Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, May 27, 2017

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Mountain View News Saturday, May 27, 2017 

Walking Sierra Madre…The Social Side



FRIENDS OF THE SIERRA MADRE LIBRARY 


SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER 


by Deanne Davis 

“Instagram is the new word of mouth!” Viken 
Bazerkanian 

Have you ever taken a look at something you’ve 
been carrying around for quite a while and actually 
SEEN it! This happens to all of us from time to 
time, purses, briefcases, computer bags, shoes. 
We are aghast to see that we’re carrying around 
something which should have been retired some 
time ago. With that in mind, I stopped in to Ritz 
Resale to see what they had going on. I first visited 
Jennifer Bekkedal in January of 2015, found her to 
be charming and Ritz to be an absolutely fabulous 
place, filled with beautiful clothes, shoes and 
handbags. Ritz is NOT a thrift store! There is a vast 
difference between consignment and the stuff you 
find at thrift and ‘vintage’ shops. Consignment is 
usually gorgeous designer clothes and shoes which 
have been worn only once by women who are in 
high profile jobs, like TV people, or high exposure 
executive positions. Lots of us have our favorite 
black dress or suit and the shoes which don’t hurt if 
you have to stand for a while. Then there are other 
people who just can’t keep showing up in that same 
beige suit. I watch Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda 
Kotb on Today every now and then and those 
women never wear the same thing twice. I think 
Dallas Raines wears suits more than once, but it’s 
different for guys, even TV weather guys.

Last Saturday I spent a delightful hour with 
Jennifer, her husband, Viken, and their daughter, 
Phoenix. Everyone in there was busy arranging, 
rearranging, adding new stock and just generally 
creating an atmosphere of affordable beauty. It’s 
designer heaven, friends and neighbors, with 
names we would wear everywhere...Diane Von 
Furstenberg, Tracy Reece, Dooney & Burke, 
Vuitton and so many more. I, personally, fell deeply 
in love with a white leather jacket and tried with 
all my might to get it to fit. But when it’s not your 
size, it’s not your size. You know that thing about 
Cinderella’s nasty stepsisters cutting off parts of 
toes to get the glass slipper to fit? Not happening!

Chatting with Viken about marketing, he said 
that sales have taken off like crazy since Ritz Resale 
became a presence on Instagram, where people are 
passing along Jennifer Bekkedal@ritzresale with 
astonishing speed. Take a look! 

Ritz Resale has been in their location on 
Michillinda at the corner of Valley View, just north 
a block from the center where Albertson’s was for 
so many years, and where Colette’s Restaurant is 
doing very well. Just to give you a little history, 
Jennifer’s mom started the business some years 
ago as the result of an extremely successful garage 
sale where she noticed that what went fastest was 
the gently used clothing. Ritz Resale started life on 
Green in Pasadena then opened on Mentor by the 
Ice House in 1980. Well, time went by, the building 
was sold and Jennifer came to her favorite spot, 
Sierra Madre, where Ritz has been doing extremely 
well for three years now. You might want to take a 
look at the Ritz website: www.ritzresale.com where 
you can learn the ins and outs of consignment. 

While I was browsing and trying to figure out 
how to fit into that white leather jacket, there were 
several ladies trying on jeans and jackets. There is 
a rack of stunning business suits I’m going to turn 
my daughter, Leah, who is a lawyer, on to. Leather 
jackets, a full length suede coat, a pair of knee-
high high heeled suede boots absolutely to die for 
and so much more. Jennifer feels that her mission 
with Ritz Resale is to provide high end designer 
name clothes at a fair price. She would like to see 

BEST USED BOOK SALE 


The Friends of the Sierra Madre Library announcethat the June Best Used Book Sale will take place onFriday, June 2 from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday,
June 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

On our Featured Shelves we have Sports andMilitary History books. Look for some interestingbiographies on sports personalities and history aswell as tales of military campaigns and participantsfrom the past.

As always, we will have a large collection 
of “Coffee-table Books” on Cooking, Art, 
Contemporary Culture, Science, Gardening and 
History on the table in the Basement. The shelves 
in the basement are full of newer fiction and nonfiction 
on every subject. In addition, we’ve added a 
large CD collection of used and new (both classicaland pop music) for only $1.00 each. Used and new 
DVDS and audio books are also only $1.00 each. 

During this time period, the Sierra Madre PoliceDepartment responded to approximately 249 day andnight time calls for service. 

Tuesday, May 16

At about 5:15 a.m. officers responded to the 100block of Webster Way for a theft from a vehiclereport. The victim parked his unlocked vehiclein the driveway of the residence. Unknownsuspect(s) entered the vehicle, ransacked and stolemiscellaneous items, from the interior and fled. The 
items were later recovered. 

Thursday, May 18

Another theft from an unlocked vehicle in the 600 
block of Edgeview Dr., between 5/17/17 at about

9:00 p.m. and 5/18/17 at about 8:00 a.m. is when theresident noticed her phone and loose change weremissing. Surveillance video shows the suspect wasattempting to enter another vehicle that was alsoparked in the driveway. A neighbor across the streetfrom the victim had their vehicle gone through,
however, nothing was taken.
Case to Detectives 
Friday, May 19 

Residents reported a home burglary in the 2000block of Santa Anita Ave. at about 2:21 p.m. Itappeared to responding officers that unknownsuspect(s) entered the backyard and smashed a 
bedroom window and entered the home. It appearsthat at this time nothing was taken even though tworooms were ransacked. 
Case to Detectives 

Saturday, May 20

At about 7:02 a.m. an officer was flagged downregarding a suspicious person in the 1100 block ofArno Dr. Officers contacted the suspicious personand a wants check revealed that he was a missingperson out of Santa Ana. The subject was transportedto SMPD and later reunited with family members. 

12:09 p.m.
A report of vandalism was reported in the 300block of E. Grandview Ave. The resident stated the 
night before the house and two vehicles were hit bypaintballs. There does not appear to be any damageto the vehicles and the house has minimal damage.
Video surveillance shows a possible suspect acrossthe street. 
Case to Detectives 
the world able to dress a little better without going 
broke doing it. Folks get hooked on Ritz and, even 
if they’re not living locally any more, come back to 
shop when they come to town to visit. 

The picture here is of Jennifer and Viken’s 
daughter, Phoenix, who will be a junior at South 
Pasadena High School in the Fall. This delightful 
young lady is planning to become a doctor and 
her plans are to attend the University of Oslo in 
Norway. Her grandparents live there and she was 
actually born there! 

The best part of my visit was finding out that 
Ritz Resale is now partnered with Women ACT-
Women Against Child Trafficking. When a client’s 
consignment period ends, she can decide to let 
her items go to this organization or to the Walter 
Hoving Home, thanks to long-time Sierra Madreans 
Bess and June Bowman, and then the client takes a 
tax credit. Talk about win-win! I was so pleased to 
hear this. Jennifer and Viken feel very strongly that 
community helping community is a necessity. You 
can see more at womenagainstchildtrafficking.org.

Stop in at meet Jennifer, if you haven’t already...
Ritz is open Tuesday-Saturday 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. 
and Sunday from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Gorgeous new 
goodies are added daily, many of them brand new! 
The inventory appeals to all ages and you’re going 
to find that special something you’ve been looking 
for. Trust me! 

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 
Blog: www.authordeanne.com 

“A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of 
Laughter” is now available at

Sunrise Books + Coffee at Pasadena First Church 
of the Nazarene – just down the road on Sierra 
Madre Blvd. 

Kindle readers, give yourself the gift of: Noah 
& The Unicorns...A Fanciful Tale! It’s on Amazon. 
com on my book page!

Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.com/@
playwrightdd 

The parking lot will include many titles of ourpopular Bargain Books for only $1.00 each, bothfiction and non-fiction. Children’s/Teen books 
range from$.25 - $1.00 in the parking lot and small paperbacksare $.25 each or 5/$1.00.

By the way, do you know why the Book Sale iscalled the “Best” Used Book Sale? The sale was 
organized and begun by Friend of the Library JohnBest in the 1960s. What a great way to honor John’svision and energy by naming the Book Sale afterhim. And we think it truly is the “Best” Book Sale!

The sale will be held behind the Sierra Madre 
Library, 440 West Sierra Madre Blvd. in Sierra Madre.
All proceeds are used for services, acquisitions andprograms of the Sierra Madre Library. We look 
forward to talking about books with you at the BestUsed Book Sale! 

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