Kids who really A dog’s When a 40-year know their unwavering friendship changes P’s and Q’s ambition — INSIDE THIS WEEK BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID CARMEL, CA Permit No. 149 Volume 94 No. 18 On the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com May 2-8, 2008 Y OUR S OURCE F OR L OCAL N EWS, ARTS AND O PINION S INCE 1915 He made too much money — POSTMASTER but she married him anyway CHALLENGES POTTER By PAUL MILLER IN 5TH DISTRICT RACE JODI JONES sued KCBA Fox-35 for wage discrimina- By KELLY NIX tion in January 2007 after she found out she was making half as much as Brian Speciale, her co-anchor on the top-rated 10 A RETIRED postmaster from Carmel Valley is trying to unseat a o’clock news. longtime incumbent in the race for 5th District Monterey County The suit was widely reported in the local news media. Supervisor. Last week, a settlement in the case was front-page news in On June 3, voters will cast their ballots for Don Ask, who headed the the Monterey County Herald. Carmel Post Office the last four years of his career, or Dave Potter, a But the case had an ironic, fairy-tale twist that Jones and three-term supervisor who is hoping for Speciale managed to keep out of the headlines — a twist a fourth. Jones admitted is “probably unprecedented.” While the 5th District’s next supervi- Even as she asked her bosses for a raise to match what sor will continue to weigh issues such as Speciale was making, Jones and Speciale were dating. Soon growth and the prospect of Carmel Potter says Valley incorporation, the biggest dilem- his experience See ANCHORS page 12A ma is finding an alternative water sup- ply for the overdrafted Carmel River. is a plus — but Their 10 o’clock news Included in the 5th District are a political on KCBA was a big suc- Carmel, Carmel Valley, Big Sur, Pebble cess (left), but Jodi Jones Beach and Pacific Grove. newcomer felt slighted at being paid half as much as her co- ■ Don Ask disagrees anchor, Brian Speciale. In an ironic twist, ten months Despite being relatively unknown in after she sued the station county politics and having never run for for wage discrimination, office, Ask said he believes his “chances are good” in beating Potter. Jones and Speciale were Ask was born at the old Carmel hospital and has lived nearly all of married in La Jolla (right). his 67 years in the area. “I haven’t been away from the Peninsula for more than two and a half or three years,” Ask said. Goalie recovering after Because he’s been here so long, Ask said he is familiar with most of Coots removed the pressing political issues, including water, development and the coun- ty’s finances. life-threatening injury Although his clever campaign signs read, “Ask for Change,” Ask said from C.V. Ranch he and Potter actually have a lot in common. By MARY BROWNFIELD “His environmental stance and mine are so close,” he said. “I think I By CHRIS COUNTS stand for the small individual property owner’s rights more than he does, THREE MONTHS after getting kicked in the face dur- but our goals on how we are going to grow and what we are going to ing a soccer game, there is little outward evidence of Carmel AT ONCE lovable and laughable, the look like — there is not much difference.” High School senior Devon Blackburn’s ordeal, thanks to tal- coot is considered one of the animal king- If elected, Ask said he would try to make the county’s financial ented surgeons and modern technology. dom’s great clowns. But a group of home- records transparent and proposed simplifying them so the public can tell But the unseen ramifications — including persistent dou- owners and golfers are not amused by the exactly what is spent and where. He used the financial debacle with ble vision, medical bills and a heightened sense of vulnera- duck-like birds and their growing population Natividad Medical Center as an example. bility — linger. “Most of us were in the dark how the county hospital was bleeding During a varsity game against Robert Louis Stevenson See COOTS page 13A red until it became a problem nobody could ignore anymore,” he said. School at Carmel Feb. 5, right around half-time, a player kicked the ball loose, and Blackburn dove to grab it, landing See SUPES page 9A on his side. See GOALIE page 10A Alison Eastwood shows off her directorial talents By KELLY NIX crash, form an unlikely union. “It’s about these three characters coming together under WHEN ALISON Eastwood first read the screenplay for very tragic circumstances and somehow becoming a strange “Rails & Ties,” she had hopes of producing it. kind of surrogate family to each other,” Eastwood told The Little did the actress realize she would end up directing the feature film, a challenging role she said was like throw- See EASTWOOD page 14A ing herself into the lions’ den. “I never had any aspirations to direct — I wanted to produce,” said Eastwood, the daughter of acclaimed actor and director Alison Eastwood Clint Eastwood. “But I just started visual- (left) directs Kevin izing the movie, and after a while it Bacon on the set became like an obsession.” of “Rails & Ties.” The Warner Bros. film, which marks The movie is Eastwood’s directorial debut, premiered in showing this weekend at the Los Angeles in October and will be the newly renovated first film to screen at the renovated Lighthouse Lighthouse Cinema in Pacific Grove May Cinema in 4. The screening was organized by the Pacific Grove. PHOTO/ALICE BLACKBURN Monterey Film Commission. In addition to a stitched brow and brutal black eye, CHS “Rails & Ties,” starring Kevin Bacon goalie Devon Blackburn suffered three broken bones and has and Marcia Gay Harden, is a tale in which double vision after an opponent kicked him in the face. two families, following a devastating train 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 May 2, 2008 Trail group’s public outreach effort derailed by vandalism By CHRIS COUNTS local nonprofit, which provides trail condition reports and is the relatively small grow site that had been raided and har- engaged in a variety of trail rehabilitation projects that rely vested by law enforcement in April 2007,” Hopkins reported. THE VOLUNTEERS who work for the Ventana on public participation. Volunteers will return to the headwaters of the Wilderness Alliance want to educate the public about the According to VWA president Tom Hopkins, the boxes Nacimiento River May 9-11 in an effort to complete cleanup trails of Big Sur and its backcountry. Unfortunately — if the have disappeared from the Pine Ridge, Boronda, Kirk Creek work on the site. More volunteers are needed, so if you are continued vandalism of recently installed trail information and North Prewitt Loop trailheads. He conceded that whoev- interested, call (831) 423-3191 or visit boxes is any indication — it appears somebody does not want er took the boxes is likely “an ideological foe” of the group. www.ventanawild.org. that information to be dispersed. “They’re just taking the whole box,” Hopkins explained. The boxes — which are located near trailheads leading “The boxes aren’t smashed and the brochures aren’t scat- into public lands — are stocked with brochures about the tered. They’ve just disappeared.” Regardless of who stole the boxes, VWA volunteers aren’t backing down. Wayfarer awards “We’re looking for more durable boxes,” Hopkins said. “We’re going to keep putting them up. We will not be thwart- scholarships ed in our commitment to preserving the public trails of the Ventana region.” THIRTEEN TALENTED high school seniors and two The VWA received permission last year from the U.S. college students will receive a combined $37,000 in scholar- Forest Service to install the boxes at 20 trailheads within the ship money from the Church of the Wayfarer during an award khaki’s . Monterey Ranger District, Hopkins added. ceremony May 4. the best “Scholarships are awarded annually to outstanding stu- Volunteers continue pot garden cleanup dents with high academic and leadership skills, plus active in men’s About 15 VWA volunteers hauled about 20 backpack participation in community and Christian activities,” accord- loads of trash and debris last month out of a former marijua- ing to the church, which is located on Lincoln Street in down- clothing na growing site located along the Nacimiento River, just east town Carmel. of the Coast Ridge. The effort marked the group’s first col- Provided via endowment and memorial gifts from church laboration with the U.S. Forest Service on such a project. families and friends, and grants from the Monterey Peninsula suits “The volunteers contributed about 130 hours cleaning up Foundation Youth Fund and United Methodist Women, the shirts individual scholarships range from $2,000 to $4,000. This year’s recipients include Jerene Aldinger, Cailee leathers Gonzales and Victoria Lund of Carmel High; Laura Aung, Did you know... Katherine Hazdovac and Steven Matsumura of Pacific Grove sweaters High; Andre LaMothe of Stevenson; Jonathan Gibbons and The tower peeking through the hills Grace Hwang of Monterey High; Nathan Tucker and Joyce sportcoats and trees just south of Carmel is a Yoon of York; Patrice and Patricia Ware of Seaside High; continual reminder of a cloistered Amber Hess, enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of order of Catholic nuns who live and Technology, and Zachary Parkes, who attends San Francisco pray there.