Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 22, 2015

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, August 22, 2015 

EXPLORE BACKSTAGE AT THE 

SIERRA MADRE PLAYHOUSE!

Walking Sierra Madre…The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis

On Wednesday evening September 9th, the Sierra 
Madre Historical Preservation Society will present 
an evening dedicated to the history of Sierra 
Madre’s major downtown landmark and source of 
community pride, the Sierra Madre Playhouse. The 
Playhouse’s own Ward Calaway will give a talk about 
the building’s past, and all that happened within its 
walls, and there will also be a backstage tour which 
you do not want to miss! The details are below.

You know the Playhouse stages live theater now, 
and you may know it was a movie house in its past. 
But that’s not all. Built in 1923, it has had other 
incarnations over its lifetime. And theater in Sierra 
Madre did not begin when the Playhouse was built… 
Sierra Madre has always attracted creative citizens 
who loved the arts, and they did not neglect the 
thespian arts, staging performances here and there 
around town. You will hear a bit about those too. 

What will you see in the backstage tour? There’s the 
fun and funky Green Room, the dressing room, and 
all the levers and wires and exciting bits that make it 
all possible. You will have the opportunity to stand 
on the stage and look out over the seats, seeing what 
the players see. You will also be surprised at what the 
players see in their peripheral vision, things hidden 
from the audience.

The backstage area, which leads to the stage, is 
accessible from a side door, so you don’t have to 
clamber up on the stage to see everything. A play 
will be running (Always…Patsy Cline will be ending 
its successful run soon), so you will be standing in a 
real working set. 

The details: Wednesday, September 9th 
at the Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.
7:00 p.m. $5 members; $10 non-members
Reservations not required Questions? Contact 
Maggie Ellis 355-7074 or MaggieEllis04@msn.com
Or visit our website smhps.com

This week, this quote fits perfectly! 

“August in sub-Saharan Los Angeles is one of the 
great and awful tests of one’s endurance, sanity and 
stamina.” Henry Rollins

The beginning of last week was really pleasant. Then 
came the 100+ degree days when we could honestly 
say, “These are the times that try men’s (and women’s 
and children’s and dogs and cat’s) souls.” Of course, 
when Thomas Paine said that in 1776, he wasn’t 
talking about the weather. Walking Sierra Madre 
has been a challenge when it’s in the mid-70’s at 
six in the morning. It’s better now, but the garden 
damage is extensive...and painful. The azaleas and 
roses are burnt and will require surgery. The new 
gardenias we put in a couple of weeks ago did great 
and the Gerbera daisy is actually blooming. All the 
succulents look fabulous and we don’t look at the 
lawn anymore. You probably don’t either. Have you 
noticed the crepe myrtle trees all over town? They 
look gorgeous, especially the deep pink ones. I’m 
giving up on some of the roses and putting in a crepe 
myrtle. We’ve been fighting the spider mites for 
years and I’m just going to concede victory to them. 
Little stinkers! I’ve sprayed everything but Chanel 
#5 on them and they just lap it up.

 Delighted to see the work finally starting on the 
City Hall Re-Landscaping project to make it more 
drought-resistant with low-water gardens. Looking 
forward to seeing the finished product, which will 
inspire us all to new heights of garden ingenuity. I 
keep trying to get down to OSH to buy some bags 
of wood chips which will save us some water. Maybe 
this week.

 We have a new florist in town. Her name is Kiwi 
Feng and her shop is Ev80 Floral Design. She’s across 
the street from Congregational Church and right 
next to Left Coast Scooters. She has some lovely 
arrangements in her case and can do any kind of 
event for you. Her address is 185 W. Sierra Madre 
Blvd. Kiwi’s shop is named for her life philosophy 
which is, “Do the things you like, even at the age of 
80!” Take a look at her website: www.ev80floral.net. 
Kiwi is originally from China and like everyone who 
works or lives in Sierra Madre, she loves it here. Stop 
in and say hi.

 I’m sure you’ve noticed there’s a movie going on, 
which is always good news for our town as these fine 
folk have to buy permits and bring in great bunches 
of crew people who need to indulge their Starbucks 
latte addiction, grab a bite to eat at Beantown while 
they’re filming in front of it, shop a little and, 
hopefully, leave a lot of their dollars here. Rumor has 
it it’s a murder mystery starring Katherine Heigl. 
“Unforgettable,” is the title and we all need to mark 
our calendars for a year or two from now when it’s 
released. They were shooting at Les Champs Elysees 
on Tuesday and laying cables across Baldwin late 
Tuesday afternoon. The movie company has a really 
cute farmer’s market thing set up in Memorial Park 
and every day they’re in town makes me smile. Ka-
ching! Ka-ching!

 Thinking of movies in Sierra Madre, how many 
can you remember? Of course, the most famous one, 
Invasion of the Body Snatchers with the pod people 
in Kersting Court. Pioneer Cemetery has appeared 
in a bunch of films. Laura Palmer’s funeral in Twin 
Peaks was shot there. We especially liked Family 
Plot, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, which had a lot 
of footage in our cemetery. There was a TV movie 
starring Olympia Dukakis shot right across the street 
from us and the film company brought everybody on 
the street a cute basket of muffins. Nice. Sgt. Bilko, 
with Steve Martin was partially filmed by Happy’s 
Liquors and there are so many more. It’s kind of neat 
to see those big trucks roll into town. Wonder if they 
need any extras?

 And to end on the happiest note possible, school 
has started! May all the returning scholars have the 
best year ever. We have a new second grader, a new 
kindergartener, a new PCC Freshman, and a Junior 
at USC in various parts of our family. 

 “The best teachers teach from the heart, not from 
the book.” Anonymous

 May all your children’s teachers this coming year 
be just like that.

 My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

 “Tablespoon of Love, Tablespoon of Laughter” is 
available there…

An excellent graduation or wedding gift, by the way!

SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER

During the week of Sunday, August 9th, to Sunday, 
August 16th, the Sierra Madre Police Department 
responded to approximately 264 calls for service. 

Tuesday, August 11th 

At 6:45 pm, Sierra Madre Police responded to 
Memorial Park after being flagged down by a 
citizen. The citizen informed Officers that a 
group of juveniles appeared to be smoking in the 
park. When Officers approached the group, they 
discovered a blue container of marijuana on the 
ground next to a backpack. One of the juveniles 
informed Officers that the marijuana was his. 
Officers ultimately confiscated the marijuana, 
a glass pipe, and unrolled tobacco. The juvenile 
was cited and released to his parent. 

Thursday, August 13th 

 At 8:48 pm, Sierra Madre Police responded to 
the station lobby regarding annoying cell phone 
texts. The victims informed Officers that they 
had been receiving messages from the victim’s 
ex-girlfriend’s mother. The victim’s mother 
stated that her son recently broke up with the 
subject’s daughter, and when he arrived at a 
residence earlier that day to pick up a piece 
property, his property was nowhere to be found. 
The victim claimed that the ex-girlfriend’s 
grandfather was present and offered him $40 
for the misplaced property. Later that evening, 
the victim’s mother received text messages from 
the ex-girlfriend’s mother. The messages were 
derogatory towards the son, and stated he had 
caused her daughter to get arrested recently and 
that he stole the money that was said to have been 
given to him. The victim ignored the messages 
but they continued to come and became 
more derogatory and threatening. The victim 
responded to the mother to stop messaging and 
attempting to contact her and her son or she 
would go to the police. When the ex-girlfriend’s 
mother refused to leave them alone, the victims 
reported the incident to Officers. This case has 
been forwarded to the Detective Bureau for 
further investigation. 

Saturday, August 15 

 At 12:16 am, Sierra Madre Police responded 
to the area of Mt. Wilson Trail and East Mira 
Monte regarding a report of a reckless driver. It 
was reported a truck was driving at a high rate 
of speed with several teenagers in the truck bed 
screaming and yelling. Officers quickly located 
the vehicle and observed two males in the truck 
and two others outside of the truck, which was 
parked behind a passenger vehicle. Officers also 
noticed a case of beer in front of the left side of 
the passenger vehicle, and as the patrol vehicle 
approached the teenagers, the two males outside 
of the truck got into the passenger vehicle and 
attempted to run over the case of beer. Officers 
stopped the vehicle and questioned all four males. 
After the Officers determined the two males in 
the passenger vehicle were not involved in the 
incident and released them, they questioned the 
two males in the truck. As Officers continued 
their investigation they located several unopen 
beer cans. The driver of the truck admitted that 
the alcohol belonged to him, including the case 
that was left in the street. The Officers performed 
a field sobriety test, and after determining the 
underage teen was not under the influence of 
alcohol, Officers cited him for possession of 
alcohol by a person under 21 and possession of 
alcohol in public. Officers seized the alcohol to 
be disposed of, and released the two men.

DEDICATION OF THE DROUGHT RESISTANT 
LANDSCAPING AND SPEED LEARNING 

WORKSHOP AT CITY HALL


Sierra Madre, CA. - August 18, 2015 - Please join the 
City of Sierra Madre and the Sierra Madre Garden 
Club for the dedication of the new Sierra Madre Civic 
Center landscaping project! The project has been 
designed and coordinated though volunteer efforts 
and is being funding through community donations 
and a grant from the San Gabriel Valley Municipal 
Water District. The landscaping is designed to reflect 
an authentic California aesthetic perfect for the city’s 
climate and distinctive interests; it features the latest in 
irrigation technology, a wide variety of beautiful native 
blooms and foliage, and charming permeable walks.

 Refreshments will be served from 9am to 
9:15, when the dedication will take place. The formal 
ceremony will be followed by a 2-hour Speed Learning 
Workshop hosted by FormLA which will cover 
everything you need to know to create an aesthetic 
authentic to Sierra Madre for your home. There is a 
suggested donation of $20 per family to attend the 
Speed Learning Workshop, proceeds will go towards 
the planting of the new drought resistant landscaping. 
The Workshop will cover: 

Authentic California Landscape Design 

FormLA Landscaping experts will discuss what is in 
and what is out when it comes to landscaping Los 
Angeles in drought. They will share the key features 
of an authentically-LA landscape and provide tours of 
the new Sierra Madre City Hall Garden.

• Cassy Aoyagi, president, FormLA 
Landscaping
• Isara Ongswiseth, co-designer, FormLA 
Landscaping


California Native Plants 

Developing an authentic, drought tolerant, landscape 
requires use of climate compatible materials. While 
natives of Australia, Chile, the Mediterranean Basin, 
and South Africa meet this criteria, California natives 
provide some unique advantages. Learn how planting 
native can save the world… or at least Los Angeles.

• Kitty Connolly, executive director, Theodore 
Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants


The Latest Watering Infrastructure 

Effective water infrastructure is the Spanx of 
landscaping: you can have the prettiest design and 
materials, but a solid structure is needed to carry off 
the look. Industry experts will showcase how to deliver 
just the right amount of water to your landscape.

• Raul W. Gonzalez, vice-president, industry 
relations, Ewing Irrigation and Landscape Supply
• Bill Millward, district manager, Netafim



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