June 15 - 21, 2012
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Dear Readers, Whew! This was another week with more news than you could shake a pine tree at ....More the 15,000 protest notices about the water district's proposed user fee were received by the Tuesday deadline, which may be enough to formally kill the fee, but which are also obviously enough to make it politically impossible for the board to implement it. Kelly Nix has the latest, including the district's other options to get the money it says it needs. La Playa Hotel's new owners and the police say the hotel was vandalized by union protesters last week -- an event the union somehow says never happened. Meanwhile, the historic hotel is almost ready to reopen July 1. Mary Schley has that one. An emotional drama played out in a Salinas courtroom Thursday afternoon as a young Carmel Valley man was sentenced amid lots of grief for the friend he killed last year in a rollover car crash. Mary also has that one. The planning commission finally approved new restrooms at the beach, even as the council decided to ask voters for a sales tax increase to fund various municipal needs. Mary has those two stories, as well. A dog was courageously rescued from a Big Sur cliff this week. The happy ending for that pooch came not long after a small terrier was killed in a separate incident on Carmel Beach. A woman was nabbed Saturday after what police said was a downtown shoplifting spree. A board member of a local college is suing her own school because she claims she was hurt during a class there. Two redwood trees have been illegally topped in town, and the culprit apparently got away with it. A big increase in killer whale sightings in Monterey Bay is attracting a lot of attention, and plenty of photographers. We have a special section this week, "In Your Dreams," that features outstanding local homes, and even a school and a candy shop that are showing off some outstanding architecture. My editorials lay out what few options the water board has now, and explain why just because somebody doesn't like something doesn't mean they're biased. And if you're interested in the sorry saga of how people who are barely literate get into college, be sure to check out my hot Internet links. To get this week's complete Pine Cone, please click here. If you have an informed opinion about one of our stories and would like to submit a letter to the editor, please click here. To comment on our Facebook page, click here. And, as always, you should not hesitate to contact me if you have questions, comments or concerns. Paul Miller, Publisher |