Stories for March 2007

Thursday, March 29

Potter and Donohue Shrug

New members of LAFCO board won’t be able to keep the issue out of court.

Regardless of recent changes on the Local Agency Formation Commission, the fate of the Carmel Valley incorporation effort will still likely be decided by a judge. Last week, County Supervisor Dave Potter, exercising his role ...

Asked at Forest Hill Shopping Center in Pacific Grove.

Street Talk

Q: WHAT’S THE BEST APRIL FOOLS DAY TRICK YOU’VE EVER HEARD?Follow-up: What the biggest lie you’ve ever told or have been told?DEBBIE BERON | Courtesy Clerk| Pacific Grove A: A couple of classmates and I ...

The Master’s Legacy

>>REALESTATEIn 1966, Bud Evenson, a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright and a talented architect in his own right, designed a house in Monterey that’s as much of a one-of-a-kind today as it was then. Evenson ...

PublicCitizen

ONGOINGEDUCATION SEAT OPEN | SEASIDE/MARINA—The Monterey County Board of Education seeks applicants to fill a board vacancy in trustee area six, Seaside and Marina. Request an application from the Office of the Monterey County Superintendent ...

Back to the Future

Disney’s Meet the Robinsons features a glimpse of tomorrow and an engaging villain.

You could feel the instant history being written about Disney’s in-house computer animation division even before Chicken Little made its way into theaters a couple of years ago. It was all really just a negotiation ...

Squid Fry for Mar 29, 2007

POETIC JUSTICE… Squid wonders if the Service Employees International Union powers that be are feeling kinda stupid right now. Less than a month after the union unceremoniously fired WREN BRADLEY, Local 535’s longtime senior field ...

Sour Gripes

After leading the city into debt, PG’s “Good Old Boys” attack new city leaders.

The Pacific Grove City Council’s plan to steer the municipal budget into calm fiscal waters has rocked the boat of business-as-usual in America’s Last Hometown. Now, PG leaders are getting flak from the self-described “Good ...

Stop the Madness

The team that best keeps its collective head at the Final Four will take the NCAA title.

>>SPORTSIt’s an earthquake of a voice created by some 6,000 smaller voices: “Threeee!” The UCLA-partisan crowd inside San Jose’s HP Pavilion is giving their favorite shooting guard, 6’5” junior Arron Afflalo, a shot-clock countdown. “Twooooo!” ...

Fresh Crime

The Lookout gives the typical criminal flick a new look.

You’ve got to like an actor like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who grew up on camera on TV’s Third Rock From the Son. It’s always refreshing to see a guy who has the freedom to be discriminating ...

Grasses v. Greens

In the wake of E. coli hysteria, farmers are under pressure to pull out vegetation—and unravel water-quality progress.

Chris Goodson squats on the bare dirt and cups a single tuft of creeping wild rye in his palm. “Come on, little buddy!” he encourages it, only half joking. The five-inch sprout is the only ...

DiscSpace

MODEST MOUSE | We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank | EpicOn paper, Modest Mouse’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank looked like it would be another superb album from the quirky ...

A Wicked Game

Super Columbine Massacre challenges notions about video gaming and the causes of violence.

>>OPINIONI barrel into the Columbine High School cafeteria, pull down the fire alarm, and the kids erupt into chaos. Then I pull out my Savage-Springfield 12-gauge pump-action, which I’ve sawed off to 26 inches for ...

Letters to the Editor for Mar 29, 2007

‘PEACE MOM’ DESERVES THANKSCindy Sheehan is the person who has, so far, been most successful in getting the message of the anti-war movement into the mainstream press and bringing awareness of the anti-war movement to ...

A New Biodiesel Car and Old Big Trees

A report from a successful road trip to the redwoods.

>>THELOCALSPINThe road trip was not all about burning the biodiesel efficiently. That was not the main reason we decided to drive to Arcata last weekend. We have talked about going up to Humboldt County for ...

I Love Lula’s

How one writer was seduced by the art of chocolates.

It seemed a sound strategy. Take a small bite, take notes, and live to sample more chocolates. The box of Lula’s chocolates that Scott Lund presented me with, however, had me outgunned. His mother, Lula ...

Gay ’70s Return

La Cage aux Folles entertains but cannot shock.

In London in the late 1970s, I was jolted abruptly into sober adulthood by an ad for the musical Hair, which I’d seen live at the Aquarius theater in Hollywood when it was new and ...

The Way Home

Big Read culminates in maps show at Steinbeck.

A few years ago, Mihir Patel, an Indian student living in Kenya, made a bet with his father—if he scored 85 percent or higher on a big upcoming test, he could choose anywhere in the ...

ArtListings for Mar 29, 2007

Wild West Rock

Coming this week—two bands that draw inspiration from the movies.

Over the years, rock musicians have looked in all sorts of unexpected places for inspiration. The Led Zeppelin songs “Misty Mountain Hop” and “Ramble On” are filled with Robert Plant’s references to J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy ...

The Old Ballgame

Peninsula residents risk injury to recapture what made baseball great.

The largest contract Hall of Fame baseball player Duke Snider ever got was “$46,000 and a Cadillac.” That was some 50 years, when my father, then the managing editor of a small weekly newspaper in ...

All Good Fun

SO SWEET… A 20-ounce Starbucks Caffe Mocca with whipped cream has 490 calories, equivalent to a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese. (Hey man, you know what they call a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in France?). A ...

The Long Run

Assemblyman John Laird is halfway through the race to complete the state’s budget. It’s a sprint all the way.

John Laird’s 3pm meeting with a group of children’s health care advocates is off to a late start. His 2:20 appointment ran longer than its slotted 10 minutes, which pushed his 2:30 with the California ...

Thursday, March 22

Fighting Words

300’s violent rhetoric, and the Peace Mom’s.

>>THELOCALSPINThe climax of the epic propaganda cartoon-movie 300 is prefaced by a speech from the heroic Spartan warrior-king Leonidas, who is about to sacrifice himself and his men. Leonidas and his small band of Spartans ...

Letters to the Editor for Mar 22, 2007

WINDS OF CHANGEIn response to Jeffrey Van Middlebrook’s concerns that the human race may be riding the wave to extinction in a cloud of flatulence [Letters, March 15-21], we offer a breath of fresh air. ...

PublicCitizen

3|23FRIDEMS AND ORGANIZING | SALINAS—Salinas Valley Democratic Club talks about organizing for local elections and state Sen. Shelia Kuehl’s proposal for a universal health care. Snacks provided. 6:30pm. Teamsters Hall, 931 East Market St., Salinas. ...

A Militarized Economy

China spends more on its military than almost every other country in the world—just to ensure its economic power.

>>FORUMChina recently announced that it’s planning to increase military spending 18 percent this year to $45 billion—its largest military boost in almost a decade. This makes it one of the largest defense spenders in the ...

Hunger Strikes

Rare food allergy stymies doctors and challenges families.

Young Francesca Sarubbi is hungry, but she can’t eat. She loves chocolate—and there is chocolate in her family’s kitchen—but she’s can’t have any. Just a bite could trigger an assemblage of painful reactions—acid reflux, extreme ...

DiscSpace

RJD2 | The Third Hand | XLOn his 2002 debut Deadringer, DJ RJD2 created a stellar blend of instrumentals that veered in unexpected directions (“Ghostwriter”), hip-hop numbers featuring guest MCs (“Final Frontier”) and electronica blended ...

Boutique Eats

Little Grove Bistro decides small is beautiful.

The subtle saltiness of the minced pancetta and the levitating array of fresh herbs—thatched with a roof of cheese—add a constellation of flavors to the moist and meaty little portabella cap. A sip of Napa ...

Land War Rematch

Consultants who fought in Santa Clara County are ready to spar here.

The electoral battle over Monterey County’s growth will include a rematch between two political operatives who squared off over a Santa Clara County land-use initiative in November.General Plan Initiative supporters have hired Cliff Staton, a ...

ArtListings for Mar 22, 2007

Alison’s discoveries art gallery Photography by Stan Friedman and Derrick Brown; watercolors by Gabrielle Moroe-Gordon. 19 E. Carmel Valley Rd., Carmel. 659-4140. alvarado gallery Have Brush, Will Travel features works by Mary Lou Pilnick, Mary ...

Made in Chualar

Chicano All Stars release first full-length CD at Sly’s.

Sam Martinez often has four music projects going every month at his Chualar-based Sam’s Lab Recording Studio. But the bandleader and vocalist of Salinas’ Chicano All Stars has been unable to find time to record ...

Time’s Artistry

Ron and Suzanne Rankin are only the third family to live in the museum-quality Mediterranean Revival house built in 1927 by William P. Sweeney for his own family. Master-builder Sweeney employed the best concepts and ...

Politics of Caring

Personal experiences lead Salinas council members to support medical marijuana.

When City Council-member Jyl Lutes’ then-husband lost his appetite during a battle with bone cancer more than 20 years ago, Stanford doctors gave him an experimental prescription: a vile of tightly-rolled joints. The marijuana cigarettes, ...

Meth Trap

One Salinas addict’s 15-year pattern of failure.

Editor’s Note: Adam Joseph is a student at CSUMB, editor of the Otter Realm campus newspaper, and a former Weekly intern. He spent several months last year interviewing and videotaping Steve Caldwell for a documentary ...

Future Sounds

Next Generation Festival features Terence Blanchard Quintet.

Anyone looking for jazz’s future stars should spend a little time with Terence Blanchard.The New Orleans-born trumpeter is not only one of jazz’s most lyrical improvisers, he’s a passionate educator and bandleader with a knack ...

Point Blank

Mark Wahlberg misfires as the

Having secured a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for The Departed, perhaps Mark Wahlberg will stop overcompensating. You can appreciate his uphill battle to be taken seriously as an actor, having to live down his ...

A Crazy Combo

Punk-rock-hip-hop and roots-pop, all in one evening.

Back in June of 2005, a crowd was gathered on the lawn at Big Sur’s Henry Miller Library for an all-day benefit concert. Couples cuddled on blankets and took in music by a wide variety ...

Creature Feature

The Host mixes special effects with real emotion.

Just a little over 10 minutes into The Host, a modern take on the classic creature flick by South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, the monster is spotted hanging on the underside of a river bridge ...

Much Too Much Fun

LET’S GET TO IT… Normally I roll out the red carpet in the first few paragraphs of Food Chain for a parade of thoughts to sashay into this weekly party. This week, there is so ...

Burlesque Too Risque?

Eddie’s draws complaints from North Monterey neighbor.

Eddie Edwards isn’t one to let the complaints of a few neighbors stop a troupe of burlesque performers from shimmying across his stage at his North Monterey bar, Eddie’s.“If you know anything about burlesque, it’s ...

Asked at the Monterey Transit Center

Street Talk

Q: WHICH REALITY SHOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE ON AND WHY?Follow-up: What would the reality show based on your life be called?ART VALLES, JR. | Store Clerk | Monterey A: I don’t believe in ...

Squid Fry for Mar 22, 2007

SUCK IT UP… Squid’s not an insensitive mollusk. Squid shed a tear just last week over Salinas Police Chief DAN ORTEGA’s diabetes commercial. It touched Squid, watching His Chiefness fess up to personal struggles. Maybe ...

Drug Money

Governor plans to cut Prop. 36 funding.

Lou Martinez calls himself a Prop. 36 grad. He completed drug treatment in 2004. Now he’s working as a certified alcohol and drug counselor while studying for a degree in social work at Sacramento State. ...

Racing Globalization

A Carmel woman hurries to document remote customs.

Her camera was turned off, but she took mental pictures: sunlight falling through the cracks in the adobe walls, wizened men in ornate traditional clothes, villagers squatting in the back of the hut to watch ...

Thursday, March 15

Round Worm

A rare find has MBARI scientist enthused.

For most, an ugly worm isn’t much to get excited about—especially one as unattractive as Chaetopterus pugaporcinus, the newly understood underwater critter whose name is Latin for worm “that looks like the rump of a ...

Sex and Money

Author to speak about power, gender roles and economics at CSU-Monterey Bay.

Riane Eisler has spent most of her life punching holes into the rationale behind historical gender relationships. The Carmel author says each of us has been conditioned into one of two roles: the dominator or ...

Otters Out Of Exile

Feds recommend ending the “no-otter zone.”

Sea otters must be celebrating what amounts to a relaxed immigration policy in the works, which will officially allow them to expand their range to southern California—something biologists say is critical to the threatened species’ ...

Jolting Police Work

Seaside cops likely to get Taser cams, more time with residents.

“This stuff will put you to sleep, no doubt about that.”With that intro Dave Sylstra, a consultant with the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, launched into a presentation about the Seaside Police ...

War of Words

Ian Svenonius brings post-punk spoken-word revolution to Big Sur.

Late last night, around 4:13am the portfolio on Ian F. Svenonius, ringleader of the band Weird War, was crammed under the front door of the Weekly office. The contents of the manila envelope included CDs, ...

The Big Picture

A local photo-blogger frames the county to connect with his soul.

The Toyota Camry races the dawn down Highway 1. As the vehicle slips south past Carmel Highlands and Malpaso, the sky grows pale in anticipation of a mild winter morning. John Wilson is pushing 75mph, ...

Grand Designs

Neighborhood groups envision cultural center and affordable housing.

With railroad tracks and busy streets cutting off Salinas’ Chinatown from Oldtown, Franciscan Workers President David Ligare says it’s critical to reconnect the historic area to downtown. Whether by installing a pedestrian bridge or a ...

Highlands Gardens

Ralph and Mary Hennessy enjoy upgrading houses. With so many remodels in their history, they’ve garnered a sort of ensemble of consummate talent—self-employed, superb artisans they work with project after project. “We never think about ...

The Winners

Best of Monterey County, 2007

Engelberto “Biboy” Rivera has only one thing in common with Peyton Manning: Like the Superbowl hero, Biboy Rivera is a world champion.A standout football player while attending high school in the Philippines, Rivera had dreams ...

Letters to the Editor for Mar 15, 2007

GAMBLING MONEY AS SAVINGSThe Local Spin column about the scam of lotteries [March 8-14] triggered my memory about a neat way to capitalize on the inevitable human desire of getting something for nothing. >>Forbes magazine ...

DiscSpace

JOHNNY CASH | Cash: Ultimate Gospel | SonyAs a rockabilly pioneer, Johnny Cash sang what some people called the devil’s music. As a genre-crossing country singer, he sang the people’s music. As a sometimes-tormented man, ...

Grown-Up Scary

Premonition is a scary movie for an adult audience.

You don’t have to be a soothsayer to predict that nearly every weekend, young people will descend on movie theaters for horror flicks. Scary movies are one of cinema’s most reliable investments, catering to couples ...

Indie Vets Join Forces

Lamps lineup includes alt-rock all-stars.

Fans of ‘80s and ‘90s alt rock will definitely know the previous work of Lamps’ bandmembers. Bassist Vicki Peterson was a guitarist and singer in the all-female pop rock group The Bangles, the late-‘80s outfit ...

Bunny Business

Miss Potter is a light-hearted biopic about the author behind The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

Miss Potter is the fictionalized biography of an author who was faithful to her inner child but strong-willed enough to maintain her vision in the face of adult skepticism. This might seem an awkward mix ...

ArtListings for Mar 15, 2007

Covering New Ground

Mercy brings hot novice singer together with veteran players.

Wearing a short gray skirt and thigh-high black boots, Melissa Jones has every male in Ocean Thunder watching as she grabs the microphone onstage. As her band Mercy starts playing a slow eerie bluesy number, ...

The Best Of Time

A seasonal tradition returns.

>>THELOCALSPINThe first whiff of spring arrived last weekend. On the way back from a walk at Molera Beach, as we approached the Big Sur River, Traci took note of a spicy fragrance in the breeze ...

The People Have Spoken

BEHIND THE CURTAIN… It’s the Best Of MC issue and that means one thing: controversy. Whenever this issue comes out I get bombarded with: “How could so-and-so be Best This, or such-and-such be Best That?” ...

Asked at English Ales in Marina

Street Talk

Q: THE LUCK OF THE IRISH IS ABOUT. WHAT WAS THE LUCKIEST MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE? Follow-up: What is the best way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? MARK TENNIS | Veterinary Technician | Marina A: ...

The Smallville Campaign

Hillary speaks in a conservative voice to evoke a golden era.

>>FORUMUntil I saw her on the stump these past few days, I’d never have believed that Hillary Clinton could attract voters by appealing to their sense of yearning for the 1950s.It seems, on the face ...

Squid Fry for Mar 15, 2007

HEAD IN THE CLOUDS… Squid is a little baffled by the proposal from some folks in Pacific Grove for a memorial plaque to JOHN DENVER, who never lived there. The folks who discover it after ...

Guilt Abides

Anne Frank: posthumous scapegoat and new immigrant.

>>FORUMA US lawmaker has submitted a bill seeking honorary citizenship for Anne Frank, to make up, presumably, for the grave sin of refusing her and her family entry to the US when it could have ...

PublicCitizen

ONGOINGLETTERS FOR TROOPS | COUNTYWIDE—Operation Yellow Ribbon will send another 800 care packages to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan on March 20, and the most important item in each package is a letter or card. ...

Splashy Spot

Bubbly Fish invites locals to dive into opulence.

Several weeks after the fact, three distinct sense-memories pierce the pleasant fog surrounding my visit to Bubbly Fish Café: the startlingly good flavor of the California Osetra caviar, the lavish, creamy stinkiness of the Trou ...

Peace Officer

Mayor Dennis Donohue picks Police Cmdr. Trevor Iida as community safety director.

Despite its daily struggle to control gang violence, Salinas doesn’t fund any programs geared to keep kids out of gangs and rehabilitate young criminals. Mayor Dennis Donohue says it’s time for the City to address ...

Best Of 2007

Editor's Picks, pt.2

BestOf MONTEREY 07 •USE OF AN EMPTY PARKING LOT OLDTOWN SALINAS MARKETPLACE | Saturdays on the 100 block of Main Street, Salinas • 758-0725 Salinas’ downtown marketplace makes Saturday shopping a fun and communal experience. ...

Thursday, March 8

A Handywoman’s Home

>>REALESTATEThe before-and-after pictures of this handmade cottage appear to be wholly unrelated, not because the place was taken down to the studs and rebuilt into something else, but because Jill Camacho is an unusually talented ...

Union Shakeup

SEIU dissolves local; fires longtime field rep.

Union members love their new regional organization, according to Local 521’s Web site, which quotes smiling workers from Monterey, Santa Clara, San Benito, San Mateo and several Central Valley counties. Officials of the Service Employees ...

Rift Over Roundup

PG debates continued use of America’s most popular herbicide.

Pacific Grove resident Ximena Waissbluth was walking her dog in Pacific Grove’s Washington Park when she saw a man spraying a clear liquid under the picnic tables. “I first thought that he was just watering ...

Carmel Valley Citizens Sue

Incorporation proponents say LAFCO is stifling democracy.

Another local land-use decision will be decided in Superior Court. On Tuesday, March 6, a group that wants to create a new Town of Carmel Valley filed a lawsuit against the Local Agency Formation Commission ...

Death and the Poet

Nearing the end of a singular life, Ric Masten embraces the thing that will kill him.

The 75-year-old poet had his suicide planned. By wrapping the extension cord of the Skilsaw around his leg, directing its exposed edge toward him, and falling into the whining blade, he would bury the steel ...

Too Little, Too Soon

Democratic presidential hopefuls kick off a long campaign with—not much.

>>OPINION I spent 20 years with the Democratic presidential candidates one day last week, or so it seemed. Their opening speeches at the first of their Campaign ’08 forums, held in Carson City, Nevada, were ...

PublicCitizen

3|9-3|10FRI-SATGOT E-WASTE? | SALINAS—Drop off TVs, computers and any unwanted electronic equipment. Noon-5pm/Fri; 9am-3pm/Sat. Salinas Sports Complex parking lot, 1034 N. Main St., Salinas. Free. 866-335-3373.3|10SATCPR CLASS | CARMEL—Learn CPR taught by the American Red ...

Mega Dreams

You can’t fantasize if you don’t play.

>>THELOCALSPIN Toni, the Weekly’s production coordinator, came through my office earlier this evening and asked me for a dollar. She had this cool idea that all of us would go in on some lottery tickets. ...

True Crime

Zodiac is a meticulously researched look at Northern California’s most notorious serial killer.

David Fincher, the director of Se7en, Fight Club, and Panic Room, switches gears with his new film Zodiac from psychological thrillers to something that more closely resembles a police procedural. Based on Robert Graysmith’s two ...

Asked at Monterey Peninsula College.

Street Talk

Q: WHAT’S THE ONE THING YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE?Follow-up: When do you feel the most alive?LISA POLNASKY | Jazz Pianist | SeasideA: I would like to see some of my former sweethearts—re-open ...

Pre-Spring Training

SHOWTIME… It’s March Madness time, when universities across America vibrate with anticipation and excitement as their gangly warriors chase down their hoop dreams. College basketball is pretty big business in many institutions. It doesn’t have ...

WIP It up

A local Web launch prioritizes the feminine perspective.

Katharine Daniels, founder and executive editor of the Women’s International Perspective (WIP), wants to do something very different with her news Web site. With the exception of the daily news headlines, culled from wire services ...

Immersed in Song

Paula West brings intimate connection to Carmel.

Her voice is unlike any other, a moist, cavernous contralto that listeners inhale like oxygen. In the intimate venues where Paula West has built her reputation, she has reached into her audiences so deeply with ...

DiscSpace

LUCINDA WILLIAMS | West | Lost HighwayLucinda Williams’ voice conveys raw vulnerability. From her earliest recordings to the more polished product of 1998’s Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, she hides nothing. Whatever the band, ...

Letters to the Editor for Mar 08, 2007

NO NEED FOR INSULTING WORDSI was disturbed to encounter the derogatory word “homo” in Ray Napolitano’s Food Chain column of Feb. 22. It is unfortunate that Mr. Napolitano was unable to express his admiration for ...

ArtListings for Mar 08, 2007

The Gunslinger

Monterey’s Robert Ashmore shoots the breeze on the commerce of arms.

Monterey gunsmith Robert Ashmore bears a striking resemblance to Hollywood’s Sam Elliot—right down to the handlebar mustache and cool Western drawl. He stands easily behind a glass counter loaded with pistols and talks about the ...

Go Tell The Spartans

300 conquers computerized limitations.

After witnessing 300 director Zack Snyder’s ultra-violent, hyper-stylized treatment of the Battle of Thermopylae by way of Frank Miller’s graphic novel, I had to wonder, “What would Homer say?”Not Homer Simpson—he’d shout “Woohoo!” at every ...

Squid Fry for Mar 08, 2007

MISPLACED VIGILANCE… Squid needs new boots. But the Squidmobile doesn’t. The SALINAS POLICE DEPARTMENT is handing out the orange boots that get locked onto a car’s wheels when it has racked up too many tickets. ...

Get Tossed

The crust-chucking Pizza Factory moves into Salinas.

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for the mayhem that may erupt as a result of the following beautiful truth. I am just doing my job.The new Pizza Factory in Salinas has pitchers of high-grade suds, ...

Salinas V. Chávez

City confronts LUPE’s reign over city rec center.

Small children sitting at a table raise their hands. They want Cheez-its to go along with their apple wedges. The 25 tykes recently finished their homework and soon they will exercise, says Jennifer Barraza. Barraza ...

Thursday, March 1

The Story Continues

ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS… It was a big week around here with the final Masters of Food and Wine, the first Big Sur Chanterelle Cook-Off and latest editions of the various Academy Awards extravaganzas. After 21 ...

PublicCitizen

ONGOINGFUNDRAISING MENTOR PROGRAM | COUNTYWIDE—Apply now for the 2007-2008 Mentorship Program of the Association for Fundraising Professionals, Monterey Bay Chapter, beginning in June. The program is for individuals who want to expand their knowledge base ...

Plain Pro-Development Folk

Plan for the People plays up down-home feeling.

Former Supervisor Butch Lindley, just two months ago, would not have been standing next to a bale of hay in a Salinas parking lot on a Tuesday afternoon. Instead, the vintner-turned-politician would have been sitting ...

Some New Colors

The Greencards’ palette expands with new release.

While The Greencards’ last release Weather and Water was dominated by ballads—with a couple of foot stompers thrown in for good measure—the acoustic trio’s upcoming CD Viridian reveals the groups’ versatility. Sure, the band still ...

Chicks’ Flicks

MPC conference screens 12 films by and about women.

In the scene, it appears the brother of a rape victim is going to use his loaded gun to kill his sister’s perpetrator. Then the film, In the Morning, takes a tragic turn. The brother ...

Marine Menace

Human activities threaten shore-loving sea mammals.

THE YOUNG SEA LION SCOOTS OUT OF HIS PLASTIC CRATE on strong black flippers, one dangling an orange ID tag, and hauls his blimp-shaped, butterscotch-colored body down the boat ramp at Whaler’s Cove in Point ...

Masters Memories

It’s all over, except for the telling.

LET THE STORIES BEGIN… each dressed in timeworn, mothball-tinged embellishment: “I remember when that Michelin 3-star French chef insisted his ducks be brought in from Gastony, or Normandy, or somewhere. I heard they were smuggled ...

Fear of Nations

Learning to love America in Kosovo.

>>LOCALSPINI do not expect that many readers reacted with shock to the news from The Hague this week that the World Court has acquitted Serbia on charges of genocide against Bosnia. The atrocities that were ...

Watchful Eye

The Lives of Others examines life under the thumb.

East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was a parallel world, defined by an oppressive government that controlled and monitored every aspect of its citizens’ lives. The 2003 satire Good Bye ...

Letters to the Editor for Mar 01, 2007

MY QUIXOTIC QUESTLast week I unwittingly submitted to your newspaper what was tantamount to my 30th anniversary of expressing myself in the public arena [Letters, Feb. 22-28]. It was 30 years ago last week that ...

Wage War

Will all construction workers on new Fort Ord developments be paid prevailing wage?

With confused or bored looks on their faces, the elected officials from the major Monterey County cities sat around a U-shaped row of tables. The members of the Fort Ord Reuse Authority board scanned a ...

Genuine Connections

In two shows on two nights, Ruthie Foster and John Lee Hooker Jr. bring two traditions to life.

Musical knowledge can be passed on in the conservatory as well as on the bandstand, but it’s no coincidence that many of the most soulful musicians have honed their act while sharing stages with more ...

ArtListings for Mar 01, 2007

The President Who Cried Wolf

Bush is telling the truth about Iran, but it’s too late.

>>FOURMGeorge W. Bush claims that Iran has been shipping weapons, including bombs used against US military convoys, to Shiite militias in Iraq. I believe him. Iranian leaders would be idiots to sit out a war ...

Smith’s Follies

Former CSUMB President Peter Smith under scrutiny in Paris.

While Peter Smith’s management style may seem foreign to his Parisian staff, his capacity for controversy translates well in French.Nearly two years after Smith left a mixed legacy as president of CSU Monterey Bay, an ...

Squid Fry for Mar 01, 2007

JUSTICE IN FLANDERS… Squid loves the taste of just desserts. The Monterey Superior Court overturned the city of Carmel-by-the-Sea’s decision to sell the historic Flanders Mansion, vindicating the preservationist group Flanders Foundation. Judge ROBERT O’FARRELL ...

Sex and Blues

Craig Brewer awkwardly mixes exploitation cinema with therapy in Black Snake Moan.

Sure, on the surface Brewer’s 2005 Sundance hit Hustle & Flow was set in the contemporary American South, in the world of contemporary American hip-hop. But from the moment the title card appeared, it was ...

Harmony and Energy

The Groove Kings bring heart to the dancefloor.

Groove Kings’ keyboardist, trumpet player and vocalist Jim Gordon has a few theories as to why his group won classic rock station KFOX’s Best Cover Band in the 2005 Last Band Standing contest. “We live ...

A Fortunate Perch

>>REALESTATEGeorge McNeely drives long distances. “I do most of my thinking on the I-5,” he says, “and when I’m driving, I’m on the phone with no interruptions.” He has recently remodeled a house and managed ...

Bangkok Blessing

Thailand reveals some of its shrimp-coconut treats.

We didn’t know if we should take a boat across the Chao Phraya River. Well-dressed and gorgeous, a woman stood on the pier telling Translator why the restaurant on the other side of the river ...

DiscSpace

NORAH JONES | Not Too Late | Blue NoteNestled comfortably in an Americana mix of folk, jazz and country, Norah Jones plumbs new depths in Not Too Late, her third CD and her biggest statement ...

Centralized Nervous System

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