Do you have Youngster One tough group a gallery named discovers the of pooches after you? value of giving — INSIDE THIS WEEK BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID CARMEL, CA Permit No. 149 Volume 94 No. 41 On the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com October 10-16, 2008 Y OUR S OURCE F OR L OCAL N EWS, ARTS AND O PINION S INCE 1915 SPCA: We’ll wait for the antlers to fall off Public schools rank higher statewide ■ Deer tangled in stake from construction site ■ CUSD score 14th highest of By KELLY NIX 389 California K-12 school districts A YOUNG buck who stands out By MARY BROWNFIELD like a sore thumb because he has a 3- foot wooden stake caught in his antlers STUDENTS AT three local public schools did much bet- appears to be healthy, though wildlife ter on statewide tests last spring than they did the year before, officials have different opinions on according to superintendent Marvin Biasotti, with the great- what to do with the animal. est gain at Tularcitos, followed closely by Carmel Middle Amazingly, the deer has been able School. to drink and eat and get around despite According to the California Academic Performance Index the extra appendage, which the animal scores released last month, the district’s collective score acquired in July after getting caught up increased by 12 points to 881, making it the 14th highest per- in construction fencing in Pacific forming K-12 school district in the state. Grove’s Asilomar neighborhood. Carmel High School’s score grew by 15 points, to 840; the “We are fielding 10 calls a day middle school’s increased by 22 points, to 894, and about the deer with the board in his Tularcitos’ jumped 24 points, to 928. All of those scores rep- horns,” said Elizabeth Conti-Yeo, P.G.’s resented personal bests for the collective student bodies at animal control officer. For three months, a handsome buck has been wandering the Pacific Grove those campuses. The buck seems to be healthy and dunes with a 3-foot-long construction stake and several feet of rope tangled in “For the third consecutive year, all of our schools scored not in distress, according to SPCA for its antlers. Wildlife officials say the deer should be left alone until it sheds the above 800, the state’s definition of a high-performing Monterey County Wildlife Center act- antlers — and the stake — this winter. school,” Biasotti added. All but Captain Cooper School in ing supervisor Dawn Robles. Big Sur placed in the mid-to-high 90th percentile in compar- “He has complete mobility of his neck and head, and he can lower down and drink water and “I got a call about a buck who was tangled,” she said. See SCORES page 27A eat,” Robles said. “He definitely can get around fine.” When Conti-Yeo arrived at the house, she found the In a Keystone Cops-like escapade three months ago, the animal’s head was caught in rope used to fence off the buck was scratching or sharpening his antlers outside a house. The rope was attached to the stake. Voter-backed bonds home on Sunset Drive when they got caught in construc- tion materials, Conti-Yeo said. See DEER page 31A much cheaper than expected Month-long tribute to Carmel’s greatest poet By MARY BROWNFIELD By CHRIS COUNTS popularity reached its peak in the 1920s and 1930s, when his poems — often written in the epic style of the ancient Greeks AMIDST ALL the horrible economic news is at least a EVERY LANDSCAPE seems to have a specific writer — earned him critical acclaim and a devoted following. His little relief for property owners within the Carmel Unified whose words not only describe it, but define it. Just as John commentary on man’s relationship with nature, which came School District. The $21.5 million in construction bonds they Steinbeck’s books illuminate the Salinas Valley, Robinson at a time when a growing number of people were becoming approved three years ago will be less expensive than predict- Jeffers’ poems lay bare the beauty of Carmel and the Big Sur disenchanted with an increasingly mechanized world, struck ed, due to lower interest rates and higher assessed property coast. a chord with readers. values, according to district business official Rick Local actor and poet Taelen Thomas will read Jeffers’ Jeffers’ popularity declined in the 1940s, no doubt a result Blanckmeister. poetry Friday, Oct. 10, in the Tor House Garden, kicking off of his staunch opposition to the U.S. involvement in World When bond proponents prepared information for voters in an ambitious month-long celebration that pays tribute to War II. 2005, they estimated the 25-year cost to taxpayers for the Carmel’s greatest literary figure. According to Carmel Highlands poet Elliot Ruchowitz- bond’s principal and interest would be $10 a year for each Now considered an icon of the environmental movement, Roberts, nearly a half century after his death, Jeffers’ words $100,000 of assessed property value. In actuality, the number Jeffers lived in Carmel from 1913 until his death in 1962. His are as relevant as ever. is closer to $6.75 per year for each $100,000, Blanckmeister “Jeffers’ poetry speaks so much to our everyday experi- told The Pine Cone last week. See JEFFERS page 27A See BONDS next page Judge says sinkhole didn’t cause $200,000 damage By KELLY NIX aged Beutel’s porch, but she did not find it was “a sub- stantial cause” of the damage to the home’s foundation. FOLLOWING A three-week trial, a judge found there “We are seeking damages for her front porch and for was no evidence a failed storm drain maintained by the the loss of value to her home,” Beutel’s attorney, Bob City of Carmel-by-the-Sea undermined the foundation of Rosenthal said Wednesday. a woman’s house, or even that it was damaged at all, The trial ended Sept. 24. At another court hearing though the judge did find it partially collapsed her porch. scheduled for Nov. 17, Dauphine will determine, in part, In a civil lawsuit filed against Carmel, homeowner how much the city will have to pay Beutel for the damage Noel Beutel sought more than $200,000 for repairs she to the porch. says need to be done to the foundation of her two-bedroom Stan Linker, an attorney hired to represent Carmel, said PHOTO/COURTESY TOR HOUSE FOUNDATION house on 10th and Junipero after a drain failed and caused he estimated the cost to repair the porch at about $4,000, Robinson and Una Jeffers with one of their sons on a treeless a sinkhole during a winter storm in 2005. while Rosenthal said it would be significantly more. Carmel Point in 1919. An extensive series of events begin- Monterey County Superior Court Judge Susan ning Friday will pay homage to his poetry and love for Dauphine ruled Sept. 29 that the faulty storm drain dam- See DAMAGE page 26A Monterey County’s natural wonders. Get your complete Carmel Pine Cone every Thursday evening in convenient pdf format via email. Free subscriptions available at www.carmelpinecone.com. 2A The Carmel Pine Cone October 10, 2008 Judge throws out carpenters’ lawsuit against construction co. By KELLY NIX veterans. had to spend spend some money on what turned out to have According to the Local 605 suit, “Although the [DMC] no merit,” Lord said. A LAWSUIT filed in August by the local carpenters bid represents that 3 percent [disabled veteran] subcontrac- He said the suit was another effort by Local 605 to dis- union to stop a Monterey construction company from build- tors or suppliers were included, none of the required docu- credit the company, which pays its workers on private jobs ing a new multimillion-dollar Pacific Grove High School mentation was submitted to support that claim.” based on merit and skill, rather than higher, government-set sports stadium was thrown out of court last week. The union also contended that the Pacific Grove Unified “prevailing wages,” which the union prefers. Monterey County Superior Court Judge Robert O’Farrell School District, which granted the contract, “opted to waive For several years, Local 605 paid non-union workers to dismissed the suit filed by Local Union 605 Oct. 2. The law- the defects in DMC’s bid,” giving the company an “unfair picket DMC jobsites and offices. suit claimed DMC Construction did not show proof a portion competitive advantage,” according to the suit. “DMC is probably one of the more productive merit- of its subcontractors for the stadium project are disabled vet- Lord acknowledged that a clerical error had been made in based shops in the area,” Lord said. “The union seem to be in erans, which is required by the state. the paperwork for the bid but said it had been corrected. a constant effort to spread information to clients or potential “Essentially the union didn’t really have the information Because of the error, Local 605 in May submitted a protest clients to try to portray us in a negative light.” to back their claims,” said DMC general manager Mark Lord. of the DMC bid to PGUSD, contending DMC didn’t follow The stadium rebuild includes the installation of a synthet- “We are very pleased with the outcome.” DVBE requirements and failed to list subcontractors who ic grass playing field, composite running track, bleachers and An attorney for Local 605 did not return a phone message were to be hired for the job.