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Staff

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Election in Gear…Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue is back on the campaign trail, and he filed papers to make it official. The Mayor faces two challengers, Margaret Serna-Bonetti and William J. Freeman in the November 2 contest. [RU]

Sand in the Tank…Monterey Bay Shores can't get a break from the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District. On July 21 the district voted down the “eco-resort’s” water permit—again. The California Coastal Commission has (repeatedly) dissed the project's coastal development permit, too, but developer Ed Ghandour vows to press on. [KA]

Laird-Blakeslee Battle…The candidates for Abel Maldonado’s 15th District Senate seat will finally appear together in the northern half of the district, in a debate sponsored by the Santa Cruz Weekly—but not until Aug. 12, just five days shy of the Aug. 17 election. [RU]

Pooling Resources…Monterey Peninsula mayors want a stronger voice in the oversight of the proposed regional desalination plant. On July 26, the Monterey City Council voted down a proposal to put two mayors on the advisory council. The majority wanted a larger role for the cities: a place among the decision-making parties, currently California American Water, Marina Coast Water District and Monterey County Water Resources Agency. [KA]

Race Highlights…Casey Stoner topped the time sheets after Friday's first practice session, Hawk Mazzotta placed second in the Monterey Challenge and Jorge Lorenzo won his sixth Grand Prix of the season. Zoom into the on-the-scene action at last weekend’s MotoGP at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca: www.mcweekly.com/photoblog. [NC]

Books Rule…The inaugural Local Authors Live! event swelled into a literary book fair July 24, when 61 writers met with fans in Carmel’s Barnyard Shopping Center in a fundraiser for Monterey Peninsula libraries. Highlights included a celebrity roast of Belle Yang, a poetry reading by Patrice Vecchione and an appearance by former Thunderbird bookstore owner May Waldroup. [WR]

Monterey upgrade…In her promotion to head of Monterey’s newly created Community Services Department, Monterey Library chief Kim Bui Burton will oversee some big city landmarks: the harbor and marina, the Monterey Sports Center and the Monterey Conference Center. [RU]