Commuters struggling to navigate around the flood waters that have submerged Carmel Valley Road and Valley Greens Drive near Quail Lodge since Tuesday are wondering whether to blame El Ni¤o or the Peninsula''s own El Jefe, Clint Eastwood.

Squid has fielded several calls from frustrated commuters asking whether the extensive flooding near Quail Lodge may be the result of the ongoing construction work at Clint Eastwood''s Ca¤ada Woods development project.

Whether the flooding is a natural occurrence resulting from this week''s heavy rains, or whether construction and grading conducted for the project''s staging area were the cause is a question Squid tried to confirm through public works and the county Office of Emergency Services.

A spokesperson with OES could not confirm the source of the flooding, but indicated that portion of Carmel Valley Road near Quail Lodge remains flooded and closed to all but local traffic.

A Bad Day Fishing Beats a Good Day Working (maybe)

Ever feel like disconnecting your voicemail, telling your boss where to go, and heading to drier ground for a week of relaxation, "Seinfeld" reruns, and cheap tequila? If you''re the corporate owner of a local daily, you can live like that in perpetuity According to a recent article: "CEO Pay: Beats Workfare" >(Editor & Publisher) the two absentee owners of our local daily newspapers, the Californian and the Herald, are doing, well, pretty darn well. John Curley, 59 years old, and chairman, president and CEO of Gannett Co. >(Salinas Californian) earned a meager $1,822,203 in 1996, while Tony Ridder, age 56, chairman and CEO of Knight-Ridder Inc. >(Herald) was paid a comparatively pathetic $1,416,945 according to their ''96 shareholder proxy statements. And you wondered why those dailies'' Help Wanted ads are so darn expensive.

Yes, But Will We Hear "Hail To the Chief"?

Squid''s sense of democracy was raised by recent notices of "State of the City" addresses presented at private functions by Monterey City Manager Fred Meurer. Some of these private events [read: not open to the public] cost as much as $35. But wait! This doesn''t really mean Montereyans have to pay to hear Meurer outline the city''s strategy for filling in potholes. The "State of the City" moniker is one applied by private groups sponsoring Meurer, says Krista Lemos, the city''s new community education and outreach coordinator And, she says, interested residents can hear Meurer''s memos for free at council meetings and in the city''s Focus newsletter.

Bait squid: squid@coastweekly.com

>