Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, June 13, 2020

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, June 13, 2020 

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side 

 by Deanne Davis

CITY OF SIERRA MADRE

PUBLIC HEARING SUMMARY NOTICE

From: The City of Sierra Madre

Subject: 2020-2021 ASSESSMENT DISTRICTS

Applicant: City of Sierra Madre

Project Location: Properties in the City of Sierra Madre, 

 County of Los Angeles, State of California

The City of Sierra Madre gives notice, pursuant to State of California law, Notice is hereby given that on June 23, 2020, 
at 6:30 PM, or soon thereafter, the Sierra Madre City Council will conduct a Public Hearing, to hear testimony on the 
Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Assessments Districts:

The eight Districts are as follows:

Oakwood Vista Lighting District

Lighting District A

Lighting District B

Central Business District Landscaping Maintenance District 256.94 

Central Business District Parking Maintenance District 256.99 

Community Facilities District No 1, One Carter

E. Mira Monte Sewer Assessment District

E. Bonita Sewer Assessment District

The City is proposing that the Districts’ assessments stay unchanged for the next fiscal year 2020-2021, and that charges 
be implemented for the 7th year for Community Facilities District No 1, which begins July 1, 2020, and ends on June 30, 
2021. The requisite Engineer’s report for the Districts was heard by the City Council at its regular meeting of June 23, 
2020.

Assessments will be submitted to the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office, the first week of August 2020. These 
assessments will appear on the next property tax bill for those properties within the Assessment Districts.

To review the Engineer’s Report or the list of parcels and assessments, or if you have any questions about this matter, 
please contact Director of Public Works Chris Cimino at 626-355-6615.

Posted on July 13, 2020

DATE AND TIME OF HEARING

City of Sierra Madre City Council meeting; Tuesday, June 23, 2020 (Hearing begins at 6:30 p.m.) 

PLACE OF HEARING

This meeting will be conducted utilizing teleconference communications and will be recorded for live streaming. In 
accordance with the State of California Executive Order N-29-20 dated March 17, 2020, all City of Sierra Madre public 
meetings will be solely available via live streaming and made available on the City’s official website.

. Watch the meeting on Channel 3 (Government Access Channel) or live on the City’s website at www.
cityofsierramadre.com
. Email public comments to: publiccomment@cityofsierramadre.com by 6:00 PM on the day of the meeting.
. Requests for verbal public comment must include name, phone number, and agenda item number and must be 
e-mailed to above email address by 6 PM on the day of the meeting. City staff will call the phone number provided at 
the appropriate public comment time.
. To participate in public comment please call: (669) 900-9128; Meeting I.D: 626-232-0232; Password: 232242


By:

Laura Aguilar

Assistant City Clerk

626-355-7135

On this date in 1789, Mrs. Alexander Hamilton served ice cream for dessert to 

Washington dignitaries.

On this date in 1978, The film “Grease” opened, starring John Travolta and 

Olivia Newton-John.

On this date in 1922, the longest recorded attack of hiccups begins: Charlie Osborne gets the 
hiccups and continues for 68 years. Dies 11 months after it stops.

On this date in 1958, Frank Zappa graduates from Antelope Valley High School in 

Lancaster, California.

“Trivial things do matter…more people are killed each year by the bite of mosquitoes than are 
stepped upon by charging elephants.” 

After the last couple of weeks, filled with staggering events, pain, death, injustice and our world 
turned even more upside down than it’s been since Covid 19 took center stage, I thought a little 
trivia might be a relief. Hope it was.

The last few weeks I’ve been able to use some beautiful photographs by Sierra Madre 
photographer, Lawrence Taylor. I first noticed his work on Facebook, where you can see it, too. 
Lawrence takes the kinds of pictures the rest of us wish we could take, i.e., without a big street 
sign in the middle of it, or some person we didn’t see and certainly didn’t want to include, till 
the moment and the picture are over. He has some excellent beach pictures taken in Ventura on 
his page, so you might want to take a look.

In his own words, “I started taking photos when I was around ten years old. School trips and 
holidays and even back then I was always trying a different angle, not your usual holiday snaps. 
That would carry on through my life. A photograph is either a picture of an object or something 
that grabs you and takes you on a journey. I prefer the latter. Each photo is individually 
processed and I think that harks back to my live performance photography days. Light levels 
fluctuate all the time, so you have to adjust your camera constantly from shot to shot. I always 
work in manual mode, which allows for more creativity.” 

For those of us who take all our pictures with our phone, no wonder Lawrence’s look so much 
better! As he says, “I’d like to think that the viewer notices something different on a second or 
even third look.” 

Originally from Oldham, near Manchester in the UK, Lawrence came to live in Sierra Madre 
last August, to marry his wife, Jennifer, who teaches here in our middle school. This after 
traveling to and from the UK for several years. Again, to quote Lawrence, “The first morning 
I awoke in Sierra Madre and ventured on a small walk, I noticed the colors. It was a sensory 
overload, as though I’d spent previous years in monochrome. I’d often take photos when we 
ventured out, mostly of L.A.’s famous landmarks and never paid much attention to what is right 
on my doorstep. That all changed once I moved here and truly discovered Sierra Madre.”

Lawrence speaks of hiking up the Mt. Wilson Trail to First Water, one of my dear John’s 
most favorite things in the world to do. “It is truly beautiful and the views are magnificent. I 
remember there was a light rain and a mist in the canyon below. A magical day.” John came 
home so many times from his hike up the Trail and would and say pretty much that same thing. 

The Canyon area is Lawrence’s favorite destination at the moment, going early in the morning 
to catch the sunlight beaming through the trees. You’ll recognize the covered bridge that is 
today’s picture by Lawrence. He also has a photo of some nasturtiums that is so beautifully 
framed you think you can touch them. His photo of the Sierra Madre Playhouse at night with 
the stars and night sky as a background is beyond beautiful.

Working as a freelance photographer in the UK for various music magazines, Lawrence has 
taken pictures of just about every musician you can name. Starting as the guy on the door at 
a major venue in Manchester, he moved on to backstage security and then on to stage work; 
eventually working for every major band in the world in one capacity or another. 

 In 2014 an old friend with a local band asked him to take some photos and, as he had contacts, 
due to his previous work in the music industry, he got back into that business again. His band 
photos are striking and a cut above the usual.

Lawrence commented that he has seen some great photos coming from other Sierra Madre 
photographers…Robert Gjerde and his pictures of bears comes to mind. “I hope I’ve influenced 
people in a small way to take a camera with them and capture the beautiful surroundings that 
many of us take for granted. And just one last thing: Print your pictures! Put them on the wall, 
give them as gifts. It will inspire you and improve your photography. Anyone can take a photo, 
but not everyone can take a good photo.”

You’re going to have to agree with me that all Lawrence Taylor’s photos are GOOD photos! 
Look him up on Facebook and enjoy some of his work. He is currently putting together a 
website which will feature a Sierra Madre section and eventually all his prints will be available 
for purchase. 

Take care of yourself this week, dear friends and neighbors. Be kind. Just be kind.

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

Where you’ll find “Sunrises and Sunflowers Speak Hope”

And “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter”

Take a look at both of these books, stuffed with hope and the

Occasional good recipe.

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

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


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