Smooth Operator
Abel Maldonado is playing the angles in his long shot race to be elected lieutenant governor.
California Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado doesn’t particularly like “moderate.” “Pragmatic Republican,” he corrects. Oh, OK. How about “maverick?” “Yes – ‘maverick’ is good,” he says, seemingly unmindful of the associations with Sarah Palin’s ill-fated campaign. ...
Issues / 2010 / Jul 01
City of Monterey says yes to regional taxi regulation.
The Monterey Peninsula's fledgling Joint Powers Authority for taxicab regulation gained some heft as the Monterey City Council, which controls the area's richest taxi turf voted four to one to join amid protests by Yellow ...
Take a Bow
Joan McCleary to step down as executive director of the Pacific Grove Art Center
Joan McCleary, Pacific Grove Art Center's executive director for nearly eight years, tendered her resignation last month and will step down Dec. 31 this year. The move had been expected by many of the PGAC's ...
$2,500 reward for info on sea otter shooting.
Two weeks ago in Morro Bay, someone shot a threatened sea otter with a pellet gun, killing the young female. The crime may have happened at sea or along the shoreline. The animal's body was ...
Monterey City Council considers Monterey Maritime Museum re-model progress.
On Tuesday, July 6, the Monterey City Council will get a glimpse of what the Monterey Maritime Museum will look like when it re-opens in 2011. According to a report submitted to the council, the ...
The August 17 state senate race opens with press release war—and debate challenge
Republican Sam Blakeslee's camp says rival Democrat John Laird's positive spin on his performance in the June 22 primary—he came in eight percentage points behind Blakeslee—is "just plain silly". Democratic blogger Steven Maviglio has hit ...
Shell Shocked
Monterey Bay Aquarium acquires ten turtle tots.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is rotating through its sea turtle lineup, and this time it’s out with the old, in with the new—and adorable. The Aquarium acquired 10 six-inch long two-pound juvenile green sea turtles—roughly ...
Seaside invites candidates for City Council, mayor.
Seaside's looking for folks to do the often thankless but important work of mayor and city councilmember. Open for contest are Mayor Ralph Rubio's two-year term and Councilmen Tom Mancini and Dennis Alexander's four-year terms. ...
Jacks Restaurant
Portola Hotel’s restaurant succeeds with an impressive and increasingly conscious upgrade.
In five years, I’ve eaten several times at Jacks in the Portola Hotel. This last time, I dined. Congratulations to Chef Jason Giles, who is a true prandial artist. From design to execution, choice of ...
Pooch Pampering
Monterey’s new Dawg Gone It takes kenneling to customized heights.
P rincess is a 12-pound Bichon, a bundle of fluff and curls. She prefers the company of people over other pups, the more spoiling the better, and loves peanut butter. Those tendencies help make Princess ...
Water Logged
Peninsula residents speak out about regional desalination project.
The crowd spilled out of Monterey City Hall’s door on June 28, when the state Public Utilities Commission heard the first public comments about the proposed desalination project. Two more hearings on the proposal, which ...
Why Americans should stop whimpering, and start fighting back.
In 1967, animal researchers conducted an interesting experiment. Two sets of dogs were strapped into harnesses and subjected to a series of shocks. The dogs were placed in the same room. The first set of ...
Public Citizen for Jul 01, 2010
Public Citizen
THURSDAY 7/1 FIERY FUNDRAISER | SALINAS – Fireworks sale to benefit the Rancho Cielo Youth Campus. 9am-10pm through July 4. Costco/Wal-Mart parking lot, N. Davis Road, Salinas. 444-3506. SUNDAY 7/4 MARINA STREET FAIR | MARINA ...
Sacramento stalls while anger boils.
So I was sitting in the optician’s office, innocently waiting my turn, when a middle-aged guy came flying in, obviously out of sorts. Without my asking what the problem was, he volunteered that he was ...
New Testimony
Indie Highlights
As Christian indie acts grown increasingly prevalent Spirit organizers are funneling them onto the stage. Here’s a look at 10 of the most magnetic up-and-comers to take the Partner & Play Celebration Stage. DE LA ...
The best of our web exclusives.
Missed by a Nose…Republican Sam Blakeslee narrowly missed all-out victory in the special election called to fill now-Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado’s 15th District state Senate seat. He’ll face off against Democrat John Laird and Libertarian ...
Marina Morass
City Council budget bickering – and heated rhetoric – intensifies the political rift.
After Jersey Shore and The Bachelor, the newest reality TV show could be Marina City Hall. The chamber is rife with drama as the deeply divided council haggles over the city’s out-of-whack budget and potential ...
2010 Best Of Monterey Bay Visitor Guide
Art & Culture: Getting in touch with finer things.
Cultures clash, collide and collaborate in the journey of discovery. For residents and packs of visitors alike, that makes life in Monterey County exciting. Not content to live on the legends of the past, from ...
What animals would you splice into one creature?
Asked at the SPCA on Highway 68.
Follow-up: What animal have you been told you look like? GRACE MULCAY | Retiree | Carmel Valley A: A tortoise and a dog, so my tortoise can find its way back home. Poof Patrol: A ...
Cyrus
Baby Love:
With Cyrus, the transition of the Duplass brothers (Jay and Mark) from their germinal Austin filmmaking roots into full-blown Hollywood filmmakers is complete – even though their new comedy will not be mistaken for any ...
Taking a Village
Salinas needs a community effort to stop gang violence, activists and police agree.
Halfway through the year, Salinas has tallied up a small fraction of last year’s record-breaking homicide count.June 20 marked the city’s third murder of this year, in what passes for good news in the troubled ...
¡Ask A Mexican! for Jul 01, 2010
One man's take on his culture's stereotypes
SPECIAL POETRY EDITION Dear Readers: The Arizona pendejas emboldened hundreds of Know Nothings to boast that they’re not racist if they support SB 1070. I’ll indulge the protestations with apologies to Kipling… If you can ...
So Damn Cute
Miss Delish’s gets a storefront and the C Restaurant delivers the deals.
They appear at weddings as a stylish substitute for mighty (and once mandatory) $2,000 confections. Folks flock to ’em at farmers markets. A cupcake trailer at this year’s South by Southwest in Austin had a ...
Neighborhood activists oppose housing plan off Highway 68.
Toro-area residents are gearing up for another battle in a decade-long fight over a planned 17-lot subdivision on 344 acres of grazing land in the Encina Hills off Highway 68 near San Benancio Road. “I’m ...
Real Estate
By The Numbers
$441,000 Recent Sale 964 Paloma Road, Del Rey Oaks Built: 1951 Size: 1,400 square feet Features: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2-car garage Amenities: Wood-burning fireplace, large backyard, patio Seller: R. Griffin Buyer: G. and H. ...
THE TWILIGHT SAGA - ECLIPSE
Bloodless Wonder: Bringing in a horror director still doesn’t make
They keep trying, the producers of the Twilight films; you’ve got to give them that. For 2008’s Twilight, they hired Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen) to direct, suggesting they were aiming for edgy teen drama. Then they ...
Squid Fry for Jul 01, 2010
Squid Fry for Jul 01, 2010
POISONED BERRIES… Fireworks are a Fourth of July cliché. Monterey’s canned them this year anyway, so Squid proposes a new holiday icon: strawberries. What’s an Independence Day party without berry-topped ice-cream pie to chase the ...
Letters to the Editor for Jul 01, 2010
NO CAKEWALK That was very disingenuous by [running my] letter that alludes to the Weekly being so left that conservative or Republican letters are rarely answered, or in my case, three-quarters of the content removed. ...
Clay Play
Jars of Clay leads another lofty lineup at Spirit West Coast.
Jars of Clay are probably the best-known alt-rock Christian band out there. For the past two decades the Nashville quartet has sold more than 6 million albums, won three Grammys and sold out hundreds of ...
Independence Thinking
Esalen and Big Sur Spirit Garden collaborate on a potent three-day festival.
To toast Independence Day, the Esalen International Arts Festival celebrates not one country, but the world’s 192 nations. The three-day explosion of arts, music and culture represents a typically unique approach for the Big Sur ...
2010 Best Of Monterey Bay Visitors' Guide
Bars & Nightlife: Music and libations from Big Sur to Moss Landing.
For every traveler energized by Point Lobos’ storied meeting of land and sea, there’s a visitor equally energized by Sly McFly’s dance floor. Big touring acts and independent superstars descend upon venues like Carmel’s Sunset ...
For the Record
Vinyl in the Woods rides the rebirth of the classic medium.
According to the Recording Industry Association of America, record sales are booming: From 2007 to 2008, vinyl LP and EP sales rose by 124 percent – digital sales, meanwhile, rose just 30 percent – and ...
Art Listing for Jul 01, 2010
Art Listing for Jul 01, 2010
HAPPENING THIS WEEK ALTERNATIVE CAFÉ Fables and Follies: The new show by the risk-taking folks of Alt Cafe is curated by Creep Machine, which is a website (and, we’re guessing, some people) who curated the ...
New Chapter for Salinas Arts
Mayor Dennis Donohue hustles to attract literary museum.
The American Writers Foundation wants to build a museum and is looking for a host city. Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue wants Salinas to be it. Donohue says the process is still “very, very preliminary… I ...
Brezsny's Astrology
Free Will Astrology
Aries (March 21-April 19): How well are you capitalizing on this year’s unique opportunities, Aries? Since we’re halfway through 2010, let’s take an inventory. I’m hoping you’re well underway in the heroic task of conquering ...
