February is Black History Month: Know The Past, Shape the Future! 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2023 


VOLUME 17 NO. 05VOLUME 17 NO. 05

Breaking News:

STUCK ON THE MT. WILSON TRAIL!

Teetering Truck Stuck On Trail Threatened Homes

BANK OF THE WEST JOINS BMO

 
On Friday, February 3, 2023, 
Bank of the West customers were 
notified that BOW had joined BMO 
Harris, the 14th largest bank of the 
top 100 in the United States. 

 The announcement reassured 
customers that there would be no 
significant changes during the 
transition which is expected to be 
completed by Labor Day. 

 Representatives authorized to 
shed additional light on the change 
and what it may mean for the Sierra 
Madre Branch were not available at 
press time.

BMO Harris Bank is a US bank 
based in Chicago. The parent 
company is Bank of Montreal.

THE CITY COUNCIL WILL HOLD SPECIAL 
MEETING ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2023

Negotiations Continue With Referendum Proponents

As the deadline for withdrawal of the referendum to overturn Ordinance 
1461 approaches, the Sierra Madre City Council has scheduled a meeting to 
formally set May 9, 2023 as the date for the special election on the matter. 

At their January 24th meeting the council decided to move forward and directed 
staff to prepare the necessary resolutions required by the County of 
Los Angeles. Sierra Madre voters will be asked to vote to either repeal City 
Council Ordinance 1461, or allow the Ordinance to remain in place. The 
Ordinance approved The Meadows at Bailey Canyon project. 

However, according to City Manager Jose Reynoso, negotiations are still ongoing 
in hopes that the city and supporters of the referendum can reach an 
agreement and the proponents would withdraw their request to have the matter 
decided upon by voters, thus avoiding construction of a less desireable 
project and losing millions by the city. (See http://mtnviewsnews.com/v17/
htm/n01/index.htm). 

Per city clerk Laura Aguilar, the deadline for withdrawal is Friday, February 
10, 2022.

SMPD DETECTIVES INVESTIGATE TWOBUSINESSES 
IN THE BUSINESS DISTRICT 
FOR ILLEGAL SEXUAL ACTIVITY.

On January 11, 2023, Detectives with the Sierra Madre Police Department 
conducted an investigation of two businesses in the Sierra Madre Business 
District in response to several complaints of suspected illegal conduct. One 
business was located at 38 W. Sierra Madre Blvd and the other was located at 
370 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.

SMPD, along with the San Gabriel PD Detective’s Bureau conducted an 

operation involving undercover officers. It is alleged that the female workers 
at both businesses made overt, sexual acts, in violation of the City’s Municipal 
Code and State Law. 

These actions initiated an investigation that ultimately shut down the business 
while SMPD investigates the matter, with possible legal and/or administrative 
action. The City’s Code Enforcement Officer placed a “Stop Work” 
Order at the entrance of the business, prohibiting the businesses from re-
opening until the investigation has concluded.

On Sunday, January 29th, hikers on Mt. Wilson Trail ran into 
an unusual and dangerous sight, a truck stuck in the rain 
soaked trail, dangerously close to falling off the edge onto 
homes located below.

Sierra Madre Police and Fire were notified and efforts to remove 
the truck began. Arcadia 107 and Jan's Towing also 
assisted.

SMPD Corporal Lillian Shaw, said the truck was approximately 
511 feet up the trail which was in disrepair from recent rains. 
Because of the instability of the truck and the trail, authorities 
called for the evacuation of 20 homes that would have been in 
danger if the truck became dislodged. The trail was immediately 
closed for the safety of hikers. It reopened the next day.

Well-known Trail Volunteer Bob Spears, said a crew of volunteers 
who have been working diligently to restore the trail 
since the rainstorms, had a previously scheduled work day on 
Sunday. They arrived around 11 am and were available to assist 
in the effort to avoid a disaster. (Pictured above).

Fortunately, efforts to avoid a tragedy were successful and after 
approximately 8 hours, the truck was safely moved off the trail.

S.Henderson/MVNews

WELCOME MOLLY MAID!

 
Hello Sierra Madre! We are the 
Riveras and we’re thrilled for the 
opportunity to formal-ly introduce 
ourselves to our wonderful 
community. Our family is made 
up of us, dedicated parents Lance 
and Iveth Rivera and our four 
children: Jasmine, Destiny, Isabella, 
and Lance II. We are high 
school sweethearts and business 
partners, blissfully embark-ing on 
our 27th year together in 2023. 

• We moved to Sierra Madre 
in 2018 and immediately fell in
love with this close-knit, charming 
little town. In 2020, at the
peak of the pandemic, our family 
was given an op-portunity to
reinvent ourselves and our mark
on the community. We made a
life chang-ing shift from the corporate 
world to entrepreneurism
and haven’t looked back since. We
are now the proud owners of your
local Merry Maids cleaning business, 
servicing your homes with
our hardworking team, and building 
lasting relationships!

• From the annual Wistaria 
festival to weekend baseball
games hosted by our little league,
we have created many special 
memories that our children will 
forever hold near and dear. When 
Lance achieves his dream of being 
a famous baseball player for 
the Dodgers, he will look back and 
fondly remember all the games he 
played with his friends. Whenever 
Isabella enjoys a fancy cup 
of tea (as she works on her beautiful 
paintings), she will relish in 
the moments she’s shared with 
her sisters at the Four Seasons. We 
are also blessed with our daughter 
Jasmine, who is a recent USC 
graduate with her masters and 
will potentially be teaching your 
children and our other daughter 
Des-tiny, who is currently attending 
UCSC and working towards 
her bachelors in Business. 

• We are beyond grateful
for the opportunity to live and
work among our neighbors. Please 
come by our office on Windsor
Ln anytime for a chat—we’d love
to meet you. Happy 2023, Sierra
Madre!

A GIFT CERTIFICATE WOULD 
BE A SWEET VALENTINE'S 
DAY SURPRISE!

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 employees. ©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.
38 Years of Combined Experience Representing Buyers and SellersThere are lots of things to 
Wine about….
Buying or Selling your home 
shouldn’t be one of them.
Call us,
we would loveto meet with youto discuss how 
we can help you 
achieve your2023 Real Estate 
Goals.
Above Sierra Madre Chamber and Council members cut the proverbial 
Purple Ribbon recently to officially welcome Molly Maids to town.

HIGHLAND PARK $3,300/Mo 
2 beds 1 baths 960 sfSIERRA MADRE $4,750/Mo 
3 beds 2 baths 2,100 sfCHINO HILLS $2,400/Mo 
2 beds 1.5 baths 1,000 sf626.355.1451c21village.comLIC# 02119245Serving the Community since 1980