SQUID FRY 05.19.15: David v. Potter…

DAVID V. POTTER… Squid doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but Squid can’t help but enjoy the syrupy drawl of Sand City Mayor David Pendergrass, whom, even when mad, sounds like he’s reading stories to his grandkids.

Never was that more true than during the May 12 meeting of the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority, the board of local leaders tasked with curing the Peninsula’s water supply ailments. In particular, Pendergrass was directing his ire at an empty chair meant to be occupied by District 5 Supervisor Dave Potter. “That chair has sat empty ever since we started,” Pendergrass said. “I think director Potter came one time for a special meeting.” Interesting, because one of the accomplishments listed on Potter’s re-election campaign website reads: “Committed to improving the delivery of water and developing a suite of solutions.” Hmmm.

The authority was discussing its current financial woes, and their chagrin that the county hasn’t yet paid the $88,000 it owes the authority during the current fiscal year, given that 35 percent of Cal Am customers live in the unincorporated county. And Potter, evidently, has done nothing to help their cause. “We sit here and we’re just boiling at that empty chair over there, ever since we began,” Pendergrass said. “They’re getting a free ride!”

Anger never sounded so sweet.

MARKET FAILURE… While cutting coupons, Squid sometimes waxes philosophic. Economic uncertainty pervades every aspect of life, and Squid can see it from the Grocery Outlet checkout line to presidential stump speeches. Donald Trump wants to make America great again, Hillary Clinton wants to make it the ’90s and Bernie Sanders wants to make America Sweden.

Medical expenses are high, education leaves students broke and workers are feeling the pinch. Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital staffers went on a strike May 17 after negotiations fell through. While the administrators want to modernize the contract to bring it in line with the “prevailing market,” the workers – who include janitors, nursing assistants and phlebotomists – feel like that would include unfair concessions. (The hospital, meanwhile, reaps tens of millions annually.) Meanwhile, CSU Monterey Bay faculty had to threaten a strike in March to get a long-delayed pay increase. And on May 13, dozens of childcare workers – a quarter of whom say they need help feeding their children – went on strike at the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation in Salinas and South County.

Many CEOs like to claim the market dictates wages – both when they squeeze workers and when they give themselves a raise. Squid, meanwhile, is trimming two-for-one deals and wishing an economic system overhaul was as easy as cutting coupons.