Defying Gravity
At Hartnell College, a NASA-sponsored science academy turns Monterey County school kids into budding scientists. Here’s hoping federal math doesn’t ground them in their mission.
Angelica Meza’s adventures in science began on a dirt road by a lettuce field shortly after she watched Star Wars for the first time. She had the tools of a 5-year-old: tape, her white-and-purple two-wheeler, ...
Issues / 2013 / Feb 28
Paging Back
A Monterey brick-and-mortar bookstore survives – even thrives – by taking a different tact.
Mary Hill examines the haul she purchased from a heavy equipment operator the previous winter night. As she flips through A Critical Inquiry Into Ancient Armour, published in 1824 in London, she can’t help shouting, ...
Brezsny's Astrology Feb. 28-Mar. 6, 2013
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In 1993, Frenchman Emile Leray was on a solo trip through the Sahara Desert. In the middle of nowhere, his car suffered a major breakdown. It was unfixable. But he didn’t ...
By The Numbers 02.28.13
Real Estate
$1,300,000 Recent Sale 106 7th St., Pacific Grove Built: 1918 Size: 2,356 square feet Features: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2-car garage Amenities: Bay views, fireplace, chef’s kitchen, wood floors Seller: Wayne Surdam and Linda Shiozaki ...
Cool As Ice
Banff Mountain Film Festival puts grueling survival – and high-flying stunts – on the big screen.
While attempting to be the first people to walk from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole unassisted, Australian adventurers James “Cas” Castrission and Justin “Jonesy” Jones had to deal with whipping wind, white-out ...
Letters To The Editor 02.28.13
Flocked Up That is very upsetting (“Sand City pigeon poisoning may have had unintended consequences,” Feb. 21-27). I helped with the falcons a few years. Like clockwork they showed up. They were an awesome sight ...
Jack the Giant Slayer
Hills of Beans: Slick CGI can’t save Jack the Giant Slayer from bland characters, dull storytelling.
It’s fun to play along with Jack the Giant Slayer for a while, as it does have its charms as a slick Hollywood reinterpretation of the “Jack and the Beanstalk” fairy tale. Then we get ...
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
Siberian Splendor: Famed documentarian examines the case for happiness in Happy People: A Year in the Taiga.
Some directors are able to breeze between feature films and documentaries, though, generally, each filmmaker is stronger in one medium than the other. Not so with the legendary Werner Herzog, who’s been churning out films ...
Together Forever
For Chicano rock trio Los Lonely Boys, the brothers’ relationship runs deep.
Sibling bands don’t have very good track records when it comes to longevity. Between The Bee Gees, Oasis and The Carpenters, early retirement – whether by way of a member’s death or a falling-out – ...
Lone Tone
Johannesburg native/Overtone frontman Emile Welman embarks on a solo project.
When Tony Bennett gives you props, you take it seriously. Two years ago, the a cappella South African boy band Overtone performed at Bennett’s birthday party. The man of honor told one of his highfalutin’ ...
Parking Motion
After eight years in limbo, Palo Corona Regional Park may finally get its parking lot.
Palo Corona Regional Park contains 4,526 of the most scenic public acres in coastal Monterey County. But they’re also among the least visited. A group making the 2.6-mile round trip from Highway 1 to Inspiration ...
Going the Distance
Local schools prep for the future with expanded online-degree programs.
It could be a nightmare: showing up to class and discovering you’re wearing nothing but underwear. But these days the situation is more conceivable and less terrifying. With Internet-based learning, the classroom can be the ...
Reusable Law
Pacific Grove prepares to follow Monterey and Carmel with plastic-bag ban.
The city of Monterey’s plastic-bag ban kicked in last July, and Carmel-by-the-Sea’s followed Feb. 3. Now the city of Pacific Grove is considering a move away from single-use plastic grocery bags, too. An introduction of ...
Rolling On
City of Monterey’s bike/pedestrian plan heads to City Council with fierce support – and opposition.
Nine bike enthusiasts pedaled miles of Monterey’s hilly and flat neighborhoods, and took six long walks around the city over the past year, with particular attention to the areas most pedestrians and cyclists avoid – ...
Pay attention to the man behind that cynical little curtain – and be very afraid.
Fix the Debt financier Peter G. Peterson knows about debt: He’s an expert at creating it. Peterson founded the private equity firm Blackstone Group in 1985 with Stephen Schwarzman (who compared raising taxes to “when ...
Tico’s Breakfast & Lunch
Trifecta: Hearty and friendly Marina standby Tico’s Breakfast & Lunch adds… dinner.
Every city needs a great breakfast spot. Recently I relocated to Marina, where it seemed like there was no true breakfast place. Sure, Papa Chevo’s serves wonderful breakfast burritos, but I’m talking about a place ...
Elephant Burger
A third-pounder as big as a seal, Treebones reveries Cambria discoveries and Highway 1 turned silver.
Even with the car zipping down the plunging curves of Highway 1 at 70, the moonlight seems to stop everything. As its entire saucer of light spills over the edges and rocks and pines of ...
Get Involved
Public Citizen 02.28.13
ONGOING BUILDING THE GRASSROOTS | COUNTYWIDE – Resident-led, grassroots efforts are eligible for $500,000 in grants from the Community Foundation for Monterey County’s Neighborhood Grants Program. These funds support local efforts to solve local problems. ...
Salinas City Council distracts itself over Jose Castañeda.
It was a Salinas City Council meeting so contentious that at one point, police had to keep two attendees (he a grumpy old German man, she a ticked-off 40-something Latina) from throwing down over who ...
Street Talk 02.21.13 (Asked @ the Seaside Public Library.)
I say Internet, you say what? What do you like about it?
Follow-up: What can the Internet never replace? CAROL SHIELDS | Librarian | Seaside A: Google. The Internet makes information easily accessible. It helps me find out what people are talking about. Paper Vs. Metal: The ...
2: Number of plastic bags picked up from Monterey city beaches in 2012, after a citywide plastic bag ban took effect.
POWER OF THE PEN… Squid gets it: Newspapers can seem kinda retro, but lots of people still care about the press. Including most elected officials, who are generally interested in getting their messages out to ...
