John Charles Ensor, 48, was arrested at gunpoint by Pacific Grove Police officers on Aug. 12, 2020 after they say he made threats, yelled racial slurs and threw an aluminum baseball bat at a vehicle and a beer can at another. The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office charged Ensor with a litany of crimes, including a hate crime, assault by means to produce great bodily injury, criminal threats and exhibiting a deadly weapon.
A mental health evaluation was filed, but Butler has not yet ruled on whether or not he is competent to stand trial. Ensor tried to get Jefferson, his taxpayer-funded attorney, fired from his case at the Dec. 4 hearing.
Failed Project Bella, Lawsuit Goes Federal
Place ought to be used for senior housing.
The former U.S. Army general facing a lawsuit by an investor over a failed luxury hotel in the American Tin
Cannery has successfully had the case moved from Monterey County Superior Court to federal court.Investor Todd Timboe in October 2020 sued four-star Gen. Wesley Clark and four other businessmen who were behind the failed Project Bella, a high end hotel proposed for the American Tin Cannery. Proponents promised the hotel would bring scores of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue for Pacific Grove, but the proposal crumbled long before a shovel ever had a chance to hit ground.
A new project to build a hotel on the site proposed by Comstock Development has better financial backing and is moving through the process, though some residents are still opposed to the idea of a hotel on the site. Timboe filed the lawsuit in civil court in Monterey, alleging the hotel backers had fraudulently induced him to invest $500,000 in the project — even as the companies behind the development didn’t have the financial wherewithal to build the hotel.
Seal Posse Opposes Hotel At ATC
And did you know that a Fakebook Page about seals has fewer followers than subscribers to the Hear-old?
Pacific Grove’s shoreline is also a place where thousands of tourists flock to in order to observe wildlife, including the popular seals around Hopkins Marine Station. Thom Akeman, a docent with Bay Net, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s volunteer naturalist program, said he’s seen more than 1,000 newborn pups over the past 17 years he’s been a docent.
He’s talked about seals with more than 50,000 visitors and has trained other docents to help tourists and visitors understand the seal colonies. His wife, Kim Akeman, maintains a Facebook page called “Harbor Seals of Pacific Grove” that has in excess of 12,000 followers.
“We have seen how little it takes sometimes to disturb the harbor seals and drive them off the beaches,” Thom Akeman said about the estimated two years worth of construction that includes removing an estimated 70,000 tons of granite bedrock — enough to fill 6,000 dump trucks.
The environmental report states that no blasting will occur at the site, but it also notes in a geotechnical report that removing that much granite “will probably not be possible with conventional construction equipment.” It does not reference what alternative means of excavation would be used.
Beacon House Closing It’s Doors
Could not recover from Covid it seems.
Senior Vice President Teresa Garate said, “For over six decades, Beacon House has been there for people suffering from substance use disorders and mental health issues, and has done so with compassionate care and the highest quality treatment in the field.”
“The pandemic has negatively impacted many industries and addiction treatment has not escaped its wrath. At the same time, we have seen deterioration in insurance reimbursement,” says Garate.
As of December 31, 2020, Beacon House will close its doors.
Oooo Sting!
In the latest of a long string of cars being driven into local buildings, this Subaru crashed into a music store in downtown Pacific Grove Thursday morning.
Police didn’t say what they believe caused the crash or identify the driver, but the wreckage offered some possible clues: A handicapped placard is visible near the steering wheel and there’s a walker on the back seat.
Life Has Not Been Good To Scott Russo
Living it the way he chose to.
Scott Russo in 2005, arrested for robbing the Kragen Auto Parts store he managed
Scott Russo in 2020
On November 28, 2020 at approximately 6:57 p.m., Monterey Police Officers were dispatched to Mandeville Court on a report of a burglary in progress at a closed business. The person reporting the incident observed the suspect inside the business removing items before leaving in a pickup truck. Responding officers located the truck on Highway 68 and stopped it.
The driver of the truck was identified as Scott Russo, 47 years-old of Monterey. Russo was found to be on Post Release Community Supervision (PRCS) for a previous conviction of burglary and had an outstanding felony arrest warrant for burglary. Russo was arrested and in possession of burglary tools and a small amount of cocaine. Officers searched the truck and located stolen property that
had been taken from the business on Mandeville Court.
Cancel Culture Clubs Cop
Say what’s on your mind? Don’t do it in P.G. Especially if it shows the goal of a Marxist movement that says to kill police officers.
A Pacific Grove police officer has been placed on leave after he allegedly made a social media posting using offensive language about the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s the same officer who in May reportedly placed stickers on his private vehicle with anti-LGBTQ language as well as supporting a right-wing militia group.
Randy Fairgarden and other members of a group he identified as “concerned citizens” have launched a petition calling for the termination of the officer involved. Fairgarden said it has received 1,200 signatures to date.
“You don’t think (police department) knew who he was?” Fairgarden said. “Do you think he’s the only one in the police department who holds those views?”
Nader, Got Any Water?
Somebody’s going to get sued..
The application for the project was made by Vista Nadura LLC and developer Nader Agha, who were told in September by the Monterey County Planning Commission that their application is incomplete. They are appealing that decision to the county supervisors.
The site is located behind Carmel Valley Manor. The subdivision dates back to 2002, and Agha contends his application should have been certified as complete 13 years ago. A county report at the time indicated that the application was determined to be incomplete “because the applicant had not submitted proof of adequate water supply.”
Woman Attacked While On Recreation Trail
Not a safe place nowadays, morning noon or night.
According to police, a woman was jogging on the trail near Seaside State Beach around 6:40 a.m., when she was grabbed from behind and groped.
The woman was able to fight off the man and he ran from the area toward Sand City. Police said a witness chased after the man but was unable to stop him.
Downtown Hand Me Downs – Stockton Democrat Mayor Loses Relection
One of the youngest mayors in the country, who garnered national attention for starting a privately funded program to give poor people $500 a month in guaranteed income, conceded that he lost his bid for reelection in his California city.
Four years after winning more than 70% of the vote, Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, 30, lost by more than 10 percentage points.
It was a surprising defeat for Tubbs, the city’s first Black mayor and a Democrat, whose previous political campaigns were endorsed by the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama. His compelling personal history — raised by a single mother while his father was in prison before getting a degree from Stanford and interning at the Obama White House — earned him national attention.
But he was most known for being one of the first mayors to revive a “universal basic income,” an old idea that got new life as the key plank in Andrew Yang’s unsuccessful presidential campaign.
Downtown Hand Me Down – Stockton Democrat Mayor Loses Re-election