The field of 60 applicants who met the minimum requirements for the Pasadena city manager job has been winnowed down again – from three to two, we hear.

“Site visits” (one to Riverside) are in the cards for the finalists, so it sounds unlikely that the permanent replacement for Cynthia Kurtz is someone already at City Hall. (Kurtz, who replaced budget-

cuttin’ Philip “Phil Scissorhands” Hawkey, was promoted from public works director.)

Interim City Manager – and soon-to-be-back as police chief – Bernard Melekian earlier took himself out of the running. After rising through the California Police Chief Association ranks for four years – about three decades less than it takes to become Tournament of Roses chief, Barney has decided that, come March, he’d rather be the association president.

Maybe after answering to eight bosses for the past several months, being the boss just sounded better.

Ok. It’s totally wrong, misleading and erroneous, but you really do have to love a local paper that makes such humongous mistakes. And worse things could happen than having Cynthia Kurtz return as CM.

Or maybe, just maybe, she’s BACK!

Paul