Two county supervisors tried to distance themselves this week from the growing scandal around a former county water official who got a lucrative contract from a company hoping to manage the Monterey Peninsula's new desal project. Hiring Steve Collins wasn't their idea, said Lou Calcagno and Dave Potter. Kelly Nix reports.

An artist who sued the mayor, a gallery owner, a landlord and a superior court judge over a $2,500 payment he claimed he was owed for a painting had all his suits dismissed last week. And he was declared a "vexatious litigant." Kelly has that one, too.

The city attorney claims he's owed a lot of money for four years' worth of past-due contributions to his pension, but finding paperwork to support the claim has proved difficult. Mary Schley has the details.

Serial rapist and Pebble Beach resident Tom Pollacci admitted he's guilty of yet another rape charge Monday in exchange for avoiding a life sentence. Kelly and Mary report that one.

Gang members from Fresno pleaded guilty to terrorizing Big Sur last fall. Three teenagers are lucky to have survived when their car rolled over into a local creek. Beach parties with more than 50 people should be charged a fee, the city council decided. A new era opens at the Carmel Bach Festival thus weekend, as conductor Paul Goodwin takes the baton ... we have a preview in our special section. And my editorial proposes a new way to compensate — and motivate — the unemployed.

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. Of course, you shouldn't hesitate to contact me personally if you have questions, comments or concerns about this week's paper. And if you want to know what I think about the phone hacking scandal in the U.K., be sure to check out my hot Internet links.

Paul Miller, Publisher
paul@carmelpinecone.com

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