Bulldozer Demolition at a Historical Site Canceled

ABF Newswire: June 27, 2026

One attempt at a watercolor of an old mission style building with a tower and rounded corner end, with a back drop of poor neighborhood buildings.

Image Credit: My Id and Ego.

I'm stopping with this one. For now, at least. It's fine. Bit heavy value in the back buildings. Messy. It's fine. Paint what I see, not what's there. Damn. If only that worked like a switch and I could turn it on immediately. Sigh.

Monterey County, California. June 27, 2026 (ABF Newswire) Bulldozers can be big. Very big with very big wheels. They're hard to miss. Or so operator Gary Stone thought before he accidentally backed over the person paying for the demolition project he was about to commence with his rig.

The project funder was touring the area where his new home would be built, a former historical preservation site recently rezoned for residential. He wanted to witness the first hits to the main building on site by the waiting bulldozer.

"He had a Matchbox bulldozer on his desk," shared personal assistant, Megan Moroney. "I think it was to reinforce his nickname, 'dollar dozer', being the CFO and all. I never quite got that nickname."

Four attempts at a watercolor of an old mission style building with a tower and rounded corner end, with a back drop of poor neighborhood buildings.

Image Credit: My Id & Ego.

Look! A rectangle with some color that has some gradation. Paint that. And stop rushing my strokes. I'm trying to paint as fast as the video tutor which is dumb. Stop the dumb. I'm impatient. Oh, and the video's sped up to 1.5x. Slow down, me. Just because I saw a dude fast paint doesn't mean I need to emulate the speed. Relax. That last ink and wash one's kinda cute, no?

The executive got his chance to get up close and personal with the ginormous machine, just not in the way he wanted. Unfortunately, the bulldozer's rear warning systems were broken; no beep nor video during reverse. Right before the machine fired up, the man took a call. The engine revved, the man turned his back with finger in his other ear, and the bulldozer backed up over him.

Megan's shriek was loud enough to alert the operator which abruptly shutdown the equipment. A unblemished wrist and hand adorned with a Patek Philippe watch poked out of the ground from underneath a massive bulldozer tire, the only body parts visible.

"He got that watch after a round of layoffs boosted the stock a couple of years ago," Megan related. "It helped him get over the distress of the headcount reduction."

Three attempts at a watercolor of an old mission style building with a tower and rounded corner end, with a back drop of poor neighborhood buildings.

Image Credit: My Id & Ego.

I got excited when I saw a YouTube thumb for a watercolor tutorial with a basic reference image. And... none of this comes natural. That saying: paint what you see, not what's there. It's a great saying and makes a lot of sense. Except my brain keeps getting in the way of what I'm seeing! Yes. Indeed.

Gary sighed and shrugged when he inspected the scene. "There's a data center project a couple of towns over I can jump to," he said. "It can be fun knocking shit down. I won't lie. Brings out the giddy kid in me sometimes. I'm glad this project is on hold. This spot has character, soul, be a shame to ruin it."

The local community wasn't involved in the site's re-designation. And though they swiftly voted out the council that approved the rezoning behind closed doors, the project was already underway. Until now. Plans to raze the historical building have been canceled and a ballot initiative is being drafted for what to do with the site.

The deceased was the CFO of a national home improvement retailer. The company was recently in the news for its stock buybacks, which the deceased championed. That buyback could have given yearly bonuses of $25,000 to every employee for six years.