The Truth Is Way Out There

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I Want To Believe Moss Landing

According to the sheriff’s log, a deputy took a report Monday from an Elkhorn resident who was upset that someone entered his unlocked spaceship and ransacked the vehicle.

Fortunately, the log noted dryly, “Nothing was missing, and there was no damage to the laser gun.”

But the truth about the unusual crime was neither “out there” nor inside the troubled mind of a deluded spaceship owner.

Cmdr. Mike Richards said he discovered the prank after a reporter requested more information about the spaceship burglary.

The Truth Is Way Out There

Tree Ordinance Sent Back To Morons

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Admin was recently sent a postcard about a missing tree or two. But it’s missing the target like so many other things the city aims at. The letter is addressed to “Homeowner” at the intended address. Nice gesture, but the homeowner does not live there.

Stump Lighthouse Congress

The ordinance was last reviewed 4½ years ago, said committee Vice Chairman Thom Akeman, and the current version was adopted by the City Council in September 2007.

Resident Georgia Booth, who was issued a tree removal permit and crossed swords with Akeman during his compliance inspection of her property last fall, said she has found two versions of the ordinance online, with strikeouts and additions. Others who attended the committee meeting said they didn’t have computers in their homes and needed printed copies.

Tree Ordinance Sent Back To Morons

Judge Rules Against Forest Hill Manor

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Forest Hill Manor Matches

Remember when 6 people sued to move into the same cottage? The city won. Must be crowded in that cottage..

The trial court ruled in support of the city on all counts, stating there was “no evidence” the city “fabricated or otherwise arbitrarily imposed conditions on Forest Hill Manor. The use permit provided for the completion of the project as a whole and a requirement that all conditions be satisfied before the issuance of an occupancy permit.”

Judge Rules Against Forest Hill Manor

Sea Lions Take Over Beaches

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Attracting more sharks, no doubt.

As long as the beaches get fenced off to protect them, more and more will keep coming here to give birth. Not unlike dare I say, illegal immigrants.

“As population has grown, they’ve spread out and taken and started using more and more locations around the Monterey Bay Peninsula,” said Jim Watanabe, with Hopkins Marine Station.

Pupping season not only brings more than 300 harbor seals to a 3-mile stretch of shoreline. It brings eager onlookers too.

“I’ve been standing here maybe 20-30 minutes. They’re really fascinating to watch. They’re really cute and their little sounds sound like ‘mom,'” said Sarah Knox, a visitor from Mass.

Sea Lions Take Over Beaches

Giving Away The Mvsevm

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15 years until we get it back as a mvsevum,

Mvsevm Speakeasy

The letter to interim city manager Charlene Wiseman from Jason Burnett, president of the Museum Foundation of Pacific Grove Inc., proposes a public-private partnership between the city and the foundation in which the museum building, collection and grounds would be leased to the foundation for a 15-year period beginning July 1.

Burnett said the foundation believes that the museum “should continue to be a major cultural, educational and productive asset for the citizens of our area and our business community”

Giving Away The Mvsevm

Revenue – Burglar Alarm Fees

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Palo Alto is collecting $250 for late filed burglar alarm permits. For a city that not only fails to collect from businesses that park all day long in 2 hour spots, does P.G. even collect alarm fees?

Art Sklaroff is one of more than a dozen residents who showed up for an administrative hearing earlier this month to contest the fine, which he said came without warning. Like the others, he explained that he had been renewing his mandatory $35 permit each year, but forgot this year because he didn’t receive the city’s usual courtesy reminder.

Like each of the others, he was told that it was no excuse. The rules are the rules.

Revenue – Burglar Alarm Fees

Revenue – Tax Bicycles

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(desmoinesregister.com)

I paid a bike license fee when P.G. collected them. Sounds good, eh?

Does the bicyclist have to pass driver exams and pay fees to learn to drive safely? Does he pay taxes and fees for license plates and vehicle registration? Trucking fees are very expensive. Does he pay high fuel taxes intended for repairs and building roads? What expense does the bicyclist have except maybe a small sales tax on his bicycle?

Revenue – Tax Bicycles

Revenue – Alcohol Taxes

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The country voted for change right?

Beall’s (D-San Jose)plan would generate about $1.4 billion a year, with the money going toward alcohol- and drug-related programs. He and other supporters noted at a Capitol news conference Monday that California’s alcohol taxes haven’t been raised since 1991. Backers also said it’s time for the industry to bear more of the costs it imposes on society — including drunken driving accidents, alcoholism and other problems.

Revenue – Alcohol Taxes

Talking Bankruptcy Again

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City Hall Bk

Talk of municipal bankruptcy has been in the air since U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael McManus ruled last month that the city of Vallejo, which filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection in May 2008, has the authority to void its existing union contracts.

The judge contended that Congress did not extend the same projection to public employees that it did to those working in the private sector under Chapter 11 bankruptcy rules.

Cities, McManus said, have broader authority to break existing union agreements than private companies.

Talking Bankruptcy Again