SQUIDFRY 11.16.17: Past Due…

PAST DUE… As one accusation after another comes out against men for sexual harassment and worse, Squid’s been watching with a mixture of disgust and schadenfreude (finally!). In nearly all of those cases – our president being a notable exception – those men have been met with disgrace.

It’s a reminder that actions can have consequences, even if they take time. Take the example of Monterey Downs – the sprawling proposed horse-themed development in Seaside that would’ve razed an oak woodland to build single-family homes – which Seaside City Council approved 3-2 on Nov. 10, 2016, before rescinding that approval three weeks later when the developer backed out. The project’s environmental impact report was fatally flawed – it showed there wasn’t enough water for the project, among other things – but that didn’t sway Seaside Mayor Ralph Rubio, councilman Dennis Alexander or then-councilman Ian Oglesby, who all approved it anyway. Their decision could prove costly: Two groups, Keep Fort Ord Wild and LandWatch, sued the city Nov. 28, 2016 over the city’s approval of the flawed EIR, which the city did not move to rescind until both suits were filed.

On Oct. 13, Monterey County Superior Court Judge Susan Matcham sided with the plaintiffs, awarding attorney’s fees of $263,225 to KFOW and $207,821 to LandWatch – on top of the $119,832 that Downs developer Brian Boudreau still owes the city. (Seaside has filed an intent to appeal the fee rulings.)

Monterey Downs’ alleged fiscal benefits to Seaside were always questionable. Hopefully the city’s residents can get some trickle down from attorneys eating out.

GOLDEN YEARS… Squid felt a ripple in Squid’s lair from a 4.6-magnitude earthquake Nov. 13. That doesn’t mean Squid doesn’t take earthquakes seriously. For instance, Squid knows the city of Carmel might not have its artistic claim to fame if it hadn’t been for the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which pushed out artists who headed down south into Carmel.

It became an enclave for types like Jack London, Robinson Jeffers, Anne Bremer and George Sterling. Call them early hippies, or call them what Carmelites like to call them – bohemians. That was back when Carmel was a few dirt roads, not an international tourist destination.

To this day, Pacific Repertory Theatre honors the city’s past with a Bohemian of the Year award. This year it’s hotelier Denny LeVett. PacRep Executive DirectorStephen Moorer explains the rationale: LeVett is “a splashy dresser and in many ways a true renaissance man.” Among LeVett’s hobbies and accolades: president of property management firm Strutz-LeVett, owner of doggy-friendly hotel Cypress Inn and collecting antique guns.

Squid wonders if that’s what it means to be a bohemian in Carmel today – a property owner with shiny guns.