Squid trips and falls hard for Marilyn Shepherd's insane claim against the city of Monterey.

CHRISTMAS COAL… Squid is not a Grinch. Squid likes Christmas, all the holiday lights, the Santa hats, the giddy anticipation on kids’ faces. The music sometimes drives Squid nuts, but overall, Squid is a fan. Squid’s also been a good cephalopod this year, and dreams of the shrimp tacos Santa might bring. But some people out there are seriously harshing Squid’s holiday mellow.

Take the Monterey County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, which filed a complaint Dec. 12 against soon-to-be-ex Sheriff Scott Miller. Their beef: Miller has allegedly been keeping a previously open list of who’s in line for promotions secret. The DSA claims Miller is trying to fill positions before his term ends. (Isn’t that what every lame duck does?) The complaint is the second the group has filed against Miller since September.

But the real buzzkill is a $750,000 claim against the city of Monterey by former Monterey Peninsula Union School District supe Marilyn Shepherd and a $50,000 claim by her husband Leroy. The Shepherds allege Marilyn tripped in a pothole on Webster Street and broke her ankle. (City officials say that pothole is less than an inch deep.) In watching her trip, the claim states, Leroy suffered “emotional shock,” and now Marilyn has an “unsightly 6-inch permanent scar” on her ankle and can no longer wear “the latest fashion in high-heel shoes.”

Monterey rejected the claim Dec. 16, and can expect a lawsuit in its stocking.

GOOD GRIEF… Just like it takes a village of elves to produce a newspaper, Squid knows it takes a village to distribute it, too. While the Weekly has a dedicated band of paid drivers who deliver hell or (especially this past week) high water, every once in awhile, someone helps just because they love it.

Such is the case of Dave Ross, a Salinas businessman and South County resident who, years ago, decided to snag a battered Weekly rack, refurbish it and place it publicly in King City so his friends and neighbors could read the paper.

“I even get calls when the paper runs out,” says Ross.

If Ross was a little slow getting the paper out this spring, there’s a sad reason: In March, his 31-year-old son, Scott Ross, died from multiple organ failure after a month at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital. The sudden loss left him and his wife reeling. Now the couple is trying to turn their grief into action. Dave Ross has launched a gofundme.com campaign in his late son’s name to raise money for SVMH’s palliative care unit. The campaign started Nov. 29 and has raised $1,000 of its $5,000 goal. Hit www.gofundme.com/hzkpbg for the intel.

Another great way to give, natch, is the Weekly’s Monterey County Gives! campaign, which runs through midnight Dec. 31. Squid is warming up Squid’s tentacles to start clicking, and giving.