Issues / 1998
Coast Weekly's selections for some of the best New Year's Eve offerings.
There are lots of good reasons for checking out First Night Monterey. But a lot of those reasons fall into two categories: First, the celebration offers a chance to see many local performers that you ...
Local Heroes Introduction
At a time when most of us feel increasingly estranged from the conduct of our elected officials, we are a people sorely in need of heroes. We crave role models--men and women with courage and ...
Promises, Promises--What's Your Resolution?
Do we need to dedicate ourselves to a better 1999? If events in Washington are any indication, the answer is a definite yes. Back on the home front, resolutions are more mundane, but the message ...
Raffaello Restaurant
The amount of time the d'Agliano family has spent in the kitchen is better measured in years than days. The grandson of a chef and wine-grape grower, Remo d'Agliano's life around food began in his ...
New sheriff thinks the future of the department lies in getting back to basics.
Incoming Sheriff Gordon Sonn has a motto for his turn at the helm of the Monterey County Sheriff''s Department: "Back to the future." "We used to be a family. We played, worked, laughed and cried ...
Voices Of The People
Agriculture is the bread and butter of Monterey County, and Mexican-Americans make up the majority of farmworkers. Who is their voice? "Among the Mexican people, paperwork doesn''t go very far in gaining respect. It''s >"mano ...
Ham Hocks and Undies
As we hurtle ever quicker toward the last and final year of the millennium--a thousand year stretch that took humankind all the way from the Crusades into cyberspace--here''s a reminder to remember your ham hock. ...
Take Out--Abundant rewards await the CD collector.
Like any professional, the classical music journalist must constantly keep abreast of new developments. Odd, then, how rarely such discipline appears in print. Odder still, the musician who, having taken up the pen, often disdains ...
Class Act
Although it's too late for the likes of Bill, Bob and Newt, future politicians should be better able to avoid the pitfalls of politics with the founding of the Leon and Sylvia Panetta Institute For ...
Bringing Steinbeck to the Community
That the son of parents who relocated from Depression-era Arkansas to work the packing sheds of Salinas should work to honor the author of The Grapes of Wrath is perhaps not surprising. But that the ...
Doctor of Music
To Vah Aslanian of Salinas, the educational D.M.--"doctor of music"--has always been a matter of professional pride. Official communications from the Aslanian-founded Camerata Singers always refer to him as "doctor." This is not mere vanity. ...
True Promise Keepers
What exactly does the phrase "affordable housing" mean? Beyond the immediate dollar amounts, what are the true human and political costs of building a community where the water is unsafe to drink, where school classrooms ...
Calming the Storm
In the midst of a comparatively gentle La Ni¤a, it is difficult to recall the ravages of last winter''s El Ni¤o. But few Palo Colorado Canyon residents will forget last winter when the 7.5-mile-long Palo ...
Suicide Crisis Line workers tackle a job most people would hesitate to attempt.
What if you were on the phone with a person who wanted to end his life? What would you say? What happens if you say the wrong thing to someone who is suicidal? Those are ...
Party Time--Taj Mahal provides spice and sparkle for New Year's Eve.
While most of the local clubs have chosen to book known quantities for their New Year''s Eve parties, Sandy Shore Productions is bringing a near-legend in the roots/blues genre to town. With upbeat, fusion-rock band ...
Group Effort of the Year: Organizational Heroes
In the early 1990s, when it was learned Fort Ord would close, a group of local nonprofits working in the field of homeless services decided to take then-Congressman Leon Panetta''s advice and pool their strength ...
CSUMB students unite to produce independent film.
Growing up in a Texas town, Xavier Chapa chose a not-so ordinary hobby for a young Mexican boy: adapting stories to screenplays. Now, at age 28, he is engrossed in the art of filmmaking. His ...
The Eve of 1999--Party favors for everyone
"Prince is coming to McGarrett''s," said club owner Brooke Lewis. "Isn''t that perfect? We''ve been playing that song ("1999") for over 10 years. This time it''s finally going to be 1999, and Prince will sing ...
Fact and fiction blend to create a modern romantic comedy set in 1593.
Shakespeare in Love proves "the play''s the thing" as it presents the imaginary events that led to the creation of the playwright''s timeless romantic drama, Romeo and Juliet. The setting is 1593, back before Shakespeare ...
Critics charge politics, not policy, guided approval of September Ranch.
It was all good cheer and glad tidings when the Board of Supervisors held its last meeting of the year on Dec. 8. Certificates of appreciation were handed out to retiring county employees, outgoing District ...
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Bah, Humbug! While browsing the newsstand at a local bookstore, who should Squid encounter but Clint Eastwood on the cover of Travel and Leisure''s new golf magazine, sharing with golf fans everywhere the joy''s of ...
All I want for Christmas is...Another Little War
Once again the U.S. war machine takes on Iraq. And once again the timing of the conflict is a little suspect. What''s really going on? Is the threat real or politically motivated? These are some ...
Good Tidings, Bad Tidings--For some, this season marks a new beginning, and for others it seems the end.
Sand City is perhaps best known for the big-box shopping centers and their enticing array of stores. But Sand City also has something most people are unaware of: Olivo Records. Founded in 1986 by Nick ...
Golden Years?--Stuart Canin, founder of the New Century Chamber Orchestra retires--again.
Under its founder and concertmaster, Stuart Canin, the New Century Chamber Orchestra will perform an all-Russian program the weekend of Jan. 14 through 17 in the S.F. Bay Area. In case you don''t recognize his ...
Letters
Articles "Superb" Thank you for your superb series of articles on Rancho San Juan, Mountain Valley, and urban sprawl in the Salinas Valley >(Coast Weekly, Dec. 3). Between these two developments alone, Monterey County will ...
The winter holidays bring unique challenges and opportunities to our multicultural classrooms.
How and which religious holidays should be observed in the schools? What does it mean to have a Christmas program? Is it okay to have a menorah or other religious symbols in the classroom? And ...
A gang-related CD is pulled from local music stores, First Amendment notwithstanding.
To even the most casual observer, G.U.N.--or "Generations of United Norte¤os"--seems like a pretty nasty CD. On the cover is a photo of young men sporting the red bandanas emblematic of the northern California Norte¤os ...
Parker-lusseau Pastries
Even though they are young in years, husband and wife Yann Lusseau and Anne Parker are long in the experience they bring to creating fine, contemporary French pastries. Not unlike the measured processes that transform ...
Weekend Before Christmas--Celebrate the season with good cheer and a little music.
''Twas the weekend of Christmas, when all through the town The clubs were near silent. From bands? Little sound. The bar rags were hung from the faucets with care, In hopes that on New Year''s ...
Salmon Cure
Before the big ball drops in the Big Apple, clever kitchen escapees can have the jump on the next spread. Even if you''re sure you''ll never eat again, this is the time to gather a ...
After the Bombing, What Now? Whither weapons inspection following the air strikes?
An apparent casualty of the recent U.S. and British air strikes against Iraq is the inspection regime conducted by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), which has worked for seven and a half years to ...
The jolly fat man was neither as fat nor as jolly until Coca Cola made him that way.
Santa is all about a Coke deal. No joke. Fat and jolly Santa with the red suit and cap, thick black belt and sooty boots, rosy cheeks, luminous eyes and brighter-than-white teeth is the genius ...
The Prince of Egypt--offers a breathtaking, secular look at Old Testament tale.
DreamWorks executives are hoping their new animated feature The Prince of Egypt will be the chosen one, the one that leads the young studio into the promised land. And, in fact, the studio may have ...
Despite disclosure laws, most donors don't know where their charitable donations go.
Fueled at least partly by the desire to give consumers more insight into how their charitable donations are used, new federal regulations 11 years ago began requiring tax-exempt nonprofits to make public their tax forms ...
A Salinas arts group gets kids off the street and onto the stage.
A nine-month-old Salinas-based community arts organization, aimed toward getting at-risk kids off the streets and into the performing arts, is doing a lot of good work with very little money. Very little? How about none. ...
Area charities say lavish social events are an important part of their fundraising programs.
Dinner and dancing at swank venues such as Carmel Valley''s Quail Lodge or Pebble Beach''s Inn at Spanish Bay, multi-course meals specially prepared by some of the area''s finest chefs, exclusive performances by (and autographs ...
Monterey's downtown New Year's Eve extravaganza is bigger than ever.
Highlights of the ever-expanding First Night Monterey this year include a completely new performance area and a bigger procession than ever. Now in its fifth year, the crowd attending the annual alcohol-free New Year''s Eve ...
Star Trek: Insurrection boldly goes where no Trek should have gone in the first place.
The so-called "Star Trek Curse" continues unabated; that is, even-numbered Trek''s are good, while their odd-numbered cohorts stink like a dead Horta in a pop bottle on a hot July day. This being the ninth ...
Crocodile Christmas
There seems to be two camps of Christmas thought: You either adore the whole idea and start planning for it on the day after the fact, right when all the theme merchandise gets marked 75 ...
Hark! Hark!--MoCo rocks around the Christmas Tree.
Monterey''s seasonal nightlife has more to offer than just pretty street decorations. Check it out: McGarrett''s is hosting its first Christmas Bash on the Bay. Rumor has it that aside from complimentary champagne and hors ...
98-word Short Story Contest
If you see us on the street corner, red-eyed and bleary, it isn't necessarily because we've been hitting the egg nog early. This year's Short Story Contest was record-setting in terms of numbers of entries; ...
The traditionally male art of taiko drumming steps into the '90s.
A slow, steady beat rises from a large drum onstage, created by an arm well-toned from practice and concentration. The energy in the room builds as more drummers join, hit a rhythm and the sound ...
Making Joyful Noise--Local choruses spark the holiday season.
One of the longest careers in Monterey County music will soon come to an end. Camerata Singers Music Director Vahe Aslanian has announced plans to step down at the end of the current season. (Aslanian ...
The other rsum of Governor-elect Gray Davis' transition team leader isn't pretty.
Three weeks ago, California''s governor-elect, Gray Davis, made his first appointment since being elected governor. In a hurried conference call with reporters less than one week after the election, he announced that former California State ...
Letters
Congrats! You are to be congratulated on the Dec. 3 issue. Too rapid growth is causing many problems with traffic and water, and other parts of the infrastructure in Monterey County. The article about the ...
Upper Crust Bakery
"It's all David's fault," she deadpans. Former executive chef of Piatti, chef and owner of Caf Gringo, and recent baker-elect as proprietor of Upper Crust Bakery and Deli, Zenda Willemstein laughs as she recounts the ...
Hotsy Totsy
Hot Seat What''s going on down at Seaside city hall? Is it try-out time for the city softball team? Or, a support group for the politically defeated? No, the resignation of former City Councilmember Helen ...
Unicorn Theater's Robert Colter has been playing Scrooge for 10 years now.
When the lights come up on the Unicorn Theater''s small stage on Hoffman Street in New Monterey, Robert Colter is sitting hunched over at his writing desk, a scowl on his Scroogy face--the same position ...
Rites of Writing--Taking Pen to Paper
In our TV era, there are fewer readers--that much is fact. Does it follow that would-be writers are in short supply? Apparently not, as local scribes confess to a passion for plying their trade. Heidi ...
An international effort is putting the world's best books at your fingertips.
Mark Twain once remarked, "I don''t understand why writers go to all that trouble to write novels, when you can buy a perfectly good novel for a dime." If Mark Twain were alive today, he ...
New Monterey launches a weekly farmers market on Lighthouse Ave.
For the past half year, Joseph "Sausage Man" Bianco has been trying, without success, to secure a booth for his sausage sandwich business in the Tuesday afternoon street market in downtown Monterey. Barred from Alvarado ...
Some service stations face tough times in complying with new tank law.
Chuck Davis used to run Chuck''s Exxon station in the tiny South County community of San Ardo with his grandfather. The grandfather-grandson partnership started the business in 1974, and, in 1991, they claimed their little ...
True Blues--James Armstrong's blues come from the soul; Hepsters debut at Blue Fin.
When the blues don''t groan up from the soul, catch fire from the crotch or bleed from the heart, they''re just songs. So you have to be suspicious of so-called blues bands that do a ...
Peninsula Assemblymember Fred Keeley takes on a new leadership post.
In politics, timing is everything, and just about the timeliest politician in California at the moment is Democratic Assemblymember Fred Keeley, who was named earlier this month to the Assembly Pro Tem slot--second most powerful ...
Elizabeth is more political thriller than bodice-ripping romance.
With style, passion, and intelligence, Elizabeth answers the question lurking silently amid mounting slag heaps of cheesy Princess Di memorabilia: What is this thing we have about royalty? What primal need does their apparently superfluous ...
Competition heats up at area Christmas tree lots.
Think you can make a quick buck selling Christmas trees? Think again, say area veterans. It''s harder, and more expensive, than it looks, with start-up costs high and competition stiff. For long-time independent Christmas tree ...
Food for the Soul--Why Read?
In the age of computers and television, where we receive information through images and sound, does anyone value reading anymore? Several residents of Monterey County proved the written word is still going strong. Margo Sperry ...
Author Oakley Hall's roots are showing in his most recent novel.
In his most recent novel, Ambrose Bierce and the Queen of Spades, author Oakley Hall exposes his own roots as a writer. Hall teaches creative writing, co-founded the Squaw Valley Community of Writers 30 years ...
From The Redwood Forest, Ancient Trees And The Bottom Line: A Headwaters Journey
Chelsea Green Publishing Company. Paperback By Joan Dunning Author Joan Dunning writes of a California far removed from Hollywood or Malibu, bringing a human face to the controversy over logging in the Headwaters Forest. This ...
Salinas children's librarian also writes for her young audience.
There is one thing to remember about kids when writing children''s books, local author Carol Diggory Shields says: "They all like gross stuff." The author of six books, with two more on the way, she ...
Art and history merge in the panorama images of photographer Steve Shapiro.
From the earliest daguerrotype portraits to the new frontiers in digital imaging, technology has often been a driving force in prodding and shaping the photographer/artist''s vision. In turn, it has been the artist''s search to ...
Concerned citizens say that Marina's new general plan needs work.
As the city of Marina forges ahead with its general plan update process, some folks are voicing concern that the city is, literally, headed in the wrong direction: north. With that in mind, a group ...
Salinas children's librarian also writes for her young audience.
There is one thing to remember about kids when writing children''s books, local author Carol Diggory Shields says: "They all like gross stuff." The author of six books, with two more on the way, she ...
Stories to Tell--Dave Alvin brings his stories of misfits and desperadoes to Doc's.
Acouple weeks ago, The Blasters were in town with their roots-rock act and they put on a good party, with front man Phil Alvin leading the way. Tonight (Thursday, 12/10) Phil''s little brother Dave Alvin, ...
Koto Japanese Restaurant
It used to be the Tyler Street Bar and Grill, before standing empty for more than a year, but since June, this part of downtown Monterey has another dining option that sushi fanciers will find ...
CW staffers pass along the following favorites as recommendations for those in search of a good read.
&bul; Against Empire, Michael Parenti. City Lights Books, 1995. Does the state of our economy concern you? Do you wonder about the real story behind Third World sweat-shops? Are you baffled by and disbelieving of ...
Burger Quest
There are certain things in life Americans seem predisposed to uphold and revere. Somewhere right after democracy and baseball, all-beef patties on sesame seed buns hold sway as a precious right to protect and consume, ...
Kronos at 25--New 10-CD release chronicles history of Kronos Quartet and face of modern classical.
Keeping abreast of developments in new classical music can be a daunting, if not downright overwhelming, challenge. This is especially true during a period of rapid growth and wildly expanding styles, which correctly describes events ...
Letters
Enraged Being Tabitha's best friend, I am enraged with your portrayal of her and her family's life painted by Coast Weekly ("Living on the Edge," Nov. 25. ) I would also like to dispute the ...
Here are the 12 choices by and about California that inspired CW's editorial staff to put pen to paper.
Harvest Son: Planting Roots in American Soil David Mas Masumoto. W.W. Norton & Company, 1998. Hardcover. David Masumoto is a third-generation Japanese-American, who still works an 80-acre peach farm first planted by his grandfather in ...
For author T. C. Boyle, history is what you make of it.
T.C. Boyle laughs with the shock of recognition at the notion that his recently published collection of short stories might be viewed as some kind of writer''s epitaph. For an author long-enamored with the imperatives ...
Just the Facts, Please
Mind Made Up There were many surprises at last week''s Board of Supervisors hearing, not the least of which was the board''s hasty approval of the September Ranch development. But Squid was particularly taken aback ...
California Writers Introduction 12/1098
We are Californians. Either by birth or by choice, we make our homes here, literally at the edge of the continent in a place where new rules are made and old ones broken. The land, ...
Beaux Arts--Current incarnation of famed trio simmers instead of boils.
What stories Menahem Pressler could tell. The founding pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio, and its only remaining original member, must feel like a widower several times over. Given the BAT''s many replacement musicians over ...
The county''s largest city wrestles with drawing lines on development.
Next week, the 853-home Mountain Valley residential subdivision on 200 acres of prime agricultural land at Williams and Alisal Roads begins its second round of review. On Dec. 10, Salinas'' Traffic & Transportation Commission will ...
North County farmers seem apprehensive about $75 million water project.
Eight months into operation, the much-touted Castroville Irrigation Project is looking a lot like a $75 million party that many on the invitation list don''t want to attend. Hailed as an innovative way to recycle ...
Too big for our britches?--Growing Pains
Can Monterey County handle the increase in growth and development? Many feel resources are overburdened and can''t support excess growth, but what is the solution? Hans Doelman Age: 65 Occupation: Systems Analyst Resides: Monterey Do ...
North Monterey County thespians are looking for a little support.
Talent. Ambition. Enthusiasm. The up-and-coming 42nd Street Players of North Monterey County High School in Castroville have all that plus a dedicated director. What more could they want? "We need fans!" says Mollie Hicok, a ...
Seaside's county library will get a new home, but still needs more room.
While they are grateful for a new county library proposed for downtown Seaside, local bookworms are nevertheless looking a gift horse in the mouth. In a joint effort of the Seaside Redevelopment Agency and Monterey ...
Out in the Cold--Politics are pushing African-Americans to the side in the workforce.
African-Americans have outlived their usefulness. Now, due to our efforts to obtain our civil rights and thwart racial discrimination in the workplace, we are no longer capitalist America''s desired work force. As a result, African-Americans ...
Government Inaction
A Bronx Cheer... To Seaside Councilmember Helen Rucker who apparently waited to see which way the political winds would blow before announcing her retirement--a retirement that was grist for the rumor mill all through the ...
Local filmmaker John Harris releases a documentary about the late '60s on Cannery Row.
The last days of old Cannery Row are largely a matter of subjective interpretation. The fishermen who farmed the ocean during the sardine era in the first half of the century would probably say the ...
Rancho San Juan could one day connect Salinas to a suburb one-sixth its size. Is this good planning or urban sprawl?
If you''re traveling north from Salinas on Highway 101 and look to the east, the city seems to stop short at Russell Road. Here, on 2,160 acres of pasture land, where the fertile Salinas Valley ...
Hatton Canyon Freeway opponents keep the faith.
"If and when Father Serra is canonized, the Carmel Mission will become a shrine and upwards of 10,000 pilgrims a week will travel to it. They can get there through Hatton Canyon." --Former Carmel Mayor ...
Fine performance by Luke Wilson is overshadowed by twisty, unwieldy script.
Dean Parisot''s feature debut plays like a quasi-sequel to Wes Anderson''s minor cult classic Bottle Rocket. Both films star Luke Wilson as a quiet Everyman caught up in circumstances (romantic and otherwise) beyond his control, ...
Good Gravy
So, there you were. The big browned bird was resting nicely, ready to be carved. The sweet potatoes glistened with honey-coated goodness, the dressing was just a little crusty on top but not a bit ...
El Indio
The Del Monte Shopping Center was almost brand new when El Indio Mexican Restaurant first opened its doors 26 years ago. To say that it''s rare to find a restaurant with such long-term staying power ...
Celtic Weekend--Piper Paddy Keenan brings his energetic performanc to town; A Celtic Christmas returns.
The Media Room''s going to sound a little bit like a detached corner of the British Isles this weekend, with uillean piper Paddy Keenan getting fast and loose on Friday, and the 13th Annual Celtic ...
Letters
Thanks, CW I would like to thank you and the staff at Coast Weekly for a job well done during the general election of Nov 3. You covered the campaigns and the candidates very well ...
Potpourri Gene Loves Jezebel and Shana Morrison at Doc's; Shelly Cullin is a Sophisticated Lady.
Seeing as author Anne Rice considered one of their songs to be the theme for the movie version of her novel Interview With The Vampire, I can''t be too far off in describing Gene Loves ...
Can a county organic certification program measure up?
Eric Lauritzen, Monterey County''s newly appointed agriculture commissioner, has what some may consider a radical idea. Lauritzen would like Monterey County''s ag commissioner''s office to be the first in the state to try its hand ...
By yourself for T-Day? Try mooching off friends, serving at a community dinner, or fixing faux peas (green M&Ms).
Mom, in her apron, appears smiling in the dining room doorway--a golden brown turkey steams on a platter. Grandma follows cheerfully behind with a bowl full of yams. Dad sits with fork and carving knife ...
Holiday Blues Busters--The Blasters, Tab Benoit, Erik Berglund and The Quirks will take your mind off the impending season.
It''s official: The holiday season is now in full swing. The refrigerator''s filled with leftover turkey and slowly moldering pumpkin pie that nobody wanted to eat when it was fresh, the Christmas tree lots are ...
M.o.s.t Van Reaches Out To The Most Desperately Needy
By 8am, Lee Hulquist has parked the white M.O.S.T (Mobile Outreach Services Team) van near the downtown Monterey transit station, has set up her traveling clothes rack, and is hanging up the day's selection of ...
Thanksgiving Thoughts--Homeless for the Holidays
Amidst the natural of beauty and affluence of Monterey County, addressing the problem of homelessness often rates as a low priority. It''s easy to overlook the unpleasant issue, but the folks of Monterey County really ...
Might Makes Right?
Frusetta "The Fist" Minnesota''s got nothing on Monterey: They have Governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura and we have Assemblymember Peter "The Fist" Frusetta. In The Fist''s latest "Cowboy in the Capitol" column, he gloats over ...
Letters
Whole Foods Supports Organic Growing Over the past 10 years, the farming business I work for has started to farm organically on what was previously conventional ground. One of the biggest problems we have encountered ...
Bijan's
On a clear day, you can see past Capitola to Santa Cruz. To the east, the Santa Lucias. And in the immediate foreground, the flurry of sightseers up and down Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf ...
Families, youth volunteer opportunities teach some important lessons.
Emma Healy is a junior at Carmel High, and a volunteer at the emergency room of Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP). She started volunteering four years ago. When asked about her most memorable ...
MoCo's new CAO Sally Reed may have the right stuff to get the county on track.
The buzz is that she''s smart, tough, levelheaded, decisive and effective--and that Monterey County is lucky to get her. But as Sally Reed prepares to step into the county''s top administrative position on Dec. 7, ...
