing Officer 
at Methodist, for many interesting tidbits of info)

 In addition to housing Dr. Alan Schaerth’s 
practice, the institute provides multiple services- 
examinations, consultations, and certain 
outpatient procedures for patients with GYN 
cancers and other disorders.

 The first presentation, A Certificate of 
Commendation on behalf of the City was by 
Mayor Pro Tem Gary Kovacic and Council 
Member Sho Tay. Mayor Pro Tem Kovacic noted, 
“it has been quite a “profound day”. (In the 
morning, there had been the celebration of the life 
of paramedic/firefighter Mike Herdman.) This 
event is a “continuation of that wide spectrum 
of doing important things to enhance those 
who need help”. Kovacic continued, “Methodist 
Hospital is an important asset to Arcadia… 
one of its Crown Jewels. Denise Weaver also 
presented a Certificate on behalf of the Chamber 
of Commerce, which was followed by the official 
Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony.

 

 This GYN Oncology Clinic will serve many and 
certainly will be an asset to the community. 

 For more information, visit www.
methodisthospital.org .


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com