0925| Sep 25

Crazy Serious

Randall Grahm rekindles his love for making wines by doing what made the Santa Cruz-sown iconoclast famous: something unpredictable.

Disaster struck Bonny Doon in 1992. As the vineyard started to succumb to an insect-born plague called Pierce’s disease, its iconoclast owner Randall Grahm bought 150 acres in Soledad, the South County town best known ...

Spit-fire Flavor

Michael Jones’ mercurial personality feels larger than life – just like his food.

Welcome to the Cachagua General Store. Duct-taped dog balls inspired tonight’s menu. Singular CGS chef Michael Jones stands tableside, unwrapping how something like this happens with the candor and charisma that accompany his bottomless reservoir ...

Issues / 2008 / Sep 25

Folk YEAH!

A wild and woolly musical scene in Big Sur.

Onstage within Fernwood Campground, with a wave-like mountain ridge behind him, Guy Blakeslee of The Entrance Band provided one of the most memorable moments in a weekend full of memorable moments within Big Sur this ...

The Great Debate

As Barack Obama and John McCain face off, here's a look at (part of) the televised debate between JFK and Nixon that changed American political discourse forever.

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Complete Package

The Peninsula’s own Playgirl centerfold is professional - grade in other contexts too.

Guy Remlin. His name alone is an embodiment of masculinity– and beyond his action-hero name, Remlin is equipped with the colossal concrete physique of The Dark Knight (in bat suit) and the rigid jaw line ...

Take Me to the River

The River Road Wine Trail is a must-do for local grape lovers.

Ilove Monterey County wine. If the names Rosella, Tondré and Sleepy Hollow make you thirsty, you’re with me. But who among us has actually been to the hallowed grounds where the fruits of our desire ...

Quick hits on previously reported news

Updates

GOODBYE, $80 MILLION… Take your site and shove it. That’s essentially what the state told Monterey County officials on Sept. 18 when the local leaders asked for a six-month extension to find a location for ...

Kicking It Up

Salinas soccer leagues push for new regional complex.

Salinas’ numerous soccer leagues, along with some key nonprofit and business leaders, are rallying behind a regional soccer complex that would include an outdoor stadium and nine new fields. Supporters say the complex would create ...

Nights in Rodanthe

Woman Hood: Nights in Rodanthe succeeds as a romantic tearjerker.

There’s no getting around the three-hanky, tearjerker appeal of Nights in Rodanthe, or the fact that the film is mere months away from a big debut on Lifetime. But make no mistake: This is a ...

Unprecedented Heights

Julie Clark overcame suffocating sexism to star at events like this weekend’s California International Airshow.

Steering a heavy plane with limited horsepower through Reverse Cuban 8s is hard– there’s no horsepower to lift the military training plane out of a slight steering screw-up. Maneuvers must be carefully choreographed to manage ...

Taking Wing

Lone local qualifier Hawk Mazzotta braved bulls and fast black top to prepare for the AMA races at Laguna Seca.

Hawk Mazzotta was raised up on a 5,000-acre cattle ranch near Whitmore, Calif., east of Redding. His father was, among many other things, a falconer, and named his second son after the raptors that he ...

Squid Fry for Sep 25, 2008

SPOILER ALERT… Yes, Squid can glow on command. Same goes for ejecting ink. But Squid’s true talent is Squid’s ability to hold a grudge (Squid gets this one from Squid’s Irish grandmother). And the combination ...

Marina mayor’s mouthpiece?

Marina Gazette highlights Mayor Gary Wilmot, who also publishes the paper.

Marina’s Gary Wilmot is running for mayor. He’s also running a free newspaper– in which the content sometimes blurs the line between community newsletter and campaign propaganda. Wilmot and his wife, Jackie Gonzales, publish The ...

¡Ask A Mexican! for Sep 25, 2008

One man's take on his culture's stereotypes

Dear Mexican: What is an anchor baby? I am a 45-year-old male born in the U.S.A. My mother was born in ex-Yugoslavia (now Serbia), and my father was also born in ex-Yugoslavia (now Croatia). My ...

Odd Man Out

Local business owner shakes up Seaside City Council race.

In an election year when the buzzword is “change,” the incumbent Seaside City Council is hoping for more of the same. City Councilman Don Jordan’s decision not to seek another term leaves three candidates– Mayor ...

Ilk and Cookies

A brief and wondrous interview with Junot Díaz.

Junot Díaz is the “It Kid” in literature today. The author of the 1996 short story collection Drown, he was awarded this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life ...

Home Page

Del Rey Oaks penthouse offers privacy, views and sun.

The ground rules for a proper penthouse are quite lofty. The best are exclusive at the top of the building. Privacy is expected, too, as are views– of the city or sea or the countryside ...

Letters to the Editor for Sep 25, 2008

SOLEDAD ON ICE Some Soledad residents will not flock to a new Wal-Mart. My wife and I will be among those who will refrain. My wife spent a career as a retail clerk represented by ...

Foodchain

Food: Medicine for the Madness

FEEL THE PAIN… Amidst the flailing (that’s correct) financial markets and institutions (“I’m not ready for an institution”– Mae West), the military unrest throughout the world’s hot spots, the blatant government-sanctioned theft by conscienceless corporate ...

Art Listing for Sep 25, 2008

OPENING THIS WEEK cafe lumiere Of the Living: papercuts by Kevin Miller, closing reception 7-9pm, 9/26. 365 Calle Principal, Monterey. 920-2451. grand avenue art works! Re-imagination: Charlsie Kelly artist’s reception 6-9pm, 9/26. 178 + 170 ...