Dear Readers,

The fourth grader we told you about last week has been ordered removed from the Carmel School District by a Monterey judge. The young man's behavior was so bad -- and so violent -- it wasn't safe to let him keep attending River School, or any other Carmel area school, the judge ruled. Kelly Nix reports.

The legal battles between culinary entrepreneurs David Bernahl and Robert Weakley escalated again with a new lawsuit claiming Weakley tried to sabotage their former partnership -- which launched events such as Pebble Beach Food & Wine -- by disparaging it to a major corporate sponsor. Kelly has that story, too.

A local businessman and architect have proposed turning one block of Dolores Street into a pedestrian mall. Mary Schley has the why and how.

Attorneys for the City of Carmel and the Monterey County Civil Grand Jury squared off in court this week over the grand jury's request to examine personnel files for city employees. A major investigation by state and local officials resulted in the bust of a Carmel Valley man and possible charges against several students at Carmel High. Cal Am will start pumping from its desal test well in Marina very soon. Some downtown shops -- including the renowned Anton & Michel restaurant -- are feeling the sting of major rent increases. We have the top payroll recipients for the City of Carmel last year (the champ was Jason Stilwell). The death of a 103-year-old woman after a fall at Trader Joe's in Pacific Grove has been followed by a lawsuit from the women's daughter, who claims she should be compensated by the store for loss of her mother's "companionship, affection and advice," among other things. We have an architecture and design special section, "In Your Dreams," that lets you inside some of the most interesting local homes. And my editorial takes a look at what "privacy" -- a right enshrined in the federal and state constitutions -- really means in this era of hyper-regulation by the government.

Thank you for your interest in our newspaper. As always, I am available to respond to your questions, comments or concerns, and to offer advice about how best to read The Pine Cone on your computer, smartphone or iPad.

Please don't forget that you can now access the complete 1915-1919 editions of The Pine Cone on our archive page.

Paul Miller, Publisher
paul@carmelpinecone.com

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