Seaside News

Talk about changing times at City Hall. New City Manager Ray E. Corpuz Jr. is now on the job, and Jim Pia, who'd been filling in as the top administrator, is back to his old post as assistant city manager. More change, and work for a particular consultant, is on the way. Among the first big tasks facing Corpuz is the recruitment of a new police chief. The city will spend $17,500 to have Bob Murray & Associates help, conducting what is expected to be a national search for the city's new top cop. Murray's firm was involved in hiring Corpuz, a move that split the council, 4-3. The Roseville-based consultant did not return a phone call seeking comment this week. City records show that Murray also assisted in the search for former City Manager Artie Fields and former Police Chief Louis Fetherolf — both having stayed with the city for three years or less. * * * As Salinas' new city manager, Corpuz takes control of a 500-person workforce and will receive $215,000 a year plus benefits. That's a $41,380 bump in pay over the salary he was receiving as Seaside's municipal chief executive. Corpuz is also moving up in terms of population, too. Salinas, at 150,441 currently has 117,299 more residents than the beachside city. * * * Corpuz isn't exactly done with Seaside, or rather, Seaside isn't done with him. A lingering issue is Corpuz's indebtedness to the city. In March of 2006, a few months after he started there, Corpuz accepted a $250,000 loan from the city in order to buy a house there. According to documents obtained by The Californian, Seaside is going to want that cash back — and soon. The money, used to purchase his home on Seaside Court is due and payable — plus interest — upon sale or transfer of the property or upon termination of employment with Seaside, according to a deed of trust for the "city manager home purchase assistance loan program." This week, Corpuz said he's working out a repayment arrangement with the city, although he didn't divulge any details. * * * Assistant City Attorney Christopher Callihan says the city's legal bills connected to its lawsuit against failed electric car start-up Green Vehicles has reached $26,275. That figure accounts for a period from when the lawsuit was filed last August through the present. The city's legal bills so far are just a fraction of the $534,000 ($234,000 in general fund cash) that it invested in Green Vehicles. In a press release when the city filed the suit, City Attorney Vanessa Vallarta said Salinas had '... Initiated legal action in Monterey County Superior Court against Green Vehicles and its principals, Mike Ryan and Ehab Youssef. The complaint seeks damages and equitable relief for breach of contract, fraud in the inducement, conversion and an accounting, among other causes of action.' The company, which set up offices at the Firestone Business Park on Abbot Street, has since filed for bankruptcy protection. a Jeff Mitchell covers government and politics in the Salinas Valley and reports and writes Under the Dome. Send tips or story ideas to him at jemitchell@theCalifornian.com He can also be reached by phone at 831-754-4281. You can also follow Under the Dome on Twitter at twitter.com/CalUnderTheDome.

Beauford Anderson, right, is awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry Truman.

South Walton Fire District Chief Administrator reported the selection of a new fiscal officer for the district to succeed Brian Flanagan, SWFD fiscal officer since 2005.

The Coalition of Monterey County Chambers of Commerce plans to host a reception to honor Gill Campbell, CEO/general manager of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and present her with the Economic Leadership Award from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Embassy Suites hotel in Seaside. The Economic Leadership Award is presented by the coalition to business leaders who are dedicated to economic development in Monterey County and contribute substantial resources to the chambers. Admission to the event is $10 per person and includes light appetizers. Preregister online at www.mpcc.com or call 831-648-5350.

Seaside police Sgt. Bruno Dias, who recently received the association's Medal of Valor, was awarded in the small agency category for his role in rescuing a woman shot by her husband in June.

Save Our Shores will hold a beach cleanup from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Feb. 11, at Monterey State Beach.

I hate to sound like a Grinch, or whatever the Valntine's Day equivalent is, but I'm with my fellow Herald columnist Mike Hale, aka The Grub Hunter.

A man who held up a downtown Monterey pharmacy took a fatal amount of drugs while holed up in a nearby restaurant bathroom during a three-hour standoff with SWAT police.

A Seaside man was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday in a child pornography case described by law enforcement officials as the worst seen in Monterey County, prosecutor Rolando Mazariegos said.

Trouble continued to follow Corpuz in 2004 when a Tacoma-area judge approved of what was called a 'deferred prosecution' for him after he was arrested by Pierce County sheriff's deputies for drunken driving.

Seaside police said officers were sent to the 1400 block of Wanda Avenue about 8:35 p.m. Witnesses said they heard an explosion and saw flames shooting from the front of the vehicle.

SEASIDE, Calif. - Seaside Police Officers now have the option to replace their traditional duty belts for an outer carrier, known as a "load bearing vest." Police tell Central Coast News, "The load bearing vest will allow officers to equally distribute the weight of the equipment they are required to carry around their waist to the load bearing ... (more)

City Manager Ray Corpuz Jr. sits at the Seaside City Council meeting Jan. 9 in Seaside.

Cal Am's departure from the regional desalination project has opened the door to resetting water priorities.

If you've ever been to Carmel, Calif., you know it's simultaneously one of the most beautiful and expensive places on earth.

New information on the man charged with a conflict of interest in trying to solve the peninsula's water problems.

Brandon Hanson finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks to lead the Monterey boys basketball team to a 81-56 win over rival Seaside on Tuesday.

Donohue announced Monday that Corpuz, who spent the last several years as Seaside's top administrator, will be introduced at the city rotunda on Monday morning next week.

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has announced that a lawsuit against a charity for allegedly misappropriating funds intended to benefit people affected by HIV/AIDS has been resolved with a settlement of $1 million and the naming of the Community Foundation for Monterey County as the successor trustee of those funds.

The Monterey County Peace Officers Association awarded police Sgt. Bruno Dias with the Medal of Valor for his actions in June to defuse a situation in which a woman had been shot.