John Denver Memorial Beach Cleanup And Vigil Scheduled

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The eighth annual John Denver Memorial Beach Cleanup and Candlelight Vigil will be held Oct. 9 near the site of his fatal plane crash in Monterey Bay on Oct. 12, 1997.

The beach cleanup will begin at 11 a.m. at the beach turnout at Ocean View Boulevard between Acropolis Street and Asilomar Avenue. The cleanup will be followed by an all-day gathering at the beach, weather permitting), with a candlelight vigil from 5 to 6 p.m., rain or shine.

John Denver plane

John Denver plaque location
There’s memorial trees over at Lovers Point. But the plane crashed at Point Pinos. Of course no newscaster in the US would try to pronounce Pinos so they left it as “shores of Monterey Bay” or “Near Lovers Point”

John Denver Memorial Beach Cleanup And Vigil Scheduled

P.G. Middle School Student Caught With Gun On Campus

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January 25
Officials said the boy — an 8th-grader — brought a .25-caliber, semi-automatic pistol and clip onto the campus of Pacific Grove Middle School Friday. He put the weapon in his locker and showed it off to several classmates.

January 26
Student Who Brought Gun To School Is Seaside Police Officer’s Son
A 13-year-old boy who is charged with bringing a gun to school in Pacific Grove is the son of a local police officer, according to investigators.

July 1, 2006
Former police officer pleads not guilty to gun charges
Larry Raussa is accused of keeping the gun after it was turned over to him from the Monterey police evidence locker to be lodged as evidence at the Seaside Police Department. The weapon was never turned in to Seaside police and was taken by a 13-year-old boy under Raussa’s care to Pacific Grove Middle School in January 2005.

July 28, 2006
Former Seaside officer pleads guilty to receiving stolen gun

The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday that former Seaside police officer Larry Raussa, 62, pleaded guilty to one felony count of receiving stolen property.

Raussa, entered the felony plea with the understanding that Judge Terrance Duncan would reduce the charge to a misdemeanor when he is sentenced on Sept. 27 and that he will serve community service rather than a jail term.

September 28, 2006
Ex-officer receives probation

At sentencing, Judge Terrance Duncan granted a defense motion to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor and sentenced Raussa to three years probation and 200 hours of community service. Duncan said Raussa has suffered enough after losing his job in connection with the incident.

Raussa and his attorney, Mel Grimes, said the former police officer simply forgot that he had the gun. But Deputy District Attorney Andy Liu argued it was impossible because the gun had been altered from its original state. Liu asked the court to sentence Raussa to 90 days in jail in addition to probation and community service.

P.G. Middle School Student Caught With Gun On Campus

Holman Highway Head On, DUI Suspected

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Barry Fahringer, 50, of Monterey was headed west in a Chevy pickup that crossed into an eastbound lane and collided with a car driven by Texas resident Thomas Uiselt and a second car driven by Christina Laufo, 59, of Seaside.

Uiselt, 39, and his wife, Amy, sustained cuts and bruises, while Laufo and her passenger, Naomi Lake, 47, of Marina, received moderate injuries, the CHP reported.

DUI Laws as they should be:
First offense – Drivers’ license suspended for life. Vehicle impounded. Can never own a car or get insurance for life. Fine equal to 2 years wages.
Second offense – enabler that gave drunk a car loses the car. Another fine – same rate PLUS add the same fine to the enabler.
Third offense – 10 years in jail.

Holman Highway Head On, DUI suspected

Kragen Manager Robs Own Store

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Kragen auto parts

A trail of auto parts led Monterey police to a young woman and man pushing a cart filled with stolen merchandise early Wednesday morning.

It turned out that the man pushing the cart and loading the items into a van worked as a Kragen Auto Parts manager during the day.

Monterey police arrested Scott Russo, 27, and Elisabeth Roberts, 24, for allegedly burglarizing the Kragen Auto Parts store at 400 Lighthouse Ave.

As they left the store, Russo and Roberts dropped items, leaving a trail that helped police find them, police said.

 

Scott Russo
Scott Russo

Kragen Manager Robs Own Store

Real Estate Signs Targeted By Vandals

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I have little sympathy for the land bandits. Sometimes you can’t walk on the sidewalk without navigating the barricades of tacky open house signs. The Keller-Williams sign pictured here is blocking the sidewalk.
Kelller Williams Sign In Way

Vandals have made the past couple of weeks at Patrick and Vicki Dwyer’s Real Estate Sign Service an extraordinarily busy time.

Some 50 signs have been destroyed throughout the county during the past three weeks, the Dwyers report.

It appears that vandals used a bat to whack the signs, breaking them apart. Other signs that may be too difficult to destroy were ripped out of the ground.

Real Estate Signs Targeted By Vandals

Tempers Are Hot As The Bruschetta At Favaloro’s

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A local writes in Trip Advisor about their experience with the restaurant’s owners. No surprise here.
Fighting Favaloros

I’ve eaten at Favaloro’s a few times, and the food is decent. When my baby was born, my dad bought us a couple of gift certificates for there to help us out. Imagine my surprise, when I tried to use one (after dinner, mind you) and the owner came running out of the kitchen shouting that the certificates were fake because he always cut them differently. It was a surreal scene. they finally honored them, saying “well just this time” (as if I’d be back) I heard the owner say to his wife as I was leaving that “he might have made a mistake”… still, no apology, and I would never recommend the place to anyone. Pasta Mia across the street has better food and nicer people.

Tempers Are Hot As The Bruschetta At Favaloro’s

P.G. Police Shoot Pit Bull

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One pit bull was killed and another captured after several calls from a Pacific Grove retirement community that the dogs were acting aggressively toward people.

The dogs were reportedly roaming the area around the Pacific Grove Gold Course, near a retirement mobile home park and the Meals On Wheels headquarters.

The dog was then shot once with a police shotgun, police said in a news release. They said the dog was transported to an area animal hospital but “regrettably passed away.”

Interesting, considering that PG is more accessible to dogs than handicapped people.

P.G. Police Shoot Pit Bull

Man Arrested In Cell Phone Hostage Extortion

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A Seaside man was arrested in Pacific Grove in a sting operation Tuesday evening as he allegedly tried to sell a stolen cellular telephone to an undercover police officer.

Police said the phone had been stolen from Alejandro Ortiz on Saturday night while he was attending the Feast of Lanterns pageant at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove.

When I read the headline, “Man arrested in cell phone sting operation” I thought there was a big ring of stolen or hacked phone criminals. Too high tech for P.G., just another stupid bad guy named Kirby Bruno Jr. trying to extort money from an owner of a lost phone.

Man Arrested In Cell Phone Hostage Extortion