Child of a Dark Era
Barbara James of Carmel Valley recalls what her parents went through.
Excerpts from an interview of Barbara James by Maureen Davidson My parents, Dan and Lillith James, were blacklisted. Not, I think, because of their intrinsic value as targets, but because my father was assistant director ...
Blacklist Revisited
Carl Cherry Center celebrates its 60th anniversary with a theme dear to its roots.
If you can’t count on youth to make a fuss when a fuss is required, call up the old warriors– and stand back. Upon the occasion of its birthday, the Carl Cherry Center for the ...
Issues / 2008 / Jul 10
The Big Sur Basin Complex fire may spur insurance companies to proactively fight fire, by hiring private firefighters. The U.S. Forest Service may not like that one bit.
Insurance companies may be surprised how loyal the locals are to their fire brigades, particularly in Big Sur and Cachagua. Even the efforts of the U.S. Forest Service seem to be well appreciated in fighting ...
Local woman to compete in China
U.S. Olympic team announced — Blake Russell of Pacific Grove will compete as a marathoner.
The University of North Carolina graduate now calls Pacific Grove home. And next month, she’ll be running a marathon in Beijing —26.2 miles worth — as part of the U.S. Olympic team. Russell made her ...
Hotels in Big Sur reopen for summer visitors — outlook positive.
Highway 1 is open and so, too, are most of the restaurants in the Big Sur Valley in the aftermath of the county's largest ever wildfire, still burning in the eastern and northeastern edges of ...
Bullet Train to L.A.
Route approved for $10 billion California high speed train that voters will decide in November —closest station would be in Gilroy.
The High Speed Rail Authority approved a final route to send to voters for approval. The 220 mile per hour train would run from Sacramento or San Francisco to San Diego, in about 2-1/2 hours. ...
Sheriff loses at least one vote from Big Sur in aftermath of fire evacuations
It's refreshing that a former long-time police office would take on the sheriff, so Ken Wright's attack of Sheriff Kanalakis's handing of the Big Sur evacuation is worth reading. Wright was the CHP officer responsible ...
Big Sur reopens for business.
The Basin Complex fire, which started on June 21, took its toll on Big Sur residents and business owners. Nepenthe estimates it lost $800,000 in gross sales. Even though the community remains smoky, the locals ...
Seven Day Update: Mills Family Farms' Financial Difficulties, Jim Colangelo's Resignation, the Future of Carmel Valley and Ferrante in Salinas
SHUT DOWN… Last month we broke the story about Mills Family Farms’ financial difficulties: Creditors filed lawsuits; Roger and Basil Mills fell behind on loan payments to a city of Salinas employee retirement fund with ...
Tricked Out
Reed McClintock is the brightest of the Stars of Magic.
Reed McClintock does some dizzying, cringe-inducing magic tricks. One of his signature moves involves putting razor blades in his mouth. Then he adds a cocktail napkin that he cuts into a snowflake with the razor ...
Public Citizen
ONGOING FIRE INFORMATION | For regular updates on fires, roads and trails conditions, weather and other emergency information, log on to www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres/conditions. 7|10 THURS CLEAN TECHNOLOGY PANEL | MARINA—The Marina Technology Cluster hosts an eco-friendly ...
Seraphic Light
SAXOPHONE SUMMIT
Saxophone Summit pairs the three most influential tenor saxophonists of our era—Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano—with a rhythm section. Their previous release, Gathering Of Spirits, put new life into the “tenor battle” concept so ...
Band of Bikers
The Fryed Bros rumble into Salinas.
Most bands prefer to travel to their gigs in cruise liner-sized tour buses with air conditioning and deli trays. But the five guys in Sacramento’s The Fryed Bros Band would rather be stretched out on ...
¡Ask A Mexican! for Jul 10, 2008
One man's take on his culture's stereotypes
Dear Mexican: What’s the fascination Mexicans have with Elvis? --Good Roceando Tonight Dear Gabacho: Your question is spot-on, but it’s taken a while for Elvis to achieve icon status among Mexicans. As recounted in Eric ...
Fighting for Home
The inside story about what went down on Apple Pie Ridge during the Big Sur fire.
As flames from the growing Basin Complex Fire stole down canyons toward their 55-acre ranch on Big Sur’s Apple Pie Ridge, the Curtis family did what they had always done when a wildfire threatened their ...
Letters to the Editor for Jul 10, 2008
SUPREME COURT BULL’S EYE It was refreshing to read in Tina May’s anti-gun/anti-self-defense rant [“Aim’s a Little Off,” July 3-9] that Salinas Police Chief Daniel Ortega supports allowing law-abiding citizens to own handguns. Frankly, it’s ...
Describe your ideal hedonistic summer day.
Asked on Ocean Avenue in Carmel.
Follow-up: What do you want to be caught doing this summer besides working? DERRICK DICKSON | Sales manager | Marina A: I would sleep in till 10am and wake up to a ready-made breakfast. I’d ...
An inventive outreach program jumpstarts college careers.
No classes were officially in session at CSU Monterey Bay last month, but the halls of building 45 rang with student spirit. In a conference room, small groups discussed icons and what they stood for. ...
When Did You Last See Your Father?
Father Hood: When Did You Last See Your Father? looks at a strained familial relationship.
Based on the British poet Blake Morrison’s written memoir, the film When Did You Last See Your Father? is a very particular yet universal story about the eternal knot between fathers and sons. Told from ...
Smile
BORIS
Japanese metal trio Boris have spent the past five years subjecting their music to the same kind of violent experimentation and abuse that members of Megadeth generally reserved for their frontal lobes. They’ve made albums ...
Cachagua prepares for fire as it moves north from Big Sur
Crews wait for the Basin fire to approach.
The sky is blue to the northeast and smoky to the southwest in Carmel Valley. The haze gets darker in gradients, staining the July 2 horizon a nicotine brown. A heli-base has materialized on the ...
Squid Fry for Jul 10, 2008
Squid Fry for Jul 10, 2008
MAKE ME FAMOUS… Sharks get all the breaks. Sharks get caught accidentally by commercial fishermen and they’ve got a shot at becoming the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s next rock star of the Outer Bay exhibit. Squid ...
Smokin’ Hot
Fighting fire with a fork, the sizzling Volcano Grill and more.
A bite of a thick brick of tasty Big Sur Bakery quiche did not make the fires stop on the smoky ridge above Big Sur Station. But for the local man taking hungry chomps from ...
Weird Science
Marina Technology Cluster supports green-oriented entrepreneurs countywide.
Ray Kemp scampers around his Moss Landing backyard dressed in a blue, grease-stained lab coat. Kemp is the “mad scientist in charge” of KF3 BioDiesel Production. He meticulously generates between 60 to 70 gallons of ...
Post-War Intelligence
The NPS quietly uses old warcraft to complete unprecedented research.
Inside nondescript hangar 507 at Marina Muncipal Airport hides a scientific armada, Naval Postgraduate School’s answer to Starfleet. Mechanics prep Twin Otter, a dual engine plane, for its next cloud- and climate-sampling mission. Pelican, an ...
After 10 years, Thompson gives up poetry classic’s reins.
Poetry is thankless. It’s completely unmarketable. It’s the most punk of all art forms. It’s a world made up of almost no capital and 100 percent soul. Most people are never going to get paid ...
Match.com entrepreneur adds solar power to his next world to conquer.
Gary Kremen sat in his San Francisco office on a winter afternoon, shouting on his cell phone and taking frequent, inexplicable swigs from a bottle of lemon juice. Kremen is 44 and stout, with a ...
Seaside hits another home run with the latest Blues in the Park lineup.
Around 200 or so resident Canadian geese gracefully paddle across the lagoon in Laguna Grande Park as the morning fog lifts. A number leave the water to march up onto the cool grass in search ...
Back burn and wind changes create unexpected shift
Fire jumps Chews Ridge fire line near Mira Observatory on Saturday prompting mandatory evacuation order for Jamesburg residents in Carmel Valley.
"There are complicated fires and political fires and this one has been both." That remark was made by section 23 Branch commander, Jack Frogatt, as he surveyed a new fire that had jumped the fire ...
Real Estate
By The Numbers
$845,000 Recent Sale 25325 Hatton Road, Carmel Built: 1953 Size: 1,300 square feet Features: 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, ranch style Amenities: Vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors, deck, breakfast room Sellers: Day Trust Buyer: J. and K. ...
Feeling Swells
Different user-friendly snorkeling spots to hit up.
A finned torpedo swoops straight at the land mammal’s facemask, ducking away at the last moment. The diveby, which comes near enough that the whites of the lion’s eyes flash brilliantly against the deep greens ...
Home Page
Well-thought-out amenities are part of Carmel home’s charm.
Many houses along Santa Lucia are relatively well seen from the street, with one outstanding exception that’s almost out of sight despite its size– about 5,500 square feet. It sits on two lots enjoying nearly ...
Monterey adopts green building code.
As local cities and the county race to go green, Monterey wins the sprint to the green-building finish line. The Monterey City Council unanimously approved a green building ordinance July 1. While other jurisdictions, including ...
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Big Picture: Will high-tech film formats like Journey to the Center of the Earth rekindle the love for movies?
Every generation or two, the pitched rivalry between cinema and video erupts into full-fledged war. At times wary allies, the movie house and the home entertainment system engage in a tug of war for the ...
Giving ’Em the Boot
John Pisto goes Italian with his latest project, Cannery Row’s Trattoria Paradiso.
The major player has changed his game. John Pisto, arguably the most famous chef in the county and undoubtedly one of its strongest personalities, recently downsized his dynasty. Last summer, the TV-show chef sold off ...
Weezer
WEEZER
On Pinkerton, regarding the subject of committing to a relationship, Weezer once implored listeners, “Why Bother?” Now, as that cult album approaches its 12th birthday, listeners can return the favor with each new Weezer release. ...
