Local family fights with California Coastal Commission to build a home on the coast near Avila Beach, and RIP to Carol Stepanovich and soap opera star Jeanne Cooper

 * ... PERMIT: I have been following the saga of a private/public land battle that Bakersfield's Judi and Rob McCarthy are having in San Luis Obispo County. Seems the California Coastal Commission doesn't like the McCarthys' plan to build a home on 37 acres of prime coastal land above Cave Landing Road between Pismo Beach and Avila Beach. The San Luis Planning Commission approved the project three years ago with no public dissent, but two members of the Coastal Commission appealed the permit to the commission, and it's been all lawyers since then. And now the commission is talking about taking all of the McCarthy land through "prescriptive access" (even eminent domain would be preferable; at least then they have to pay for it). The McCarthys have offered to build a safe hiking trail for the public, but it looks like the Coastal Commission has an appetite for the entire parcel. Wonder how this would play in Kern County? Stay tuned. (file photo of Cave Landing Road)

 * ... GOODNIGHT CAROL: Our community lost a wonderful citizen the other day when retired Panama Buena Vista school district teacher Carol Stepanovich died after suffering a stroke. Carol taught at Stockdale Elementary for years and was involved in many local organizations, including the Assistance League of Bakersfield. Her husband is Mike Stepanovich, executive director of the Bakersfield College Foundation and a local wine expert. Keep Mike and his family in your thoughts. (Facebook picture of Mike and Carol)

 * ... RIP JEANNE: Jeanne Cooper, who played the role of matriarch Katherine Chancellor on the long running soap opera "The Young and the Restless," also died this week. She grew up in Taft and studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and the College of the Pacific in Stockton. She had one son, actor Corbin Bernsen. She was 84.

* ... SYMPHONY: The ouster of longtime Bakersfield Symphony conductor John Farrer drew this response from reader Stephen Montgomery: "First they cut the symphony's funding including various youth oriented programs, then they blame Farrer for the shortcomings. Is that new CEO (Bryan Burrow) old enough to even remember what the symphony sounded like before Farrer? For lovers of serious music a well performed program rivaling those of much bigger cities was the reward. Any acoustic issues can be laid at the feet of those who don't see the need for a more up to date performing arts center. I don't have a journalist's access to the back story but none of the shortcomings apparent to me can be with any accuracy blamed on Farrer. What am I missing here?"

 * ... MORE FARRER: And then there was this from Maxine Pihlaja Love: "In your column a couple of days ago you mentioned that the symphony concert audiences are getting smaller and older.  That is not the fault of the conductor or his music selections for concerts. That has been happening all over the country for the last 25 or more years. People do not get exposed or connected with classical music in their early years, which needs to happen by about age seven. School curriculum used to include information about classical composers... which helped to round out the education of all."

 * ... ACHIEVER: Hats off to Kimberly Jensen, a fourth grader at Endeavour Elementary who ended up third in the state in the California History Day competition. Kimberly participated in the Elementary 2-D division in the state competition.

The real story behind the "retirement" of longtime symphony conductor John Farrer has yet to be told. And Uricchio's, Luigi's and Tahoe Joe's are big winners in a reader's poll

 * ... SYMPHONY: There is a lot more to the story behind the ouster of longtime symphony conductor John Farrer than is being said in public. The fact that neither Farrer, one of our community's more decent citizens, nor symphony executives are saying much tells me that lawyers are involved, and when that happens everybody shuts down. Farrer has been the face of the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra for 38 years, but he is now being pushed out for no clearly defined reason. (Farrer flatly
says he is not ready for retirement and the symphony board is trying to put a positive spin on it). Farrer's supporters say he is being blamed for classical music's lack of following here, particularly among young people, but that's like blaming Mick Jagger for the fact that his fan base grew older. It is, after all, a genre of music that appeals to an older, more sophisticated audience, and bringing in a new maestro is not going to change that. If the new symphony CEO Bryan Burrow and board chair Jim Bell want to reach a younger audience, how about hiring Jay-Z to put his spin on some Verdi?

* ... BEST EATS: Our recent issue of BakersfieldLife magazine featured a list of restaurants and businesses that were voted best in their class by Kern County readers. We mistakenly omitted 10 top restaurants, including some of my favorites, including: Best Italian, Uricchio's Trattoria; Best Lunch, Luigi's; Best Thai Food, Chef's Choice Noodle Bar; Best Happy Hour, Tahoe Joe's; Best Steak, Tahoe Joe's; Best Barbecue, Famous Dave's; Best Catering, Jake's Original Tex-Mex; Best Bar, The Padre Hotel; Best Wings, Buffalo Wild Wings; Best Restaurant for Kids, John's Incredible Pizza Co. My apologies to these businesses, which will be highlighted in the next issue of BakersfieldLife.

 * ... GOOD FORM: Ron Rowlinson is a CSUB graduate who moved to the coast, but when he returns he regularly spots an "attractive retired woman" who does her best to keep her neighborhood clean.  "She not only daily works both sides of the streets to pick up trash, but also has rescued several stray dogs left to die. She takes them home to offer food and water while they wait for a pick up. When animals have been killed in the road, she has also contacted the SPCA to get the messy remains cleaned up," he said. "She told me she hoped that when folks drive by and witnessed her efforts, that they would be more inclined to help solve the problem and less inclined to dump their trash. She told me today that she sees a tiny bit of progress each week."

 * ... GIRLS' FUND: The Women' and Girls' Fund, part of the Kern Community Foundation, is doling out another $25,000 in grants to local non-profit organizations that focus on education and training. In addition, two deserving young women were honored for their philanthropic leadership: Shafter resident Winnie Bartel and Kern Valley High School senior Jessica Yasin. As "Women Defining Philantrhopy," Bartel and Yasin selected the Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault and the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation to receive $500 grants in their honor.

 * ... ACHIEVER: I am always happy to pass along some good news about local kids doing well. This one comes from Arizona State University where Lebec native Nikki Oxford will graduate this month, the first in her family to do so. While in Tempe, she worked on programs to end homelessness and will soon start a job related to ending domestic violence in Maricopa County. She earned an impressive 4.0 GPA at ASU and plans on attending graduate school. Her goal: to become a high school psychologist.

 * ... REMODEL: The remodeling of the Smart and Final supermarket on F Street is under way, a welcome upgrade to a fine store located in an undesirable shopping center. Employees there say the whole project should take about two months.

First Look with Scott Cox, a three-hour local news talk radio and live video production, kicks off on Monday, March 18, and Bryan Burrow takes over the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra

* ... SYMPHONY: Former banker Bryan Burrow has taken over control of the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra as president and chief executive officer. Burrow said he hopes to bring a strong business model to the 80-year-old organization, which suffers from an aging audience and limited visibility. The next performance is this Saturday when the symphony teams with the Masterworks Chorale, CSUB Singers and a children's chorus. Tickets are available and the Rabobank box office or on ticketmasters.com.

 * ... FIRST LOOK: A new, three-hour local news program will kick off Monday, March 18, on KERN 1180. It's a partnership between The Californian and American General Media, which owns KERN 1180, and it will feature news, weather, live entertainment and analysis. Called First Look with Scott Cox, the show will be simulcast on the radio while streamed live in high definition video on bakersfield.com. The show will run weekdays from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. in a new TV studio in The Californian newsroom. Stay tuned.

* ... REMODEL: Good news for folks who live in the downtown area. The Smart and Final grocery store on Golden State Freeway is about to undergo a major facelift and renovation. Employees there say work should start in a couple months to upgrade the store to resemble the more modern Smart and Final locations elsewhere in town.

 * ... YOGURT: Burrberry, the frozen yogurt shop that opened on 18th Street a year or so ago, has moved over a block in to the heart of the downtown arts district. It is now located in the former location of the Spotlight Cafe. Owner Pam Gallagher says they've expanded offerings to include freshly baked croissants, breakfast sandwiches and a full line of coffee and tea. Next week she plans on adding soups and sandwiches for the lunch crowd. "

 * ... TRASH: Is noting that one's "culture" may be responsible for littering a racist comment? That's what one reader, Fred Castillo, said in responding to an earlier post from a business executive. "I'm not even going to get into the underlying racial tones intimated in those comments. Call me crazy but it seems less a 'cultural' issue so much as a socio economic problem. I was at a local park preparing for my walk when a car in obvious need of exterior maintenance drove up. The 'kids' proceeded to eat their fast food and tossed everything out the car windows after they were done with no obvious shame. I came this close to yelling at them but had second thoughts as I was by myself and there was no telling what their reaction would have been. Let you 'local executive' know that I am Hispanic and the folks littering were Caucasian." For the record Fred, the executive who wrote that is also Hispanic and her reference to "culture" was not about race, but rather about how folks are reared and what cultural values are passed down in the family. Culture is not always ethnic centric.

 * ... NEAR MISS: Shame on the driver of an older green Honda or Saturn that blew through the stoplight at 18th and F streets Tuesday, almost broadsiding a car by inches and giving its driver (me) a near heart attack. Everyone seems to have a horror story about drivers who blindly run red lights across our town.

Personal bankrupties shoot up 25 in California and what does your multi-media experience look like?

 * ... BANKRUPTCIES: Should not have been surprised to read that the number of Americans filing personal bankruptcy shot up 9 percent last year. That's according to the Wall Street Journal which cited stubbornly high unemployment and the plunging value of our homes. California had one of the worst rates, up a full 25 percent, while the Southeastern states in the Deep South were faring much better. The rate of bankruptcies in Arizona, another state plagued by foreclosures, rose 24 percent.

 * ... YOUNG GUNS: Interesting to note, also in the Wall Street Journal, that the new Republican leadership in the House of Representatives signals a marked generational shift. For example, incoming Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, from Bakersfield, is 45 years old while the outgoing whip, James Clyburn, is 70. The new House Republican leader is Rep. Eric Cantor, who is 47. He replaces Democratic leader Steny Hoyer, who is 71. Said the Journal: "The broader question is what substantive impact  this wave of new, young Republicans will have on Congress's work. Mr. Cantor says the generational change will produce more unconventional approaches - and that the newcomers' common denominator is a commitment to attack government spending."

 * ... TABLETS: Spent a full day crossing the country on airplanes the other day and couldn't help but notice the explosion of iPads, Kindles and other tablet-like devices carried by passengers. One middle aged man seated next to me spent the five-hour flight shuffling among his iPad, a Dell laptop, a newspaper, his Blackberry, and a hard-cover book on golf. His travel companion was reading a book on a Kindle and doing the crossword puzzle from The New York Times. Talk about a multi media experience.

* ... LOCAL SYMPHONY: Jerome S. Kleinsasser wrote in to comment on reader Walter Stewart's observation about the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra, referring to Antonin Dvorak's  Symphony in E-Minor No. 9. "Our community is blessed to have such a dedicated and accomplished ensemble of players with a tradition dating all the way back to 1932 in the depth of the Great Depression. The Symphony continues to regularly provide our community with the finest in orchestral music. The next concert is on February 5. I hope you will join us."


 * ... FLYOVER: Ever seen one of spectacular military flyovers at a college football game?  I witnessed one involving some vintage World War II era fightsers at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., and now I learn one of our local kids was flying a Navy FA/18 E during the flyover at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Tyler Hurst, a 2000 graduate of Stockdale High School and later the Naval Academy, was piloting one of the four jets that swooped low over the Rose Bowl, according to this parents, Marilyn  and Dave Hurst. They said the jets were part of VFA 147, the Argonauts, stationed at Lemoore Naval Air Station.

 * ... RESOLUTION: How is this for a New Year's resolution: let's all commit ourselves to getting into shape and shaving those excess pounds. Kern County has one of the highest obesity and heart disease rates in the state, and it's time we got off that list.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From Kurt Seeger: You know you're a Bakersfield old timer if  "you saw Jim Morrison at the Doors perform at the Civic Auditorium in the 1960s."