By MARY SCHLEY

SUSPENDED FROM his job near-ly a year-and-a-half ago and putthrough a 13-month criminal investiga-tion that led to no charges, City ofCarmel IT manager Steve McInchakdied of a heart attack early lastWednesday morning, leaving behind hiswife of 43 years, Karen, and their son,Kevin. He was 63.

“He was very well liked — I don’tknow that he had an enemy in theworld,” Karen McInchak told The PineCone Monday. She extolled his “easy-going disposition, which is exactly theopposite of me. He was very even tem-pered.”

Born July 29, 1951, in Seattle,Wash., McInchak attended PacificLutheran University in Tacoma, Wash.— where he also met Karen. The couplemoved to the Monterey Peninsula in1975, and he worked as an engineer inthe private sector until joining the Cityof Carmel in July 1997. They traveledall over the world, visiting Japan,Russia and other countries where shewas a judge at cat shows.

“Traveling was a big part of things,”she said, adding that he was “an avid

sports fan,” who particularly favoredthe Giants and the 49ers. “He got to seethe first game of the World Series”Tuesday night, before he was struck ill,she said. “They won.”

“He was a friend and a coworker anda hardworking guy,” commented retiredbuilding official and reserve policeofficer Tim Meroney. “He worked allthose years for us on a limited budget,and he did with it what he could.”

Among his other accomplishmentsas the city’s chief computer networkexpert, McInchak is credited with get-ting the system and software in place toallow the city to webcast meetings ofthe city council, planning commissionand other boards.

“What a tragic ending to a sad chap-ter. As we watch city meetings, we willbe viewing a living memorial createdby Steve as IT manager,” said formerMayor Sue McCloud. “It was he whonot only launched televised city meet-ings, but brought the process to reality.”

Former city councilwoman PaulaHazdovac worked with McInchak ongetting the meetings broadcast on pub-lic-access television.

2 0 1 4 G O L D E N P I N E C O N E S

The Carmel Pine ConeVolume 100 No. 44 On the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com

T R U S T E D B Y L O C A L S A N D L O V E D B Y V I S I T O R S S I N C E 1 9 1 5

October 31 - November 6, 2014

You picked the winners — read all about them this week in our special section!

PHOTO/COURTESY KAREN MCINCHAK

Steve McInchak, whose death lastWednesday shocked the city.

PHOTO/LITTLEROCKSOIREE.COM

The owners of what is now the most expensive home inMonterey County are Harriet and Warren Stephens, of LittleRock, Ark. In their home state, they are very active in busi-ness, golf and charities.

The home purchased by the Stephens’ (at yellow arrow) overlooks the 13thGreen of the Pebble Beach golf course and also has an inimitable view ofocean, beaches and headlands.

See McINCHAK page 26A

See MASTODON page 21A

McInchak’s sudden death adds to turmoil at city hall

$31.25M Pebble Beach home smashes county record — for price and taxesBy PAUL MILLER

AN ESTATE overlooking the 13th Green of the PebbleBeach Golf Links — with magnificent views of Carmel Bay,Carmel Beach, Carmel Point and Point Lobos — set a newrecord for a home sale in Monterey County when it closedescrow last Friday for $31.25 million.

The price topped the previous record by more than $3 mil-lion.

The news is exciting not only for owners of other high-endhomes in the Monterey Peninsula and the real estate agentswho specialize in selling them, it’s also bound to create excite-ment at the tax collector’s office, because the home’s propertytaxes had been just $2,700 a year, but now they’ll be more than$315,000 annually.

“That’s the biggest jump I’ve ever seen, and it could be thebiggest ever in California,” said Monterey County assessorSteve Vagnini.

Under California’s famous tax-limiting measure, Prop 13, ahome’s taxes are limited to one percent of its value in 1975,plus a maximum increase of two percent a year. Only when itsells can it be reassessed to its true value.

The seller last week of the record-breaking home was atrust established by billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, who

By CHRIS COUNTS

LOCALS GRUMBLE at the sight of an RV plod-ding along Carmel Valley Road, but once upon a time,there was something even slower — and likely just asbig — trudging along the same path.

A new exhibit that opened last week at the CarmelValley History Center showcases a startling discovery:

C.V. find is hip bonefrom mastodonor mammoth

See THEATER page 12A

See RECORD page 23A

See OLD-TIMER page 10A

Council OKs Forest Theater renovation planBy MARY SCHLEY

AN ARCHITECT’S plans for adding disabled seating,pathways, ramps and lighting to the aging Forest Theater, aswell as shoring up its stage, proscenium walls and lightingtowers, can move ahead — with some more tweaking — theCarmel City Council decided Wednesday night. The discus-sion was a continuation of a lengthy meeting the week prior,and the vote marks a significant step toward reopening thetheater, which was closed in April due to health and safetyhazards.

“This doesn’t mean the facility will be 100 percent codecompliant,” explained Monique Wood, with Cody AndersonWasney Architects. “We’re bringing the facility to the pointwhere there will no longer be distinct hazards.”

The new layout would have three pathways to emergencyexits onto Guadalupe, Seventh Avenue (also known as theJosselyn Lane walkway) and Santa Rita, as well wheelchairseating and new aisles. While councilwoman Victoria Beachlast week suggested the disabled seating be placed in theorchestra pit, Wood told the council that option wouldn’tmeet the spirit of the ADA, which calls for giving handi-capped patrons “as much choice as regular patrons — equalto or better than.”

The Wasney plan provides wheelchair spaces and com-panion seats just below the new path that would traverse theaudience, which would give the disabled seating similar towhat everybody else has, but would also place the wheel-

By CHRIS COUNTS

AN ELDERLY man with deep roots in the historyof upper Carmel Valley died last week in a house fire.Jean Cahoun was 86.

“A lot of people who made this place what it is aregone now, and Jean was one of the last of them,” saidMark Stromberg, the former resident director of theHastings Natural History Reservation, which is locatednearby. “His family built the original ranch house atHastings in the 1890s, which is still there. They were

OLD-TIMER DIES IN

REMOTE HOUSE FIRE

PHOTO/CHRIS COUNTS

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