Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, April 15, 2023

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Mountain View News Saturday, April 15, 2023


Peter Dills Knows 

NIKKI C’S THE 2023 VISIT

I wrote this article some parts five years ago and not much has 
changed in the past few days - trust me friends that is a good thing! 
I stopped by for a martini with Heather and ended up with dinner.

Nikki C's, named after the owner’s daughter, is a small restaurant 
which possesses a large appeal. Over the years, the restaurant has 
gathered a large faithful following among racetrack enthusiasts, 
local neighbors and a slew of regulars from all parts unknown. It 
offers an Italian menu with an old American flair. The restaurant 
is softly lit and has almost a club feel about it. The bar was upgraded 
with new TVs, and many of the patrons find Nikki C's as 
attractive and satisfying as Cheers did to Norm. Most of the regulars 
eat at the bar, and it appeared to me that they felt as at ease as 
if they were in their own home enjoying a meal.

For this visit I decided to sit in the dining room, which is quaint 
(or in American-speak “on the small side”). I wanted to get a better 
idea of their selections, so I decided that I would get half-orders of appetizers and entrees to 
try more dishes and get a better idea of what they have to offer. For starters, I had the Antipasto 
salad ($12). It is comprised of a salami, pepperoni and chopped romaine. This is one fantastic dish 
that I will order every time I come to this restaurant. I stuck with appetizers for our next course, a 
combination of Ceviche with shrimp and white fish mayo ($10), a gold medal winner for this critic. 
During the meal I enjoyed a Cadillac Margarita; I missed the ice float, though. Well, that’s just how 
I enjoy it. Okay, entrée time. You have to have lasagna at an Italian restaurant, don't you? Nikki 
C’s brought back a forgotten memory of a place that I went to in Hoboken, NJ on a rainy day. It 
has enough cheese to satisfy any cheese lover and flavor that would make your mama lift her fork 
approvingly ($16). My friend and political pundit, Madd Maxx, had the Cioppino Pasadino ($26) 
that he swears is the best in town and has enough shelled fish to feed an army. Our host Nikki got 
wind that there was a big-time food critic in the stable (I asked where?) She brought me a portion 
of the Tuscan Osso Bucco (Pork Shank) - for $26 it will be well worth the full course on my next 
visit. Since I wasn't driving I ended the night with a martini at the bar -- tasty, and at $14 a pop I'll 
stick around and have two. Dessert, I am full!

Nikki C’s 470 S. Rosemead Blvd. Pasadena (626) 792-7437


DR. STEVEN SIEGEL, PROFESSOR 
AND CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT 
OF PSYCHIATRY AND THE BEHAVIORAL 
SCIENCES AT THE KECK 
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE TO SPEAK 
TO USC TROJAN AFFILIATES 

THURSDAY, MAY 5


ALL THINGS By Jeff Brown

From William Falk -Editor in Chief "The Week"

The contention that climate change isn't real has gone poof! in a wisp of smoke, 
like a piece of paper held under a magnifying glass on a 100-degree day. But there 
are still those who contend that rapidly reducing the use of fossil fuels would be 
too painful a price to pay, and that rather than succumb to "alarmism," humanity 
should learn to "adapt" to a hotter planet. The summer of 2022 has put the adaptation 
option under the magnifying glass. Unprecedented heat and drought have 
scorched China for months, and dried up so many rivers — including the mighty 
Yangtze — that authorities are instituting rolling blackouts because of lost hydropower. 
In Europe, 104-degree days and prolonged drought baked a shocked Britain 
brown, revealed long-submerged relics in the Tiber River and sunken German 
warships in the Danube, and shut down popular river cruises on the Rhine. In the 
American Southwest, the worst megadrought in 1,200 years may lead to major water 
usage cuts for seven sunblasted states dependent on a waning Colorado River.

Is turning off the water an adaptation?

A hotter atmosphere traps a lot of moisture, so that when rain does arrive, it sometimes 
comes down with biblical ferocity. In recent weeks, a spate of "1,000-year 
floods" have submerged Kentucky, Dallas, and other parts of the U.S., destroying 
thousands of homes. In Pakistan, "a monsoon on steroids" has flooded close to a 
third of the country, killing more than 1,100 people and inflicting misery on 33 
million. All this comes after just 2 degrees Fahrenheit of warming so far. Without a 
dramatic reduction in greenhouse gases, we may be heading for a rise of 3 degrees 
F in two decades, with more to come.

As the pandemic has shown, our species is prone to kicking the can down the road, 
to selfishly putting off the change and sacrifice needed to avoid collective future 
catastrophe. But what if the future shows up early?

Dr. Steven Siegel, Professor and Chair of the Department 
of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences 
at the Keck School of Medicine and Chief Mental 
Health and Wellness Officer for Keck Medicine of 
USC will speak at the USC Trojan Affiliates Year 
End Celebration on Thursday, May 2, 2023. His 
topic will focus on “Aging Well-Living Positively for 
Sustained Mental Health”. The meeting will take 
place at the Pinocchio Restaurant, 1449 North Lake 
Avenue, Pasadena between 6:00-9:00 p.m. with the 
program and dinner. The program will include an 
Installation of the 2023-2024 Board. 

Dr. Steven Siegel came to USC after twenty years at 
the University of Pennsylvania, where he had roles 
in research, teaching and clinical care. He received 
his B.A. in Neuroscience at Colgate University in 
1986, and his M.D. and Ph.D. in Neurobiology at 
the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1996. He 
later completed a MacArthur Foundation Training 
Fellowship before completing his residency in Psychiatry 
and a Fellowship in Neuropsychiatry at the 
University of Pennsylvania. 

Dr. Siegel has made contributions to understanding 
the neurobiology of schizophrenia, autism, and drug 
dependence. His laboratory uses animal models to 
evaluate EEG, combined with behavioral and molecular 
studies. Additionally, he invented, patented, 
and licensed a new method of treatment for schizophrenia 
using biodegradable implants, which successfully 
completed a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial 
and has been submitted as an NDA to the FDA for 
consideration. 

Dr. Siegel is also a physician-scientist specializing 
in the treatment of psychosis. In his current role at 
USC, Dr. Siegel oversees operations for a department 
comprised of two hundred faculty members, 
fifty staff members and one hundred residents, fellows, 
and trainees; more than tripling the size of 
the department in the five years since he arrived. 
His department provides a broad range of mental 
health services to children and adults at LAC+USC 
Medical Center including Emergency, Inpatient, and 
Outpatient Services. Additionally, he has expanded 
and improved the quality of mental health services 
at Keck Medicine and USC Care, with an emphasis 
on consultation liaison and specialty services. During 
his first year at USC he designed and oversaw the 
incorporation of student mental health services into 
Keck Medicine of USC. He continues to lead and 
guide the evolution of student mental health services 
at USC, both within Student Health, and in the new 
Keck Medicine student outpatient 

practice that launched in late 2019. He was named 
the inaugural Chief Mental Health and Wellness Officer 
for Keck Medicine of USC in 2021, with responsibility 
and oversight of mental health services across 
the Keck enterprise as well as leadership of wellness 
program as part of Keck Medicine’s nationally acclaimed 
Care for the Caregiver program. He is married 
to active Trojan Affiliates member, Ayuko.

 The members of USC Trojan Affiliates invite 
all interested women to attend this special evening, 
to be educated by Dr. Siegel, install the 2023-2024 
Board of Directors, hear a review of the activities for 
Trojan Affiliates for 2022-2023, to recognize the new 
2022-2023 members, and to make new friends. USC 
Trojan Affiliates, a women’s organization located 
in the San Gabriel Valley, supports the University 
of Southern California and welcomes all interested 
women to attend its meetings and events. All women 
parents, alumna, and friends of USC are encouraged 
to attend. Meetings are usually held the first 
Thursday evening in October, November, February, 
March, and May. The first meeting of the 2023-2024 
year will take place on Thursday, October 5, 2023.

 Ann Proctor, of San Gabriel, will once again 
take the helm as President and will be installed at 
the meeting. The Board includes members living 
throughout the San Gabriel Valley.

 If you are interested in being a speaker for 
USC Trojan Affiliates please contact Speakers Chairman, 
Jacqueline Goodman at jtgoodman@aol.com.

 For additional information, registration, and 
to find out the cost of dinner, please contact the Trojan 
Affiliates Reservations Chairman at sisarah@
verizon.net or (626) 303-7284 by April 30th. 


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