Cop shop block,
An woman in her 60s was badly injured in a vehicle-pedestrian crash Wednesday night, according to the Pacific Grove Police Department.
Officers responded at approximately 6:20 p.m. to a crash at Pine and Forest avenues where the pedestrian was found lying in the roadway. The victim was taken to a hospital by ambulance and the vehicle’s driver remained on the scene and was cooperative with investigators.
They say parking lots are not useful. Sorry fishermen and pleasure boaters, you’ll need to hike over to Franklin street to get your parked truck & trailer.
And Festival Space? There’s this huge plaza right next to the Customs house. Is it too not “useful”?
The purpose of the plan is to guide improvements of Monterey’s waterfront. The plan’s draft, according to the city’s principal planner Elizabeth Caraker, emphasizes more usable space and makes it easier for pedestrians to navigate the area. It includes regulations for both the Fisherman’s Wharf and municipal wharf businesses and makes parking changes. It has been embraced by the Planning, Parks and Recreation, and Historic Preservation commissions.
“Overall, participants said they wanted more useable space where the parking lots are,” said Caraker. “So the re-design would serve to include more temporary event or festival space. There would be better circulation for pedestrians and bicycles and better access to parking in the downtown garages when the waterfronts are full.”
Is there a sound of shenanigans here? Normally something this humongous would need more time and be delayed to almost infinity.
Project Bella, the plan for a luxury hotel at the American Tin Cannery, is generating a lot of positive buzz in America’s Last Hometown.
That seemed to be the pervasive feeling late Wednesday as the City Council unanimously voted to hold a special election on April 19 to make an ordinance change to clear the way for the hotel. But first, the council approved a reimbursement agreement with the project’s developer, Domaine Hospitality Partners, covering the cost of holding a special election.
The question of compensation was addressed first because, as Mayor Bill Kampe explained, “We want to know we’re getting reimbursed.”
“I have a lot of faith in P.G. voters,” said Moe Ammar, president of the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce, at Wednesday’s meeting. “It’s to the benefit of Pacific Grove to get that dollar in the bank as soon as possible.”
Life of crime in a rut?
Jeffrey Rutt, 23, arrested after a vehicle pursuit last week, could be facing more charges as local police agencies found more stolen items in his possession, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.
Three stolen shotguns, two stun guns, knives and a machete were found in Rutt’s car when he was arrested. Following his arrest, deputies conducted a probation search and found stolen laptop computers, iPads, cameras, medications and a survey transit, which were returned to their owners. Rutt allegedly stole the items, worth approximately $5,250, from locked and unlocked cars between October and December 2015.
Will it take longer to get a garage sale permit than approve the hotel.
2016
When it comes to Project Bella, the luxury hotel proposed for the American Tin Cannery, Pacific Grove doesn’t seem to want to wait.
On Tuesday, the City Council is expected to adopt a resolution to call a special election on April 19 for a ballot initiative that would begin to clear the way for the project. The initiative could also be delayed and put on the ballot for the June general election.
Pacific Grove Mayor Bill Kampe said that both the developers of the project and the majority of staff at the city feel moving quickly would be the most beneficial.
Dude will never straighten out.
It all started on Tuesday, when Monterey County deputies were sent to San Benancio Road in Salinas on reports of a man in a silver Honda, stealing items out of cars.
After being spotted in the 300 block of Corral De Tierra, deputies attempted to stop him and were led on a pursuit.
The man eventually crashed into a creek at highway 68 and was arrested. 23-year-old Jeffrey Rutt had an outstanding felony warrant.
I can’t remember. Whoa!
A minor change in the language of Pacific Grove’s medical marijuana ordinance was adopted Wednesday by the City Council to allow the city more flexibility with future regulation.
The city’s previous ordinance said “no person shall grow, sell or distribute marijuana within the City.” The word grow was changed to “cultivate” to better align with state regulations.
“Legally ‘grow’ is part of ‘cultivation’ so we’re really just cleaning it up to make sure we in the city have maximum flexibility,” said Councilman Rudy Fischer. “The state is coming up with laws and regulations and we want to make sure we can control our own city.”
And gets a thumbs up from the cops.
Victor-Almanza-Martinez
Just after 1am, Pacific Grove Police Officers responded to Lovers Point Park. Three Hispanic males had approached four victims sitting inside a vehicle, and ordered the victims out of their vehicle at gun point. The men robbed the victims of their property and stole their vehicle.
One of the men took a selfie with one of the victims, and sent it to his victim as a text message. The picture was examined by authorities, and that led them to their man, Victor Almanza-Martinez, 18, who was arrested later that morning a in the 10000 block of Axtell Street in Castroville.
Almanza-Martyinez was arrested without incident and charged with armed robbery, kidnapping, possession of stolen property, conspiracy, violation of probation, and gang enhancements. Almanza-Martinez was transported to the Monterey County Jail with bail set at $170,000.
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.
Maybe the cost of housing is keeping them away.
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.