Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, January 30, 2021

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ARCADIA/MONROVIA-DUARTEARCADIA/MONROVIA-DUARTE

Mountain View News Saturday, January 30, 2021 

ARCADIA POLICE BLOTTER

DUARTE BUSINESSES AWARDED GRANT FUNDING

This month, the City of Duarte and Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) 
distributed the last of $88,325 in small business grants (SBG) to nine Duarte businesses 
providing a range of services from restaurants, repair shops, fitness to personal 
grooming/beauty.

"As soon as the pandemic struck, it was clear just how vital Duarte businesses are to our 
community's culture and vitality," stated Council Member Toney Lewis of Duarte's District 
7, an early proponent of the program. "When I first learned about this small business 
program, I wanted to make sure as many local business owners knew about it as possible. 
I thank them, their teams and our partners in LA County for working together to make 
this program a success."

Following the approval of Coronavirus Aid, Response and Economic Security (CARES) 
Act funds last summer, the City and LACDA launched the Duarte Small Business Grant 
Program. Duarte's SBG program was designed to support local businesses, and in particular, 
those facing declining revenue from closures and limited operations while still 
providing jobs for low- and moderate-income individuals. In order to qualify, these nine 
businesses meet required criteria, including at least two years of operation, having active 
business licenses in Duarte, being free of unresolved code violations and more. Their 
grants can be used for employee payroll, continuing operations, outstanding expenses and 
taking on adaptive practices to remain open.

"The economic impact has been incredibly difficult for Duarte's small business community," 
Craig Hensley, community development director at the City, commented. "This funding 
will help ensure that businesses stay open, keep employees on payroll and provide 
services the community wants and needs."

If you're the owner of a Duarte business, resources are available. The County of Los Angeles 
is providing support to small businesses, micro entrepreneurs and nonprofits through the 
LA Regional COVID-19 Recovery Fund. In addition to grants, small businesses can also 
apply for flexible loans and technical assistance, including one-on-one business coaching, 
loan application assistance and support with navigating health and safety requirements.

Most recently, the County announced the Small Business Stabilization Loan Program, 
an affordable and flexible business loan initiative designed to help stabilize businesses in 
our region. Loans range from $50,000 to $3 million and can be used for working capital, 
equipment purchases, inventory or refinancing existing loans at higher interest rates. The 
application period opens on LACDA's website on Thursday, January 28, and will remain 
open indefinitely. In order to apply, eligible businesses are required to attend the "Applying 
for An Affordable & Flexible LACDA Loan" webinar and complete a one-on-one 
counseling session.

Be sure to check the Duarte Business Support webpage in our COVID-19 portal for ongoing 
and updated solutions.

SCAM ALERT: DON'T FALL VICTIM TO A RECENT SCAM

Recently we had an alert citizen receive two different suspicious correspondences, which fortunately 
they realized were scams, and didn’t respond to them. These correspondences came about a week 
apart from two financial institutions outside of the United States. Both scams referred to money that 
was left behind by a relative who had passed away and their investments were never claimed. Both 
required action by the recipient to include providing personal identifying information. Fortunately, 
the recipient felt this was suspicious and did not provide any information.

These types of scams, and other similar ones, have been going on for years. If you receive something 
like this, we encourage you to do some research and vet out the information before acting on it. 
Don’t provide any personal identifying information unless you are sure the request for it is legitimate.

There are often some obvious clues in these scams. Things such as slight misspelling of names, names 
not recognized by the recipient, and the standard rule of “If it looks too good to be true, it probably 
is.”

We continue to encourage our community to stay vigilant, be observant and if you see something or 
someone suspicious, report it immediately. 

For the period of Sunday, January 17th, through Saturday, January 
23rd, the Police Department responded to 1,227 calls for 
service, of which 67 required formal investigations. The following 
is a summary report of some of the major incidents handled 
by the Department during this period.

Sunday, January 17:

1. At 2:52 a.m., an officer responded the 900 block of
South Golden West Avenue regarding a theft from vehicle
report. The victim discovered an unidentified suspect had
entered his unlocked 2009 GMC truck and fled with his wallet 
and driver’s license. The officer was unable to locate any
surveillance cameras that may have captured the incident.

2. At 6:18 a.m., an officer took a telephonic report of
a battery that had just occurred at CVS Pharmacy, located at
1401 South Baldwin Avenue. The victim, a store employee,
said the suspect spit on him when her debit card was declined. 
The suspect then threw a glass bowl at the victim before leaving 
in a black Hyundai sedan. The suspect is described as a
Hispanic female, approximately 30-years-old, 5’1” to 5’2” tall, 
with short hair and colorful tattoos on her arms and legs. The 
investigation is pending a review of the surveillance footage.

Monday, January 18:

3. At 7:23 p.m., an officer responded to Nordstrom, located 
at 400 South Baldwin Avenue, regarding a grand theft
report. A loss prevention employee witnessed three suspects
steal five designer handbags and flee to their black foreign-
manufactured sedan. All three suspects are described as a
black males, between the ages of 16 and 22-years-old, about
5’10”, between 150 and 160 pounds, and were seen wearing
a camouflage hooded sweatshirt, a blue Dodgers hooded
sweatshirt, and a black hooded sweatshirt. The investigation
is ongoing.

4. At 7:55 p.m., an officer took a telephonic report of
an incident of fraud. The victims contacted the suspect’s supposed 
rug cleaning company to have their rugs cleaning. The
suspect picked up the rugs at the victims’ home and issued
them a handwritten receipt. When the victims inquired as to
when their rugs would be ready, the suspect denied having
the rugs and demanded payment. The suspect is described as
a Middle Eastern man, approximately 20 to 25-years-old, and 
around 6’ tall. The investigation is ongoing.

Tuesday, January 19:

5. At 5:50 p.m., an officer took a telephonic report of a
possible fraud investigation involving an Arcadian resident.
The victim stated he purchased a puppy off the website www.
recycler.com. During the transaction, the victim was contacted 
by the suspect/seller and instructed to pay addition
fees well above the agreed upon amount. The victim paid the
additional fees, but the dog was ultimately never delivered.
The victim then realized the transaction was a scam. The suspect 
used the name of “Mark Roland”. The investigation is 
ongoing. 

Wednesday, January 20:

6. At 8:14 a.m., an officer responded to an AT&T Cell
Site, located at 20 East Foothill Boulevard, regarding a grand
theft report. The employee discovered a large amount of copper 
wire had been stolen from the location sometime between 
November and January 20th. There are no investigative leads 
as of the date of this report.

7. At 11:27 a.m., an officer responded to 7-Eleven, located 
at 200 East Live Oak Avenue, regarding a vandalism
report. An investigation revealed the suspect became agitated 
when the store clerk refused to give him matches. As the
suspect left the store, he punched a glass window, causing it
to shatter. The suspect, a 41-year-old local transient, was arrested 
and transported to the Arcadia City Jail for booking.

8. At 1:51 p.m., an officer took a telephonic report of a
package theft that occurred in the 00 block of West Camino
Real Avenue. Surveillance footage revealed a Hispanic female 
stole the victim’s package from her porch at approximately
1:30 p.m. on January 20th. The suspect is described as 5’5”
tall, approximately 200 pounds, and was seen wearing mask
and a black shirt and pants. She fled in an older model minivan. 
The suspect has not yet been identified as of the date of
this report.

Thursday, January 21:

9. At 12:53 p.m., an officer responded to a residence
in the 900 block of Falling Leaf Road regarding a theft from
vehicle report. The officer discovered an unknown suspect
entered the victim’s unlocked vehicle and fled with the registration 
and the victim’s insurance card. The incident was not
captured by surveillance cameras.

10. At 6:08 p.m., an officer responded to Macy’s, located
at 400 South Baldwin Avenue, regarding a suspect in custody
for theft. Surveillance footage revealed the suspect stole luggage 
and various other items. The 50-year-old female from
Alhambra was cited and released in the field.

Friday, January 22:

11. At 2:36 a.m., an officer responded to Hall of Fame,
located at 319 East Foothill Boulevard, regarding an attempted 
commercial burglary report. An investigation revealed an
unknown suspect used a pry tool to enter the business but
failed and fled empty-handed. The investigation is ongoing.

12. At 1:56 p.m., an officer responded to Magnolia, located 
at 124 East Foothill Boulevard, regarding a burglary
investigation. The victim discovered her company van, which 
was parked at the location, had been broken into and ransacked. 
The victim then also noticed someone had damaged
the lock to the business in an attempt to enter. The total loss is 
unknown at this time.


ALTADENA-SO. PASADENA-SAN MARINOALTADENA-SO. PASADENA-SAN MARINO

Members of Congress 
Urge Biden to Reverse 
Public Charge Rule

South Pasadena Public 
Meeting to be Virtual

South Pas Library Announces 
SPHS E-books Partnership

 
The City of South Pasadena has transitioned to virtual Council 
and Commission meetings in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

 Agendas and reports for these meetings will be posted to the 
Commission’s webpage, in addition to a link to the live webstream 
prior to the beginning of the meeting. All meetings will continue 
to be broadcast live on Spectrum/TWC Channel 19 and AT&T 
Channel 99 for cable customers who reside in the City.

 City Council Meeting 2/3/21 at 7:30 p.m.

Design Review Board 2/4/21 at 6:30 p.m.

Parks and Recreation 2/8/21 at 6:30 p.m.

Public Safety Commission 2/8/21 at 8:30 a.m.

Senior Commission 2/10/21 at 8:30 a.m.

Library Board of Trustees 2/11/21 at 7:00 p.m.

Mobility & Transportation Infrastructure Commission 2/16/21 at 
6:30 p.m.

Planning Commission 2/9/21 at 6:30 p.m.

City Council Meeting 2/17/21 at 7:30 p.m.

Cultural Heritage Commission 2/18/21 at 6:30 p.m.

Natural Resources & Environmental Commission 2/23/21 at 7:00 
p.m.

Finance Commission 2/25/21 at 6:30 p.m.

 The virtual meetings will adhere to the updated Brown Act 
provisions for public meetings set forth by the legislature in 
response to the COVID-19 crisis. During these meetings, the 
Commissioners and City staff will participate remotely. City 
facilities will not be open to the public in order to stop the spread 
of the virus.

 Public Comments are accepted via email. Information on how to 
submit a public comment is detailed on each Commission page.

 Public Comments for the meeting must be received 24 hours prior 
to the meeting. Comments will be distributed to the City Council/
Commission for consideration and will be posted on the City’s 
website for public review at: southpasadenaca.gov.

 Members of Congress, led 
by Rep. Judy Chu, sent a letter 
Monday to President-Elect 
Biden urging him to issue an 
Executive Order directing 
federal agencies to rescind 
the public charge rule within 
his first few days in office. The 
rule promulgated by President 
Trump penalizes immigrant 
communities who legally access 
non-cash benefits such as 
Medicaid, housing assistance, 
and the Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program (SNAP), 
which has led to immigrants 
avoiding doctors’ visits and 
experiencing worse health 
outcomes right as America 
struggles with an historic 
pandemic.

 “Even before it was finalized, 
the public charge rule had 
already inspired fear in 
immigrant communities. In 
fact, the text of the proposed 
regulation released by DHS 
bluntly stated that this policy 
change could result in ‘worse 
outcomes, including increased 
prevalence of obesity and 
malnutrition, especially for 
pregnant or breastfeeding 
women, infants, or children, 
and reduced prescription 
adherence’, ‘increased rates of 
poverty and housing instability’, 
and ‘increased use of emergency 
rooms and emergent care as a 
method of primary health care 
due to delayed treatment.’ Over 
250,000 public comments were 
sent to DHS on the proposed 
rule, the vast majority opposing 
implementation,” wrote the 
Members.

 “Since its announcement, the 
rule has caused individuals to 
disenroll from public benefits 
for fear of jeopardizing their 
immigration status and put 
children and families at greater 
risk for poor health outcomes 
and living in poverty,” 
continued the Members in the 
letter. “Now more than ever 
before, it is vital that we ensure 
that individuals feel safe getting 
tested, seeking treatment, and 
getting vaccinated to stop 
the spread of COVID-19. In 
addition, people of color have 
higher rates of COVID-19 
infection and deaths. 
Additionally, the pandemic has 
shown us that immigrants play 
a vital role as frontline workers 
as healthcare workers, food 
suppliers and care providers. 
The public charge rule acts as 
a wealth test even though we 
know our economy cannot 
thrive without immigrants. We 
must work to rebuild their trust 
in the federal government so 
that everyone can receive the 
vaccine, testing, and treatment, 
and our communities can 
recover quickly.”

 The letter is signed by Reps. 
Judy Chu, Gwen Moore, 
Adriano Espaillat, Danny K. 
Davis, Albio Sires, Eleanor 
Holmes Norton, Bonnie 
Watson Coleman, Tony 
Cárdenas, James P. McGovern, 
Nydia M. Velázquez, Ed 
Case, Rosa L. DeLauro, Alan 
Lowenthal, Jerry McNerney, 
Grace F. Napolitano, Joaquin 
Castro, Yvette D. Clarke, Jimmy 
Gomez, Betty McCollum, Val B. 
Demings, Carolyn B. Maloney, 
Chellie Pingree, Peter Welch, 
Mark Takano, Barbara Lee, 
Nanette Diaz Barragán, Mark 
Pocan, Earl Blumenauer, Ro 
Khanna, David Trone, Pramila 
Jayapal, Adam Smith, Paul D. 
Tonko, Scott Peters, Bennie G. 
Thompson, Jan Schakowsky, 
Linda T. Sánchez, Alcee L. 
Hastings, Sean Casten, Frank 
Pallone, Jr., Anna G. Eshoo, 
Jahana Hayes, Ted W. Lieu, Seth 
Moulton, Ilhan Omar, Norma 
J.Torres, Jamie Raskin, Mike
Thompson, Derek Kilmer, Pete
Aguilar, Jason Crow, David E.
Price, Mark DeSaulnier, Raúl
M.Grijalva, Debbie Dingell,
Jerrold Nadler, and Zoe
Lofgren.

 
In this mobile age, technology 
has become increasingly 
valuable in supporting new 
generations of lifelong learners 
and readers. Now, South 
Pasadena Public Library and 
South Pasadena High School 
have partnered to increase 
access to more e-books and 
e-audiobooks for students. This
unique collaboration strives to 
promote literacy and digital 
learning by combining the 
school’s and the public library’s 
digital reading resources in 
one app. As a result, students 
can learn anytime, anywhere 
because of the convenience, 
ease of reading on-the-go, 
and the inherent popularity of 
technology.

 The school-library partnership 
provides safe access to 
thousands of age-appropriate 
titles for students’ use inside 
the classroom, at home and 
anywhere 24/7. Through Sora, 
the new student reading app for 
South Pasadena High School, 
students can now borrow the 
school’s collection of classroom 
and pleasure reading, and 
also access South Pasadena 
Public Library’s juvenile and 
young adult digital collection 
by following the instructions 
in the Library’s tutorial video. 
In addition, Sora supports 
teachers by offering education-
specific tools like achievements, 
exportable notes, and reading 
progress resources that 
encourage individualized 
learning.

 The Sora app was named 
one of TIME’s Best Inventions 
2019 and is available for South 
Pasadena High School students 
to download through the Apple 
App Store and Google Play 
Store, and on Chromebooks 
that support the Google Play 
Store. It is also available for 
use in web browsers at https://
soraapp.com on any computer.

 Although the South Pasadena 
High School students may 
access the school’s and the 
public library’s e-book and 
e-audiobook collections 
through Sora, the entire 
South Pasadena community 
can also borrow and read 
South Pasadena Public 
Library’s complete e-book and 
e-audiobook collection with
a valid library card through
the award-winning Libby
app. The library’s tailored
collection offers e-books
and e-audiobooks, including
bestsellers and new releases.
Readers of all ages can select
from virtually every subject
ranging from mystery,
romance, children’s, business
and more. Libby can be used on 
any major device or computer,
including Apple (R), Android™,
Chromebook™ and Kindle(R)
(US only).


NEW SOUTH PASADENA LIBRARY 
NO-CONTACT TAKEOUT HOURS

 The South Pasadena Public Library began offering Library Takeout, 
Back in June, a no-contact materials check-out and pick-up service. 
In the six months since, there have been more than 75,000 checkouts 
to appreciative customers. New library hours have gone into effect.

Monday 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Thursday 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Friday 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Saturday 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

 The Library is committed to supporting learning, entertainment, 
and creativity through its materials and programs. The alarmingly 
high rates of community transmission of COVID-19 in Los Angeles 
County make it necessary for the Library to adjust Library Takeout 
hours to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission among staff. 
This adjustment will ensure that staff are able to maintain the physical 

distancing required by County of Los Angeles Department of Public 
Health protocols when they are pulling and processing hundreds of 
items for our borrowers every morning. (For more information about 
COVID-19, infection rates, how to protect yourself, testing, and 
vaccines, visit the County’s Department of Public Health website.)

 Library Takeout allows customers to request materials by placing 
holds in the Library Catalog, by completing an online form for our 
Materials Matchmaker recommendation service, or by calling the 
Reference Desk at 626-403-7350 during Library Takeout hours. 
Requested materials are checked-out to the borrower and made 
available for no-contact pick-up at the Library’s main entrance at 
1100 Oxley Street.

 For detailed information about the Library Takeout visit: 
southpasadenaca.gov.

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