Dance Party

DANCE PARTY… Squid dreamed of being a country singer once, but given that Squid vibes Moo Deng much more than Martina McBride, Squid long ago gave up on those dreams. Not so for Alex Ayala, a contractor who is running for Salinas City Council’s District 1. That’s thanks to AI (specifically the app Shoom), which his wife, Liz, uses to generate catchy tunes promoting his candidacy.

It makes for a goofy social media presence including music videos, such as one to a catchy country melody, “District 1 is not for sale.” The stars are Ayala’s youngest sons (7 and 9) and nephews, who wear kid-sized suit jackets and literally throw dollar bills around. They wear name tags with some of the Big Ag companies (Church, Taylor, Nunes) that have contributed big money to Ayala’s competition – epic trolling in a council race that has attracted big spending.

Speaking of that competition, Jose Luis Barajas has a campaign website at joseluisbarajas.com. When Ayala saw the Salinas Police Officers Association endorsed Barajas – and listed his website, incorrectly, as josebarajasdistrict1.com – Ayala bought the domain name for more trolling. (“Vote Alex Ayala!” it reads.)

There are more social media antics, such as Ayala sharpening a machete to use as a letter-opener for his ballot. If this whole city council thing doesn’t work out, maybe the Ayala family will become influencers instead.

ON THE CARDS… Everyone mostly gets along under the sea. Sure, there’s the occasional rogue school of fish that wanders too close to Squid’s garden, tearing up some carefully cultivated seagrass, but Squid has never had much of a need to contact the keepers of the peace, who enjoy a pretty casual life in the depths. On the surface, though, they lead a busy and varied life. There’s always the burglar that needs catching, the rules that need following and the… bingo games that need approving?

Squid was surprised to learn recently that bingo is heavily regulated in Monterey County, with most jurisdictions having a set of rules that organizations must follow – prizes must be less than $500 and bingo players must be physically present (sorry, Zoomers), among many other things.

It doesn’t come up often, but the Monterey County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 15 approved a request from an organization to host bingo games, this time from the Chualar Parent Teacher Club. It included a signed approval from the Sheriff’s Office, providing families the assurance that grandma and grandpa will be safe as they wait for the ball to roll their way five times.

The next time Squid oozes over to the nearest senior center, Squid will be on the lookout for any scofflaws – like a great-grandchild playing bingo with their elders. No minors allowed, per county rules.