Carmel Pine Cone, August 9, 2013 (Main News)
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WEEK So many gorgeous cars ... so many events ... this week on the Monterey Peninsula! Read all about them in our colorful special section … INSIDE this week! PEBBLE BEACH • CARMEL • MONTEREY •C CPACIFIC GROVEONCOURSONCOURS • SEASIDE • CARMEL VALLEY • PEBBLE BEACH • CARMEL • MONTEREY • PACIFIC GROVE • SEASIDE • CARMEL VALLEY • PEBBLE BEACH • CARMEL • MONTEREY • PACIFIC VolumeThe 99 No. 32 CarmelOn the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com Pine ConeAugust 9-15, 2013 Y OUR S OURCE F OR L OCAL N EWS, ARTS AND O PINION S INCE 1915 School district bans shirts displaying state flag Lawsuit: Former P.G. mayor killed by drug n Danger from gangs cited California flag could be enough to incite gang violence. Monterey Police Department administrative Lt. Leslie By KELLY NIX By KELLY NIX Fry Sonné — who herself was not aware of the California flag association to gangs when a reporter called for infor- THE HUSBAND of former Pacific Grove Mayor Sandy MONTEREY KINDERGARTENERS attending the Koffman, who died last year, has filed a wrongful death law- first day of school this week got a stern warning: The See BANNED page 10A suit in federal court against two large drug companies claim- beloved California bear is strictly off limits. And the state’s ing a diabetes drug they made caused the pancreatic cancer map? Forget about it. that killed her. A dress code policy handout, given to parents of stu- In a complaint filed July 22 in federal court, Danny dents in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, Koffman alleges the Type 2 diabetes injectable prescription says children aren’t allowed to wear anything with the drug Byetta, which was produced, marketed and sold by “California flag, map, star or bear” — a rule some parents Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and Company, was the think is absurd. reason she got pancreatic cancer. Sandy Koffman, who was “That’s going too far, don’t you think?” said Irma 60 when she died, was mayor of P.G. from 1994 to 2002. Garcia, whose son attends third grade at Monte Vista The 30-page lawsuit contends that while Amylin and Eli Elementary School in Monterey, and who also works at Lilly knew or disregarded the fact there was a possible link The Pine Cone. “That’s crazy!” between Byetta and pancreatic cancer, the companies dis- Written in English and Spanish, the MPUSD dress code seminated false claims of safety “with the intention to includes a lengthy list of outlawed items, some that have deceive physicians and their patients, and to induce physi- been long associated with gangs, including NorCal and cians to prescribe the drug.” SoCal clothing, professional sports jerseys and bandanas. WWW.ZAZZLE.COM In early 2008, Sandy Koffman, who used Byetta from Not surprisingly, see-through fabrics, short shorts and When school started this week in the Monterey school district, stu- 2007 to 2011, began having what she believed was severe other sexually suggestive clothing are also not permitted. dents learned they would not be permitted to show the flag of indigestion. After being diagnosed with cancer in early 2012, But children, even kindergarteners, are now being told California (left) on their clothing, but it’s fine for the them to display that a T-shirt with the outline of the California map and the the flag of Mexico. Even kindergarteners are subject to the new rules. See KOFFMAN page 19A MISSION JUMPS ON Building official fired after weeks of paid leave CONCOURS BANDWAGON n Also retiring from U.S. Army reserve administrative leave more than two months ago, pending an investigation about which city officials refused to provide By MARY SCHLEY By MARY SCHLEY any details. This week, city administrator Jason Stilwell wouldn’t say THE INAUGURAL Carmel Mission Concours Car BUILDING OFFICIAL and reserve Carmel Police offi- why he fired Hanson, and Hanson did not want to comment Show & Blessing of the Automobiles, presented by the cer John Hanson was called in to the police station and fired about anything having to do with the city or his termination, Knights of Columbus Wednesday, Aug. 14, from noon to 5 Monday, just a few days after he returned from his final which was done in the presence of CPD Chief Mike Calhoun. p.m., is a positive that sprung from a negative. round of active training with the U.S. Army National Guard But he did talk about his years with the military — which “It’s a tale of two car shows,” explained organizer Frank at Camp Roberts. included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, cleanup in the after- DiPaola. “A friend of mine who’s a Knight of Columbus in Hanson, a city employee for 26 years who had worked his math of Hurricane Katrina, airport security after 9/11 and New York decided to have a blessing of the cars show, and I way up through facilities maintenance to take over as build- went there to help him. He had a heart attack while I was ing official after Tim Meroney retired in 2007, was placed on See HANSON page 17A there, and he looked at me and said, ‘You and your wife are going to have to do the show.’” That experience inspired him to approach Bishop Richard Garcia about the possibility of staging a similar concours and China was unlikely haven for Holocaust refugees car blessing in the courtyard of the historic Carmel Mission during the Monterey Peninsula’s world-famous Concours By CHRIS COUNTS Week. The event would raise money for the Knights of Columbus — the largest fraternal order in the Catholic A REMARKABLE journey comes full circle next week when church — and the Carmel Mission Foundation, which is Pebble Beach resident Harry Katz travels to Chicago to meet eight sur- undertaking the extensive seismic upgrade and renovation of vivors of Shanghai’s Ghetto — 74 years after his Jewish family fled the the Mission. Holocaust in Nazi Germany. “It just made sense,” DiPaola, a car guy himself, said. “We Now 80, Katz was born in Berlin in 1933, the same year Adolf Hitler contacted Bishop Garcia, and he said he’d love to do it.” and the Nazis came to power. Although he remembers few details of his early childhood, he recalls the day when he was 5 years old and soldiers See MISSION page 15A from the Gestapo told his family they had one hour to pack a few suit- cases and leave their home. “I heard their footsteps coming up the stair- case,” Katz said. He told The Pine Cone his family lived above a Gestapo station, and his father, Julius, a veteran of the German army in World War I, believed his family would be safe — despite the rising tide of anti-semitism prevalent in Germany on the eve of World War II. “He was friends with some of the Gestapo and played cards with them,” Katz recalled. “He thought we were OK.” After being kicked out of their apartment, over the next five months the Katz family desperately sought a way to leave Germany. Like many Jews in Germany in 1939, the family had few options, because very few countries would accept them. While Katz had trouble comprehending the See REFUGEE page 14A PHOTO/FRANK DIPAOLA In the latest addition to Concours Week festivities, a car show and Harry Katz, age 12 or 13, posing with family members in Shanghai after they fled Nazi car blessing are set for the Mission courtyard Wednesday. Germany. Behind Harry are his uncle Eric, sister Ilse, aunt Mischka and mother, Frieda. PHOTO/COURTESY HARRY KATZ 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 August 9, 2013 Sandy Claws By Lisa Crawford Watson Water baby HE WAS fishing from his Albin boat in Fort Bragg, a coastal community north of Mendocino, when a boat came into the harbor, carrying two Portuguese water dogs. Having recently lost Serra, a 10-year-old compan- ion of the same breed, he paid attention to the two wavy-haired working dogs. He also noticed that one of them, named Schooner, was expecting puppies, so he quickly reserved the pick of the litter. For 12 weeks he saw Schooner every day, waiting and watching, until finally the pup he was waiting for was born on a misty morning aboard a boat in Fort Bragg. True to her heritage, Misty, now 7, is a water baby who loves to go to the beach, where she swims easily and efficiently with her webbed feet, or runs through the surf along the shore. Because the sugar-fine sand settles deep into her hair, her family limits her visits, taking her to the beach every two weeks, just before bath time. Bred to work in the water, Portuguese water dogs were trained to usher fish into fishing nets, retrieve bro- ken tackle, and move easily among bobbing trawlers in the warm waters off the coast of Portugal, and all the way to the frigid fishing waters of Iceland. While Misty’s www.carmelpinecone.com predecessor, Serra, was an expert swimmer in the icy waters of Lake Tahoe, where her family spent their win- ters, Misty stays close to shore in the coastal waters of Carmel. More often, she is seen with her person, trekking up wait patiently for her treats. After slipping into a few Ocean Avenue to Carmel Plaza for coffee, followed by a more storefronts for handouts, Misty finishes her outing visit to Tiffany, where she helps herself to cookies. with a stroll along Scenic Road, overlooking her beloved Trained with hand signals, she knows not to bark but to beach.