Palo Alto is home to the richest people in California, Dana Culhane Brennan moves back to Bakersfield and Felix Adamo is retiring at The Bakersfield Californian

Monday September 24, 2018

 Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special to live. Send your news tips to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... UBER WEALTHY: Where do the richest people in California live? It probably won't surprise

you when I tell you it is in Palo Alto, home of the coveted 94301 zip code and the birthplace of the Silicon Valley. According to the Los Angeles Times, the state "scooped up just under $1 billion from nearly 9,000 tax returned filed in 94301 in 2016 - more revenue than from any other zip code in California." The newspaper went on to say that residents in that single zip code paid 28 times more in taxes in 2016 than all of those living in Tehama County, 200 miles northeast of Palo Alto.

 * ... MOVING UP: Congratulations to Dana Culhane Brennan who is moving back to Bakersfield after serving on the staff of state Sen. Jean Fuller, who is being termed out of office. Brennan recently started a new job as director of Corporate and Government Affairs at Grimmway Farms.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "No reaction from my eye doctor when I playfully walked into his desk. He’s seen this schtick too many times."

 * ... FELIX ADAMO: Felix Adamo, the award winning photographer at The Bakersfield Californian, is retiring at the end of this month to spend more time on his corporate clients. Adamo is virtually without peer in the news photography business and his pictures have graced the pages of our daily newspaper for four decades. Here's a random sampling of some of his work. Enjoy.

 * ... RECYCLING: Here's a novel idea: why don't we move these pop-up "recycling centers" away from residential areas? They are magnets for the homeless and incompatible with commercial areas that back up to residences. The recycling center at the corner of Columbus and Mount Vernon is a particular eyesore.

 * ... GREEN ACRES: Check out this photo from a 1942 calendar put out by the folks who owned the old Green Acres cafe. It was located and framed by local antique colleague Sarah Kirschner. Does anyone remember this place?

 * ... MEMORIES: Enjoy these pictures of Bakersfield back in the day long before the 1952 earthquake changed the face of the city forever.