Squidfry 12.14.17: Pot Shots

POT SHOTS… Even for cephalopods, 2017 has been a tough year. The Republican-led government you humans elected have made one decision after another that will prove disastrous for the natural world, which is one reason Squid has long been a champion of cephalopod suffrage.

But California’s voters are thankfully more progressive, and thanks to them, in 2018, Squid will be able to ooze into a cannabis dispensary and pick up the goods without Squid’s medical pot card.

The city of Seaside, for one, is readying to get the dispensary train rolling, and will be granting six permits for dispensaries – three for recreational, three for medical – for which the city received 17 applications. In order to help Seaside City Council decide which applicants should get a golden ticket, err, permit, the city’s staff created a scoring rubric and rated different aspects of the applications, like business plans or security plans. One nuance: The two types of dispensaries are meant to be co-located at the same address (so it’s more like three permits total, not six), and after the initial applications were in, some applicants teamed up to combine their strengths. Seaside’s Planning Commission met twice, Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, to consider which applicants to recommend for approval, and got an earful from applicants who didn’t make the top three in city staff’s rankings.

In City Manager Craig Malin’s quasi-weekly newsletter, he writes there’s a chance some losers “will lawyer up and have at us.” That wouldn’t be very chill, but if it does happen, Squid hopes the city’s cannabis revenue can offset its legal bills.

PAYMENT PLANS… Squid has been contemplating a lazy New Year’s Eve in the lair, but thought it might be fun to go out on the town; at least it feels worth celebrating the end of 2017. One spot Squid’s frequented for fun NYE nights in years past is Restaurant 1833, which is temporarily closed as it’s just been sold from Coastal Luxury Management to Constance Laub. 1833 staffers had worried for a while about whether the pending sale meant it was on the auction block – and it turns out they had good cause to worry.

CLM is way behind on tax payments for two businesses it operates: Cannery Row Brewing Company owes about $80,000 in delinquent business taxes, and 1833 owes $124,000 in business taxes and property taxes. The first 10-percent penalty on late property taxes kicked in on Dec. 12, the day after payment came due.

“It’s one of our higher delinquencies,” County Treasurer Mary Zeeb says. If the property taxes go unpaid for five years – they’re now at three – that’s when Zeeb resorts to auctioning it off. Squid is optimistic that in the sale, the county will get paid. Squid’s less optimistic about partying on New Year’s, at least for 2018. Maybe next year.