Diet Plan

DIET PLAN… Squid’s fondness for shrimp-flavored popcorn is well-documented, but Squid knows to keep it in moderation – Squid needs to remain nimble to attend public meetings across Monterey County.

Squid’s solution to keep the pounds off is simple, but Squid realizes it’s a little more complicated for other people and things. Try as they might, the builders of a new fire truck for the Marina Fire Department, for example, tried to shed some pounds from the vehicle, but to no avail – it is just too damn heavy.

In 2022, the Marina City Council approved $1.9 million to purchase a new truck. It was set to be delivered to the city at the end of 2025 until Rosenbauer, the manufacturer, realized the truck tipped the scales well over California’s maximum limit of 55,200 pounds for fire trucks.

After months of removing equipment from the truck, it just couldn’t meet its targeted weight, according to Fire Chief Kristan Maurer. Now, the City is requesting either a refund of the $882,406 paid so far or used as a credit toward another truck.

The Council on Aug. 5 directed the fire department to come up with a plan for another, different type of truck, not to exceed $2.4 million. That’s a lot of clams, but it will at least make one thing skinnier – Marina’s bank account.

BUG OFF… They say Car Week brings 100,000 visitors to Monterey County – they being the team at See Monterey. That brings cash flow, but as Squid learned courtesy of Assistant Agricultural Commissioner Rich Ordonez, who spoke about it during a County of Monterey media briefing on Aug. 5, visitors can also bring something not so welcome.

“We know Car Week brings thousands of visitors to the area,” he said. “Many arrive with vehicles, trailers and outdoor gear that can unintentionally carry invasive pests.”

They might be transporting doom, in the form of a spongy moth (“They’re very good at hitchhiking”) or spotted lanternfly (“a pretty stunning insect”). “It takes only one insect or a single egg mass to start a new infestation that can have long-term consequences to our county,” Ordonez said.

He’s asking visitors to Look Before They Leave and to report any signs of the pests immediately. He advises scraping any egg masses into a bag and adding soapy water or hand sanitizer to kill them.

Fortunately, show cars on display are treated frequently to soapy water, from top to bottom (Concours d’Lemons excluded). But as for the rest of the vehicles converging on the area?

Squid imagines all the visitors scraping nasty insect egg masses into Ziploc baggies and shaking them – and that’s where this optimistic public outreach stops, Squid thinks: in Squid’s imagination.