SWIMMING WITH SHARKS… Squid was backstroking through the pristine waters of Carmel City Beach just days after an explosive Feb. 1 Carmel City Council meeting where, once again, the council tried and failed to discuss those sexual harassment allegations involving City Administrator Rich Guillen. Squid was mulling lunch options – shrimp or fish? – when something from the shore caught Squid’s sharp eyes: An abundance of new bumper stickers on Carmel residents’ cars. “Fire Guillen Now – Carmel Deserves Leadership!” they read. But almost more intriguing than the message was the design. While the baby blue color reminded Squid of his home under the water, upon further inspection Squid determined the color, font, and overall appearance of the bumper stickers are a match to Carmel Mayor-For-Life Sue McCloud’s 2010 re-election campaign buttons. Squid finds that deeply delicious!

BRACE FOR IMPACT… Times are tough, especially right now at 8 Upper Ragsdale – home of the Monterey Herald. Owner Media News tried to lob another stinker past the California Media Workers Guild last week, offering to chop guild members’ 2012 vacations in half in exchange for, well… nothing. And this on top of regular, pay-free furloughs. The benefit to Darth Singleton and his crew? As workers accrue vacation, the money gets set aside. No vacation, no need to reserve cash. The guild told Media News to stick it. Says one Heralder: “The members are completely aware of the ramifications of voting this down. We have bent over backwards trying to be accommodating, and now they’re just insulting us.”

CUE THE LIGHTS… “The show must go on” found new meaning last week: The PaperWing Theatre Co. debut of its O Brother Where Art Thou on Friday came just a few hours after a memorial service for lead actor and company co-director Lj Brewer’s mom, Frances Brewer. Miss Frances, as she was known to her co-workers at the Inn at Spanish Bay and the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa (she held part-time jobs at both places for decades) died at her Pacific Grove Home on Jan. 31. She was 75. The Plaza hosted the memorial fete in her honor, and general manager John Narigi recalled when he showed up at the hotel 17 years ago to start his new job, Miss Frances was the first person he met – at 2am, she was entering guests’ wake-up times into the phone system. She told him, “I’ll never be able to pronounce your name,” and from then on called him “Mr. N,” he recalled. Props to the Spanish Bay coterie too – a Pebble Beach Co. catering truck delivered enough food to feed an army to Miss Frances’ family in the days following her death.