A celebration of the Carmel lifestyle… a special section inside InYouDr reamsthis week! BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID CARMEL, CA Permit No. 149 Volume 94 No. 13 On the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com March 28-April 3, 2008 Y OUR S OURCE F OR L OCAL N EWS, ARTS AND O PINION S INCE 1915 THE SPEED BUMP IS NO MORE Laird calls for delay in By MARY BROWNFIELD water cutback order HE DOLORES Street speed T By KELLY NIX bump that had neighbors drawing battle lines was removed Tuesday, N A letter to the State Water Resources Control Board, 27th District a week after a contentious com- I Assemblyman John Laird urged the agency to delay acting on a cease and munity meeting in Carmel City desist order that would require the Peninsula to limit its water use to Hall where residents bickered, extremely low levels. found no compromises, threatened In the three-page letter dated March 25, Laird also criticized the to sue and walked out in anger. California Public Utilities Commission for taking three years to finalize At issue was the black and yel- an environmental impact report on Cal Am’s proposed Coastal Water low plastic speed hump nailed to Project, which includes a desalination plant that would provide a drought- the asphalt last October, mostly in free water supply. response to the organized cam- “This order would punish the local Monterey Peninsula community paign and repeated pleas of resi- for the slow speed at which the PUC has moved to conceive and design a dent Jeff White, who said people new project,” according to the letter. speed down the narrow street, Laird’s letter was sent to the SWRCB on the heels of a public hearing endangering pedestrians and pets. in Monterey set for Tuesday in which Peninsula residents may voice their The short stretch is a thoroughfare PHOTO/MARY BROWNFIELD Public works superintendent Stu Ross and his crew remove a controversial See DELAY page 15A See HUMP page 22A plastic speed bump from Dolores Street Tuesday. Misdemeanor charge in Poll: Pine Cone readers Firefighters battle fatal crossing accident support incumbents city over merger By MARY BROWNFIELD THE DRIVER accused of hitting and killing 62-year-old Rebecca AN INTERNET poll of subscribers to The Pine By MARY BROWNFIELD Tarumoto as she crossed a downtown street last October will face one Cone’s email edition shows that mayor Sue McCloud count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, Carmel Police Cpl. Steve has an overwhelming lead over challenger Dogman AS CARMEL City Council candidate Michael Rana reported this week. The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office McBill, and that incumbent council members Karen LePage used his support for the potential consolida- filed the charge after a detailed investigation conducted by the California Sharp and Ken Talmage have solid leads over chal- tion of Carmel Fire Department with those in Highway Patrol. lenger Michael LePage. Pacific Grove and Monterey to separate him from “I basically brought the CHP in because we hadn’t had a fatality in a The survey, conducted March 9-23 via an inde- the incumbents, city administrator Rich Guillen long time, and I wanted to make sure our findings would coincide with pendent polling firm, showed McCloud with the sup- printed “An Open Letter from the City those of a state entity that’s used to doing this all the time,” he said. In port of 85 percent of respondents who expressed a Administrator Regarding Fire Department fielding such requests, investigators take all the data and determine See POLL page 12A See MERGER page 23A See CHARGES page 11A Ready for the crowds ... Cross owner asks supes for help By CHRIS COUNTS even sure if it’s a crime. But Scholink said the FBI has been contacted about the deluge, BESIEGED BY hundreds of pounds of which he said is costing senders like John retaliatory junk mail and frustrated by code enforcement activity that could require him See CROSS page 22A to spend as much as $1,000 to make legal a 12-foot cross he constructed seven years ago on his 40-acre ranch, Carmel Valley resident Larry Scholink turned to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors this week for help. Scholink — who has received thousands of pieces of junk mail with messages such as “Remove Your Bigot Cross” printed on the mailing labels — asked the supervisors to stop the code enforcement activity and investigate the junk mail harassment, which he believes is illegal. “This has nothing to do with code enforcement,” insisted Scholink, a born- again Christian. “This has everything to do with Jesus Christ.” PHOTO/KELLY NIX The junk mail — which has targeted not PHOTO/CHRIS COUNTS A two-acre main tent, a 3,200-square-foot kitchen and several auxiliary tents have been only Scholink but his business associates set up for the inaugural Pebble Beach Food & Wine festival this weekend. Tickets to many and elderly parents — began arriving two Scholink’s cross has gotten a lot of media of the events are still available. See our coverage on pages 16A and 18A. years ago. He said he has no idea who is attention. After asking supervisors for help sending the mountain of mail, and he isn’t Tuesday, he was interviewed by KSBW. Get your complete Carmel Pine Cone every Thursday evening in convenient pdf format. Free subscriptions available at www.carmelpinecone.com. 2A The Carmel Pine Cone March 28, 2008 Easter Sunday garage fire hits Carmel Highlands home By MARY BROWNFIELD Bloxham said it took about 15 minutes to put out the blaze, after which firefighters used a thermal imaging cam- FLAMES CONSUMED the garage of a Carmel era to see if it had extended into any other parts of the house. Highlands home Easter night, but the rest of the building sur- “They didn’t find any heat signatures anywhere,” he said. vived, largely due to a neighbor’s reporting the blaze and the But the garage sustained about $15,000 in damage to the first engine arriving within moments, according to Cal Fire structure and contents, which included construction tools, a Battalion Chief Buddy Bloxham. The cause and origin are miter saw, a jackhammer and a portable air compressor. No under investigation. cars were inside, and firefighters successfully protected one “She smelled smoke and when she went out, she saw car parked adjacent to the garage. flames,” Bloxham said of the woman who dialed 911 shortly Bloxham reported the home was safe to occupy despite before 8:30 p.m. March 23. the damage to the garage, although crews had to shut off the The first engine crew from the Carmel Highlands Fire utilities, so the residents had to summon an electrician to Station got to the Mentone Drive residence within three min- restore power. utes to find the three-car garage on fire. By then, the occu- Cal Fire Battalion Chief Curt Itson, who heads the pants were outside and unharmed. agency’s local law enforcement/investigative unit, is in With Cypress Fire engines from the Rio Road and Carmel charge of determining what ignited the fire and where it Hill stations on scene — and a Carmel Fire engine parked on started, according to Bloxham. the street below the house with a crew ready to help if need- ed — firefighters managed to keep the flames contained to the garage. Treasures and pleasures Did you know... benefit Alzheimers Assn. The 1946 centennial of the U.S. seizure of California and the West THE ALZHEIMER’S Association will host its major from Mexico was a four-day celebra- fundraiser, Treasures and Pleasures XII, Sunday, April 6, in tion on the Monterey Peninsula, start- the Monterey Room at the Fairgrounds. The event, set for 4 ing with the first Fourth of July to 7 p.m., will feature treasures, collectibles, fur teddy bears, parade since World War II ended. furniture, a silent auction and “a fabulous produce market.” Randi Greene Alvarado Street was painted gold that PHOTO/BUDDY BLOXHAM Six Carmel restaurants — The Grill on Ocean Avenue, Merlot Bistro, The Village Corner, PortaBella, Anton & day and the boisterous parade of troops, bands, drill Crews from three fire stations helped stop the fire that caused teams, and dignitaries attracted 100,000 tourists and Michel and Flaherty’s Seafood Grill & Oyster Bar — will an estimated $15,000 in damage to the garage of a Carmel provide the food, while Hahn Estates/Smith & Hook Winery, prompted the Herald to compare the festivities to Times Highlands home Sunday night. A Cal Fire investigator is look- Hames Valley Vineyards, Lockwood Vineyard, Scheid ing into the cause and origin of the blaze. Square on New Year’s Eve. It was the largest crowd ever Vineyards and Ventana Vineyards supply the wines. assembled in Monterey. But that was Thursday. On Guests will also have the opportunity to participate in Saturday another parade – three miles long with Gov. Earl drawings for a one-week stay in a condo in the Kaanapali Warren at the front - drew as many as 150,000 spectators. area of Maui donated by Tip and Angela Tyler, 12 crisp $100 It was followed by concerts, dances, and parties that bills donated by a supporter, and a Mary Frances handbag extended through the night into Sunday morning - July 7, (“Beating Drums”), cashmere scarf, bracelet and silver chain 1946 – when an American flag-raising ceremony in front donated by Oyster Trading Company. Tickets for the drawing of the Custom House recreated the scene that first took will cost one for $5, six for $25 or 12 for $50.