LOSERS ON PAPER… Between Ron Holly’s Résumégate, the superintendent circus and a sheriff candidate catastrophe in which they’ve somehow collectively indicted themselves and one another of (at least) one crime each – including stupidity, double talk and playing dirty – Squid wouldn’t blame voters if they recycled the latest pile of election knuckleheadedness in their mailboxes.

Squid’s no county treasurer, but Squid can count the 50 pages in the thick Sample Ballot and Voter Information Pamphlet from the Monterey County Elections Department and the 80 pages in the Primary Election Official Voter Information Guide from the California Secretary of State, both sent to Squid’s residence along with a hail of direct mail from the candidates themselves.

That’s a lot of wasted paper, especially considering the notoriously low credibility of campaign mailers. Case in point: a recent plug for the re-election of County Superintendent of Schools Nancy Kotowski, listing Supervisor Jane Parker as an endorser. Only problem: Parker never backed Kotowski, or any of her opponents.

Again, Squid’s no treasurer – and not about to put it on Squid’s LinkedIn profile – but Squid imagines some pamphlet consolidation and online options will help save the state and the county a bundle. The government could put the cash to good use somewhere else, like, say, campaign reform.

KINDA BLUE… .As a creature of the deep sea, Squid is moved by all grooves in shades of blue. Monterey has hosted some of the greatest acts: A couple of years ago, the Blues Festival booked the likes of B.B. King, Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo’, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Susan Tedeschi, Bettye Levett and Charlie Musselwhite. And just last week, the Santa Cruz Blues Festival featured Ben Harper, Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy, Eric Burdon and the Animals and Was/Not Was. So what’s up with the organizers of the 25th Annual Monterey Bay Blues Festival booking second – or third-tier acts, to the consternation of local music fans? Was their Rolodex lost in the electronic ionosphere?

Seems the Fairgrounds should be a natural place for the most celebrated artists in this great American genre to be performing, given the great tradition of the Jazz Festival and the comparatively modest grounds of Aptos Village Park. The Blues Fest lineup includes some decent acts, like Sista Monica and Lydia Pense & Cold Blood, but they hardly compare to the headliners of yore – or those of our neighbors in Santa Cruz, who brought Joe Cocker and Leon Russell back last year, and have been putting our locals to shame. Squid wants to get down, but this year’s lineup is disappointingly unfunky. B.B., please come home.