The pros and celebrities schedules, EBBLE EACH ticket info, how to get there & more… ATAT&&TTPEBBLENATIONAL PRO-AMBEACH 2008 BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID CARMEL, CA Permit No. 149 Volume 94 No. 5 On the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com February 1-7, 2008 Y OUR S OURCE F OR L OCAL N EWS, ARTS AND O PINION S INCE 1915 SPCA sees big increase in sick, injured raptors Peninsula mayors: By KELLY NIX Water cutback BIRDS ARE falling from the sky. At least that’s the way it seems to staff members order is an at the SPCA for Monterey County Wildlife Center who have treated an extraordinary number of rap- tors for illnesses and injuries this month. ‘emergency’ Since Jan. 1, the center in Ryan Ranch has taken in 17 hawks and one falcon. Wildlife supervisor Sue Campbell said the birds of prey are coming in ■ But legislators show little interest for a variety of injuries, some of them serious. Not all of the treated birds have survived. By KELLY NIX “We have a lot that are starving,” Campbell said. “But we have also had a lot come in with broken MONTEREY PENINSULA mayors are calling a wings.” proposed state order to drastically reduce water consump- On Wednesday, SPCA Wildlife Center employ- tion on the Peninsula an “emergency” and said the action ees Beryl Arnot and Dawn Robles were caring for could be devastating to the local tourism industry. a red-shouldered hawk found on Vierra Canyon PHOTO/KELLY NIX But so far, the area’s state lawmakers, Assemblyman SPCA wildlife employees treat a red-shouldered hawk with a cracked John Laird and State Sen. Abel Maldonado, are declining See RAPTORS page 7A skull and eye damage. to get involved. They won’t even take phone calls from The Pine Cone to ask them about the situation. On Jan. 15, the State Water Resources Control Board issued a draft cease and desist order compelling California Car suspended over walkway in parking mishap American Water Co. to reduce its pumping of the Carmel River by 15 to 50 percent within six years. By MARY BROWNFIELD Sand City mayor David Pendergrass, who represents A Carmel Monterey County mayors on the Monterey Peninsula woman who AN 89-YEAR-OLD Carmel resident backed Water Management District, called the order outrageous thought her car her car into a Junipero Street building Wednesday and unfair. was in drive afternoon while trying to parallel park. The vehicle “It’s a Draconian action by bureaucrats in Sacramento when it was ended up several feet in the air, and the driver had who are heartless, callous and inconsiderate of what’s hap- actually in to be extricated by firefighters. reverse hit the “She thought the car was in drive, but it was in See EMERGENCY page 9A gas hard reverse,” Carmel Police Cpl. Steve Rana said of enough to jump Janet Wheeler, who was not injured in the accident. the curb and Tammy Hall, who works at the dry cleaning ser- crash into a TAKEOVER OF P.G. building. vice housed in the building, reported a customer said the impact “sounded like a bomb.” PHOTO/MARY BROWNFIELD See CRASH page 21A POLICE DEPARTMENT Limekiln State Park on governor’s chopping block CONSIDERED By CHRIS COUNTS camping destinations such as Point Lobos State Reserve, ■ Chief, officers could lose jobs in deal Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and Julie Pfeiffer Burns State with Monterey ONCE THE scene of an extensive mining operation, an Park. unsuccessful logging venture and an invasion by hippies, By KELLY NIX Limekiln Creek canyon has been home to variety of uses in See LIMEKILN page 27A its history. Its latest incarnation as a state PACIFIC GROVE police officers responded with park could soon be ending. The park, frustration Thursday to the revelation that their depart- which is located 52 miles south of ment could be taken over by the Monterey police force in Carmel, is one of 48 state parks proposed an attempt to cut costs by shedding upper-level jobs. for closure last month by Governor The shakeup could mean the layoff of the Pacific Grove Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of a police chief and two top commanders, and a requirement deficit reduction plan. that all other officers reapply for their jobs without the guarantee they would get them back. So many trees, not enough visitors One of those commanders, John Nyunt, took the posi- Surrounded by vast expanses of sun- tion just last summer after 16 years with Carmel P.D. drenched chaparral and open grasslands, “We are concerned about our jobs and livelihood,” said Limekiln State Park may be Big Sur’s Pacific Grove Police Officers Association President Ami shadiest place. Lonsinger. “But at the same time, at what point do you put From its headwaters on 5,200-foot a price tag on the community’s safety?” Cone Peak, Limekiln Creek descends At the Jan. 16 Pacific Grove City Council meeting, rapidly to the Pacific Ocean, winding its council members approved studying whether the police way through stands of towering redwoods department and all other city services could be run by the that blot out the sun and carving what is City of Monterey in an effort to make up a $2.9 million certainly one of the steepest coastal shortfall. canyons in Big Sur, if not the entire conti- “We are looking at the most cost-effective ways to pro- nental United States. There are few places vide the same level of service,” said P.G. city manager Jim anywhere where the forces of nature come PHOTO/CALIFORNIA COASTAL RECORDS PROJECT Colangelo. “If we can minimize the decrease in service together so dramatically, but the park’s levels by partnering with other agencies, we need to look magnificence has long been overshadowed Though the coast highway leads straight to it, at Limekiln State Park in Big Sur, red- by the popularity of nearby hiking and wood trees outnumber visitors by a wide margin. See POLICE page 8A 2A The Carmel Pine Cone February 1, 2008 Too little known, too many changes to consider house historic By MARY BROWNFIELD But senior planner Sean Conroy said the home failed to khaki’s . the best meet the city’s standards for preservation based on architec- IT’S POSSIBLE M.J. Murphy built the 85-year-old home ture. It was not designed by an important builder or architect in men’s clothing at Camino Real and 13th Avenue, according to the consultant — they are unknown — and does not constitute a good who declared it historic, but speculation is not grounds for example of a building style or display “a rare style or type for mandatory preservation, the Carmel Historic Resources which special considerations should be given.” Board decided Monday. And though the two-story, shingle- Winston Boyer, who doesn’t want his home declared his- sided house owned by the Boyer family is charming, it’s not toric, argued it should be removed from the city’s list of a great example of Craftsman style and underwent too many important properties. ÀQDOPDUNGRZQ changes to be an important remnant of the past. Because the building file at city hall contains no original VDOHHQGV When he reviewed the property in January 2004, preser- plans, “There is no documentation regarding the architect or VXQGD\SP vation consultant Kent Seavey said the building was “a large builder of the residence, and speculating that it may be an and excellent example of the Craftsman style of architecture M.J. Murphy because he built Craftsman style dwellings in in Carmel from the 1920s,” and it “retains a high degree of Carmel during the time period is inappropriate,” Boyer’s con- VSRUWFRDWV physical integrity.” sultant, Sheila McElroy, wrote in her review. VZHDWHUV Conroy agreed numerous alterations — cutting eaves to OHDWKHUV let more light through the windows, adding a bedroom, VKLUWV suits replacing original shingles with modern materials, rebuilding Did you know... one of the chimneys and adding skylights — negatively affected its historical importance. Clint Eastwood was a young GI sta- “Determining the integrity of the property is also compli- tioned at Fort Ord in 1951 when he cated by the lack of original plans or photographs of the explored Carmel, Pebble Beach, Monterey, and Salinas on his $75-a- See CRAFTSMAN page 6A month salary. He said in later inter- views the he didn’t plan to own much in Randi Greene those days, but after studying business administration and acting in Los Angeles, and working at a series of menial jobs, Clint played the “Rawhide” TV series in 1959 as young wrangler Rowdy Yates. With that acting money, he bought a weekend retreat in Pebble Beach, “a tiny house” across from the Monterey Peninsula Country Club, for $20,000. A stream of hit movies followed and Clint surpassed John Wayne as the biggest box office draw in Hollywood history. He bought bigger houses in Pebble Beach and Carmel, the Mission Ranch and other notable properties in Carmel, Carmel Valley, Carmel Highlands and Pebble Beach. He is now one of the principal owners of the Pebble Beach Company, its posh hotels and world-famous golf courses. (Next week: Mayor Clint.) ® Randi Greene, Realtor , MBA, GRI, SRES Member, Coldwell Banker’s International President’s Diamond Society. Randi Delivers Results! PHOTO/MARY BROWNFIELD (831) 622-2589 No one knows who built this house or how much of it is orig- One mile south of Ocean Ave.; Exit on Hwy 1 at Carmel Valley Rd.; www.RandiGreene.com inal, so the Carmel Historic Resources Board voted Monday Right on Carmel Rancho Blvd.; Right on Carmel Rancho Lane.