POLICE BEAT… Squid didn’t think Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue had much of a temper. Other than letting KSBW’s Dan Green get under his skin during January’s bloodbath, the guy has kept his cool and somehow stayed optimistic in the face of chaos. But according to a tipster, Donohue “showed his anger management problems” when Salinas Police Officers Association members asked him hard questions about Measure K, the 1-cent sales tax for public safety, including where the heck did all the Measure V money go. “It was so heated at one point [SPOA President Chris] Swinscoe steps in front of Donohue to get the room back to talking and Donohue yells at Swinscoe: ‘Don’t you ever walk in front of me again!’” Squid’s surprised that Salinas cops pressed the mayor since Measure K is designed to pay for more police officers and a new cop shop. SPOA ended up endorsing the tax measure, as did the Grower-Shipper Association. The Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce appears to be holding out. The PennyforPeace Twitter account is already building up local ag and business folks to follow, including kidfromhoboken (Nick Pasculli), Pascalian (Tom Carvey), TheAgLady (Darlene Din) and castelfranco (Donohue). But it will take more than Twitter feeds to pass this tax measure. Squid bets this cephalopod could really see Donohue angry if the voters reject Measure K and anti-tax crusader Brett Landon gets to claim victory in this campaign.

SNARK SHORTAGE… Squid ain’t in the greatest of mood these days, what with all the unpleasantness going on about health care, the joy with which the yahoos are jumping on the president’s agenda, and the general atmosphere of lowlife hellatrashiness which seems to be afflicting the land. Nevertheless, Squid’s a resourceful cephalapod, and tries to find cheer where it can. The good folks of Democracy for America, for instance, are joining up with MoveOn, the Service Employees International Union and True Majority, at vigils where they are reading the names and hearing “stories of local Americans who are suffering under our broken system and can’t afford to wait for real reform.’’ They hope it will serve as “a powerful reminder to Congress and the media why every American needs reform that includes the choice of a public option.’’ Duh. Hopefully, the vigil won’t be interrupted by the pistol-packing ignoramuses who have hijacked this issue, and embarrassed this country, once again, all over the world.