October 17, 2014 WORD-SEARCH puzzles in the classified pages of daily newspapers don’t necessarily stretch the intellect. If anything, they test your ability to stare at a grid of random letters. Stare long enough, and eventually you’ll find all the “hidden words.” I’ve successfully finished a couple of them over the years — when bored out of my skull and after slamming the crossword puzzle — but their completion brings no real sense of accomplishment. But I was wholly frustrated when a word-search puzzle was placed before me the other day in Monterey. Blame it on the voices. I was asked to find a dozen words hidden in a 20-by-20 grid. Easy words. Words with a lot of z’s. But I was only able to find a single word in 10 minutes. Try concentrating on anything when the voices in your head are taunting, whispering, trying to convince you that you’re a worthless piece of excrement. They’re loud. They’re aggressive. And they won’t shut up. They are like Satan’s answer to your guardian angel. I tried to finish the puzzle in a room filled with 50 other people. Most of them were police officers. The ugly voices also filled their heads. One of the cops found five words. We were all impressed. None of us were schizoaffective, and the voices were channeled into our brains via ear buds attached to iPods in a sensory demonstration led by representatives of a crisis intervention team from Chattanooga, Tenn. The demonstration was one of dozens of workshops presented this week during a three-day conference of an international organization to promote Crisis Intervention Training. More than 1,000 police officers from communities around the world attended the conference in Monterey, and they were all true believers in the CIT philosophy. CIT is a law-enforcement partnership with mental-health professionals and advocates that teaches cops to be caring and empathetic, particularly during their on-duty contacts with the mentally ill. In communities across the planet, thousands of peace officers take the 40-hour course so that their future encounters with the mentally ill don’t end in tragedy. With so many high-profile shootings by police officers grabbing headlines these days, it’s gratifying to see so many passionate cops in one place, extolling the virtue of kinder and gentler police work. AT THE Crossroads Safeway recently, I Many of the CIT leaders are old-timers who had been set in their old police ways until they recognized that too many good citizens in their communities were being killed because they were sick, because they had brain disorders, because they were misunderstood. Time after time in Monterey this week, buzzwords like “collaboration” and “partnerships” were used to describe the unlikely beyond the realm By JOE LIVERNOIS alliances that have been developed in communities that are key to CIT’s growing success. The alliances involved cops, social workers, mental-health professionals and anxious community advocates, none of whom shared common agendas. “We didn’t want mental-health people in our business, and we were happy to stay out of mental health’s business,” said Wade Johnson, a retired police captain in Meridian, Miss., who originally struggled with the CIT philosophy. “But, when it comes down to it, we are public servants. And if we’re true public servants, we’re here to help people.” And if peace officers are going to help people, they need to forge good relationships with the social workers and the advocates. In Florida’s Dade County, a judge who was a former public defender managed to convince police officers to participate in what is arguably the most successful CIT program in the country. Before officers in Dade County were trained in crisis intervention, police were killing at least one person with a mentalhealth issue every month, on average, said Judge Steve Leifman. In the past six years, a total of four police-involved shootings were reported. But it doesn’t stop there. With the help of a 1 percent tax approved by voters in Dade County, the region has built about 6,400 units for homeless people, said Leifman. Now, when “criminals” with mental-health or addiction issues show up in court for non-violent crimes, they are given the option of serving their terms in jail or seeking treatment. Eighty percent opt for treatment, and they are immediately placed in a housing unit and linked with treatment specialists. As a result, MAYORS From page 3A water project that would produce enough water to replace what’s being taken from the Carmel River. The state water board in late 2009 ordered Cal Am to come up with an alternative supply, saying pumping of the river harms the steelhead trout and red-legged frog that inhabit it. “The question would be, how to have our cake and eat it, The Golden Pine Cones 29A The Sour Cream Wars Cops walk a mile inside the heads of the mentally ill THOSE The Carmel Pine Cone See LIVERNOIS page 31A observed two couples from Texas arguing over which groceries to buy for their Carmel vacation rental. One guy says, “How ’bout we get some nice biscuits?” The other guy says, “Where you gonna find a decent biscuit in this town? Californians don’t know diddly squat about biscuits.” The first guy says, “It don’t matter. My special red-eye gravy, will save it.” And the second guy says, “Last time you made red-eye gravy we all got sicker than hound dogs at a dumpster.” “Don’t blame my gravy! Y’all got sick from eating that damned sushi, and it serves you right!” Ah, the joy of vacationing with others. I know it all too well. When I was a teenager, in order to escape the sizzling summers in Jersey City, my father took our family to a rented house on the Jersey Shore. Pop lost his store during the Depression, and after that he sold dry goods out of a block-long 1932 customized Buick sedan. From his “department store on wheels,” he could work anywhere The summer rental had six bedrooms. Our family squeezed into three of them, and Pop rented out the others to three retired widows — Mrs. Kurtz, Mrs. Weiss and Mrs. Bobka. The same three women every summer. Mrs. Kurtz was overbearing and constantly bragged about her daughter, the psychiatrist. She knew everything except how to stay on a diet. Her late husband owned a candy store, and she owed her ample curves to the Hershey’s Corporation. Mrs. Weiss was a retired milliner. She was in the habit of wearing a rosy hat morning, noon and night — the same red hat, day in and day out. The third woman, Mrs. Bobka, was sweet natured and quiet. She rarely spoke, because she had no teeth. Her gums were bald. Kurtz the high-handed candy queen once chided her for not wearing her dentures. Mrs. Bobka said, “They don’t fit.” “But you told me they fit perfectly,” Kurtz countered. “They fit in my mouth OK, but not in the glass,” Bobka replied. Our summer rental had two refrigerators. One for our family, and one for the Merry Widows. Each woman had her own shelf in the refrigerator — the root of all the squabbling. Every night after supper, they’d sit on the front porch, Kurtz straining the porch swing built for two, Weiss sporting her usual red hat, and Bobka working her shiny gums. too?” Burnett asked. “We don’t want to pay for two separate entities forever, but we we want to continue on the focus that the water authority has brought to the Peninsula.” Burnett said he and Cullem will come up with options for disbanding the mayors’ group and will present them to the mayors for consideration. County supervisors have also asked the group for its long-term plans. Because the water district was created through legislation in 1978, it will likely take legislation to change its structure, Monterey Mayor Chuck Della Sala pointed out at last week’s meeting. Three widows with nothing better to do but quibble over nothing. The bickering usually started with an innocent comment. Weiss would say to Kurtz, “I see you had four blintzes for supper” And Kurtz would fire back, “I woulda had strawberries, too, but a certain Ma Barker stole them from my shelf in the ice box.” Weiss: “What are you insinuating? That I stole your lousy strawberries? I don’t even like strawberries!” Kurtz: “No? Then what’s that red stain on Wilde Times By LARRY WILDE your dress?” Weiss: “If it’s any of your business, it’s borscht!” Sometimes Bobka would gum out a few words: “I like borscht. You don’t have to chew.” Kurtz: “Don’t butt in, Mrs. Poligrip. I’m talking to Mrs. Baby Face Nelson here. Besides the strawberries, this crook also stole my sour cream.” Weiss: “For your information, Mrs. J. Edgar Hoover, that was my sour cream. I bought it two months ago.” Kurtz: “You kept sour cream two months? You wanna drop dead from poison?” Weiss: “Sour cream doesn’t go bad. It’s already turned. You could keep it a year it stays sour. And tastes perfectly fine, except on rotten strawberries.” Kurtz: “Aha! So you did steal my strawberries.” Weiss: “I may have tested one. Just to check my sour cream.” Kurtz” “Tested? So how come three are missing?” Weiss: “Maybe it was two. It was dark. I thought it was my shelf.” Kurtz: “How could it be your shelf? Mine is on the top, yours is on the bottom!” Weiss: “So sue me.” Kurtz: “When my daughter the psychiatrist comes down, I’m gonna have her analyze you to find out what kind of a crazy lunatic stores up poisonous sour cream and steals strawberries.” Weiss: “Your daughter the cockamamie psychiatrist is divorced five times. Better she should analyze herself and find out why she can’t keep a husband.” Bobka, gumming her words: “Kurtz, you should get your daughter the psychiatrist together with Weiss’s son. They both like See WILDE page 31A BROCCHINI RYAN Market Knowledge Our quarterly reports in the Pine Cone prove the point. We know the market. 2014 Look for the winners October 31st in The Carmel Pine Cone www.carmelpinecone.com Expect Expertise. www.AdamMoniz.com 831.601.3320 [email protected] Paul and Mark Paul Brocchini 831.601.1620 Support Pine Cone advertisers — shop locally! Mark Ryan 831.238.1498 www.carmelabodes.com October 17, 2014 LETTERS From page 28A follow them. It is not enough to simply ask for a Kumbaya moment. Chris Tescher, Carmel How would she feel? Dear Editor, I, like many people in your readership area, have applauded your efforts to expose what were such egregious acts of mismanagement by Jason Stilwell and his henchwoman, Susan Paul. Without your continual efforts and those of the citizens that united against the shady dealings at Carmel City Hall, more employees’ careers and livelihoods would most likely have been destroyed, aided and abetted by a city council that had obviously turned a blind eye to a rotten apple in their midst. What should continue to alarm the residents of Carmel is the quote from councilwoman Victoria Beach at the last council meeting wherein she spoke of the council’s requirement under Clause 9, in which the council has a “duty” to protect Stilwell’s professional reputation and she basically begged the public to keep quiet about the fiasco, saying “I’m asking the public to help with this Clause 9. It’s what we pledged to do, what we are obligated to do, and we hope they help with that.” The residents of Carmel should be asking councilwoman Beach exactly “why” the public should keep quiet about Stilwell’s actions, and the council’s complicity in lack of oversight and protection of the public interests. Beach and her compatriots abandoned the trust of the public with their almost undying backing of Stilwell, and the public has every right and need to spread the news far and wide so it does not happen again, perhaps to another community. I wonder how Beach would feel if she was one of the terminated employees, instead of a member of the council that had given Stilwell a blank check. Don Lassig, Pacific Grove Commission ‘knuckled under’ Dear Editor, For the past couple of months, it was a great pleasure that I could walk a few blocks to town and listen to live music at Barmel. But on Thursday, I was shocked to learn that the planning commission had revoked the live music permit it issued when Barmel opened. On the city-website I then read the planning commission “Supplement” (Oct. 8), which were the minutes of its Sept. 10 meeting. After reading the complaints from only two residents, I was flabbergasted. The planning commission is not a court of law. Thus, rules of evidence are different and people are not bound by oath to tell the truth. For example, one resident claimed “merchants have objected to the noise.” This seems odd since most merchants have closed their doors and gone home by the time music started at Barmel. Why weren’t the merchants identified; or, more to the point, why didn’t they speak for themselves? This is “hearsay” testimony, but in this case we don’t even know who supposedly complained. There is no mention of neighbors complaining about the noise that obviously one would expect if, in fact, “some” merchants did. Furthermore, there is no record the police were ever called regarding alleged noise. The assertion that “a dance floor was installed and it was operating with a nightclub atmosphere” was opinion that should not be accepted as fact. On no occasion did I see a purported dance floor, much less anyone dancing. In fact, what the owner did install was a decibel-metering device to ensure that compliance with the city noise ordinance was maintained. Barmel was off to a fantastic start as a neighborhood bar featuring local artists playing live music. But, knuckling under to political pressure by only two residents, the planning commission was swayed by their unsubstantiated commentary. This represents another black eye for the City of Carmel and how its government makes decision. Sadly, the citizens who enjoy live music are suffering the consequences. Joseph A. Braun Jr., Carmel ‘Disgust’ at planning commission Dear Editor, On Oct. 8 I attended the planning commission meeting. One of the agenda items involved the use permit for Barmel. Apparently, there have been allegations of violations of the permit. Although these violations were neither clearly stated nor substantiated, the commission saw fit to restrict the terms of the permit in what seemed to be a punitive manner. Commissioner Keith Paterson was openly hostile to Gabe Georis, (the owner of Barmel), and addressed him in a manner that was condescending and smug. He returned repeatedly to (and pouted about) the fact that Barmel’s name had been changed (from High Tide) without the consent of the commission, something I gather was not required, and which was completely irrelevant to the matter of the use permit. The acting chair, when asked by Georis’ representative to explain how the charges had been substantiated, simply replied that he “felt” that they were true and that he didn’t have to explain further. A parade of concerned individuals, who seemed to constitute some sort of self-appointed Carmel Temperance Committee, (and who were apparently the source of the complaint), bemoaned the number of bars in Carmel, which is also irrelevant. In fact, it seemed to me that they could cite only one “violation”: dancing had been permitted at a location that served alcohol, in defiance of an archaic 1930s law. I am not writing in support of restoring Barmel’s use permit — although I favor it — but rather to register my anger and disgust with the way the commission handled the matter. The fact that they decided to restrict a respectable business based entirely on a complaint that had not even been investigated is appalling and grossly unfair. It is something I would have expected from a Salem tribunal, not from a group of people trusted with running of our city. Hopefully, the city council will review and reverse the commission’s decision. As one of the speakers at the meeting commented, “Decisions must be based on facts, not on your ‘feelings.’” No one could have said it better. Steven M. Beutler, Carmel Be smart about legislating beach fires “At this very moment, a team of two people are architecting the future of the public’s Carmel beach fire experiences.” Dear Editor, That may or may not raise the hair on the back of your neck. You might rest easily if the team had a clearly defined SCHEID From previous page cery store and in a steel mill, and been a carpenter’s apprentice — among other things. He’d also done collections and skip tracing for General Motors Acceptance Corporation, which financed cars. Although he was good at the work and enjoyed it, it was dangerous — California drivers didn’t like repo men then, either — and it would take too much time away from his studies. He left that job for part-time work and began his education in 1954. In 1956, Scheid transferred to Claremont, and at age 25 — which he thought old — he was accepted into Harvard’s MBA program. In 1959, he graduated and was hired by E.F. Hutton — the beginning of a relationship that would continue in some form or other for the remainder of his career in banking and investment. In the early 1970s, he and some other investors bought the land in the Salinas Valley that would become Scheid Vineyards. For many years, they grew grapes to sell to other winemakers. But by 2000, Scheid had bought out the other investors, his son Scott was CEO, and they’d begun making his namesake wines. Now the winery boasts 14 labels and sells grapes from four AVAs in Monterey and San Benito counties to 30 other winemakers. His daughter Heidi and son Tyler also work there. There’s plenty more to Scheid’s life story, including a roller coaster of a love affair with a sweetheart from Bridgeport, but you’ll have to read the memoir to learn more. The book is permeated with Forrest Gump happenstance, Scheid’s dogged work ethic, appreciation for those who helped him, and the mild sense of surprise he felt each time he reached a goal. He still advises his son on the winery, but he lives in Southern California and enjoys traveling, reading (when he’s not writing), and of course, a nice glass of wine. Al Scheid’s autobiography, “Breaking out of Beerport,” will be available at the end of the month on amazon.com and at the Scheid Tasting Room at San Carlos and Seventh. LIVERNOIS The Carmel Pine Cone 31A set of goals and objectives, or if they were following a structured process for problem solving. But they don’t and they aren’t. No activity succeeds without having a clear set of goals and objectives at the outset. For important tasks subject to critical review, goals and objectives must be written in detail, published, and understood by the public before any work is undertaken. Two reasons: 1. Public servants have a fiduciary responsibility to their constituency to be transparent in their processes. Legislating without clear objectives is akin to shooting with loose cannons — you might hit the target, but you’re guaranteed to cause collateral damage. 2. It saves time and effort. When we know our destination and route, we arrive sooner and with less wasted effort! This isn’t rocket science. Goals are general. Objectives are specific and support the achievement of a goal. A handy mnemonic reminds us how to write effective objectives. It’s SMART — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant (to the Goal), and Time-specific. The subcommittee published their “objectives” on Oct 9. Presumably, this is what we will use to judge their work. Word-for-word they are: 1. Alternatives suggested by citizens range on a continuum from ban fires to do nothing. Banning fires is not being explored; however, doing nothing is also not acceptable. 2. Forest and beach commission has chosen to find a middle ground, that is, to address the issues of environmental impact on Carmel Bay, the air and the beach, as well as issues of trash, crowds, safety and reputation while still preserving the tradition of beach fires in Carmel. Obviously, these aren’t SMART. Consequently, the public is at the mercy of the unwritten agendas of this subcommittee and will be in a very poor position at the end of this process. Meanwhile, the subcommittee may justify victory in every instance. Scott McKenzie, Carmel Yes on Measure A Dear Editor, My husband and I have been listening to a course about historical turning points in American history, and one of those turning points has been how technology, specifically computers, has impacted our country. Educationally, this innovation has stimulated the way we learn and has increased the rigor expected from today’s students. Beginning in kindergarten, students augment the subjects of math and reading through the computer lab. Additionally, teachers add to the chalk-and-board lessons of the past by using computer technology to help explain subject matter more clearly. Common Core Standards expect students to be capable of doing Smarter Balance assessments by third grade — a computer based assessment. This leads me to the situation in Pacific Grove where I am a teacher. Students are being shortchanged because our technology is not keeping up. The computers we have are outdated and in short supply. They are not reliable, and they oftentimes freeze-up during lessons. What can we do to help? Measure X was Pacific Grove Unified School Districts’ funding for technology. We no longer have those monies as of June 2014. Measure A, an education technology bond, will help assure our teachers, parents, and students that they will continue to be part of a School District that is innovative and forward thinking. Voting YES on Measure A is the way to make this happen. Unquestionably the next generation is worth this investment. Kathy Hunter, teacher Pacific Grove Unified School District From page 29A the homeless population in Dade County has been reduced from a high of 8,000 to 800, Leifman said. (And, yes, this is a city in Florida that approved a sales tax and came up with a kinder, gentler way of dealing with their desperate citizens!) The goal of CIT is to create officers who resolve problems peacefully, who balance authority with compassion. Which is why 50 officers spent more than 30 minutes in Monterey this week trying to accomplish basic tasks while angry voices echoed through their brains. The point of the simulation was to give officers some idea of what schizophrenics are dealing with. With loud and insulting voices driving them to distraction, the officers tried to read a silly article about how to become a successful rock star. With the voices telling them they are worse than excrement, they struggled to answer basic questions on the reading comprehension test. Asked to recite the Star Spangled Banner, line by line and with the angry voices burning through their skulls, nearly everyone in the room embarrassed themselves. The experience transformed perspectives. Capt. Charles Lowery Jr. of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Chattanooga, Tenn., refers to the “mindset” that officers develop from their days in the police academy. That mindset was an assumption that everyone who ignored police commands was disrespecting their authority, deserving of rough handling. Lowery is a 37-year police veteran, one of the old-school cops who grew up on old-school cop techniques. That all changed after he heard the voices. “We have to get rid of the mindset,” he said. Joe Livernois welcomes your feedback at [email protected]. WILDE From page 29A strawberries.” Kurtz: “Who asked you, Mrs. Tooth Fairy? You think my daughter the psychiatrist would go out with her son a mailman?” Weiss: “I got news for you, Mrs. Queen of England. If it wasn’t for a mailman delivering your daughter’s fancy bills, her practice would be in the toilet.” Kurtz: “When my daughter the psychiatrist comes down I’m gonna have her analyze your son to find out why a mailman doesn’t give his own mother enough money so she doesn’t have to steal sour cream from a poor widow.” Weiss: “You shouldn’t eat sour cream anyway. It’s fattening. Pretty soon you’ll need a porch swing built for three.” Kurtz: “For your information, Esther Williams, I never load up my strawberries with sour cream. I eat them plain. Maybe a little Hershey’s syrup. That’s enough.” Weiss: “Tell that to the porch swing.” Kurtz: “I’m gonna ask my daughter the psychiatrist what kind of a loony screwball — supposedly a friend living in the same house, a regular Mrs. Al Capone — breaks into the ice box in the middle of the night, burglarizes strawberries, stockpiles poisonous sour cream, wears the same damned red hat day and night, not to mention her son, the cheapest mailman in New Jersey. It’s a good thing he works for the Post Office because that’s where the FBI ought to put up your picture!” Carmel resident Larry Wilde is a former standup comedian and the author of 53 published books of humor. The New York Times has called him “America’s Best-Selling Humorist.” E-mail [email protected].
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