SQUID FRY 11.05.15 - Haters Gonna Hate…

HATERS GONNA HATE… Squid may not have the most sophisticated nervous system, but Squid is a sensitive creature. It hurts Squid’s three-chambered heart when everyone everywhere gangs up on the media. In the last presidential GOP debate, Marco Rubio famously derided The Media as a super PAC (if only journalism paid like political strategy, Squid can’t help but daydream); on the left, Bernie Sanders keeps dissing the media; and locally, former Monterey County Water Resources Agency board member Steve Collins – yes, he who sank the desal ship when he was charged for a conflict of interest for making $400K off the project contractor, and eventually took a plea deal – also got on the media-hating bandwagon.

Collins has been quiet for a while now. “That is not by accident,” Collins wrote in a mass email to some 200 recipients Nov. 3. “My counsel asked that I tone certain matters down a bit.” His gripe: nobody’s covering the never-ending legal battle between erstwhile project partners, the county water agency, Cal Am and Marina Coast Water District. “… if the press wants to look into it (not holding my breath, but you never know),” Collins wrote.

Well, Steve, here we go: The latest update-that-isn’t is that the desal-project-that-wasn’t is still dragging through court. Marina Coast lost its effort to claim $18 million from the county and Cal Am, and appealed Oct. 6. They also tried again in San Francisco County Superior Court, and filed a fresh lawsuit there against Cal Am and the county; the first hearing is scheduled for Dec. 3. The jury’s still out on who hates the media the most, but Squid will keep score.

SPEEDY RECOVERIES… Halloween holds a dear place in Squid’s stomach: chocolates, gummies, lollipops… Squid will devour it all.

But a candy-eating session this weekend turned bloody. Squid was watching scary movies when a candy wrapper cut one of Squid’s tentacles. Never had Squid sustained such a grave injury. It put Squid out of work for a couple of days.

So when Squid learned a Pacific Grove police officer was forced to work patrol with a broken foot, Squid’s mind went adrift. Squid is told Pacific Grove Police Officers Association President Charles Renfro broke his foot earlier this month, but was not allowed to work the desk, by orders of Chief Vicki Myers. Myers responded to an inquiry by saying she couldn’t discuss a medical issue, but an injured cop couldn’t return to work without a doctor’s note clearing him or her for duty.

It’s Squid’s understanding that cops should be able to run – or walk fairly quickly – to catch bad guys. And they should be able to climb trees to rescue kittens from trees. But Squid doesn’t think running or walking is a good idea for a cop with a broken foot. Squid suggests oozing instead of walking – and a speedy recovery for Renfro.