Monterey County Weekly back issues from June 2009:
STICKIN' IT TO THE STATE
Jun 04, 2009; ... Local governments buck state's threat to borrow. The financially desperate state of California may have the power to take more money from local governments. But the county of Monterey, and most of its cash-strapped cities, are crying "no fair." In early May, the state Department ...
Welcome to the Poor House
Jun 04, 2009; ... Schwarzenegger's plan would cut welfare money to low-income families and kids. Sandra Rangel depends on a monthly state check to put a roof over the heads of her 13-year-old twin sons and 3-year-old daughter. The Castroville single parent lost her job as a school janitor at the end of ...
STReeT TaLK
Jun 04, 2009; ... Asked outside Peet's Coffee in Monterey Q: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WHERE GAY RIGHTS STAND? Follow-up: Who hasn't come out of the closet that should? STEVE RUBIN Retired | Monterey A: Equitable rights for all have been high jacked by religious ...
Haute in Here
Jun 04, 2009; ... Haute Enchilada Gallery Dos gives Moss Landing a funky new art venue. Kim Solano has seen changes to Moss Landing occur right before her eyes. And she comes them. "In the past," says Solano, whose parents have built local businesses including Whole Enchilada and the Moss Landing ...
UPDaTeS
Jun 04, 2009; ... BIG-BOX BROUHAHA ... Wal-Mart won- sort of. The Salinas City Council Tuesday, June 2 repealed its big box ordinance and directed staff to negotiate with the giant retailer over how they will offset traffic and environmental impacts for a new store in Harden Ranch. The lengthy meeting split the ...
Growing Pains
Jun 04, 2009; ... Vinegar in the Valley documents Salinas' labor struggles in the 70s. Salinas Valley growers feared a repeat of Delano. In 1970 Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers successfully won a contract with major grape grower Giumarra after violent clashes in the fields and a nationwide ...
Bodies and Souls
Jun 04, 2009; ... THE QUEER COMMUNITY IN MONTEREY COUNTY FINDS COMMON CAUSEAND NEW COMMON MEETING GROUNDS. Nickolas J. McDaniel was born with a birth defect: "My physical sex was female," he says. It was 1972 in Salinas, and McDaniel's family had strong, Southern Baptist faith and conservative ...
Law and Justice
Jun 04, 2009; ... Proposition 8 decision sows seeds of discord. It was Election Night 2008, and amidst the general newsroom euphoria about the Obama victory (let's dispense with the false pieties about "objectivity"- everyone here was relieved that our long national nightmare was coming to an end), there ...
SQUID FRY
Jun 04, 2009; ... TRUE HIPPIENESS ... Squid doesn't usually make corrections but last week's column on a Marina scuffle warrants an exception. Squid described Public Works Commissioner Jan Shriner as "hippie-voiced," but she is an actual hippie. Shriner came clean to former councilman/Marina Gazette publisher Gary ...
Conventional Wisdom?
Jun 04, 2009; ... Group says state gathering is needed to fix budget mess. Staring down the $24.3 billion budget hole, the state's facing cataclysmic cuts- slashing school funding, the wholesale elimination of welfare payments and medical coverage to kids, closing 80 percent of state parks and laying off ...
Heaven, Hell and Texas
Jun 04, 2009; ... Scott H. Biram is still rowdy, but seeking redemption. It's hard to tell if Scott H. Biram is going to heaven of hell. Digging deep into his brilliant 2006 CD Graveyard Shift- a one man romp through gritty blues, lonesome country, fiery punk rock and soul-stirring gospelit's a toss up ....
Thorogood the Destroyer
Jun 04, 2009; ... Former second baseman still hits the blues out of the park. George Thorogood and the Destroyers, the world's reigning bar band, will leave the Fox Theater doused in copious amounts of bourbon, scotch and beer after their performance on Thursday, June 11. At 59 years old, ...
French Kiss
Jun 04, 2009; ... No bass required for these prog/synth rockers. It's hard to put a finger on what genre of music the trio plays or the planet it comes from, but the songs have addictive hooks featuring magnetic synths and mercury-quick John Frusciante guitar chops. Lead singer Jason Heiselmann says the ...
Spanish Chic
Jun 04, 2009; ... Spanish Chic Mundaka gives Carmel style previously unseen in these parts. As I sat down to a meal with three friends at Carmel's new restuarant Mundaka, I was driven to distraction by the interior design. Formerly Gem Restaurant, Mundaka has gone beyond the merely sustainable to ...
Beer Blessing
Jun 04, 2009; ... Monterey Beer Festival arrives right when Monterey County needs it. A favorite local chef is resigning his post, the best bar in Salinas just went the way of the brontosaurus and the most inspired music venue in the county has apparently gone kaput. In other words, local folks ...
Kicking a Bag Habit
Jun 04, 2009; ... Sea Studios premieres its World Ocean Day film festival. The Sea Studios headquarters is cluttered with a lot of things, but virtually none of it is disposable plastic. Sure, the footage lining the studio's shelves is archived in plastic cases, and some of the equipment is made ...
LAND OF THE LOST
Jun 04, 2009; ... LAND OF THE LOST (Not reviewed this issue.) When Dr. Rick Marshal (Will Ferrell) is on his latest expedition, he and his team get sucked into a space-time vortex. They arrive in a alternate world, full of dinosaurs and wild creatures. Maybe the redneck survivalist will help, not hinder, their ...
MY LIFE IN RUINS
Jun 04, 2009; ... LIFE IN RUINS (Not reviewed this issue.) From Nia Vardalos. writer and star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, comes the comedy My Life in Ruins. Georgia (Nia Vardalos) has lost her kefi (Greek for "mojo"). Discouraged by her lack of direction in life, she works as a travel ...
THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE
Jun 04, 2009; ... GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE (Not reviewed this issue.) Set in the weeks leading up to the 2008 presidential election, The Girlfriend Experience is five days in the life of Chelsea (adult film star Sasha Grey in her mainstream film debut), an ultra high-end Manhattan call girl who offers not just sex ...
THE HANGOVER
Jun 04, 2009; ... THE HANGOVER (Not reviewed this issue.) This comedy takes place in Las Vegas, where three groomsmen lose their buddy, who's about to get married. The movie also includes an appearance by Mike Tyson, singing his off-key heart out on ...
TYSON (REVIEWED THIS ISSUE.)
Jun 04, 2009; ... TYSON (REVIEWED THIS ISSUE.) Tyson is indie director James Toback's stylistically inventive portrait of the rise and fall of Mike Tyson. Toback allows Tyson to reveal himself without inhibition and with eloquence and a pervasive vulnerability. Through a mixture of original interviews and ...
300 (IMAX)
Jun 04, 2009; ... 300 (IMAX) (Not reviewed this issue.) "Tonight we dine in Hell!" Well at least dine the Spartan war film on IMAX. The extremely violent ...
ANGELS AND DEMONS
Jun 04, 2009; ... ANGELS AND DEMONS * 1/2 The Da Vinci team is back. The battle between the Catholic Church, and the Illuminati is raging fresh and new. The new Pope is yet to be selected. Langdon (Tom Hanks) is called to the Vatican to solve another puzzle. He follows the ancient signs through sealed crypts, ...
DANCE FLICK
Jun 04, 2009; ... DANCE FLICK * While Dance Flick's abiding comedie principle has a forever-young quality to it (to sum up: you can't go wrong with fat people and spontaneous expulsions of the bodily kind), the closing credits will make you feel your age: That's Damon Wayans Jr. as the eager, affable leading man, ...
DRAG ME TO HELL
Jun 04, 2009; ... DRAG ME TO HELL **** Fanboys have waited patiently for Raimi to return to the "splatstick" horror genre he more or less invented with The Evil Dead trilogy. Drag Me to Hell never quite hits the psychotropic heights of Evil Dead //-Raimi's working with a PG-13 rating this time- but, in the ...
EVERY LITTLE STEP
Jun 04, 2009; ... EVERY LITTLE STEP (Not reviewed this issue.) The film follows the story of real-life dancers as they audition for the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line. The history of the original 1974 show is discussed as cast members and dancers are interviewed; the documentary shows the ...
IS ANYBODY THERE?
Jun 04, 2009; ... IS ANYBODY THERE? (Not reviewed this issue.) Michael Caine delivers a breathtaking performance as a retired magician who reluctantly enters a family-run old age home in John Crowley's Is Anybody There? Set in a seaside ...
LITTLE ASHES
Jun 04, 2009; ... LITTLE ASHES (Not reviewed this issue.) Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson tries out a new role in a film based on artist and poet Salvador Dali's life. This film is not ...
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN
Jun 04, 2009; ... NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN * Director Shawn Levy and screenwriters Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon have moved this sequel*s location from New York's American Museum of Natural History to the D.C. Smithsonian, but virtually every other aspect of this follow-up was ...
RUDO Y CURSI
Jun 04, 2009; ... RUDO Y CURSI *** Gael Garcia Bernal stars in this story of the search for fame. Two brothers from a small town travel to Mexico City to make it big. He wants to be a ...
SEA MONSTERS (3D)
Jun 04, 2009; ... 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 ...
SHARKS (3D)
Jun 04, 2009; ... SHARKS (3D) ** 1/2 Presented by Jean-Michel Cousteau, the United Nations Environment Programme and 3D Entertainment, Sharks 3D seeks to ring alarm bells concerning the decimation of the fish by what the film ...
STAR TREK
Jun 04, 2009; ... STAR TREK **** Star Trek is an immensely satisfying origin story that introduces the characters we know- before we knew them. For all its epically chaotic space battles and Bana's scheming, timetripping Romulan Nero, Star Trek is most audacious in such scenes as when the not-yet-Captain Kirk ...
STATE OF PLAY
Jun 04, 2009; ... STATE OF PLAY *** The original BBC miniseries- an adrenalized, all-terrain thriller that ravaged institutions and ideals from Fleet Street to Downing- was television at its finest. Why mess with greatness? Turns out this redo doesn't: It neither embarrasses the original nor is superior to it in ...
TERMINATOR SALVATION
Jun 04, 2009; ... TERMINATOR SALVATION * 1/2 The wiry, wily John Connor (Christian Bale), who is on a mission to locate and protect the life of his future father (Anton Yelchin), is a model of post-nuclear industriousness, commanding a truly ragtag global resistance (via shortwave radio) against the self-aware ...
THE LIMITS OF CONTROL
Jun 04, 2009; ... THE LIMITS OF CONTROL (Not reviewed this issue.) "No guns, no sex, how can you stand it?" Isaach De Bankole, Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton star in a plot about a mysterious loner (De Bankolé) who sets out to commit shady business as his ultimate goal. The film is set up in a series of vignettes ...
THE SOLOIST
Jun 04, 2009; ... THE SOLOIST ** 1/2 With all the hallmarks of a prestige picture, chief among them a great cast and creative crew and an "important" message, The Soloist plays its tune with a frequently heavy hand. Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. are superlative, but the actors' performances take on a shambling ...
UP
Jun 04, 2009; ... UP ***** Pixar tops itself with its new animated offering Up, a movie so visually and emotionally skillful that it makes Monsters, Inc. look positively antic, Toy Story seem like mere child's play, and WALL-E appear as sentimental fluff. Up's promotional campaign, which suggests little more than ...
UP (3-D)
Jun 04, 2009; ... UP (3-D) **** Rated PG. At Century Cinemas Del ...
Iron Unmanned
Jun 04, 2009; ... Iron Unmanned James Toback documentary chronicles the tragic rise and fall of Mike Tyson Professional boxing fascinates and enthralls like no other sport. It always has. From London-born Queensbury Rules to the nasal whine of Howard Cosell and the 20th century's greatest bouts ...
STReet TaLK
Jun 11, 2009; ... Asked at Brophy's Tavern in Carmel. Q: WHAT IS THE STRANGEST DREAM YOU HAVE EVER HAD? Follow-up: What's your worst nightmare? JEFF CRAWFORD Golf Caddie | Monterey A: I was in a hot tub with 15 naked women and they all fought over me and called me ...
UPDaTeS
Jun 11, 2009; ... KING CITY BAIL0UT ...A $13 million ioan to bail out King City Joint Union High School District is slowly making its way through Sacramento. On June 8, SB 130 was sent to the Assembly Education Committee, where a June 24 hearing is scheduled. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the desperate ...
MORE CUTS TO COME
Jun 11, 2009; ... Monterey County balances its budget, and waits for news from the state. Monterey County's 2009-10 budget is balanced- for now. But this is likely to change as the state struggles to fill its own nearly $24 billion deficit, according to county finance officials. Earlier this week, ...
Sensei and Sensibility
Jun 11, 2009; ... Thwacking your way to higher consciousness in Seaside. Through the double doors to the pagoda-style complex, past the floors of woven mats and thin, sliding walls, Sensei Kazuki Arita takes up a staff and holds it ceremoniously, straight up and down before him. He walks slowly and ...
Animal Collective
Jun 11, 2009; ... Hartnell College cuts veterinary program; students complain to the D.A. Brushing off accusations of violating the Brown Act and muzzling student testimony, Hartnell College's Board of Trustees axed its Animal Health Technology Program on June 8. Students, mainly women seeking second ...
Tightwadding
Jun 11, 2009; ... P.G. budget shrinks with the recession. They've already slashed staff, raised taxes and partly privatized the museum. Now, Pacific Grove city officials are digging even deeper to balance the 2009-10 budget. "When you have less employees, you have less services," Mayor Dan Cort ...
Hats in the Ring
Jun 11, 2009; ... Caballero eyes another term in the state Assembly-or Senate. Assemblywoman Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) says she's seriously considering a run for the California Senate. With Sen. Jeff Denham termed out and Supervisor Simón Salinas, a former assemblyman, recently bowing out, Caballero ...
CORRECTIONS
Jun 11, 2009; ... In last week's Updates, we erred on the time of Don Bowen's "Around Town" radio show on KNRY. It's Saturday mornings from 10-llam. And in last ...
Obama's Choice
Jun 11, 2009; ... FORUM Will Israeli and Arab leaders get the message? The bold resolve of U.S. President Barack Obama to settle the ArabIsraeli conflict poses a clear challenge to Israel's rightwing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Obama's challenge to Arab leaders is equally great: He is ...
SQUID FRY
Jun 11, 2009; ... LIVELY AS EVER ... And Squid thought there was a lot going on at Monterey Live when it was open. On the one tentacle, Squid did f***ing love the entertainment at Live- it was fresh, delicious, always different, like a dream seafood buffet. On the othertentacle, for a cephalopod like Squid (who ...
The Orgasm Gap
Jun 11, 2009; ... FORUM A new gender inequality for the new millennium- and two others. I have often written that there is no more glass ceiling and no more salary gap. OK. So if the gender gaps are these feminist favorites, then are there gender gaps we should be concentrating on? Yes: 1 ....
Brand New World
Jun 11, 2009; ... Marketers at the Sustainable Brands conference say you can save the world, and sell products. By late 2007, Steve Newcomb had been the director of two companies and founded three more. He'd lubricated the insides of the oil, telecom, marketing and mobile service industries, creating $3 ...
Magnetic Bandit
Jun 11, 2009; ... LuisValdez Bandido, rides into Carmel. He was an aristocrat, a poet, a ladies' man and a bandit. He was born in Monterey in 1835, before Alta California was ceded by Mexico to the U.S. after the U.S.-Mexican War (or the "American Intervention in Mexico," as it's known south of the ...
Valley Girl
Jun 11, 2009; ... LA. transplant Kiki Whitman gives Carmel Valley nightlife a little wow. Carmel Valley is a place unto its own. Often 10 to 20 degrees warmer than the coastline, the town is full of vineyards, horses, and mom-and-pop shops. But while that makes it perfect for a relaxing afternoon walk or ...
Battle Axes
Jun 11, 2009; ... The 2009 Your Music Olympicks offers an extended rock showdown. They come from garages, basements, studios and tour vans seeking the one thing: To kindle flames atop the torch of the Your Music Olympicks. The emergent local music event, ppt on annually by Lyon Entertainment for ...
Funny Money
Jun 11, 2009; ... Bankers Casino in Salinas launches live comedy with half of Kid 'n' Play. Entertainment and gambling have a symbiotic relationship in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. So why not in Salinas? Recently, with the grand opening of a VIP Lounge and restaurant, Bankers Casino on Monterey ...
Keep the Change
Jun 11, 2009; ... Keep the Change Monterey's Paprika Café adjusts its name and knocks down prices- without docking quality. According to Shakespeare, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet In the case of Paprika Café, it smells even sweeter. Paprika Café is the reincarnation of the ...
Hippie Hooray
Jun 11, 2009; ... A Monterey Peninsula health food legend retires-and otto nutritious niblets. How's this for a resume? Helped sprout the health food phenomenon, brew the clamor for coffee shops, seed the Civil Rights Movement and make Oprah who she is. No less authority than the longtime local ...
Confidence Game
Jun 11, 2009; ... Confidence Game The Brothers Bloom tells a mannered, but appealing, crime tale. Buying a ticket for a movie about con men is like placing a bet in a game of three-card monte. On some level, you expect to be hoodwinked, and can't count on winning your money back. Instead, you pay ...
NEW RELEASES & REISSUES
Jun 11, 2009; ... NEW RELEASES & REISSUES Written by Mark C. Anderson, Marjorie Baumgarten, Peter Debruge, Curtis Holman, Dan Hudak, Mary Ann Johanson, Jake Luce, Melissa Cessna, Michelle Ngoi, Brett Pallastrini, Scott Renshaw, Marc Savlov and Anders Wright. EASY VIRTUE (Not reviewed this ...
MOVIE BRIEFS
Jun 11, 2009; ... MOVIE BRIEFS 300 (IMAX) (Not reviewed this issue.) "Tonight we dine in Hell!" Well at least dine on the Spartan war film on IMAX. The extremely violent and bloody adaptation of the Frank Miller graphic novel is now viewable on the (very) big screen. Rated R. At Cannery Row IMAX ...
Train Wreck
Jun 11, 2009; ... Train Wreck A remake that goes way off the rails. This shouldn't surprise us, but somehow a movie about a subway hijacking ends with a car chase through New York City traffic. And if s not even a good car chase. It's action for the sake of action, which is always trouble. It ...
STREET TALK
Jun 25, 2009; ... Asked at Oldtown Bar & Grill in Salinas. Q: WHAT ACTIVITIES DO YOUAVOID WHEN YOU CET THE BLUES? Follow-up: What comfort food always cheers you up? JENELLE PEREZ Bartender | Saunas A: Drinking. It makes me more depressed. Being at home because It makes ...
Digging In
Jun 25, 2009; ... Neighbors unite to beautify Seaside's Martin Park. It's an overcast, blustery Saturday, but Tracy Parker and Jimmy White are intent on getting a sumac sapling into the ground. Around them, about a dozen other neighbors are equally focused on their planting tasks in Seaside's ...
Cash Crops
Jun 25, 2009; ... In Monterey County, sometimes money does grow on trees (and on vines and in the dirt). Last year's wine grape season didn't give Monterey County growers any reason to uncork a celebratory bottle. Because of extreme weather, -wine grapes lost 5 percent in value last year, dropping from ...