What's up with the smart meter protesters? Their arguments are based on nothing, but they insist on making everybody listen to them anyway. And this week, the meetings of two local city councils were besieged by people who think PG&E's high-tech meters are about to trigger the apocalypse. Kelly Nix and Mary Brownfield report.

Equipment failure at the Carmel sewage treatment plant last weekend resulted in 300,000 gallons of bacteria-laden water being discharged into Carmel Bay. But was any harm done? Kelly Nix has the story.

The Carmel City Council decided Tuesday it would be okay for Carmel residents to keep two hens in their yards, as long as the neighbors don't object. And (can you believe it?) they'll even be allowed to keep them in the front yard. Mary Brownfield has that one.

A man who needed an operation on his right knee is suing a local doctor and surgery center because the operation was done on his left. Carmel Valley activists are accusing several members of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors of wanting to inflict runaway development on the valley as retribution for their activism. A C.V. 20-year-old is under arrest for allegedly stabbing a close friend in the neck. It snowed last weekend in many parts of the Monterey Peninsula ... a truly rare event. And my editorial takes a look at the reason why many protesters and activists don't feel the need to stick to the truth.

The Pine Cone's pdf edition is going to look just as good on the iPad 2 as it does on the original iPad. (Whatever platform you use, I can help you with any technical problems.) To get this week's complete Pine Cone, please click here. If you have an opinion about one of our stories and would like to submit a letter to the editor, please click here. And if you want to know why CIA director (and Carmel Valley resident) Leon Panetta cancelled an appearance at the New York Times Monday, be sure to visit my hot Internet links.

Paul Miller, Publisher
paul@carmelpinecone.com

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