SQUIDFRY 08.20.20: Fire Sale

FIRE SALE… Squid was grateful to not have to pack up to evacuate as River Fire and Carmel Fire raged, and got to stay safely in Squid’s watery lair. Squid’s three-chambered heart goes out to those humans who have lost so much.

Squid couldn’t help but think of some humans Squid was happy also did not have to evacuate: the hypothetical future residents of River View at Las Palmas Assisted Senior Living Facility, which received Monterey County Planning Commission approval in February but has yet to make it to the Board of Supervisors for final approval. The now-empty 16-acre empty parcel was in the path of the River Fire as Squid’s deadline was approaching. With the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise fresh on their minds – which killed at least 85 people, including many seniors too frail to escape – one reason opponents argued against the project was that building a senior assisted living facility near the site of future wildfires was a bad idea.

With all the entitlements in place thanks to Planning Commission approval, the property is for sale, asking price “TBD.” Property highlights are listed as “Destination location, serene setting overlooking the Salinas Valley… Convenient location… gated community,” promising to be a “vibrant community” for seniors that will create jobs and support local businesses. “This project is located next to some of Monterey Peninsula’s premier residential neighborhoods,” the ad states. Not mentioned: Those neighborhoods are next to extreme fire danger.

SOMETHING FISHY… There are many odd differences between marine and terrestrial life. In the ocean, for example, Squid has a very high net worth, judging by how hard fishermen work to catch Squid in their nets. On land, however, Squid’s bank account comes into play, giving Squid a very low net worth – kind of like, it turns out, Jimmy Panetta.

Squid’s colleague was reading the congressman’s latest financial disclosure report, which led to questions about some trips he took with right-wing think tank American Enterprise Institute (for the third year in a row) and Center Forward, a centrist PAC that has ties to health care lobbyists with a goal of defeating the Medicare for All campaign. Head-scratching stuff for a Democrat in a safe seat.

But then Squid noted that Panetta’s disclosure states he’s still paying student loans dating back to 1996 – kind of like Squid, just normal human and cephalopod financial stuff. (A tip for Jimmy: Due to the pandemic, interest rates on student loans are frozen through the rest of the year.)

Not only that, but outgoing press secretary Sarah Davey Wolman adds this for context about Panetta: “He was ranked 513 out of 535 in net worth of members of the 115th Congress. Due to his loans and continued service to our community and country, he probably will remain at the bottom of Congress members’ net worth for a while.”