Nine year old Girl Scout sells 300 boxes of cookies in a single afternoon ... in front of a pot shop. Meanwhile look to Adventist Health for some smart marketing and bee keepers descend on the San Joaquin Valley

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. 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 place. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... GIRL SCOUTS: Did you hear about the 9-year-old Girl Scout who sold more than 300 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies in a single afternoon? It turns out the young lady picked the perfect spot to

peddle her wares: right in front of the Urbn Leaf marijuana dispensary in San Diego. Now that is a brilliant bit of marketing. The annual cookie sale does not begin for another week but the Girl Scouts allow booth sales earlier as long as they have a parent or guardian present.

* ... ADVENTIST HEALTH: Some of the best video marketing in town is being done by the folks over at Adventist Health Bakersfield (formerly known as San Joaquin Valley Hospital). Savvy marketers know that local sells, and messages that include local icons and personalities add a warmth and familiarity that speaks to where we all live. So check out the people and local businesses I spotted in one of Adventist's latest TV branding advertisements: former Assembly member Shannon Grove, Sheriff Donny Youngblood, Dewar's, Cafe Smitten and its owners, Luigi's and police chief Kyle Martin. Keep an eye on Adventist Health and the way it extends and markets its brand.

* ... BEE KEEPERS: I was out early this week playing pickle ball at the Bakersfield Racquet Club and met a man named Bill from Arkansas. It turns out he is a professional "bee broker" and he is in town for two months coordinating the trucking in of millions of bees to pollinate our almond orchards. Thirty years ago he said it was almost impossible to kill bees, yet today their lifespans have been greatly shorted by parasitic mites.

 * ...  INTEREST RATES: If you are looking to buy a home this year, you might want to speed up the process. As The New York Times said: "A decade long era of easy access to money engineered by central banks in Asia, Europe and the United Staters" is ending "opening a new chapter in which corporations would have to pay more to borrow and ordinary people would have to pay more to finance homes, cars and other purchases." Scott Berry of San Joaquin Valley Mortgage told me we can expect two to three hikes in interest rates this year.

* ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: I saw this on my friend John Kelley's Facebook page: "It was during a heat wave in August one summer when I saw this sign on a telephone pole. 'Garage sale this Sunday 7 a.m. until 100 degrees.'"

* ... MEMORIES: Check out this old postcard of Bill Lee's Bamboo Chopsticks that I found on my favorite Facebook page, Kern County of Old. From Art Moore's post: "Here is an early postcard view of Bill Lee's Bamboo Chopsticks on the SW Corner of 18th Street at M Street in Bakersfield. (ca 1940's / 50's) Bill Lee founded the restaurant in 1938 and it is still a local, legendary, eatery that has continued to be family run. Bill Lee passed away in 1990 and is buried at Hillcrest Memorial Park. Oh! ...that the sign could have survived! What a treasure!"

 * ... HOTEL LEBEC: And a friend sent me this picture of the old Hotel Lebec, a favorite getaway for Hollywood stars and travelers on the old Ridge Route connecting Los Angeles with Bakersfield.

Tom Hanks for president? Or Oprah Winfrey? Or Denzel Washington? A political satirist suggests candidates moving forward, Terri Agcaoili leaves ADAKC to take a job at Adventist Health and some good form about town

 * ... POLITICAL HUMOR: If you are looking for a way to laugh in these perilous and frightful times, pick up a new book by the actor Denis Leary called "Why We Don't Suck: And How All of Us

Need to Stop Being Such Partisan Little Bitches." The book is a satirical look at American politics and suggests that going forward only actors and entertainers should run for president. Among the actors listed by Leary as the "most trusted" by the American public and who might make a good president: Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and Sandra Bullock

* ... GOOD FORM: I was heartened to see two Bakersfield police officers up on Panorama Drive early Saturday ticketing speeders as they raced toward Manor Drive. Meanwhile down Manor in the urban forest park at the end of the bike path, members of Breakfast Rotary were busy cleaning up the litter.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "When my husband asked me do something creative for dinner, I drew a cute picture of a dog on a napkin and put it next to the pizza box."

 * ... SPOTTED AT COSTCO: Actor Wallace Shawn, a well known character actor in both film and TV series (Desperate Housewives, The Incredibles, Ally McBeal) was spotted shopping at a local Costco last week.

 * ... AGCAOILI: Congratulations to Terri Serban Agcaoili, who has taken a new job with the business development liaison team for Adventist Health. For the last two years the energetic Agcaoili has headed marketing for the Alzheimer's Disease Association of Kern County.

* ... BLACK WIDOWS: My tidbit on the explosion of black widows in town triggered a few responses, including this one from George Meek: "Having lived many years in Westchester, I have seen several 'black widow' years. However, they always seem to be around. I can tell by the touch of their webs if it is a widow or not. Ugh! My neighbor, Wayne, mentioned all the 'widows' this year just the other day. For us, it has been a huge earwig year…everywhere." Meek went on with another story when he lived on A Street: "I used to take my young children out in the night with me armed with a flashlight and can of bug spray (the kind that puts out a high pressure spray for wasps). We would go around the house, they in their PJs, and were amazed at all the black widows under the windows, doors, furniture, shrubs, etc. that the flashlight would illuminate... I would aim and spray the spider watching with morbid fascination as it withered and dropped. Bam! It was great sport and my kids still remember it. These days, being able to afford a pest service really cuts the numbers plus I really do not enjoy going out a night without the kids…maybe grandkids."

 * ... MORE SPIDERS And Tom Haslebacher added this: "It was interesting to see you note about black widow spiders in Bakersfield. I have noticed an ever increasing population also. What is even more interesting, we have a second home in the Sugarloaf area of Tulare County, our elevation is about 5,000 feet. Up until this spring, we never saw black widows. We were even told that they are not found here. I can tell you for sure, that they are every where up here now."