Carmel Bay: Fisherman films close encounter with humpback whale

Monterey fisherman Lance Scott had a close encounter with a humpback whale three weeks ago while kayaking in Carmel Bay. He was only a half mile off shore.

Video:



Scott is a full-time fisherman in the Monterey Bay and he's no stranger to close encounters, but you can tell from the video he was pretty surprised.

Humpback whales have been close to shore in Carmel and Monterey because of all the anchovies close to shore, according to Barbara Block of the Hopkins Marine Station.

"We have a hot spot created by (underwater) points that then concentrate upwelling close to shore," she said, "and this leads to nutrient enrichment, plankton blooms. Anchovy feed on the plankton, the whales feed on the anchovy."

Do you have an interesting Monterey Bay video? Send it to me at pmolnar@montereyherald.com

Lance Scott and son Dylan, 10, with a 54-pound Halibut from the Monterey Bay

Monterey gets defensive over leases

Jody Hansen

Some in the business community are trying get Monterey City Council to change its mind over new leasing policies but it doesn't seem to be working.

You may remember back in March that the governing body made sweeping changes to lease policies that will likely have drastic changes for Fisherman's Wharf. The gist is wharf businesses get long-term leases on city property and often sublease that property to someone else, making a lot of money on land that belongs to taxpayers.

An example: Leaseholder Mary Alice Cerrito Fettis pays the city around $79,000 a year to rent a spot on the wharf but then charges a subleaser $264,000 a year to rent it from her.

However, wharf operators say they work very hard, bring tons of tax revenue into the city, are a gem for the community, take all the risk when subleasers go belly up and are being demonized.

Old Fisherman's Grotto owner Chris Shake lays out a cohesive argument here.

Trying to get City Council to change its mind has been mostly subtle so far, such as a letter writing campaign to The Herald and one or two business leaders addressing the council.

Monterey County Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Jody Hansen tried to appeal to the council Tuesday night to tell the council that businesses need flexibility to succeed. Part of that flexibility would be longer leases, as opposed to 10-year limits recently imposed.

Here she is:



Then, Monterey Commercial Property Owners Association immediate past president Mike Mosebach said the Monterey Bay Aquarium would have never come to the city if current leasing policies had been in place.

Councilman Alan Haffa did not take kindly to the remarks. He said the whole point of the changes was to give Monterey flexibility and predictability.

"What we have are leases in which politics determine who gets what. That's wrong," he said. "Predictability is the goal. So, you ask us about our goals? Predictability. No. 2: Flexibility. Each lease is negotiated independently. Unique considerations will be taken into consideration. They are guidelines."

He said the City Charter required Monterey to go for market-rate rents the goal was to generate enough revenue so that in the future the city doesn't need a sales tax, like Measure P, to pay for infrastructure.

"We specifically added a policy that gives a preference for local and independent vendors," he said. ". . . We certainly don't want Hooters. We don't want Applebee's on the wharf. However has been distributing that misinformation should be ashamed of themselves."

You can see some videos of his comments below:




Councilwoman Libby Downey backed him up and said an editorial from a local TV station was out of line by saying Monterey did not have all the facts:


 Councilman Ed Smith disagreed with both of them and said he appreciated the business community coming to the council meeting.

"It is important we hear from all sides of the coin," he said. ". . . You're (Haffa) offended by them coming forward and using this forum but I'm not sure what other forum they would have available to get their word to us. We use the power of the microphone and the TV to convey our expressions, so I'm not offended by somebody coming here and using their time to give us their opinion."

Inside baseball: Marina Coast Water District and Fort Ord

How much water the Fort Ord Reuse Authority gets for development from the Marina Coast Water District is the subject of a strongly-worded letter from district vice-president Peter Le.

In the letter to FORA, provided to the media, Le suggests the district will cut what it promised to FORA by roughly 600 acre-feet a year.

His reasoning was the authority — by not formally approving the district’s plan for a desalination plant at its recent meeting — must no longer want most of its water for the former Army base from desalination.

The most-recent FORA resolution from 2008 stated 3,000 acre-feet of water from the district would come from desalinated water. A 2005 agreement said 1,500 acre-feet would come from recycled water and 1,500 acre-feet from desal.

Assuming previous agreements are null and void, he now suggests the district drops down to 2,400 acre-feet a year (half from recycled water and half from desal).

District interim general manager Bill Kocher said the letter did not go before the district's board but noted that Le is the district's representative on FORA.

“The FORA Board’s action to not act on a recommendation regarding the MCWD water augmentation plan left many questions, particularly for MCWD who is trying to move ahead on fulfilling its obligation to provide additional water to the Ord Community for its build-out plans,” he said.

FORA attorney Jon Giffen said Wednesday the authority had yet to receive the letter.

The correspondence comes after the authority, once again, declined to endorse the district’s plans at its Friday meeting, largely because of legal concerns.

There is still an ongoing lawsuit from the Marina Coast Water District against California American Water regarding test wells for its planned desalination plant. A preliminary injunction hearing for the lawsuit will be heard May 1 in Santa Cruz County Superior Court.

“A leopard hasn’t changed its spot,” Cal Am attorney Tony Lombardo said of the district at the FORA meeting. “They are still doing everything they can possibly do to stop the Monterey Peninsula from finding out if this is a viable water source.”

Monterey County supervisor Jane Parker asked how the district's plan ended up on the agenda again after the board failed to endorse it at its previous meeting. Chair Frank O’Connell said it was an honest mistake that the item appeared as an “action” item instead of just information.

Del Rey Oaks Mayor Jerry Edelen continued to use strong language with the district for potentially blocking Cal Am’s effort to produce more water.

“It looks like (the district) is trying to cut Cal Am’s throat in court,” Edelen said.

Supervisor Dave Potter urged the agencies to stay out of court while Salinas Mayor Joe Gunter argued everyone needed to find a way to get along.

“You’re going to have to figure out how to work together,” Gunter said. “And maybe you’ll put your slant wells right next to each other and work it out and build a bigger, better desalination plant. You need to stop acting like bullies, children.”

Battle of the "Pacific Grove" songs

America's Last Hometown has a song battle going on and we are divided at The Herald which anthem is better.

Pacific Grove, where it is illegal to kill a butterfly (and apparently stay open past 6 p.m.), is the subject of songs by Julie Capili and Matt Costa.

Capili recently hit it big with "Butterfly Town," an insanely catchy tune with a new video financed by the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce (see the story in today's Herald).

But, local radio station KRML has been playing a song by Costa for a while now that I think it really swell.

Here is Costa's:




Here is Capili's:



Or, rather than argue over which song is better, we could just support both artists who were inspired by Pacific Grove.

Here are their websites:

Julie Capili: http://www.juliesingsjazz.com/

Matt Costa: http://mattcosta.com/

Where's Bixby? Monterey (After an 8,200-mile bike trip)

We get a lot of people stopping by The Herald but this one actually put a smile on our faces.

Mike Minnick, 38, and his dog Bixby, 5, stopped by the office after pedaling 8,200 miles by bike to get to the First City.

For nearly 19 months, Minnick has been on his Yuba Mundo bike, with the female border collie mix in a carrier over the rear wheel. From Lubec, Maine, to here, people have been following along on WheresBixby.com.

He arrived in Monterey on Friday and has been enjoying Cannery Row and other tourist spots. He said he was irked he could not ride on 17-Mile Drive because of the AT&T National Pro-Am.

Santa Cruz Sentinel was also visited by Minnick and wrote a story about him last week. He also rode his bike to other Monterey area media and will probably go to every newspaper and TV station as he travels south.

He says he does it to highlight the benefits of animal adoptions and local shelters. He said he paid for the trip by selling everything he owned and some donations collected on the Bixby website.

A little known song by a not that well-known artist gets him up the tough hills, Jerry Jeff Walker's "Maybe Mexico."

Minnick said he is looking forward to riding across the Bixby Bridge next, which he joked was named for his faithful companion.

Monterey's recent public records requests

Monterey City Council in  October (Molnar)

Monterey got about 80 public records requests in the last six months with no unified theme among them.

As expected, there are a fair amount of requests from journalists and attorneys.

Gordon Smith of Veterans Wild Fort Ord and environmental attorney Zan Henson had one of the more interesting threads of requests. They both were asking for a lot of information on La Sala's Bi-Rite Market on Casa Verde Way. 

"I represented a neighbor who lived down the street who was concerned that they were expanding their operations and it turned out they were," Henson said today. "So, they cut back some of their outdoor operations." 

No lawsuit was ever filed in the matter. 

Here are the requests: 

Presidio of Monterey's questionable FOIA response

Presidio in May 2014 (Molnar)

The Presidio of Monterey continues to be cagey about an incident that caused the evacuation of the base back in mid-August.

After months of silence, The Herald was able to determine hundreds of students, faculty members and military personnel fled because officials believed an instructor intended to blow himself up.

This newspaper was only able to figure that out using a California Public Records Act request for all communication from law enforcement to dispatch at the Monterey County Emergency Communications center in Salinas. All the Army said was  that a  "real world incident" took place, a suspect was in custody and there was no danger to the public.

A Freedom of Information Act request for the Presidio, made at the same time as the state request, came back empty.

The Herald asked for: "All emails, reports and correspondence concerning the
Aug. 8, 2014, incident at the Presidio of Monterey that required an emergency
drill to be halted."

What we received was three press releases without an explanation of why nothing else was included. This would mean: 1) No one sent any emails, made any reports or sent any letters on a major military instillation, and home to the Defense Language Institute, about a basewide evacuation or 2) It ignored the law in its response.

FOIA law says government agencies must give "the reasons therefor" not granting a request. The Presidio's response just says "please find enclosed partial response." The fine print of the act is on the Department of Justice's website.

You can view the Presidio's response below:

What do you think of the Monterey Conference Center design?

Above is a high resolution image of the initial design of the Monterey Conference Center that debuted last night.

Architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP sent me the photo around 1 a.m. last night, so it was not able to make print. Designs are not set in stone but the next meeting is fairly soon  -- Dec. 23 -- so it is not as if there is no urgency.

There was a lot of concern raised by the business and hotel community at the meeting to get something done because of groups trying to book events. At the same time, the City Council, Planning Commission and Architectural Review Committee are under pressure because of the $32 million price tag.

As the only reporter at last night's meeting, I have already received some backlash for having the gall to put in print some objections by elected officials to the design.

Monterey city manager Mike McCarthy wrote this to my boss: "The article in today's paper left the impression that it was very negative--I think early in the meeting it appeared negative, but by the end of the meeting, it was pretty clear that most agreed the drawings were right on track."

The video of last night's meeting should be uploaded here in a few days for those that want to see comments from officials for themselves.

The hotels might want it done soon, but it is something residents will need to see almost everyday and tourists are paying for.

Three hotels surrounding the center will cover the majority of the cost, with the other 65 hotels, motels and inns implementing a 1.6 or 0.8 percent tax on each bill. That means if you visit Monterey, and stay in a hotel, you are paying for this thing.

I have set up the comments on this site to not require a sign up on Blogger.com or anything like that. Please post your opinion! You might not own a hotel but your opinion is valuable (to me, anyway). Do you think the building is "right on track"?

NOTE: In the comment section, the easiest way to post is to select "Anonymous." But, feel free to leave your name if you want.

UFO in Monterey?

I was at Del Monte Beach around 6 p.m. Sunday when one of my friends noticed something in the sky.

It was red and orange and seemed to be moving much slower than a plane, helicopter or drone. I am at least 90 percent sure it was one of those flying Chinese lanterns.

My three friends there were pretty excited about whatever it was so I sent the video to Monterey Regional Airport.

"Our Operations Officer had seen a drone recently but the only other explanation is Santa?" said spokeswoman Jennifer Hickerson.

Unlike the Monterey Bay sea creature that turned out to be a whale carcass, this mystery (probably a Chinese lantern) continues.

Holman Building gets $5.5 million offer

Nader Agha stands outside the Holman Building in Pacific Grove in 2005. (David Royal, Monterey Herald)

Another day, another million.

The online auction for the historic Holman Building continued Tuesday with a bid of $5.5 million. The auction ends Wednesday.

On Monday, a bid of $4.5 million was registered on Auction.com. Mike Bitar of Executive Commercial, which is running the auction, said he is prevented from disclosing names of bidders.

The property and 5-story building is valued at $6.5 million, according to the Monterey County Assessor's Office. Owner Nader Agha put the building for sale in 2008 for $17.5 million.

Bitar said most bids come on the last day. He said he is getting several calls a day about the property.

The 120,000-square-foot property was home to the former Holman's department store. It was featured in John Steinbeck's "Cannery Row" with the story of a man roller skating above the store as a promotion.

Agha has “sole and absolute discretion” to accept the winning bidder’s offer, say legal documents posted on Auction.com.

Holman Building gets first bid

The historic Holman Building in Pacific Grove has received an offer of $4.5 million, according to an online auction that started Monday.

The bid is $1 million more than the starting bid. The auction ends Wednesday.

Mike Bitar of Executive Commercial, which is running the auction, said he is prevented from saying yet who made the bid or if there has been more than one.

"God willing, it will be sold this time," Bitar said Monday night.

It appears that the auction is off to slow start; Owner Nader Agha put the 5-story building up for sale in 2008 for $17.5 million. Bitar said most bids come the last day.

Two potential bidders have gone public: Some members of the Shake family (who envision turning it into a marketplace like the San Francisco Ferry Building) and NxGen Capital (that wants to turn it into an assisted living/memory care facility).

Agha has owned the building since 1995 and put the property on the market several times. In 2012, an attempt to rezone the building to allow for development of a 200-plus-room hotel was defeated by Pacific Grove voters.

Monterey passes law to require tobacco permits

It is getting a lot harder to be a cigarette smoker, and seller, in Monterey.

Smoking is banned on the Recreation Trail, city beaches, public parking lots and even Fisherman's Wharf. Also, good luck finding an ashtray downtown.

The City Council took it a step further last week by passing a new law to requiring  the city's roughly 50 retailers who sell tobacco apply for a $236 yearly permit. The county, which already requires unincorporated areas to get a county permit, would distribute the license on Monterey's behalf.

Permit requirements likely not be needed until mid-summer after the city works out logistics with the county.

The permit may be revoked if a retailer is found to have sold to minors. Fines will range from $1,000 for the first violation to $5,000 for the second violation and suspension of tobacco selling privileges.

Dale Hillard of Monterey County Collaborates has been working hard to get local cities to pass similar permit rules.

Hillard talks about why he thinks the new law is important here:

Holman Building goes up on auction

The historic Holman Building has been put on auction but how serious the attempt is remains to be seen.

Peninsula businessman Nader Agha bought the 120,000-square-foot Pacific Grove building on Lighthouse Avenue in 1995 and has put it up for sale before.

In 2008, he was asking $17.5 million for the landmark hotel. He said, at the time, he put it on the market because he was frustrated by years of delays to build a luxury hotel.

His latest attempt, posted last week on Auction.com, said indicative bids are due by 5 p.m. on Halloween. From there, prospective buyers will be selected by him for a final auction and required to post a minimum deposit of $100,000.

The final auction for the 90-year-old building will be held Nov. 19.

Foreign buyers are permitted to participate but any purchase must be in cash unless otherwise approved by Agha.

The rules for the auction may raise some red flags for potential buyers. In the fine print of the agreement, it says Agha has “sole and absolute discretion” to accept the winning bidder’s offer.

Most people I called about this auction seemed jaded after years of rumors about new buyers for the Holman Building, as well as the frequency it seems to go up for sale.

So far, efforts to reach Agha have been unsuccessful.

Given the importance of the building to downtown Pacific Grove (which even resulted in a 2012 election) it isn't a situation that is likely to go away anytime soon.

More women for Naval Postgraduate School?

Rear Admiral Jan Tighe, former NPS interim president, looks on
at a press conference in 2012 (Dave Royal/Monterey Herald).

U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced a plan Wednesday to increase the amount of women in Navy and Marine Corps, according to Reuters.

Monterey's Naval Postgraduate School counts just ll percent of its student body as women, said school spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Greg Flores.

It is slightly better, 18 percent, for non-resident students; that's civilian and foreign exchange students, as well as those completing degrees with distance learning.

Mabus made his comments at Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington, D.C. He said women represented 18 percent of the Navy and 8 percent of the Marine Corps.

"I don't know exactly what the goal ought to be, but I know those are too low," he said.

Mabus said the Navy was coming up with ways on its own to get more women but some measures would need congressional approval. No word on what that could mean for NPS.

I asked Flores if NPS does anything to encourage women to attend and this is what he said:

"We encourage all interested candidates who meet our enrollment criteria to apply to one of our Graduate or Doctoral programs. Gender is not a criteria for enrollment at NPS. Selection for the Navy's fully funded graduate education program is based on outstanding professional performance, promotion potential and a strong academic background. Officers interested in this program contact their assignment officers to determine their  professional qualification and assignment availability.  Upon determination of academic qualification, individuals may be eligible for consideration and assignment at NPS."

In 2013, there were 1,633 full-time resident students at the school. Of that, 180 were women and 1,453 men. That's eight men for every one woman.

Is Goldenvoice hiding First City Festival numbers?

Best Coast performs on Saturday at First City Festival 

As someone who attended First City Festival both days two years in a row, I can tell you attendance was down this weekend from 2013.

I think it is noteworthy a potential major tourism draw for Monterey did not get more popular in its second year (probably not a good sign for a music festival), despite arguably better known acts such as Beck and Phantogram.

This is perhaps why concert promoter Goldenvoice has been ducking me for three days. Despite repeated attempts to reach them by phone and email, I keep being told they are too busy to talk. 

This could be some sort of "small town newspaper" scenario. Who cares about the Monterey Herald if you have Rolling Stone on the other line? Yet, last year, I got them on the phone almost immediately. 

In that article, Goldenvoice executive Rick Mueller told me the morning after the festival his company's attendance estimates and its hope for future events. I was told Monday by Goldenvoice they could not talk until Tuesday, told Tuesday they could talk that day but then did not respond to my email, and then this morning told they could talk but did not reply to my response.

The festival drew roughly 10,000 people both days in 2013, Goldenvoice told me at the time. My personal guess for attendance this year was around 8,000 on Saturday and 5,000 on Sunday.

A few estimates were made in other media: SF Weekly said the festival "didn't have a huge attendance," Herald freelancer Beth Peerless said she spoke to someone at Goldenvoice on Sunday who put it at 9,000 each day and the San Jose Mercury News made a Saturday estimate of 8,000.

I'm fine just using what Goldenvoice told us Sunday for attendance (although, I would guess that is a bit high) but, for the newspaper, I would like to ask the promoter what it means and why they think it happened. 

Monterey police have already told me attendance was down for the festival, which law enforcement statistics at least partially reinforce. 

Last year, there were 12 arrests inside the fairgrounds and 23 citations outside during the festival on Saturday and Sunday, Monterey police said.

Lt. Leslie Sonne said there were no arrests inside the fairgrounds this year and just five citations outside.

One person was arrested outside Sunday around 1 p.m. for possession of methamphetamine, Sonne said. There was also a report of a theft of a wallet out of an unattended purse Saturday. 

I happened to be there for all the major acts both years -- and took video. Unfortunately, they both look pretty bad but you can see the Modest Mouse crowd was much thicker toward the front.

Here is Modest Mouse closing the show Sunday night in 2013: 

Here is The National closing the show Sunday night in 2014: 

I guess one could just argue Modest Mouse is more popular than The National, which is another reason why I can't really say for sure what happened on Sunday when attendance appeared to have gone down significantly.

Also, another anecdotal observation that I cannot pin down until I talk to Goldenvoice is the high amount of give-away tickets and last-minute deals on tickets. I ran into three friends that told me they got free tickets and you should have seen my friend Jeff's face (who flew up from Los Angeles and paid full price) when two Santa Cruz women told us they got their tickets for $50.

There are a lot of  factors to consider in the success of the festival. Even attendance may not be a fair analysis if you consider all the free tickets. They also could have made a high profit on concessions after it bought out concessionaire services from the Monterey County Fair.

Rep. Sam Farr on Monterey Downs

U.S. Rep. Sam Farr (D-Carmel) met with veterans earlier this week to discuss issues of note to the community, but the talked veered into other areas such as the proposed Monterey Downs project.

Although Farr has made comments regarding a land-use measure designed to stop the equestrian-themed project (he was against it), he typically steers clear of discussing the project directly.

Downs is a major development proposed for 550 acres of Fort Ord straddling the east side of Seaside. The city of Seaside is handling the project application. Developer Brian Boudreau, a major figure in the horse racing world, unveiled the $750 million project in 2010.

The project is somewhat connected to the proposed Fort Ord veterans cemetery because it is included in Downs' environmental assessment and developers plan to buy a 30-acre endowment parcel north of the 78-acre cemetery to help fund the burial place and its roads.

"The developer has an option on that parcel. If he was really sincere he'd just give you the money" before the project is approved, Farr said.

"That's not part of the (veterans) cemetery project. Monterey Downs rises and falls on its own merits," he said. "It's got to go through tons of political issues. It has so many gates it needs to go through."

He said was not sure what the current status of the project was at but he was "not so keen on it anyway."

Downs calls for 1,280 homes and apartments, a horse track, stables, a 6,500-seat sports arena, a horse park, three hotels, a swim and tennis club, offices, a veterinary clinic and commercial space. There would be 73 acres of habitat preservation area and 74 acres of parks and open space.

AB 52: Federally recognized tribe opposes

A federally recognized Native American tribe based in Shasta County has come out against a bill co-authored by Asm. Luis Alejo (D-Salinas) that is opposed by several Monterey County  unrecognized tribes.

The Pit River Tribe, recognized by the federal government since 1976,  has called AB 52 a "thinly veiled attempt" to cut Native Americans out of the development process in a letter to the main author, Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles).

"Marginalization and cultural extermination of California's surviving Indians seem to have replaced genocide of past centuries," wrote Dolores Raglin, tribal chairwoman for Pit River.

At issue for unrecognized tribes is the bill's Section 1 (b) which says it will "Establish a consultation process for federally recognized Native American tribes in California in the California Environmental Quality Act."

Unrecognized tribes, such as Monterey County's Ohlone/Coastanoan-Esselen Nation, interpret the bill to mean they will no longer be consulted on projects they consider part of their ancestral land, such as the Fort Ord veterans cemetery.

California currently does not distinguish between unrecognized and recognized tribes, according to an analysis by the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality.

Alejo said last week the tribes have misinterpreted his bill and it would not affect their ability to work with developers. However, Gatto told The Herald the legislation would likely not pass if the state's 78 tribal communities petitioning for recognition were added to the mix.

"We have to bite off what we can chew," he said. ". . . Politics is the art of the possible."

In Raglin's letter, she wrote the tribe was concerned a change to the definition of what a Native American tribe is would further past grievances.

"Given the shameful, historical treatment of California's Native Americans at the hands of the U.S. and State Governments," she wrote, "AB 52's proposed removal of many Indian peoples from the CEQA process puts the State of California in the role of continuing that dark legacy."

Gatto said he actually came up with the bill because of a desire to preserve California's history. AB 52 would elevate federally recognized tribes to the same status as other government entities. Instead of just being focused on finding archaeological artifacts, it would force every project under CEQA to be reviewed by the Native American Heritage Commission.

Raglin also opposes the work required of recognized tribes if the bill passes as "an undue burden and unfunded mandate."

The Pit River Tribe plans to attend the Senate Appropriations Committee in Sacramento on Aug. 4 when it is read again, according to Morning Star Gali, the tribe's historic preservation officer.

There are three local unrecognized tribes. The Esselen territory is mostly limited to Monterey County; the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band is spread across San Benito, Santa Cruz and northern and eastern Monterey counties; the Salinan Tribe is in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties.

Pit River Tribe letter

Monterey County Sheriff claim continues to fall flat

At the height of the Monterey County sheriff's primary, I made a California Public Records Act request for documents related to a claim that eventually came out in a last minute attack -- That Sheriff Scott Miller had several official complaints against him.

According to my recently-received response, the Sheriff's Office had 11 complaints with the county Equal Opportunity Office. Of these, seven cases were based on race, national origin and/or gender and four cases complained of discrimination based upon disability and age.

The only thing it proves is the office had complaints, not Miller. Also, there is no way of telling what they were about exactly.

The Californians for Law and Order group, run by a former GOP Central Coast leader, claimed in advertisements Miller has had "13 charges filed for sexual harassment and discrimination" against him.

No evidence has ever been produced to validate that claim.

Here is what Miller wrote about complaints against him at the time:

"None have been shown to have any factual merit," he wrote, "Most of them have been abandoned or lie dormant. The majority of the claims were filed by disgruntled former employees."

I figured this was worth a blog post because 1) It likely will come up again in the campaign and 2) for how long it took my request (attached below) to be filed.

I made the request to the County Counsel's office May 14. I did not get a response until last week.

No explanation was given as to why it took 44 business days to get a response, but I did get an apology. I've never had an issue with County Counsel Charles McKee or his staff; They are usually fast and helpful with requests.

Under California law, public entities have a maximum of 24 days to release records, give a date for their release or explain what exemption allows it to not release it.

I made another request for something else related to the campaign on April 24 and have not received the information I asked for. McKee said they are working on it.

Last week, Miller's challenger in the November election, Steve Bernal, received the endorsement of the Deputy Sheriffs Association. Although it is unclear how much that means to voters, Bernal was very pleased and said it would give his campaign momentum.


PRAR - Molnar 07-15-14.pdf

Fort Ord vets cemetery meeting planned

State Sen. Bill Monning

A day after some environmentalists raised a red flag over the state not having a public meeting over the draft Fort Ord veterans cemetery plans, two local politicians have announced a meeting.

U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, and State Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel, will hold a 1-hour meeting Saturday starting at 9 a.m.

The public gathering is at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, Morse B-104, 426 Van Buren Street. If you have questions, you may call Monning's office at 831-657-6315.

Monning's office said the event will be "an informational town hall meeting providing a state and federal update on the status of the California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery."

The public has until next week Friday to comment on the draft plans for the cemetery. The 629-page draft environmental assessment for the cemetery is available online or at the Seaside Library at 550 Harcourt Ave. or Marina Library at 190 Seaside Circle.

Fort Ord vets cemetery: No public meeting planned

There is no public meeting planned to discuss the recently-released Fort Ord veterans cemetery plans, according to the California Department of Veterans Affairs.

The state is not required to hold the meeting, but its absence has increased fear among the Keep Fort Ord Wild, or KFOW, group that the project will get "rubber stamp" approval.

If the state would have done a much longer environmental impact report, instead of an environmental assessment, it would have needed to have a public meeting, according to the California Environmental Quality Act.

KFOW, which plans to ask the state for a full environmental impact report, found about the lack of a meeting through a public records request.

The group gave the response to its CPRA request to The Herald. A few things of note:

• The two agencies who will ultimately approve the environmental assessment are the state Department of Veterans Affairs and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. 
• The representatives for the agencies are David Gerard, CalVet assistant deputy secretary, and George Eisenbach, director of the VA's cemetery grant services program. 
• All appeals on whatever the state VA decides will be handled by the Governor's Office of Planning & Research.
• The state plans to respond to public comments received during the public comment period (accepted until July 18). 

The public will be able to get updates on the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery in two weeks. The Fort Ord Veterans Issues Advisory Committee meets July 24 at 920 2nd Ave. in Marina. It typically meets at 3 p.m., although an agenda has yet to be posted. 

At the meetings there is always an update on the cemetery and representatives from the state VA, state Sen. Bill Monning's office, Rep. Sam Farr's Office and the Presidio of Monterey attend. 

The 629-page draft environmental assessment for the cemetery is available online or at the Seaside Library at 550 Harcourt Ave. or Marina Library at 190 Seaside Circle. 

After more than 20 years of work, cemetery organizers hope they can meet federal deadlines to begin the project in late fall. Besides KFOW, the only other public opposition to the project has come from the Oholone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation which contends the cemetery land is on its indigenous homeland.

"Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation objects to all excavation in known cultural lands, even when they are described as previously disturbed and of no significant archaeological value," wrote Esselen chairwoman Louise Miranda Ramirez to the state.

Ramirez said Monday afternoon by phone it sends a similar letter to all Fort Ord projects because it considers the former base part of its land. Its effort to build an 80-room hotel, wellness center and cultural center has stalled out of concerns a casino could be built -- Despite the tribe voting not to build a casino and saying they are willing to sign an agreement with the county it would not build a casino.