Two theaters back at it

ARIEL Theatrical's Karen Wilson Children's Theatre in Oldtown Salinas sustained water and electrical damage
from the Dick Bruhn fire in February. It has reopened after four months of repairs. (Courtesy of ARIEL)

Four months after the Dick Bruhn fire in Oldtown Salinas forced ARIEL Theatrical out of its home, the youth theater company is back where it belongs.

The Karen Wilson Children's Theatre, where ARIEL has been housed for the past 15 years, sustained water and electrical damage as firefighters worked to control the blaze at the former men’s clothing store next door on Feb. 13. In addition to structural work to repair the theater, thousands of costume pieces had to be professionally cleaned.

The first show back on the home stage is "Disney's 101 Dalmatians KIDS," with four showtimes this Friday and Saturday. See www.arieltheatrical.org for details.

The theater is not the only one back in commission. The Outdoor Forest Theater in Carmel has reopened after closing in April 2014 for renovations. The Forest Theater Guild's Films in the Forest series returned June 1, Pacific Repertory's School of Dramatic Arts program moves in for the summer on Monday, and the first play to return to the stage, "The Borrowers," opens June 23. More information at www.foresttheaterguild.org.

State estimate shows Monterey County grew by 1 percent in 2015

The University Village Apartments in Marina was completed in 2014. Marina's population grew by 2.4 percent in 2015. Vern Fisher — Monterey Herald

Monterey >> According to provisional estimates from the California Department of Finance, Monterey County's population grew 1 percent in 2015 from 432,637 to 437,178.

Soledad's population grew by 3 percent, the largest growth rate in the county and one of the 16 highest growth rates in the state, going from 24,809 to 25,556. A news release from the Department of Finance explained Soledad was among the cities that experienced some of the largest proportional population gains in 2015 due to increases in local correctional facilities. The Salinas Valley State Prison is located in the city.

Greenfield's population grew at a similar rate to Soledad, expanding 2.9 percent from 16,947 to 17,446 in 2015. Marina's population expanded by 2.4 percent from 20,496 to 20,982.

The only city in Monterey County that saw its population shrink was Seaside, where the number dropped 0.3 percent from 34,185 to 34,071. Only 43 other municipalities in the state saw their population decline.

The city of Monterey saw minor population growth, increasing 0.1 percent from 28,576 to 28,610. Pacific Grove grew 0.7 percent from 15,251 to 15,352. Sand City's population grew a whopping five people, increasing 1.3 percent from 376 to 381. Carmel expanded 0.2 percent from 3,824 to 3,833. Del Rey Oaks added 11 people to grow 0.7 percent (1,655 to 1,666).

Salinas, the county seat and by far the largest city in the county, added about 1,500 people to increase its population 1 percent (159,486 to 161,042). Gonzales grew 0.7 percent from 8,411 to 8,473. King City's population grew 1.5 percent, going from 14,008 to 14,221.

The rest of the county expanded 0.9 percent from 104,613 to 105,545.

The state's population grew by 0.9 percent, adding 348,000 residents to the new total of 39,256,000. San Joaquin County grew the most (over 1.3 percent), followed by Yolo, Riverside, and Santa Clara counties, which all expanded by just under 1.3 percent. Los Angeles, the state's largest city, added more than 50,000 people to break the 4 million mark for the first time (4,031,000).

San Jose, with a population of 1,042,000, added more than 12,000 people, while San Francisco, with a population of 867,000, added more than 9,000 people in 2015.

The population estimates are produced annually by the Department of Finance for use by local areas to calculate their annual appropriations limit.

City of Monterey's Kim Cole steps in as interim Chief of Planning

The City of Monterey's Managing Principal Planner Kim Cole has stepped into a larger role for the city – that of interim chief of planning, engineering and environmental compliance.

The change for Cole comes with the departure of Chip Rerig. Rerig left the position last month for a city administrator position with the city of Carmel.

Cole, who reports to Dino Pick, Monterey's Deputy City Manager of Plans and Public Works, has also thrown her hat in the ring for the permanent position. The job recruitment for the position just closed.

“It's wonderful to work with a community that has such tremendous historic resources and to get to work on issues that include storm water protection, sustainability and good infill development,” said Cole, who said she looks forward to many more years working for the City.

Some illumination on the Carmel bomb scare

Carmel >> Some light was shed on what the suspicious device was found in a Carmel restaurant on Wednesday.

“It was a makeshift flashlight,” said Sgt. Ronald Pfleger of the Carmel Police Department. “It was determined that is was left by the cleaning crew. We talked to them and they showed us how it worked.”

On Wednesday the Carmel police received a 7:45 a.m. call of a suspicious device found in plain site on a dining table in Il Fornaio restaurant on Monte Verde Street in Carmel.

Apparently the device used a child's electric car battery, LED lights and wiring. Pfleger said the lenses on the lights had been removed so it was not recognizable as a light source.

“It was a little scary having to evacuate the restaurant, the hotel and block off the street,” said Renne Kapsalis, Il Fornaio manager. “I'm just glad no one truly was threatening us and that it was a legitimate misunderstanding.”

The restaurant and The Pine Inn, which shares the building, were evacuated and the gas was shut off. The Monterey County Sheriff's Department bomb squad was called in to deal with the situation.

Celebrities excited for AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

While fan favorite Bill Murray remains unsure if he will be able to play in next week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as his hand mends from surgery, tournament director Steve John remains excited about the current lineup of celebrities.

John explained the excitement for the tournament goes both ways. He said Tuesday he recently received a text message from "The Big Bang Theory" actor Kunal Nayyar, who will play in the tournament for the first time next week.

"He said, 'One more week! Getting very excited. Ran into (Jason) Dufner at the Lakers game, ran into Kenny G at Lakeside (Golf Club) and ran into Mark Wahlberg at Riviera (Country Club). All we did was talk about the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am,' " John said, reading the message. "That's great! You hope that they're as excited as we are to have them and in so many cases they are this year. Wahlberg was up here last week playing all three courses last week; practice rounds. (Justin) Timberlake came in September with some friends to play practice rounds."

Comedian Daniel Lawrence Whitney, better known as Larry the Cable Guy, made his debut at last year's Pro-Am. John said Whitney told him last year that all he wanted was to meet Clint Eastwood. Since then, John said the comedian, who quickly became a fan favorite, has been working on his golf game.

"Last year, he was pretty much an 18 handicap," John said. "This year, he's a 15. So he's improved his game, he's playing more, he's very serious about it. You think he's not, but he's a grinder."

Speaking of Eastwood, the Academy Award-winning actor and director returns to the 3M Celebrity Challenge, played the day before the opening round on Feb. 10, for his second consecutive year after taking a 10-year break.

"He wants to play," John said. "He's got Nick Faldo on the bag again. Nick called him and asked him if he could do it again and of course, why wouldn't he. Clint wants to play and it's great! It's wonderful to have the chairman of the board playing."

Eastwood, a Carmel resident, is the chairman of the board of directors for the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, which organizes the tourney.

The Pro-Am gets started with practice rounds on Monday and the Chevron Shoot-Out featuring the San Francisco Giants and 49ers on Tuesday before the 3M Celebrity Challenge the following day. The actual tournament runs Feb. 11-14.

Ray Romano gets a laugh out of Clint Eastwood, who put on the caddie bib while changing places with his caddie Nick Faldo on the 18th hole at the Pebble Beach Golf Links, during the 3M Celebrity Challenge on Feb. 11, 2015, at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)