Carmel Bach Festival SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE VolumeThe 99 No. 28 CarmelOn the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com Pine ConeJuly 12-18, 2013 Y OUR S OURCE F OR L OCAL N EWS, ARTS AND O PINION S INCE 1915 ‘RETIRED’ PANETTA HAS BIG PLANS FOR INSTITUTE Still no charges n Offers insights on leaks and terrorism run and hide, but come back here and face responsibility.” against McInchak Panetta conceded that if a country — such as By KELLY NIX Venezuela — accepts Snowden, the process of getting him By MARY SCHLEY FTER A career that took him from Congress, to the See PANETTA page 10A A ORE THAN a month after Carmel police spent three White House, to CIA headquarters, to the Pentagon, Leon M hours searching city IT manager Steve McInchak’s Carmel Panetta now spends a lot of time tending walnut trees and Valley home — seizing computers, an iPhone and thumb dri- fixing dinners. ves — the city has not asked the Monterey County District But he still has plenty of insight to offer about the ter- Attorney’s Office to prosecute him. rorism threat this country faces and what should be done McInchak, who may have illegally accessed computer about. files of city employees, council members and management, In an interview from his Carmel Valley ranch according to the warrant filed in Monterey County Superior Thursday, the former White House Chief of Staff, Central Court June 13, remains on paid administrative leave, pending Intelligence Agency director and secretary of defense the outcome of the investigation. said, “When I’m home, usually I’m here in the valley Monterey County Chief Assistant District Attorney Terry doing chores around our place,” including pruning and Spitz said he hasn’t been asked to file charges against watering the 12 acres of walnut trees that belong to him McInchak, but he knows Carmel P.D. has employed a com- and his wife, Sylvia. puter forensics expert to examine the equipment seized from “It’s an older orchard, and it doesn’t need a lot of irri- his home. gation,” he added. “That’s extremely time consuming,” he said. “It can take Panetta also spoke frankly about Edward Snowden, the days, if not longer.” former National Security Agency employee who fled to “All I can offer at the moment is that we are diligently China and then Russia as he leaked information about the working on the case and want to make sure a thorough inves- government’s counterterrorism surveillance programs. tigation is conducted,” said Carmel P.D. detective Rachelle “There is no question he has done tremendous damage Lightfoot. “I wish I could give you a tighter timeline, but I and endangered a lot of individuals that are involved in don’t even know myself. The DA’s office has been given the our intelligence operations,” Panetta said. “He’s put a lot same information. Rest assured, it is a top priority for our of people and this country at risk.” PHOTO/WHITEHOUSE.GOV Snowden should return to the United States, he said, to Leon Panetta is thanked by President Barack Obama at his See CHARGES page 13A “face our system of justice.” Pentagon retirement ceremony in February. Back home in Carmel; “I think if he really believes in America, he should not Valley, Panetta doesn’t have a shortage of things to do. Car kills mountain Judge’s ruling halts runway safety project lion near high school By MARY SCHLEY By KELLY NIX manager Tom Greer told The Pine Cone. The airport’s runway safety improvement project, as man- A DRIVER hit a mountain lion on Highway 1 near A RUNWAY extension project that would make the dated by the FAA, includes retaining walls at the east and Carmel High School at 2 a.m. Monday, leaving the big cat’s Monterey Peninsula Airport safer — and which is required west ends of the runway that support absorbing concrete beds carcass by the side of the highway until a California Fish & by the Federal Aviation Administration — has been halted intended to slow and stop out-of-control aircraft from careen- Wildlife warden came to retrieve it several hours later. indefinitely after a judge last week sided with an environ- ing off the runway, and to provide extra space for a plane that California Highway Patrol public information officer Bob mental group opposed to the plan, in part, for its removal of lands short, as one did last week at San Francisco airport. Lehman said an officer responded to an emergency call about about 300 trees. Greer said Villarreal’s ruling will cause the airport district the collision. In a ruling July 9, Monterey County Superior Court Judge to lose about $27 million of an FAA grant for the first phase “We responded to the call, located the cat and called state Lydia Villarreal upheld a challenge by the Highway 68 fish and game for pickup,” Lehman said. “It appears, howev- Coalition, which argued the airport district did not analyze See AIRPORT page 11A er, that we did not take any type of crash report, which is not alternatives, traffic issues and other potential environmental uncommon for vehicle vs. wild animal.” effects of the project. “Needless to say, this is a tremendous blow to the airport, UFW organizer See LION page 11A the community and the traveling public,” airport general says he was assaulted Scot McKay, C.V. by produce co. exec entrepreneur, dies at 59 By KELLY NIX A JUDGE has issued a stay-away order against the PINE CONE STAFF REPORT owner of a prominent South Monterey County produce com- pany after he was alleged to have assaulted a United Farm A COLORFUL businessman known for breathing Workers organizer on his ranch in front of more than a dozen new life into several high-profile local businesses, witnesses. Scot McKay, 59, died July 10 from brain cancer. On June 19, Monterey County Superior Court Judge Born in Evanston, Ill., McKay had success in a Lydia Villarreal issued a restraining order against George variety of businesses, including car dealerships and Amaral, owner of George Amaral Ranches, Inc., a Gonzales- restaurants. A year after moving to Carmel in 2003, he based grower-shipper that cultivates lettuce, broccoli, cab- purchased the Carmel Valley Athletic Club and made bage, sweet corn, watermelon, cantaloupe and other fruits major improvements to it, including adding the Refuge and vegetables. spa. Villarreal ordered Amaral to stay at least 50 feet away He also bought the radio station KRML from from any UFW representative after UFW organizer Eulogio Donato alleged Amaral grabbed him by the shirt and dragged PHOTO/MAUREEN MCEACHEN See McKay page 8A A mountain lion lay by the side of the road after being hit by a car See UFW page 12A and killed early Monday morning. 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 July 12, 2013 “Showcasing the Sandy Claws By Lisa Crawford Watson Largest Collection of Extraordinary Furnishings, Linens, Bibi Home Decor & Lighting in AS SOON as they heard the word, “bibi,” they liked it – liked the rhythm of the word and the Northern way it came out kinda sweet and small. As a California.” name, it could never be used in anger. That it means “girl” in Swahili suited them as well. And it fit just fine on a fuzzy little Australian shepherd. Certified Interior By the time they learned it also means “wife,” Designers on staff Bibi already knew her name. A year before Bibi was born in Tres Pinos, her family lost its beloved 7-year-old Aussie. The members of the family found they could get over the grief but couldn’t live with the loneliness in OPPLETON’S that hollow space where their buddy belonged. Fine Furnishings and Interior Design So they drove out to San Benito County, to a www.poppletonshome.com home just south of Hollister, where they watched 299 LIGHTHOUSE, MONTEREY 831 649 3083 a pack of puppies scamper across the lawn, to decide which one was theirs. Bibi noticed them immediately and began a coy game of coming up close and then cavorting off to see if they’d follow. They did. Ever since she was a puppy, Bibi has climbed into an old redwood chair on the deck, where she lays her head on the arm rest to keep watch over the garden. It’s a happy time for the dog and a Hallmark moment for the family. Bibi, now nearly 4, seems aloof for an Aussie, and more JAMES E. RHEIM, M.D. • JOSEPH R. RHEIM, M.D. mellow than most. She would rather lie around in wait for the next big family movement than initiate Time. 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