Monterey County Weekly back issues from May 2008:
Dogged Out
May 01, 2008; ... County officials throw a wrench into second annual Music Summit before it starts. The ads keep appearing in papers from San Luis Obispo to Sacramento. The burgeoning lineup of bigtime touring groups continues to grow. Music fans go on gathering their camping gear. Meanwhile, ...
UPDaTeS
May 01, 2008; ... BAIT AND SWITCH ...In our March 6 article on The Commons at Rogge Road, we reported that developer William Silva wanted to eliminate the subdivision's income limits and resale restrictions. Well, the Monteray County supervisors on Tuesday, April 29 followed suit Or did the supes just trigger ...
The Mind Doesn't Matter
May 01, 2008; ... Mezmeron's game-show hypnosis yields hilarious effects. Editor's note: Weekly writers Stuart Thornton and Adam Joseph are at it again, daring to go where readers might flinch. Last time, they slipped into a singles convention to report from the inside. This time, they sought to better ...
FLASH IN THE FRY PAN
May 01, 2008; ... Steelhead enthusiasts are cautiously optimistic about this year's numbers. BY KERA ABRAHAM As president of the Carmel River Steelhead Association, local dentist Roy Thomas is familiar with steelheads' troubles: poaching pollution, sedimentation, habitat loss. The big one is low 'river ...
Waiting for Sheriff Andy
May 01, 2008; ... THE LOCAL SPIN Aromas is small-town friendly, and residents like it that way. All day Saturday, I felt like I was in "Mayberry" -in a good way. I kept expecting to see Andy and Barney and Opie. Aunt Bea, this town was made for you. The place is Aromas, population 2,700, ...
Pencil Pushers
May 01, 2008; ... Pacific Grove teachers want a cost-of-living adjustment. A dozen pair of eyes focus on the front of a Pacific Grove Middle School classroom. The teacher reviews her notes and asks gently affirming questions: "Does that make sense?" "Do you want to share?" P.G. teacher Linda ...
STReeT TaLK
May 01, 2008; ... Asked at Carmel Valley Village Shopping Center. Q: WHAT UTILITY COULD YOU LIVE WITHOUT AND WHY? Follow-up: What do you know about Jensen Camp? PHIL HUGHES Technician | England A: Gas, because if s not a necessity. If I had electricity, I would be ...
SQUID FRY
May 01, 2008; ... TWENTY-NINE, AGAIN ...Talk about a two-fer. Supporters of 4th District Supervisor Ila Mettee-McCutchon's run for the board of supes figured out a nifty way to get people to celebrate her birthday AND donate to her campaign: a combo "birthday bash" and "wine and dine celebration" at Bernardus ...
CORRECTION
May 01, 2008; ... Carmel Building & Design President Rob Nicely was incorrectly identified as Monterey Green Action's Andreas Baer while riding a bike ...
Calling Out the GOP Racists
May 01, 2008; ... FORUM In North Carolina, they try their hand at playing the race card. The North Carolina Republican Party-forged by the hand of Dixiecrat segregationists like Jesse ("White people, wake up before it is too late. Do you want Negroes working beside you, your wife and your ...
Funplex
May 01, 2008; ... THE B-52S Funplex Astralwerks Let's put into perspective how long ago The B-52s' first "comeback" album, 1989's Cosmic Thing, was released: A lovechild from a one-night stand inspired by a Bartles and Jaymes-fueled karaoke performance of "Love Shack" is now old enough to ...
Knockin' 'Em Back
May 01, 2008; ... Tater Famine sing about sauce with enthusiasm. Fans of the Santa Cruz acoustic trio Devil Makes Three should take note of Tater Famine. Also hailing from the northern side of Monterey Bay, Tater Famine do ragged but right punked-up acoustic music with whiskey-soaked lyrics. The ...
Earle Riser
May 01, 2008; ... A late-blooming career brought Stacey Earle love, a gifted guitarist in Mark Stuart and her own fame. Stacey Earle's first real public performance was in front of thousands of spectators in an arena in Sydney, Australia. Earle, sister of acclaimed roots rocker Steve Earle, remembers ...
Well Suited
May 01, 2008; ... Three appropriately ambitious-and big-student casts mount Luis Valdez's defining work. "Zoot Suit is a massive play," playwright Luis Valdez admits. "It's just too big for most theater companies, but for schools-there are lots of roles for lots of actors." Lots of actors-120 ...
Take One
May 01, 2008; ... Take One The first edition of ZootSuit energizes the actors and the audience. By Walter Ryce War, youthful rebellion, culture clash, police abuse, media bias, relationships and swing music: Zoot Suit covers a lot of ground, but centers its soul with Henry Reyna and his friends, ...
Funny Man for the Job
May 01, 2008; ... Brian Regan readies for his next major television special by playing the Golden State. Brian Regan knows a cherry gig when he sees one. "I don't know who's writing books for babies," he says during his recent Comedy Central special, "Brian Regan: Standing Up," "but I want a piece ...
MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD
May 01, 2008; ... MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD (Not reviewed this issue.) Two typical Italian brothers come of age in a small town in Italy in the '60s and '70s. The film was a ...
Sea the Truth
May 01, 2008; ... Sea the Truth Lemongrass stirs seafood into Thai dishes wonderfully. The key word on the mammoth menu can be found underneath an entree called Crazy Mad Fish. "Awakening," it reads, as in "An awakening offish in Thai spicy salad: golden fish filet, topped with original extremely ...
A Lil' Seasoning
May 01, 2008; ... BOUNCE IN THE STEFL.Spring is definitely springing. Noticed a few mosquitoes in the house the past week; spiders also are showing up unannounced. It's fascinating how they just appear out of nowhere, fully formed and looking all scary and hairy (I have telescopic vision). I know it sounds cilia ...
The New Crystal Silence
May 01, 2008; ... CHICK COREA AND GARY BURTON The New Crystal Silence Concord Records When the original Crystal Silence was released in 1973, its historical significance was ensured because it was the first modern adaptation of the classic duet structure. Pianist Chick Corea and ...
Warpaint
May 01, 2008; ... THE BLACK CROWES Warpaint Silver Arrow The Black Crowes' Warpaint marks a return to form for Georgia brothers Chris and Rich Robinson, back from a seven-year hiatus and picking up those Telecasters like their last three mediocre efforts never happened. Dark, ...
IRON MAN
May 01, 2008; ... IRON MAN (Not reviewed this issue.) This movie is a big screen adaptation of the adventures of the Marvel comic strip character and legendary superhero, Iron Man. Wealthy industrialist and genius inventor Tony Stark (played by Robert ...
Wine Stain
May 01, 2008; ... A sommelier's second shot at certification. HALF FULL Ripe stories grown on local vines This time, things would be different. For one, the Sommelier Certification Examination I failed was in San Francisco; this one was in Tucson, Ariz.-there, the belt buckles are bigger ....
End of the Road for Jensen Camp
May 01, 2008; ... Without government help, the Carmel Valley enclave's future is in doubt. Drive inland down Carmel Valley Road, and the landscape shifts from coastal chi-chi to suddenly country. Green hills stretch out, dotted with oaks and wildflowers and contentedly munching cows. The roads get ...
BABY MAMA
May 01, 2008; ... BABY MAMA * 1/2 It's easy to imagine Baby Mama's surrogate pregnancy plot as a multipleepisode, sweeps-month arc on 30 Rock. It's also painful to imagine, because the 30 Rock story would be snappy and insightful, whereas Baby Mama is leaden and obvious. Former Saturday ...
88 MINUTES
May 01, 2008; ... 88 MINUTES * Al Pacino's fall from grace to Iconic American Actor Most Likely to Appear in a Mediocre Movie reaches its nadir here, following several other ill-conceived roles in Two for the Money, Gigli, and SlmOne-all to varying degrees crimes or misdemeanors. Pacino's weathered features and ...
YOUNG@HEART
May 01, 2008; ... YOUNG@HEART *** 1/2 (Reviewed this ...
21
May 01, 2008; ... 21 ** One might think that characters who have the mental quickness to count cards and take the Vegas blackjack tables for tens of thousands of dollars would also have the acumen to notice that some aspects of their caper just don't add up. The fllmmakers take a pass on character development in ...
EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED
May 01, 2008; ... EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED (NO STARS) Make Ben Stein some more money (and get a good, mordant chuckle while you're at it) by checking out this loopy, factually befuddled documentary. Expelled begins with the interesting if not exactly accurate hypothesis that legitimate, well-respected ...
Can't Buy Him Love
May 01, 2008; ... Can't Buy Him Love Leading-man status doesn't suddenly turn Mdde of Honor's Patrick Dempsey into a charismatic star. It must all seem like some wonderful McDream to Patrick Dempsey. Twenty years ago, he was playing the improbable pizza-delivering gigolo in Loverboy, and the guy ...
SHINE A LIGHT
May 01, 2008; ... SHINE A LIGHT **** Director Martin Scorsese's Shine a Light will prompt myriad reactions-shock, awe, glee-but dismissal will be in the minority. Shock comes courtesy of the frontline's Grand Canyon character lines, disbelief from the soon-to-be 65-year-old frontman's sheer physical specimen, and ...
FORBIDDEN KINGDOM
May 01, 2008; ... FORBIDDEN KINGDOM *** Pairing martial-arts legends Jackie Chan and Jet Li in a story that is essentially one long homage to the great Shaw Brothers films of yore, allows The Forbidden Kingdom plenty of leeway for comic moments (courtesy, as always, of Chan) and some seriously kick-ass fight ...
MARRIED LIFE
May 01, 2008; ... MARRIED LIFE *** Corruption, immorality, decadence, secrecy, loyatty, selfishness, selflessness, murder, love, sex, and indigestion are all swirling around one another in Married Life. Chris Cooper plays Harry Alien, whose love for his wife (Patricia Clarkson) is a testament to murky ethics and ...
DECEPTION
May 01, 2008; ... DECEPTION (Not reviewed this issue.) Deception stars Ewan McGregor as an accountant who is enticed into a mysterious sex club called The List by a lawyer and co-worker played by Hugh Jackman. The ...
NIM'S ISLAND
May 01, 2008; ... NIM'S ISLAND *** Boys adventure stories are a dime (store novel) a dozen, but girls adventure tales are rare things indeed. Nim's Island, which is adapted from Wendy Orr's young-adult novel, comes to the rescue with its South Seas setting and message to girls of all ages about the need to become ...
HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY
May 01, 2008; ... HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY (Not reviewed this issue.) The follow-up to the 2004 stoner comedy Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay finds Harold Lee (John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal ...
PROM NIGHT
May 01, 2008; ... PROM NIGHT (NO STARS) This doover of the 1980 Prom Night isn't so much an improvement over the original as lousy in a whole new direction, a nearly bloodless slasher film with fewer surprises than a broken jack-in-the-box. It's blandly scripted by J.S. Cardone, who adds nothing new to a genre ...
HORTON HEARS A WHO!
May 01, 2008; ... HORTON HEARS A WHO! *** True to the original, the story begins with verse narration (by Charles Osgood) introducing the Jungle of Nool and its kindest inhabitant, the elephant Norton (Jim Carrey). In due course he hears the requisite small noise, and after making contact with the Mayor (Steve ...
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
May 01, 2008; ... FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL *** At the beginning of Nicholas Stoller's (writer of Fun with Dick and Jane) film Peter (Jason Segel) is unceremoniously dumped by Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), the star of a CSHike TV detective drama. For solace Peter seeks the comfort of other women and the advice ...
SEA MONSTERS (3D)
May 01, 2008; ... SEA MONSTERS (3D) *** This Story has a sturdy backbone, which is fitting for a story about paleontologists unearthing skeletons from a one-time massive inland sea that covered much of the U.S. 80 million years ago. In other words, it's not just about the bone-snapping 3D action that evolves when ...
SMART PEOPLE
May 01, 2008; ... SMART PEOPLE *** Intelligence runs in the Wetherhold family DNA. Smart People's curmudgeonly protagonist, Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid), indifferently teaches literature at Carnegie Mellon University, where his bright son (Ashton Holmes) is a student. His daughter Vanessa ...
U23D
May 01, 2008; ... U23D (Not reviewed this issue.) U23D is a concert film showcasing one of the biggest bands in pop history, filmed during U2's "Vertigo Tour" in 2006. The first-ever live-action concert movie to ...
THE COUNTERFEITERS
May 01, 2008; ... THE COUNTERFEITERS *** 1/2 In the opening scenes of The Counterfeiters, Sally (Austrian TV star KarI Markovics) and his underworld associates in 1936 are busy making their usual fistfuls of Deutschmarks running the rackets, and so when Inspector Herzog (Devid Striesow) arrests him and he's sent ...
STREET KINGS
May 01, 2008; ... STREET KINGS *** Dirty cops are the kings of the L.A. streets, and no one knows that better than James Ellroy, the crime novelist who wrote the story on which this film's screenplay is based, and for which he receives credit with Kurt Wimmer and Jamie Moss. It's a tangled, gritty story full of ...
Fountain of Youth
May 01, 2008; ... Fountain of Youth The documentary Young@Heart follows a group of seniors who become revitalized by singing contemporary rock songs. A documentary about a choral group of lovable octogenarians whose repertoire includes songs by Sonic Youth and the Talking Heads? It sounds ...
SUPERHERO MOVIE
May 01, 2008; ... SUPERHERO MOVIE * Director Craig Mazin's feature debut, The Specials, was a superhero satire that affectionately winked and nodded at the whole concept of what superheroes do, if anything, on their days off. That said, his new parody, Superhero Movie, blows harder than Storm from X-Men. It's a ...
A Place to Dream About
May 01, 2008; ... Rustic Big Sur home offers wilderness and ocean views. The name "Big Sur" tends to describe a gorgeous land in Los Padres National Forest down Ae coast from Carmel, but few can say where it begins or ends. From appearance and the senses, its beneficent presence begins at the south end of ...
Time to Thrive
May 08, 2008; ... Ageless Valerie Ramsay transforms herself from local treasure to national star with an inspiring book. "What's next?" is Valerie Ramsay's avowed mantra. She's certainly lived it. After raising six kids, the Pebble Beach resident promptly parlayed a part-time pro shop job into a climb to ...
STReeT TaLK
May 08, 2008; ... Asked at the SPCA for Monterey County. Q: WHAT IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM FACING POLITICIANS TODAY? Follow-up: What are you doing here today? MARVIN BROWN Caregher | Marina A: Hearsay and mudslinging. It is getting to the point where the main message ...
PLAYING WITH FIRE
May 08, 2008; ... A new public patio features flames and a chessboard. Forget chess as a metaphor for life. Consider fire, instead. hot and hypnotic at best; raging and destructive at worst. It's consuming and dangerously beautiful and, unlike chess, fire is never boring. A new public plaza in ...
Siren Song
May 08, 2008; ... Carmel firefighters push city officials on a three-city fire department merger. Carmel-by-the-Sea officials are now cautiously open to merging the city's fire department with Monterey's and Pacific Grove's, according to City Administrator Rich Guillen. Monterey and RG. officials ...
WHEN ONE MAN'S TRASH ISN'T ANOTHER'S TREASURE
May 08, 2008; ... Seaside thrift shops struggle with illegal dumping. The right way is to take unwanted goods to a thrift store's donation drop-off center, where staff can accept or reject them. The wrong way is to abandon junk on the store's property. Sarah Fling, manager of the St ....
Land of Lawsuits
May 08, 2008; ... Enviro citizens' group files suit to stop Marina's most eco-friendly project. Carmel Valley attorney Richard Rosenthal hasn't seen a major Marina environmental impact report that he liked. Continuing a litigious tradition of challenging every recent Marina housing development, Rosenthal, ...
Money Matters
May 08, 2008; ... Cedar Funding may face a class-action lawsuit. In yet another probe into Cedar Funding's dealings, attorneys are considering class-action lawsuits against the real estate investment firm. Carmel lawyer Larry Lichtenegger says he is preparing to file a class-action suit accusing ...
UPDaTeS
May 08, 2008; ... OLD DOGG AND NEW TRICKS ...Last week we reported that some county officials' hysteria that Snoop Dogg, an aging rapper with his own reality TV show, "Father Hood," would incite gang violence at the Monterey Music Summit threatened to cancel the annual festival. The Weekly is happy to report that ...
CORRECTION
May 08, 2008; ... As part of last week's cover story detailing the crises plaguing Jensen Camp in Carmel Valley ["End of the Road," May 1-7], a home with an overflowing dumpster was incorrectly identified in the ...
Tricky to Detect
May 08, 2008; ... THE LOCAL SPIN Lyme disease knows no boundaries. Lyme disease is not just something that happens to people who live back East. The illness, transmitted by tick bites, is the fastest-growing vector-borne disease in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and ...
SQUID FRY
May 08, 2008; ... HOW ABOUT A JOB SHARE? ...Squid wants to trade jobs with Marina Coast Water District General Manager Jim Heitzman. Not only does Heitzman earn about seven times as much as Squid at $205,000 a year, but now the district is interviewing for a newly created assistant general manager position. The ...
More to the Story
May 08, 2008; ... FORUM Some of artist Ed Leeper's tales belie the facts. Your recent article on Ed Leeper ["Piece of Work," April 24-30] has raised two bothersome issues for me. The first is that I am embarrassed being associated with Leeper in his relentless quest for glory. This is your ...
SUPES TO NUTS
May 08, 2008; ... Monterey County supervisorial candidates share plans to pacify land-use tensions and tackle a sluggish economy. "There's not enough water in Monterey County. Housing prices are too high, and subdivisions and strip malls threaten to gobble up farms and open space like stampeding ...
TOP DOLLARS
May 08, 2008; ... Following the money in the District 4 supervisorial race. Challenger Jane Parker is cashing a lot of checks from retired and apparently rich Monterey Peninsula and Carmel Valley folk. Supervisor Ha Mettee-McCutchon's war chest is filling up with money from hospitality execs, and Saunas ...
THE FALL GUY
May 08, 2008; ... State Sen. Jeff Denham made powerful enemies in Sacramento. Now they want him out of office. Republican state Sen. Jeff Denham made a bold move last summer when he stood up to The Don, and told the Governator what he could do with his budget proposal. Now, Denham's decision to vote no on ...
ON THE BENCH
May 08, 2008; ... The new judge elected to Superior Court likely will hold the post for life. Eleven of Monterey County's judges are up for re-election in June. But none of their names will appear on the ballot. That's because nary an opponent is challenging any of them. It's not some strange phenomenon ...
FINE LINES
May 08, 2008; ... Four Democrats vie for Central Coast Assembly district seat. Central Coast Dems like talking about improving schools, promoting green business, protecting the environment and supporting universal health care. So it's no big shock that the four Democratic candidates eyeing Assemblyman ...
T IS FOR SCHOOL SAFETY
May 08, 2008; ... $80 million bond would fund Salinas elementary school projects. If Salinas residents care about children safely crossing the street and having roomier and modern facilities, supporters say, they should vote for Measure T. Measure T is an $80 million bond initiative to fund ...