• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

VolumeThe 99 No. 46 CarmelOn the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com Pine ConeNovember 15-21, 2013 TRUSTED BY LOCALS AND LOVED BY VISITORS SINCE 1915 Drug runners land at Monastery Beach Burch’s resignation By MARY SCHLEY Tuesday. letter condemns The call triggered a full coastal incident response, with A SMALL boat carrying drug smugglers and their con- sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, paramedics, state parks life- city administration traband apparently landed at Monastery Beach under the cover of early morning darkness Monday, with its cargo See SMUGGLERS page 31A unloaded and carted off in a n Planning commissioner calls truck, according to authori- ties. treatment of employees ‘brutal’ And the smugglers’ work might never have been dis- By MARY SCHLEY covered if they had success- fully ditched their boat. CITY ADMINISTRATOR Heidi Burch’s resignation let- Instead, a California State ter, submitted Oct. 28, was brief and to the point. The reason Parks maintenance man it gave for her quitting was an equally brief, and very blunt, arriving at the beach around condemnation of the way city hall is being run under new 7 a.m. noticed the empty city administrator Jason Stilwell. boat running backward in “My resignation from the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea, circles several hundred feet though a very difficult decision, comes as the result of my offshore, and after also dis- extreme discomfort with current management practices,” she covering a pile of wet clothes wrote. “I can no longer ethically or in good conscience near the bathroom, he alert- remain part of the city administration.” ed authorities, thinking the While her decision to leave the city became public at the boaters may have been in end of October, and she cleaned out her office and walked some kind of trouble, acting PHOTO/CLAYTON SHEMPER out of city hall Oct. 29, Burch’s letter wasn’t released by the city until Nov. 8, after The Pine Cone filed a Public Records sector superintendent Sean The small vessel between two Coast Guard boats off Monastery Beach Monday was used by drug smug- James told The Pine Cone glers to land contraband, which was then carried to an unknown destination in a truck, officials said. Act request to get it. See RESIGNATION page 12A DESAL TEST WELL DELAYED AT LEAST NINE MONTHS By KELLY NIX California Coastal Commission this January, so we could Restaurant can keep begin drilling in February,” Cal Am spokeswoman Catherine CALIFORNIA AMERICAN Water’s plans to install a Stedman told The Pine Cone. “But it now appears that we counter service by test well in Marina to gather data for its proposed desalina- will be unable to meet that timeline.” tion plant have been set back at least nine months because it Because of the additional studies, the coastal commission improving ADA access has to wait for the end of the nesting season of the snowy isn’t expected to approve the test well until November 2014, plover — a shore bird which is found on many of the beach- the earliest Cal Am could begin drilling, according to the es of Monterey Bay. water company. By MARY SCHLEY Though Cal Am hoped to begin drilling the seawater The North Marina location where the test well is to be source well in February 2014, Marina officials have deter- located — and where the full desal plants wells will be — CARMEL BELLE, the popular restaurant in the Doud mined that before the city issues a permit for the well, six happens to be one of the most suitable nesting sites in Arcade, has a permit for 75 seats, even though it hasn’t additional studies are necessary that could take several California for the snowy plover. Earlier this year, a represen- offered that many. months to complete. tative from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service outlined the But when owners Jay and Chloe Dolata received planning And because the small, protected shorebird’s nesting sea- agency’s concerns about Cal Am’s facilities being in the mid- commission approval for changes to their layout to accom- son is from March to Sept. 30, Cal Am will have to wait until dle of prime plover habitat. modate the maximum number of seats, they were told that the fall of 2014 before breaking ground. approval would mean they could no longer let customers pay “We had wanted the test well [plans] to be reviewed by the See DESAL page 31A at the counter — a practice that started in that particular restaurant space decades ago, but which has since been pro- hibited by a city ordinance to prevent fast-food restaurants from opening downtown. Spanish royalty honors founder of Carmel Mission According to city law, when a new ordinance creates a noncomformity at a business, it will be allowed to contin- See COUNTER page 23A Their Royal Highnesses Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Spain visited Carmel Mission Wednesday afternoon in honor of the 300th anniversary of the birthday of Junipero Serra, who founded the Mission in 1771. During their visit, Some P.B. voters they received a tour of the Basilica from Monterey Diocese Deacon Nick Pasculli (at right in photo), laid a wreath at Serra’s cenotaph, and greeted numerous local received wrong ballots dignitaries. Among them was Carmel Mayor Jason Burnett, who chatted with the royal couple for five minutes n Error could impact before they began their tour. “They were interested that the mayor of Carmel’s term is two years, and we joked MPUSD election result that the prince has a life term,” Burnett said. They also talked with Burnett about the things that make Carmel By KELLY NIX unique, such as small homes, no sidewalks and no street- lights. Burnett also presented them with flowers and a gift A COUNTY spokeswoman Thursday conceded that basket of local goods. Included in the basket: A high-heel there were voters in Pebble Beach who were issued ballots permit for the princess, who, Burnett noted, was wearing that incorrectly asked them to vote for Monterey’s school dis- otherwise illegal footwear. “I’m glad we didn’t have to trict trustee candidates, but said the error may not have an arrest her for wearing high heels,” he said. The couple’s effect on the outcome of the election. entourage included two buses full of aides and represen- tatives of Spanish news media, who turned out to bear When The Pine Cone told county elections office registrar quite a resemblance to their brethren on this side of the Claudio Valenzuela Thursday morning that two Pebble Beach world. “I was dismayed and surprised by their rude and residents’ ballots on Nov. 5 incorrectly gave them the option unprofessional behavior,” said Pine Cone photographer of voting for the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Kerry Belser. election, he said the elections office was aware of the issue. He also said it was “premature to report on it” and refused to disclose how many wrong ballots had been issued. PHOTO/KERRY BELSER However, county spokeswoman Maia Carroll said later Thursday that numbers she obtained from Valenzuela show See BALLOTS page 24A 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 November 15, 2013 Sandy Claws By Lisa Crawford Watson Holiday sale offers sweet deals, benefits youngsters Oliver Twist TO RAISE money for charity, St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Carmel Valley will host its annual Holiday SHE FIRST met Oliver, a young Bernese mountain Marketplace Saturday, Nov. 16, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. dog, seven years prior, at work. She was drawn to his The event offers shoppers a bounty of bargain-priced sec- warm, coffee-colored eyes; his rich, plush coat; and his ond-hand treasures. desire to hang out in her office, as close as possible to “This is the biggest sale we’ve ever had,” coordinator her chair. Yet, at the end of the work day, the pair had Ollie Collins told The Pine Cone. “We have some really nice to part ways things. We have so much stuff, we can’t put it all out at once.” This was the beginning of her quest to have her The marketplace features a Lady’s Boutique, a Men’s own Bernese mountain dog, also named Oliver. Shop and a display of one-of-a-kind items. Highlights It wasn’t that she couldn’t find the right dog. It took include a vintage croquet set in its original box, a commem- seven years to convince her husband she should have orative Budweiser train set, a collection of Noritaki china, a one. In the end, it was he who surprised her for hand-painted German punch bowl with matching glasses, an Christmas. When the two finally went to collect their 89-piece set of silver and a barely-used treadmill. 20-pound puppy, she insisted on meeting the father, so “There’s beautiful linens like you can’t believe,” Collins her husband would understand what he was taking added. “There’s all kinds of glassware.” on. Despite meeting the 110-pound sire, they brought The sale also includes an impressive array of refurbished home baby Oliver. toys with fresh batteries installed. Still, they worried that when Oliver grew into an In the past, the marketplace has helped fund a school in imposing creature, he would cause fear among people Haiti — as well as feed its students — and pay for after- passing by. So they taught him to shake hands.

Load more

  32

Copy Link