Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, May 5, 2018

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BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 5, 2018 

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett

Jeff’s Book Pics By Jeff Brown


Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou 

In this book the legendary author shares the 
deepest personal story of her life: her relationship 
with her mother.For the first time, Angelou 
reveals the triumphs and struggles of being 
the daughter of Vivian Baxter, an indomitable 
spirit whose petite size belied her larger-than-
life presence—a presence absent during much of 
Angelou’s early life. When her marriage began 
to crumble, Vivian famously sent three-year-
old Maya and her older brother away from their 
California home to live with their grandmother 
in Stamps, Arkansas. The subsequent feelings of 
abandonment stayed with Angelou for years, but 
their reunion, a decade later, began a story that 
has never before been told. Angelou dramatizes 
her years reconciling with the mother she 
preferred to simply call “Lady,” revealing the 
profound moments that shifted the balance of 
love and respect between them.Delving into one 
of her life’s most rich, rewarding, and fraught 
relationships, Mom & Me & Mom explores the 
healing and love that evolved between the two 
women over the course of their lives, the love that 
fostered Maya Angelou’s rise from immeasurable 
depths to reach impossible heights. 

Grambo by Beth Navarro (Author), Betsy 
Hamilton (Illustrator) 

In local author Beth Navarro’s debut picture book, 
Grambo, a boy discovers his grandma is not your 
average grandma. She’s a secret agent! Grandmas 
can do anything.“Author Beth Navarro has a 
theory that the sweet, little, old woman that you know 
and love could possibly be living a secret life. In her first 
printed children’s book, Grambo, Navarro takes the reader 
on a fun adventure with a boy named Ryan as 
he sets out to learn where his grandma really 
goes when she takes her quick and mysterious 
trips to “Texas,” always returning home with a 
souvenir.” Marti Parham, author of Marti Ink.
For grades 1-2. 

Martin Luther: The Man Who 
Rediscovered God and Changed the 
World by Eric Metaxas 

From bestselling author Eric Metaxas comes a 
brilliant and inspiring biography of the most 
influential man in modern history, Martin 
Luther, in time for the 500th anniversary of the 
ReformationOn All Hallow’s Eve in 1517, a young 
monk named Martin Luther posted a document 
he hoped would spark an academic debate, but 
that instead ignited a conflagration that would 
forever destroy the world he knew. Five hundred 
years after Luther’s now famous Ninety-five 
Theses appeared, Eric Metaxas, acclaimed 
biographer of the bestselling Bonhoeffer: Pastor, 
Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Amazing Grace: 
William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign 
to End Slavery, paints a startling portrait of the 
wild figure whose adamantine faith cracked the 
edifice of Western Christendom and dragged 
medieval Europe into the future. Written in 
riveting prose and impeccably researched, 
Martin Luther tells the searing tale of a humble 
man who, by bringing ugly truths to the highest 
seats of power, caused the explosion whose sound 
is still ringing in our ears. Luther’s monumental 
faith and courage gave birth to the ideals of liberty, equality, 
and individualism that today lie at the heart of all modern 
life.The book reviews are from Amazon .com

WHY NOT JUST 
GO ONLINE AND 
CREATE YOUR OWN 
ESTATE PLANNING 
DOCUMENTS 
CHEAPLY?

There are many software programs, as well as 
websites, that sell do-it-yourself estate planning 
documents. These websites and form creation 
tools seem to offer a convenient and cost-
effective alternative to consulting with an estate 
planning attorney. But will they really meet your 
needs and protect your family? Is online, do-it-
yourself estate planning worth the perceived 
upfront savings?

 

Penny Wise and Pound Foolish

In all but the simplest scenarios, do-it-yourself 
estate planning is risky at best and can become 
a costly substitute for comprehensive in-person 
planning with a professional legal advisor. 
Typically, these online programs and services 
have significant limitations when it comes to 
gathering the information needed to properly 
craft an estate plan. This can result in crucial 
defects that, sadly, won’t become apparent until 
the situation becomes a legal and financial mess 
for your loved ones.

 Creating your own estate plan without 
professional advice can also have unintended 
consequences. Bad or thoughtless documents 
can be invalid and/or useless when they are 
needed. For example, you can create a plan that 
has no instructions for when a beneficiary passes 
away or when a specific asset left to a loved one 
no longer exists. You may create a trust on your 
own but fail to fund it, resulting in your assets 
being tied up in probate courts, potentially for 
years. Worse yet, what you leave behind may 
then pass to those you did not intend.

 Your family situation, goals, and assets 
are unique. Plus, incapacity issues deserve 
more than the perfunctory attention offered 
by template documents. There are nuances 
which simply can’t be adequately addressed in 
an off-the-shelf document. In addition, non-
traditional families, or those with a complicated 
family arrangement, require more thorough 
estate planning. The options available in a do-
it-yourself system may not provide the solutions 
that are necessary. A computer program or 
website cannot replicate the intricate knowledge 
a qualified local estate planning attorney 
will have and use to apply to your particular 
circumstances.

 If you’re a person of significant wealth, then 
concerns about income and estate taxes enter 
the picture too. An online estate planning 
website or program that prepares basic wills 
without taking into account the size of the estate 
can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars 
in increased (and usually completely avoidable) 
tax liability. A qualified estate planning attorney 
will know how to structure your legal affairs 
to properly manage – or, in many cases, even 
avoid – the burden of the death tax as well as 
minimize the impact of ongoing income taxes.

 One important aspect of estate planning is 
protecting adult children from the negative 
financial consequences of divorce, bankruptcy, 
lawsuits, or illness. An online planning 
tool will not take these additional steps 
into account when putting together what is 
usually a basic estate plan. Similarly, parents 
who have children or adult loved ones with 
special needs must take extra caution when 
planning. There are complicated rules regarding 
government benefits that must be considered, 
so these valuable benefits are not lost due to an 
inheritance.

 

Consult an Estate Planning Attorney

 No matter how good a do-it-yourself estate 
planning document may seem, it is no substitute 
for personalized advice. Estate planning is more 
than just document production. In many cases, 
the right legal solution to your situation will 
not be adequately addressed by these do-it-
yourself products – affecting not just you, but 
generations to come. 

 Dedicated to empowering your family, 
building your wealth and defining 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.


All Things By Jeff Brown

Islands Propose Ban on Western Junk Food

In an attempt to improve the health of its citizens, a group 
of islands in the South Pacific have pledged to restrict 
imported junk food in favour of organic, homegrown 
produceLeaders of a group of South Pacific islands would 
like to ban unhealthy western junk food and go organic. 
Authorities in Torba province in the nation of Vanuatu 
want to stop people eating unhealthy imports in favour 
of locally grown seafood, fruit and vegetable.

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announces 
that the city will divest from fossil fuels!

The city of New York plans to divest $5bn from fossil 
fuels and sue some of the world’s most powerful oil 
companies for their contribution towards climate 
change.New York seeks damages for the impacts of 
climate change on the city that have reportedly already 
amounted to billions of dollars, and the billions 
necessary to prepare for rising sea levels, more powerful 
storms and warmer temperatures.“New York City is 
standing up for future generations by becoming the first 
major city in the US to divest our pension funds from 
fossil fuels,” said mayor de Blasio. “At the same time, 
we’re bringing the fight against climate change straight 
to the fossil fuel companies that knew about its effects 
and intentionally misled the public to protect their 
profits. As climate change continues to worsen, it’s up 
to the fossil fuel companies whose greed put us in this 
position to shoulder the cost of making New York safer 
and more resilient.


WHAT MAKES YOU AN AMERICAN? Photos by Gina Long

Told with humor and with important resonances to today, The Immigrant is based on a true story of a 
young Jew who fled the pogroms of Czarist Russia in 1909 and pushed his banana cart into the tiny Baptist 
community of Hamilton, Texas. Given shelter by a childless older couple, he sent for his wife, raised a 
family, and made this town his home. A moving story of parents 
and children, newcomers and natives, Christians and Jews, and the 
realization of the American Dream. Learn more and buy tickets at 

http://sierramadreplayhouse.org

BUSINESS TODAY

The latest on Business News, Trends and 
Techniques


By La Quetta M. Shamblee, MBA


THE LATEST FASHIONS & RELATIONSHIP MARKETING

What do the latest fashion crazes have in common with 
popular business jargon? As I watch reruns of television 
shows that were popular during my childhood, I’m 
amazed at how many of the hairstyles and clothing have 
been repeatedly introduced as one of the new looks 
in a plethora of magazines and blogs specializing in 
fashion. Loosely referred to as retro or vintage fashion, 
it is nothing more than a return to a look from the past 
that has been revamped and reintroduced as the latest 
and greatest thing to wear. After all, there are only so 
many ways to reconstruct trousers, tops, hats, dresses and 
undergarments.

 Sometimes the remake is actually an improvement due 
to advances in technology, for example when fabrics that 
retained their colors after being washed were introduced, 
or when an entirely new branch of fabrics was launched 
with the introduction of polyester in 1951. The latter was 
indeed a revolution, providing clothing designers with 
the ability to create water-resistant raincoats and wrinkle-
free fashions never before possible. 

 In similar fashion (pun intended), the world of 
business is filled with the introduction of new terms and 
concepts in research reports, news articles and online. 
Just like fashion, most of the fanfare surrounding the 
introduction of the latest trend serves as a distraction 
to the fact that the “new” item is nothing more than a 
remake of something that was in use more than fifty years 
ago. 

 “Relationship marketing” is a term that has received 
attention in business periodicals and articles since the 
late 1990’s, and it is has now made a comeback as the 
new kid on the block to many readers. The term was 
initially defined as a type of marketing created from 
direct response campaigns that emphasized retaining 
and satisfying customers as opposed to a primary focus 
on generating sales transactions. A new and improved 
meaning has expanded beyond the original definition 
to encompass the adoption of a strategy that facilitates 
customer loyalty, interaction and long-term engagement.

 These definitions are nothing more than a superfluous 
reference to excellent customer service, before, during 
and after a transaction. Good old-fashioned business 
etiquette is the framework within which relationship 
marketing operates. It begins with good manners 
and the development of a personal connection with 
each customer, including those online. Relationship 
marketing must move beyond the adoption of key words 
in a company’s mission statement and become the reality 
of a company’s practice.

 An article in the January-February 1998 issue of the 
Harvard Business Review noted, “Relationship marketing 
is powerful in theory but troubled in practice.” Consider 
the pervasive use of special introductory discounts that 
credit card companies or cable television companies 
offer to first-time customers, which completely ignoring 
customers who have spent thousands of dollars with them 
over many years. What does that type of business practice 
say about how those companies value relationships with 
its existing customers?

 A Forbes magazine article by Steve Olenski about 
business-to-business marketing (B2B) referenced a quote 
by a chief marketing officer who was speaking about the 
upcoming year, “We will see the beginning of what I refer 
to as ‘the relationship’ whereby marketers will move away 
from an acquisition first mentality to a relationship first 
one. Marketers will focus more on the entire consumer 
experience to build and foster a long term relationship 
with a consumer as opposed to just that initial purchase 
phase.”

 News alert! We’ve seen these characteristics on the 
runway before, and we’re elated that the experts are 
touting them as the latest fashions. We can only hope 
that relationship marketing will take hold as more than a 
passing fad.


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