Category Archives: Pacific Grove

Good Old Rainy Days

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Moe, what happened to the Benz?

Chamber of Commerce president Moe Ammar, mounted in an electric car, rallied his troops under lowering clouds and the threat of high winds and rain that had already driven away a block’s worth of craft vendors’ booths on Lighthouse Avenue.

Most craft vendors reacted to a memo sent by Ammar Saturday that the county Office of Emergency Services predicted heavy rains and winds of 40 mph to 50 mph beginning at 5a.m. Sunday by folding their tents and stealing away in the night.

By 10 a.m., no storm had materialized.

God Rained Out

By noon, it was pouring.

Good Old Rainy Days

James Kent Barbee Pleads Guilty

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Faces 20 years. Don’t go imitating the military.

James Kent Barbee, 60, of Pacific Grove pleaded guilty to one felony count of mail fraud and a misdemeanor count of unlawfully wearing a military uniform, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.

Barbee admitted he set up the Liberty Spirit Farm Foundation in Missouri and later moved it to the Santa Ynez Valley when he appeared before a federal judge. Barbee used the foundation to solicit donations from people who were told their money would be used to help veterans suffering from combat-related maladies, such as post-traumatic stress disorder syndrome.

Instead of using donations to help veterans, Barbee used significant amounts of the money for personal expenses.

Ventura County Star
James Kent Barbee Pleads Guilty

Good Old Days 2010 – Wet, Cold, Windy

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God Rainy Days

Sunday rain closed down most of the ‘days by noon. Saturday was cold. Parade was so-so. Was better in the real good old days . .

It started with a group of women getting together in downtown Pacific Grove to exchange recipes over tea and cookies.

Within a few years, local merchants caught on that the annual gathering could be a good thing for the community, and they began setting up booths and organizing events. Pacific Grove’s spring festival continued to grow until, 53 years later, Good Old Days is not only the city’s biggest event, but the largest vending event in Monterey County.

Good Old Days 2010 – Wet, Cold, Windy

Pollacci Rape Trial: Rape In Parking Lot Was “Good Sex”

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Friday afternoon, a retired bail bondsmen said Pollacci’s arrest for the 1992 attack on Jane Doe4 prompted a shocking confession in the basement at the Monterey Courthouse.

Robert Stevenson said he met in the snack bar with a man he’d bailed out of jail and the man’s attorney, the late Bill Bryan. The attorney told his client not to discuss his case with anyone and left. The bondsman said Pollacci then began bragging about how he had raped a girl in broad daylight in a parking lot and how it was “good sex.”

“He was like a little boy that was happy or having a birthday party, talking about it,” Stevenson said. “He was weird.”

Pollacci Rape Trial: Rape In Parking Lot Was “Good Sex”

Deborah King Offers 200 Gs To Settle With Fatherless Family

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Deborah King
KSBW Photo

But a PGUSD attorney filed a motion opposing the settlement offer contending it “would be grossly disproportionate” since King “bears all (or nearly all) liability” for the crash, court records say. “Ms. King is settling a multi-million lawsuit for $200,000, which bears no relationship to her potential liability,” according the motion filed by PGUSD attorney David W. Balch.

Deborah King Offers 200 Gs To Settle With Fatherless Family

Pollacci Rape Trial: Only Convicted Of Sexual Battery

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But arrested for ?

Pollacci’s response to the woman’s grievous injuries was “a total breech of responsibility and judgment,” Liu said, but he did not commit rape in April 2008 or in the past.

The attorney noted Pollacci was convicted only of sexual battery in one of the past cases and said there was no corroboration of allegations by the other women. One of them, he said, was “motivated by the media.”

Breeden said that woman will testify she was kidnapped and raped by Pollacci when she was a high school student in the early 1980s. At a time when people believed “good girls don’t get raped,” she did not report the assault. After reading about Pollacci’s arrest in 2009, he said, she contacted a local news reporter who referred her to the District Attorney’s Office.

Pollacci Rape Trial: Only Convicted Of Sexual Battery

Pollacci Rape Trial: Fear Of Revealing Loft Bedroom

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In the tiny mind of Tom Pollacci, the liquor store business is more important than the well being of another human. Didn’t he read that illegal apartments can be made legit?

Pollacci and the woman had consensual sex once many years earlier, after she had been through a nasty divorce and before she moved out of state. He said they ended up in the loft of his liquor store, drinking wine and talking, on the night in question.

When she told him to stop, he did, telling her he wanted her to be there of her own free will. She stayed, they had a good time and slept together, Liu told the jury.

“Then, around 2 a.m., disaster strikes,” he said. As she was leaving the loft, she fell off the stairs, which had no railing and were described as steep, dangerous and “hellacious,” and “took a header,” Liu said.

But instead of calling 911, Pollacci panicked, thinking of the illegal living space he had upstairs.

By the way, the store is Ron’s Liquors at 613 Lighthouse Ave.

Pollacci Rape Trial: Fear Of Revealing Loft Bedroom

What Do Taxicabs, Corporate Coffee And Massages All Have In Common?

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The city leaders all made decisions on them, showing that they are capable of showing a little backbone. Now if someone wanted to open a taxi stand that served coffee while you wait for a massage – well…

Steve Cardinalli of Yellow Cab said he supports a joint powers agency but isn’t comfortable with having MST administer it.

In other action, the council voted 5-0 to allow Safeway to open a Starbucks kiosk inside its store at 1212 Forest Ave.

The change will relieve the city Police Department from the duty of processing licenses and certifications of massage providers, since the state will be the certifying authority, said Police Chief Darius Engles.

Update!
Them Internets got an answer for everything! Here’s a coffee mug with a logo from a cab company that has massage tables in it’s rides..

Relaxi Taxi
What Do Taxicabs, Corporate Coffee And Massages All Have In Common?

Canterbury Woods Suing The City

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Canturbury WoodsAhh, nothing we like doing more in PG than litigating.

 

Carol Hart, Phyllis Burkey, Madeleine Litlefield and William and Alice Englander, who are joining in the suit, live in the units.

Spradling found Canterbury Woods violated the area’s single-family residential zoning by introducing a commercial use in the neighborhood when it expanded beyond the property where the main retirement complex is located.

He didn’t find the retirement home in violation of its city use permit.

Canterbury Woods Suing The City

A Starbucks In Safeway Is Fast Food?

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The Safeway up on Forest Hill did remodel a few years back. I could not tell the difference, the place is still cramped and hard to shop in
.Safeway Forest Hill

Anyway, they do have a deli where prepared take-out food is sold, so what’s the big deal? At least they are not trying to sell tacos.

Safeway wants to remodel its store to include a Starbucks, but the city has had a law on the books limiting “fast-food” businesses since 1980.

On Wednesday, the Pacific Grove City Council will consider whether a coffee bar within the store constitutes a “fast-food” business or is an integral part of the store itself.

A Starbucks In Safeway Is Fast Food?