SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2015

VOLUME 9 NO. 20

BARTOLAI’S NAMED 4TH OF 
JULY GRAND MARSHALS

SIERRA MADRE: - 24th Safest Statewide of Cities With Populations 
of 10,000 or more. Topped ranked San Gabriel Valley City


There are many reasons why city of Sierra 
Madre is considered a great place to live. 
Certainly, its’ village character is one 
reason. Our independence is another. We 
have excellent schools and our own police 
and fire departments. We have our own 
library. We have our own grocery store, 
hardware store, auto repair shops, coffee 
shops, florists, restaurants and much more. 
However, if a survey were taken today, you 
would probably find that most residents 
consider safety their number one priority. 
And, according to a recent survey released 
by safewise.com, Sierra Madre ranks No. 24 
in the top 50 cities in the State of California 
and, based upon the survey’s findings, it is 
the safest city in the San Gabriel Valley!

 There are 482 cities in California that 
38 million residents call home. Safewise 
examined those cities with populations 
over 10,000 and evaluated recent FBI Crime 
Report data. and compiled a list of the 50 
safest cities based upon the incidents of 
crime compared to the national average. 
“From there, we determined the number 
of Violent Crimes, which are considered 
murder, aggravated assault, robbery and 
forcible rape, as well as Property Crimes, 
consisting of burglary, motor vehicle theft, 
arson, and larceny-theft that were reported 
in each city. Then, to create a level playing 
field and make it easy to compare crime 

rates among several cities, we calculated the 
chance of these crimes happening out of 
1,000 people.

 “The average violent crime rate among 
our safest cities was 1.12 per 1,000 people, 
and the average property crime rate was 
11.32 per 1,000 people. That means the 
average safe city listed below experienced 
70 percent less violent crime and 60 percent 
less property crime than the typical U.S. 
city. We were particularly impressed to 
discover that 42 of California’s 50 safest 
cities (84 percent) reported no murders. 
And the safest city on our list, Hillsborough, 
reported no incidents of violent crime 
whatsoever.”

Sierra Madre has had no murders 
and ranks well below the national 
average when in comes to crime. 
In the report, this is attribute 
to the use of technology by the 
SMPD. 

 

Other San Gabriel Valley Cities 
that make the top 50 list are: 
Temple City - No. 37; La Canada 
Flintridge – 43 and La Puente – 
46.

The incorporated cities and 
unincorporated neighborhoods 
of the San Gabriel Valley with a 
population over 10,000 include: 

Altadena, Alhambra, Arcadia, Azusa, 
Baldwin Park, Citrus, Covina, Diamond 
Bar, Duarte, East Pasadena, El Monte, 
Glendora, Hacienda Heights, Hillgrove, 
Irwindale, La Cañada Flintridge, La Puente 
Monrovia, Monterey Park, Pasadena, 
Rosemead, Rowland Heights, San Gabriel, 
San Marino, Sierra Madre, South El Monte, 
South Pasadena, South San Gabriel, South 
San Jose Hills, Temple City, Valinda, 
Vincent, Walnut, West Covina and West 
Puente Valley.

S. Henderson/MVNews

24. SIERRA MADRE

You’ll find the safe city of Sierra Madre 13 miles south 
of Los Angeles. For roughly a century, the Sierra Madre 
Police Department has worked with citizens to keep the 
community a safe place to settle. Leveraging the latest 
technology, the department uses the free online service 
CrimeReports to give residents insight into what types of 
crime are happening in their community. In all, the safe 
city cited only 13 violent crimes for the year and only five 
other cities on our list reported fewer forcible rapes and 
fewer robberies.

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.17

Property Crimes per 1,000: 11.67

www.safewise.com

SUSPECTS ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPT ROBBERY AND 
POSSESSION OF STOLEN PROPERTY

Sierra Madre, CA. - 

On Wednesday May 13, 2015 at 04:00 AM a resident on Grove Lane heard noises in the front of his residence. The resident looked out the 
window and observed a suspect breaking into his vehicle. The resident went outside and confronted the suspect, who was now inside his 
vehicle, and a brief struggle ensued. The suspect had a large silver object in his hand which the resident felt was a gun. Fearing for his safety 
the resident backed away from the suspect allowing the suspect flee southbound to a dark colored SUV. As the SUV pulled up another 
suspect ran out of the residence south of the original victims and fled to the vehicle. 

 Within minutes of the original call officers spotted the dark colored SUV traveling at a high rate of speed southbound on Baldwin from Sierra 
Madre Blvd. A high risk traffic stop was conducted and three suspects were detained without incident. Stolen property and narcotics were located 
inside the vehicle.

 Police Chief Larry Giannone said “we discourage residents 
from confronting suspects for their safety but are glad the victim 
is okay. The quick response from the officers was instrumental 
in apprehending these suspects and recovering the victim’s 
property”. Police located additional property in the vehicle and 
will be attempting to identify other victims.

 The three suspects are gang members and have lengthy arrest 
records. All three suspects reside in El Monte and were booked 
at the Pasadena City Jail. Bail for each is set at $50,000.

The volunteers of the Sierra 
Madre 4th of July Committee 
are pleased and excited to 
announce that the 2015 
Fourth of July Parade Grand 
Marshal will be Sierra Madre’s 
very own Nina and Clem 
Bartolai. 

“The Grand Marshal is a 
person or persons whose 
efforts over a long period 
of time has been beneficial 
to the community of Sierra 
Madre. The title of Grand 
Marshal is intended to 
honor a person or persons’ 
volume of work, dedication 
and overall enhancements to 
our community.” Nina and 
Clem have embodied these 
characteristics for years. 

This ultra civic Sierra Madre 
couple have continued to 
donate time and service to the 
Sierra Madre community for 
over 60 plus years. They are 
true examples of the Sierra 
Madre spirit and continue to 
give back today. 

Clem was part of the first 
committee in 1964/65 to plan 
the first 4th of July Parade/
Celebration in Sierra Madre. 
Clem served the community 
as a Parks & Recreation 
Commissioner, Planning 
Commissioner, and then in 
the 1980s and 90s as Mayor 
and Councilmember. In the 
1960s he was a member of the 
Sierra Madre Lions Club. He 
is a Past President and current 
member of the the Sierra 
Madre Kiwanis Club and was 
a founding member of the 
Sierra Madre Community 
Foundation. 

 Nina has served on the Senior 
Community Commission for 
over six years and has been a 
member of the Priscilla’s since 
1997. Throughout the years 
both Clem & Nina have been 
active with the Sierra Madre 
Rose Float Assoc. Historical 
Society, SMEAC and Friends 
of the Library.

 

There isn’t a civic cause or 
local group they haven’t 
helped with. Together they 
are committed to making 
the town of Sierra Madre 
the community we treasure 
today. The Bartolais are 
Sierra Madreans that make a 
difference. 

For more information 
on all of the 4th of July 
Festivities, please visit www.
sierramadre4thofjuly.com. 


Jesus Rojas (20) Geovany Martinez (19) Aaron Vazquez (33)

COMMUNITY INPUT SOUGHT TO 
HELP BALANCE SIERRA MADRE’S 
BUDGET

Inside this week: 

CALENDAR Pg. 2

SIERRA MADRE NEWS 
Pg. 3/4

 PASADENA/ALTADENA

 Pg. 6

 With the reduction of revenue for the next fiscal 
year, July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016, and the 
reality that Sierra Madre cannot sustain the level 
of services it currently provides, Mayor John 
Capoccia, Councilwoman Rachelle Arizmendi 
led one of many outreach efforts to solicit input 
from the community as to how the council 
should balance next year’s budget.

 On Tuesday, the presentation made to the 
Sierra Madre Kiwanis Club asked residents to 
review the city’s financial situations and let their 
elected officials know what services were most 
important to them; what services should be cut; 
suggest ways to increase city revenue and ideas 
on how to address the current situation.

 The Mayor noted that the city does have healthy 
reserves, however those funds are needed for 
emergencies such as the fires of 2008 or the 
windstorm on 2011. In each instance, because 
of the size of our town and other factors, the city 
had to pay a portion (and for certain items all) 
of the funds needed to repair the damages done.

 The current decrease in revenue, which is 
projected to be approximately $600,000 for the 
next fiscal year and as much as an additional 
$1 million for the 2016-2017 fiiscal year is the 
direct result of the failure of residents to pass 
the Utility User Tax modification in 2014. The 
current UUT will decrease to 8% for the 2015-
16 fiscal year and 6% the following year. Had 
the ballot measure passed, the rate would have 
remained where it is today, at 10%.

 The presentation focuses of the city’s general 
fund, the unrestricted revenue that operates 
Sierra Madre. 

Services Provided by the General Fund

Community Services - Senior Services: lunch 
program, fitness classes, bingo, movies, health 
screenings, legal services, and excursions | Parks 
& Facilities: six parks and two community centers 
| Community Garden | Community Newsletter | 
Coordinating Council | Special Event Permits | 
Contract Services: Aquatics, Recreation Classes, 
After School Youth Programs | Special Events: 
Huck Finn, MWTR, 4th of July, Summer Fun 
in the Park, Concerts in the Park, Movies in 
the Park, Halloween | Staff the Community 
Services & Senior Community Commissions

(continued on page 4)

ARCADIA NEWS 

 Pg. 7

MONROVIA/DUARTE 
Pg. 7

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY 

 Pg. 8

TOTAL GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES 

(In thousands, with transfers)

BEST FRIENDS

 Pg. 9


EDUCATION & YOUTH

 Pg. 10

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