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By MARY SCHLEY

JEFF WARD’S newly acquiredboat went up in flames Wednesday,after a battery ignited gasolinefumes, according to Monterey FireMarshal David Reade. The resultingblaze destroyed the 32-foot 1984Wellcraft in its slip at MontereyHarbor and was seen by crowdsalong the waterfront.

“It was pretty spectacular,” hesaid of the conflagration.

Ward had just purchased the boata few weeks ago for $15,000 and wasdoing some work on it when he dis-covered the bilge was full of water,according to Reade.

“The water was covering the bat-tery. He went to lift the battery out,and it arced,” Reade said. The fueltanks had been removed to haverepairs made to them, but Reade saidresidual fumes in the space ignited.

“That caused a flash fire, and it’sa fiberglass boat, so it continued toburn,” he said. “They burn really

n Asks federal judge to protect free speech rights of Stilwell and Paul

By MARY SCHLEY

ATTORNEYS DEFENDING the City of Carmel aretrying to get a judge to dismiss a critical part of IT managerSteve McInchak’s lawsuit, arguing he is “attempting to suethe defendants for exercising their free speech rights and car-rying out their proper official duties of investigating miscon-duct.”

They also want the judge to order McInchak to pay thecity’s legal fees.

McInchak — who was suspended from his job more thana year ago while being subjected to a criminal investigationof alleged illegal computer use that was ultimately droppedwithout charges — sued the city, along with city administra-tor Jason Stilwell and his top department head, Susan Paul, inJune. In addition to asking for his job back, he is accusingcity officials of defamation and intentional and negligentinfliction of emotional distress.

But in a motion filed in federal court and set for a Sept.30 hearing, Santa Barbara lawyer Jeffrey Dinkin arguesMcInchak’s claims of defamation and infliction are subject tothe state’s anti-SLAPP law “because they improperly chillthe exercise of constitutionally protected rights.”

A SLAPP, or Strategic Lawsuit Against PublicParticipation, is one that seeks to discourage someone fromspeaking out for fear of having to defend himself in court,and was designed to prevent big companies from intimidat-ing citizen activists. California’s anti-SLAPP law providesfor quick dismissal of lawsuits brought for the purposes ofpreventing someone from speaking his mind.

According to the motion, any comments made by city

Spectacular fire at the wharf

See McINCHAK page 16A

Vandals damage Tularcitos kindergartenBy MARY SCHLEY

CRIMINALS BROKE windows, setfires and made a mess of two kindergartenclassrooms at Tularcitos Elementary Schoolin Carmel Valley Village Monday night, dis-placing the little kids on their first day ofschool Aug. 13 and leaving officials witheven more work at the start of the year.

“I wish I was sending this email out withbetter news for the first day of school, butlast night someone vandalized our kinder-garten building and playground,” principalRyan Peterson said in an Aug. 12 email toparents. “The vandals started small firesinside and outside the building, broke win-dows and glass bottles in the classrooms andplayground, broke computers, and scatteredmaterials around the rooms.”

The culprits also reportedly used handsanitizer to start the fires and burned some ofthe kids’ toys. One of the fires burned at thebase of a slide on the playground, and anoth-er charred the bench and wall underneath thehooks where the kids hang their jackets andbackpacks.

“They broke so much glass, it shatteredall across the room, so we have to tear out allthe carpeting,” Peterson told The Pine ConeWednesday. “We’re looking at a two-week

timeframe to get the carpet in and installed.”As a result, the kindergarten playground

and two classrooms will be shut down for atleast a few weeks while repairs are made,

CHOMP’s blood center to close

By KELLY NIX

BECAUSE OF a significant decline inthe need for donated blood, CommunityHospital of the Monterey Peninsula is clos-ing the doors to its Blood Center in October.

Last week, the hospital announced thefacility at 576 Hartnell St. in Monterey isclosing Oct. 16 because medical advanceshave reduced CHOMP’s use of donatedblood by 47 percent, which means it’s moreexpensive for the hospital to operate thefacility than to get blood from a third party.

The hospital’s director of laboratory ser-

See VANDALS page 17A

See BLOOD page 18ASee FIRE page 15A

PHOTO/JERRY GERVASE

Gas fumes ignited, destroying a boat and sendingplumes of black smoke into the air over the Montereyharbor Wednesday evening.

PHOTOS/KERRY BELSER

It was another unforgettable week in Carmel-by-the-Sea and the whole Monterey Peninsula as classic and extraordinary automobiles of all types— and their hordes of fans — arrived. Three of the most memorable events were the Tour d’Elegance, which rode down Ocean Avenue Thursday morn-ing (top), the Carmel Mission Classic and Blessing of the Cars, where a really cool Cadillac made a great contrast with the stately Basilica on Wednesday (top right), and the Concours on the Avenue, which gets bigger and better every year. Tuesday, Mayor Jason Burnett congratulated for-mer Carmel Police Cpl. Steve Rana, who helped the COTA become what it is today. (Two of the awards presented during the show are named in their honor.) For complete details about the many remaining Concours Week events, see our special section.

The Carmel Pine ConeVolume 100 No. 33 On the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com

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August 15-21, 2014

Gorgeous cars, motorcycles & events ... this week on the Monterey Peninsula! Read all about them in our colorful special section!ONCOURS AUGUST 10-17, 2014C W

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City: McInchak suit is a SLAPP

Invasion of the Maserati lovers