Squid 05.21.26

Berry Expensive… Due to evolutionary features influencing Squid’s diet, Squid prefers the bounty of Monterey Bay (as in the actual bay) to the exquisite produce grown in the Salinas Valley, but even cephalopods enjoy a perfectly ripe strawberry now and again. Plus Squid is into supporting local growers, fruit is healthy and moderately priced. Still, when Squid pays for strawberries, Squid always counts Squid’s change.

That is not how it went for Salinas berry grower/distributor Ichiban Companies, which in 2024 bought strawberries from Watsonville grower Fenella’s. How much Ichiban owed Fenella’s for said berries led to a dispute, then eventually an agreement. Ichiban would pay $8,000 to Fenella’s in September 2025. Only Ichiban accidentally wired over $80,000 – those pesky zeroes!

At least that’s according to a lawsuit filed on May 15 in Monterey County Superior Court by Ichiban against Fenella’s, in which the company is seeking $72,000 plus damages three times what it paid, $240,000. Attorney Dan DeVries, representing Fenella’s in its lawsuit against Ichiban, says not so fast – the $80,000 was roughly half of what the company owed. “They claim it’s a mistake but it’s not even enough,” DeVries claims.

Whoever ends up paying however much to whom, it’s all a pretty expensive mistake.

Crowing Cocks… Squid is generally a morning cephalopod, but still doesn’t like to be awakened earlier than Squid prefers by any loud noises except for Squid’s own alarm, which is why Squid wasn’t totally surprised that the Monterey City Council considered banning the ownership of roosters in Monterey on May 19. (Their deliberations and vote took place after Squid’s deadline.)

However, Squid was unaware that rooster ownership was rampant in Monterey, nor had Squid ever heard a cock crowing anywhere within the city limits. A report to council states that the city received 10 complaints about raucous cocks between 2020 and 2026, or less than two a year.

The complaints prompted city staff to propose amendments to city code, which has two chapters covering chickens. Chapter 6 asserts that all chickens in the city shall be kept in an enclosure and not “allowed to run at large within the city.” Chapter 38, meanwhile, limits the number of chickens a property owner can keep and outlines how far away from a building the fowl needs to be.

The proposed edits would change the word “chicken” to “hen” and ban the ownership of roosters altogether, starting Aug. 1. Squid isn’t sure if the cock ban is completely necessary or just a waste of time, but it’s not a dunghill that any chicken – err, hen – or Squid is willing to die on.