Fall 2024

BEST OF THE CARMEL POLICE LOG… Case of dog vs. owner: Owner was inadvertently bitten while providing a treat to her dog. SHORT CUTS CARMEL CONFIDENTIAL Area Accolades, Scholarships and Grants G rasing’s in Carmel was one of only four restaurants in the world to earn a 2024 Wine Spectator Grand Award. An article spotlighting the dining destination called attention to its meticulously organized, 3,100-bottle selection representing 15 countries, and quot- ed Wine Director Eric Ewers, who joined the Grasing’s team in 2020. Owner Kurt Grasing credited his team for the award, and told the pub- lication, “This achievement is the culmination of a remarkable journey that Fegan years ago [hen [e first opened our doors.” Wine Spectator Honors Grasing’s 66 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 4 T he 1ichelin +uide unveiled its first-ever Michelin Keys hotels list this spring, and three Monterey County properties made the prestigious list. Big Sur’s Post Ranch Inn was one of just 11 hotels on Michelin’s Three Key list. The selection team noted the property’s tree houses, culinary offerings and overall setting, calling it “one of the most extraordinary locations on the face of the earth, a place of such breathtaking beauty it’s hard to believe it’s even accessible Fy mere automoFile-driving mortals.” &ernardus Lodge & Spa in Carmel Valley, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, and Alila Ventana Big Sur were named to Michelin’s Two Key list. The Community Foundation for Monterey County held its 17th annual Women’s Fund Luncheon in May. More than 550 people attended the gathering at the Hyatt Regency Monterey. KSBW News Anchor Erin Clark emceed the event, which featured speakers who discussed the importance of investing in women and girls. Morgane McNally, resident director at Merrill Wealth Management, and Women’s Fund Leadership Council member Esmeralda Owen addressed attendees. Lizeth Patena, a 2020 Salinas High School graduate, first-generation college student and +irls’ Health in Girls’ Hands scholarship recipient, also shared her story. Patena has been men- toring local students through First Tee– Monterey County and CSUMB programs, and she starts her role as an Alisal Union School District elementary teacher this academic year. TheWomen’s Fund has granted more than $2.7 million through 2024, and that includes awarding more than $500,000 in local scholarships. To learn more or to donate, visit www.cfmco. org/WomensFund. Author and California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) lecturer Ava Homa received a $5,000 Arts Council for Monterey County grant this spring, the third in a series of awards supporting her writing and educa- tion work. Homa’s 2020 debut novel, “Daughters of 7moOe and *ire,” tells the story of Kurdish [omen’s resistance in Iran. It [as a finalist for the 2022 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing and a 2020 Silver Nautilus Book %[ard-[inner for fiction. 8he novel has Feen covered in the Wall Street Journal, Canada’s Globe and Mail, the Los Angeles Review of Books and elsewhere. Homa grew up in the Kurdish region of Iran and spoke on the region, Big Sur’s Post Ranch Inn was honored this spring with a listing on Michelin’s Three Key List—noted in part for its incredible location. Photo: Kodiak Greenwood