Bakersfield flirts with setting a new record for heat as we welcome the season of rolling blackouts, professional cyclist Tyler Williams returns to California for a break and some good form around town

 * ... HEAT WAVE: Welcome to the season of excessive heat, rolling blackouts, faulty air conditioning units and the general resignation that we are in for a long summer of temperatures well above 100 degrees. The folks who live in the Haggin Oaks area got their first nasty taste of summer Monday

when some 450 homes lost power, and other blackouts were reported in the Northwest as well. Will we break any records? The website ClimateSpy.com says the hottest day on record for this month was set June, 29, 1976, when the mercury hit 113.9 degrees, and the hottest month on record was July 1988 when we averaged 102.7 degrees. According to another weather website, Bakersfield averages 33 days a year with temperatures over 100 degrees. But hey, it's a dry heat, right?

* ... WELCOME HOME: Welcome home Tyler Williams, the Bakersfield lad and professional cyclist for the Israeli Cycling Academy team who just wrapped up a race in South Korea. Williams took to Instagram to say he is headed back to California after more than five months abroad (he is based in Spain) and is looking forward to being reunited with his wife, Brea Williams.

* ... RAAM: And speaking of cycling, good luck to a crew of local cyclists who are participating in the Race Across America, but this time riding fixed gear bikes. Among those racing are local fitness instructor Joe Peterson, Bill Elrich, Albert 'Vegas' Vasquez, Misha Tyler, Bo Bohannan, along with two riders from Los Angeles. The eight-man team is crossing the country headed to a finish line in Annapolis, Maryland.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Amazon is buying Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. That's about a  year's worth of groceries at that store."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "It's so hot a Tennessee Williams play just broke out in my room."

 * ... GOOD FORM: Here's an example of some good form compliments of King Door sales consultant Michael Whitmore: "I just wanted to send you a note about the great folks at Stockdale tile. Remember the disabled vet that had his donation jar ripped off a week or two ago in front of Walmart? Well the owner and staff at Stockdale Tile presented a $1,000 check to that gentleman this week to replace the money that was taken. It’s great to know that there are still kind hearted people around."

 * ... BAD FORM: Here's a good reason to avoid California Avenue between H Street and Oak Street while it is being repaved. I was on H Street headed south at the bottled up California Avenue intersection when the driver of a silver pickup tried to cut in front of a woman driving a black SUV. A verbal argument broke out, complete with heads popping out the windows hurling insults, and it ended when the man driving the silver truck threw a soda can at the woman, bouncing off her window.

 * ... MEMORIES: Karene Williams wrote to say she enjoyed "your short piece about the old Sears store in downtown Bakersfield. My mother, Winifred Williams, was auditing supervisor at that location from 1955 until it moved into the new store at Valley Plaza. She continued as auditing supervisor at the new store until she accepted a position in the headquarters offices in Alhambra. After she retired from Sears many years later, she moved to Lake Isabella and worked at the catalogue store until Sears closed their catalogue businesses. Our family has fond memories of Sears and are sad to see it go downhill."

If it's 110 degrees it must be a Bakersfield summer, and more readers wax poetic of old Bakersfield

  

* ... OUR HEAT: This week's heat seemed just another oddity in our long unpredictable weather year. First we enjoyed the unusually mild, and long, spring that lasted well into the early part of summer. Remember how nice that was? It seemed like it would never end. And it really hasn't been that bad until - boom! - this week's temperatures soared above 110. And now what? They're telling us it could be 25 to 30 degrees cooler by this Sunday. Go figure.

* ... OLD EATERY: I had two readers contact me to correct an earlier post regarding a restaurant that was located on the west side of Chester Avenue a few blocks south of California. Turns out it was named "Mr. and Mrs. of Radio Fame" and featured pictures of local and regional radio personalities on the walls. The original tipster, Dick Porter, was apparently right about one thing: the food was superb.

 * ... BAKER STREET: Jo Lynn Moralez wrote to say she remembers when Baker Street was "a bustling business area with Kirby and Karl's shoe stores, music stores, furniture stores, flower shops, Snider's Cyclery and even JC Penney, which is where Stinson's is now. And let's not forget Richard's Toy Shop at the corner of Baker and Monterey where they wrapped your gifts and added a bow and a lollipop on each gift."

 * ... MORE RICHARD'S: Nice to hear from Michael Huston, vice president at Townsend Design, who added a comment about the old Tejon Theater. "The Tejon and Granada Theaters were locally owned by the Lemucchi family. And while the Tejon was a must for Saturday matinee's (including the Three Stooges) you day was not complete until you visited Richard's Toy Store. It was located right across the street, owned and operated by the Adams family. I can fondly remember balloon wrapped presents, the ribbon and of course the sucker attached to each package. Priceless memories!"

 * ... PILOT HONOR: Reader Monica Powell passed along a note that Capt. Wayne Dirkes, a Naval Test Pilot School student, received the 2009 Exceptional Pilot Award. The honor is presented annually to a pilot selected by each of the five military branches for exceptional deeds performed to assure mission success. Dirkes is a graduate of Bakersfield High School.

 * ... BRIDGE QUARRY: A reader's post about the old 24th Street bridge quarry triggered a response from old friend Rick Kreiser, president of Carneys business systems. "While my memories are foggy of the 24^th Street bridge quarry, I distinctly remember dad telling me NOT to go in the water by the bridge!  Seems, he and mom were sitting on the levee one day watching my older sis, Carol, wade in the cool, knee-deep waters of the 'always-on' Kern…when she suddenly was NOT THERE!  Somehow, dad suspected the fate that had befallen her and dove into the spot where she disappeared.  Luckily, both he and Carol emerged after a minute or so (I’m told) and walked out – never to venture into that spot again.  Close call."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From contributor Riley Parker: You know you're a Bakersfield old timer if "you rode bumper cars at Hart Park on the same day that you swam in the big green pool."

China becomes top consumer for California almonds and welcoming another hot summer in Bakersfield

 * ... ALMOND DEMAND: Good news for our local almond growers. According to The New York Times, China is now the top foreign buyer of American almonds, "more than doubling its purchases from two years ago." That's according to the California Almond Board of California, which is launching an aggressive marketing campaign directed straight at the Chinese consumer. The Times said China purchased $737 million in tree nuts from the United States last year, a huge increase from the $89 million it spent just five years earlier. The California Almond Board is now spending $3.3 million to market our almonds to the Chinese consumer. The paper said Chinese consumers tend to buy nuts roasted, salted and in the shell.

 * ... HEAT IS ON: Where were you when Mother Nature snapped her fingers and ordered in the heat? I could almost pinpoint the time when I felt the end of our long happy period of mild weather. It was Sunday, around 10:30 a.m. and I was on a bike, out near Zerker Road and Porterville Highway, when I felt the full rush of a hot wind and knew instantly that summer was here.

 * ... REMEMBERING ALTON: Hard to believe it's been a full year since a motorist struck and killed Alton Saceaux. Alton was one of our community's true great spirits and a committed recreational cyclist. He was cycling home on South Union Avenue when he was struck and killed. (see a previous post here) His friends planned a twilight ride in his memory.  

* ... HIGHLAND ENGINEERS: It's not often that you hear of an entire family of engineers, but reader Randy Airey reminded me of at least one. He said his aunt, Marcelle Ansolabehere, is married to retired civil engineer George Ansolabehere. They have three daughters and all of them are civil engineers, and all went to Highland High. Monique finished at the top of her class at USC in 1985, Helene graduated from Cal Poly in 1988 and Denise also went to Cal Poly, graduating in 1990. Denise finished a masters in civil engineering in 2000 and Helene is working writing her Doctorate Dissertation from UCSB and will have a PhD is civil engineering. The girls have a brother, Tony, who graduated from USC in computer science. Wow.

 * ... POWER COUPLE: Heard that Betty Eaves is the incoming president of the Assistance League, one of the more prominent charities in town. Apparently this is Betty's second stint as president of the AL. She is married to Ron Eaves, the chairman of the board at the Golden Empire Gleaners, another important local charity. This is one couple who chooses to give back to their community. (Betty shown below in photo taken by Casey Christie)

 * ... MEA CULPA: I goofed on Monday in referring to Siobhan O'Rourke as a "he." As reader Michelle Beck noted: "Lovely mention for Siobhan O'Rourke, but I wanted to mention that she is a she, not a he. Her name is Irish and is pronounced 'Sha-vaughn.' My dad and her dad have been friends for years. She is a great kid and deserved the recognition." Siobhan received a scholarship from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and plans to enter the nursing program at Cal State Bakersfield. She graduated from Bakersfield Christian High School.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield if you "know Thursday night is steak night at Narducci's. Ten bucks for a steak and the set up."