Thursday, March 29
T' Pearl offers home cooking at fair prices in a friendly environment.
Two doors away from the entrance to the Steinbeck Center, just at the edge of Oldtown Salinas, USA, sits T'' Pearl Restaurant. Apparently, T'' Pearl is a reference to something Steinbeckian, although, once again, my ...
Amy Stewart shares the joy and frustrations of creating a Central Coast garden.
words A garden is a curious thing. It brings one in contact with the elemental sources of nature yet its shape--all those tidy, color-coordinated rows--reflects purely human designs. In her first book, From the Ground ...
Street Talk
This world of fast-paced activity races by us everyday. Some people expect too much of themselves, while others don''t expect anything of life at all. It is the simple choice Achilles had in The Iliad: ...
Parents' Place takes bewildered new moms and dads and gives them the help and reassurance that family networks used to provide.
When Nancy Dell learned that she would be a first-time mother at age 33, she got organized. She signed up for birthing classes through Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula, got Lulu the dog enrolled in ...
Mary Jane'z updates the traditional smoke shop, serving as a gathering spot for MoCo's arts-and-crafts community.
831-- Tales from the Area CodeThere are not many places to shop in Monterey where you can buy a Buddha statue for your Zen sister, procure a water pipe for your smokin'' brother, and learn ...
Rockin' PistolHEra releases a new CD and Sonic Youth is still looking for its stuff.
A very important show to check out this week that I don''t necessarily need to write at length about is the Uninvited at--and you''re hearing this correctly--Long Bar this Saturday. Tickets cost $10 at the ...
KQED's Intensity TV showcases the power of the burning swift stroke.
The question to one of man''s oldest questions is answered in Erik Kripke''s short-subject film Battle of the Sexes, which airs Saturday night as part of KQED''s "Intensity TV" series. A man smiles sincerely, gulps ...
Some unpopular ideas were aired at last Thursday's housing forum.
If the big bananas in Monterey County weren''t already worried about how rising housing costs are going to affect their communities, they probably are now. Something was said to frighten, or at least offend, nearly ...
Morgan Winery gears up for new facility with new chardonnay and pinot plantings.
Morgan Winery owners Dan and Donna Lee believe they have found Monterey County''s "Cote d''Or," or "golden slope"--the name bestowed on the famed French hillside vineyards of Burgundy, whose pinot noir and chardonnay wines bring ...
Your Letters
Terribly Disappointed Best art gallery--Thomas Kinkade? I can sort of understand the tourists buying this lowbrow kitsch, but I always gave the residents of the Monterey Peninsula (and readers of the Weekly) credit for a ...
Salinas has an abysmal recycling record, but officials promise that's all about to change.
Something new will hit the streets of Salinas on July 1, and it''s supposed to be the best thing since all-in-one shampoo and fast food. The new guy on the block is a big container ...
Local high schoolers find fun and fulfillment in the world of poetry.
A favorite story told about poetry recounts how French poet Paul Valéry once began writing a poem by listening to the echoing sounds of his footsteps as he walked along an uneven sidewalk. Eventually he ...
squidfry
This week, Squid would like to enlighten faithful readers about two souls who shine a guiding light in a gloomy world of greed. I speak of George and Millie Evans of Pebble Beach, the benevolent ...
Why the man who collected more than 200 dead and living cats thinks he's done nothing wrong.
Dressed in the county jail''s standard-issue aqua jumpsuit, Richard Partridge shuffles into the visiting area. His wrist is adorned by a plastic bracelet bearing his photo and cell number. His hair hangs down with his ...
Ensemble Monterey ends on a high note with Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale.
classical Ensemble Monterey ended its current season with a triumphant production of L''Histoire du Soldat, that unique chamber ballet by Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz with music by Igor Stravinsky. Seen Saturday at Monterey''s Steinbeck Forum, The Soldier''s ...
Thursday, March 22
Light bends and time melts when three old friends get together at a deserted beach to make an unusual kind of photograph.
At this moment, it is amusingly, poetically evident that the three men struggling to hoist a mounted searchlight over a roped-off road entrance are artists and not engineers. It''s amusing because if they''d assembled the ...
Russian vs. German soldiers snipe it out in Enemy at the Gates.
How does one become an elite military sniper? Easy--just be raised in the Russian Ural Mountains, hide in the snow with your grandfather as kid and practice taking aim at charging wolves. Staying alive--that''s another ...
American's are getting savvy about pairing food with wines and they're catching on to putting wine in food, too.
The divine 89-year-young Mrs. Julia Child was charismatic and inspirational as she carried forth at last month''s Highland''s Inn Masters of Food and Wine. I love her line, "I always cook with wine--sometimes I even ...
by Squid
What Comes Around Goes AroundA match between master agitator Morgan Christopher and Monterey City Attorney Bill Conners seems to be going into extra innings. Christopher complains that the city has unfairly targeted his coffeehouse, Morgan''s ...
Monterey County's electronic community planning model proves we can't have it all.
Imagine a world where expansive tracts of scenic and productive farmland are permanently protected from the bulldozer, and where rivers and wildlife habitat are safe from degradation at the hands of humans. In this same ...
Your Letters
Thoughts Upon a NuisanceI have to agree with Mr. Gonzalez's assessment of the restaurant reviews of Mr. Napolitano. I don't think Mr. Gonzalez's opinions were mean-spirited at all. Furthermore, I for one, would like to ...
Best Of 2001
Visit our Best Of site soon, to see this year's winnersStanding here in the Coast Weekly pasture alongside nearly 85,000 of our bovine brothers and sisters, we are pleased to introduce the publication of this ...
Streetalk
Many years ago, human beings set foot on the moon. We never went back to that huge white rock spinning around our planet. What gives? A space station might satiate budding astro-fans, but a colony ...
Halfway through her first real Monterey Symphony season, all eyes are on Kate Tamarkin.
classicalKate Tamarkin returned to lead her inconsistent Symphony Orchestra in yet another concert of mixed results. Heard Sunday at Sunset Center, the music director turned her resources to poor effect in two coronation anthems by ...
A local professor wants to save the frogs who sing on Cannery Row. It's not as easy as it looks.
Dr. Greg Smestad, professor of environmental policy at the Monterey Institute for International Studies, always took an interest in the empty lot across from Bubba Gump''s on Cannery Row. He liked the way nature reclaimed ...
Blu Fin provides a full-tilt entertainment experience and the grub goes along for the ride.
The latest stop along my ongoing restaurant adventure provided me the opportunity to have a little fun. It''s not that I don''t have fun on the other stops, it''s just that Blue Fin Billiards presents ...
Monterey's true Tuskegee Airman talks about the flight, combat and the fantasy of film.
831--Tales from the Area CodeWilliam Campbell says the way they showed it in the movie wasn''t the way it was at all. He ought to know--the 84-year-old Monterey resident is a true Tuskegee Airman and ...
New book whacks Hollywood studios/daily newspapers hype and feedback loop.
WordsWith the Academy Awards at our doorstep, Jonathan Rosenbaum''s Movie Wars makes for interesting reading. Rosenbaum, a Chicago Reader film critic, subtitles his book "How Hollywood and the Media Conspire to Limit What Films We ...
Look homeward, angels, to the secrets behind your local musical mystery band.
Experience, emotions and environment are the raw pulp that fuels any great art. Taking stimulus and applying it to something that "I think" is the very point of any creative medium. Musician don''t just sing ...
Thursday, March 15
Pac Rep's Art provides belly laughs and heady insights into 03/15/01 the nature of friendship.
Late in Art, author Yasmina Reza nails what the play is all about. As three old buddies--Marc, Serge and Yvan--hash out the underlying problems that threaten their friendship, Yvan reads notes from his latest visit ...
Barry Gifford and Vinnie the Plumber talk about life, love and 'The Mexican'.
''Well, the dialogue stinks." This six-syllable assertion--five, if you jettison the word "well"--has been uttered by author Barry Gifford, standing beside me in the mushy evening mist right outside the theater where our threesome has ...
Squidfry
Another One Bites the DustWhile we wallow in justifiable self-pity over stratospheric rents and mortgages, another segment of our community suffers--the mom and pop corner store. Squid cried a river when I heard that Monterey's ...
Tale of two singers--one careful, the other exuberant.
classicalTwo up-and-coming young baritones lately gave audiences at Sunset Center a glimpse of their capabilities. Brian Leerhuber entertained the Mozart Society on Feb. 23 with a sampler of songs, while Kenneth Goodson surveyed Brahms'' rarely ...
What does a nonprofit developer do with decrepit farmworker housing?Tear it down and start over.
The living quarters at the camp on San Andreas Road were typical of farmworker housing built for single Mexican workers back in the ''40s. The aged, windowless units sitting plop in the middle of strawberry ...
Humpty Hump and Digital Underground offerplenty of reasons to hump on into that good night.
Last week my psychotic desire to see this town thrown into chaos was somewhat satiated. II Live Crew--finally un-banned in the USA and back with a vengeance--hit the Monterey shores. Lump all the Marilyn Manson, ...
Hospitality workers are starting to feel unwelcome here.
Inhospitable Climate: Hotel workers Juan Rangel, Juana Enriquez and Maximino Hernandez all are experiencing rising housing costs but not the commensurate pay increases. Says Hernandez, right, "I don''t think it''s right when they raise your ...
Your Letters
It's a Free Country, Right?Oh my goodness, I seemed to have ruffled a few feathers by stating my opinion. By not agreeing with the elite of Carmel I am labeled "spiteful," while to the lady ...
Streetalk.
Legend has it Saint Patrick threw the slithering snakes out of Ireland, giving the islanders an excuse to drink. Every year, dyed-green beers froth across the nation in tribute to this grand Irish holiday. So ...
Meet Saul Weingarten, the man who put Seaside on the map.
831--Tales from the Area Code Although he left city service in 1970 and his name is largely unknown to anyone outside legal and political circles, attorney Saul Weingarten may have had a bigger impact than ...
Robert Hewitt's paintings appreciate both the physical and spiritual beauty of females.
With a sparkle in his soon to be 78-year-old eyes, local painter Robert Reynolds Hewitt says, "I like the shape of women. I like women because, even if they''re manipulative, they''re more likely to understand ...
Deamer Dunn's Pajaro Street Grill finds its sparkling place in the Monterey County culinary firmament.
Unless you''re commuting during the morning or evening rush hour, the drive down the Route 68 corridor to Salinas is a sightseer''s delight, with opportunities to glimpse rolling hills, beautiful golf courses, million dollar homes ...
President Bush's tax plan tosses scraps to the poor.
Though George W. Bush''s tax proposal sashayed through the House of Representatives with ease, it will need extraordinary amounts of makeup and soft lighting to pass in the Senate--and with the public--for anything other than ...
Thursday, March 8
A beautiful, poetic film about a screwed up Scottish childhood makes us feel bad all over again.
Clearly, being a kid in the UK isn''t much fun. (At least not on film: Think of all the bleak films of the ''90s--Into the West, Butcher Boy, Angela''s Ashes, The Snapper and The War ...
Il Giardino Armonico braves storm and darkness to dazzle Carmel Bach fest crowd.
That wild and crazy Baroque orchestra from Milan, Il Giardino Armonico, set its Carmel Bach Festival audience to stomping on the floor at Sunset Center last Sunday afternoon. Not content to merely dazzle the full-house ...
Comrade Chesky Got It Wrong
I was sickened by Laurel Chesky''s article "War and Peace" (March 1-7, 2001). For those of you lucky enough not to have read it, Ms. Chesky''s article was an ignorant NIMBY protest against the U.S. ...
Monterey County high school and college students tackle world affairs with grace
Monterey County''s young people know the issues. High school and college students from throughout the county filed in from the rain on Monday afternoon to Cal State Monterey Bay''s University Center, eager to catch a ...
Four years after the welfare-to-work initiative, a newly minted workforce finds a mixed bag of success and hardship.
Shannon Hyde has been receiving cash aid from the state since she had her first child at age 15. Four more kids and 15 years later, Hyde decided it was time to get a job, ...
With the brewing world's rapid growth, this primer should assist both lager beginners and ale aficionados.
Americans have always loved their beer, but these days the beer market is seeing a frenzy of activity in places as far away as Asia and Latin America. Why is it so popular? Well, for ...
Camerata Singers Music Director John Koza has his traditional choral group in complete harmony with the 21st century.
John Koza''s motto is simple: Music has the power to change lives. Koza, music director of the Camerata Singers of Monterey County, knows from experience that harmonious voices in song can transport listeners to special ...
Marina City Hall saw some strange happenings on Halloween night, and Measure E's supporters are mighty suspicious.
Last fall, the city of Marina found itself seriously behind schedule in the completion of its new general plan--eight years behind, to be exact, during which the deadline had been delayed several times. With two ...
Singing, dancing, acting, staging--It all works together in Pac Rep's current West Side Story.
Perhaps more than any other theatrical form, the musical requires that every component of the evening contribute to the overall success of the show: set, lights, sound, costumes, choreography, music, singing, timing and acting. Everything ...
San Juan Bautista's Mariposa House wins kudos for charm and cuisine.
When I heard the next spot for my restaurant visit would be in San Juan Bautista, I was stoked. Nothing like a road trip to stimulate the senses. Naturally, my first inclination was to try ...
What Did They Expect?
The sponsors of the "Mardi Gras on Cannery Row," New Wave Broadcasting and The Cannery Row Marketing Council, made some pretty extravagant claims prior to the event. In a press release circulated by Armanasco Public ...
All about the Blind Pig invasion and the little locals that could.
rock Every once in a while, Monterey gets a big dollop of greatness. This Saturday, Sly McFly''s offers Monterey County that opportunity by hosting the Tommy Castro Band, which features Keith Crossan (sax), Billy Lee ...
Tennis pro Steve Gomez set his sights early on a wild and creative life, and matching the racquet with the pen has proven to be his secret to success.
''Acutely phobic'' might best describe my emotional state as I first stand on the opposite side of the net from Steve Gomez. Clenching a borrowed tennis racket in a death grip, I swing wildly at ...
The best intentions of Blues for an Alabama Sky's cast and crew do not a successful play make.
The hardest part of being a critic is seeing a show with merit performed by an earnest cast but that still comes up short. Such is the case with Blues for an Alabama Sky, now ...
By Aaron S. Birk and Jackie Sullivan
street talk The world is a crazy place. Last week Monterey watched Mardi Gras turn Cannery Row into a riot scene. Questions of national economics and global problems surface to prick at our ears, our ...
Thursday, March 1
From The Editorial Desk
It cries! It coos! It wakes you up in the middle of the night! It's a seven-pound, computerized contraceptive! Read our cover story for more...
Southern Monterey County locals say their quiet lifestyles and mock bombing raids don't mix.
Brother Isaac Meyers wears a simple white robe tied at the waist, the traditional garb of the Benedictine monastic order. His sandy gray hair streams to his shoulders, and a dense beard masks his delicate ...
Relax, Already!
Oh, c''mon now! What''s not to like about Raymond Napolitano''s restaurant reviews? We were having a pretty nice Saturday perusing (among other things) the Weekly of Feb. 15-21 when an irate letter to the editor ...
Guest conductor's shortfalls sink Monterey Symphony performance.
classical Monterey Symphony guest conductor Adam Flatt was way over his head during his appearance on Feb. 18 at the Sunset Center. In a program of widely different styles, Flatt was never more than superficially ...
Now is the time to find inspiration in all sorts of soulful media.
Mardi Gras is behind us and, in the aftermath of Fat Tuesday, we''re warming up for the long stretch to spring time musical antics. Most people would tell you to stay home, watch TV and ...
By Aaron S. Birk
street talk The winter rains are sure to drag some hearts into the abyss of boredom and depression. In these moments, abnormal thoughts rise out of the soup of consciousness like phantoms. They feed upon ...
It cries! It coos! It wakes you up in the middle of the night! It''s a seven-pound, computerized contraceptive!
Remember Baby Alive, that Kenner doll that supposedly performed lifelike functions? Baby Alive was all about digestion. She came with a bottle, some diapers and a few packets of "baby food" that turned suspicious hues ...
Stephen Moorer is the merrier as he leads Pacific Repertory Theatre into the most ambitious phase of its history.
The year is 1979. Two drama students from Carmel High are rummaging through costumes, furniture and props in an off-campus storage space beneath a local movie theater. One of them pauses to muse, "Wouldn''t it ...
Bicycling to work? An electrifying idea!
If you''re like most people, there are probably several reasons why you don''t bike to work. There is that steep hill between your house and the office where you have seen cyclists spinning their pedals ...
Ed Harris' Pollock is an art lesson, an emotional thrill ride and a melodrama all in one.
By now, the art from Jackson Pollock''s later years is well known: heroic masterpieces comprised of paint puddles, drips and spatters that add up to a swirling kaleidoscope of action. Equally well known (thanks to ...
Bada Bing's got a lot going for it, but thoroughly cooked pizza crust ain't one of 'em.
So, my editor calls me and says, "So wadda you say for the next thing, you do Bada Bing?" I say, "Wadda you mean, badabing?" He says, Bada Bing in Carmel. They opened a pizza ...
Strong acting lifts MPC's Three Tall Woman from the ordinary.
Imagine Samuel Beckett''s Waiting for Godot mated with Edward Albee''s American Dream and reduce the characters to one, three-tiered maid/mother/crone personality. Do that, and you''ll get some sense of Three Tall Women, Albee''s 1994 Pulitzer ...
A tip of the top hat to the area's best restaurant wine programs.
Am I a wine snob? You better believe it! I taste and evaluate dozens of wines each week. How lucky am I? Well, it isn''t always a walk in the park. In fact, 90 percent ...
Sharon Daly and Linda La Rone run a popular pet store but their real calling is the sharing of knowledge and joy.
Immediately upon entering the store, I am surrounded by an eye-dazzling kaleidoscope of pet food, collars, toys, litter boxes, treats--a great variety of pet accouterments spread about, around and above me, at my feet, on ...
There's a Kook Among Us
The other night Squid was sitting down for dinner when the phone rang. It was "Enrique" (name changed to protect the innocent). "Hello, this is Enrique from the Monterey County Herald, your local newspaper blah ...
Jill Jackson steals the show and gets the bone in Magic Circle's delightful Sylvia.
Not since the classic sci-fi flick A Boy and His Dog (starring Don Johnson before his Miami Vice stint) have we had such an opportunity to get a dog''s eye view of the world and ...
