SQUIDFRY 03.01.18: Trump This

TRUMP THIS… Squid got a chuckle out of the well-documented “John Miller/Barron” episodes, in which now-President Donald Trump called up New York reporters to extol his own virtues while masquerading as a Trump publicist back in the 1970s-’90s. Squid recently learned that Carmel Mayor Steve Dallas ripped a page right out of the Trump playbook while running for the board of directors for the Hyatt High Sierra Lodge, a timeshare property in Incline Village, Nevada, where he’s an owner.

In 2010, Dallas was a candidate for the board of directors, and he was active on a timeshare message board, tugbbs.com. Another user, Carmel85 was also active there. (Dallas, by the way, graduated from Carmel High School in 1985.)

Squid checked in with two other timeshare owners and message board posters who spoke anonymously, citing fear of retribution (leaving the bear-proof garbage latch open, perhaps?). They remembered Carmel85 making rash comments and promoting Dallas for board. As Dallas faces an investigation into alleged sexual harassment in Carmel, his 2010 election victory in Incline Village is again fodder for the message board.

Squid found a comment by the moderator, posted on Sept. 15, 2010: “Carmel85 and Steve Dallas both registered with the same IP address and both post from the same IP address. Draw your own conclusions.”

Squid’s conclusion is that Dallas may have a tough re-election campaign – in Carmel and in the mountains.

SPRING BROKEN… Squid, being a deep sea creature, has acclimated to the frigid conditions of oceanic trench life, requiring nothing more than a hot toddy and tentacle-warmers to get cozy. But even acclimatized Squid shivered when it recently snowed in Big Sur.

So Squid chuckled when Squid received an email Feb. 15 from HometoGo, a vacation rental search engine, listing Monterey as the Number 9 destination in California for spring break. It also listed the average accommodation price as $29.76, an average that must have included the price of sleeping in a cardboard box or in a public park.

Besides, when Squid thinks of spring break, Squid thinks of warm days and cold drinks on the beach. Instead, it’s gale-force winds and rain – not that recreation-friendly these days. Just askMonterey Bay Sailing Captain Takota Fletcher, who recently rescued two ill-equipped friends out kayaking in 20-knot winds. At first, Fletcher rescued one kayaker, whose boat had sunk. Before long, he had to rescue the friend, who’d grown tired of keeping up with the rescue boat – and capsized in due course.

“They were lucky I was there,” Fletcher says.

After that tale of the seven seas, Squid plans to take the $29.67 and use it for a train ticket to somewhere warmer.