VOLUME 14 NO. 13

 SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2020 

source: CoreLogic, Freddie Mac, BankrateTHEWEBB-MARTIN GROUPJan Greteman 626.975.4033jan@jangreteman.com 
jangreteman.com #01943630Judy Webb-Martin 626.688.2273jwmartin@dppre.com #00541631 
Katie Orth 626.688.0418korth@dppre.com #00942500Who We Are:
Residents & business owners 
of Sierra Madre selling real estate 
since 1975 & proudly giving back 
to the community.
Your Story. Your Home. Your Team.
Together Stronger.
In this time of grave crisis, 
The Webb-Martin Group sends 
you our love, support, and 
encouragement in facing this 
challenge together. 
We will be maintaining safer, more 
direct and efficient modes of 
communicating with you.
These would entail virtual home 
tours, 3-D floor plan visualizations, 
virtual meetings and making use of 
DocuSign, FaceTime, Google Meet, 
and various mobile messaging appsPlease know that we remain steadfast 
in our mission to support you. 
We will get through this, 
together and stronger. 
Jan, Judy & KatieWe offer over 90 years 
of trusted experience. 
Please reach out to us for any 
of your real estate needs.
SIERRA MADRE PASSES RESOLUTION PROTECTING 
TENANTS FROM COVID-19 RELATED EVICTIONS

By Kevin McGuire

In an effort to heed the call from Governor Newsom to stay at 
home and practice social distancing in the wake of the spread of 
COVID-19, Sierra Madre City Council Members broadcast from 
their homes during their regular scheduled meeting Tuesday night. 
City Hall will remain closed indefinitely.

Council Members took public comment phone calls and e-mails 
during the meeting and despite no video transmission and a 
somewhat audio-challenged effort, City Council did manage to 
unanimously adopt Resolution 20-14 protecting residential and 
commercial tenants from eviction during a time when people have 
lost their jobs and businesses have come to a halt. This would apply 
to those evictions directly connected to the COVID-19 virus.

Scenarios for protection include: 

1. If an individual is sick with COVID-19 and has to stay home 
and, as a result, incurred a negative financial impact and can’t pay 
rent.
2. If a person is laid-off as a result of no business because of
the impact of COVID-19.
3. Individuals having financial burden because they have to
provide childcare as a result of schools being closed. 
4. If they have to assist family members who are sick.
5. If they have to pay out-of-pocket expenses to medical
services, or
6. If they are forced to stay home as a result of a government
shutdown.


In addition, the Resolution automatically extends the terms of 
entitlements, which are set to expire, by six months and also 
provided guidelines for both religious and private gatherings. In 
just a matter of a few weeks, the state adjusted the recommended 
guideline for gatherings from 10 persons or less to zero persons 
in their “Safer at Home” plan. Sierra Madre will follow these new 
guidelines and also recommend no religious or private gatherings 
at this time. 

As for businesses, those providing non-essential services should 
remain closed, but delivery services of essential goods, such as food 
delivery, will be exempt. Restaurants are recommended to remain 
open for take-out only service. The hope is that all community 
churches will make streaming options available to parishioners. 

Some hiking trails in the area have been fenced off after too 
many people were out and about going against recommended 
social distancing measures. In addition, all outdoor and indoor 
playgrounds should remain closed. City Manager Gabriel Engeland 
noted that if persons continue to park and hike in restricted areas, 
and restaurants and non-essential businesses refuse to follow 
recommended guidelines, police may distribute citations. 

Sierra Madre residents are being asked to stay at home unless they 
are in need of essential items such as groceries and medication. 
If folks have to go out, they should follow the social distancing 
guidelines and remain six feet apart from other persons. 

The meeting was led by Mayor John Capoccia, with Mayor Pro Tem 
Rachelle Arizmendi, and Council Members John Harabedian and 
Gene Goss in attendance. In addition to City Manager Engeland, 
Assistant City Attorney Aleks Giragosian and City Clerk Sue Spears 
were also in attendance. 


SOCALGAS WARNS CUSTOMERS 
ABOUT THE RISE 
OF UTILITY SCAMS DURING 
COVID-19

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today 
reminded customers to be on alert for 
potential scams targeting utility customers 
during the COVID-19 outbreak.One common 
scam involves telling customers they 
must pay their gas bill immediate-ly or their 
natural gas service will be disconnected. 
SoCalGas does not call cus-tomers seeking 
payment and had suspended service disconnections 
for custom-ers until further notice. 
SoCalGas provides tips on how to recognize 
and respond to these scams:



Tips include--

• Spotting common scam tactics such
as Caller ID spoofing, phishing emails and 
texts, and utility imposters.

• Always ask to see SoCalGas photo
ID badge before letting someone inside. All 
SoCalGas em-ployees on company business 
are required to carry a badge.

• Customers are encouraged to verify
the employee’s uniform and identification. 
Most of our authorized employees will always 
be in a uniform with our company logo, 
carry an official em-ployee badge, and drive 
a company car. Take shorter showers to reduce 
your natural gas use.



Please see below for more information on 
how customers can spot scams and pro-tect 
themselves during the COVID-19 outbreak. 
Visit socalgas.com/scam-alertfor additional 
tips and information about scams.



You can also visit socalgas.com/newsroom 
and @SoCalGasNews on Twitter for updates.


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