Carmel Pine Cone, January 6, 2012 (Main News)
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Volume 98 No. 1 On the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com January 6-12, 2012 Y OUR S OURCE F OR L OCAL N EWS, ARTS AND O PINION S INCE 1915 Highway 68 chainsaw artist becomes TV star Appeals court clears By KELLY NIX p.m. on Velocity, a channel launched in October by way for Flanders sale Discovery network. (Locally, it’s on Comcast 754.) WITH RAZOR-SHARP teeth that could easily take Described as “‘American Choppers’ meets wood chain- n But Burnett says it should be leased instead off a limb, chainsaws have to be the strangest and most saw carvers,” the 30-minute episodes center around dangerous thing used to create art. But watching a chain- Blanchard, a master wood carver who for years has owned By MARY SCHLEY saw carver hack away at hunk of timber and transform it a studio off of Highway 68 near Toro Park. With amazing into an intricate sculpture is downright irresistible. A LENGTHY decision released Wednesday by the That’s what Toronto-based Buck Productions is banking See CHAINSAWS page 12A California Court of Appeal dismantled almost all the legal on when it premieres a new TV series this weekend called arguments advanced by Melanie Billig and her group, the “Saw Dogs,” featuring local carving expert, Steve Flanders Foundation, against selling Flanders Mansion and Blanchard. The premiere episode airs Saturday, Jan. 7, at 9 said the city could proceed with the sale after making a small amendment to its environmental impact report. Chainsaw carver Steve But councilman Jason Burnett, the frontrunner to be Blanchard is well known Carmel’s next mayor, said even a relatively minor update to locally for his intricate and the EIR will be too time consuming and costly, with no artful treehouses (left). But it’s his work for the new reality assured outcome. Despite years of unanimous decisions by TV show, “Saw Dogs,” on the city council to sell the historic home and a 2009 public Velocity channel, that will vote overwhelmingly in favor of the sale, he said the ruling help him become famous. At by the Sixth Appellate District provides an opportunity for right, Blanchard fine-tunes his the city to abandon its plan to sell the mansion and put it up work on the giant wings of a for longterm lease as a single-family home instead. wooden eagle. “It’s disappointing that we can’t find a resolution to this controversy,” Burnett said. “I think most people are hoping PHOTOS/STEVE BLANCHARD (LEFT), BUCK PRODUCTIONS (RIGHT) See FLANDERS page 10A Gardiner’s Resort sold Fire damages famed ‘Wild Bird’ residence to local businessman By CHRIS COUNTS 500 feet — made access by firefighters relatively easy. Although the fire was extinguished, damaged the home’s n Outbids Texas development co. ONE OF the California Coast’s most distinctive homes, upper floor and the kitchen below it. Big Sur’s “Wild Bird” caught fire Jan. 4, but firefighters Karstens said it’s too early to tell what sparked the blaze which planned big hotel were able to extinguish the blaze before it destroyed the res- or how extensive the damage is. “Investigators don’t know idence. the cause yet,” she said. By PAUL MILLER Located on Grimes Point just south of Deetjen’s Big Sur It was unknown whether anyone was home at the time. Inn and perched 640 feet above the ocean, the A-frame home Accompanied by two fire trucks and a water tender, 11 SCOT McKAY — the owner of Carmel Valley Athletic was built in 1958-59 by Nathaniel and Margaret Owings and Big Sur volunteer firefighters responded to the incident. Club who recently acquired KRML radio — announced this extensively renovated in recent years. Also on scene were firefighters from the Mid-Coast week he has purchased Gardiner’s Resort in Carmel Valley Martha Karstens, chief of the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Volunteer Fire Brigade, Carmel Highlands and the Monterey for $2.5 million for the real estate and buildings, plus an Brigade, told The Pine Cone that she received a call about the Peninsula. additional, undisclosed amount for furniture and other busi- fire Wednesday at 10:22 a.m. When she arrived on scene, The California Highway Patrol, meanwhile, monitored ness assets. U.S. Forest Service firefighters were already there. “They traffic on Highway 1. “They were a great help, because the McKay said he and his family, including seven children, just happened to be driving by when they saw smoke,” she home is located on a blind curve,” Karstens added. will live on a portion of the historic property while using the reported. “At first, they thought it was a controlled burn.” rest for a business — but he’s not sure what that will be. Thankfully, the house’s proximity to Highway 1 — about See WILD BIRD page 7A “It’s got to be something that has traction and that fits the See RESORT page 25A POLICE LOG GETS CARTOONIST’S TOUCH By PAUL MILLER However, when we saw the cartoon blog of former Big Sur Bach Festival names resident Owen Cook, we realized the police log’s ironic con- CHANGE COMES slowly here at The Pine Cone, espe- tent provided the perfect opportunity for artistic interpreta- new executive director cially to something as venerable as our police log. No matter tion, and we loved his gritty take on the never-ending small- how hard we work to break important news stories, provide town quirkiness that ends up in local police reports. By CHRIS COUNTS insight to ongoing controversies and document noteworthy Cook, 29, is a 2001 graduate of Carmel High School. He events in Carmel and the entire Monterey Peninsula, it’s lives in New York and is an animator and cartoonist whose AFTER A three-month search, the Carmel Bach invariably the police log that gets mentioned as our readers’ work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Arthur magazine, and Festival’s board of directors announced the hiring of favorite part of this newspaper. We would not think of chang- Debbie Chinn as executive director. ing it. See ARTIST page 22A Chinn — who most recently worked for the Philadelphia Orchestra as a management consultant — will start her new job in the spring. To find Chinn, the Bach Festival’s board of directors followed a somewhat unconventional route. Forsaking consultants and head-hunting agencies, the board launched a grassroots effort, posting notices in music departments at major universities and taking advantage of the Internet. “Given the state of the economy, we decided to do without a consultant and save money,” explained David Nee, board president. “It worked out rather well.” Nee and his colleagues were thrilled to locate Chinn. “She has a superb record of embracing innovation,” Nee said. “The addition of Debbie to our management team allows the festival to continue a tradition of out- standing performance and meaningful service to our See BACH page 25A Have the complete Carmel Pine Cone delivered every Thursday evening to your iPad, laptop, PC or phone. Free subscriptions available at www.carmelpinecone.com 2A The Carmel Pine Cone January 6, 2012 Sandy Claws By Lisa Crawford Watson had considered him, but he barked too much. The The Good Shepherd moment I walked up to him, he was mine. I asked for 30-50% OFF a lead, and walked him around a bit, and then I asked on selected if I could put him in my car. We just clicked. He is still WHEN CARMEL artist Carol Keyes set out to paint reserved and has to get to know people. But his bark SPORT COATS a portrait of Khy, she knew she needed to capture the shirts, sweaters has never been accompanied by a bite.” spirit of the gentle German shepherd, and she knew it She named him Khy, after Persian philosopher and jackets would come through his eyes. poet Omar Khayyam, for the poetic beauty the animal and more His person calls them soulful eyes that melt hearts has brought to her life. A strong, handsome dog with with their sincerity and hint at something secret, as if beautiful markings and the longer fur more frequent he has seen more than anyone knows. among English shepherds, she decided he should be She adopted him in England, a cowering 2-year-old immortalized in a portrait. who had been abused, abandoned and put in the cus- Although she returned from England five years ago, tody of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty she believes Khy still barks with an English accent. to Animals. She says that means he’s “titled.” Once used to running with the sheep in the English “He is such a beautiful dog,” she says. “The police countryside, he has taken well to the Peninsula and further particularly loves the beach. Stricken with hip dysplasia reductions common among shepherds, he finds relief in the soft in lower level sand, where he runs with abandon until he returns with just the right stick. new Abandoned puppies location up for adoption SIX ABANDONED puppies rescued by SPCA for Monterey County humane officers Nov. 16 in Royal Oaks are now available for adoption. One puppy, Ernie, has already gone home with his new family. More than 100 people have expressed interested in adopting Grover, Elmo, Bert, Ernie, Lily and Zoe, and the SPCA said it spent many days going over the list and calling VWLUKH`ZH^LLRMYPHUKZH[[PSSWTZ\U[O\YZ[PSSWT interested adopters. JVYULYVMVJLHUHUKQ\UPWLYVJHYTLSI`[OLZLH A seventh puppy, Felix, was discovered by KSBW ROHRPZ'WHJILSSUL[ROHRPZJHYTLSOVTLJVTISVN reporter Felix Cortez on November 22.