Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, April 7, 2018

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Mountain View News Saturday, April 7, 2018 

SIERRA MADRE 
BOMBARDED WITH OUTSIDE 
PROPAGANDA

WALKING SIERRA MADRE


“Pluviophile – A lover of rain, someone who finds 
joy and peace of mind during rainy days.”

“When life gives you rain days, wear cute boots and 
jump in the puddles.”

Still being thankful for all the rain we had a couple 
of weeks ago. Clever planning made it possible for 
me to stay in my jammies all day, never go outside 
at all, and watch the rain slide down the windows, 
which is exactly how rain should be enjoyed. Don’t 
you love the sound rain makes as it trickles down 
the rain gutters.

 “Crafting is the answer. Who cares what the 
question is!”

 “I’m in a good place right now. No, not 
emotionally, I’m at the craft store!”

 Have you been in to Craft yet? It’s at 49 W. Sierra 
Madre Blvd and it’s full of inspiration and all the 
ingredients you need to start something new in 
your life. For instance: Calligraphy – have you 
ever wished you could create your own awesome 
style of modern calligraphy? There’s a class on 
April 15th to teach you all you need to know to 
get started. Three hours will teach you how to use 
that strange pen to create beautiful letters. You’ll 
get an introduction to the tools, the basic practice 
strokes and next thing you know you’ll be putting 
it all together to form letters and then develop your 
own personal style. Think of the exquisite cards 
you could create!

 Craft opened their doors during the Wistaria 
Festival just a couple of weeks ago and owner, 
Arianna Reel, could not be happier. With her 
art background and years of being a restaurant 
consultant, she was ready to jump back into the 
world of crafts, creating and teaching others how 
to make the things which feed the soul. Arianna 
has been hosting pop-ups, many specializing in 
skin care, participating in street fairs throughout 
the Los Angeles area, and she was here for our 
Christmas Winter Village Festival; all of which 
helped her to realize the time was right to set her 
dream in motion. Craft is Arianna’s 40th birthday 
present to herself. She and husband, Mike Cook – 
he’s involved in TV and film – live here in Sierra 
Madre with their son, Ian, who is a student at 
Sierra Madre Elementary. Their desire with Craft is 
to bring something to the community to share and 
if you haven’t stopped in, do it today!

 In the front window are colorful skeins of 
oversized merino wool. With the right sized 
knitting needles or crochet hook, you could create 
a king-sized afghan in no time at all! Arianna is 
ready to help you in just about any craft you can 
imagine: yarn work, printing, embroidery. She also 
has a consignment area for local artists and artisans 
to display and sell their work. The day I stopped in 
there were some excellent pottery pieces, paintings, 
purses, baby products and some really charming 
little glass hanging terrariums for succulents and 
air ferns. Mother’s Day was mentioned, friends and 
neighbors, and these terrariums would be easy to 
do and be a lovely gift for any mothers or grandmas 
you happen to know. There’s a large space in the 
back for workshops and Arianna has a number 
of these planned; like the calligraphy mentioned 
above, or leather work, think hand-sewn sandals.

 Children’s products? Yes, indeed. Science Fair 
season is coming and there is poster board and 
supplies for all sorts of science experiments. 
Birthday parties will be available soon and if you’ve 
always liked macramé but thought it was totally 
outta style...good news.... it’s back, more fun and 
easier than ever. If you’d like to try candle making, 
everything you need to create soy candles is on 
hand. There are graphic art supplies, natural earth 
non-toxic oil paints, acrylic supplies. All these 
things are so much fun to do and you’ll be giving 
yourself a gift of time and creativity; something we 
all need.

 There’s a Friday Night Knit at 6:00 p.m. which is a 
drop-in, make something, talk to other craft lovers 
sort of social gathering and, as mentioned above, 
in addition to everything else she can do and teach 
you to do, Arianna has been involved in skincare 
for quite some time. 

 Check out the Craft Sierra Madre website to see 
what’s coming up. There just might be that secret 
skill you’ve always wanted to learn. Craft is Sierra 
Madre’s next big success story!

 Seen on a window downtown: Straightedge 
Coffee LLC... more to come!

 My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 

 Kindle books of all sorts and hardcover 
Tablespoon of Love are on there!

 Star of Wonder the CD is now on TuneCore! 
Take a look!

 Blog: www.authordeanne.com

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

Sierra Madre is truly an All-American city. Safe 
neighborhoods, good schools, a good police and 
fire department, an independent, very close, tight 
knit community. It is also a community with 
diverse opinions politically united by one mission, 
protecting the sanctity of the city. Differences of 
opinion regarding methodology on exactly how 
to achieve that exist, but the town remains united 
on keeping Sierra Madre as it is.

So, when “The Taxpayer Gazette” appeared on the 
doorsteps of residents earlier in the week with a 
rather provocative headline, “The Empire Strikes 
Back!”, the initial response from some residents 
was shock, disapproval and outrage because no 
Sierra Madre resident’s name was associated 
with it. Several residents wanted to see what the 
‘gazette’ was all about. It became crystal clear 
after reading the first few lines that it was a piece 
written in support of Measure D, a ballot measure 
calling for the repeal of the city’s Utility Users Tax.

When the question was asked who printed the 
Gazette that is supporting the measure, the answer 
is, not one identifiable resident or business owner 
in Sierra Madre. Turns out, Michael T. Alexander, 
is the primary author. Alexander is the President 
of the California Tax Limitation Committee, and 
according to his own statement a few years ago, 
he does not and never has lived in Sierra Madre. 
The only other ‘author’ noted in the ‘gazette’ is 
anonymous, listing themselves as “Little Bird, 
contributor”.

One resident who contacted the Mountain Views 
News said, “Who are these people? Do they live 
here? Why are they using Sierra Madre as Guinea 
Pigs for their ideas? Why are we being attacked?”

Another resident who is actually an anti-tax 
person in general, indicated that the Gazette 
helped change his vote. He was inclined to vote 
yes but after receiving the ‘Gazette’ he said he 
sent in his ballot with a No vote. His reason, “…..
these people need to MYOB and leave us alone”. 
(MYOB = Mind Your Own Business).

As referenced in John Harabedian’s article, much 
of the information in the ‘Gazette’ is misleading 
and/or outdated. The city has actually performed 
better than expectations since 2016 streamlining 
staff efficiency, fully funding the city’s Police and 
Fire Departments and much more. 

One thing that became very clear, residents of 
Sierra Madre want to make their own decisions, 
fight their own battles among themselves and 
resent being subjected to the influence of outside 
entities for the sake of outside agendas. “Perhaps 
the Empire needs to Go Back”, piped up one upset 
resident. Clearly, the Empire isn’t welcome here.

S. Henderson/MVNews


SIERRA MADRE LIBRARY 
PRESENTS REVIEW AND 
PREVIEW

By Kevin McGuire

Read. Discover. Connect. This is the motto of 
the Sierra Madre Library, which has served the 
community since 1887, making it the fourth 
oldest city library in Los Angeles County and the 
10th oldest in Southern California. Jill Schofield, 
Acting Library Services Manager, met before the 
City Council on March 27 to showcase the latest 
services of this library and reiterate what many in 
this great, little town already know. This library is 
more than just a building full of books.

 Schofield calls them “very lofty goals,” but strives 
to reach the objectives as described in the State 
Education Code: “A public library is a supplement 
to the formal system of free public education, and 
a source of information and inspiration to persons 
of all ages, and a resource for continuing education 
and re-education beyond the years of formal 
education…” With Baby Rhyme Time, Teen 
Advisory Boards, and Adult Reading Programs, 
there is certainly something for all ages at Sierra 
Madre Library. 

 The library staffs 11 part-time and four full-
time persons and is blessed with many volunteers 
including Friends of the Library, which raises 
money through art fairs, wine tastings and 
book sales, and of course, the Library Board of 
Trustees, responsible for establishing policies and 
maintaining the budget, among other tasks. 

There have been more visitors and rentals recorded 
at the library in 2017 compared to 2016, with 
circulation numbers reaching 104,800 (93,320 in 
2016) and 84, 255 visits last year (79,981 in 2016). 
Though over 6,000 items (books and videos) have 
been added to the collection, but Schofield noted that 
over 7,700 items have been part of a “weeding” out 
process. “This is part of a plan to remove older items 
and to get the collection more modern and to get rid 
of…shelf sitters,” said Schofield, who will retire this 
year. You can also access a growing amount of titles 
through the libraries online service.

New Programs and Tech

The 2017 Master Plan was presented before the 
City Council in March of last year, and included 
discussions of major upgrades needed for the aging 
library, and whether the facility should be relocated 
to a new building. In July 2017, Council approved 
use of funds, raised by Friends of the Library, to be 
used for repairs and the additional of much needed 
upgrades to meet the standards of the American with 
Disabilities Act. Also in July, to the delight of patrons 
and staff, there was an elimination of late fees and 
DVD rental fees. 

Some of the items added include a Mandarin 
collection of books in Chinese; Launch Pad tablets 
loaded with educational programs for kids, and an 
increased “classics” collection, including Shakespeare. 
“People still read the classics and don’t want to read 
them on Gutenberg,” Schofield said referring to the 
program featuring a collection of e-books. “They 
want a physical item,” she said. 

Some of the new participation programs available 
this year included a Bookmark Contest, where 
kids created their own bookmarks; a Reading 
Buddies program where high school seniors assisted 
elementary school students with their reading, 
keeping them fresh during the summer; Lego Play 
Day, encouraging kids to think outside the box, and 
Teen Scene, bringing teens together for board games 
and other fun activities. Other popular programs 
include: Stuffed Animal Sleepover, Miniature Golf, 
and Teen Candyland Party.

Sierra Madre Library has been fortunate enough 
to be able to keep up with the latest technology 
trends. In 2018, you’ll be able to access virtual reality 
headsets, use the new book scanning center, enjoy 
the upgraded CalRen 1 Gigabit per second Internet 
access, and coming soon you’ll be able to experience 
3-D printing! The library has also been awarded a 
grant for STEAM for Adults program, bringing the 
latest in science and technology education including 
collecting DNA, coding, fractals and building robots. 

But, History Matters Too

One of the important tasks that the Sierra Madre 
Library staff is responsible for is maintaining the city’s 
archives. This year they have joined the Pasadena 
Digital History Collaboration which is part of the 
Digital Public Library of America and a great way for 
Sierra Madre Library to share its historic photograph 
collection with the world. 

 

 In addition to all the great things the Sierra Madre 
Library offers, you can also expect new library card 
designs featuring the artwork of Kazu Kibuishi, Bill 
Peet and images from the Sierra Madre Historical 
Archives. For more information about Sierra Madre 
Library services, call 626-355-7186.

 
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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