Category Archives: Monterey Herald

Beware Of The (Tar) Blob

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Black Blob

Or there’s oil under all that kelp, when do we begin drilling?

Large clumps of tar are washing up at Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove, above, and several other beaches stretching north into San Mateo County. The source of the sticky tar is yet to be determined.

Tar balls are washing ashore on Central Coast beaches, and while scientists are not sure why, they have a pretty good idea.

From Asilomar State Beach in the south to Moss Beach in San Mateo County, the tar deposits are believed to be naturally occurring, said Dana Michaels, spokeswoman for the Department of Fish and Game.

Before anyone gets all evrio-mental, they were naturally occurring. KION Reports:

02/26/07
State officials believe that the tar balls that have washed up on beaches stretching from San Francisco to Monterey County are naturally occurring and not the result of an offshore oil spill, a California Department of Fish and Game spokesman said Friday.

Beware Of The (Tar) Blob

Explosion At Patisserie Bechler

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Bechler

The blast blew out the shop’s windows and pushed an external wall six inches out of line, he said.

The fire crew shut down everything within 1,000 feet of the shop, bringing surrounding businesses and traffic to a halt, Miller said. After determining that the explosion was caused by a gas leak, the crew closed off natural gas lines and informed Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and the health department.

 

Explosion At Patisserie Bechler

Monterey Massage Parlor Busted

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The fate of a Monterey massage parlor, where masseuses allegedly offered sex along with their shiatsu massage and body shampoos, lies in the hands of the City Council this evening.

V.I.P. Massage, located at 580 Casanova Ave., faces the loss of its license after a masseuse offered to perform a range of sex acts on a Monterey police officer during an undercover sting in October, according to police reports.

During the bust, police said they also found a masseuse practicing without a license and alcohol being served illegally, their reports said.

Would not be notable here except must note the name of the shop owner, Un Suk Zipperer.

Monterey Massage Parlor Busted

Marina Just Says No To Marijuana Pharmacy

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Both Marina and Seaside now have temporary moratoriums in effect against such clinics — actions prompted by inquiries last year about the possibility of locating them there.

City staff members say medical marijuana clinics wouldn’t promote Marina’s general plan policies. The clinics wouldn’t generate sale taxes and could prevent tax-generating businesses from finding space in the city.

I don’t oppose the use of pot, but these clinics are rife with corruption and attract crime to the area.

Grow your own.

Marina Just Says No To Marijuana Pharmacy

The Fleecing Of The Golf Fans

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The Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce will likewise host shuttle services to bring visitors into town and encourage them to linger. Last year, it transported more than 2,500.

Of the 1,110 guest rooms in Pacific Grove, all but 102 had been sold as of Friday afternoon, which is about the same as the past two years, Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce President Moe Ammar said.

Ammar said the impact of the AT&T goes beyond the event itself, as fans who enjoyed their time on the Peninsula later return to the area with family and friends.

Tell me, does this look like Last Home Town Hospitality?
Att Chamber Shuttle Checkpoint

Don’t you dare park in the often empty lot behind Holmans.
Holmans No Att

And please leave your valuables back in your parked car where it will sit on the street  for eight hours.
Att Shuttle Items Not Allowed

The rudeness does not stop in PG, here’s a bit from a letter in the Hear-old

2/15/07
Limiting snacks
We can understand the security reasons for limiting the size of bag people were allowed to bring to the AT&T golf tournament. However, we were turned away at the bus in Fort Ord for having snacks and water inside our bag that was smaller than the size limitation….

I guess last year was our last visit to the AT&T.

The Fleecing Of The Golf Fans

When The Weather Is Fine PG&E Goes Offline

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For the second time in a weekend, parts of Monterey and Pacific Grove were plunged into darkness Sunday night.

“It just happened to have affected a lot of the same people,” a PG&E spokeswoman said.

The latest outage was caused by fallen wires at David Avenue and Fillmore Street at the Monterey-Pacific Grove border, and was apparently unrelated to a power loss Saturday.

At 7:30 p.m. Sunday, more than 4,000 Monterey residents and most businesses on Cannery Row were again left without power after a similar outage the night before.

When Saturday’s outage first occurred, there was some speculation that a car that had struck a power pole on Asilomar Avenue might have been the cause, the PG&E spokeswoman said, but that scenario was quickly ruled out.

Repair crews determined, she said, that a below-ground equipment failure caused a transformer to explode near Fremont Street and Ramona Avenue in Monterey.

When The Weather Is Fine PG&E Goes Offline

Divers Find Torpedo Off Point Pinos

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The circa 1945 torpedo was not packed with explosives and was likely left behind from training exercises in Monterey Bay during World War II, said Tim Thomas, Monterey Maritime and History Museum historian.

During that era, the U.S. Navy conducted war games, shooting nonexplosive torpedoes in the water and practicing beach landings. The Navy chose Monterey Bay in particular, Thomas said, because the conditions were similar to those farther out in the Pacific Ocean.

What’s more hazardous, fuel from dud torpedoes or Round Up

Divers Find Torpedo Off Point Pinos

Seaside Auto Mall Renovation To Start

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The renovation area, bordered by La Salle and Broadway avenues and Del Monte and Fremont boulevards, will get updated roads, new light fixtures, a repaved central access street and new curbs and gutters.

City officials said Seaside receives about $3 million in tax revenue from the auto mall each year. That represents 60 percent of the city’s total annual sales-tax revenue and more than 20 percent of the city’s general fund revenue.

Maybe Seaside should pay Monterey a fee for every car sold What’s with the dealerships calling themselves “Monterey . . .” and being in Seaside?

Some dealerships skirt around the ID by using “Monterey Peninsula” in the name. Look at a map, Seaside is not on the peninsula.
Peninsula

Ford:
Seaside Auto Center Ford

Honda
Seaside Auto Center Honda

Lexus
Seaside Auto Center Lexus

Toyota
Seaside Auto Center Toyota

Volvo
Seaside Auto Center Volvo

VW
Seaside Auto Center Vw

Chrysler
Seaside Auto Center Chrysler

Dodge
Seaside Auto Center Dodge

Lincoln
Seaside Auto Center Lincoln

Mazda
Seaside Auto Center Mazda

Subaru
Seaside Auto Center Subaru

Some don’t hide behind the Peninsula name and brazenly just say “Monterey”

Cadillac
Seaside Auto Center Cadillac

Land Rover
Seaside Auto Center Land Rover

“Monterey” Rover’s spare tires are even more visible
Seaside Auto Center Monterey Land Rover

Acura
Seaside Auto Center Tacura

Jaguar
Seaside Auto Center Jaguar

Jeep
Seaside Auto Center Jeep

The Cardinale dealerships proudly display the town they are in:

Nissan
Seaside Auto Center Nissan

GMC
Seaside Auto Center Gmc

As does BMW
Seaside Auto Center Bmw

Porsche used to represent Seaside
Seaside Auto Center Porche

Guess they could sell enough boxters being in da ‘hood. They have followed the crowd now:
Seasdie Auto Center Porchee

The odd lot out is Chevy – never mind the location, put the owner’s name everywhere
Seaside Auto Center Chevy

Seaside Auto Mall Renovation To Start

Traffic Solutions Sought

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Lighthouse Ave Traffic

The third project — and likely to be the most contentious — will tackle traffic problems on Lighthouse Avenue, a burgeoning business district where many shopkeepers want more convenient parking and clean, attractive sidewalks.

Deal said the city has explored three options for this stretch of Lighthouse Avenue: do nothing; reinstate left-hand turns and make parallel Hawthorne Avenue a one-way street eastbound; or make Lighthouse a one-way street eastbound with a bus-only lane.

The latter two projects would cost from $2.5 million to $5 million.

The best thing that happend was when Foam Street went one way. Face it, residents of Hawthorne – that’s the best thing to do there too.

Then take out half of the curbside parking, reduce some sidewalks and buy up vacant lots and vacant properties for parking off street. Look at Pacific Garden Mall in Santa Cruz as a model.

Traffic Solutions Sought

Man Threatens To Blow Up Art Gallery With Book

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Philip Beeber, 58, entered the Classic Art Gallery at 6th Avenue and San Carlos Street around 6 p.m. and told the clerks to put their wallets in a Louis Vuitton bag or he would blow up the store, police said. He made the threat using a book, police officer Mike Calhoun said.

Louis Vuitton? A label conscious robber, no less.

Man Threatens To Blow Up Art Gallery With Book