DOWNS UNDER… Squid is still waiting for Google to develop an “unsend” button for email, because Squid seriously did not intend for that photo of Squid’s ink sac to go out to the masses. While Squid considers whether or not to pull an Anthony Weiner and claim Squid was hacked, it seems Monterey Downs developer Brian Boudreau might be able to empathize.


Boudreau’s team made a similar gaffe in an Oct. 2010 letter to County Economic Development Director Jim Cook. “NOTE TO BETH & DUSTIN,” reads a line in the section on water infrastructure, “I would let them tell us what needs to be done later rather than have it on public record now that we may need to provide extension/replacement of existing facilities.” 


That letter was posted on Seaside City Council’s website for precisely six days – until the clerk realized it wasn’t supposed to be there. 


Now Squid’s wondering, why is Seaside helping Boudreau cover up what looks to be a red flag in the Downs development? Maybe because the broke-ass city so desperately needs revenue. 


SPEAKING OF GROUND BREAKING… Squid, along with all of Salinas’ ag elite, is awaiting with baited breath the second that lettuce demigod Bruce Taylor steps out of his SUV with a golden shovel in hand to officially break ground on Taylor Farms’ new headquarters in Oldtown Salinas. The project for the multibillion-dollar giant is slated to be shovel-ready this spring. And woe unto you if you don’t support it – or even if someone gets it into their pointy little head that you might think of possibly not supporting it. 


Such is the apparent case of LandWatch Executive Director Amy White, who was recently invited to apply for a board seat with the Oldtown Salinas Association. White, recruited for the no-pay gig by Tom Martella, dutifully filled out the application (first question: “Do you inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide?”). Her nomination was seconded by Green Belly Yoga’s Monica Wason, and that’s where the fun began.


A debate erupted over whether LandWatch in general, and White in particular, would show any love to the Taylor project. “Did they write a letter of support? They didn’t? How dare they?” an OSA tipster recounts. And just like that, White was a no-go.


White’s not game to talk about the OSA process, but reports that yes, had anyone asked, LandWatch most definitely supports the Taylor project. It meets all the criteria for urban infill the nonprofit – and Squid – holds dear. And hey, pinheads: The letter of support never got written because the project was approved so quickly.