Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, November 4, 2017

B2 
Mountain Views-News Saturday, NOVEMBER 4, 2017 
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS B2 
Mountain Views-News Saturday, NOVEMBER 4, 2017 
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS 
Jeff’s Book PicsBy Jeff Brown FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett 

Nneka Arimah 

Finalist for the 2017 Kirkus Prize.A dazzlinglyaccomplished debut collection explores the tiesthat bind parents and children, husbands and 
wives, lovers and friends to one another and to the 
places they call home. In “Who Will Greet You atHome,” a National Magazine Award finalist forThe New Yorker, A woman desperate for a childweaves one out of hair, with unsettling results. In“Wild,” a disastrous night out shifts a teenager andher Nigerian cousin onto uneasy common ground. 

All Things By Jeff Brown 

TESLA TURNS POWER BACK ON AT 
CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL IN PUERTO RICO 


In “The Future Looks Good,” three The Nature Fix: Why Nature

generations of women are hauntedMakes us Happier, Healthier, 

by the ghosts of war, while in “Light,”and More Creative by Florence 

a father struggles to protect andAn intrepid investigation into 

Williams 

empower the daughter he loves. Andnature’s restorative benefits by a prize-

in the title story, in a world ravaged bywinning author.For centuries, poets

flood and riven by class, experts haveand philosophers extolled the benefits

discovered how to “fix the equation ofof a walk in the woods: Beethoven 

a person” - with rippling, unforeseendrew inspiration from rocks and

repercussions. Evocative, playful,
trees; Wordsworth composed while 

subversive, and incredibly human,
tromping over the heath; and Nikola

What It Means When a Man Falls 
Tesla conceived the electric motor 

from the Sky heralds the arrival of awhile visiting a park. Intrigued by our

prodigious talent with a remarkablestoried renewal in the natural world, 

career ahead of her. 
Florence Williams set out to uncover 
the science behind nature’s positive

The Power by Naomi Alderman

 It’s a piece of feminist science fiction and 
entertaining account, Williams

effects on the brain.In this informative 

or speculative fiction, or fiction about ainvestigates cutting-edge research as

fictional thing rather than a real thingshe travels to fragrant cypress forests

(curious concept). In the novel, veryin Korea to meet the rangers who

suddenly almost all the women in theadminister “forest healing programs,”

world develop the power to electrocuteto the green hills of Scotland and its

people at will. Anything from a tiny“ecotherapeutic” approach to caring

tingle all the way to full electro-death.
for the mentally ill, to a river trip

And then everything is different. Thein Idaho with Iraqi vets suffering

novel follows four main characters as 
from PTSD, to the West Virginia

they pick their way across this changedmountains where she discovers how 

world. There’s Roxy, the daughter of abeing outside helps children with

London crime family with three olderADHD. The Nature Fix demonstrates 

brothers; she was never supposedthat our connection to nature is much 

to take over the family business butmore important to our cognition than

she starts to have other ideas. There’s 
we think and that even small amounts 

Tunde, a young journalism studentof exposure to the living world can

in Lagos, who sees that the revolutionimprove our creativity and enhance

needs documenting, and gets himselfour mood. In prose that is incisive,

into some dicey situations trying towitty, and urgent, Williams shows

be the one to do it. There’s Allie, who 
how time in nature is not a luxury but

comes from a troubled backgroundis in fact essential to our humanity. As

in the South of the USA and sees that 
our modern lives shift dramatically

what people need is something newindoors, these ideas.and the answers 

to believe in. And there’s Margot,
they yield.are more urgent than ever. 

who was a low-level politician in 
New England but begins to have newambitions. It’s a novel of ideas - what 

What It Means When a Man Falls 

would happen if women had thefrom the Sky: Stories by Lesley 


DOES MY ESTATE PLAN 
NEED TO INCLUDE MY 
VACATION PROPERTY? 


Yes! If you own a vacation home, timeshare, 
investment property, or any other real estate 
asset – even if it’s outside of the state where you 
are domiciled – you must make sure it’s included 
in your estate plan. If you fail to include it in your 
plan, or fail to have an estate plan at all, your heirs 
will encounter issues, and usually the expense 
and hassle of court, when inheriting these assets. 

Because of varying state laws, your principal 
residence may even be divided one way in your 
home state while other properties - such as 
vacation homes, time shares, or other pieces of 
out-of-state land - can end up divided completely 
differently. Of course, having a comprehensive 
estate plan puts you in control and lets you 
determine who will receive your property, 
regardless of where it’s located. 

Avoiding Unnecessary ProbateIf your property is situated in a different state 
than where you live when you die, your family 
may need to file a second probate case, referred to 
as an ancillary estate. Typically a local attorney 
must handle the ancillary estate, which adds 
more cost, time, and hassle for your family to 
settle your affairs. For example, if you died as 
a resident of California but owned property in 
Montana as well, you might have an ancillary 
probate in Montana for the property located 
there. 

Probate is the legal process that is used to 
change title of property upon the owner’s 
passing, whether the deceased had a will or not. 

power to cause pain and destruction?
Do we really believe that women are naturallypeaceful and nurturing? How much of gender is inour expectations of violence? But it’s also a thriller;
in pursuit of power each of the main characterswill eventually come into conflict with the others,
and they’re each a force to be reckoned with. Atthe novel’s heart is the question of power: who hasit, how do you get it, what does it do to you whenyou’ve got it? And when you wield the power, howlong will it be before the power wields you? 

Weeks after Tesla founder Elon Musk and Gov. 
Ricardo Rossello spoke about the tech company 
aiding Puerto Rico, Tesla says it has restored 
electricity to a children’s hospital, using solar energy 
and batteries.Tesla has used its solar panels and 
batteries to restore reliable electricity at San Juan’s 
Hospital del Niño (Children’s Hospital), in what 
company founder Elon Musk calls “the first of many 
solar+battery Tesla projects going live in Puerto 
Rico.”The project came about after Puerto Rico was 
hit by two devastating and powerful hurricanes 
in September, and Musk reached out about Tesla 
helping.Musk’s company announced its success in 
getting the hospital’s power working again in less than 
three weeks.Earlier this month, Musk tweeted that 

some of his company’s work is being rerouted so it 
could “increase battery production for Puerto Rico & 
other affected areasThe hospital’s new system allows 
it to generate all the energy it needs. The facility has 
35 permanent residents with chronic conditions; it 
also offers services to some 3,000 young patients, the 
newspaper El Nuevo Dia says. As for who’s paying 
for the power system, the head of the hospital tells 
said that for now, it’s a donation — and that after the 
energy crisis is over, a deal could make it permanent.
Tesla isn’t the only tech company trying to help 
Puerto Rico; Google’s parent company, Alphabet, 
has deployed balloons from its Project Loon to the 
territory.The portable network can help phone users 
with both messaging and some web browsing. 

BUSINESS TODAY 

The latest on Business News, Trends and 

Techniques 

By La Quetta M. Shamblee, MBA 
UPDATE YOUR PRODUCT LINE & UP YOUR SALES 


You also have online options like Ebay and CraigsList where you can post your clearance items. 

Question #3: How does the presentation of myproducts and service rank?
Whether your business is primarily a physicallocation, an online store or a combination, neatness 
and cleanliness is of utmost importance.

The first recommendation is to take interior and 
exterior photos of your business location. Then, 
ask a trusted friend or colleague to look at eachphoto and rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 beingUnacceptable and 10 being Outstanding) in thefollowing areas:

1. Cleanliness (does business appear well-
maintained), 2. Organized (is layout of store/websiteorganized and appealing?), 3. Attractive Displays (ismerchandise easy to see or cluttered?), 4. Attractiveand informative marketing materials (if applicable)
and 5. Signage (are exterior and interior signs ofprofessional quality, legible and easy to understand?).
Be open to making changes based on the feedbackfrom someone who actually cares enough about youto tell you what they really think. Consider that youmay never hear what you really need to know frompotential customers who have been turned off bysomething that they will never share with you.
It may also be helpful to invest time visitinglocations of your most successful competitors. The 
purpose is to pay attention to how they displaymerchandise, signage used on the exterior andinterior of the store, availability and quality ofmarketing materials and anything else readilyvisible to a consumer. 

Finally, being attentive to what is selling andwhat is not, then applying an objective assessmentprocess will ensure that consumers will recognizeyour business as one that is worth visiting andpatronizing. They will be assured that you willalways have something new to offer, and very likelysomething they will need to purchase. 


Taking an assessment of your line of products andservices will lay the groundwork for greater businesssuccess and increased profits. A series of simplequestions can help any entrepreneur determineif the current inventory of offerings is a good fit.
It is imperative for a business to offer the mix ofinventory or services that actually sells. After all, 
you’re in business to make a profit and as the sayinggoes, “If I don’t make money, it don’t make sense!”

Actual sales data must be used to answer the first 
two questions below. Each question is followed byrecommendations that may be applied: 

Question #1: What are my best sellers and why?
If you have evidence to indicate that sales of certainitems will continue, obviously you will continue tocarry these items. Next, determine if there are related 
items that present an opportunity to increase sales.
For example, if you’re selling potted plants it may befeasible to offer garden tools or a special set of seedpackets as a limited-time promotion or as somethingavailable on an ongoing basis. A follow-up questionis “What new items should I add and why?” When 
you update your line of products and services, it givescustomers a reason for repeat visits and increasesthe likelihood they will eventually make a purchaseof something from you. After all, they have some 
interest in what you offer, which is why they’rebrowsing in the first place, so be sure to keep yourinventory “fresh” to give them reason to return. 

Question #2: What has sold the least and why?
Items displayed in your store, on your website orlanguishing in your stock room that haven’t soldwithin a reasonable amount of time, are taking upspace that needs to be cleared for things that cangenerate profits. First you may want to try alternativedisplays or pricing of the items and if the items stilldon’t sell, it’s time to have a special promotion,
clearance sale or to donate them to a local charitable 
organization to make room for things that will sell. 

Each state has their own probate rules, making it 
fairly complex for families that inherit property 
in multiple states. It is important to know that 
while personal property may be probated in 
the state where the decedent is domiciled, real 
property must be probated in the state or country 
where it is located. 

The need for ancillary probate can be avoided, 
however, through proper estate planning. 
Specifically, if the decedent transfers the 
property to his or her revocable trust before 
death, ancillary probate can be avoided. Of 
course, there are several ways to avoid the costs, 
delays, and headaches of probate other than a 
trust, but each alternative has downsides. Using 
a revocable trust will likely result in the most 
saving of money, time, and hassles for your heirs. 

Bottom Line 
Intestacy laws can be complicated because they 
vary from state to state. At the same time, a well 
thought out estate plan avoids those unnecessary 
probate costs, in every state where you own 
property. With the help of a knowledgeable estate 
attorney, you can successfully avoid unnecessary 
complication and make settling your affairs as 
easy as possible for your heirs. 

Remember to tell your estate planning advisor 
about everything that you own - no matter how 
small in value or where it is located. This is 
because in order to fully protect your family and 
assets, all of your property (real and personal) 
must be included. If you have any questions about 
ancillary probate, or any other estate planning 
issues, contact us today.

Dedicated to building your wealth, empowering 
your family and securing your legacy, 


A local attorney and father, Marc Garlett is on a 
mission to help parents protect what they love most. 
His office is located at 55 Auburn Avenue, Sierra 
Madre, CA 91024. Schedule an appointment to 
sit down and talk about ensuring a legacy of love 
and financial security for your family by calling 
626.587.3058 or visit www.GarlettLaw.com for 
more information. 

His office is located at 49 S. Baldwin Ave., 
Ste. G, Sierra Madre, CA 91024. Schedule an 
appointment to sit down and talk about ensuring 
a legacy of love and financial security for your 
family by calling 626.587.3058 or visit www.
GarlettLaw.com for more information. 

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