Dear Readers,

Two employees from the city planning department have officially been fired, their attorney said, and he added a shocker: One of them was fired for giving information about goings on at city hall to The Pine Cone. Mary Schley has that story, and you can imagine what I think about it.

The ballot measure for a public takeover of Cal Am suffered another blow this week when a judge said some of the proponents' arguments were "misleading" and ordered that they be changed before they're printed on the ballot. Kelly Nix has that one.

The Carmel Convalescent property that was the subject of a bitter land-use controversy when condos and houses were proposed has been sold. The new owner says he'll restore the historic site, not develop it. Chris Counts has the details.

The city council has declared a moratorium on new wine tasting rooms downtown. Mary Schley tells why the council took the drastic step.

PG&E is offering more assurances that no more risky work on the city's gas mains will be done until a study of the cause of the destruction of a house last month is complete. The doctor who served two years in prison for sexually assaulting an acquaintance now faces a civil suit from her. One of the founders of the Carmel Garden Club has died, and her record of civic service is drawing high praise. And my editorial takes a look at everyday things that would surely be banned if they were proposed today.

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

To return to the download page for the April 4, 2014, edition, please click here.