Neighbors square off against each other in the Bakersfield Country Club area over a proposal to gate off parts of the community, and David Gordon takes over the Arts Council

 * … GATES: There is a mini-storm brewing up in the Bakersfield County Club area where some residents are asking the county for permission to gate off parts of the neighborhood. The gates would be installed at Dalehurst Drive and Wingfoot, Wingfoot and Country Club and at Pinehurst and Country

Club, even though a number of homes in that area are already behind their own private gates  I am told a spike in home burglaries has led to this proposal, but opponents say it will only divide the neighborhood and funnel traffic down non-gated streets, not to mention close off streets to folks who like to take a morning walk. I have a feeling this topic will make the installation of cul-de-sacs in Westchester look like walk in the park.

 * … ARTS COUNCIL: I was happy to hear that David Gordon has been appointed director of the Arts Council of Kern. Gordon is an accomplished artist himself and a former employee of the Bakersfield Museum of Art. His experience will no doubt be an asset to the Arts Council, which has struggled in recent years to remain relevant.

 * … OLD SALT: My pal and Navy veteran Gene Bonas provided this shout out to all his fellow submariners: "Thought you'd like to know that on April 11, 1900, the Holland VI was acquired by the U.S. Navy. Although not actually commissioned as a warship until October 12, 1900, April 11th is celebrated as the birthday of the U.S. submarine fleet.  The U.S.S. Holland was considered to be the world's first truly successful submarine. In honor of our special day, this Friday all submariners are encouraged to wear their 'dolphins' to work or play.  Happy birthday, fellow bubbleheads!

* … SPOTTED: Talk about bad form. Cheryle DeMarco was at the Target store on Mall View Road a few months ago when she spotted this:  "I was getting in my car which was parked about three spaces down from the entrence. I looked at the car parked in front of me and a little girl (about 8 or 9) was unloading quite a bit of trash right onto the parking lot. Her mother stood at the opened car door on the other side looking all around the lot like pretending to not see what she probably told her daughter to do, throw all the trash from the car out. We were only about 40 feet from a trash can. I thought this is one reason we have a litter problem. Parents teach their kids this bad habit. I always made my kids throw their trash out, even in places like the movie theater. You clean up after yourself, simple as that!"

 * … MORE TRASH: Deanna Haulman extended props to the Just Johnson Park Work Center. "These young men and women are faithfully out at Hart Park Monday through Friday cleaning rest rooms and picking up trash that people are too lazy to do.  I think even if large trash bags were provided it still wouldn't help because these are the same people who can't walk 20 steps to a large trash can. There are those that leave their trash bags but do not realize or don't care that the park critters get into those bags at night."

 * … GRANT: Hats off to the Kern Economic Development Corp. and the East Bakersfield High Health Careers Academy for winning a $15,000 grant to prepare the local workforce to fill healthcare positions in Kern County. The grant will support the purchase of medical equipment for Academy students to practice treatment solutions as well as job shadowing at Kern Medical Center. The grant came from the Office of Statewide Planning and Development.

Bakersfield Country Club area is hit with a rash of break-ins and burglaries, while residents in the Seven Oaks area gear up to fight a proposed zoning change that would allow apartments in a residential area

 * ... BREAK INS: The neighborhood in the Bakersfield Country Club area has been hit with a rash of break ins and burglaries that seem to grow bolder and more alarming by the day. One resident told me most of the break-ins happen in the middle of the day when a group of young men knock on the door, and if no one answers, kick it in and make off with valuables. In one recent case, they busted down the door only to find the residents at home. They fled but the local neighborhood watch group is circulating a picture of three young suspects caught on a surveillance camera. (flyer compliments of the neighborhood watch group)

* ... ZONING: Expect an overflowing crowd when the Bakersfield planning commission meets next week to consider the rezoning of a piece of land in the Southwest area that now is surrounded by single-family homes. Bright yellow "no zone change" yard signs have popped up in the Seven Oaks and River Run neighborhoods to oppose the rezoning of a piece of land to allow apartments. The group asking for the zoning change is called "Black Ops" and it includes local dairyman John Bidart, Matthew Paul Wade and Donald R. Judkins, according to a website established by the opponents.  Residents are promising not to go quietly and are lobbying city council members and those on the planning commission. The hearing is set for Thursday, March 21.

* ... SPOTTED: The parking lot in front of the dollar theaters on California Avenue is littered with at least three dozen soda cups, roughly equivalent to the number of parking spaces, after a recent showing.

 * ... SLEEP: If you have chronic insomnia, you may have more to worry about that the lack of sleep. According to The New York Times, insomnia may increase the risk of heart failure. "After controlling for numerous health, behavioral and demographic factors, the researchers found that having one symptom of insomnia was associated with a 17 percent increase in the risk of developing heart failure," the Times said. It added: "Insomnia was a risk independent of other cardiovascular risks, and the authors suggest that chronic insomnia leads to higher blood pressure and higher heart rate, known risk factors for heart failure."

* ... RUGBY: How many of you knew that Bakersfield has its own rugby team? Donald Taylor calls it one of the "best kept sports secrets" in town, and it happens every winter at Standard Park. "I'm talking about the Kern County Tuskers Rugby club. These guys are not football wannabes. This is their own thing. They play in the smash mouth Southern California Rugby Football Union. Next game is at Standard Park at 1 p.m. this Saturday against San Fernando and is their last home game before the playoffs. The effort these guys put forward every game is phenomenal and and really deserve your support. You will not be disappointed. Bring a chair. Hope to see you Saturday and Semper Fi."

 * .... BAKERSFIELDISM: Courtesy of reader Joe Stormont: "You're a Bakersfield old timer if you remember who the Sheriff of Datsun Country was. (Wally Tucker)."

Regulators pressured to go easier on local banks, deals at local country clubs and CSUB moves to Division I

 *.... SOFTER REGULATIONS FOR BANKS: It's too late for San Joaquin Bank, but there's finally a serious move in Congress to back off the pressure that has led to the closure of 115 community banks. One interesting aspect of this new softer attitude allows banks to keep loans on their books as performing even if the value of the affected properties have fallen below the loan amount. That's the word verbatim from The Wall Street Journal (read the entire story here), which says the new guidelines were released Friday, October 30, exactly two weeks after San Joaquin Bank was shut down. This is a stunning development because this was one of the primary issues that led to San Joaquin's downfall, and one has to wonder if the bank would have survived had these new rules been in place. All that is now water under the bridge, of course, but it has left San Joaquin directors and shareholders shaking their heads and wondering how different things might have been. And it comes at a time when folks like Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and others are waking up to the fact that so many local banks are going under while the "too big to fail" banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo are thriving after receiving billions in tax dollars for doing exactly the same thing. A couple of important quotes from the Journal story:

 "The new guidelines are targeted primarily at the hundreds of billions of dollars worth of loans that are coming due that can't be refinanced largely because the value of the properties have fallen below the loan amount. In many of these situations, the properties are still generating enough income to pay debt service.
 "Banks have generally been keeping a lid on commercial real-estate losses by extending these mortgages upon maturity. However, that practice, billed by many industry observers as "extending and pretending," has come under criticism by some analysts and investors as it promises to put off the pains into the future. Now federal regulators are essentially sanctioning the practice as long as banks restructure loans prudently. The federal guidelines note that banks that conduct "prudent" loan workouts after looking at the borrower's financial condition "will not be subject to criticism (by regulators) for engaging in these efforts.

 Every day there is a new development in this story as politicians continue to put pressure on the regulators to go easier on local banks. Read the latest installment of this saga here.

* ... GOOD NEWS OR JUST A BLIP? All the news about the recession being technically over doesn't mean much if it is not accompanied by more folks finding meaningful work. Nationally the unemployment rate is nearing 10 percent, and in Kern County it is around 15 percent, though experts will tell you those figures greatly underestimate the number of people out of work. (Delano's unemployment rate is well north of 30 percent) So when I hear any good news on the job front, I take note. Riley Parker, a local private investigator, told me one early indicator of a recovery might come in pre-employment screenings, which his wife Jane handles under the company name Pre-Employment Profiles. (check their website here) Parker told me they are in the middle of the third straight week of 20 percent increases in the raw numbers of pre-employment screenings. Good news? Let's hope so.

 * ... BARGAINS AT THE CLUB: Another sign of the economic times are the deals that local country clubs are offering to lure new members. I've already reported that Seven Oaks Country Club is now selling full equity memberships for $10,000, down from the normal $30,000. Now Bakersfield Country Club is offering virtually "free" memberships to lure members from other clubs. The catch: you have to be a member of another club for the initiation fee to be waived, you have to be sponsored by a BCC club member and of course you have to agree to pick up the monthly dues and food minimums. That's the word from Sheryl Barbich, the longtime civic activist and strategic planner who serves as BCC's membership chair. Barbich also said there is also a $1,500 program for folks who aren't members of other clubs. She said these deals will last until a certain number of new members are signed.

 * ... CSUB BASKETBALL MOVES TO BIG TIME: I had the pleasure of hearing Cal State men's basketball coach Keith Brown at my downtown Rotary on Thursday. CSUB's move to Division One status means big time opponents and national TV exposure this year. Among the schools we'll play are Santa Clara, Boise State, University of Cincinnati, Utah State, Gonzaga and UCLA down at Pauley Pavilion.