Childhood Dreams, Adult Ambitions
Hyatt heir John Pritzker's vision of turning Carmel Valley Ranch into an always-open, everyone-welcome version of summer camp.
Like many billionaires, Hyatt heir John Pritzker is not immune to the lure of boyish acquisitions. Among his is a 2002 Aston Martin that is not just the same model but the very vehicle that ...
Snappy Patter, Succulent Food
Chef Tim Wood reinvents comfort at Carmel Valley Ranch.
He can do a money impression of everyone from Cal Stamenov – whom he helped make Bernardus’ Marinus restaurant the destination it is today – to local gardening semi-celeb Mark Marino. His fresh day boat ...
Issues / 2010 / Dec 16
City of Monterey considers wading into water war, taking on TAMC
The Monterey City Council will vote at its Tuesday Dec. 21 meeting whether to take up two items guaranteed to spark major debate in 2011. City Councilwoman Libby Downey has requested the council consider placing ...
AG orders Wells Fargo to provide loan modifications worth $2 billion; pay $32 million in restitution.
Attorney General Jerry Brown's office reports the settlement covers thousands of Californians with so-called "pick-a-pay" or adjustable rate mortgages which ballooned to unaffordable levels. Wells Fargo didn't originate any of the loans in question; they ...
Fight Night
Photos and video from the Winter Brawl of mixed-martial arts at the Fox Theater in Salinas.
Despite the rain, the Fox Theater Salinas was full of heavy-hitting mixed-martial arts action during the Winter Brawl hosted by Central Coast Throwdown. Local fighters Jonathon Gaxiola and Adrien Olivas both won their bouts and ...
Salinas Weapons Arrests
Federal law enforcement officers and Salinas police charge two men with federal weapons trafficking crimes
Two Monterey County men have been indicted on 14 counts of federal weapons trafficking and possession charges following a seven-month investigation led by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. More than 70 ...
Guru Jazz
Cellist super talent Renata Bratt joins Kenny Stahl and Bob Burnett at Plaza Linda.
On Friday at Plaza Linda, a unique jazz trio – featuring Kenny Stahl on flute, Bob Burnett on seven-string guitar and Renata Bratt on cello – will celebrate the holiday season with their distinctive twist ...
Art Listing for Dec 16, 2010
Art Listing for Dec 16, 2010
HAPPENING THIS WEEK A GREAT PLACE HOME AND GARDEN Julia is a charming woman whose mischievous sense of humor sometimes pokes out of her polite British accent. Having done work for Hanna Barbera on Charlotte’s ...
America’s drug policy a failed experiment in social engineering.
America’s drug policy aims to reduce illicit drug use by arresting and incarcerating dealers and, to a lesser extent, users. Whatever its merits (and there are some), the policy is deeply flawed because it is ...
Black Swan
Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan is powerfully and beautifully bewildering.
After 2008’s conventionally plotted, over-praised The Wrestler, Darren Aronofsky dives back into another competitive sport of sorts in the deliciously wackadoodle Black Swan. This drama-horror hybrid, set within a New York ballet company, strikes a ...
Tron - Legacy
Despite its pedigree, Tron: Legacy does not impress.
I’m really starting to think they hate us, the masters of our so-called entertainment. At the very least they surely hold us in disdain, see us as inconvenient obstacles to their god-granted profits. If only ...
Half Baked
Food safety and school lunch gets a hard look from Congress.
Rarely in our history have food politics so dominated the national spotlight. Two food-related bills are currently circling the legislative drain, and their backers are running out of time to get them signed by the ...
Strong Like Onyx
A pioneering program prevents tragic ends for victims of cancer.
Onix, the mother of a 4-year-old daughter, works full time as a housekeeper in Carmel. She, like 55 percent of families living in poverty in Monterey with a female head of household, doesn’t make a ...
¡Ask A Mexican! for Dec 16, 2010
One man's take on his culture's stereotypes
Last year I went to Chihuahua and noticed the Mexicans I was traveling with said gras – like a shortened version of gracias. Is this a common thing? Can I say it? Currently Hot Unlike ...
Ready to Play
Unfolding an invaluable DVD holiday shopping guide for the music freak in the family.
From a previously unreleased Rolling Stones concert movie documenting the band at the peak of their powers to a film examining John Lennon’s post Beatles days, there’s been a flood of rock music DVDs released ...
Assange is a necessity. Can the same be said for Amazon.com?
By all accounts, jerk is not a big enough word to describe Julian Assange as a human being. His number two man recently defected to start a rival to Assange’s WikiLeaks, saying there was now ...
Fox Fight
The Winter Brawl brings sanctioned MMA fighting to Salinas.
The headline sucker-punches the holiday season: “Santa Claus will be arriving early handing out beatdowns to all the lucky mma fans!!!!!!!” Anyone who’s been to a mixed martial arts fight – or seen one on ...
Curtains Fall on CET
Carmel grants lease on space to PacRep children’s group
On Dec. 4, Nick Hovick, artistic director of Children’s Experimental Theater and Staff Players Repertory Company, announced that this weekend’s musical revue performance at the Indoor Forest Theater by Taelen Thomas, Lynda Jardine and others ...
What is your modern day, coal-in-the-stocking gift?
Asked at the post office in Monterey.
Follow-up: Who should meet under the mistletoe? GREG HANLON | Retired | Monterey A: Any more bills. I just paid my Comcast bill and it was over $100, which is far too much considering I ...
Letters to the Editor for Dec 16, 2010
Gated Ideology If the Military Avenue, San Pablo Avenue, and Hilby Avenue gates between Seaside and General Jim Moore Boulevard are opened, it is true that traffic on those streets will increase. (“Seaside considers opening ...
Squid Fry for Dec 16, 2010
Squid Fry for Dec 16, 2010
GO AHEAD, MAKE MY MANTRA… Sometimes Squid stands in front of the mirror, all steely-eyed and sneering, doing the world’s best imitation of a tough former Carmel mayor threatening punks with guns. (No, not Sue ...
Real Estate
By The Numbers
$795,000 Recent Sale 24735 Dolores St., Carmel Built: 1972 Size: 1,396 square feet Features: 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2-car garage Amenities: Expansive ocean views, fireplace, breakfast bar, vaulted ceilings, deck Seller: Walter and Ethyl Paully ...
Corral Decision
Final commission vote expected at January meeting.
Conversely, his opponents will know if they have to do the same. After a decades-long process that has seen Phelps sue the county just to get them to consider his project, the planning commission is ...
Get Involved
Public Citizen
ONGOING TOY DRIVE | COUNTYWIDE – Dorothy’s Place sponsors a toy drive with drop-off points across the county, including United Way of Monterey County, 60 Garden Court, Monterey. Call or email for additional locations. 223-6658. ...
Charter Voyage
MPUSD to vote on fate of proposed academy.
Bay View Elementary School, slated for closure in June, could open next fall as Bay View Academy, an independent charter—if some Bay View parents have their way. On Dec. 13, parent Bill Shaw confronted a ...
Winging It
A very fancy sort of Victorian birdhouse causes a flap in Carmel Valley.
When the once-rollicking housing market suddenly collapsed, and took with it the livelihoods of many of its talented contractors and builders, many craftsmen sat frustrated by their sudden wealth of free time and corresponding dearth ...
Tricky Dick and Me
Excellent Italian for Nixon, a fishy iPhone app for you.
Richard Nixon and I never had much in common. With the help of one of the most memorable personalities in Pagrovia, that’s changed. The other night at Alberto’s (373-3993) at the top of Forest Hill, ...
Sheriff Defines Strategy
Scott Miller tags former P.G. City Manager to lead transition team
With two weeks remaining before Sheriff-elect Scott Miller takes the reins at the county’s biggest law enforcement agency, he has brand new sets of olive drab sheriff’s uniforms on order, he’s just met with Sheriff ...
Brezsny's Astrology
Free Will Astrology
Aries (March 21-April 19): I vividly remember seeing singer Diamanda Galas in concert. Though classically trained, she didn’t confine herself to mellifluous melodies and elegant tones. She was a whirlwind of elemental sound, veering from ...
Leasing Losses
Wharf tenants may pay less than leases should be worth, according to commissioner.
=The city of Monterey may be losing as much as $3 million a year because of sweet deals offered to restaurants and shops on Monterey’s Fisherman’s Wharf, according to Monterey Planning Commissioner Willard McCrone, a ...
