Volume 97 No. 49 On the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com

Y O U R S O U R C E F O R L O C A L N E W S , A R T S A N D O P I N I O N S I N C E 1 9 1 5

December 9-15, 2011

Have the complete Carmel Pine Cone delivered every Thursday evening to your iPad, laptop, PC or phone. Free subscriptions available at www.carmelpinecone.com

GIFT GUIDEA S P E C I A L S E C T I O N I N S I D E T H I S W E E K ’ S P A P E R – D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 11

See WINDS page 26A

See FEES page 21A

See ONE WAY page 24A

Heavy winds wreak havoc down the coastBy CHRIS COUNTS

WINDS GUSTING to 50 MPH blew through Big Surlate last week, killing a condor researcher, sparking foursmall fires and causing extensive damage to homes and busi-

nesses.“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” said Martha

Karstens, chief of the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade. “It’s amess down here. The wind was howling like a freight train.”

Mike Tyner, 35, was killed Wednesday, Nov. 30, at about3 p.m. when high winds caused a branch tofall on him. Tyner, who served as a field super-visor for the Ventana Wildlife Society’s condorrecovery program, was traveling along theCoast Ridge Road near Marble Peak when partof a large oak tree snapped and landed on hisvehicle. Shortly before he was killed, Tynerwas monitoring the progress of a young con-dor.

Emergency workers in a helicopter tried toreach the scene but were forced to turn backbecause of high winds, Karstens reported. Aforensic investigation later determined Tynerdied immediately as the result of blunt forcehead injuries.

A graduate of California Polytechnic StateUniversity San Luis Obispo, Tyner was an avidbirder and naturalist who joined the VWS in2002. In addition to his role with the VWS,Tyner worked with the Bureau of LandManagement studying rare and endangeredplants in the Algodones Dunes and with the

Council waives fees for Golden Bough rehab

By MARY SCHLEY

PACIFIC REPERTORY Theatre received a nice littleChristmas present Tuesday, when the city council voted tonot make the theater group pay about $14,000 in permit feesfor the interior renovation of its Golden Bough Playhouse onMonte Verde Street.

In his report for the the council Dec. 6, retired buildingofficial Tim Meroney recommended not waiving the fees,because most of the work on the theater had to do with itsinterior and improving the audience’s experience, and wasnot necessarily for the benefit of the community or for thepreservation of an historic resource. He said none of the workincluded sound-proofing or historic preservation.

“The efforts and contributions to the community from thePacRep Theatre have been and continue to be valuable,” hewrote. “The city council, however, must decide whetherwaiving required permit fees should be borne by the entirecommunity since it is the community that demands the feesto offset city services.”

County and city to collaborate on one-way Scenic Road

By MARY SCHLEY

THE COUNTY’S most notorious hairpin curve is aboutto become a lot safer as Monterey County moves ahead withplans to make Scenic Road one-way around Carmel Point.

The switch, from the city limits to Carmel River StateBeach, should help relieve traffic jams, make walking andbicycling safer, and preserve the bluffs — not to mentionreduce the likelihood somebody will drive off the edge.

This week, county planners asked city officials to maketheir small stretch of road from Santa Lucia to the FrankLloyd Wright House one-way, too. At their meeting Tuesday,council members agreed that was a good idea and said theywould work with the county to make it happen.

See THROWN page 21ASee CLAIM page 23A

Search continues for dog thrown from moving car By KELLY NIX

SPCA HUMANE officers and volunteers are continu-ing the search for Frosty the dog, the pooch that someonereported being thrown from a car in Monterey this week.

On Monday, a man reported he saw a dog tossed from awhite Buick four-door near the Lighthouse Avenue tunnelin Monterey. The witness briefly caught the dog with atowel before it escaped.

Spokeswoman Beth Brookhouser said SPCA forMonterey County humane officers and volunteerssearched for Frosty Wednesday afternoon and evening, butcame up empty. There were plans to continue the searchThursday.

“Frosty is still loose,” she said. The dog — a white poodle/terrier mix — was identified

as Frosty after the man who saw the incident said it waswearing a Santa Cruz SPCA collar. When he called the

agency to report what happened, officialscontacted the Marina family which hadbeen fostering Frosty. They said he escapedMonday. “The foster family confirmed thatFrosty is indeed missing, so it’s likely thesame dog,” said Brookhouser.

Jumped or thrown?According to Mandi Hart with the Santa

Cruz SPCA, it’s not known for sure whether

See COMPLAINT page 27A

COMPLAINT FILED OVER GOLF CLUBHOUSE WATER USE

! Judge lets late hours continue indefinitely

By KELLY NIX and PAUL MILLER

A NEARBY resident of the Point Pinos Grill is raisingheck over the number of seats in the restaurant at the PacificGrove Golf Links, and he took a surreptitious photo ofgolfers eating in front of a TV Nov. 6 to bolster his complaint.

In a complaint filed Dec. 6 with the Monterey PeninsulaWater Management District, Roger Pasquier contends thePoint Pinos Grill — which is permitted by the water districtto have 77 seats — has had more than 100 seats available forcustomers on at least two recent occasions.

Pasquier, in a declaration attached to the complaint filedby attorney David Sweigert, said that on Thanksgiving, he“observed more than 100 people being served in the club-

house grill at once.” The next day Pasquier visited the grill and again counted

more than 100 seats. He didn’t say in the complaint howmany customers were in the restaurant.

Because of the Monterey Peninsula’s perpetual watershortage, the MPWMD limits the number of seats restaurantscan have. The limits do not include outdoor seating orstandees. The Point Pinos Grill is allowed to have 77 indoorseats where food is served.

But more than 77 seats constitutes “intensification ofuse,” according to Sweigert, who has also waged a titanicbattle against the grill’s temporary extended hours on behalf

Defense lawyer files claimover alcohol ‘disability’

By KELLY NIX

A MONTEREY COUNTY deputy public defender hasfiled a claim with the county after being suspended from hisjob in July because of a DUI arrest.

In a claim filed Nov. 22, deputy public defender JohnKlopfenstein wants money damages and his job back. Heclaims the county illegally suspended him from the job withpay instead of offering to help him with his alcoholism —defined as a disability under the Americans with DisabilitiesAct.

On July 2, Klopfenstein, 58, “suffered a relapse of his dis-ability during non-working, off-duty hours,” and was arrest-ed on suspicion of drunken driving in Monterey. Though hetold his supervisor, county public defender, Jim Egar, aboutthe incident, no immediate action against him was taken.

But on July 28, after Klopfenstein wrapped up a trial inwhich he was defending an accused triple murderer, he wasplaced on paid administrative leave.

“That was a surprise” to Klopfenstein, his attorney,Michelle Welsh, told The Pine Cone about the suspension.

A Ford truck is engulfed in flames Dec. 2 on Highway 1 in Big Sur between VentanaInn and Nepenthe restaurant. The wind-driven blaze spread to nearby vegetation, butfirefighters quickly put it out.

PHOTO/WALLY BARNICK