5 The year started and ended with life and death.

It’s early for this. It’s so early for this. The election isn’t until 2016 and the shenanigans have already started.

On Nov. 17, 2014, Weekly Assistant Editor Kera Abraham sent a highly targeted Public Records Act request to the state Water Resources Control Board. With the Dec. 31, 2016, deadline for California American Water to stop overpumping from the Carmel River – under a state cease-and-desist order, that date triggers a 70-percent cutback on pumping – we knew local electeds and stakeholders in the hospitality industry were scrambling to get that deadline pushed back.