Bad Penny

BAD PENNY… Curious to see what Carmel’s future might look like with newly elected Mayor Dale Byrne and two new councilmembers – Bob Delves and Hans Buder – in charge, Squid tuned into the council’s special meeting on Jan. 7, only to be hit with events five years in the past.

In the early days of Covid-19 lockdowns, Carmel officials closed Carmel Beach to keep people from congregating. Two people in separate incidents refused to leave, resulting in arrests. The case against Theresa Buccola, a local artist, was eventually dismissed, but since 2022 she’s been on a legal tear, filing lawsuits against the city, with no success.

Yet people as outraged as Buccola about the beach order have repeatedly protested to the Carmel City Council about her arrest in council meetings. In December, the public comment period lasted nearly an hour as people railed against outgoing members, former mayor Dave Potter and Bobby Richards for being in leadership at the time. Some protesters returned on Jan. 7 to keep up the harangue.

Under the sea we call that spitting into the current, a pointless task that gets one nowhere. But they have a right to free speech, which means Carmelites will have to continue to contend with spit floating in the water.

AGREE TO DISAGREE… Seems like just a week ago everyone in Squid’s lair and in the halls of power in Monterey County were still basking in the warm feelings of the holidays, all good vibes. How quickly things can turn.

Squid oozed over to a Monterey County Board of Supervisors meeting on Jan. 7 for swearing in ceremonies, speeches and tacos. Then Squid oozed back for the next meeting on Jan. 14, when they were tasked with making appointments to a variety of boards of committees, where a lot of the nitty gritty work gets done. “I’m sure there are a few that are going to be hot topics,” said Supervisor Chris Lopez, newly installed as chair. By “a few,” he meant one: two supervisors get seats on the powerful Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), and Lopez nominated himself and Supervisor Wendy Root Askew to serve there, with newly elected Kate Daniels as an alternate.

Daniels wanted a full-fledged spot on LAFCO, so it got awkward, fast. “This strikes me as a very weird way to start your relationship with your colleagues,” she said. Sure is – she and Askew said they wanted in, with Lopez demoted to alternate status. Luis Alejo supported Lopez’s appointment and the swing vote, Glenn Church, came down in favor of the Askew-Daniels appointments.

“I can count to three,” Lopez said.

Then in a surprise kumbaya moment, they voted 5-0 anyway to approve the slate.