Whether or not citizens agree with the direction the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District''s Board of Directors takes from now on, one thing is certain: The board will, for the first time in two years, be moving in a discernible direction.

On Tuesday, newcomer and environmentalist Judi Lehman won election to the water board, toppling incumbent Ron Chesshire and ending a period of gridlock on the ideologically divided board.

"I think people heard the message that there''s an opportunity for change on the board," Lehman says. "We have ideas and viable, achievable solutions that we are going to focus on and get things moving reasonably fast."

Lehman joins environmentalists Molly Erickson, Zan Henson and Kris Lindstrom, giving that voting bloc, which opposes a dam and favors water conservation strategies, a solid majority-the first anti-dam majority in the water board''s history.

Chesshire usually voted with remaining members Dave Pendergrass and Alvin Edwards. The seventh member of the board and currently the chair, Dave Potter, has typically been the swing vote.

First order of business for Lehman will be to suggest increasing the frequency of board meetings to twice per month. She hopes they''ll increase the board''s efficacy. "That way we won''t have these marathon meetings, where everyone''s just burned out at 11:30 at night," she says.

Keeley Fights Back

The U.S. Department of Justice has postponed ruling on Assemblyman Fred Keeley''s challenge to the state Senate''s redistricting plan. Keeley (D-Boulder Creek) appealed the new district lines, contending the proposed map weakens the potential voting strength of Latinos by concentrating them in one district.

Currently, the 15th Senate District includes all of Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties. The proposed map splits Monterey County in half, removing the Salinas Valley from the rest of the 15th District and shuffling it into District 12, which includes San Benito and Merced counties, and most of Stanislaus County.

The Justice Department was scheduled to release it''s decision on Nov. 5, but delayed the ruling to mid-November, in part because of Sept. 11 fallout.

Waiting on the Justice Department''s decision, local Democrats are holding their breath-and their money, says Carl Pohlhammer, chair of the Monterey County Democratic Central Committee.

In August, following the release of the redistricting plan, Central Committee members said they will boycott the state Democratic Convention and will withhold funds from the statewide party if the governor signed the new districts into law. The governor approved the map, and the Dems have followed through.

"We''re kind of on hold right now-but we still think this District is winnable for the Democrats," Pohlhammer says. At press time, Keeley could not be reached for comment.

Unhappy Hour at Duffy''s

A handful of people in Duffy''s Tavern got pretty high on Friday night, even though the place was closed. A few beer glasses got broken. I walked out of Spaghetti Hill''s neighborhood bar and grill with a Salinas Peppers seat cushion and pennants from the Detroit Pistons, the Tigers and the Lions. I didn''t pay for any of the beer or the whisky or the rum I drank. It was a bizarre night because Duffy''s died.

Faced with a steep drop in business after the close of the Presidio gates, owners Lissa Kane and Dan Farr took the big gulp and shut ''er down. Brand new owners, they watched their usual clientele vanish-not only the crew-cut crew from the DLI, but the folks who used to stop in for a cold one before cutting across the base on the way home to New Monterey or Pacific Grove.

Kane, who''s also a chef in Carmel, said business plummeted 40 percent since the gates closed in the beginning of September. Of course the effects of terrorism are visible right out Duffy''s front door. What was once an open gate to a soccer field is now barricaded and manned by sentries with M-16s.

A bar closing is not a pretty sight and Friday was not a happy night. Locksmiths were there. They didn''t charge for labor but went home with a couple of bottles of free booze and a candy machine for the kids.

One guy who comes in regularly and sits on the very end of the bar got so hammered at the bad news he had to be carried outside to the cab.

Kane was particularly distressed because she had to lay the bad news on her staff. She took one of her kitchen workers and sat him down on a bar stool and told him straight up he was out of a job.

There was something awkward about picking over the remains of a corpse but no one seemed to care. Kane lit up a cigarette and smoked at the end of the bar with one of the last stragglers. Then she and Farr took a cab home.

-Traci Hukill, Jessica Lyons and Andrew Scutro

Sea

Whether or not citizens agree with the direction the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District''s Board of Directors takes from now on, one thing is certain: The board will, for the first time in two years, be moving in a discernible direction.

On Tuesday, newcomer and environmentalist Judi Lehman won election to the water board, toppling incumbent Ron Chesshire and ending a period of gridlock on the ideologically divided board.

"I think people heard the message that there''s an opportunity for change on the board," Lehman says. "We have ideas and viable, achievable solutions that we are going to focus on and get things moving reasonably fast."

Lehman joins environmentalists Molly Erickson, Zan Henson and Kris Lindstrom, giving that voting bloc, which opposes a dam and favors water conservation strategies, a solid majority-the first anti-dam majority in the water board''s history.

Chesshire usually voted with remaining members Dave Pendergrass and Alvin Edwards. The seventh member of the board and currently the chair, Dave Potter, has typically been the swing vote.

First order of business for Lehman will be to suggest increasing the frequency of board meetings to twice per month. She hopes they''ll increase the board''s efficacy. "That way we won''t have these marathon meetings, where everyone''s just burned out at 11:30 at night," she says.

Keeley Fights Back

The U.S. Department of Justice has postponed ruling on Assemblyman Fred Keeley''s challenge to the state Senate''s redistricting plan. Keeley (D-Boulder Creek) appealed the new district lines, contending the proposed map weakens the potential voting strength of Latinos by concentrating them in one district.

Currently, the 15th Senate District includes all of Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties. The proposed map splits Monterey County in half, removing the Salinas Valley from the rest of the 15th District and shuffling it into District 12, which includes San Benito and Merced counties, and most of Stanislaus County.

The Justice Department was scheduled to release it''s decision on Nov. 5, but delayed the ruling to mid-November, in part because of Sept. 11 fallout.

Waiting on the Justice Department''s decision, local Democrats are holding their breath-and their money, says Carl Pohlhammer, chair of the Monterey County Democratic Central Committee.

In August, following the release of the redistricting plan, Central Committee members said they will boycott the state Democratic Convention and will withhold funds from the statewide party if the governor signed the new districts into law. The governor approved the map, and the Dems have followed through.

"We''re kind of on hold right now-but we still think this District is winnable for the Democrats," Pohlhammer says. At press time, Keeley could not be reached for comment.

Unhappy Hour at Duffy''s

A handful of people in Duffy''s Tavern got pretty high on Friday night, even though the place was closed. A few beer glasses got broken. I walked out of Spaghetti Hill''s neighborhood bar and grill with a Salinas Peppers seat cushion and pennants from the Detroit Pistons, the Tigers and the Lions. I didn''t pay for any of the beer or the whisky or the rum I drank. It was a bizarre night because Duffy''s died.

Faced with a steep drop in business after the close of the Presidio gates, owners Lissa Kane and Dan Farr took the big gulp and shut ''er down. Brand new owners, they watched their usual clientele vanish-not only the crew-cut crew from the DLI, but the folks who used to stop in for a cold one before cutting across the base on the way home to New Monterey or Pacific Grove.

Kane, who''s also a chef in Carmel, said business plummeted 40 percent since the gates closed in the beginning of September. Of course the effects of terrorism are visible right out Duffy''s front door. What was once an open gate to a soccer field is now barricaded and manned by sentries with M-16s.

A bar closing is not a pretty sight and Friday was not a happy night. Locksmiths were there. They didn''t charge for labor but went home with a couple of bottles of free booze and a candy machine for the kids.

One guy who comes in regularly and sits on the very end of the bar got so hammered at the bad news he had to be carried outside to the cab.

Kane was particularly distressed because she had to lay the bad news on her staff. She took one of her kitchen workers and sat him down on a bar stool and told him straight up he was out of a job.

There was something awkward about picking over the remains of a corpse but no one seemed to care. Kane lit up a cigarette and smoked at the end of the bar with one of the last stragglers. Then she and Farr took a cab home.

-Traci Hukill, Jessica Lyons and Andrew Scutro