Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 2, 2016

2

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Mountain View News Saturday, January 2, 2016


NOMINATE THE CITIZEN OF THE YEAR!

 Weather Wise

 The Sierra Madre Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations 
for the 2015 Citizen of the Year. To be eligible, a person must be 
a resident of Sierra Madre. The accomplishment(s) or project(s) 
for which they are being nominated must have been of benefit 
to the community of Sierra Madre and its citizens during 2015. 
They must have served without remuneration on the project for 
which they are being nominated, and members of the Chamber of 
Commerce Board of Directors are not eligible.

 If you would like to nominate someone, nomination forms are 
available at www.sierramadrechamber.com.

 You can also pick up nomination forms at the Chamber office, 
City Hall, the Library, and the Recreation Center. Completed forms 
should be mailed to the Sierra Madre Chamber of Commerce, 19 
Suffolk Ave., Ste. A, Sierra Madre, 91024 by January 4, 2016. 

 The winner will be selected by members of the Chamber Board 
and will be honored at the annual ceremony to be held in January 
30, 2016. 

6-Day Forecast 

Sierra Madre, Ca.

 Sun: Sunny Hi 60s Lows 40s

 Mon: Cloudy Hi 60s Lows 50s 

 Tues: Rain Hi 50s Lows 40s

 Wed: Rain Hi 50s Lows 40s

 Thur: Rain Hi 50s Lows 40s

 Fri: Rain Hi 60s Lows 40s

Forecasts courtesy of the National Weather Service

CITY OF SIERRA MADRE 

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Unless otherwise noted, all meetings listed below are held at City 
Hall 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Sierra Madre, Ca. 

626-355-7135

NEXT REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING:

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

6:30 pm

TICKETS TO THE 46TH ANNUAL WINE 
AND CUISINE TASTING BENEFIT ON 
SALE NOW

The event will be held on Friday evening, February 19, 2016, 
from 7:00-9:30pm at Alverno’s historic Villa del Sol d’Oro, 
located at 200 N. Michillinda Avenue, Sierra Madre, and will 
be an elegant affair featuring more than two dozen vintners 
providing superb wines and local restaurants offering creative 
food and desserts.

 Tickets to the premier event are $80 and allow early admission 
at 6:00 pm. Those at the premier event will enjoy a variety of 
wines from Giesen Wines, New Zealand, and delectable hors 
d’oeuvres from local Pasadena restaurateur and award winning 
chef, Claud Beltran of Claud & Co. Catering, The Eatery, and 
Bacchus’ Kitchen. A chance to win a very unique wine basket 
will be offered again this year. Tickets to the main event are 
$60 and provide admission at 7:00 pm. Both will be on sale, 
beginning mid-December, at the Sierra Madre Public Library, 
The Bottle Shop, Savor the Flavor, and Arnold’s Frontier 
Hardware & Gifts, as well as currently on line at https://www.
eventbrite.com.

The Benefit is sponsored by the Friends of the Sierra Madre 
Library, an all-volunteer organization dedicated to supporting 
our community Library. All funds received from this event 
support the Sierra Madre Library. For more information about 
the event or Friends of the Sierra Madre Library visit our website 
at www.sierramadrelibraryfriends.org


1630 AM EMERGENCY RADIO & 

Free on-air publicity for local events

 Sierra Madre’s EMERGENCY radio station is now accepting scripts 
for Public Service Announcements (PSAs) about community events. 
PSAs will be broadcast on the air at no charge. The station operates 
24/7 and can be heard at 1630 on the AM dial.

 Any local non-profit or non-commercial organization can have 
their event information broadcast to the public on Sierra Madre 
Community Information Radio. The station covers the city of Sierra 
Madre, plus surrounding areas of Pasadena, Arcadia, and Monrovia. 

Your event must:

• Benefit a non-commercial or non-profit entity
• Be open to the public
• Be of general interest to local citizens


Just 
write a Public Service Announcement that describes your event 
and e-mail it to radio@cityofsierramadre.com. 

SIERRA MADRE CITY MEETINGS

Regular City Council Meeting

Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - 6:30 pm

The final agenda and staff reports will 
available online no later than Friday 
night. Enter the date “10/13/2015” for 
the complete agenda packet.

Can’t make it to the meeting, but still want to share your 
thoughts? You can mail or drop off a written statement to 
City Hall or email city@cityofsierramadre.com before 5:30 
the night of the meeting and your statement will be delivered 
to all the Council Members.

Upcoming Public Meetings and Events

Monday, January 4, 2016, 3:00PM

Senior Master Plan Committee Meeting

 

Thursday, January 7, 2016, 12:00PM

Coordinating Council

 

Thursday, January 7, 2016, 3:00PM

Senior Community Commission Meeting

 

Thursday, January 7, 2016, 7:00PM

Planning Commission Meeting

 

Tuesday, January 12, 2016, 6:30PM

City Council Meeting

Planning & Community Preservation and Public Works 
Service Hours Monday - Thursday 7:30am - 2:00pm 

Sierra Madre City Hall 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Sierra 
Madre, CA 91024 (626) 355-7135 

citysealsmall
BEWARE: TAX SCAMS ARE 
INCREASING

IRS-Impersonation Telephone Scam

 An aggressive and sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, 
including recent immigrants, has been making the rounds throughout 
the country. Callers claim to be employees of the IRS, but are not. These 
con artists can sound convincing when they call. They use fake names 
and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. They may know a lot 
about their targets, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look 
like the IRS is calling. 

 Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid 
promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim 
refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation 
or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller 
becomes hostile and insulting.

 Or, victims may be told they have a refund due to try to trick them 
into sharing private information. 

 If the phone isn’t answered, the scammers often leave an “urgent” 
callback request.

 Note that the IRS will never: 1) call to demand immediate payment, 
nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed 
you a bill; 2) demand that you pay taxes without giving you the 
opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe; 3) 
require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as 
a prepaid debit card; 4) ask for credit or debit card numbers over the 
phone; or 5) threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement 
groups to have you arrested for not paying.

 For more details on this ongoing scam, see:

 IR-2014-105, Scam Phone Calls Continue; IRS Unveils New Video to 
Warn Taxpayers 

 Special Edition Tax Tip 2014-18, Five Easy Ways to Spot a Scam 
Phone Call 

 IR-2014-84, Scam Phone Calls Continue; IRS Identifies Five Easy 
Ways to Spot Suspicious Calls 

 IR-2014-81, IRS Repeats Warning about Phone Scams 

Special Edition Tax Tip 2014-17, IRS Updates Phone Scams Warning 

 IR-2014-53, IRS Reiterates Warning of Pervasive Telephone Scam 

 Special Edition Tax Tip 2014-10, IRS Renews Phone Scam Warning 

 IR-2013-84, IRS Warns of Pervasive Telephone Scam

Email Phishing Scam: “Update your IRS e-file” 

 The IRS has been alerted to a new email phishing scam. The emails 
appear to be from the IRS and include a link to a bogus web site intended 
to mirror the official IRS web site. These emails contain the direction 
“you are to update your IRS e-file immediately.” The emails mention 
USA.gov and IRSgov (without a dot between “IRS” and “gov”), though 
notably, not IRS.gov (with a dot). Don’t get scammed. These emails are 
not from the IRS.

 Taxpayers who get these messages should not respond to the email 
or click on the links. Instead, they should forward the scam emails 
to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov. For more information, visit the IRS’s 
Report Phishing web page.

 The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request 
personal or financial information. 

Tax Scams

 Don’t fall victim to tax scams. Remember — if it sounds too good to 
be true, it probably is. 

 Some of the other recent scams the IRS has seen include:

 IR-2014-39, IRS Warns of New Email Phishing Scheme Falsely 
Claiming to be from the Taxpayer Advocate Service 

 IR-2014-16, IRS Releases the “Dirty Dozen” Tax Scams for 2014; 
Identity Theft, Phone Scams Lead List 

 IR-2014-5, Watch Out for Tax Scams as Filing Season Opening Nears 

 IR-2013-90, IRS Warns Consumers of Possible Scams Relating to 
Relief of Typhoon Victims 

 IR-2013-33, Don’t Fall Prey to the 2013 Dirty Dozen Tax Scams 

 IR-2012-23, IRS Releases the Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2012 

 IR-2011-73, IRS Urges Taxpayers to Avoid Becoming Victims of Tax 
Scams 

 IR-2011-39, Don’t Fall Prey to the 2011 Dirty Dozen Tax Scams

 Education is the best way to avoid the pitfalls of these “too good to be 
true” tax scams. For more information, see:

Tax Scams — How to Report Them 

- Criminal Investigation’s - Tax Fraud Alerts

Phony Arguments

 No matter how some things are sliced, they’re still baloney. If someone 
tells you that you don’t have to pay taxes, check out The Truth About 
Frivolous Tax Arguments. This IRS.gov exclusive addresses some 
of the more common false legal arguments made by those opposed 
to compliance with the federal tax laws. Each contention is briefly 
explained, followed by a discussion of the legal authority that rejects 
the contention. The second section deals with frivolous arguments 
encountered in collection due process cases. The final section illustrates 
penalties imposed on those pursuing frivolous cases.

Continued on page 3

SIERRA MADRE 2015 HOLIDAY 
CLOSURE SCHEDULE

Sierra Madre, CA. – December 9, 2015 - Sierra Madre City Hall will 
be closed beginning at 12:30pm on December 24, 2015 reopening 
on January 4, 2016. The Sierra Madre Public Library will close 
at 2:00pm and the Hart Park House Senior Center will close at 
2:30pm on December 24th and will also reopen on January 4, 2016. 
Administrative service workers, with the exception of emergency 
personnel, will be off-duty in observance of the upcoming holiday 
season.

 Residents are encouraged to take advantage of the City’s online 
services during this period. Many of the services performed at City 
Hall, including payments and applications, are also available online 
through the City’s website. Residents can conveniently manage 
their water bill, register for Community Services activities, reserve 
public facilities, check out online library books, and apply for select 
permits without interruption this holiday season.

 All City offices and buildings will resume normal business hours 
on Monday, January 4, 2016.

 For more information about online services, please visit the City’s 
website at: www.cityofsierramadre.com. 


SHARE SOME 

GOOD NEWS! 

 “The Kindness of Strangers” feature 
encourages readers to share their 
stories. I can assure you, they will 
be uplifting especially in contrast to 
all the the challenges and issues we 
have to deal with daily. So, if you have something you would 
like to share, please submit it to: editor@mtnviewsnews.com. 
It doesn’t matter where you were or when it happened. Share 
your good expeiences in hope that it might bring a little joy 
and/or inspire someone.

 

-Susan Henderson, Editor/Publisher MVNews


WASTE & RECYCLING SERVICES 

Disposal of Bulky and Hard To Handle Items

Athens Services encourages reuse and donation of bulky items 
whenever possible. Bulky waste includes large items that do not 
fit into barrels or bins such as: water heaters, furnaces, bed springs, 
mattresses, dressers, couches, washers, dryers, stoves, tables, chairs, 
refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, or patio furniture. These items 
are to be placed at the curbside (not in the street) for pick-up on your 
regular trash collection day.

To schedule a pick up please call Athens Services at (855) 557-1007.

VERY IMPORTANT: PLEASE REMOVE OR SECURE ALL 
APPLIANCE DOORS TO PROTECT CHILDREN.

CHRISTMAS TREE RECYCLING - TREES are 100% recyclable!

 Athens Services collects holiday trees on your normal pickup days 
from the day after Christmas through the second week of January 
each year. Trees are delivered to various landfills to be used as mulch 
or cover material, or to Athens American Organics composting 
facility in Victorville.

Tips to ensure collection of your Christmas tree:

- Remove stands, ornaments, lights and tinsel. Place Christmas trees 
next to your regular trash containers. Trees over 6 feet in length must 
be cut in half. Trees with flocking or fire retardants ARE acceptable. 

- If you miss the date for recycling, please cut up your tree and place it 
in your yard waste container(s). 

- Please help keep our parks clean and safe during the holidays. If you 
see anyone illegally dumping Christmas trees in city parks, please call 
the Sierra Madre Police Department.