Recent: MontereyCountyWeekly.com

[831] First Ever Penguin Birth at Aquarium: Blackkfooted chick born Saturday, gaining weight. - Monterey County Weekly

Mary Duan — 2011-01-06

The Monterey Bay Aquarium had a first ever this weekend—an African blackfooted penguin chick hatched in the popular “Splash Zone: Ocean Homes” family gallery. The chick, whose gender is unknown, hatched early Saturday to parents Umngane (UM-GAHNEE) and Dassen in the penguin exhibit in “Splash Zone.” The chick is vocalizing and appears to be doing well, says Aimee Greenebaum, associate curator of aviculture. “We’re very excited to welcome our first penguin chick,” she says. “It’s great...

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[831] Old School : Enterprising OLLI program gives more of our elders the education they always wanted. - Monterey County Weekly

Janet Upadhye — 2011-01-06

Ruben Dozal, who dropped out of school at age 11 to begin working in the fields, figured his shot at higher education was pretty much kaput. Not so fast. “I never had the chance to go to high school,” he says. “I can’t believe that a university is encouraging me to come in. It’s something I don’t take for granted.” Dozal is one of 400 participants in Osher’s Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at CSU Monterey Bay. The 30-plus courses range from...

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[831] Asked at Bonifacio Place in Monterey. : What do you wish you’d gotten a chance to study? - Monterey County Weekly

Zeeek Kim — 2011-01-06

Follow-up: What do you look forward to about aging? GREG MASELLI | Chef | Big Sur A: Even though I know tons of musicians and always take advantage of their talents, I wish personally that I had learned music. I’d like to be able to play tunes. Music Man: I’m totally looking forward to the wisdom and patience I’ll be gathering. ANDREA PARGA | Massage Therapist | Seaside A: Definitely more languages. I travel a lot, or as much as I can, learning different cultures....

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[831] Opinion: One man’s take on his culture’s stereotypes : ¡Ask a Mexican! - Monterey County Weekly

Gustavo Arellano — 2011-01-06

Dear Mexican: I was today alerted to the problem of trash dumped on the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. There are lots and lots of piles of trash – looks like clothes – in a wash in Arizona. Can you tell me what’s going on? - Previously Lived in California but Moved to Massachusetts Some Years Ago Dear Gabacha: Not just clothes but also water bottles, backpacks, plastic bags, human excrement – at least 24 million pounds of trash collected on the Arizona-Mexico border since...

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[cover] Textual Healing : A look at the most entertaining messages sent from Monterey County mobile phones and more. - Monterey County Weekly

Mark C. Anderson — 2011-01-06

In the torrent of often asinine texts he sees every day – i.e. “ohhhh f***. chick’s a dude.” and “I’ve created a drink called, ‘watching the sound of music with grandma.’ it’s straight vodka” – Ben Bator, Texts From Last Night website co-creator, sees something rather redeeming. “No matter what you’re doing, no matter what happens – a crazy thing, an incredibly mundane thing – you’re sending a text because someone else will want to know what’s going on,” he says. “A lot of texts on the site...

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[cover] The Founder’s Favorites : Texts from Last Night co-creator compiles his top texts. - Monterey County Weekly

Mark C. Anderson — 2011-01-06

Ben Bator concedes he digs his gig. “It’s very nice to call this a job,” he says. “I can call going to the bar ‘market research.’” Visitors who sign up for an account on his site can assemble their favorite messages. Here are his: I told them I was gay and asked them to pass the pie. I ruined pumpkin pie for grandpa. Who would win… a chainsaw pooping pterodactyl or a bear with machine guns for feet. big debate about this right now i am too hungover to go to class can you...

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[cover] Bonus Boneheads : More of the texts you just can’t quit. - Monterey County Weekly

Mark C. Anderson — 2011-01-06

Bator admits that the story of how he came to create Texts From Last Night with classmate Lauren Leto can be a little anticlimactic. “There isn’t much to it,” he says. “I tell them, ‘Just read the texts.’” Fair enough. Here, then, are some recent winners from across the country that definitely dovetail with TFLN’s motto (“Remember the text you should’nt have sent last night? We do.”): Next time I say “Watch this” Get me the fuck out of the bar. i mean, i stole her boyfriend...

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[dining] Mando's : Fast Acting: Mando’s quickly fills a beloved Mexican spot in Pacific Grove with attentiveness and flavor. - Monterey County Weekly

Ulia Zettie — 2011-01-06

When my friend pointed out the curious painting of the Venice canals amid Mando’s Mexican décor, she knocked over her Pacifico. It drenched our basket of chips. The waiter was there in seconds with towels, and whisked away our now soggy chips, bringing us a much crisper pile while tossing down a fresh bowl of salsa. Mando’s, just up the street from the Pacific Grove Library, has filled the vacuum left by its proud predecessor Zocolo’s with similar quickness since its debut...

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[features] Real Estate: By The Numbers - Monterey County Weekly

Adam Joseph — 2011-01-06

$965,000 Recent Sale 935 Mesa Rd., Monterey Built: 1979 Size: 2,424 square feet Features: 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2-car garage Amenities: 3 fireplaces, vaulted ceilings, marble floors, wet bar, sauna, fenced yard Seller: Johnson Family Trust Buyer: Robert McCormick Broker: Sotheby’s International Realty, 624-1566 $1,450/mo. For Rent 3095 Marina Dr. #41, Marina Size: 1,042 square feet Deposit: $1,550 Features: 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1-car garage Amenities: Fireplace, two...

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[theater] SoDA Pops : PacRep’s performing arts school picks up where CET left off. - Monterey County Weekly

Walter Ryce — 2011-01-06

Pacific Repertory Theatre’s School of Dramatic Arts (SoDA) is ready to debut a new program, Words on Stage: Voices from Great Literature, in the recently acquired Indoor Forest Theatre. A year-long creation of SoDA instructor/actress Suzanne Sturn and Program Director Maryanne Rousseau, the literary reading series landed at the Indoor Forest Theatre through unexpected providence – Children’s Experimental Theatre’s recent dissolution and renovations slated for...

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[music] Love Realized : Militia of Love celebrates its long-awaited debut in North Monterey. - Monterey County Weekly

Adam Joseph — 2011-01-06

After more than five years of work, Militia of Love will finally celebrate the release of its first full-length album, Life and Love, on Saturday at Planet Gemini. Bandleader, bassist and lead vocalist Robert Melendez has been playing in reggae bands for more than two decades now, but putting together an album and gaining a larger fan base hasn’t been as easy as it was with his San Diego-based Cardiff Reefers. As early as 1992, a Los Angeles Times article pointed out that “the...

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[music] Taylor Made : Lisa Taylor was raised to bring the sound she’ll soon give Sly’s and Cibo. - Monterey County Weekly

Zeeek Kim — 2011-01-06

Lisa Taylor had no trouble finding the groove that has led her to share the bill with big hip-hop names like Talib Kweli and Tech N9ne, and rock veterans like The Jets. It came naturally. “I grew up in a household of theater and music,” she says. “My mother was a thespian and my dad loved music. My sister is a DJ. We’re all musical.” SoulCity, the group she’ll perform with around the Peninsula over the coming weeks, including Sly McFly’s this...

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[music] Bootleg Hooch : Wide-ranging, well-traveled Battlehooch makes East Village its next destination. - Monterey County Weekly

Adam Joseph — 2011-01-06

A few weeks ago, avant-garde rocker Captain Beefheart passed away. The far-out musician left an undeniable and lasting impression on everyone from Tom Waits and Jack White to Beck and David Byrne. San Francisco’s Battlehooch – playing the East Village on Saturday – were also heavily influenced by Beefheart’s genre-bending approach. Its members call their music: “Shape shifting orchestral rock.” “We don’t feel like we fit into a genre,” says...

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[news] Get Involved: Public Citizen - Monterey County Weekly

Staff — 2011-01-06

ONGOING XMAS TREE RECYCLING | COUNTYWIDE – Recycle Christmas trees in areas where Waste Management is your local garbage provider. Trees must be cut into 3-foot pieces. Waste Management also maintains a number of drop-off locations. Find locations by calling 384-5000. Jan. 1-31. FRIDAY 1|7 LUNCH LOCAL | SALINAS – The Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce invites you to chat about your business with potential customers while you support a local eatery. Noon, Applebee’s...

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[opinion] Squid Speaks: Squid Fry - Monterey County Weekly

Squid — 2011-01-06

WHAT THE DUCK?… Squid dines on a duck egg now and again, and is accustomed to paying for such culinary luxuries. Unlike a private equity firm in New York, which is alleged to owe nearly $100,000 for ducklings and hatching eggs from Metzer Farms in Gonzales. Metzer, which raises no fewer than 29 breeds of waterfowl, is suing Couak Capital Group (pronounced, yes, Quack – even with Squid’s slippery inflection, phonetics can be phun!) to collect on its feathered friends, plus 18...

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[opinion] Manufacturing Disease : When marketing copy passes as medical writing, someone wins. - Monterey County Weekly

Terry Allen — 2011-01-06

After the FDA approves a new drug, it rarely faces follow-up studies that might reveal serious and possibly fatal side effects. Some dangers remain hidden for years until an accumulation of disasters sparks lawsuits. Faced with litigation, corporations must cough up data – and sometimes choke on it. A suit against drug maker Wyeth freed 1,500 documents that yielded “unprecedented insights into how pharmaceutical companies promote drugs,” wrote Adrianne Fugh-Berman in a...

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[news] Transfer Trials : Districts brace as law allowing students to flee low-performing schools takes effect. - Monterey County Weekly

Robin Urevich — 2011-01-06

In 2011, a new state law allows kids who attend failing neighborhood schools – as measured by standardized tests – to hop district boundaries and enroll in higher achieving schools beginning next August. The so-called Romero law could shake things up on Monterey County campuses. High-performing schools like Carmel River or Tularcitos that spend $17,000 per year per student are located within short driving distances of Monterey Peninsula Unified schools like Ord Terrace, King and...

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[news] Sidewalk Boxing : Light Speed project drawing neighbor complaints. - Monterey County Weekly

Robin Urevich — 2011-01-06

AT&T’s Project Light Speed, a fiber optic network competing with Comcast for local customers, promises super-fast Internet and cable TV service – but it also deposits clunky metal boxes in public rights-of-way. A three-foot-by-five-foot box on the corner of Third and Park in Monterey caught the attention of Oak Grove Neighborhood Association president Marcia Hardy. “It’s almost blocking the whole sidewalk,” Hardy says. “This one isn’t passable with...

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[news] Ex-CEO Sues : Former credit union chief heads to court, seeks back wages and damages. - Monterey County Weekly

Sara Rubin — 2011-01-06

The former CEO of Monterey Columbian Federal Credit Union, now the Monterey County Employees Credit Union, is suing her former employer, alleging age, disability and gender discrimination led to her firing. Donna Bindel is suing for at least $600,000 in lost wages and damages for “humiliation, mental anguish and emotional and physical distress.” She filed suit on Dec. 23 in Monterey County Superior Court. Bindel first joined the credit union as a clerk in 1981, was promoted to...

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[news] County Awards Communications Contract : New emergency system will prevent outsiders from listening. - Monterey County Weekly

Jenna Brogan — 2011-01-06

Monterey County has awarded a $15 million contract to upgrade the radio system that links the county’s 19 public safety agencies, a response to a federal mandate that requires all radio systems to have their frequencies decreased by 2013. Florida-based Harris PSPC (Public Safety and Professional Communications) Corp. was awarded the contract in December. The company has started designing the system; once approved, Harris will begin implementing it, with a deadline of Jan. 1, 2013. The...

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[news] Toxic Waters : Freshwater algae might be killing Monterey Bay otters. - Monterey County Weekly

Sara Rubin — 2011-01-06

Findings from a recent study show that a toxin produced by algal blooms in freshwater lakes is poisoning otters in the Monterey Bay, evidence of a land-to-sea pollution flow not previously identified. Melissa Miller, Senior Wildlife Veterinarian Specialist in the California Department of Fish and Game and Research Associate at the University of California Santa Cruz, identified severe liver damage in otters beginning in 2007, and brought together a diverse team of marine, freshwater, public...

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[news] War Homecoming: Marina soldier Conrado D. Javier was laid to rest in Monterey today. - Monterey County Weekly

Nic Coury — 2011-01-06

Today, Army Pfc. Conrado D. Javier, a 19-year-old soldier from Marina, CA was laid to rest in Monterey this afternoon. Javier died on Dec. 19 in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan when enemy forces attacked his vehicle. According to the Associated Press, Javier—one of eight children—was a graduate of Seaside High School in 2009. Since was five, he wanted to be in the military. Javier was assigned to 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany. View more photos at the...

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[news] Fallen Trees: PG Council votes in favor of a new, draft tree ordinance - Monterey County Weekly

Sara Rubin — 2011-01-06

Pacific Grove's city council voted unanimously on Wednesday to move forward with a draft ordinance to establish a new municipal code regarding trees and the urban forest. Aerial imaging shows that PG's tree canopy covered 33 percent of the city in 1986, and in late 2010, covered only 19 percent. City Manager Thomas Frutchey attributed this decline in part to a lack of emphasis on reforestation, the old age of many of the area's Monterey Pines, and an existing ordinance that does not...

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[theater] Stage Combat: The Forest Theater Guild mounts a campaign to contest PacRep's lease of the Indoor Forest Theatre. - Monterey County Weekly

Walter Ryce — 2011-01-06

The Forest Theater Guild has hired an attorney and may be preparing to take legal action in their fight for the opportunity to operate in the Indoor Forest Theater. It was reported in the Weekly on Dec. 16 that at the city of Carmel’s Nov. 2 city council meeting, the council granted a lease on the space to Stephen Moorer's Pacific Repertory Theatre's School of Dramatic Arts (SoDA) performance teaching program in the wake of the dissolution of Children's Experimental Theater. The first SoDA...

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[831] Culture Club: Angela Strassheim’s cop shots, Ansel Adams’ legal legacy and the Nepenthe-Sacramento connection. - Monterey County Weekly

Paul Wilner — 2011-01-06

CRIME SCENES: Photographer Angela Strassheim, whose first major solo museum exhibition was mounted at the Monterey Museum of Art, has recently been named winner of the Women in Photography Lightside Individual Project Grant for her unusual explorations of the world of forensic evidence in a project she calls “Evidence.” No, she’s not freelancing for the C.S.I. franchise – but she is fascinated by the emotional and aesthetic underpinnings of the world of crime. For the experiment,...

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[news] Mapping Parks: Interactive iPhone app lets park visitors share hiking tips - Monterey County Weekly

Sara Rubin — 2011-01-06

The California State Parks Foundation, a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and advocating for California's state parks, released a free iPhone app on Wednesday to help state park and state beach visitors share information. Eventually, CSPF hopes to build out the app and include information on all state parks, says spokesperson Jerry Emory. Currently, the top 50 of the state's 270 parks are included, a list that features Pfeiffer Big Sur, Garrapata, and Point Lobos in...

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