Long time tradition with no phony charm. Residents decorate homes with holiday flair. Beaumont, Morse, McFarland and Olmstead are the primary streets, with portions of Forest, Fountain & Fourteenth streets participating.
Category Archives: Pacific Grove Eye
Oh, Where Does The Axe Fall?
Closing the city’s library and museum, trimming office hours and cutting police, fire and public works positions are among the hard financial choices before the Pacific Grove City Council.
The council will meet Wednesday to begin discussing how to balance its budget in the coming year.
“Now we’re at crunch time,” said Mayor Dan Cort.
· Eliminating general fund support for the city library and Museum of Natural History, which would save $250,000 for the remainder of this fiscal year and $1.2 million in fiscal 2008-09. Museum donations have fallen to an estimated $5,000, down from a projected $60,000. Library programs brought in about $39,000 in fees, purchases, fines and other revenue.
· Closing City Hall on alternate Fridays, with a 10 percent employee pay cut, saving $85,000 this fiscal year and $350,000 next fiscal year.
· Reducing fire service, with three options ranging from annual cutbacks of $95,000 to $245,000.
· Reducing police service, with three options ranging from annual cutbacks of $97,000 to $353,000.
· Reducing the public works staff, with three options ranging from annual cutbacks of $122,000 to $410,000.
· Continuing to defer maintenance of city streets and facilities, responding only to immediately needed repairs; and reducing the frequency of parks mowing, trimming and similar work.
· Eliminating salaries for City Council members, saving $10,000 this fiscal year and $39,000 next year.
· Cutting managerial and staff positions in other departments.
Making all the cuts would reduce the city’s costs by $3.1 million.
Here’s a few ideas:
The city can sell bumper stickers “Don’t Blame Me, I Voted Yes”.
Axe funding for the Chamber’Ocommerce. Make them earn their funding and see if they work harder. Last TV pitch I heard from them was for a travel agency and a web advertising firm. Like that REALLY draws commerce to PG.
That tourist center $100K? Forget it.
Go back and re-visit the property transfer tax – hit the very turkeys that have helped ruin the family setting of the town.
Charge for ‘sign permits’ – $100 a month for open houses and other sidewalk graffiti.
Charge businesses that use the sidewalks as extensions of the store. That’s public property they are serving meals on . . .
Farm out parking enforcement to Monterey. They take no prisoners (or abandoned VWs).
Trim the brass at the PD and FD. Put more in uniform and on the street. Or think about joining forces with the peninsula.
Sewers? Charge the businesses that burden in the system more than the residents.
Futons All Gone
Just like the vacation homes in PG that are vacated in the winter, the Futons And Such store whisks away back to it’s Alvarado Street location.
Another empty store to keep balance with the empty Hallmark store.
John Denver Memorial Update
Just got around to checking out the shoreline on a clear November day and noted the progress of the plaque placement for the John Denver Memorial near the crash site. 
Don’t forget the faction of Angry Old Farts that don’t want to have it there. They must be preparing a lawsuit of their own..
Business Slow? Re-Route The Tourists
On Tuesday, the City Council approved placing directional signs that would route motorists on Ocean View Boulevard up to Lighthouse Avenue so they could travel through “historic downtown Pacific Grove” on their way to the fabled drive.
The sign would have eastbound drivers hang a left at 17th Street, go up to Lighthouse and turn right, rather than simply go straight and follow Jewell or Pacific avenues to 17-Mile Drive.
Looks like the first plan to send them up Grand fizzled. And what happened here long ago that makes it so historic anyway?
But really. The Pebble Bound tourists are more likely to follow the shoreline to see the true beauty of P.G. What is better to see and stop to look at?
The coastline that is often called “The Poor Man’s 17 Mile Drive”
Or do the really want the Tourist Trappings like junkyard garbage,
. . and rusty yard decor.
What would you choose?
Art Galleries On The Wane? Another One Gone
Possibilities has possibly packed up, padlocked and parted.
Last Month:
Today:
Notice that it’s next to a vacant storefront? That was another art gallery that closed back in August.
Will The Last One Leaving Turn Off The Lights?
Bistro Goes Bust
A Weekender Town Meets Weekender Businesses
Dumpsters Of Commerce: Hello, Code Enforcement?
Blog entry from March about P.G. Juice n Java piling trash in the planter box next to the overflowing dumpster.
Box with address.
It’s still there, though in a BIG way.
Notice on dumpster fence
Pallets, paper and cardboard. Certainly combustible. So, does this qualify as an “accumulation”? Or does LBAM Moth spray fireproof rubbish?
