RUNNING IN PLACE… Squid’s own ADHD tendencies make Squid a strong admirer of focus. So Squid’s beak drops open watching protestors at La Playa in Carmel. 


Of 113 workers who lost their jobs when former owner John Cope sold the little town’s biggest hotel to Classic Hotels & Resorts last year, just two housekeepers have been hired back to the leaner operation slated to open Aug. 1. But it feels just like old times when Unite Here Local 483 protesters gather in front of La Playa, where they lost the battle to keep their jobs. Now they’re demanding their jobs back, though Squid doesn’t think beating buckets on your prospective employer’s doorstep is a good résumé builder. “We want the best workers we can find, and we have no relationship with the previous owner’s employees,” Classic CEO Matt Crow told Squid. 


Even having Assemblyman Bill Monning hand-deliver the union’s 1,000-plus-signature petition didn’t break the ice. Monning, County Supervisor Jane Parker and two former workers approached the front door, but the hotel’s security detail let in only Monning. Parker just seems so threatening!


The union is calling for a boycott, which seems redundant: Why go to a bar devoid of its former expert mixologist? Call Squid a default boycotter while sipping Manhattans elsewhere. 


GOLF CART DOOEY… Squid has ruled out all forms of drunken transportation that involve wheels or engines. But apparently a Pebble Beach Company guest from Canada didn’t get the memo: Calgary resident Michael Cameron was arrested for suspected DUI and hit-and-run resulting in property damage. The vehicle he was driving? A golf cart.


Understandably, Cameron wasn’t happy to hear from Squid. But based on word from CHP spokesman Robert Lehman and Cameron’s attorney, Larry Biegel, Cameron drove a PBC golf cart into a Mercedes SUV on Cypress Drive on the evening of June 23 – with Pebble Beach security as witness. 


Observers report the Mercedes driver said she didn’t need the cops – or for Cameron to write her a check (which he reportedly offered) – because there were no marks on her car. As for the golf cart, Beigel says: “He believed it was taken care of by others.” 


Cameron allegedly left the scene and returned to his hotel at Spanish Bay. When police knocked, he walked up to them with a drink in hand. Cameron was booked. At the time of his arrest, Beigel says, Cameron’s blood alcohol level was over .08, but he may not have been drunk at the time of the accident.


Squid takes it as a reminder: No biking, boating or golfing under the influence. If Squid’s had one too many, Squid undulates home.