Glory Hound

GLORY HOUND… Squid thinks Squidself is lucky to live in Monterey Bay, a protected marine area, so that Squid doesn’t have to worry about oil tanker spills polluting Squid’s neighborhood. But Squid thinks trying to extract oil on land could have devastating effects to Squid’s terrestrial neighbors.

Squid was quite alarmed when Squid recently saw the federal Bureau of Land Management completed a supplemental environmental impact report  for oil and gas leasing and development on public lands, including in Monterey County. The report was ordered in 2022 by a judge after the Center for Biological Diversity, alongside the counties of Santa Cruz and Monterey and the Sierra Club, sued the BLM over its 2019 environmental impact statement.

What surprised Squid even more is the fact that the press release announcing the report mentioned how the effort to develop oil extraction in California aligns with the Trump Administration’s January 2025 “Unleashing American Energy” executive order, which calls “to encourage energy exploration and production on Federal lands and waters.” But in actuality, the effort by the BLM had been in motion years before the executive order was ever issued.

Even through an ink cloud, Squid can see when someone is taking credit for something they didn’t do.

POTATO COUNTRY… Squid avoided the waters around Lovers Point Beach over the past week, where a dead humpback whale appeared and had officials worried that it would attract sharks. Those aren’t the type of sea creatures Squid wants to hang out with.

Todd Clark, the co-owner of the Museum of Handcar Technology, which operated handcars on the Monterey Bay Branch Line before it was evicted to make room for the SURF! busway, seems to welcome the chance to swim with the sharks. The Californian is moving the tours into deep red Idaho, where ripping into West Coasters is a statewide sport.

Squid browsed the handcar website to see how many clams it would cost to pump through the idyllic Idaho countryside. It looked like a good deal at first: $149 for a 7.25-mile ride, compared to $249 for six miles when it was in Marina. But then Squid realized it’s Idaho, where all Californians – cephalopod or otherwise – are not welcomed.

“I was right there with you until you invited all of California to come ‘visit,’” wrote one Facebook user on the handcar tour’s post. And the Idahoans kept coming: “Keep the Californians in California.” “I hope California keeps California’s people there.” “You’re brave to be mentioning California in an Idaho region.”

Clark argued that politics pushed him out of Marina. It seems he can’t catch a break, even two states over.