Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, December 8, 2018

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

Mountain Views-News Saturday, December 8, 2018 

Jeff’s Book Pics By Jeff Brown

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


THINK YOUR 
HOMEOWNERS 
INSURANCE OFFERS 
PROTECTION FROM 
NATURAL DISASTERS? 
THINK AGAIN

The recent wildfires in California were devastating to 
the communities and families affected by them. The 
threat of earthquake is always present for those of us 
in the Golden State. Yet despite the danger posed by 
natural disasters, many California homeowners still 
lack the insurance needed to protect their property 
and possessions from such catastrophes.

 In fact, roughly two-thirds of all homeowners 
are underinsured for natural disasters, according to 
United Policyholders (UP), a nonprofit organization 
for insurance consumers. One contributing factor 
to this lack of coverage is the mistaken belief that 
homeowners insurance offers protection from such 
calamities. In reality, natural disasters are typically 
not covered by standard homeowners policies.

 In order to obtain protection, you often need to 
purchase separate policies that cover specific types 
of natural disasters. Here, we’ve highlighted the types 
of insurance coverage available and how the policies 
work.

Wildfires

While homeowners insurance typically doesn’t pay 
for damage caused by natural disasters, most policies 
do protect against fire damage, including wildfires 
like the recent ones in California. The only instances 
of fire damage homeowners policies won’t cover are 
fires caused by arson or when fire destroys a home 
that’s been vacant for at least 30 days when the fire 
occurred.

 That said, not all homeowners policies are created 
equal, so you should check your policy to make 
certain that it includes enough coverage to do three 
things: replace your home’s structure, replace your 
belongings, and cover your living expenses while your 
home is being repaired, known as “loss of use” coverage. 
In certain areas that are extremely high-
risk for wildfires, it can be be difficult to find a 
company to insure your home. In such cases, 
you should look into California’s FAIR Plan.
Earthquakes

Unlike fires, earthquakes are typically not covered 
by homeowners policies. To protect your home 
against quakes, you’ll need a freestanding earthquake 
insurance policy. 

 While earthquake insurance is available 
throughout the state, policies in high-risk areas 
(such as on fault lines) typically come with high 
deductibles. What’s more, though earthquake 
insurance covers damage directly caused by the 
quake, some related damages such as flooding 
are likely not covered. Carefully review your 
policy to see what’s included—and what’s not.
Floods

 Though homeowners insurance generally covers 
flood damage caused by faulty infrastructure 
like leaky pipes, nearly all policies exclude flood 
damage caused by natural events like heavy rain, 
overflowing rivers, and hurricanes. You’ll need 
stand-alone flood insurance to protect your 
property and possessions from these events. 
The threat from flooding is so widespread, 
Congress created the National Flood Insurance 
Program (NFIP) in 1968, which allows homeowners 
in flood-prone areas to purchase flood insurance 
backed by the U.S. government. To determine the 
risk for your property, consult FEMA’s Flood Map 
service center.

 Get the disaster coverage you need today
To make certain you have the necessary insurance 
coverage to protect your home and belongings from 
natural disasters, consult with your insurance agent 
or let us know and we’ll be happy to refer you to one 
of the trusted insurance advisors we know.

 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 626.355.4000 or visit 
www.GarlettLaw.com for more information.


Once Upon a River: A Novel 
by Diane Setterfield 

 “One of the most pleasurable and 
satisfying new books I've read in 
a long time. Setterfield is a master 
storyteller...swift and entrancing, 
profound and beautiful.” —Madeline 
Miller, internationally bestselling 
author of Circe and The Song of 
Achilles. On a dark midwinter’s 
night in an ancient inn on the river 
Thames, an extraordinary event takes 
place. The regulars are telling stories 
to while away the dark hours, when 
the door bursts open on a grievously 
wounded stranger. In his arms is the 
lifeless body of a small child. Hours 
later, the girl stirs, takes a breath and 
returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it 
magic? Or can science provide an 
explanation? These questions have 
many answers, some of them quite 
dark indeed. Those who dwell on the 
river bank apply all their ingenuity 
to solving the puzzle of the girl who 
died and lived again, yet as the days 
pass the mystery only deepens. The 
child herself is mute and unable to 
answer the essential questions: Who 
is she? Where did she come from? 
And to whom does she belong? 
But answers proliferate nonetheless. 
Three families are keen to claim her. 
A wealthy young mother knows 
the girl is her kidnapped daughter, 
missing for two years. A farming 
family reeling from the discovery of 
their son’s secret liaison, stand ready 
to welcome their granddaughter. 
The parson’s housekeeper, humble 
and isolated, sees in the child the 
image of her younger sister. But the 
return of a lost child is not without 
complications and no matter how 
heartbreaking the past losses, no 
matter how precious the child 
herself, this girl cannot be everyone’s. 
Each family has mysteries of its 
own, and many secrets must be 
revealed before the girl’s identity 
can be known. Once Upon a River 
is a glorious tapestry of a book that 
combines folklore and science, 
magic and myth. Suspenseful, 
romantic, and richly atmospheric, 
the beginning of this novel will 
sweep you away on a powerful 
current of storytelling, transporting you through 
worlds both real and imagined, to 
the triumphant conclusion whose 
depths will continue to give up their 
treasures long after the last page is 
turned.

Never Home Alone: From 
Microbes to Millipedes, Camel 
Crickets, and Honeybees, the 
Natural History of Where We 
Live by Rob Dunn 

 A natural history of the wilderness 
in our homes, from the microbes in 
our showers to the crickets in our 
basements. Even when the floors 
are sparkling clean and the house 
seems silent, our domestic domain 
is wild beyond imagination. In 
Never Home Alone, biologist Rob 
Dunn introduces us to the nearly 
200,000 species living with us in 
our own homes, from the Egyptian 
meal moths in our cupboards and 
camel crickets in our basements 
to the lactobacillus lounging on 
our kitchen counters. You are 
not alone. Yet, as we obsess over 
sterilizing our homes and separating 
our spaces from nature, we are 
unwittingly cultivating an entirely 
new playground for evolution. These 
changes are reshaping the organisms 
that live with us--prompting some 
to become more dangerous, while 
undermining those species that 
benefit our bodies or help us keep 
more threatening organisms at bay. 
No one who reads this engrossing, 
revelatory book will look at their 
homes in the same way again.

New Selected Stories by Alice 
Munro 

 Spanning her last five collections 
and bringing together her finest 
work from the past fifteen years, 
this new selection of Alice 
Munro's stories infuses everyday 
lives with a wealth of nuance and 
insight. Beautifully observed and 
remarkably crafted, written with 
emotion and empathy, these stories 
are nothing short of perfection. A 
master class in the genre, from an 
author who deservedly lays claim 
to being one of the major fiction 
writers of our time. The 3 reviews 
are from Amazon.com


All Things By Jeff Brown


CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate scientists have some good news, for a change. 
Global economies are growing at a much faster rate 
than their greenhouse gas emissions, according 
to the Global Carbon Project, an international 
scientific collaboration. Nineteen countries, 
including the U.S. and the U.K., have seen a decade 
of economic growth and lower carbon dioxide 
emissions. Renewable power capacity is at a record 
high and coal-burning might have peaked. The bad 
news, inevitably, from the Global Carbon Project is 
that emissions are projected to rise 2.7 percent in 
2018, to 37.1 billion metric tons of CO2. That’s more 
than a full point higher than 2017, a year that saw 1.6 
percent growth. The previous three years had seen 
no emissions growth, prompting speculation that 
global levels may have been stabilizing.This year is 
also shaping up to be the fourth warmest on record, 
behind 2015, 2016 and 2017. Naturally varying 
temperatures account for annual differences, but the 
bumpiness smooths out over time into a clear trend: 
Twenty of the hottest years since the 1880s have 
occurred in the last 22. 

HEALTHY LIFESTYLES


THE POWER OF LETTING GO 

Yoga is, in many ways, about 
becoming free of struggle. 
First, we gain awareness. 
We wake up to what’s going 
on in our bodies and minds 
and discover how things are 
affecting us. Only then, can 
we determine what we need to 
let go. Sometimes, this ‘need 
to let go’ realization almost 
occurs after the fact. Have 
you every noticed how hard you were struggling until you 
were not struggling anymore? Similar idea with letting go. 
The tighter the grip, the harder to let go and the greater the 
need to release. Ideally, we’d identify tension within us as it 
builds. There’s good news though, Yoga has many practices 
to assist this letting go process. 

 Accessing a nourishing, full, deep breath and finding a 
sense of relaxation are probably two of the most important 
remedies. Have you noticed how a deep breath can 
change things? Finding even, smooth breaths changes 
our physiology and greatly affects the Sympathetic and 
Parasympathetic Nervous Systems. When we breathe in a 
deliberate way, the energy and the mind are soothed and 
refined. The road to freedom and letting go can be found 
this way. 

 With the breath as a catalyst, yoga allows us to find 
relaxation and cultivate a sense of ease. It’s when we find the 
rhythm of relaxation that we are able to go deeper in yoga. 
Deep physical relaxation is found in savasana, the final 
resting pose. However, mentally, the mind is being soothed 
throughout practice. If the practice is approached by trying 
“too hard” or wanting to accomplish, then the profound 
sense of relaxation and letting go is not going to happen.

 You’ve probably come upon this principle in other areas 
of life. Letting go allows abundance and exerting too much 
self-will is ultimately limiting. Relaxing into practice and 
agreeing to be fully present will break down resistance and 
create freedom on all levels. As you move along, restorative 
yoga is incredible and the practice of Yoga Nidra (yogi sleep) 
is profound and sublime. 

 Learn what exerting great effort and feeling comfortable 
feels like at the same time! Contact me to learn more and be 
introduced to the practices that have the potential to change 
your life. keely@keelytotten.com. 

Love and Namaste,

Keely Totten, E-RYT 500, Yoga & Meditation Teacher, An 
Earnest Practitioner of Letting Go


THE MISSING PAGE

Real Life Tips from LIfe's Instruction Manual

THE HOLIDAYS ARE HERE, LAY DOWN YOUR 
WEAPONS


The holidays are here, and for some people, they 
represent stress. Some folks dread having awkward 
conversations or having to interact with their parents' 
weird friends who manage to offend everyone present 
before the end of the holiday meal. Some start the season 
by getting their guard up and preparing for battle. 

 Do you plan your arguments in your head before 
approaching another party for a conversation? If so, 
stop it. The only difference between a human being and 
a cow, horse, or a pig is our consciousness and ability 
to reason. Planning to argue or disagree is an abuse 
of your imagination. When we are confronted with a 
potential conflict with another person, there are several 
fundamental truths at play.

 First, most humans long for and crave human 
connection. We want to be heard. Next, we all want to 
be understood. "The Course in Miracles" suggests that 
every human interaction is an expression of love or a 
request for love. May I suggest that you approach all of 
your holiday exchanges with the assumption that no one 
means you any harm? Would it be possible for you to 
give someone the benefit of the doubt?

 We are all blessed with the gift of perception. As you 
interact with others this season, I invite you to consider 
other possibilities before taking offense. Ask yourself, 
is there another way to look that statement or view that 
behavior? Try to see things their way. Look for the 
good; it might be there if you look.

 Wallace Wattles in his book, "The Science of Getting 
Rich", describes an interaction he had with a costume 
designer. She complained that her director was difficult 
and impossible to please. He encouraged her to stop 
replaying old disagreements in her mind. He coached 
her to imagine instead that the director and she had 
excellent communications, that he loved her designs 
and that all of their contacts were positive. Soon she 
reported their relationship had greatly improved and 
completely turned around. That happened because she 
changed. We can be powerful creators, use your powers 
for good.

 So if you have someone that you have difficulty 
communicating with, rather than planning for conflict 
imagine a peaceful, fruitful conversation. Everything 
starts in mind, so why not rehearse a good positive 
interaction?

 

 Lori is a lawyer and coach. She helps mid-career 
professionals live more fulfilling and enriched lives. Learn 
more about her on her free app Gratitude Train in the App 
Store and Google Play.

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