Squidfry 10.21.21: Yard Sale

YARD SALE… Many open questions face any sentient being on Earth: Where did life come from? How was the universe created? Are hot dogs a sandwich? But there are also some specific to Monterey County, and the one that trips up Squid most often is: Can we have nice things?

That question, unofficially, will be asked of the Del Rey Oaks City Council when it meets on Tuesday, Oct. 26, where the council will consider a citizen ballot initiative that would limit the Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway’s path through the city to Highway 218, Gen. Jim Moore Boulevard and South Boundary Road, effectively killing the already approved and funded alignment through the city’s green spaces. The council will consider a series of options: approve the ballot measure; send it to voters through either a special election or the next general election in June; or ask staff to come back with a report about the costs of the various options.

What Squid still can’t get over is that Tom Rivelli, the resident who brought the initiative, literally lives right next door to a home whose backyard would be destroyed if the path were moved to Highway 218 – instead of trees on a hillside, it would be one giant retaining wall. Which calls for a new category: Yes, In My Neighbor’s Backyard.

YIMNBY may not roll off the tongue, but that’s how Del Rey Oaks rolls.

ALL THE SHERIFF’S MEN… Around this time of year, the Monterey Bay Submarine Commune likes to get together under the kelp forests and watch horror movies such as Finding Nemo, Free Willy or Sharknado. Squid stays out of this tradition, as Squid shakes at even the thought of young Nemo getting placed into an asylum and held captive by an Australian dentist. Squid waits until primary season to start binging political dramas, but the holiday came early this year after Monterey County Sheriff Steve Bernal announced on Oct. 18 he would not seek reelection and instead will retire at the end of his term on Dec. 31, 2022.

Bernal, an elected official, said his team has done a great job with “succession planning.” It was unclear what he meant by this until Joe Moses, a commander under Bernal, announced Oct. 19 he would be running to earn the honor of county top cop. But the drama goes back further – four years ago, Moses led a campaign against Bernal’s 2018 opponent, Deputy Scott Davis. There were accusations of money laundering levied at the Davis campaign, and investigations – none of which ever revealed any wrongdoing, but that weren’t completed, of course, until well after Election Day.

Now, it seems the credits on that 2018 drama are rolling, and Squid’s ready for 2022, with shrimp-flavored popcorn ready.