SQUIDFRY 11.10.22: Workshopping It

WORKSHOPPING IT… Squid loves theoretical questions. For example: If a piece of bull kelp falls in the ocean, but no one is around to hear it, did it really make a sound? If a meeting of Greenfield City Council references only itself, was it really about anything at all?

The second one emerged for Squid after an Oct. 27 meeting, with just one item on the night’s agenda: “Workshop.” (Under that header is this clarification, which Squid found to be not terribly clarifying: “City Manager / City Council Questions & Answers Portion of the City of Greenfield Fall 2022 Workshop Series.”)

Squid tuned in for the workshop about the workshop series, hoping to make some sense of things. Maybe nobody else did – for a Q&A session, there was a shockingly low (zero) number of questions. After he asked for public comments and was met with silence, Mayor Lance Walker said: “Anybody know any good jokes?” Apparently not.

This Q&A was meant as a check-in of sorts about a workshop series City Hall officials are conducting. (The most recent was on Nov. 3, regarding allocations of American Rescue Plan Act funds. There are five more scheduled.)

But with no discussion, the entire meeting was over in nine minutes. And it left Squid with a new thought: If a Q&A workshop has no questions nor answers, was it a workshop at all?

PARTY PEOPLE… Every year at this time, Squid oozes all over town to election night parties. (Free cake.) Squid’s colleagues reach out to political candidates to see where they’re having parties, because after the long slog of a campaign, why not have a party? It’s a great way for friends and volunteers, and the candidate, to celebrate the work they’ve put in and process the outcome, however the chips may fall.

While many candidates choose not to have parties – and that’s fine too – Squid would at least hope that every candidate would respond to press inquiries about their election night plans, no matter what they may be. But that is not the case.

In Pacific Grove, Mayor Bill Peake, when asked to share his plans, emailed: “I’ll pass.” Meanwhile, City Council candidates Debby Beck, Mark Chakwin and Darla Vining provided no response whatsoever. Ditto for Jeremy Hallock, who is winning in his run for council in Del Rey Oaks.

District 2 Supervisor candidate Regina Gage, after repeated inquiries, took a week to say she’s having a private gathering with family and friends. Okay!

Monterey mayoral candidate Dan Albert did share his plans, albeit not for a party. He told Squid’s colleague he’s eating lasagna and watching a movie until the first results come out. What movie? “The Duke,” he writes via text. “English movie and a true story. Google it.”