Category Archives: Carmel Pine Cone

Let’s Spend $$ On A New Slogan To Attract More Tourists?

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While library hours dwindle.

I wonder what the approval % would be like if there was a vote to spend revenues on attracting tourists.

Pacific Grove has an identity crisis, city leaders say. Butterfly Town USA, America’s Last Hometown and other catch phrases have left P.G. with an amorphous identity that fails even to hint at the city’s greatest attraction: its stunning coastline.

The city also has a calendar of quirky civic celebrations such as the Feast of Lanterns and the Good Old Days that make it a hard place to pin down. And that’s made it difficult to market Pacific Grove to tourists, the city contends. A recent study even suggested visitors are not aware of Pacific Grove and the attractions it offers.

Anyway – the best slogan is the truth – “Pacific Grove, For The Newly Wed & The Nearly Dead”

Let’s Spend $$ On A New Slogan To Attract More Tourists?

Short Term Rentals Approved, Taxes On The Way

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Tax the realtors – I like it.

The council unanimously voted to approve an ordinance reversing the ban on short-term rentals, which the city hopes will generate at least $200,000 in revenue each year.

The new ordinance requires landlords to obtain a license from the city and pay a 10 percent transient occupancy tax in order to rent out their units for less than 30 days at a time. The ordinance puts homeowners in line with the city’s hotels and inns.

“The revenue generated from the license fees and [transient occupancy tax] will help pay for a code enforcement officer,” Pacific Grove city manager Tom Frutchey said.

Short Term Rentals Approved, Taxes On The Way

Art “Theft” Investigation Still Continues, Still The Same Suspects

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Don’t forget about the story of the year. Nothing new, looks like as long as the sheriff stays quiet so do the suspects.

Monterey County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Mike Richards confirmed Wednesday that research into the purported September burglary of a Pebble Beach home — and the resulting disappearance of millions of dollars’ worth of artwork — is ongoing.

And the alleged victims, A. Benjamin Amadio and Ralph Kennaugh, are suspected of committing insurance fraud in the same case.
…
He said detectives suspect the men of insurance fraud and reported they continue to be uncooperative and have not provided any information to validate the existence of the pieces and their ownership of the originals.

Art “Theft” Investigation Still Continues, Still The Same Suspects

City Massacres Butterfly Trees, Butterflies A No Show

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There you go again, messing up Pacific Grove for the sake of the tourists.

Butterfly Tree Stump

“There was a concern that the trimming may have discouraged monarchs from coming to the grove,” said P.G. City Manager Tom Frutchey. “It’s a good hypothesis, but we don’t know the answer to it yet.”

The eucalyptus, which often shed limbs, were trimmed for the safety of visitors to the monarch grove sanctuary, Frutchey said.

City Massacres Butterfly Trees, Butterflies A No Show

$40,000 Not Satisfactory Over Dog Death

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Olga rejects settlement.

Olga

Though California doesn’t allow a person to financially recover for emotional distress from the death of an animal, Ospina’s attorney contends a jury will see that her need for treatment is a result of the attack that killed her dog.

Ospina’s pain and suffering alone is worth $70,000, according to the documents. The dog attack forced Ospina to miss about 16 days of work, which cost her $8,184, an amount characterized as a “fraction of her salary.”

$40,000 Not Satisfactory Over Dog Death

Pet Killer Still Leaving Antifreeze Baited Food

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Evidence points to another resident in the same apartment complex. People who torture animals often graduate up to other crimes. .

The person who placed a dish of antifreeze in a flower bed of a Pacific Grove apartment complex to kill a tenant’s cat in September set out two more bowls of the poison, this time adding food to the toxic soup so it would be more enticing to felines.

Pet Killer Still Leaving Antifreeze Baited Food

City Comes Out On Top In Gay Cop Harassment Case

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Smolinski sought an unspecified amount of money in damages. He claimed the police department’s email system was used to “circulate information which utilized derogatory terms and statements relating to homosexual and bisexual individuals.”

One joke, entitled, “Time for your annual “Am I Gay” self examination,” included seven offcolor, disparaging questions, he said. The sender included a disclaimer that the message was intended as a joke.

Was going to add a photoshopped picture of a lavender police car but decided not to.
Even though the city won this (it must have cost a lot of library $$ to defend) whomever was using the city’s email to send jokes needs a days suspension or better. What other city resources are the highly paid public safety employees wasting our money on?

City Comes Out On Top In Gay Cop Harassment Case

Sicko Poisoning Cats

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Believing her cat’s death was accidental, Edwards consoled herself with the company of her other cat, Todd. But a few days after Lily’s death, the manager of Edwards’ apartment complex said she had discovered a black styrofoam meat tray with antifreeze in one of the complex’s flower beds.
“I picked it up and threw it away,” said the woman, who declined to be identified.

Then, the manager found a tin pie tray filled with antifreeze on a trail behind the apartment complex – an obviously intentional act to kill animals.

Sicko Poisoning Cats

Safeway Pharmacy Robber Accused & Captured

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Picture from Coast Weakly
Brennan Tiffany
no, won’t be passing out acid but maybe something else . . .

Suspect lived on Cypress street in New Monterey and stupid enough to be driving his getaway car into P.G. Why do you think they call it ‘dope’.

The suspect, 32-year-old Brennan Tiffany, was arrested at gunpoint in the Safeway parking lot on Forest Hill Wednesday morning, when officers in an unmarked car spotted him.

Around 10 a.m. Wednesday, a Pacific Grove detective and a detective from Marina following leads in an unmarked car fortuitously saw Tiffany’s Toyota SUV entering P.G. via Highway 68. They summoned other officers and initiated a felony stop, pulling the car over in the Safeway parking lot and drawing their guns before approaching to arrest the driver..

Pharmacy Robber Accused & Captured

Frutchey Named P.G. City Manager

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City Employees – you’re boned. CYA people.

Pacific Grove’s newly chosen city manager was fired from his previous city administrator post in Oxnard 12 years ago for his contentious management style following complaints from former employees who said he created a “culture of fear”.

City residents – you’re boned, too. Look forward to bending over for more tourists.

Two council members at the time said “Frutchey streamlined Oxnard’s bureaucracy and helped make the city more business-friendly,” the Times said. He also had support from the president of the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce.

Tom Frutchey Named P.G. City Manager