Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 9, 2021

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 9, 2021 

REMEMBRANCE 


THOMAS MCCARTHY, JR. 

Thomas McCarthy, Jr. of Sierra Madre, California passed 
away on Tuesday, September 7, 2021, at the age of 

74. After suffering a short illness, he died with Jerri, his 
wife and best friend of nearly 47 years, and their children 
by his side.
Tom was born in Altadena in 1946 to parents Thomas 
and Marjorie McCarthy. Tom attended Mission Grammar 
School, Don Bosco Technical Institute, and went 
on to study electrical engineering at Cal Poly Pomona. 
He and Jerri were married at the San Gabriel Mission 
and settled in Sierra Madre in 1975, where they raised 
their three children. 
A devoted son, husband, father, grandfather and dear 
friend, he loved life and lived every day to the fullest. 
He enjoyed a very successful career with the Department 
of Water and Power in Los Angeles for over 36 
years, supporting the Power division in numerous 
engineering capacities. After retiring, he continued 
to consult in the field for another 16 years at Lindsey 
Systems in Azusa. His community activities included 
the Cal Poly Rose Float Association, Water and Power 
Associates, Boy Scouts – St. Rita’s Troop 110, the Los 
Angeles Live Steamers at Griffith Park, serving as a 
member of the financial council and a Eucharistic minister at St. Rita’s, and volunteering in the restoration 
and preservation of the facilities at Mt. Wilson. It was also well known that he was an avid fan of 
the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He will be remembered for, among other 
things, his curious mind, his love of people, his constant smile and his consistently happy disposition. 
Tom is survived by his wife Jerri, children Tom (Katie, and grandchildren Ellie and Olivia), Diane, and 
Matt (Laura), and many friends. Mass was celebrated at St. Rita Catholic Church on Saturday, September 
18. Tom is resting in peace at the Pioneer Cemetery in Sierra Madre.
People wishing to honor Tom’s lifelong commitment to family and community may make a donation 
to the Cal Poly Rose Float Association. Please send all donations to 3801 W. Temple Ave., Pomona, CA 

91768 and reference Thomas J. McCarthy, Jr. 


ONE DOWN……MORE TO GO! 

Preserve Sierra Madre submitted our response to 
the draft Environmental Impact Report for the 
proposed sale of 20 acres of the Monastery property 
to New Urban West Development for the 
development of 42 luxury homes of 2700 to 4000 
square feet. We submitted our response/rebuttal 
consisting of 28 pages on Monday, October 4th, 
before the 5pm deadline after having 60 days to review 
the 500+ page DEIR. 

 If you read last week’s column, you will recall that 
our main areas of concern are: Trees (removing 
100 irreplaceable mature trees); Traffic (about 400+ 
vehicles a day travelling through the side streets of 
Sunnyside, Grove, Lima and Carter); Water (we’re 
in year two of another drought – lakes and rivers 
are at an all-time low, “net zero” water usage for 
the next 50 years doesn’t seem to be possible); Fire 
(building in a designated very high severity fire 
zone); Earthquakes (the 1991 Sierra Madre quake 
destroyed one of the Monastery’s buildings and resulted 
in $12.5 million in damage).

In the meantime…. Last Thursday, October 7th, 
the Planning Commission reviewed the proposed 
changes to the General Plan to accommodate the 
State’s mandate to come up with 208 potential sites 
to build our share of new housing units in the next 
eight years. The City hired Karen Warner Associates 
(KWA) and paid her over $225,000 to come up 
with a solution, which includes –

1. A very important safety element objective 
that states: ‘Avoid expanding development into undeveloped 
areas in Very High Fire Severity Zones.’ 
It has been changed by staff who proposes replacing 
it with: ‘Avoid construction of new development on 
land currently unimproved and abutted by natural 
open space areas in Very High Fire Severity Zones’. 
This language replaces a key Safety Element with 
one that does not apply to any property in Sierra 
Madre. 

2. Building apartment buildings, which will 
require a new “religious overlay zone” on church 
parking lots of the Methodist, Old North and Bethany 
Churches. Where might the parishioners 
park, you might ask. We asked that very question 
at the previous Planning Commission meeting. 
What’s next….Once the Final Environmental 
Impact Report comes out, possibly in November, 
December, January (?), it will first go to the Planning 
Commission where there will be an opportunity 
to comment at two public meetings. The 
Final EIR will include comments that were submitted 
before the deadline. Whether they will be 
adequately addressed remains to be seen. 

The Planning Commission will send their recommendation 
to the City Council, which will also review 
this at two meetings. Again, the general public 
(us) will have our opportunity to comment. At 
that time the Council must make a decision. State 
law prohibits more than five public meetings. 

 Having spent time reviewing the Specific Plan 
and the Draft EIR for the Monastery Property and 
the Draft S (Supplemental) EIR for the changes to 
the General Plan, as well as touring the portion of 
the Monastery property in question, a number of 
statements have been made that need further clarification 
and information. 

 As promised, our efforts will be on going to keep 
you informed regarding the latest details on this 
evolving Project. Stay tuned….. 

resident. It leaves me with a really heavy heart 

PLANNING continued from page 1 

to see the possible permanent changes that are 

of properties causing them to move from R3 

going to happen to this town, that I loved, that I 

(Multi-Family Residential) to R2 (Two-Family 

grew up in,” she said. 

Residential). City Council plans to hear on a case-
to-case basis any resident who has been nega-

But, despite the continuing concern over the 
tively affected by these redesignations. 

Monastery project, this meeting was about the 
Housing Element and meeting the state’s require-

STOP THE HOUSING PROJECT 

ments to avoid repercussions to the city. 

You don’t have to travel far within Sierra Mad-
re before you come across a “Stop the Housing 

THE END RESULT 

Project” sign on a front lawn. It’s been a red-hot 

The Planning Commission will recommend to 
topic of discussion and this meeting was met 

City Council to adopt the General Plan Amend-
with concerned community comments both be


ment 21-03 to adopt the 2021-2029 Housing 
fore and after the Housing Element discussions 

Element Update, including updates to Circulatook 
place at Thursday’s meeting which started 

tion Elements, Land Use and Safety Element, 
promptly at 7 p.m. “The Housing Element and 

but taking out “abutted by natural open space.” 
SEIR is a flat-out fraud,” stated resident Tricia 

The Commission will recommend that the City 
Cerski. “It’s divorced from reality. The city has ca-

Council table Municipal Code Text Amendment 
valierly disregarded the comments and concerns 

21-04 and 21-05 and Zone Change 21-03 to alof 
residents. The EIR is a stunning betrayal of the 

low further analyzation by the Planning Com-
community on so many fronts,” she said. 

mission. They do recommend the certification of 
Subsequent Environmental Impact Report. 

“It’s to me somewhat disingenuous that the 
[Safety Element] wording was changed to make 

There will be two more City Council Public Heait 
OK to build in a very high severity fire zone,” 

rings on October 26, 2021 and November 9, 2021 
said Susan Neuhausen. 

on this topic. The full Planning Commission Staff 
“It’s really sad looking at those pictures of what 

report is available on the city website at cityofwe 
could be facing,” said Heather Allen, a 49-year 

sierramadre.com. 

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis 

“Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking 
perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer 
and winter!” 
Carol Bishop Hipps 

“Listen! The wind is rising and the air is wild with 
leaves. We have had our summer evenings, now for 
October eves.” 
Humbert Wolfe 

“Welcome October! New month, new chapter, new 
pages, new wishes. May the month give you courage, 
strength, confidence, patience, self-love and inner 
peace. May every day in October fill your days with 
Hope, Love, Sunshine and Energy. Let there be Joy, 
Fun and Laughter!” 

Those quotes pretty much say it all! But I thought I’d 
add an October offering of my own to the mix: 

O...Oh please, please, let it cool off! Oh please, let the 
temperatures hover around those nice high 70’s and 
low 80’s! Oh please, let the nights be cool enough to 
think of pulling up the covers! 

C...Cider! I’d love some hot apple cider. If you buy a 
gallon of apple cider, put it in an old percolator type 


coffee maker, add five or six cinnamon sticks broken 
in half, an orange cut in quarters, a bunch of whole cloves and whole allspice in the basket, then turn it 
on so the cider perks through the spices, you will end up with a big pot of happiness. Hot apple cider on 
a cold day is pure joy. A cold day would be pure joy! 

T...Total change of wardrobe! Wouldn’t it be nice to wear jeans, boots, socks and...oh bliss! A sweater! 
Wouldn’t it be nice to put all the shorts you’ve been living in since June into a drawer and forget about 
them till next June! 

O...Outdoors! Wouldn’t it be nice to actually enjoy being outdoors! To sit out on your patio in the morning 
with a cup of coffee and watch the sun come up? To sit outside with dear friends and enjoy a glass 
of wine or two and something simple like Triscuits and Humus or some veggies and ranch dip? And 
watch the moon appear in the sky. Be sure to spray yourself with mosquito spray and light that romantic 
citronella candle. 

B...Blessed! Yes, we are blessed to see another fall season come around. To see the scarecrows all 
over town, to know that kids are going to create wonderfully creepy art to place in all the downtown 
windows; to know there will be a costume parade and that your own personal children are going to have 
a wonderful time trick or treating in a safe environment. 

E...Excitement! The air is filled with excitement. Fall is a new beginning. It is the month of glory, of 
ripeness. It is the picture-month. It’s the month when we buy pumpkins and put them out on our front 
porch. The month when we decorate inside with fall leaves and yellow chrysanthemums. The month 
when I put out my spider-adorned sign that says, “The Witch Is in!” The month when we start thinking 
of pumpkin goodies, like pumpkin cookies and pumpkin cheesecake. The month when persimmons 
are ready to eat! 

R...Rejoice! Your electric bill is going to be less! Rain might be on the way! October is red and golden 
and brown. Carve a pumpkin, donate candy to one of the churches doing Trunk or Treat, and rejoice 
because you are alive! You are loved and this could very well be your best month of the year.
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers!”
Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery 

Here’s a fun fact you might not know: Why is candy corn called candy corn? OK, if you imagine yourself 
taking a whole bunch of them and stacking them in a circle with the pointy end toward the middle, 
when you’ve stacked enough of them, they look like a corn cob! Which, of course, brings me to Lewis 
Black’s candy corn rant: 

“The worst thing about Halloween is, of course, candy corn. It's unbelievable to me. Candy corn is the 
only candy in the history of America that's never been advertised. And there's a reason. All of the candy 
corn that was ever made was made in 1911. And so, since nobody eats that stuff, every year there's a 
ton of it left over. And the candy corn company sends guys to the villages and they collect out of the 
dumpsters all the candy corn we've thrown away. They wash it and put it away till next Halloween and 
out it comes again!” 

The Mt. Wilson Trail Race is next Saturday. This is so great to have this happening again! Be sure to read 
the “Preserve Sierra Madre” column. Valuable information there. 

Watch for scarecrows! They’re everywhere and so clever. Like this absolutely perfect “Luca” created by 
Rocio Austin. (Photograph by Leah Davis) As Rocio says, “he’s come all the way from his Italian town of 
Portorosso to enter our scarecrow contest.” In case you haven’t seen it, “Luca” is a new animated feature 
from Disney and Pixar. One of their best ones yet. Find “Luca” by taking a nice walk up into the canyon. 
Scarecrows are where you least expect them to be! 

Have a great week, dear friends and neighbors. Treat yourself to a Pumpkin Spice Latte and don’t think 
about the calories. Pumpkin spice anything is one more reason to Rejoice! 

“Sunrises & Sunflowers Speak Hope” 
is a great gift for yourself or someone you love! 
Look for it on my book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 
"A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter"
is also available on my Amazon book page.
Emma Gainsworth fans…the new one is almost ready to release on Kindle! 


SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER 

September 26, 2021 to October 3, 2021 During this period the Sierra Madre Police Department 

responded to 190 calls for service. 

Robbery

On 9-27-21 at 3:38PM a male subject walked into a business in the 100 block of W. Sierra Madre 
Blvd. and forcibly took a cell phone from his girlfriend, who is an employee of the business then left 
the business. Officers later spoke with the subject and convinced him to return to the business with 
the cell phone. The subject was arrested then taken to the Pasadena Jail and booked for the robbery 
and domestic violence. Case to the DA’s office. 

Disturbance 

On 9-28-21 at 4:00PM, a male was arrested for causing a disturbance, for public intoxication and for 
an outstanding warrant at a restaurant in the 300 block of W. Sierra Madre Blvd. The subject was 
taken to the Pasadena Jail for booking. Case to DA’s office 

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