Volume 97 No. 36 On the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com September 9-15, 2011 Y OUR S OURCE F OR L OCAL N EWS, ARTS AND O PINION S INCE 1915 MOMMA KEEPS HER EYES ON ALL THE BABIES Pèpe will run for mayor — if he can By KELLY NIX THREE YOUNG great horned owls rescued this sum- find a home in town mer in various parts of the county by the SPCA will soon be ready for release back into the wild, thanks to a wise and By MARY SCHLEY loving surrogate mother who was badly burned by a power line several years ago. RESTAURATEUR AND successful self-promoter Rich The orphaned owls, who were saved after becoming Pèpe is considering taking his business acumen to Carmel separated from their families, were all raised by Momma, City Hall by running for mayor in April 2012 — even though the resident matriarch owl who for years has taught young he doesn’t live here. Yet. owls at the SPCA’s Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation “The one caveat is that I have to move into town. Our Center how to hunt for food and perform other birdly house in Pebble Beach is on the market, and hopefully we can duties. either get it sold or rent an apartment in town in time to qual- “Once we have gotten the babies through their serious ify to run for mayor,” he told The Pine Cone this week. health issues,” SPCA spokeswoman Beth Brookhouser told The Pebble Beach resident is best known locally as the The Pine Cone, “they go out with Momma, and she teach- owner of Little Napoli and Vino Napoli on Dolores Street es them how to be real owls.” and two bakeries on Ocean Avenue, as well as the new Momma was brought to the SPCA with a horribly dam- Vesuvio at Mission and Sixth. He is also involved in Pèpe aged wing. “It had to be amputated, but we were able to Winery in Napa and Pèppoli restaurant in the Inn at Spanish keep her healthy,” Brookhouser said. “And she does very, Bay, and sells jarred pasta sauce under the name Pèpe & very well.” Pants, named for him and longtime friend Joey Pantoliano. Because owls easily lose their fear of people, which is PHOTO/JESSICA SHIPMAN, SPCA FOR MONTEREY COUNTY “I have had meetings with some community leaders, and Momma (third from bottom) and her adopted babies sure while no final decisions are made yet, I am exploring the See OWLS page 23A could win a staring contest. options,” he said. “But moving into town in time to run could be my biggest hurdle.” The talk of Pèpe’s prospective 2012 campaign began dur- ing Concours Week last month, when he posted a photo of CHP motorcycles parked in front of Vesuvio and wrote, Well loved realtor Roger Parkes dead at 62 “Now that I am running for mayor of Carmel, I have the CHP By MARY SCHLEY where else.” See PEPE page 8A Realtor and Pine Cone columnist Paul Brocchini said LONGTIME CARMEL resident and realtor Roger Parkes, a close friend with whom he served on the Forest Kenneth Parkes — whose community involvement was prac- Theater Guild board of directors, was “an extremely witty tically a full-time job in itself — died of cancer this week, guy.” leaving behind a crowd of “He seemed to know every song lyric ever written, could Fraudulent tax credits coworkers, friends and fami- quote amusing lines from scores of plays and movies, and ly members who sung his just was a fun person to be with,” he said. provide windfall for praises and remembered his Brocchini also commented on Parkes’ capacity for caring kindness. for others. illegal immigrants “Roger was a kind, gentle “I had a major surgery a year ago, and he brought me and compassionate fellow, meals and took the trouble to walk with me around Carmel as much loved by everyone, I was trying to rebuild strength,” he said. “That is a true ■ Taxpayers give away more than $4B really,” recalled Rita Lewis, friend.” Coldwell Banker Del Monte Born in Madera on May 29, 1949, Parkes moved to Pebble By KELLY NIX Realty’s vice president and Beach with his parents in 1963, and he graduated from managing broker. “Never Pacific Grove High School. His father, Kenneth, was also a MOST OF the illegal immigrants living in said a bad word about any- realtor — a field Roger Parkes entered more than two Monterey County who filed income tax returns last year one.” decades ago and thrived in. probably used an IRS loophole to fraudulently claim She also said he loved liv- In his biography, he said he spent eight years with “the refundable tax credits, according to a report by the U.S. ing and working on the oldest real estate company in Carmel,” Carmel Realty, before Treasury Department. Nationwide, the illegal credits Peninsula — to which he joining Del Monte Realty in 1995. A year later, the firm was claimed by undocumented immigrants cost $4.2 billion Roger Parkes moved as a child with his acquired by Coldwell Banker, and Parkes enjoyed being des- in 2010, the study said. parents from the San Joaquin ignated as a Previews Property Specialist and having mem- The report, by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Valley — and “always said it was so beautiful, you don’t even bership in Coldwell Banker’s International President’s Elite Administration, found that 72 percent of illegal immi- need to go away for vacation.” — the company’s top 1 percent. He also won the Monterey grants across the country who filed income tax returns In his online company bio, Parkes wrote, “I truly love the County Association of Realtors’ prestigious John Leo Award — which the law requires even though they are not Monterey Peninsula, and I always enjoy sharing my knowl- for Excellence. authorized to work in the country — erroneously edge of the area with out-of-town clients and friends. It’s kind “Agents loved working on a sale with him, as he was so of funny, but my first part-time job was right across the street See CREDITS page 10A from my Ocean Avenue office. I couldn’t imagine living any- See PARKES page 17A Big Sur musician moves to Poland, returns a movie star By CHRIS COUNTS Best Film at the Polish Film Awards and Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival. IN A hard-hitting and critically acclaimed new How Price managed to make it from Big Sur to the movie about a Taliban fighter on the run, the U.S. sol- Silver Screen without the requisite stop in Hollywood is dier who interrogates the terrorist is none other than an unlikely — and unexpected — story. In fact, nobody David Price, whom many locals know from his roles as seems more surprised by Price’s success as an actor a bass player for the Broadway Blues Band, a stage than Price himself. manager for the Monterey Jazz Festival and operations “I never really had any aspiration to work in films,” manager of Big Sur’s Esalen Institute. conceded Price, who is the son of Esalen co-founder The film, “Essential Killing,” will be screened Dick Price. “It was just a fluke.” Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Henry Miller Library in Big A film career wasn’t part of the plan when Price Sur. moved to Poland in 2007, in large part because his wife, Price — who lives in southwestern Poland but is Kasia, is a native of the Eastern European country. The visiting the Monterey Peninsula for the jazz festival — two met at Esalen and have a young son, Aleksander. In this scene from “Essential Killing,” David Price plays a U.S. soldier who has one of the few speaking roles in the movie, which But shortly after moving to Legnica, Poland, four interrogates a captured Taliban fighter. The Henry Miller Library screens stars Vincent Gallo and was directed by Polish film- the film Saturday. maker Jerzy Skolimowski. Released last year, it won See STAR page 9A More than 8,500 people get their Pine Cone every Thursday evening via email. Why not join them? Free subscriptions available at www.carmelpinecone.com 2A The Carmel Pine Cone September 9, 2011 her sophisticated name suits her. In fact, her person describes her as beautiful, graceful, elegant and stylish; Sandy Claws a smart gal who has all kinds of attitude but pushes just to the point of challenge. But when the dog is out for her regular ride in the car, By Lisa Crawford Watson she is casual, cavalier even, and “Chassey” is a better fit. Every morning, Chassey runs around the baseball Apple of her eye field in Carmel Valley’s De Dampierre Park before climb- ing into the car to accompany her person on her daily rounds. Chassey waits patiently in the car near a note on Her person likes apples almost as much as she does. the dash that reads, “Hi; my name is Chassey. My person And often, while driving in the car, she eats one right in is nearby, and her cell phone number is ....” There’s also front of her. So Chassey waits from the back seat, her a thermometer that helps make sure the car stays cool. As the day wears on, and the car reaches Rio Road, Chassey understands both the end of the day and the beach are near. She loses all pretense and begins whin- muzzle resting on her person’s shoulder; her dark, round ing and dancing and jumping and singing.