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Saturday, April 6, 2024 


Weather Wise

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side

by Deanne Davis

6-Day Forecast Sierra Madre, Ca.

It’s finally April. A gentle month of warm breezes and maybe a 
shower or two at night. There are so many songs about April, 
especially April in Paris. Here are just a few:

• April in Paris – Recorded by everybody with access to 
a microphone
• April Come She Will – Simon & Garfunkel
• April Love – Pat Boone
• April Showers: “Though April Showers may come 
your way, they bring the flowers that bloom in May!” 
We better see plenty of flowers after being wet for most of 
February and March.
• I’ll Remember April – Best version by Frank Sinatra


My lemon tree has totally outdone itself. There are so many 
lemons that I’ve been giving bags of them to various folks. 
Today was my day to have my teeth cleaned (they’re fine and I 
was praised for doing a good job with my flossing) and I took 
a bag to my dentist. Crissy has been taking bags of lemons to 
her church and people are so happy to get them. I’ve made so 
many lemon muffins that everybody is sick of them.

The picture this week is one my dad created, his version of 
a lemon tree. Look closely. It could have come right out of 
Jurassic Park. And, speaking of Jurassic Park, I came across 
a Michael Crichton book I had never read: “Dragon Teeth.” 
“The year is 1876. Warring Indian tribes still populate 
America’s western territories, even as lawless goldrush town 
begin to mark the landscape. Against this backdrop, two 
paleontologists who hate each other pillage the Wild West 
for dinosaur fossils in a rivalry that will come to be known 
as the bone wars.” A young man straight out of Yale signs up 
to go along. I enjoyed every word. This was published in 2017 
after Michael Crichton’s death in 2008. That one was so good 
I started, “Lost World” which is a follow-up to Jurassic Park, 
featuring Dr. Ian Malcolm, played by Jeff Goldblum in the 
Jurassic Park movie. “Lost World” takes Dr. Malcolm back to 
Costa Rica and I can’t wait to see what he finds there. But I 
digress. Back to citrus fruits.

I came across a really good recipe for “Blender Whole Orange 
Muffins” which was so intriguing and easy I gave it a try. 
Oranges are in abundance now so this is a good time for 
something new.

 1 juice orange (about 8 oz.) with peel.

 ½ cup orange juice (I didn’t have orange juice so I 
used lemon. Seemed to work fine)

 1 large egg

 1 stick butter, softened to room temperature and cut 
up

 1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour

 ¾ cup sugar

 1 tsp. each: baking powder and baking soda

 ½ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut orange into 8 or so pieces, 
remove seeds. Put orange pieces and juice in blender. Puree. 
Add egg and butter and blend. It will look sort of curdled. Set 
aside.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt. Pour orange 
mixture over top and stir gently to combine. Don’t overmix or 
your muffins will be tough.

Spoon into greased muffin tins (12 muffins) Bake 15-20 
minutes, until top springs back when you press on it with your 
finger. Let cool and enjoy. These are delicious and, like I said, 
easy!

Thinking about my dad’s picture of the lemons brought some 
really nice memories to mind of spending lazy afternoons 
sipping champagne on the patio with him, his dear wife, Uschi, 
a fantastic woman who survived WW2 in Germany where she 
and other children were crouching in trenches trying to find 
potatoes as Allied planes strafed them. But again, I digress. My 
dad and Uschi had four acres of lime trees in Valley Center, 
which is sort of close to Escondido. Clear air, a slight breeze 
and the hours spent there were beyond pleasant. A glass of 
champagne or two always add to the ambience.

Sit outside somewhere this week while the weather is so 
beautiful and just relax and look. If you’re still, butterflies and 
hummingbirds will fly close enough to examine you and you 
can watch the bees fly from flower to flower. Moments like 
these are about as good as it gets.

God bless you all with gardens, flowers and the time to enjoy 
them.

Check out my book page: Deanne Davis: Amazon.com

Great stories there about my granddad searching for gold,

“The Fever Never Ends”

 
Sun Sunny Hi 60s Lows 50s 

 Mon: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Tues: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Wed: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s

 Thur: Sunny Hi 80s Lows 50s 

 Fri: Sunny Hi 80s Lows 50s

Forecasts courtesy of the National Weather Service

SIERRA MADRE CITY MEETINGS

SIERRA MADRE CITY 

COUNCIL MEETING

APRIL 9, 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. 

BUDGET FORECAST (continued from page 1)


In addition to property taxes, since 1993, 
the City has benefited from a Utility 
User’s Tax (UUT). In 2016, 72% of Sierra 
Madre voters approved a crucial ballot 
measure: a permanent 10% UUT. This 
decisive step was taken to address budget 
shortfalls projected due to the sun-
setting rates of the then-current UUT. 
Voter approval of the 10% UUT also 
allowed the City to take our first steps to 
bolster the emergency medical services 
offered to our community.

Prior to 2016, our Fire Department 
operated solely with volunteers. The 
implementation of the permanent UUT 
marked a pivotal moment, enabling 
us to transition from an Emergency 
Medical Technician (EMT) model, 
which provided basic life support, to 
a full-time paramedic response for 
emergency medical service calls. This 
shift significantly elevated our capacity 
to deliver advanced life-saving support, 
encompassing crucial interventions like EKG, advanced 
airway management, cardiac monitoring/defibrillation, IV 
fluid administration, medications, and more—all aimed at 
saving lives in critical moments before hospital care.

The UUT has been instrumental in fortifying our emergency 
response capabilities and the financial stability necessary to 
maintain vital city services, ensuring the safety and well-
being of our community.

In 2019, Sierra Madre made a pivotal decision to further 
enhance the public safety of our residents by increasing the 
efficiency and effectiveness of our Fire Department by moving 
from a volunteer to a full-time model. The department 
now consists of seventeen full-time public safety personnel, 
including our fire chief, captains, engineers, paramedics/
firefighters, and one administrative assistant. This fully 
staffed, full-time department allows us to participate in the 
regional automatic aid program allowing the City to access 
more resources from neighboring communities. 

Between 2019 and 2023, the Sierra Madre Police and Fire 
Department encountered increased turnover and difficulty 
in recruiting due to our salaries being as much as 25% below 
those offered by similar cities in our area. We struggled to 
provide our first responders with 
a livable wage. In 2023, the City 
made significant, yet temporary, 
strides by providing our first 
responders salaries that are 
competitive with those offered in 
neighboring jurisdictions.

This positive change has led to 
a notable shift. We now boast a 
team of highly trained personnel 
who are committed to remaining 
in our town. Additionally, we have 
revamped our recruitment efforts 
and are attracting exceptional 
candidates, both new and 
experienced, to join our ranks. 
Overall, these improvements have 
bolstered our ability to provide 
top-tier emergency services to 
the community while ensuring 
that our first responders are fairly 
compensated for their invaluable 
dedication and service. 

While the changes have enhanced our Public Safety 
capabilities and effectiveness, they also impact the City’s 
financial forecast. We anticipate that without a new revenue 
source, the City will face an operating deficit starting in 
budget year 2025/26.

Our long-term projections underscore the importance of 
aligning expenditures with revenues to maintain fiscal 
sustainability. One of the tools we use to maximize our 
revenue is through zero-based budgeting and maintaining 
reserves for emergencies such as those faced during the 
COVID-19 pandemic. However, our recently adopted five-
year strategic plan has found that without an additional 
revenue source, we will not be able to meet our long-term 
operational needs and capital expenditures. We are sharing 
this information with the public because the City of Sierra 
Madre has an unwavering dedication to prudent financial 
management and transparency. Our priority is to efficiently 
allocate resources to provide high-quality services that meet 
current and future community needs.

For detailed insights into the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Budget 
Overview, please visit our official website at: https://www.
cityofsierramadre.com/cityhall/finances/budget


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