Category Archives: Pacific Grove

Tourist MisInformation Center’s 5th Anniversary

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5 years at one end of the Lighthouse Avenue traffic jam. Pushed a longtime business out to the lonely ATC that faces a dead end.

Tourist Misinformation

Who do you take advice on Pacific Grove hospitality? People that have spent time and $$ in the locations or a self serving “Information Center”?

Ed Flatley, who owns Pacific Grove’s Victorian bed and breakfast the Seven Gables Inn with his sister Susan, proposed creating the center as a way to generate business for the city during the economic downturn. Since it opened its doors five years ago, the center has served over 550,000 visitors from 120 countries, according to Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce President Moe Ammar.

“The internet is great to get people to the area but once you’re here it’s a great way for visitors to get local information,” said Flatley, noting that hospitality is the number one money generator in Pacific Grove. “It actually saves time to stop in here. Visitors can find out where to eat, stay, etc. in a matter of minutes.”

Tourist MisInformation Center’s 5th Anniversary

Innkeeper Defrauds Voters

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Surprised? I think not.

Where;s The Money

 

“The city has invoiced Domaine Hospitality Partners for the special election costs,” Maitland told the council. “We have not received payment for it.” Maitland told the city council that she first invoiced Domaine on June 7. When the developer didn’t pay, she sent it a past-due invoice on June 24. When Domaine didn’t respond to that with a check, city manager Ben Harvey on July 22 sent its president a letter, saying the bill was due no later than Aug. 11. Maitland told  the Pine Cone that the city paid the county elections for the costs on July 15.

Innkeeper Defrauds Voters

Mvsevum Rewrites History

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It’s not about nature anymore. It’s another friggin’ art gallery and substainable reeducation camp.

The Mvsevm

They come from a revisit of the strategic plan by the board, staff and volunteers (though, strangely, no direct input from the public), and set to go before city officials for approval.

Much of the implementation is guided by Juan Govea, the museum’s new director of exhibits and education, who formerly taught biology at Salinas High School for 11 years.

“The role of museums are changing,” he says. “We are making some adjustments to be more valuable to the community… building and adding to create a more rich user experience.”

They’ve moved the 20-year-old interactive whale exhibit out, squeezed the gift shop into that space, installed paintings of the Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters Association in the gallery, and moved the Chinese village exhibit to a recessed arm off the lobby.

Mvsevum Rewrites History

Bruiser The Pig Will Appeal

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Homeless Pig

The owneea of a pet pig vowed this week to
appeal a decision by a hearing officer that the animal has
to go.

The dispute arose after the Hanes’ neighbor, Ray
Magsalay, made complaints to the city that the odor from the pig’s feces wafted into his property. The Haneses have
accused Magsalay of stalking them.

The family also has a cat and two large dogs, which Mark
Hanes said contributes to about 75 percent of their pets’ animal excrement, leading the Haneses to wonder why the city hasn’t also compelled them to relocate their dogs. Lisa Hanes said she’s had Bruiser certified as an emotional support animal.

Bruiser The Pig Will Appeal

Morro Bay Police Chief Discovers Her Better Nature

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Council bickered over salary topping out at $183,000.

PGPD Help Wanted

Before becoming chief in Morro Bay, Christey served as a lieutenant with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. She holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice management and a master’s in organizational leadership, and also served in the Army.
Christey has completed advanced and executive-level training with the state Peace Officer Standards and Training commission. She was among the 50-plus applicants who submitted resumes following a nationwide recruitment effort by Ralph Anderson and Associates, and seven finalists interviewed with a panel of local police chiefs, public officials and P.G. department heads, according to Livian. Three emerged from that group and were subsequently interviewed by city manager Ben Harvey, who selected Christey as his top choice.

Morro Bay Police Chief Discovers Her Better Nature

Marina Teens Rolling Dirty In P.G.

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Weed, guns and felons. Not welcome?

A pair of 18-year-olds from Marina
were arrested in Pacific Grove July 16 after
cops pulled them over on David Avenue for a
traffic violation and smelled marijuana coming
from inside the Mitsubushi Eclipse one
of them was driving, according to P.G. police
Cmdr. Rory Lakind.
The officers searched the car and found
two pistols they later discovered had been
stolen from people in Seaside.
Anthony Scott and Johnson Nguyen are
both convicted felons, according to Lakind,
with past charges of being a felon in possession
of a firearm and ammunition, and of
carrying a concealed weapon.

Marina Teens Rolling Dirty In P.G.

Bruiser The Pig Goes To Court

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City flip flops on allowing the pig to stay

The hearing, which had the Hanes, Magsalay, the city’s animal control officer Liz Conti-Yeo, code compliance officer Terri Schaeffer, Humane Society program manager Robert Lucius, the Hanes’ attorney Michael Lykken and independent hearing officer Kim Murdoch in attendance, was to determine whether the pig should stay or go within 30 days.

Murdoch reviewed the matter and determined the Hanes were in violation of municipal code, said Pacific Grove City Manager Ben Harvey, noting that initially the city had issued a compliance order for three to four violations, including the accumulation of excrement and proximity to the neighbor’s house and impact on neighborhood.

While they are required to remove the pig within 30 days, they were also ordered to pay $500 in administrative fees to the city.

Bruiser The Pig Goes To Court

Newcomer Ache-man Reports On Seals

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Ex Tree Posse now seal posse reports on The Warm Blob.

Hungry Alien Sharks

Akeman and wife Kim monitor the seals year round and they’ve said the seals had a rough season in 2015.

Warm water temperatures from El Nino and the warm blob drove food sources farther out to sea last year. Seals starved to death and some had trouble during the pupping season.

“There have been a lot of shark bites we’ve seen on seals. This is their favorite food and some may have disappeared but we have seen a lot of survivors,” he said.

Newcomer Ache-man Reports On Seals

And This Little Piggie Gets Evicted From P.G.

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Homeless Pig

P.G. is famous for stories about fussy neighbors. Could be chickens, wind chimes or the assumed ownership of the street parking spaces.

Lisa claims her neighbor tried to sabotage their efforts to keep their pig. even photoshopping feces into pictures of their backyard to use against them. After more complaints, yesterday the city yesterday decided the pig must be moved outside the city and the family must pay the city nearly 500 dollars in administrative costs. The Hanes family is appealing the decision.

And This Little Piggie Gets Evicted From P.G.

Unlicensed “Contractors” Busted

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Greed and corruption. The fines ought to be higher than $1,000. They make that back under the table in a day.

The suspects gave the team estimates for different home improvement jobs such as landscaping, painting and installing ornamental fencing that ranged from $2,000 to $14,100. State law prohibits unlicensed contractors from bidding on construction-related work valued at $500 or more.

The contractors alleged to have made bids without a license are Francisco Enrique Siera Vasquez of Seaside, Pierre Riche of Watsonville, Rolanda Oseguera Bautista of Seaside, Berndt Dieter Von Zehren of Carmel Valley, Emmanuel Moro Soto of Marina, Kevin Smith of Pacific Grove, Carlos Hernandez of Seaside, John Lewis Young of Pebble Beach, Paul Thomas Curatolo of Castroville, Nicholas Christian Larson of Carmel Valley, Daniel Lee Baron of Watsonville and Michael Alan Rowe Pacific Grove.

All 12 were cited for illegal advertising because state law requires all unlicensed operators to state they are not licensed in ads. The penalty is a fine of $700 to $1,000.

Contractors Busted