HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!


SATURDAY JUNE 29, 2024

VOLUME 18 NO. 25VOLUME 18 NO. 25

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herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources 
deemed reliable but has not been verified. Changes in price, condition, sale 
or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to 
accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footage are ap-
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SIERRA MADRE 
FOURTH OF JULY 
CELEBRATIONS 

For decades the Sierra Madre Community 
has joined together in celebration of the great 
American tradition with music, picnics, 
games and the ever popular 4th of July Parade. 
Neighbors crowd Sierra Madre Boulevard to 
watch youngsters on their patriotic bikes stroll 
down the route along side hometown heroes 
like the our VFW Post 3208. The Official 
Sponsor of the 2024 Parade is The Kensington. 
The Kensington-Sierra Madre is an assisted 
living and memory care residence in the heart 
of Sierra Madre, along the parade route. 

 The Sierra Madre Events Committee is 
pleased to honor Helen Reece as the 2024 
Fourth of July Parade Grand Marshal. As well 
as Hometown Hero Sandy Duvall. 

 Pre-parade Party - before the parade on

the 4th, the town will be rockin’ in Memorial 
Park for the Pre-Parade Party & Picnic on 
July 3rd from 5:30 - 10:00 pm featuring the 
outstanding local rock music of Groovy 
Lemon Pie and for the not to be missed 
Bubblewrap fireworks at 8:00 pm. Kids and 
grown-up alike stopping on hundreds of 
square feet of bubble wrap making the sounds 
of shooting fireworks. Other activities include 
the Friends of Heasley Field Beer Garden (sales 
benefit youth sports), Civic Clubs famous 
confetti eggs, YMCA-Sierra Madre Kids Fun 
Zone and tons of food for purchase. 

 Morning of the 4th of July at 7:00 am join 
your fellow runners along the parade route for 
the YMCA Firecracker Fun Run! 

 8:00 a.m. Woman’s Club Pre-Parade 
Community Open House with Continental 
breakfast and Live Music by the Wabash 
Wailers – 550 West Sierra Madre Blvd.

 The Annual 4th of July parade which kicks 
off at the corner of Sierra Madre Blvd. and 
Sunnyside Avenue at 10 am sharp! Parade 
travels down Sierra Madre Blvd to Sierra Vista 
Park where the party keeps going. The Ice 
Princess will be @ Sierra Vista Park 10am-
12pm following the end of the parade selling 
her fun icy treats.

 On July 5th the Committee is sponsoring the 
Movie in the Park BARBIE starting at 7:45 pm 
with the Ice Princess. 

 For more information GO TO: 

www.sierramadreevents.org.

INITIATIVE MEASURE TO SUPPORT 
EMERGENCY SERVICES TO APPEAR 
ON NOVEMBER BALLOT

By Kevin McGuire

A qualified citizen petition for a ballot 
initiative measure to supplement the city’s 
existing general fund has enough qualified 
signatures. The measure would impose a 
special parcel tax on Sierra Madre property 
owners to help fund police, fire, and 
paramedic personnel costs.

On April 23, 2024, during the regular City 
Council meeting, Sierra Madre Finance 
Director Hillary Guirola-Leon presented 
the City’s long-term budget projections 
for the General Fund. The future five-year 
projections did not look bright for the city, 
with a looming deficit expected starting 
year-ending 25/26 of approximately 
$406,080. And there could be a steady climb 
of expenditures over revenues for years. 

Guirola-Leon’s projections showed a deficit 
of $2,239,945 by year-end 28/29. She 
hinted that the city must find new funding 
opportunities for the future or make 
difficult decisions to bridge this gap. This 
could mean that city staff cuts are inevitable. 
Approximately 51% of general fund 
expenditures go toward funding the costs of 
police, fire, and paramedic personnel. 

James Walsworth and Theodore Saraf 
submitted their intent to circulate a petition 
with the City Clerk’s office on March 1, 
2024. The petition indicated that residents 
were already concerned about the city’s 
future state of emergency services. The 
completed petition was submitted to the 
City Clerk’s office on May 16, 2024. 

City Clerk Laura Aguilar and staff performed 
their due diligence. They conducted a prima 
facie sampling of the collected signatures, 
and a second analysis was sent to the Los 
Angeles County Clerk’s office, where it 
was upheld. Of the 1,117 signatures filed, 
950 were found sufficient. The minimum 
number of signatures needed to qualify as a 
ballot initiative for a future election is 846. 
The initiative could be on the ballot for the 
general municipal election on November 5, 
2024. 

The Initiative Measure Proposal

Under the proposed initiative measure, here 
is the special parcel tax breakdown prepared 
by the City Attorney under Elections Code 
Section 9203. 

•Single-family residential parcels -
$480 per parcel per year;
•Multi-family residential parcels-
$576 per parcel per year; and
•Non-residential parcels- $660 
per parcel per year.


Certain parcels are exempt from the special 
tax, including:

•Any parcel that has remained
undeveloped for the past six months;
•A single-family residential parcel
owned and occupied by someone 65 years
of age or older with a combined household
income qualifying as a low-income
household;
•A single-family residential parcel
owned and occupied by persons with a
combined household income qualifying as
a very low-income household and
•Any parcel owned by a religious
organization or school that is exempt from
property taxation under California law.


If approved, the initiative measure would 
take effect July 1, 2025, and remain in effect 
until 2032.

City Attorney Aleks Giragosian stated that 
these special tax funds will be deposited 
into a separate fund so that they do not 
intermingle with general fund revenue. The 
special tax is to be used only to fund police, 
fire, and paramedic personnel. 

On Tuesday, June 25, City Clerk Aguilar 
presented the details of the qualified citizen 
petition before the City Council. Mayor Pro 
Tem Robert Parkhurst led the meeting in 
place of Mayor Kelly Kriebs, who was not 
present. 

One of the proponents of this measure, 
James Walsworth, spoke before the Council 
during the public comment section of the 
meeting. “Not everyone we asked signed our 
petition, but many did after we explained

 (continued on page 2)

INSIDE THIS 
WEEK

Sierra Madre News .........Page 4

 Walking Sierra Madre

Community Calendar ....Page 5

Pasadena News ...............Page 5

Altadena/So. Pas/San Marino..... Page 6

Arcadia/Monrovia/Duarte.......... Page 7

Around SGV ..................Page 8

Education & Youth...... ..Page 9

Puzzzles & Brainteasers..Page 10

Food, Drinks & Fun........Page 11

Best Friends ...................Page 12

The Good Life ............... Page 13

Sports & Fitness.............Page 14

 Harvey Hyde 

 Michele Kidd

Eileen Benson626.278.0187CalRE# 01880650Barbara Rogers626.484.8135CalRE# 01169115Not intended as a solicitation if your property is already listed by another broker. Affi liated real estate agents are independent contractor sales associates, not employ-
ees. ©2023 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell 
Banker® System is comprised of company owned offi ces which are owned by a subsidiary of Anywhere Advisors LLC and franchised offi ces which are independently 
owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.
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CELEBRATING 
AMERICA

Section B

In The Beginning........B1-B6

Opinions.....................B7-B8

Legal Notices...............B9-B10

Sierra Madre Notices..B10

More July 4th Activities

B11 B-12

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