Category Archives: Pacific Grove

Nader Agha Back With Another Hotel Plan

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But won’t his name cast a negative impression?

Agha said he intends to meet next week with city officials about the plan, which he said would retain the Holman Building in its design.

The Pacific Grove City Council on Thursday created a Holman Hotel Subcommittee with Mayor Bill Kampe and Councilman Alan Cohen to serve as a liaison between project proponents and the council.

“He has some conceptual drawings,” Kampe said of Agha’s new proposal. “We want to make sure we follow due process and not make a decision based on a pretty picture.”

Agha’s last pretty picture:
Durell Hotel

Nader Agha Back With Another Hotel Plan

If Anyone Should Know About Gulls, The US Navy Does

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But do the New York company’s solutions used by the Navy School work on Western Gulls?

The Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey seems to have found a way to keep ever-present, garbage-munching gulls from landing and nesting on its rooftops.

And neighboring Pacific Grove is taking notice.

The type of system NPS uses was one of the topics of discussion last week at a gull summit in Pacific Grove, as plans move forward for cleaning up the mess left by large Western gulls and trying to find solutions to reduce the numbers of roosting birds — especially on the flat roofs they love.

Seagull Control Systems LLC, a New York company, specializes in rooftop grid systems with wire or monofilament line — like fishing line — that owner Barry Fast says is foolproof in preventing gulls from landing.

By the way – Pacific Grove Juice N’ Java has returned to it’s old ways – picture taken August 10:

Dumpster Juice Java 130810

If Anyone Should Know About Gulls, The US Navy Does

Seagull Summit Declares Problem Is Solved

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The gulls that are mucking up downtown are not Sea Gulls, but Western Gulls. Y’all aint got a SEAgull problem, pardner.

Woohoo Gull

The hot topic forced the meeting to move from a small, Jewell Park meeting room, across the street to the museum. That’s where museum executive director Lori Mannel set the record straight. There is no such thing as a sea gull, she said, explaining that the circling, squawking hordes over Pacific Gull are Western Gulls — never found far from the ocean.

Anyway, readers of LighthouseAvenue.com no doubt can recall back in 2009 when the Dumpsters Of Commerce story was posted to illustrate my opinion that downtown’s bistro owners showed little respect for the town and it’s citizens. The constant violators from back then were checked recently and (surprise!), no wide open trash receptacles.

Seabreeze Motel
Dumpster Sea Breeze Motel 130803

Mandos
Dumpster Mandos 130803
Lighthouse Cinema
Dumpster Lh Cinema 130803

Fandango
Dumpster Fandango 130803

PG Plaza – a little loose
Dumpster PG Plaza 130803 Trash

Peppers
Dumpster Peppers 130803

17th Street Grillee
Dumpster 17th Street Grill

P.G Juice N Java – kind of sloppy
Dumpster Juice Java 130803

Not all is rosy –
Some crows were picking up berries from the ground behind Peppers
Peppers Crows 4

Favaloros leaves garbage uncovered in the alley
Dumpster Favaloros 130803

City trash can with no cover
Trash Uncovered 4 130803

Grapes Of Wraith Catering – this is shared (obviously) with a medical office in the Central Medical Clinic. The lid was up, there were medical records laying there. HIPAA issues possibly, but no food scraps.
Dumpster Grapes O Wrath 130803

Check back in a week – see if there is no longer a gull problem.

Seagull Summit Declares Problem Is Solved

Feast Of Lanterns Keeping Secrets?

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There were fireworks of course, but the first rule of Feast Of Lanterns is you don’t mention the fireworks.

Second rule is don’t hang the Feast Of Lanterns banners from the streetlights.
Taken July 27:
No FOL Banner

The Mon Sori percussionists, a group of local people with Korean heritage, were just one of many attractions at the Feast of Lanterns, which drew more than 1,000 people by 2 p.m.

Although the lantern-adorned vessels and fireworks gathered bigger crowds later in the day, afternoon crowds could not seem to stay away from the Chinese-inspired event.

Music constantly played as the smell of burnt food filled the air, children ran in the water and made sandcastles, impromptu volleyball games were constant, inflatable bounce houses wore out the kids and a bashful sun kept the temperature around 65 degrees.

“The nice thing is the whole city does something,” said Virginia Coleman, a longtime volunteer.

The event was first held in 1905 but did not become an annual festival until 1957. Coleman said she and her husband understand the appeal, having been involved since 1985.

Feast Of Lanterns Keeping Secrets?

Don’t Buy Things From Door To Door Salespeople

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One of the many pleasures of P.G. life is a low number of solicitors trying to sell you stuff. No matter how good it seems, no matter how kindhearted the solicitor acts, they are not to be trusted.

Two door-to-door salesmen took a Pacific Grove resident for $212 in a con to sell magazine subscriptions raising money for soldiers in Afghanistan and for a softball team, police said.

On July 8, two men between the ages of 18 and 20 solicited $34 for a magazine subscription from an apartment complex resident on Pacific Grove Lane, according to a release from the Pacific Grove Police Department. The victim told officers the proceeds were to be split between the “Wounded Warrior Project” and the “Washington Park Softball Team.”

Both men appeared legitimate and provided all necessary documentation including official-looking permits and magazine catalogs, the victim stated.

After writing a personal check, the victim said he later checked his bank account and found the check had been washed of the $34 and changed to $212. The back of the check was stamped with the name “Sharon D. Crabtree dba Monument Subscription Agency.”

Don’t Buy Things From Door To Door Salespeople

P.G. Bank Robber Branching Out

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To other areas. At first glance at the picture I thought she looked like Carmelita.
Cristine Padilla BW Mayor Garcia With Robbers Hat

Back in December the woman robbed the Monterey Credit Union in Pacific Grove. Police believe she could be tied to robbing four different banks along the Central Coast.

The woman walked into the Monterey Credit Union cool, calm, and collected with nothing suspicious about her. She even had a brief conversation with the teller and that’s when the seemingly harmless lady turned dangerous, police said.

She told the teller it was robbery, that she had gun and there were people outside with guns. That’s when she opened her purse and flashed a pistol, investigators said.

Three more robberies in San Luis Obispo County have police thinking it’s the same culprit. “Very similar MO’s very similar descriptions for the person,” said Pacific Grove Police Officer Jon Miller.

P.G. Bank Robber Branching Out

Weird Turn Of Events – Attempted Robber Gets Stabbed By Victim

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The Hear-Old later released the name of the stabbed burglar as 57-year-old Pebble Beach resident Raymond Gutkosky.

A man who owns a house along a golf course on 17 Mile Drive in Pacific Grove told police that at 11:30 a.m. he returned home and found a man inside his house.

“The owner armed himself with a kitchen knife and a physical altercation occurred,” Pacific Grove police Cmdr. John Miller said.

The burglar was stabbed in the chest by the 54-year-old homeowner. He fled by jumping into a dark blue Buick parked outside and a 30-year-old blonde woman was waiting at the wheel, dispatchers said, and the two sped away.

The stolen Buick had a rear bumper sticker reading “Support the Sheriff,” dispatchers said.

Investigators suspect the burglar was a 50-year-old Monterey man. Four hours later, the Monterey man called firefighters to his home and told them that he had been stabbed in the chest and side.

A CalStar helicopter flew him to a Bay Area trauma center to be treated for serious injuries. The hospital listed him in stable condition Friday.

Weird Turn Of Events – Attempted Robber Gets Stabbed By Victim

New Monterey Record Store Moves To P.G.

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Will be at 309 Forest Ave, the location of a long string of failed boring art galleries.

Gallery Christine

Add to the list of stupid things Moe says: “Vinyl Revolution will shake up Pacific Grove.”

Gamber will close his Lighthouse Avenue store July 22. He said he had to move because it was difficult for his new landlord, developer Carl Outzen, to get insurance for the dilapidated building.

Gamber acknowledged he will miss out on foot traffic from the Cannery Row area, but hopes to tap into a different dynamic in Pacific Grove.

“Since there’s no record store there,” he said, “I think the people in that area will appreciate it.”

He said he is aiming for another 20 years in Pacific Grove.

New Monterey Record Store Moves To P.G.

Stabbing Story Seaside Cop Is Fired

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Nowhere to go but down after he admitted to having affairs with other cops wives and 911 dispatchers.

Seaside Police conducted an internal investigation that lead to the department’s firing of Officer Justin Gill, who has been on paid leave since an alleged stabbing incident last year.

Gill was fired on June 27th and since it’s a personnel issue, the department said it can’t go into details on why he was fired.

In 2012, Gill was off-duty when he said he was stabbed on Forest Avenue and reported the suspects got away. However, the Monterey County District Attorney began investigating the case because they believed he may have lied about what happened.

Stabbing Story Seaside Cop Is Fired