SIERRA MADRE WISTARIA FESTIVAL - SUNDAY - MARCH 13, 2016 


SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2016

VOLUME 10 NO. 9

SIERRA MADRE ARTIST LEW WATANABE DIAGNOSED WITH 
PANCREATIC CANCER; WIFE OF 53 YEARS, JOYCE, ‘IN SHOCK’

CITY SIGNS TEMPORARY AGREEMENT WITH LA COUNTY 
SHERIFF FOR EVENING AND OVERNIGHT PATROLS

Photo and Story By Terry Miller, SIerra Madre Weekly 
Reprinted by permission 

 Longtime Sierra Madre artist Lew Watanabe is in the 
hospital in Wildomar battling pancreatic cancer, according 
to Arturo Garcia, longtime assistant to Lew.

Watanabe was a fixture in Sierra Madre for decades and had 
designed numerous waterfalls and other stunning works of 
art like the one Memorial Park.

 14 years ago, Watanabe was working on an installation 
when he fell and was ultimately confined to a wheelchair. 
This, however, did not deter the enthusiastic, energetic, 
and eclectic artist from continuing to work. Watanabe 
was greatly sought after in the art world and perhaps best 
known for his waterfalls and his beloved Japanese Gardens 
at Sierra Madre Elementary School.

We spoke briefly with Joyce Watanabe Monday evening. 
She asked that his friends in Sierra Madre just pray for 
him. They are hoping to celebrate their 53rd Wedding 
anniversary this June. Lew is 82 and has lost a great deal of 
weight, Joyce says. “He’s just not eating…” she said, holding 
back the tears.

 Joyce Watanabe told Sierra Madre Weekly that the 
doctors wanted to do a pancreatic biopsy which is highly 
invasive and some doctors suggest Lew may not survive 
the operation. Watanabe said she would pass on the biopsy. 
Lew failed the swallowing test, which is not a good sign. 
Ultimately the doctors said they’ll insert a stomach tube and 
perhaps later this week Lew will go home with hospice care.

 We asked what the residents and friends of Lew Watanabe 
could do to help. Firstly, Joyce said, “Pray for him…” She 
then added that hopefully someone will help keep the 
Goodwill Gardens at Sierra Madre Elementary School in 
good shape. This has been one of Watanabe’s major projects 
through the years and one that is deeply personal to Lew. 
If anyone donates money to the school, Joyce Watanabe 
suggests you write “For Maintenance of Goodwill Garden” 
on the check, otherwise the money will go into a general 
fund used for anything but the garden.

 Japanese Goodwill Gardens-Watanabe Legacy: The 
rediscovery of the Japanese garden (circa 1993-94) and 
how the students got into restoring the lost treasure that 
was destroyed as a result of bigotry and hatred of Japanese 
Americans during the post Pearl Harbor days, was brought 
to life through teacher Helen Pontarelli who hopes the 
garden will continue to be an unexpected, emergent 
curriculum at the school.

While the stories vary on the amount of vandalism and 
the conjecture about anti-Japanese sentiment at that point 
in history, the fact remains that it was damaged and left 
unattended for many years after the war.

Enter Helen Obizowa, a former student at the school and 
resident of Sierra Madre, who decided it would be a good 
idea to resurrect the garden in 1992. Obizowa, who recently 
passed away at 96, is credited for the original concept 
and then approached Watanabe with her idea. Watanabe 
granted her wish without a moment’s hesitation.

 The original Japanese garden built in 1931, was the effort 
of the parents of Japanese American students at the school. 
The carefully constructed and peaceful garden was then 
vandalized and completely destroyed by those who over-
reacted to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

 The sixth grade class of 1995 read about this part of Sierra 
Madre’s history and discovered an article in the Los Angeles 
Times (Oct. 1994) documenting the history of what was 
once a garden at their school, according to Natalie Sandoval 
who was s student in Helen Pontarelli’s class then. Upon 
reading the article, Natalie and the students of Sierra Madre 
School decided to restore it, undertook a massive fund-
raising and labor effort to do just that.

Watanabe became a central figure for the ambitious project 
and as a landscape gardener, he designed the new garden 
and led the reconstruction. On Sunday, Feb. 4, 1995, the 
Japanese Garden was officially dedicated. 

It is that very garden that Lew Watanabe hopes will continue 
to be maintained.

Joyce also asked if anyone in Sierra Madre could help with 
the 94 Dodge Caravan which has been converted to help 
get Lew around. The vehicle is apparently plagued with 
mechanical problems and the Watanabes cannot afford 
the necessary repairs with all the medical bills. If you can 
help, please contact this newspaper or email nobrickwalls@
yahoo.com. 

 On Tuesday, the Sierra Madre city council 
approved a temporary contract with the 
LASD to provide evening and overnight patrols 
in Sierra Madre.

 The coverage will begin on Sunday, February 
28th. LASD will be in charge of handling 
patrol responses between 6pm and 6am until 
further notice. Sierra Madre Police will resume 
normal duties in the City from 6am to 
6pm. There have been conflicting reports as to 
whether or not the SMPD station will be open 
overnight.

 This measure was taken as a result of the departments 
inability to replace those officers 
recently lost due to attrition and those officers 
who have left due to the uncertain future of the 
department. Given the city’s current budget 
crisis and the diminishing revenue base, keeping 
and attracting officers has been difficult. 
Those who might be interested in joining the 
department are reluctant to do so until the city 
is on more sound financial ground. Should 
the department dissolve and police services 
be contracted out, there is no gaurantee that 
the Sheriff’s Department will take on existing 
officers.

Currently, general fund revenues are set to decrease 
effective July 1, 2016. However, should 
the Utility Users Tax Measure that is on the 
April 12, 2016 ballot pass, the city will have an 
immediate reprieve from the budget deficit and 
would be in a position to maintain all existing 
city services, including the police department.

In the meantime, the Temple City Sheriff’s Station 
will patrol the streets of Sierra Madre at 
night.

Lew Watanabe at the Goodwill Gardens a few 
years ago. 

SIERRA MADRE USING 100% WELL WATER - NOT SUBJECT 
TO MWD OUTDOOR WATERING BAN

Residents of Sierra Madre will be exempt from the temporary 15 day outdoor watering ban 
imposed by the Metropolitan Water District for Pasadena and Altadena simply because Sierra 
Madre is back on its own water supply. 

The city does have an agreement to purchase water from MWD and has been purchasing water 
for spreading in the basin. However, according to Sierra Madre Water Department Manager 
Jose Reynosa, because our wells have reached sufficient levels, we are relying on them 100% . 
Water that is being purchased from MWD is being spread into the basin to ‘perculate’ for use 
should our levels drop again. That process will also allow for the chemicals in the MWD water 
supply to be removed before going into the SM water supply. (See http://mtnviewsnews.com/
v09/htm/n48/index.htm)

During the 15-day ban, the city will not purchase any more water from MWD which will have 
no impact on Sierra Madre. Conservation is still a requirement as the state is still in a drought 
and with whether or not El Nino will have any significant impact on Southern California remains 
to be seen.

According to MWD, The ban was issued to conserve water while the make necessary improvements 
to the Weymouth Water Treatment Plant.

The outdoor watering ban will remain in effect for Pasadena and Altadena until March 10.

Inside this week: 

FIRST WRITE IN CANDIDATE IN 
MORE THAN 25 YEARS TO RUN 
FOR CITY COUNCIL

Outspoken Resident Barry Gold Launches 
‘Write In’ Campaign

 


CALENDAR Pg. 2

SIERRA MADRE NEWS

 Pg. 3


AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY Pg. 5

PASADENA/ALTADENA

 Pg. 6

ARCADIA NEWS Pg. 7 
MONROVIA/DUARTE Pg. 7

EDUCATION & YOUTH

 Pg. 8

BEST FRIENDS

 Pg. 9

Barry Gold, disappointed that no one 
was challenging the incumbents, has 
thrown his hat in the ring.

HEALTHY & FOOD

 Pg. 10

THE GOOD LIFE

 Pg. 11

By Susan Henderson

Those who follow city council 
meetings either in person or 
electronically, will recognize 
Barry Gold from his frequent 
visits to the podium sharing 
his concerns and opinions 
about how the city should 
be managed. He has served 
on the city’s UUT Oversight 
Committee and the UUT 
Revenue Committee. He is 
also active in the Preserve Sierra 
Madre movement and is 
opposed to Measure UUT.

 When asked why he did not 
file the necessary documents 
before the initial filing deadline, 
Gold admitted that he 
thought there would be more 
candidates for the two open 
council seats. Before his entry 
into the race, Mayor John 
Capoccia and Former Mayor 
John Harabedian were running 
unopposed. The candidates 
for City Clerk and City 
Treasurer are also running 
unopposed.

Gold wanted more choices 
and was “disappointed” that 
no other residents were willing 
to run for office. 

 Gold is of the belief that the 
city cannot afford its own Police 
Department and should 
contract with the Sheriff’s 
Department. 

 Gold and his wife Judy have 
lived in Sierra Madre a little 
over four years but he feels 
that his professional and personal 
experiences will be an 
asset should he be elected. 

 As with all elections, the 
Mountain Views News will 
give the candidates the opportunity 
to submit an article 
about their campaigns so 
they can articulate their platform. 
Readers will be able to 
learn more about Gold at that 
time. 

 In the meantime, you can 
meet him in person this Sunday, 
February 28th at his 
home, 441 Ramona, Sierra 
Madre, between 12 noon and 
5:00 PM

THE ARTS

 Pg. 12

BUSINES NEWS & TRENDS

 Pg. 13

THE WORLD AROUND US

 Pg. 14

OPINION

 Pg. 15

LEGAL NOTICES 
ELECTION NOTICE 

 Pg. 17/19