Category Archives: San Jose Mercury

Jellyfish Win Latest Bay Crossing Challenge

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Jellyfish 3, Humans 2
Jellyfish Warning

Dublin’s Patti Bauernfeind made it about halfway through her second attempt to swim across the Monterey Bay on Tuesday morning before jellyfish stings once again forced her to stop.

Cindy Cleveland crossed the Monterey Bay in 1983 in 17 hours, becoming the only person known to complete the swim without a wetsuit. Last year, Santa Cruz native Chase Bruckner completed the swim in 14 hours after stopping near Moss Landing to put on a wetsuit when jellyfish stings became unbearable.

Jellyfish Win Latest Bay Crossing Challenge

Aquarium Cleans, Renames Exhibit

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Remodel from “Outer Bay” into “The Open Sea”. Notice that the Fish Jail is losing most of the Monterey Bay part of it’s name?

In what may be the mother of all fish tank spring-cleaning projects, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is putting the final touches on the overhaul of its Outer Bay tank — a 1 million gallon structure that holds more water than the other 90 tanks in the aquarium combined and ranks among the largest tanks in the United States. It’s all part of a $19 million transformation that re-opens to the public Saturday.

Aquarium Cleans, Renames Exhibit

Callin Us All Chowdaheads?

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Legal Sea Foods

A Boston-based restaurant chain is planning a dinner featuring seafood it says environmental groups have “brainwashed” consumers to avoid.

Legal Sea Foods owner Roger Berkowitz tells the Gloucester Daily Times that guides such as “Seafood Watch,” published by the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, have “no scientific basis,” but intimidate buyers.

Callin Us All Chowdaheads?

Pebble Beach “Art Theft” Victims Lawsuit Thrown Out

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Ready for another chapter. C’mon you two we are all waiting..

Christopher Cayce, the men’s attorney, argued that comments to the media by the Sheriff’s Office, which suggested that Kennaugh and Amadio were involved in insurance fraud or some other criminal enterprise, were such “egregious lies” that they amounted to criminal fraud.

He asked the court not to allow the Sheriff’s Office “use immunity for criminal conduct.”

Shapiro countered that Cayce was making “wonderful arguments not supported by the facts.”

The men claimed in the suit that the Sheriff’s Office didn’t seriously investigate the art theft, but instead sought to discredit Amadio because he was involved with the daughter of a man with influential ties to the department.

Shapiro said he will file a motion seeking that the men pay for the county’s attorney fees.

Cayce said, “It will be appealed.” He said he wasn’t surprised by the court’s ruling.


Pebble Beach “Art Theft” Victims Lawsuit Thrown Out

County Asks Judge To Dismiss Lawsuit By “Art Theft” Victims

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Relationships, defamation and dubious art thefts.

Monterey County is asking a judge to quickly throw out a defamation lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Office filed by two men who contend they lost a world-class collection of art to thieves.

An attorney for the county says in court papers that the two men – Dr. Ralph Kennaugh and Angelo Amadio – have little chance of prevailing in their October suit that accuses the Sheriff’s Office of publicly defaming them in comments to the media about the massive art theft.

Christopher Cayce, the men’s attorney, argues that the Sheriff’s Office “egregiously used the media to litigate this matter in the press.” He says the sheriff’s spokesman made “egregious lies” unrelated to the “underlying investigation.”

The two men contend that the Sheriff’s Office sought to discredit Amadio because of his relationship with the daughter of a man with influential ties to the Sheriff’s Office.

Moreover, Cayce says in court papers the two men provided the Sheriff’s Department with documentation about the missing artwork, but the media were told the men were being uncooperative.


County Asks Judge To Dismiss Lawsuit By “Art Theft” Victims

Score Is Jellyfish 2, Humans 1 In Bay Swimming Attempts

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Wanted to raise $$ for a school in Afghanistan. What that has to do with swimming I don’t know. Next up is Bruckner Chase making a second try after also failing last year.

Marathon swimmer Patti Bauernfeind, stung by hundreds of jellyfish, gave up her quest to complete a 23-mile swim of Monterey Bay after about 4½ hours Saturday, just short of the midway point of the quest.

Bauernfeind, 43, left Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz at midnight, hoping to conquer the currents, the cold water and the jellyfish to become the second swimmer ever to swim the bay. Cindy Cleveland did it in 1983, and five other swimmers have failed to equal the feat since then.

Bauernfeind, a Pleasanton resident, swam without a wet suit in accordance with English Channel open-water swimming rules.

Score Is Jellyfish 2, Humans 1 In Bay Swimming Attempts

U.S. Open Looks To Have Been A Success For P.G.

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Moe missed it with his gloomy outlook back on June 13.

Still, I saw bigger crowds on Memorial Day.

At Lattitudes restaurant in Pacific Grove, “We had our best week in history,” said owner Tene Shake. People walked to the restaurant from nearby hotels, some with reservations, some not.

Unlike 2000, the tournament went into the early evening this year to accommodate an East Coast prime time TV audience. That meant diners were coming in later, Shake said; even at 11:30 p.m., Lattitudes was still half-full.

The fact that busing to Pebble Beach was provided by the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce was a key factor, Shake said.

U.S. Open Looks To Have Been A Success For PG

Moe Predicts A Bad US Open Windfall

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Moe blathers from his butt about this month’s “greatest thin that could happen”. Pacific Grove could have more revenues if they’d bring in what people want when they are visiting.

Moe Ammar believes the U.S. Open will be “the greatest thing that could happen” to the local economy.

But Ammar, president of the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce, is the first to admit that this year’s U.S. Open won’t be as lucrative as 2000, the last time the tournament came to Pebble Beach.

While many hotel rooms on the Peninsula were reserved long ago for U.S. Open week, there are rooms to be had with tournament play just four days away.

Ammar’s survey last week showed Pacific Grove’s 28 hotels and motels are 81 percent booked for the U.S. Open — down from 96 percent a week before the 2000 tournament.

Moe Predicts A Bad US Open Windfall

Pacific Grove Man Sends Threats & Powder With Parking Ticket Fee

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Nuts!

William Poolman of Pacific Grove has been charged with one felony count of mailing a false weapon of mass destruction causing fear. He is scheduled to appear in court Friday.

The Department of State Parks and Recreation cited Poolman in February for failing to pay for parking at Carpinteria State Park.

Poolman unsuccessfully appealed the citation. He sent his payment to a parking citation collection agency in Orange County and included a gram of a white substance that turned out not to be hazardous.

Authorities say he also wrote threatening messages in the letter.