Flag on the Play

FLAG ON THE PLAY… Squid’s all in on Pride Month, flying a Pride flag outside of Squid’s lair as well as checking out the various Pride-related events around the county, which culminate Saturday, June 28 with a parade through downtown Monterey and a celebration at Custom House Plaza (see Hot Picks, page 24).

Among the first Pride events of the month are Pride flag raisings, something now routinely observed in many cities, including the small town of Pacific Grove, where this year’s event June 2 saw the biggest crowd yet, according to P.G. Councilmember Tina Rau, who herself is gay. “It was a really great community event,” featuring residents of all ages, she says to Squid’s colleague.

But not everyone in the community thinks it’s great, apparently – the city’s Pride flags have been stolen for a few years in a row. This year two flags – one at City Hall and the other in front of the P.G. Fire Station – went missing the morning of June 13. Public Works replaced them within two hours, Rau says. Employees keep backups on hand knowing it’s going to happen. “They [anti-Pride protesters] want to get rid of this so bad but by doing this it shows you exactly why this is needed,” Rau says. “The irony is not lost on me.”

Squid has a message for the thief (or thieves): Stealing is never OK. Have some pride.

RETURN TO SENDER… Being a creature of many appendages, Squid understands the benefits of having many hands on deck, which is why Squid is often impressed with reports from the City of Monterey, a city with hundreds of skilled employees, many with decades of institutional knowledge.

So Squid was curious to see how the city would respond to an April report from the Monterey County Civil Grand Jury, which found the city “has neglected to restore the integrity of its wharves for at least seven years.” Squid is well aware of the state of the city’s wharves – Squid swims under them all the time – and Squid knows the city is aware too, and working on it. The grand jury’s report concludes, however, by noting that most of its recommendations are already being implemented by the city. The recommendations that have not yet been implemented all call for the city to “prepare and publish a report analyzing the discrepancies between leaseholder inspection reports” and reports from engineers hired by the city.

Squid’s curiosity was satisfied June 17, when Monterey City Council approved its statutory response to the civil grand jury’s report, which essentially said: Engineers have differing opinions. We’re not hiring another engineer to analyze why that is and create another report, costing more money and fixing nothing. Thank you for your understanding.