Monthly Archives: December 2015

Interim City Manager Appointed

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From out of town, been fired from last city manager job. What could go wrong?

After a two-hour interview in closed session followed by an open selection process at a special meeting Saturday, the City Council named former Avalon City Manager Ben Harvey to the Pacific Grove post.

Harvey, 45, was dismissed from his position with the Santa Catalina Island city. When asked about the dismissal, Pacific Grove Mayor Bill Kampe said he had no qualms about Harvey’s new appointment.

Harvey, who had served as Avalon’s city manager since September 2013, was dismissed in November on a 3-2 vote of the City Council after a performance evaluation that was closed to the public. Harvey said he was not fired for cause and that the council decided to exercise its option to pick a different leader.

Interim City Manager Appointed

Divers Find It Deeper

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Challenge accepted and met.

Recently the couple was leaving a restaurant at Wharf 2 in Monterey, when Susan accidentally knocked her purse into the water.

“When it first went over the railing, to be honest with you, I wanted to go in after it,” Susan said. “I never expected to see it again. I just went to work and thought, ‘Well, that’s it.’ ”

But Ron wasn’t about to give up. After all, the purse contained $200 in cash, the keys to their car, worth about $250, house keys, a pair of prescription sunglasses worth $400, plus credit cards and personal identification.

About a week later, Glaze went to the end of the pier to buy salmon at the seafood market. Right next to the market is Monterey Abalone Co., which raises abalone in cages under the wharf.

“There was this guy in a wetsuit,” Glaze said. “I asked him … does he know this harbor pretty well?

“‘Oh yeah,’ the man said. ‘I’m down in the water here a lot.’ ”

The man was Andrew Kim, manager of Monterey Abalone Co. He took down Glaze’s name, address and phone number and agreed to try to keep an eye out for the purse while diving.

The next evening the Glazes were in Los Altos when Ron received a call from Kim. “He said, ‘Ron, I found your wife’s purse and it doesn’t look too bad. It’s still zipped up.’ ”

Divers Find It Deeper

Minimal Monarchs

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Maybe the cost of housing is keeping them away.

Monarch Cluster

Volunteers and officials with the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History recently counted 11,000, down from 18,000 this time last year. That count seems to buck a coastal trend, although not all the counts are in.

Sarina Jepsen, the director of the Xerces Society’s endangered species program, said that from the 145 sites counted so far, the monarch count actually seems to be up from last year. Jepsen’s program aims to raise awareness about the plight of invertebrates that are declining.

Minimal Monarchs

City Leaders’ Greed Affecting Quality Of Life

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Residents be dammed, we want the tax money.

After 4½ hours of public comment and debate about if and how short-term rentals should exist in Pacific Grove, the City Council voted 4-3 to continue to allow them.

That decision was just the first followed by a series of amendments discussed to determine future standards and restrictions on the complex topic.

Among the changes to be instituted are:

• Safety and health inspections will be required of short-term rental applicants.

• Neighbors within 300 feet be notified about a short-term rental.

• A cap of 260 short-term rental units in the city was agreed upon. There are currently more than 180 registered units in town.

“The task force doesn’t safeguard the quality of life of residential areas,” said resident Regina Doyle. “… Instead of seeking (transient occupancy taxes), please ask residents if (short-term rentals) are in our best interest.”

City Leaders’ Greed Affecting Quality Of Life

Don’t Be Stealing Hearts

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Burglars tried to leaf, but were pickled up by cops.

Four suspects in the burglary of The Giant Artichoke restaurant on Cannery Row were arrested Wednesday.

At about 3 a.m., Monterey officers responded to a report of suspicious persons outside the restaurant. They discovered the restaurant had been burglarized and observed four subjects fleeing the area. Officers created a perimeter and conducted a search.

The four suspects — Michael Lopez, 26, Juan O’Brien, 23 and Melissa Canales, 20, all of San Jose and Adina Jimenez, 18, from Morgan Hill — were found hiding nearby and were arrested and booked into the Monterey jail police said.

Don’t Be Stealing Hearts

P.G. Cougar Gets Evicted

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Frightened resident calls 911 to report a wild animal.

Mountain Lion If Attacked

On Monday morning, residents were surprised when they spotted a cougar climbing up trees and over the rooftops of homes along Acacia Street, Eardley Avenue, and Line Street. The mountain lion chose a large oak tree to lounge in.

Some observers were nervous, because a day care with small children inside was nearby. “When I called 911, the first dispatch operator told me to call a biologist! I kept calling back,” resident John Kendrick said.

Pacific Grove police officers were eventually dispatched, and wildlife wardens decided to tranquilize it.

“The mountain lion was unharmed and transported away from the scene for relocation,” Acting Police Chief Rory Lakind said.

P.G. Cougar Gets Evicted

Limits On Roach Coaches

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Become a destination. Enjoy food trucks, sidewalk vendors, street artists, etc.

roach-coach

Debate about food trucks on Cannery Row has been ongoing. In October, the Monterey city council and members of the public voiced their ongoing concerns over increased traffic hazards and the impact of the trucks on the city’s limited on-street parking. Restaurant owners also squawked at the potential of the mobile vendors taking their business away.

“This ordinance was very intensely discussed late last year and early this year in front of council several times,” Assistant City Manager Hans Uslar said.

Limits On Roach Coaches