SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015

VOLUME 9 NO. 19


CONGRATULATIONS 
LAURIE COOPER!

PROTECTING THE 
VILLAGE CHARACTER

The latest community action group in Sierra 
Madre has demonstrated that it is possible for 
citizens with diverse ideas and a common goal to 
work together

 
You’ve probably seen the 
signs on lawns all over town 
and wondered what they were 
about. You may have even 
seen your neighbors wearing 
T-Shirts proudly. Or, you may 
have heard representatives 
speak at Council and Planning 
meetings. 

 The signs, etc., are spreading the 
message that everyone in Sierra 
Madre says they want to, preserve 
the small town character of our 
city and that is what the group, 
Preserve Sierra Madre (PSM) is all 
about.

 At a recent meeting of the local 
Kiwanis Club, founder Matthew 
Bryant gave a very informative and 
encouraging presentation about 
PSM. Below are excerpts from his 
presentation:

History : Starting with the Save 
the Monastery Coalition

 “Before I can tell the story of 
how Preserve Sierra Madre came 
into existence, I have to tell the 
story of the Save the Monastery 
Coalition because that was the 
original group that was rapidly 
formed in response to the threat 
of a housing project over at Mater 
Dolorosa or as it is often known, 
The Monastery.

 We began accumulating a data 
base of supporters as well as 
receiving very heartfelt emails 
from people who told us what 
those Monastery grounds meant 
to them in terms of the peace, 
the solitude, the sacredness of the 
land, and as a sanctuary for the 
wildlife that lives there.

Preserve Sierra Madre is Formed

 When the Mater Dolorosa 
project went into hibernation, it 
got us to thinking about creating 
a new coalition that would 
expand beyond just a focus on the 
Monastery project.

 We realized that in the past, 
different threats had appeared, 
whether it was One Carter 
back 10 years ago or the 
Measure V campaign to control 
development in Sierra Madre’s 
commercial district, and each 
time this had happened, people 
would get aroused, form a group, 
sometimes succeed or not in 
removing the threat and then the 
group would completely disband 
into obscurity. 

 We wanted to create a group 
that would focus on development 
issues throughout the entire 
City of Sierra Madre and not 
just on one particular project. 
And we wanted to create a 
group that would not dismantle 
itself completely as was done 
in the past, but would exist in 
perpetuity.” 

 Bryant characterized the main 
goals of PSM as:

“1. We believe in preserving 
the last remaining open space.

2. We believe in sustainable 
slow-growth.

3. We believe in limiting the 
quantity and size of new homes.

4. We believe in balancing 
the property rights of owners 
with the property rights of the 
neighbors.

5. We believe in preserving 
our historical heritage.

6. We believe in preserving 
the small town, village-like 
character.”

Throughout his speech, Bryant 
touted the group’s emphasis 
on working together as a 
community. At one point he 
used a quote from one of our 
city leaders, “I think Mayor 
Harabedian at that meeting said 
it best when he said that, “There 
is not right or wrong here – it’s 
just about preferences.” 

The group has had a number of 
successes under their belt that 
have been covered by this paper. 

A voice of inclusiveness, 
civility and commitment to the 
common goal of ‘Preserving 
Sierra Madre’ do appear to 
be the principles that guide 
PSM. To learn more about 
Preserve Sierra Madre go to 
their website: website at www.
PreserveSierraMadre.

S. Henderson/MVNews

 On Friday, a reception was held for Sierra Madre resident Laurie 
Cooper who has been chosen as Sierra Madre’s Older American 
of the Year. The honor was announced last month on her 97th 
birthday. 

 The reception was sponsored by the Sierra Madre Senior 
Community Commission and along with Laurie’s friends and 
family were elected officials Mayor John Capoccia and Mayor 
Pro Tem Gene Goss, Congresswoman Judy Chu (pictured above 
with Laurie), State Assemblyman Chris Holden, all of whom 
presented Laurie with a proclamation. Rita Hadjimanoukian, 
representing LA County Supervisor Michael Antonovich also 
presented her with a proclamation from the Board of Supervisors.

 Other presentations and remarks were presented by Paul 
Hagen with Aura Wellness Center (Laurie’s Yoga Instructor) 
and Allison Snow, from the Sierra Madre Environmental Action 
Council.

 A resident of Sierra Madre since the 1940’s, Laurie has, and still 
does, inspire many with her commitment to the community. In 
addition to her SMEAC activities over the years, she is also still 
active with the League of Women Voters.

 Never known to be shy, when Laurie spoke to the audience, she 
admitted that she was quite overwhelmed with the magnitude of 
the recognition and she thanked every in attendance with her 
famous smile.

 May has been designated as Older Americans Month by the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services - Administration on 
Aging. 

 Photo and story by S. Henderson/MVNews

THE NATIONAL 
LETTER CARRIER 

FOOD DRIVE

Let’s stamp Out Hunger 
Together

SATURDAY, 

MAY 9, 2015

Volunteer support is needed to receive and pack the donated food 
items at post offices in Duarte, Monrovia, Altadena, Pasadena, 
San Marino and Sierra Madre. This is a great opportunity for 
youth and adult volunteers!

Please register online at www.foothillunitycenter.org 

Thank you for all your support and assistance.

Foothill Unity Center Inc. 

Volunteer Services Department


CO-FOUNDER OF MT. WILSON INSTITUTE, 
ARTHUR VAUGHAN, JR., PASSES AWAY

CITY SEEKS PUBLIC 
INPUT ON BUDGET 
DECISIONS

 During the month of May, 
the Sierra Madre City Council 
will be visiting a number 
of community groups, 
commissions and boards in 
order to listen to residents 
priorities for the General Fund 
spending and seek out ways 
to reduce costs (services) or 
increase revenues (taxes and 
fees). See schedule on Page 2. 
The City Council will present 
an accumulation of this 
information at a Town Hall 
Meeting on Saturday, June 6 
from 10am-12noon in the Fire 
Station Bay and will consider 
all community input when 
deciding how to balance and 
create a sustainable budget. 
The budget will be adopted at 
a June City Council meeting as 
the City’s fiscal year runa from 
July 1st to June 30th. 

 Residents are invited to 
participate in these community 
input meetings - but attendance 
is not the only way to provide 
your opinion. There will be an 
online budget input webinar 
that can be attended from 
home on Wednesday, May 
27 at 7:00pm. Residents can 
also email their suggestions 
or set up a time to talk with a 
Councilmember. 

 Residents can send 
suggestions, register for 
the Budget Input Webinar, 
or find more information 
on the community input 
meetings by emailing city@
cityofsierramadre.com, calling 
626.355.7135 x202; online at 
www.cityofsierramadre.com or 
in person at City Hall.

NOTICE OF 
AVAILABILITY 
FOR THE DRAFT 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
IMPACT REPORT 
(DEIR) FOR THE 
GENERAL PLAN 
UPDATE

 As part of the environmental 
review of the General Plan 
Update, an Environmental 
Impact Report (EIR) is required 
to be prepared and adopted by 
the City Council concurrently 
with the adoption of the General 
Plan Update document. The 
Draft Environmental Impact 
Report (DEIR) document 
will be available for public 
review and comment from 
May 11 – June 24th, 2015. 
Copies of the document will 
be available at City Hall and 
City Library, as well as online 
on the City’s website at http://
www.cityofsierramadre.com/
general-plan. 

 As part of the public 
review process, a Planning 
Commission public meeting 
is scheduled for May 21, 2015 
at 7:00 pm at the City Hall 
Council Chambers located at 
232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. All 
comments on the DEIR should 
be addressed to Leticia Cardoso, 
Senior Planner, at the City of 
Sierra Madre located at the 
address noted above, or by email 
to lcardoso@cityofsierramadre.
com. The public can also 
provide comments at the 
Planning Commission meeting. 
For additional information, 
please contact Leticia Cardoso 
at (626)355-7135.

(See notice on page 19)

Inside this week: 

 Born on July 19, 1934, in 
Salem, Ohio, he was the son 
of Arthur Harris Vaughan, an 
engineer, and Helen Higley 
Vaughan, a former math 
teacher. He excelled as a student 
at Salem schools, and went on 
to Cornell University, where he 
received his Bachelor’s degree 
in Engineering Physics, and 
then attended The University 
of Rochester where he was 
awarded a PhD in Physics, 
Mathematics and Astronomy. 

 He first came to Southern 
California in 1964, when he was 
awarded a Carnegie Institution 
Fellowship for research on 
interference spectroscopy 
of infrared emission lines in 
gaseous nebulae at Mount 
Wilson Observatory. After 
becoming a scientific staff 
member of the Observatories, 
he built, and put into operation, 
a spectrophotometer that 
he designed specifically to 
study cyclic variations of 
chromospheric activity in stars 
like the sun. Results of his 
pioneering studies with this 
instrument, invaluable to the 
scientific community, have 
been cited hundreds of times 
by scientists worldwide over 
the past 30 years. Concurrent 
with his research, Arthur 
assumed responsibility for 
the optical design, testing and 
commissioning of the Irenee 
DuPont 100-inch telescope 
at Carnegie’s Las Campanas 
Observatory in Chile, where he 
acted as assistant director. 

 Continuing as an expert 
in Optical Design projects, 
he joined the Perkin Elmer 
Corporation as manager of 
Astronomical Systems, and 
later, at the Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory, assisted with the 
optical functions of AVIRIS 
( Airborne Visible Infrared 
Imagining Spectrometer) He 
assisted in the design of the 
Hubble Space Telescope Wide 
Field Planetary Camera as a 
consultant to Caltech, and later, 
after becoming a staff member 
at JPL in 2003, he was an optical 
scientist for the Hubble Wide 
Field Planetary Camera-2, and 
became a group supervisor for an 
Optical Technical Group and an 
Optics Task Manager for Galex. 
Following his retirement he 
continued acting as a consultant 
to JPL on such projects as the 
Optical Communications 
Telescope Laboratory, the 
MARS Spectrometer Telescope, 
and the Orbiting Carbon 
Observatory. Dr. Vaughan 
appeared as an author of some 
90 scientific publications during 
his illustrious career, and was 
the recipient of a number of 
scientific awards. 

 While he was in graduate 
school, Dr. Vaughan began his 
hobby of woodworking. He built 
a harpsichord, and then a violin, 
(continued on pg. 3)

CALENDAR Pg. 2


SIERRA MADRE NEWS 
Pg. 3

 PASADENA/ALTADENA

 Pg. 4

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY 

 Pg. 6

ARCADIA NEWS 

 Pg. 7

MONROVIA/DUARTE 
Pg. 8

BEST FRIENDS

 Pg. 9

EDUCATION & YOUTH

 Pg. 10

Arthur Harris Vaughan, Jr., PhD, died on May 2, 2015 at his home 
in Sierra Madre, California. 

FOOD & DRINK

ARTS Pg. 11

HEALTHY LIVING

 Pg. 12

GOOD LIFE

 Pg. 13

THE WORLD AROUND 
US Pg. 14

OPINION Pg. 15

LEGAL NOTICES

 Pg. 15