Thursday, August 27
Sing and Rant--Slim pickings on the roots scene are becoming too predictable.
The pickings are slim on the blues, singer/songwriter scene this week (as they have been since live music was dumped from the Morgan''s menu and Doc''s Nightclub went up for sale). But before I get ...
Against a backdrop of mega-retailers and the revenue-hungry cities that support them, mom-and-pop stores learn to do battle or die.
With his short stature and agitated manner, consultant Kent Burnes looks a little like a bird--an indignant jay perhaps--pacing back and forth in front of this group of 20 Salinas merchants, cordless mic in hand, ...
Technique and Soul--CD releases by guitarists John Williams and Riccardo Cobo offer contrasting styles.
Australia-born guitar genius John Williams will release his newest CD this fall. Called The Guitarist John Williams, it contains Mikis Theodorakis'' Four Epitaphs, works by Carlo Domeniconi and Phillip Houghton, and various arrangements of anonymous ...
Chefs in Training
They''re short and they''re opinionated. Humans under 4 feet 2 inches seem to come completely intact with strong convictions toward dining, and often take a very jaundiced view of cuisine when choices venture far afield ...
Kid Picks
5 sunday Tots: Running Wild You got a tot on the go? Now's your chance to put that energy to work for you at the Seaside Fall Fun Fest's 8th annual Diaper Derby and toddler ...
Top Ten Retailers*
1) Wal-Mart Earnings: 1997 $3.5 billion 1996 $3 billion Percent change: +15.4 2) Sears, Roebuck Earnings: 1997 $1.1 billion 1996 $1.2 billion Percent change: -6.5 3) Kmart Earnings: 1997 $249 million 1996 Lost $220 million ...
Letters
Culinary Tips As I was perusing your periodical this past week (Aug. 20), I came across what one can only label a gastronomic oversight! On page 27 of your esteemed weekly, you were remiss in ...
Mega-store Madness--Is Bigger Better?
From Harden Ranch in Salinas to Edgewater in Seaside (and even a Starbucks in historic downtown Monterey), mega-chain stores have moved in. For some, this signals the advent of lower prices and greater convenience. For ...
Artist Carolyn Mary Kleefeld celebrates the release of a new book.
Artist Carolyn Mary Kleefeld says she never intended the journals she began writing 10 years ago to become a book. Kleefeld, whose newest book, The Alchemy of Possibility, was released at the beginning of August, ...
Carpal tunnel sufferers say they get a raw deal when they seek help for their condition.
When Bill Hickman was laid off from his Hartnell College teaching job in 1993, he regained employment as a program representative in the Employment Development Department''s (EDD''s) Salinas office. But in an ironic twist of ...
Director Stephen Norrington brings comic book hero to life.
It''s so nice to see Udo Kier back in fangs. Trash cinema aficionados will remember Kier as the star of Paul Morrissey''s Andy Warhol''s Dracula way back when and, although the actor isn''t on the ...
Rocky Point Restaurant
Few vistas can compare to the visual feast that endlessly stretches off the coastline at Rocky Point. Winding past the gate and down the driveway, the restaurant spreads across a craggy knoll that juts out ...
MPC theater must both train and entertain.
A college theater department is an educational institution, designed to train aspiring actors, directors and technicians for careers in the theater field. But a college theater stage is also an entertainment venue that offers live ...
Here We Go Again...
Shhh...It''s a Secret It''s good to see there''s a movement afoot to strengthen the California Public Records Act (CPRA), and actually adopt some penalties for government officials who cover their fannies by ignoring this important ...
Against a backdrop of mega-retailers and the revenue-hungry cities that support them, mom-and-pop stores learn to do battle or die.
With his short stature and agitated manner, consultant Kent Burnes looks a little like a bird--an indignant jay perhaps--pacing back and forth in front of this group of 20 Salinas merchants, cordless mic in hand, ...
Morality at Ground Zero--Christina's disappearance underscores our common fears and ethics.
Assailed as we are everyday by the litany of monstrous acts in the news, there is something about a kidnapping that remains a singular horror. It is impossible to remain reasonable in the face of ...
Girls and Guitars--Singer/songwriters Wendy Bucklew and Laura Chandler team up at El Palomar.
With a title like Girls, Guitars and Cigars, one might think that tonight''s soiree at El Palomar was a production set for a ZZ Top video. One gets images of long-legged ladies in fishnet stockings, ...
Finding the tastiest tomato depends on selecting the right variety--at home or in the store.
Let''s get a couple things straight right from the get-go. They''re not vegetables and they''re not necessarily red. "People know the tomato as a vegetable, but it is a fruit," says Henry Gong, produce manager ...
Thursday, August 20
Who's got the coolest dining hall?
When you first leave home to go to college, one of life''s essential activities (no, not sex) is suddenly not as automatic as Mom putting a well-balanced meal on a plate in front of you. ...
Student Guide 1998--yo Quiero...late Night Food
When you're too lazy, too busy or too tired to make a run out to the nearest eatery, many of these places will bring sustenance to you. Or, if you're out on the town, and ...
Student Guide 1998--party Like It's 1999
Alvarado Street and Cannery Row are home to most of the real MoCo nightlife but if you love the nightlife, there are dozens of clubs and bars that give you room to get your groove ...
Discretion is the better part of valor when it comes successful partying.
You want to party. You have to party! You need to party!! Well, at a time when the reactionary forces of repression won''t rest so long as someone, somewhere is having fun, familiarizing yourself with ...
Student Guide 1998--the Great Outdoors
With all the natural beauty and outdoor adventures to be had in Monterey County, why not get away from the library a while and play outside? To reserve county campsites and group areas for parks ...
Shakin' and Rollin'--The Cabrillo Music Festival survives shaky moment to deliver earth-moving performance.
If music could set the San Andreas Fault to rolling, Christopher Rouse''s Symphony No. 2, performed at Mission San Juan Bautista last Sunday afternoon, was the perfect test. Tectonic releases of symphonic energy, punctuated by ...
Student Guide 1998--helpful Websites
In the current craze of "Faster, bigger, better," the Internet is the big daddy, with its huge growth of information about virtually everything. Looking for a job? Hunting for an apartment? Listings are just a ...
Yay- and nay-sayers debate the impact of Highlands Inn conversion plan.
Hotel or timeshare? That''s the choice that will come before the board of supervisors later this fall, when supervisors consider the final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the proposed conversion of the Highlands Inn''s 143 ...
What's Hip With Hair.
Hair, or lack thereof, has always had its place among the most important accessories in our American culture. And who to better represent style, brains and beauty other than the college youth of today? What ...
Plenty of books and movies have been set in Monterey County--here's our pick of the litter.
Want to impress your friends with your newfound knowledge of Monterey County? Its spectacular beauty, and proximity to Hollywood, means that lots of films--183, according to the Monterey County Film Commission--have been shot here over ...
Just Say Waffle
Nothing in this world is so powerful as an idea whose time has come. At least, that's what Victor Hugo liked to think. And that's exactly how Michel Chalon feels when it comes to waffles. ...
Student Hangout, Adventure, Classroom Experience...
When new students began arriving at the brand-new California State University Monterey Bay four years ago, they found the odd-looking, in-transition campus scattered with dull-colored Army buildings. Of course, many buildings, such as administration, student ...
On the Campaign Trail
"You see, my mule don''t like people laughing. He gets the crazy idea they''re laughing at him."--Clint Eastwood, A Fistful of Dollars. Role models are a wonderful thing, but Monterey County''s 28th District Assemblymember and ...
Student Guide 1998--catch A Ride
Stuck without a car? Our public transit here maybe doesn't equal BART but there are cheap, earth-friendly ways to get around. The Peninsula takes great pride in the over nine-mile recreation trail that hosts walkers, ...
Curly's Barbeque
Hampar Kocek likes to recall carefree summer days, spending time along the French and Italian Riviera, when dinner plans often meant staging an impromptu barbecue after a day of swimming and cavorting in the sun. ...
Letters
Beyond Bach In his review of this year's Carmel Bach Festival (July 30), Scott MacClelland complains that Bach is taking a backseat to "the frivolous castrato nightingales and silly violin concertos" by such composers as ...
Nightclub personnel say the best way to prevent trouble is to stop it at the door.
Once upon a time, bouncers ruled their domain by sheer physical dominance and fear. Didn''t matter whether they were wearing a tuxedo or a sleeveless leather vest, there was a thug lurking within. You know ...
Student Guide 1998--get Involved!
Being a student is no excuse for dropping out of society. Call or write your local representatives and let them know what you care about--you hired them! Monterey County Supervisors: District 1: Simon Salinas, 755-5011, ...
How Stella Got Her Groove Back is a well-rounded, summer date movie.
Blessed is the romantic comedy that doesn''t take the all-too-predictable cravings of the human heart as a license to kludge together a random handful of market-tested clichs and wait for the checks to start rolling ...
No Need to Backpack to Mexico. The Best of Seaside, Salinas and Monterey's Authentic, Cheap Taquerias.
I like gritty taquerias. I want cheap food, language barriers to overcome in placing my order, some strange hunk of beast cooking in the pot on the stove, and a remarkable lack of marketing savvy ...
Decaf, schme-caf!
Whether you're up all night studying for finals or just enjoying a cup on a foggy morn, coffeehouses are great, affordable hangouts. Coffee and books virtually go hand in hand, and there''s no shortage in ...
Schools R Us--Back to School
With two community colleges, a CSU campus and numerous private institutes of higher learning, Monterey County boasts plenty of educational opportunities for everyone. J. Bubbenmoyer Age: 37 Occupation: Auto Mechanic Resides: Seaside Do local colleges ...
As Summer Fades--Summer Concerts by the Bay fades for season; Uninvited's last MoCo dance?
Guitarist Joe Beck and flutist Ali Ryerson are no strangers to this area or to music critics around the nation. While both artists have built solid jazz and classical music pedigrees over the course of ...
Settling for Less --A drunk driver collided with our family car. Here's what I learned.
On Monday, July 27, 1998, I was scheduled to testify in a drunk driving case at the courthouse in Monterey. The CHP officer was there and I was there. We were ready and eager to ...
Highway 1 repairs slow tourist traffic.
The rains are over, the repairs are almost completed and the tourists are back. Still, the road to Big Sur continues to be studded with delays and frustration. And there is more to come. After ...
The Monterey County Fair offers an opportunity for local artists to be seen.
Upwind from the bulls and pigs and rabbits, and a couple oak trees across from the Garden Stage at the Monterey County Fair, is the Visual Arts Building. You don''t hear as much about what ...
At California's First Theater, heroines flutter, heroes strut and villains are very, very bad.
California''s First Theater, on the corner of Scott and Pacific Streets in downtown Monterey, is not only the state''s oldest theater--built in 1846 by retired sailor Jack Swan--The Troupers of the Gold Coast, who have ...
Local campuses offer gourmet food, but where is the money going?
For college students, meals are often sandwiched between classes, the need for nourishment creeping into schedules crammed with academic imperatives, usually confining culinary options to what''s available in the campus cafeteria. This captive audience is ...
Where to go to get fresh, cheap and/or organic produce.
So you''re in college, and you''re hungry. While college is often a time when beer is considered one of the four food groups, you know about nutrition and want to fortify your body with the ...
Thursday, August 13
Letters
Why Care About Prisoners? I have recently read the articles published in the July 23 Coast Weekly regarding prisons. Why are we as a society so caring about prison inmates and their environment? These people ...
Does Carmel Valley's destiny lie in wine tourism?
According to legend, it was Franciscan Father Junipero Serra who introduced the first vineyards into California; and from his final resting place at the Carmel Mission, Serra undoubtedly must wonder at the religious fervor with ...
Twice the challenges
Pebble Beach''s two biggest events of the year are the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament and the Concours d''Elegance car show, each drawing patrons from around the world and filling hotels from San ...
Pacific Repertory Theater's "Solo Series" offers blend of one-actors.
The last of three shows in Pacific Repertory Theater''s Solo Series opens this weekend. The first two plays in the series were Vivien, a fairly elaborate play about the life of actress Vivien Leigh >(Gone ...
Tossed Salad--Old jazz, young jazz, folkadelic rock, music-biz tips...what more could you want?
Los Angeles-based pianist/arranger Alan Broadbent is well known for his attention to the lyrical element of music. Rather than "beating listeners over the head with abstraction," he tells a story with his music--which has made ...
Full House--Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blues.
There are some weeks when looking for good music stories is like looking for chicken teeth. Other weeks--like this--they''re as obvious as the nose on your face. Let''s do it like this. There''s something old ...
A Chicken in Every Pot
Dear Gordon: I''ve got a personal request for incoming Sheriff Gordon Sonne: Put a leash on the department''s pot police, because these guys are out of control, and way out of step with the California ...
Taqueria Del Valle
It doesn't take long to figure out that Lucy Zarazua loves what she does for a living. If you can get her to sit still long enough, she'll tell you so herself. When she's not ...
Generation Next--The next generation of composers begins to take its place on main stage.
The 21st century will begin with an American musical renaissance as rich as any to have emerged during the century just ending. As the "minimalism" of Steve Reich and Philip Glass has finally run its ...
Carmel Valley's Growing Wine Industry
With the development of new vineyards and tasting rooms, Carmel Valley is flowing with wine. But not all Carmel Valley residents are toasting the wine industry. Mac Anderson Age: 55 Occupation: Sells Vineyard Trellis Hardware ...
By Catherine Coburn
If it''s heat you''re seeking, bigger doesn''t mean better. In fact, when it comes to choosing the power pod that packs the most punch for firing up your salsa or adding some caliente to your ...
A Marina publisher of "Mulan" in English wonders where Disney got its idea.
Disney''s 1998 animated film Mulan, based on an ancient Chinese legend about a faithful daughter who takes her ailing father''s place in battle, is having trouble this week with the Chinese authorities, who have banned ...
Plenty of folks are aiming for the top spot in their city.
You know it''s a hot election year in the cities when Sand City Mayor David Pendergrass, a 20-year veteran, finally has a challenger. And he''s not alone. As the filing period for municipal elections closed ...
Indie filmmaker Vincent Gallo debuts with gritty, nasty love story.
"Indie! Indie! Indie!" is the unspoken mantra behind Buffalo 66, enfant terrible Vincent Gallo''s directorial debut (he was previously seen in Palookaville as well as a series of Calvin Klein ads). Even though independent cinema ...
Barbara Boxer Stumps in Salinas.
"Whenever I want you, all I have to do, is dream," U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer harmonized with La Rondala Alisal, a mariachi-style band of Alisal Community School students. "Dream, dream, dree-eam; dree-eee-eee-eee-eeam..." Her voice was ...
Informal art sale in Palo Colorado recalls another era in Big Sur history.
A long time ago, in a Big Sur far away...there were seemingly random outcroppings of art. In parking lots, turnouts, etc., you could find belt buckles, carvings, paintings, burlwood furniture, and handmade dope pipes of ...
You hate cars; your significant other insists you attend Classic Car events. Your options?
Let''s just pretend, for a moment, that the sight of old cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars don''t make you jump for joy. Let''s also pretend that you have a significant other--or some other ...
Thursday, August 6
What's the point of a Farmers Market, anyway?
Those of you who think farmers markets are set up to allow consumers direct access to fresh-grown, low-priced produce from local farmers, well, you can think again. Some farmers markets, including the Tuesday afternoon market ...
Christina Williams is one of 25 California children (under 18) to be abducted by a stranger in the first six months of this year.
National statistics for 1997 compiled by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) Missing children nationwide 850,000 Increase since 1982 535% Attempted abductions by a stranger 114,600 Actual children abducted by a stranger 3,200 ...
Flute, Sax and Jazz--There''s otherwordly flute music in Big Sur, and jazz everywhere you turn.
Flutist, dancer, percussionist, world traveler, graduate of Juilliard, and Broadway musical performer: Big Sur/Half Moon Bay resident Viviana Guzm n is a multi-dimensional woman on the go. She just returned a month ago from a ...
MCAP goes out to the fields to teach farm workers about AIDS.
The Monterey County AIDS Project (MCAP) has launched a revolutionary outreach program--the second such program in the state--to teach about HIV and AIDS to the county''s Spanish-speaking farm workers, a population traditionally underserved in the ...
Life and art merge in the work of photographer Ruth Bernhard.
It was more a matter of chance than design that led Ruth Bernhard to become one of fine art photography''s true classicists. Reflecting on a career that has spanned seven decades, Bernhard, whose latest retrospective ...
Chris Eyre's eloquent feature debut rings with themes that transcend reservation life.
This feature debut from Chris Eyre is being billed as the first film written, directed, and co-produced by American Indians. But hanging it on the indigenous hook does Smoke Signals a disservice: At once poignant ...
Bilingual ed galvanized Latinos--what next?
Turnout by Latino voters was at its highest level ever in the June primary, and there are currently four Latinos running for statewide office this November--not to mention countless others at the local level. Still, ...
Smell Smoke, Hear Blues--Rib cookoff smokes with music, Blue Fin does blues, Windham Hill-esque in PG.
There are few things that can compare to the taste of spareribs, slow-smoked on a grill, slathered with a spice-laden sauce. ''Bout the only thing that can improve ''em, is if there''s a good blues ...
A local artist is invited to teach painting to the royal women of the House of Saud.
Very few foreigners, and virtually no foreign women, have been permitted to travel to Saudi Arabia, the desert kingdom that guards its cultural specificity with tight controls on tourism. But then, very few would-be travellers ...
What happens to a community when a child is abducted by strangers?
Christina Williams did everything right. On June 12, when the 13-year-old girl went out to take a walk near her Fort Ord home, it was still daylight. She stayed in her own neighborhood. She even ...
Bitter Legacy--Japan needs to acknowledge war crimes so its children can move on.
Currently, we are witnessing a resurgence of public interest about World War II in Asia, especially the blatant territorial aggression of a tyrannical Japanese government and its fanatical military regime. This interest has been resurrected ...
Billy Quon's Rotisserie
Since Billy Quon's Rotisserie at Ryan Ranch opened three months ago, many of their guests who have lived in this area for a while puzzle over what has been a familiar moniker to the local ...
Redemption Mass--Bruno Weil''s solidly classical interpretation of Haydn makes up for last season.
Bruno Weil redeemed himself Tuesday last week by conducting Haydn''s Creation Mass in true classical style. This was in striking contrast to his misapplied Baroque-style treatment of the same composer''s Harmony Mass last summer. The ...
Ex-stuntman from Prunedale becomes a warrior for medical marijuana.
Sam Perryman doesn''t look like a spokesman for the medical marijuana movement, or even like someone who smokes pot. He''s a clean-cut, 35-year-old father of two, with a preppy dress style and respectful manner. But ...
The Western Stage mounts the first stage adaptation of Steinbeck's travel journal.
When John Steinbeck set out to explore America in 1960, he was no longer a young man in terms of age or experience. At 58 years of age, he was already a successful novelist, known ...
Fear in MoCo--Minding the Children
First Polly Klaas was abducted, and now, in one of our own neighborhoods, so too was Christina Williams. And parents have taken note. While not all of them are doing things differently, Christina''s abduction is ...
Political Pugilism
Blue Over Gray I''m getting more bitter about California politics every time either goobernatorial candidate opens his opinion poll regurgitating trap. My irritation level hit a fevered pitch last week, during the first debate between ...
Tongues 'R' Us
For a devoted acolyte of culinary evangelism, life has its rewards. Sometimes they come as gifts: a bottle of garlic wine, a charming new apron brightly printed with what appears to be indelible splashes of ...
Letters
Re: Haddad's Public Forum Fred Keeley's bill assumes that there are cost-effective solutions to our water problem. Last year's P.U.C. hearings demonstrated two critical facts: --There are no affordable and reliable solutions to our water ...
There's money to be made from parent fears of child abductions.
We''re afraid our children will be abducted, actively afraid after we hear about Christina Williams disappearing from our own streets. Desperately, we look for some kind of protection, creating a lucrative niche in the marketplace, ...
