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 open- government law.

In Sacramento, they''re talking about financial penalties. If that''s the case, the city of Seaside could end up writing some pretty big checks.

A recent CPRA request by Coast Weekly for certain police records yielded information and cooperation from every police agency in Monterey County except one: Seaside.

Their Monterey-based lawyers--Richard Harray, Stan Linker and Christine Reed--denied the request, citing a law that itself mandates the release of most of the information we sought, and a case that simply doesn''t apply, according to California First Amendment Coalition attorney Terry Francke.

Such stonewalling is par for the course for Seaside, which has over the years been slapped by us, the Monterey County Grand Jury, the Monterey County Herald and others for refusing to release even the most basic public records.

Luckily, we have a golden opportunity to fix the situation. It''s election time. Demand accountability.

I Have an Idea, Let''s Raze It...

In Monterey, activists were up in arms about the demolition of a dilapidated warehouse. In Salinas, it seems like no one cares about the future of the Fox Theatre, a 1921 art-deco style movie house that is the only remaining usable movie palace left on Main Street. Last year, the Salinas City Council voted to grant the ARIEL Theatrical group a $1-a-year lease on a site for a brand-new performance facility, despite the fact that the Fox was looking for a tenant. Now, city redevelopment officials are saying that the Fox''s plans to book church programs there aren''t in keeping with the downtown--a downtown that has for years suffered from vacant storefronts.

Obviously, if the Fox owners can''t make it, the theater will be boarded up or torn down. Is that the city''s idea of keeping with Oldtown''s ambiance?

No Thanks, I''m Full

The Salinas-based Nunes Co., Inc. is launching a six-week cross promotional campaign, giving buyers of the company''s Foxy brand of Romaine hearts a coupon good for a dollar off Et Tu Caesar salad dressing, put out by Linsey Foods. In case you''ve forgotten your Shakespeare, Caesar (as in Julius, not salad) blurted out "Et Tu, Brutus?" when he saw his pal joining in the mob about to stab him.

Makes you want to think twice before joining someone for salad.

--Squid

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