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

The Carmel Pine ConeVolume 107 No. 6 www.carmelpinecone.com February 5-11, 2021

Attention readers: Don’t forget that you can have the complete Carmel Pine Cone delivered every Thursday evening to your tablet, laptop, PC or phone — with no banner ads, popups, click bait or paywalls. We also don’t harvest your data or make you create an account or password. Free subscriptions available at www.carmelpinecone.com.

Supes urge move of vaccination clinic to Salinas n Scheduled for Crossroads CVS

By KELLY NIX

THE MONTEREY County Board of Supervisors this week claimed not enough is being done to immunize the county’s poorest and most vulnerable residents, and the panel requested that a pharmacy giant relocate two newly announced vaccine clinics on the Monterey Peninsula — including one in the Crossroads — to the Salinas Valley, where the coronavirus pandemic has had the most devas-tating effects.

On Tuesday, CVS announced it would be part of a fed-eral program to set up numerous clinics at stores in Cali-fornia, including a CVS at the Carmel Crossroads and an-other one in Monterey. CVS will launch the program Feb. 11 at 300 stores in 11 states.

But the announcement was met with bitterness from county supervisors, including District 3 County Supervi-sor Chris Lopez, whose district is South Monterey County. Lopez said the placement of the clinics on the Monterey Peninsula — where infection rates have been relatively low — was “unfortunate, given where our hotspots” are for coronavirus in the county.

“I’m a little disappointed in that decision, based on all of the commitment from the federal government and the state government to equity,” Lopez said.

Peninsula readies for a Pro-Am with just pros

Parker Logan’s comments pleading with the city to let “Carmel’s oldest and historically significant drinking es-tablishment” stay open later.

“I don’t want to compete with spinach gnocchi or crepe-style pancakes, and I shouldn’t have to,” he said at the Feb. 2 council meeting. “I lie and wait for the tables and chairs to be tucked in, I lie and wait for the clock to strike 10, because that’s when the memories at Sade’s be-gin. All businesses should have the right to prosper in their unique way.”

Logan’s friction with some council members and Rerig

City imposes 10 p.m. shutdown for restaurantsBy MARY SCHLEY

WITH THE return of outdoor dining following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s abrupt lifting of shelter-in-place orders throughout the state last week, city administrator Chip Re-rig imposed a new rule requiring all restaurants and tasting rooms to stop seating people by 10 p.m. and have their parklets and other outside seating areas empty by 11.

Rerig announced the change Tuesday, reminding coun-cil members and the public that he was following direction set by the city council at a mid-December 2020 special meeting that focused on outdoor dining.

“This applies to all outdoor seating areas on public and private property,” he said. “I do not have any intent under my authority given to me by the governor to expand these hours.”

That statement was in response to Sade’s bar owner

See CURFEW page 12A

DA reports inmatefraud arrests, suggests many more to come

By CHRIS COUNTS

TWO MONTHS after state officials admitted that tens of thousands of prisoners bilked taxpayers out of hun-dreds of millions of dollars in pandemic relief payments, Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni announced that five local prisoners have been charged in connection with the fraud.

Tony Nguyen Tran, Lanh Van Truong, Juan Castillo Lo-pez, Zachary Don Dobbs and Lenny Westley Sanks were Monterey County Jail inmates when the fraud occurred. Two others who were charged, Reynaldo Garcia Gomez and Nicole Ramona Sanks, were not incarcerated when the crime happened.

All are charged with unemployment insurance fraud, felony counts of conspiracy, making fraudulent statements on unemployment insurance applications, and two counts

See SEASONAL page 15A

Because of the epidemic, this year’s AT&T golf tournament will be played without fans or celebrities — making for a lonely scene Thursday as final preparations were under way at the 18th Green (right). Instead of the usual grandstands and corporate hospitality buildings, just a few tables and chairs were evident (below). But while the PGA pros compete for a $7.8 million purse during the event that starts Tuesday, CBS and the Golf Channel will be covering the action, and on Wednesday, a charity event featuring celebrities like Bill Murray will also be broadcast live. See our special section inside for complete details.

PHOTOS/MICHAEL TROUTMAN, DMT IMAGING

Mayors want testing for migrant workers n Will arrive from nation’s hottest spot

By KELLY NIX

WITH THOUSANDS of migrant farmworkers from Yuma, Ariz., expected to arrive in Monterey County next month to tend to crops in the Salinas Valley, some elected officials are asking that they be required to get tested for coronavirus before working here, amid fears that their ar-rival could mean another surge of infections.

The New York Times reported Jan. 22 that the case rate in Yuma is so high that 1 of every 6 residents there gets infected. In response, eight mayors, including Carmel’s Dave Potter, Bill Peake of Pacific Grove, Kimbley Craig of Salinas and Bruce Delgado of Marina, urged the Monterey County Board of Supervisors to direct county health to en-sure farmworkers are free from the virus before they can

Monterey County’s ag industry depends on seasonal workers, many of whom will be arriving this spring from an area with the nation’s highest coronavirus infection rate.

PHOTO/MICHAEL TROUTMAN, DMT IMAGING

See EQUITY page 14A

See FRAUD page 13A

Peninsula to get

Pro soccer team

n Major upgrades for CSUMB stadium

By CHRIS COUNTS

THE LATEST arrival at Cal State Monterey Bay isn’t a student, teacher or administrator, but a professional soc-cer team.

The United Soccer League announced this week its newest team will be called the Monterey Bay Football Club, and the home team will play its games at CSUMB’s Freeman Stadium.

“We are excited at the opportunity to work with Mon-terey Bay FC and the USL in bringing world-class soccer to the Monterey Bay region,” CSUMB President Eduar-

See SOCCER page 11A

AT&T Pebble BeachP R O - A M 2 0 2 1

The pros, the sportscasters, local charities and how to hit

your own hole-in-one — sort of ... inside this week!