SQUID FRY 08.14.14 - Ernest Goes to Council…

ERNEST GOES TO COUNCIL… Seaside Councilman Dave Pacheco is one of the sincerest local politicians Squid’s met. Case in point: his 2012 campaign tagline, “Together We Can Do!” (Squid’s copyeditor flagged it, but he stuck with it.)

He was earnest at the Aug. 7 City Council meeting, where scared and angry residents spoke out about the violence that took two young men last month.

Some speakers alleged Chief Vicki Myers has created a police department so hostile, it’s hard to fill the three remaining officer vacancies. Even Myers said her officers aren’t happy – they’re working long shifts and being denied vacations.

Pacheco’s question for Myers: Whether more might be done to get local kids interested in law enforcement careers.

Squid gets it. Pacheco had a 36-year career with the city—he retired as Seaside’s recreation superintendent—before winning his council seat. He knows kids are the key to the city’s future. But Squid hopes he’s not really proposing to fill open patrol positions in 2029 with today’s 8-year-olds.

He fleshes out his thoughts on crime at his blog, tidesofseaside.com. More arrests, public outreach and a strong PAL program are a “small portion” of the solution, he writes before pointing at progressively farther-out culprits. Guns (definitely). Social media and violent computer games (debatable). Single, divorced and cheating parents.

The answer was in plain sight all along! The solution to Seaside’s gang problem is city-subsidized marital counseling. Squid will make only “I feel” statements next time a gang-banger shoots up the hood.

WAG OFF… Squid habitually sets aside some Benjamins to enjoy great parks, from Point Lobos to Pinnacles, Yosemite to Yellowstone, Denali to… Del Rey Oaks dog park?

As of January 2015, DRO officials propose to charge $120 per dog for an annual park pass. Which leaves Squid scratching Squid’s gelatinous head: Should Squid fork over $80 for a 2015 National Parkspass, $75 for a State Parks pass or $120 to so Squid can help Roscoe P. Coltrane  – Squid’s beloved mess of an English bulldog – become less socially awkward?

Other dog parks with an annual fee include a pup’s paradise in Cary, Illinois: 18 acres with mowed grass, meadows and two training areas. The price per year: $55 for the first dog, $10 each additional.

Compared with Cary’s dog park, Squid can only imagine the lavish amenities DRO must have in the works. A doggie massage parlor? A bounce house filled with fuzzy balls? Roscoe’s cast his vote, but Squid’s not yet sure.

The DRO City Council will discuss and vote on the fee Aug. 26, and Mayor Jerry Edelen tells Squid he expects “rational, reasonable debate” at the meeting.

“It costs more to register a dog in Del Rey Oaks than it does to register a car in my state,” he adds.

Sounds reasonable. Alright, Squid’s sold.