Dear Readers,

One of the biggest obstacles to the construction of a desal plant to alleviate the Monterey Peninsula's 30-year water shortage has been the issue of financing, but this week Mayor Jason Burnett said there may be a breakthrough. Kelly Nix reports.

The driver who killed two in Pebble Beach Sunday was DUI, the CHP says. One of the victims has finally been identified. Mary Schley has the details.

A group of residents has stepped up its lobbying to have trees removed from sand dunes at the foot of Ocean Avenue. Mary has that one, too.

When they bought their house on 17 Mile Drive, nobody told Bob and Maureen Feduniak a deed restriction required them to have only native plants in their yard, and this week they filed a $20M lawsuit against their title insurer for failing to warn them. Tiffany can have two signs on its Ocean Avenue store, the planning commission decided Wednesday, but not teal awnings on its windows. The Church of the Wayfarer will have a memorial service Tuesday for a well known homeless woman who died in a downtown vacant lot last week. Several readers have their say about our reporting of salaries of school district employees -- and what they say isn't exactly complimentary (especially not to me). And my editorial calls for equal treatment of nonprofits when it comes to paying fees for staging events downtown.

Here at The Pine Cone, amid the cacophony of information available online and from various other sources, we strive toward a simple goal -- to bring you outstanding, comprehensive coverage of local news -- and your interest is an essential part of that effort. This week, we announce an increase in our print circulation, even as our email edition subscriber list continues its steady growth. Thank you for your support, and please feel free to email me with your questions, comments or concerns about our newspaper, or about how best to read it on your computer, smartphone or iPad.

To get this week's complete Pine Cone, please click here. If you have an informed opinion about one of our stories and would like to submit a letter to the editor, please click here. And please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions, comments or concerns.

Paul Miller, Publisher
paul@carmelpinecone.com

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