POLICE & FIRE (continued from page 1)

but there were 69 calls for service regarding homeless people in 
2023. No hate crimes were reported in Sierra Madre. 

The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) received six 
incident calls but no arrests in 2023. 

Traffic & Safety

In 2023, there were 138 traffic collision calls, an increase of 
64% over 2022, but collision reports were down 34%. Part of the 
reason for that is the decrease of 29% in traffic citations over 
the previous year. Chief Barrientos cited staffing shortages as 
the reason for decreased written citations. There were no traffic 
fatalities, and injuries were down 38%. There were zero DUI 
collisions reported. 

Fish & Wildlife

There were 144 calls for wildlife incidents in 2022. That jumped 
to a whopping 410 calls last year. Barrientos says 373 calls were 
for bears, but the community was prompted on social media to 
report bear sightings, which increased calls. There were 54 calls 
for bears entering homes in 2023, compared to only 19 in 2022. 

Calls For Service

Overall, calls for service dropped by 2,898 in 2023, but there 
were close to 35,000 calls last year. There was one use-of-force 
incident and one pursuit, but no Internal Affairs cases against 
SMPD.

The City Council praised the great efforts by the SMFD and 
SMPD to keep our community safe. 

3

 
SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2024 


Weather Wise

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side

by Deanne Davis

6-Day Forecast Sierra Madre, Ca.


St. Patrick’s Day is behind us, friends and neighbors, but 
the fragrance of cabbage will linger in your house for weeks. 
Here’s a suggestion to combat cabbage: Take a shallow dish, 
sprinkle a good spoonful of cinnamon in it, cover it with water 
and stick it in the microwave for a few seconds. Watch it as you 
want it to bubble up, but not bubble over. The cinnamon smell 
will be delicious and if you do it a couple of times, your house 
will smell exactly like Cinnabon, which is much better than 
cabbage. My friend, Dianne, who happens to be my daughter, 
Crissy’s, mother-in-law, cooked her corned beef in her crock 
pot, which she had never done before. Here’s how that turned 
out: 

“Not very good. We followed the recipe but the meat was kind 
of tough and some of the veggies were overcooked. And it was 
too much work. I don’t think we’ll try that again.”

So it’s back to the old-fashioned, tried and true boiling 
method. My grandmother cooked corned beef and she did it 
that way. She had a big black dutch oven and she stuck the 
meat in that, covered it with water, stuck in onions, a carrot or 
two and a variety of spices. And there it simmered for hours. 
It was tender but I wasn’t wild about it then and I’m still not. 

The best corned beef I ever had in my life was at the Clubhouse 
at Santa Anita Racetrack. They served this hot, tender, thinly 
sliced meat heaped on fresh rye bread and with Dijon mustard, 
it was absolutely fabulous. I can see it in my mind’s eye even 
now. The way I got to sample those incredible corned beef 
sandwiches back in the late 50’s is interesting. My mother got 
invited to the Track by somebody or other and had a great 
time, what with cocktails and other people placing bets for 
her and actually winning a buck or two, so she decided she 
wanted to go again. She was working at some car dealership 
or other then and was the person who signed car buyers up 
with insurance so she should have been working but instead, 
looked around and realized there was nobody to go to with 
and certainly didn’t want to go alone so she drove up to 
South Pasadena High School and told the office I had a dental 
appointment and to send me up. 

So, instead of going to History and Bookkeeping, we went to 
the track and had these amazing sandwiches. As she knew 
absolutely nothing about horse-racing, which is an inexact 
science at best, she didn’t win much/any. However, hope 
springs eternal so she came and pulled me out again the next 
Wednesday and the next for several weeks before she realized 
she really needed to quit losing on the ponies. The corned beef 
sandwiches at Santa Anita will linger in my memory forever.

Another friend of mine is on a very strict cleansing regime 
which does include meat and most vegetables so I told her 
she could have all the corned beef and cabbage she wanted. 
She said that was great except she didn’t like it. Her husband, 
Roger, liked it a lot and would go over to a friend’s house and 
dine with them. Nobody I know has indulged in green beer.

March Madness is upon us and the newspaper is filled with 
pages of brackets where you can keep up with all the teams. 
The headings are adorable: First Round, Second Round, Sweet 
16, Elite 8, Final Four and Championship Game on April 8th. 
Be prepared to see basketball everywhere you look for the next 
few weeks. 

There’s more going on than basketball the next couple of 
weeks. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, leading us into Holy Week. 
Next Thursday, the 28th 
is Maundy Thursday and 
then Good Friday, Holy 
Saturday and Easter on 
the 31st. The picture today, 
appropriately, is a palm 
tree.

“Palm Sunday teaches 
us the importance of 
humility and servanthood, 
as we follow Christ’s 
example of riding on a 
donkey, choosing the path 
of meekness over worldly 
glory.”

Charles Stanley

Palm Sunday is the beginning of the end of Jesus’ ministry here 
on earth. As you will recall, he was heading into Jerusalem 
and as he approached the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his 
friends/disciples ahead saying, “Go to the village ahead of you 
and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no 
one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it back here. If anyone 
asks you why, just say, “The Lord needs it.” So off they went 
and, sure enough, there was the colt and, just as Jesus had said, 
the owner accosted them…Hey! Why are you untying that 
donkey?” They said, “The Lord needs it,” and the owner said, 
“Oh, OK.” They led this donkey colt back to Jesus, threw their 
cloaks across it and Jesus sat down on it. As He and his friends 
went down the road, joy overtook them as they remembered 
all the miracles they had seen; the blind given sight, the dead 
raised, the lame walking, demons banished, multitudes fed 
with a few loaves of bread and little fishes. They couldn’t help 
but begin to praise God in loud voices. Their excitement was 
contagious. Great crowds gathered, laid their cloaks and palm 
branches in the road before Him, shouted and sang, “Hosanna 
to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of 
the Lord!”

Can you imagine what a sight that must have been? People 
dancing in the streets, shouting, singing and rejoicing to be 
close to this miracle worker. Hence, Palm Sunday.

At church, we will see all the little Sunday School kids waving 
palm branches being led down the aisle to place them at the 
foot of the cross. They have sort of a sketchy idea of what 
they’re doing and it’s such a fun moment to see them waving 
branches, looking for their parents and pushing each other. 
I expect there were a lot of little kids running around in the 
crowd that first Palm Sunday, too, waving branches and 
having an excellent time being outside on a beautiful day 
where everyone was happy.

Wherever you are tomorrow, online, outside, inside in your 
pajamas, rejoice in the day. Yes, the coming week is filled with 
sadness…but, oh, my friends…Easter is coming! 

Easter is only a week away. 

“The Crown,” a story about what could have happened to the 

Crown of Thorns that pierced Jesus’ brow,

is now an actual book, in addition to a Kindle book.

“The Crown” will enrich your Easter experience.

Available on Amazon.com Deanne Davis

 Sun Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Mon: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Tues: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Wed: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s

 Thur: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Fri: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s

Forecasts courtesy of the National Weather Service

SIERRA MADRE CITY MEETINGS

SIERRA MADRE CITY 

COUNCIL MEETING

MARCH 26, 2024 5:30pm

THIS MEETING WILL BE HELD 
IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS!

As part of the City of Sierra Madre’s 

COVID-19 transparency efforts and The 
Brown Act provides the public with an opportunity 
to make public comments at any 
public meeting. Public comment may also be 
made by e-mail to PublicComment@CityofSierraMadre.
com by 3:00 p.m. on the day of 
the meeting. 

Emails will be acknowledged at the Council 
meeting and filed into public record. The 
public may also comment in person at the 
meeting.

The meetings will be streamed live on Foothills 
Media website at foothillsmedia.org/sierramadre 
and broadcast on Government 

Access Channel 3 (Spectrum)..



1630 AM EMERGENCY RADIO & 

Free on-air publicity for local events

 Sierra Madre’s EMERGENCY radio station is now accepting scripts for 
Public Service Announcements (PSAs) about community events. PSAs 
will be broadcast on the air at no charge. The station operates 24/7 and can 
be heard at 1630 on the AM dial.

 Any local non-profit or non-commercial organization can have their 
event information broadcast to the public on Sierra Madre Community 
Information Radio. The station covers the city of Sierra Madre, plus 
surrounding areas of Pasadena, Arcadia, and Monrovia. 

Your event must:

• Benefit a non-commercial or non-profit entity
• Be open to the public
• Be of general interest to local citizens


Just 
write a Public Service Announcement that describes your event and 
e-mail it to radio@cityofsierramadre.com. 

Learn All About theHistory of Waterin Sierra MadreFormer Sierra Madre Director of Public WorksChris Ciminoshares Sierra Madre’s vibrant water history!
presented by theSierra Madre Historical Preservation SocietyOur newly-retired Director of Public Works, Chris Cimino,
will present an engaging narrative of where our water comes from – past and present –
and the battles over our liquid gold.
Wednesday, March 275:30 p.m.
Hart Park House in Memorial ParkFREE ADMissiOn • OPEn tO EvERyOnEPhoto courtesy Dirk Bolle
SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER

March 10th to March 16th 2024

The following represents a summary report 
of some of the major incidents handled by the 
Sierra Madre Police Department during this period. This list is not 
intended to be considered exclusive or all-inclusive.

Monday, March 11th Drunk in Public

At approximately 12:00 PM, officers responded to the intersection 
of Sierra Madre Blvd and Baldwin Ave. regarding an intoxicated 
male stumbling down the street.Upon further investigation, 
officers discovered that the subject was intoxicated, and he was 
arrested for being drunk in public.

Vehicle Burglary At approximately 5:00 PM, officers responded 
to 451 W. Carter Ave (Bailey Canyon Park). regarding a vehicle 
burglary. Upon arrival, officers spoke with the reported party who 
stated their vehicle was broken into by an unknown suspect and by 
an unknown object. The Detectives Bureau is following up on this 
incident.

Traffic Collision At approximately 9:06 PM, officers 
responded to the intersection of Grandview Ave and Sunnyside 
Ave regarding a traffic collision. Upon arrival, officers discovered 
that a hit and run occurred on a public roadway causing damage to 
multiple vehicles. There were no injuries, and a report was taken.

Tuesday, March 12th Theft from Motor Vehicle

At approximately 3:00 AM, officers responded to the 100 block of N. 
Lima St. for a report of theft from motor vehicle. Unknown suspects 
entered victims unsecured vehicles parked at there residence. 
Suspects stole property from inside the vehicles. As part of this 
investigation, it was learned that Officers from South Pasadena 
Police Department had several suspects in custody for possessing 
the solten property belonging to the victims. The Detectives Bureau 
is following up on this incident.

Wednesday, March 13th Theft from Motor Vehicle

At approximately 08:00 AM, officers responded to the 400 block of 
N. Baldwin Ave. for a report of theft from motor vehicle. Unknown 
suspects entered the victim’s unlocked vehicle and stole various 
items.

Theft from Motor Vehicle

At approximately 6:00 PM, officers responded to the 200 block of 
Auburn Ave. for a report of theft from motor vehicle. Upon arrival, 
officers spoke with the reported party who stated their vehicle was 
ransacked overnight and unknown if any property was taken.

Friday, March 15th Burglary

At approximately 6:00 AM, officers responded to the 00 block of E. 
Sierra Madre Blvd regarding a burglary. Upon arrival, officers spoke 
with the reported party who stated that someone had entered the 
business through a door on the south side of the location and stolen 
a safe. The Detectives Bureau is following up on this incident.


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