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OPINIONOPINION

Mountain View News Saturday, August 30, 2025

MOUNTAIN 
VIEWS

NEWS

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR

Susan Henderson

PASADENA CITY 
EDITOR

Dean Lee 

SALES

Patricia Colonello

626-355-2737

626-818-2698

WEBMASTER

John Aveny 

DISTRIBUTION

Peter Lamendola

CONTRIBUTORS

Lori A. Harris

Michele Kidd

Stuart Tolchin 

Harvey Hyde

Audrey Swanson

Meghan Malooley

Mary Lou Caldwell

Kevin McGuire

Chris Leclerc

Dinah Chong Watkins

Howard Hays

Paul Carpenter

Kim Clymer-Kelley

Christopher Nyerges

Peter Dills 

Rich Johnson

Rev. James Snyder

Katie Hopkins

Deanne Davis

Despina Arouzman

Jeff Brown

Marc Garlett

Keely Toten

Dan Golden

Rebecca Wright

Hail Hamilton

Joan Schmidt

LaQuetta Shamblee

STUART TOLCHIN

RICH JOHNSON

 

AIN'T STATISTICS GRAND?

PUT THE LIGHTS ON


I AM SAD THAT THE PASADENA 
SANDWICH COMPANY IS CLOSED


I can think of nothing more exciting to discuss than statistics. 
Statistics: the discipline (sounds great already) that 
concerns itself with the collection, organization, analysis 
and interpretation of data. I considered writing about statistics 
when I couldn’t sleep one night. I finally nodded off 
when I thought up the idea of analyzing statistics. 

Statistics can be fascinating. Like take this one for example: 34% of adults 
still sleep with a comfort object. Come on…fess up. What’s yours? Teddy 
bear? Blankie? Wall Street Journal?

Over the last 100 years, what has been the most popular male name? (I 
mean other than Richard lol). 44 years out of the last century the name 
“Michael” has led the pack…here in America. “Mary” has been the most 
popular girl’s name over the last 37 years.

Here, this is important. The Center for Disease Control tells us globally 
19% of people wash their hands after using the “John”. By the way “John” 
is affectionately named after Sir John Harrington, a godchild of Queen 
Elizabeth I. His primary career was writing risque poetry. He also devised 
Britain’s first flushing toilet. He called his invention the “ajax” but, cooler 
heads prevailed and named it “John” after him. On a side note, toilet paper 
as we know it wasn’t invented until the late 1800’s. Good taste precludes me 
from revealing what our ancestors used before toilet paper became commonplace. 
Let’s move on shall we?

Are you a typical American? Americans collectively receive about 2.4 billion 
“robocalls” per month. That is a cumulative total though I know we all 
feel like that’s how many we get individually.

Here is a call for women to unite: On an average day in America, 19% of 
American men do housework…compared to 49% of American women. 
And on those days women spend 2.6 hours on cleaning while men spend 
2.1 hours. Women…unite against this injustice!

Now this is important: 29.2 million Americans watched Prince Harry of 
Wales say “I do” to Meghan Markle May 19, 2018. My daughter and I chose 
to watch episodes of “Suits” instead. (Meghan was a star of the show who 
abandoned us faithful viewers.)

Speaking of television, approximately 12,000 Americans are injured yearly 
by falling big screen tv’s. Caveat emptor (look it up)

Now this is important (but please don’t tell my cats Mabel and Gizmo). We 
American spend more than $72 billion dollars annually on our pets.

2% of all shoes sold in the U.S. are actually made in the U.S. If that doesn’t 
shock you, get this: 97% of all clothes sold in the U.S. are also imported.

Two out of five Americans can’t name a single freedom protected by the 
First Amendment. Get a pen and a paper and write this down: Freedom of: 
1.the Press, 2. Religion, 3. Speech, 4. Assembly, and 5. The right to petition
the government.

During your lifetime your skin will replace itself approximately 900 times. 
Wow!

Speaking of statistics 3 months of your life will be spent on that little seat 
you sit on in the bathroom.

If you are an average American (and who isn’t) you will spend nearly 6 
months talking on your cell phone.

If you are average you will spend two weeks of your life kissing.

If you want to keep track, you will yawn about 250,000 times during your 
life. Double it if you read my columns.

Consider this: Sharks have been around for 400 million years, trees? 350 
million years. Go figure.

The average cumulus cloud weighs more than the Statue of Liberty…yikes.

Well, I have amazed and delighted you with enough compellingly important 
information. I’ll end with a plug for my birthday celebration concert 
coming up. As you might know (and what will give you a deep understanding 
of why I am the way I am) I was born on Halloween. Explains a 
lot…right? Am I right? Anyway, on Saturday, November 1st my band, JJ 
Jukebox will be performing at a Halloween costume optional party at Nano 
Café here in Sierra Madre. These special Halloween concerts have sold out 
in the past, so come for dinner, drinks and dancing. Contact the restaurant 
in a reasonable time to stake your spot. Nano Café is located in Sierra 
Madre at 322 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. The event is from 6:30 to whenever. 
(626)322-3334 to “stake” your spot.

Thanks for reading yet another spellbinding column. Have a great week!

 Maybe it’s not, but I checked the internet and says, “Pasadena 
Sandwich Company is permanently closed, if that's wrong you 
can suggest an edit”. Well, that’s the way things are these days. 
Unexpected bad things are happening, and I just watch and wish 
they weren’t, but it all seems beyond my control. 

 I moved to Sierra Madre from Venice Beach in 1979. My first 
marriage had dissolved, and I had hopes of gaining custody of my children. One 
day an old Law School friend of mine mentioned that he had an office in El Monte 
for which that he had signed a long-term lease, and it was becoming unsustainable 
for him to keep that office and his Beverly Hills practice going. He asked if I wanted 
to use the El Monte Office. Frankly, I was tired of Legal Aid so goodbye to Legal 
Aid and off to being a private lawyer in El Monte. 

 So in 1976 and I had this office in El Monte, but I didn’t want to live there. One 
day the smog cleared, and I looked to the north and saw the magnificent San Gabriel 
Mountains and decided that’s where I wanted to live. I remember driving 
up the beautiful streets with the purple jacaranda trees and wistaria blooming. I 
thought to myself that if I could live within that beauty, I would never be unhappy 
again. 

 I was directed to a local mailman who owned several properties including a 
house for sale. After seeing the house, I told him I wanted to buy it. He gave me 
a price, and I said fine. No negotiating. Thirty years later, right before he died, he 
told me he would have sold it to me for half of that price. We both laughed because 
now the house which I had rebuilt was now worth ten times what I had paid. You 
might notice that I am not much of a businessman, but I did gain custody of my 
kids to the relief of my-ex-wife. 

 When I moved to Sierra Madre I didn’t know anyone in the area and there 
seemed to be no place that served food familiar to me. On the weekends the kids 
and I would go to Don Ricardo’s in the Santa Anita Mall which provided 99 cent 
breakfasts and had a play area. I needed to find a place that was more appropriate 
for me. I found The Pasadena Sandwich Company.

 I was raised in Chicago by immigrant parents who, especially my father, were 
big fans of Delis and friendly conversation. In Chicago he owned a grocery store 
which he named Stuart Food Mart, and I thought all the customers were his 
friends. Steve Fink had worked for 17 years with his parents in their NY-Styled 
Deli in the1950s in Pomona eventually he ventured out to establish his own business 
with the mission “to feed all the people of Pasadena.”

 Steve’s style was unique. He treated me and probably all of his customers as 
friends. Rather than just taking orders and preparing them, he would suggest 
“trust the cook”. I remember him telling me that he was happiest when cutting 
meat and preparing sandwiches. 

 Eventually in 1995 he opened the larger Pasadena Sandwich Company on Sierra 
Madre Villa Avenue. In time I realized that Steve had some rare blood disease 
which caused his death at age 59. He’s described as follows “He never won the 
lottery, but family and friends say he left a legacy through his restaurant, where 
strangers were welcomed like family members.”

 After Steve’s death his kids and continued running the restaurant. They, along 
with all their employees were always warm and cordial and remembered my name 
and would make suggestions. Still, it wasn’t quite the same without their father and 
now I’m afraid that that it won’t be quite the same without the restaurant. 

 So much of what I have valued has disappeared without me even recognizing 
how important they were. As our freedoms disappear in chaos and turmoil perhaps, 
I will recognize the importance of what I once had and took for granted. 
You know freedom of speech and freedom of dissent and not worrying that our 
children and grandchildren are in fear as they walk, or now, are driven to School. 

 As I think about it now, I even miss Venice. 

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HOWARD Hays As I See It


“I’m going to be filing a lawsuit pretty soon” – President Donald 
Trump, on the upcoming special election for a re-drawn 
congressional map in California



“BRING IT” – Governor Gavin Newsom, responding to 

President Trump

 I read the news last week that Governor 
Newsom signed legislation to hold a special 
election for a temporary redrawing of 
our congressional districts; a measure to 
counter Texas’ gerrymandered addition 
of five Republican-safe seats for the midterm 
elections. Just a few hours after that 
news broke, I checked my mailbox and I 
already had a flier urging a “no” vote. 

 

The return address showed Protect Voters 
First, whose address (2350 Kerner Blvd. 
Ste. 250, San Rafael, CA) rang a bell. I 
checked, and yup – same address as Sierra 
Madre Neighbors for Fair-ness; the front 
group that a couple of years ago funneled 
$300K to push their Bailey Canyon McMansion 
development on us. (I’ve been 
wondering whether our recent fires have 
given anybody second thoughts on that.)

 

The flier featured a quote in opposition 
by Gloria Chun Hoo, President League 
of Women Voters California. The League 
immediately put out a statement disavowing 
any connection to the cam-paign. 
Another quote was from Darius Kemp, 
Executive Director of California Common 
Cause – followed by another statement 
calling any suggestion of Common 
Cause affiliation “false”. 

 

The next day came a flier from another 
group, Right Path California – headed by 
California Republican Party Chairwoman 
Jessica Patterson, working with former 
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. And 
then another from that same group the 
day I sat down to write this column.

 

There’ll be much more to come, crammed 
into an eighty day campaign. More than 
$100 million is figured to be spent battling 
over “Yes on 50 - Election Rigging 
Response Act”; not surprising, as it could 
well determine the future of our country.

 

Trump knew he risked losing his House 
majority in next year’s midterms. Relying 
on voter support was not an option, so he 
turned to Gov. Greg Abbott (R) of Texas 
to redraw their districts to provide additional 
safe seats as a cushion. But even 
Gov. Abbott balked. Reapportionment 
takes place after each ten year census, as 
the Constitution requires. Mid-decade 
may not be illegal, but it simply wasn’t 
done – especially just to appease a president 
wanting political advantage.

 

Then Abbott, along with Texas Attorney 
General Ken Paxton (R), received a letter 
from Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Civil 
Rights Division at the Department of Justice. 
Dhillon has attacked voting rights in 
trying to overturn the 2020 election. She’s 
attacked women’s right to choose while 
defending protestors harassing them at 
clinics. She’s attacked anything hinting 
at DEI. She’s removed consent decrees 
meant to curb thuggish police. And now 
she warned that Texas needed to address 
racially discriminatory congressional districts. 
The governor got the message, and 
the cover he needed.

 Nine years ago, Michelle Obama inspired 
us with, “When they go low, we go high.” 
State Assemblyman Alex Lee (D-San 
Jose) calls this effort to counter Texas’ 
move “a race to the bottom of gerrymandering.” 
Dora Rose, Deputy Director of 
the League of Women Voters says, “You 
don’t save democracy by imitating those 
who seek to destroy it.”

 

But Common Cause, a strong supporter 
of independent redistricting, has now 
changed their position and says not supporting 
Proposition 50 would “amount 
to a call for unilateral political disarmament 
in the face of authoritarian efforts 
to undermine fair representation and 
people-powered democracy.” Board 
chairman Martha Tierney says we’re here 
because “our country is sliding towards 
authoritarianism.”

 

The evidence of this becomes clearer by 
the day: Trump continues attacking museums, 
schools, news organizations and 
even entertainers showing insufficient 
servility. He assumes entitlement to ignore 
court rulings and congressional actions. 
He marshals federal resources to 
target perceived enemies, in and out of 
government. Last week, he instructed 
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to form 
special National Guard units to deal with 
“public order issues”. It’s no longer funny 
(if it ever was) when he says, “A lot of people 
are saying, ‘maybe we’d like a dictator.’”

 

As Gov. Newsom explains, “It’s not good 
enough to just hold hands, have a candlelight 
vigil and talk about the way the 
world should be . . . we have got to meet 
fire with fire”. And this, he says, is “a five-
alarm fire for democracy”. Mike Smith, 
president of House Majority PAC, says, 
“This is happening in California, but it’s 
bigger than California. It’s about Demo-
crats’ effort to actually take a stand and 
win back the House.”

 

Barack Obama says he has “tremendous 
respect for how Governor Newsom has 
approached this”, adding, “I’ve had to 
wrestle with my preference, which would 
be that we don’t have political gerrymandering, 
but what I also know is that if we 
don’t respond effectively, then this White 
House and Republican controlled state 
governments all across the country, they 
will not stop, because they do not appear 
to believe in this idea of an inclusive, expansive 
democracy.”

 

We can all expect a deluge of mailings 
in the coming weeks. Whether it’ll be as 
much as we received from that San Rafael 
address a couple years ago pushing the 
housing development, I don’t know. 

What I do know is that, regardless how 
different the issues are, whether it’s open 
space at our hillside or our democracy itself 
- once it’s lost, it’s awful hard to ever 
get it back.


Mountain Views News

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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