Traffic Solutions Sought

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Lighthouse Ave Traffic

The third project — and likely to be the most contentious — will tackle traffic problems on Lighthouse Avenue, a burgeoning business district where many shopkeepers want more convenient parking and clean, attractive sidewalks.

Deal said the city has explored three options for this stretch of Lighthouse Avenue: do nothing; reinstate left-hand turns and make parallel Hawthorne Avenue a one-way street eastbound; or make Lighthouse a one-way street eastbound with a bus-only lane.

The latter two projects would cost from $2.5 million to $5 million.

The best thing that happend was when Foam Street went one way. Face it, residents of Hawthorne – that’s the best thing to do there too.

Then take out half of the curbside parking, reduce some sidewalks and buy up vacant lots and vacant properties for parking off street. Look at Pacific Garden Mall in Santa Cruz as a model.

Traffic Solutions Sought

Man Threatens To Blow Up Art Gallery With Book

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Philip Beeber, 58, entered the Classic Art Gallery at 6th Avenue and San Carlos Street around 6 p.m. and told the clerks to put their wallets in a Louis Vuitton bag or he would blow up the store, police said. He made the threat using a book, police officer Mike Calhoun said.

Louis Vuitton? A label conscious robber, no less.

Man Threatens To Blow Up Art Gallery With Book

Snick Farkas’ Colossus Of Gold

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Snick Farkas couldn’t take the kind of heat he throws around Pacific Grove.
For 12 years, the hardware store employee has lampooned the politics of Butterflyland in his comic strip, “Colossus of Gold.” In his black and white drawings, he chronicles the happenings of a small seaside town called Specific Groove. Here, a faux-gold statue of John Steinbeck, our colossus, has been struck by lightning and expanded to massive size — and is raising a ruckus.

The havoc in Specific Groove is familiar to anyone following Pacific Grove: rampant raccoons, budget problems and former mayors trying to play free golf.

Familiar, too, are the faces of Specific Groove’s movers and shakers, who are much like the City Council members, mayors, department heads and shopkeepers of Pacific Grove.

The Colossus Of Gold comic strip can be seen at http://www.93950.com/cog and the biweekly live renditions are often posted on Youtube.

Snick Finds Pen

Snick Farkas ‘ Colossus of Gold

Beautification Committee Solution: Less Ugly News Racks

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If the city council agrees, the current newspaper and magazine racks would likely be replaced by holders manufactured by Sho-Rack, Martinez said. The same types of racks, currently used in Cannery Row, will be more compact, provide uniformity and will have curved tops to prevent people from leaving items on top of the racks. “We will pay for a maintenance program if they become damaged or have graffiti,” she said. “The maintenance fee for each site is about $500 per year.”

The Cannery Row Racks. Doesn’t that look just like Jersey Bus Station Style.
Newsrack Aquarium

Yes the racks on the ‘Row show uniformity and legitimize all the tabloids, tourist ad books and other wastes of paper. So it will cut down on the unsightly collections of vinyl racks, right? This grafitti laden County Weekly rack is across the street from the other County Weakly rack in front of the Aquarium.
News Rack Cr Weakly

The PG Post office looks like some kind of recycle center for wayward news racks. If it’s in print, you can get it here.
News Rack Old Post Office
If that is not enough, a select few can be found catty-corner from the PO. Yep, blocking the handicap access to the sidewalk.
News Rack P Fish

More vinyl racks make getting out of a car over by the PG Police Substation difficult:
News Rack Gaspars

First, they really should not have any of these impeding the passage from street to sidewalk. This building just had it’s facade restored and repainted. That rack there sure keeps it ghetto looking. Open up the view, don’t block it.
News Rack PG Business

Does Lighthouse Avenue really need more of this? No. What about a real news stand? Actually hire someone to sell newspapers and distribute the other items. The motels already hand out those tourist sheets. Make the businesses with racks on their sidewalks keep them clean. What? They may not want to do that? Then why not sell papers in the store?

Rack outside of a liquor store:
News Rack Old Rons Liquor

The Grove Theater used to have a Greyhound Depot with the best selection of periodicals. Even the Rexall drug store had the papers neatly stacked inside. Pick up a pack of Juicy Fruit when you got the Sunday Comical. That same place today is a rug store with, yes a monster rack out on the sidewalk.
News Rack Hazaras

There is NOTHING the committee can do to make this beautiful.

Beautification Committee Solution: Less Ugly News Racks

Downtown P.G. Looking Ugly?

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Pacific Grove would be a better place if the city’s unsightly newspaper racks were replaced with uniform, less conspicuous ones. That’s the opinion of the city’s Beautification and Natural Resources Committee, which will tell the city council in February it should change its eight racks, a move which will cost P.G. about $4,000 per year for maintenance.

Take out the sandwich board signs, too.

Sidewalk Sign Ugly Signs

Downtown P.G. Looking Ugly?

Recycling Is Good For Environment . .

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But stinks for businesses and citizens

Salinas police said Wednesday they have arrested a man suspected of stealing about 300 bronze vases in the past week from Garden of Memories Cemetery on Abbott Street.

Officers arrested Paul Bruno, 55, who was seen removing vases from the cemetery and selling them at area recycling centers, police said.

Recycling was supposed to be a good thing, but now it’s bringing criminals into our neighborhoods and workplaces. First we had roving bands cleaning out curbside recycle bins that were meant to help keep disposal costs down, now we have modern day grave robbers desecrating cemeteries, and recently thieves stealing copper plumbing and wiring – causing thousands of dollars in damage for a few bucks worth of wine or meth.

Scrap dealers now need to be regulated like pawnbrokers. Get positive ID on anyone bringing scrap metals . .

Recycling Good For Environment . .

DNA Points To Suspect In Olinger Murder

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DNA of one of two brothers charged with the 1997 murder of Kristopher Olinger was found on the steering wheel of Olinger’s car, according to testimony in a grand jury transcript released Tuesday afternoon.

Department of Justice criminalists matched DNA found in the horn area of the steering wheel to Angel Ruelas, 26, of Soledad. The car was stolen from Olinger, 17, when he was stabbed to death along the Pacific Grove Recreation Trail. It was later found abandoned in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose.

DNA Points To Suspect In Olinger Murder

Great White Shark Set Free

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Mister Jaws

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water the Monterey Bay Aquarium today released a 6 foot 5 inch, 171-pound white shark into Monterey Bay.

The shark had been on display at the aquarium’s Outer Bay since September. Approximately 600,000 aquarium visitors saw the shark during the 137 days he was on display, according to aquarium officials.

Free Bruce!!

(Bruce was the name given to the mechanical shark in the movie “Jaws”)

Great White Shark Set Free

Phil Bowhay Flashback – P.G. Fire Horn

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Our punctuation in P.G. was the fire horn. Mounted on top of City Hall, which was also the fire station in those days, it was part of our identity, our signature of sound, unlike anything else in Western civilization. It was harsh, raucous, insistent and serious in intent.

In Pacific Grove, the horn was part of the fine volunteer tradition. We all had posted in our homes the code telling the approximate location of the fire. “One, One, Three” meant Forest and Lighthouse, etc., and there was a chalkboard in front of the station with the address of the blaze.

Living on Grand Avenue, the horn was the lunchtime alarm. I’d champion to keep it, but I’m sure some of the Come Heres would object.

Phil Bowhay Flashback – P.G. Fire Horn