DEM-ON-DEM DUKING… The mudslinging has begun in the District 5 Supervisor race. But, of course, none of it’s officially sanctioned. 


The anonymous emailer “Potter Is At It Again” is getting stalky about who Dave Potter is cozying up to and what hush-hush meetings he’s attending. Anonymous makes a few mildly funny jabs, like Potter mistakenly listing Mark Stone as an assemblyman instead of Santa Cruz County supervisor. 


Which brings Squid to Potter’s challenger: Pacific Grove Mayor Carmelita Garcia, who just a few weeks ago was gunning for that Assembly seat pre-warmed for Stone. That wind changed direction quickly, and now Carmelita’s got her flirt on with the 5th District’s power players – from ag giants to smart-growthers to developers. Garcia’s apparently a conservative better when it comes to other districts, making appearances for both District 4 incumbent Jane Parker and challenger Byrl Smith. She says she’s not picking sides, but that strikes Squid as poor etiquette, considering her name appears on Smith’s Nov. 1 endorsement list. 


But Potter opponents are well acquainted with nebulous endorsements: Anonymous suggests Potter’s list, featuring Carmel City Councilmemebr Jason Burnett, Monterey Mayor Chuck Della Salla and Carmel Mayor Sue McCloud, is bogus. But Squid verified they’re legit. 


And what about the contributions to Garcia’s defunct Assembly campaign? Team Carmelita says the refund checks’ll be in the mail.


ARTY PARTY… Safety scissors in one tentacle, giant pile of construction paper strewn about the lair, Squid spent a relaxing afternoon creating a masterpiece – a colorful sculpture of a broken heart for the February exhibit at the 4Word Art Gallery in Oldtown Salinas.


Broken hearts, it turns out, are an appropriate theme for the show being curated by Oldtown art maven Trish Sullivan. Sullivan, who dragged the First Fridays Art Walk to life, was bounced from her gig managing the California Welcome Center Salinas. And her heart is a little bit broken. 


Sullivan wrote three proposals – and talked the California Travel & Tourism Commission into waiving the $1,000 application fee for the last one – that ultimately led the state to locate the tourist center in North Salinas. “They said, ‘It’s not working out and we’re going to have to let you go,” Sullivan says. She says no reason was given. 


So as her heart mends, Sullivan will focus on 4Word and Salinas411, her homegrown tourist info center in Oldtown. “I’m kind of pissed because the Welcome Center was my baby,” she says, “but I’m going to keep promoting cultural tourism in Salinas.”