Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, November 2, 2019

7


Mountain View News Saturday, November 2, 2019

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills

thechefknows@yahoo.com

SIERRA MADRE UNITING AGAINST HATE 

By Donna Jaffee, Marianna Nikolaidou and Lauren Pressman.

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and many of us will be at the dinner table, looking forward to 
connecting with family and friends. Sierra Madre residents have much to be thankful for. Our beautiful, 
serene and safe city remains free from the strife and violence that other communities are experiencing. 
Yet, given the political climate of the last few years, we may more acutely feel the need to address some 
difficult questions as we celebrate this holiday of gratitude. How do we talk to people we hold dear but 
whose views conflict with our own? How do we find common ground with those who are different 
from us, whether by origin of birth, sexual orientation, religion, race or political persuasion? 

As fortunate as we are to call Sierra Madre our home, we’re not immune to the toxicity and hate surging 
across the country which often permeates our work and social environments. We can, however, take 
steps to raise awareness and spark action against hostility and for inclusion. By doing so, Sierra Madre 
can become a city United Against Hate.

The United Against Hate campaign, in coordination with “Not in Our Town,” is a call for seven days 
of local civic action by communities nationwide to stop the hate and implicit biases that threaten the 
safety and civility of our towns and cities. This year, activities will take place November 16 – 22. On 
Saturday, November 16 from 11 am – 2 pm SMART (Sierra Madre Activists Rebuilding Together) will 
have a table at Kersting Court where children and their families can show their commitment to be 
kind to each other by creating art and compiling a list of ways to show empathy and respect for our 
commonalities and differences. SMART will hold another gathering at Kersting Court on Thursday, 
November 21, 5 pm – 7 pm, to show our solidarity as a community of peace, understanding and 
inclusion. Join us on November 16 and/or November 21 to share stories and stand together United 
Against Hate.

HOLIDAY WINE BUYING TIPS

When is a wine sale not really a sale at all? One of our Southern California grocery stores just 
finished a 30% off sale. I only wanted one bottle, so as I looked at the so-called “regular” price 
before discount, I found myself shaking my head. There is no way these wines are regularly priced 
so high. Wines I have never seen in the $20 range (like Domaine Chandon, Roeder Estate, Kendall 
Jackson, and even Korbel) were all priced like I was at Spago. A non-grocery beverage center did a 
5-cent sale (buy one and get one for 5 cents) which seems like a good deal. Even at the regular price 
of $120 a bottle I’ll take a bottle of Dom Perignon if the next one is for 5 cents. But no, the small 
print specified “selected wines”. Now, my favorite retailer has come up with a buy one get one for 10 
cents (why not 8 cents?) sale. Every student of wine or expert sommelier says “no matter the price, 
if you like it buy it”. My word to the wise is that if you can handle buying six bottles at a time, these 
“grocery store sales” can yield you a bit of savings, so don’t buy into the “regular” price - I sure don’t!

I had to jump on the bandwagon, so I bought the Clos du Bois Chardonnay 2012 at the buy-one-
get-one-for-10-cents special. I scanned the bar code with my smart phone for the “true” discount 
price and here is what I found: the lowest price was $9.00, but since you have to buy through the 
internet, once you add the shipping cost it doesn’t make sense. The wine retails for $12.99, plus 
ten cents for the second bottle, which makes it $6.55 for each bottle. Now, if you get six bottles 
there is another 10% savings. My accounting got me in trouble a few months ago, so let’s call that a 
guestimate, but the savings are real.

In summary yes, the Clos du Bois is 
great value at the discounted price, 
and with the summer here there will 
be more sales at supermarkets for 
sure. Try the scan on your favorite 
wine, it will give you roughly what 
you should be paying. If you don’t 
have a smart phone, ignore the retail 
price and look at the bottom price 
and the total discount. There are 
some real deals out there.

 

Listen in this Sunday , my in studio guest is Pink’s Hot Dogs , dial in at 8 AM on KKGO Go Country 
105 for all the delicious details 


FOUR TIPS FOR FLU SEASON 

By Greg Frank, Ph.D. 

You know the signs. The thunderous cough. The pounding headache. The full-body fatigue. 

It's the flu. Last fall and winter, influenza sickened roughly 40 million Americans and killed 60,000, 
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

This year's flu season is nearly upon us. Here are four tips to stay healthy. 

1. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. People should get the flu vaccine early. Every year, 
this shot prevents up to 6.7 million flu cases, 87,000 hospitalizations, and 10,000 deaths. The vaccine 
also helps makes the flu less severe for those who do catch it. 

The CDC recommends obtaining a flu shot no later than the end of October. The treatment takes 
around two weeks to become fully effective, so there's no time to waste. 

2. Your mom was right: If you do fall ill, remember your mother's advice. Drink lots of fluids. Juice, 
Gatorade, herbal teas, and chicken soup can help fight dehydration. Menthol ointments and humidifiers 
break up mucus and make it easier to breathe. These treatments aren't fancy, but they provide real 
relief. 

3. Remember that antibiotics won't help. Influenza is caused by a virus. Antibiotics, which only treat 
bacterial infections, are completely useless against viruses. 

Not all patients realize this. Many clamor for antibiotics at the first sign of flu-like symptoms. 

Such antibiotics won't make people feel any better. In fact, needlessly taking antibiotics increases people's 
risk of future infections. It gives bacteria an opportunity to evolve and become immune to treatments 
-- a phenomenon known as "antimicrobial resistance." 

4. Antibiotics come with risks. Antibiotic overuse accelerates the spread of drug-resistant bacteria 
known as "superbugs," which already kill over 160,000 Americans every year. 

To fight these superbugs, Congress is currently considering the Developing an Innovative Strategy for 
Antimicrobial Resistant Microorganisms Act, or DISARM. This bill would incentivize hospitals to use 
antibiotics appropriately and sparingly. It would also encourage researchers to develop new antibiotics. 
Along with a package of market incentives for new treatments, the DISARM Act could save thousands 
of lives. 

So remember -- get your shots early, follow your mother's advice, and don't jeopardize your health by 
needlessly taking antibiotics. 

Greg Frank, Ph.D., is the director of infectious disease policy at the Biotechnology Innovation 
Organization.

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


In the first part 
of this series, 
we discussed 
a unique 
planning tool 
known as a 
Lifetime Asset 
Protection 
Trust. Here we explain the benefits 
of these trusts in further detail. 
If you’re planning to leave your children an 
inheritance of any amount, you likely want 
to do everything you can to protect what you 
leave behind from being lost or squandered. 
While most lawyers will advise you to distribute 
the assets you’re leaving to your kids outright 
at specific ages and stages, based on when 
you think they will be mature enough to 
handle an inheritance, there is a much better 
choice for safeguarding your family wealth.
A Lifetime Asset Protection Trust is a unique 
estate planning vehicle that’s specifically 
designed to protect your children’s inheritance 
from unfortunate life events such as divorce, 
debt, illness, and accidents. At the same time, 
you can give your children the ability to access 
and invest their inheritance, while retaining 
airtight asset protection for their entire lives.
Today, we’ll look at the Trustee’s role in the 
process and how these unique trusts can teach 
your kids to manage and grow their inheritance, 
so it can support your children to become 
wealth creators and enrich future generations. 
Total discretion for the Trustee offers airtight 
asset protection

Most trusts require the Trustee to distribute 
assets to beneficiaries in a structured way, 
such as at certain ages or stages. Other times, a 
Trustee is required to distribute assets only for 
specific purposes, such as for the beneficiary’s 
“health, education, maintenance, and 
support,” also known as the “HEMS” standard. 
In contrast, a Lifetime Asset Protection Trust 
gives the Trustee full discretion on whether 
to make distributions or not. The Trust leaves 
the decision of whether to release trust assets 
totally up to the Trustee. The Trustee has 
full authority to determine how and when 
the assets should be released based on the 
beneficiary’s needs and the circumstances 
going on in his or her life at the time.
For example, if your child was in the process 
of getting divorced or in the middle of a 
lawsuit, the Trustee would refuse to distribute 
any funds. Therefore, the Trust assets remain 
shielded from a future ex-spouse or a potential 
judgment creditor, should your child be ordered 
to pay damages resulting from a lawsuit.


What’s more, because the Trustee controls access 
to the inheritance, those assets are not only 
protected from outside threats like ex-spouses 
and creditors, but from your child’s own poor 
judgment, as well. For example, if your child 
develops a substance abuse or gambling problem, 
the Trustee could withhold distributions until 
he or she receives the appropriate treatment.


A lifetime of guidance and support

Given that distributions from a Lifetime Asset 
Protection Trust are 100% up to the Trustee, 
you may be concerned about the Trustee’s ability 
to know when to make distributions to your 
child and when to withhold them. Granting 
such power is vital for asset protection, but it 
also puts a lot of pressure on the Trustee, and 
you probably don’t want your named Trustee 
making these decisions in a vacuum.

To address this issue, you can write up 
guidelines to the Trustee, providing the Trustee 
with direction about how you’d like the trust 
assets to be used for your beneficiaries. This 
ensures the Trustee is aware of your values and 
wishes when making distributions, rather than 
simply guessing what you would’ve wanted, 
which often leads to problems down the road. 
In fact, many of our clients add guidelines 
describing how they’d choose to make 
distributions in up to 10 different scenarios. 
These scenarios might involve the purchase of 
a home, a wedding, the start of a business, and/
or travel.

An educational opportunity

Beyond these benefits, a Lifetime Asset 
Protection Trust can also be set up to give 
your child hands-on experience managing 
financial matters, like investing, running a 
business, and charitable giving. And he or she 
will learn how to do these things with support 
from the Trustee you’ve chosen to guide them.
This is accomplished by adding provisions 
to the trust that allow your child to become 
a Co-Trustee at a predetermined age. 
Serving alongside the original Trustee, your 
child will have the opportunity to invest 
and manage the trust assets under the 
supervision and tutelage of a trusted mentor. 
You can even allow your child to become 
Sole Trustee later in life, once he or she 
has gained enough experience and is ready 
to take full control. As Sole Trustee, your 
child would be able to resign and replace 
themselves with an independent trustee, if 
necessary, for continued asset protection.
Future generations 
Regardless of whether or not your child becomes 
Co-Trustee or Sole Trustee, a Lifetime Asset 
Protection Trust gives you the opportunity to 
turn your child’s inheritance into a teaching tool. 
Do you want to give your child the ability to 
leave trust assets to a surviving spouse or a 
charity upon their death? Or would you prefer 
that the assets are only distributed to his or her 
biological or adopted children? You might even 
want your child to create their own Lifetime 
Asset Protection Trust for their heirs.

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.
CaliLaw.com for more information.

LIFETIME ASSET PROTECTION TRUSTS: 
AIRTIGHT ASSET PROTECTION FOR 
YOUR CHILD’S INHERITANCE—PART 2 

Open House 2019We invite you totour the campus,
meet teachers,
coaches, andcurrent students.
Watch and enjoypresentations,
performances, anddemonstrationsfrom our manystudent programs!
Sunday, November 17, 201912:00 - 2:30 p.m.
3880 East Sierra Madre Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107Visit www.lasallehs.org 
for more information!
LEARN • SERVE • LEAD@lasallepas • www.LaSalleHS.org • 626.351.8951
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