On Camera

ON CAMERA… Every time Squid oozes from Squid’s underwater lair to a public meeting or to pop into the Weekly office, Squid notices more and more license-plate reading cameras mounted around the county. Squid always winks one of Squid’s large eyes; a 40-year-old Pismo Beach resident decided to “intentionally damage multiple Flock Safety cameras, causing thousands of dollars in damage to public safety infrastructure in the communities of Lockwood and Bradley,” according to a statement from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office. Photos show a black truck plowing over Flock cameras.

So, how was the driver caught? You guessed it: nearby surveillance cameras were watching the surveillance cameras.

The man was arrested and booked into Monterey County Jail on a charge of felony vandalism, with bail set at $30,000. Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto added, “Any attempts to disable these systems will not prevent us from doing our job. In this case, the suspect’s own actions were captured on surveillance cameras, leading directly to his arrest. We will continue to aggressively investigate these crimes and seek prosecution against anyone who targets public safety infrastructure.”

The thought of the ever-growing flock of surveillance cameras makes Squid just want to ooze back to the sea, where the only eyes watching are those of other sea creatures.

OFF MESSAGE… In its 75 years, Concours d’Elegance has never featured jalopies. Still, Squid is fortunate to have a front-row seat for the cornerstone and founding event of Car Week.

While Concours needs no hype, Squid wondered how the organizers of other events try to capture attention when so much is crammed into 10 days. It didn’t take long for Squid to notice a theme. For example, a new happening – Piazza Motor Nights in Sand City – bills itself as the “opening night of Monterey Car Week.” It takes place on Monday, Aug. 10. By Squid’s count, that’s the fourth day of Car Week, with a dozen events already in the books. The Monterey Motorsports Festival is “Car Week’s closing evening” on Saturday, Aug. 15, or so they say. Serata Italiana takes place at the same time. And ceremonies at Concours – on Sunday – stretch past 5pm.

When Squid checked into See Monterey’s media roundtable, it was more of the same. The Central Coast Poker Rally’s car show? “One of the few free events.” Squid had to tick through Squid’s limbs twice to tally the actual number of free events. Meanwhile The Paddock promised cars “that haven’t had a place before,” such as muscle cars and hot rods. Squid sees plenty of both during Car Week. Alas, the only show interested in Squid’s jalopy is Concours d’Lemons. And that gathering speaks for itself.