SQUIDFRY 07.27.17: Money Pit

MONEY PIT… Squid’s not much of a superstitious type. Squid oozes under ladders, pays no mind to black cats and has no use for a rabbit’s foot. Squid is always bemused by how the floors in some buildings, as evidenced by the elevator buttons, skip the 13th floor and instead call it the 14th floor. Strange creatures, humans.

But Squid does have to admit there are sometimes things – places, people, buildings – that seem to be cursed. That would appear to be the case for the Monterey Conference Center, which is still undergoing an extensive remodel that began in late 2015. To recap: The project, which the city originally estimated would cost between $35-$40 million, is now carrying a $60 million price tag. Originally expected to open in March 2017, it is now slated to open in November 2017, eight months behind schedule, and missing a prime, summertime window for conferences. And the costs just keep going up: On July 18, Monterey City Council approved an amendment to add another $350,000 to the city’s contract with Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, the architectural firm that designed the renovation. The contract, which was first approved in October 2014 for $2.9 million, increased to $3.5 million in 2015 and is now at $3.85 million. Maybe they can pay for the difference out of Car Week revenues?

Squid imagines some might have their fingers crossed that the rest of the work happens on schedule. But that’s just superstition.

IN STEREO… If Squid had eyebrows, Squid’s already raised one over Pacific Grove’s annual Feast of Lanterns celebration. Squid understands the fun community aspects – the pet parade, dance, kids’ activities and fireworks. Squid’s always been squeamish, however, over the cultural appropriation: The festival was started by white residents in 1905, a year before Chinese residents were burned out of their homes on the site of what is now Hopkins Marine Station.

Squid was going to let it pass this year – that is, until Squid saw the Feast of Lanterns board of directors doing something else that make one of Squid’s proverbial eyebrows raise: gender stereotyping.

After years of young women applying to serve as princesses in the “Royal Court,” the board added in a young male character last year, Scholar Chang. This year, they added a “Royal Guard,” for more male roles.

Adding parts for young men sounds like a good idea, but Squid wishes they weren’t aligned with tired gender stereotypes: masculine soldiers for boys, princesses for girls.

It leaves a lingering bad taste in Squid’s beak, and Squid wishes we could just leave the less appetizing elements of the Feast of Lanterns behind. Squid votes to keep the pet parade, however, and will proudly be there walking Squid’s English bulldog, Rosco P. Coltrane.