When builder Kaufman and Broad dropped out of a proposed hotel and golf course development in Seaside earlier this month, seems that L.A. developer Danny Bakewell didn''t make the cut.

Bakewell was partnered with K&B and Seaside Resort Development to build the resort on the former Fort Ord. But K&B backed out, leaving Seaside Resort and Bakewell to hammer out their own deal.

Seems that K&B was going to bankroll Bakewell''s part of the project, and he wanted his Seaside Resort partners to do the same. They declined. So Bakewell sung the blues to the Seaside City Council, accusing the Seaside Resort guys of devising a "clear, methodical plan to leave me on the sidelines."

But Seaside Resort''s Donald Pitt said there''s no conspiracy. His company simply isn''t hip on partnering with someone who''s unable to put up his share of the money.

Which begs the questions: What was Bakewell bringing to the table if it wasn''t money? Was it his relationship to former City Manager Tim Brown? Was it Bakewell''s relationship to the state Legislature''s Black Caucus? Was it his connection with Jesse Jackson, who made phone calls to current Mayor Jerry Smith, encouraging him to give the hotel contract to Bakewell & Co.? (The phone calls didn''t work: Mayor Smith voted to move ahead with the project sans Bakewell.)

We may never know. All I know is, as a squid, I have a particular sensitivity to things that smell fishy.

Squid, What You Got There in That Gym Bag?

Here I was, minding my own business, on my way to a meeting at CSUMB. I decided to take the scenic route, up Seaside''s Broadway Avenue, then left on North-South Road. But wait, why are those nice officers waving me over?

"Driver''s license, insurance certificate and registration, please," the officer de-mands of me, "and pop the trunk open."

Pop the trunk open! What north-south border did I just cross? Was I driving without paying attention to where I was going, again? What country did I just enter?

You''ll be happy to know that my papers were in order.

And, that he didn''t look in my gym bag. Because inside was something that could''ve gotten Squid in a whole lot of trouble...something the officer would have considered potentially explosive.

Smelly athletic socks. From the previous Thursday''s racquetball game.

For his own benefit--and mine--he didn''t take a peek, so he didn''t confiscate my socks, my bag, my racquet, cuz'' folks, he might have considered all of these items a public hazard.

After I got back to the office, I telephoned a very cordial Deputy Chief Rich Weaver--one of the 32 federal police remaining to protect and serve Fort Ord, DLI and the Navy Postgraduate School--to find out why honest Americans living in the year 2000 are subject to random police searches and inspections.

"Threat Con Alpha."

That''s right. Federal installations have been under Threat Con Alpha since the U.S. Embassy in Kenya was bombed. So if you enter a federal base, you may give up some of your rights--depending on how far the commander wants to go to ensure the health and welfare of the installation, that is.

By the way, the officer searching my car told me they had confiscated a vehicle earlier, driven by a woman who didn''t have a driver''s license, registration or insurance papers. I also learned that North-South Road is to be renamed--to General Jim Moore Boulevard. Has a nice ring to it, eh?

My advice: Leave your grenade launchers at home on your way to visit friends on campus.

Trust me: squid@coastweekly.com.

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