United Farm Workers and Democratic Senate leader pushing legislation to impose contracts on California farmers, and 'Miss Sue' Mitchell from the Blind Side to appear at CSUB Roadrunner scholarship dinner

 * ... UFW: There was a damning opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal the other day taking to task the United Farm Workers (UFW), which is trying to impose a a contract against Sanger-based Gerawan Farming. The piece said the UFW, with help from state Senate President Darrell Steinberg, is pushing legislation that would allow farmworker unions to request state mediation "whenever a contract expires, thus obliterating collective bargaining. Unions often prefer mediation because they don't have to negotiate with management, and workers don't get to vote on the final contract." What is behind all this? According to the Journal the UFW, which has lost 90 percent of its members since the 1970s, desperately needs dues from the 5,000 Gerawan workers to pad its own coffers. "Hitting up Gerawan's 5,000 workers could double the union's revenues, and the easiest way to extract money from workers was to enlist the state's help." As usual, it's always about the money.

 * ... BLIND SIDE: The CSUB Roadrunner Scholarship Fund is holding a dinner on Thursday, Sept. 12, that is worth checking out. It will feature "Miss Sue" Mitchell, the educator whose work was depicted by Kathy Bates in the movie "The Blind Side." She is the woman who worked with Super Bowl offensive lineman Michael Oher as he struggled with school. Tickets are just $40 for Roadrunner Scholarship Fund members and $50 for the public. Contact Cathy Lee at (661) 654-2188.

* ... FEEDBACK: This feedback comes from reader Sharon Langham regarding a blog post about how idling cars can contribute to air pollution. "I can't believe you reprinted the letter (comment) from Jon Crawford... Come on now. Why can I drive almost 400 miles before I need gas but could idle only (by his crazy calculations for 45 minutes)? Mr. Beene, someone should be looking to replace you as CEO/President as your brain must have been on idle for even giving Mr. Crawford the time it took to read such an idiotic letter in the first place, let alone print it. I am a bit curious to see how many people respond as I have."

 * ... STINSON: Ben F. Stinson III will be honored this week with the John Brock Award, recognizing his years of service to our community. This is a well deserved honor for a man who works tirelessly to benefit Bakersfield. Proceeds from the dinner benefit the School of Business and Public Administration at California State University Bakersfield.

 * ... MEMORIES: I had a nice telephone chat with reader Ron Ruettgers, who shared the story of when his grandmother (Minnie Bridges) accidentally helped plow a car into the old Green Frog when it was located at California and Chester. "My aunt had parked her brand new 1950 Cadillac in front of the store and left my grandmother inside," he told me. "She must have left the car idling as my grandmother reached over and must have knocked it into gear. It propelled the car right into the Smith's Bakery in the front of the store." Thankfully, no one was seriously injured.

One woman's testimony to the Christmas spirit and more bad form involving cell phones at the Post Office

 * ... CHRISTMAS SPIRIT: Many thanks to reader Alice Brown for dropping me a note that brightened my day. She returned home last Sunday to find a plate of cookies left at her house with a note attached. "It said I had been RACK’ed," she said. "The card also said, this Christmas season, we are counting down the 25 days of Christmas by performing 'Random Acts of Kindness' each day. So often we get caught up in the shopping and forget the real reason for Christmas.  I just want to say thank you to the wonderful and caring person who shared this with me and I will be sure and continue this 'random act of Christmas kindness.'  Merry Christmas to everyone!"

 * ... STINSON'S: I stopped by the annual Customer Appreciation Party over at Stinson's Stationers to touch base with owner Ben Stinson. Every year he opens his warehouse to 800 customers, treating them to a barbecue lunch and drawings for dozens of prizes, including flat screen televisions. Ben takes to a microphone like a Southern minister at a tent revival, regaling the crowd with stories while promoting his business. Stinson's is just another example of a locally owned, family business that has weathered the downturn well.


* ... BAD FORM: This from former local TV anchor and now manners columnist Lisa Kimble Edmonston. She pulled up behind the downtown Post Office to mail a letter and sat there until she realized the woman parked in front of her was on her cell phone. "I got out of my car, walked my letter to the mailbox, tapped on her window to alert her that she had a line of six cars deep behind her ... and she was totally unfazed!"


* ... WHO KNEW? Did you know that the television  series “Pan Am” co-stars Bakersfield native Kelli Garner? She’s also had a number of film roles with actors like Drew Barrymore and Leonardo DiCaprio.

 * ... CROSS COUNTRY: East Bakersfield High School cross country teams of the 1960s will be honored at the "Run for the Dream" indoor track and field invitational meet, January 21, 2012.  Bob Farley, former cross country and track coach at Fresno State, researched and found East Bakersfield High School was the most successful cross country program in the valley through the 1960s. The guest speaker will be Billy Mills, Olympic gold medalist of the 1964 Olympics (documented in the movie "Running Brave"). The meet will be held at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, starting time 1:30 p.m. Thanks to  Richard Villalovos for sharing this.

* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Dennis Horack writes that you may be from Bakersfield if "you remember all the great men's stores we had when shopping for a sport coat or suit: Coffees, Caspers, Harris and Franks, Richmond Brothers, Seilers and Robert Hall. Back when dressing up for church or the office was the norm, my closet was full of sport coats and suits from the above retailers. I say out with today's casual manner of dress and back to the dress-up mode. My opinion is probably in the minority, but I am old school."

Bakersfield ranks high on a list of cities with high poverty rates, but good deeds abound

 * ... POVERTY: The U.S. Census says Bakersfield ranks No. 4 on the list of metropolitan areas with the highest rates of poverty in the country. Ranking first was the McAllen, Texas, area with 33.4 percent of residents living below the poverty line, followed by Fresno at 26.8 percent, El Paso at 24.3 percent and then Bakersfield at 21.2 percent.

 * ... FAMILY AFFAIR: You may have read about the exciting end to the Garces-Highland football game last Friday, where Highland’s last minute drive for the winning touchdown was halted by an intercepted pass by Garces to end the game. The back story is that Highland was led by their quarterback, Ryan O’Leary, who had a terrific game but threw the doomed interception to Garces’ Mark Stinson. As can only happen in small town America under Friday night lights, O’Leary’s dad is John O’Leary, owner of O’Leary’s Office Products. Young Stinson is the son of Ben Stinson, owner of Stinson’s Office Products. What are the odds? The younger lads are class acts, and their dads are friendly competitors.

* ... SALLY SHOPPER: My recent post on the old "Sally the Shopper" program at Brock's department store caught the attention of reader Warren Pechin. "My mother, Marguerite Pechin, was one of the two original Sally the Shoppers along with a woman named Rose Nathan. They worked for Marie Smith who started the program and went on to run the Golden Empire Gleaners." This was around 1967, he said, and his mother is still going strong at 92.

 * ... LENDING HAND: Linda Sheffield was in front of the Target store on Rosedale Highway when she witnessed a good deed that she wanted to share. "I saw an elderly, bent lady with a cane stopped by those pesky yellow, bumpy things recently installed in front of the entrance, not sure how to navigate them. She looked as if she would surely fall. I was thinking I would go park and come back to help her, when a young man emerged from the passenger side of a small black car in front of me and offer his arm in assistance. What a blessing it was to observe kindness in action! I checked to see who was driving the car as I went by and it was another young man - not someone's mother who told him to help. I wanted to share this because I was so blessed by it, but also to help counteract all of those tacky things (and I see plenty of those, too) that show up in your column. Thanks for the interesting tidbits that you share with us."

* ... MEMORY: Reader Nancy Schilly says you have been around Bakersfield for a while if you "remember Wayne's Dairy on North Chester Avenue. It was across the street from the original Kern County Fairgrounds. Wayne's had a very good restaurant in front of the dairy. Growing up we drove in from Shafter and ate there a lot. They made their own donuts and you could watch them being made. They made them all by hand. They made all their own ice cream too. We also ate at Tiny's restaurant on the corning of 18th and Chester. You could get a chubby steak dinner for $5. Those were the times."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Even young people have memories of "old" Bakersfield. From 23-year old Jolie Brouttier: You may be from Bakersfield if you "remember driving down Ming (Between Gosford and Old River) smelling only dust from the dirt field rather than Tahoe Joe's steak dinner."

New fractures in the town-gown relationship between CSUB and its supporters and Ben Stinson resigns from the Foundation Board

 * .... CSUB: The deteriorating relationship between the administration at Cal State Bakersfield and some of its biggest supporters has gotten so bad it is affecting the university's ability to raise money. And for the first time, some long-time CSUB supporters are openly questioning the leadership of President Horace Mitchell. At the center of the storm is Beverly Byl, the vice president of University Advancement who Mitchell recruited from the University of the Pacific three years ago. Insiders describe her as dictatorial and paranoid, and she has managed to both insult and alienate some of the school's biggest supporters, including members of the alumni board and the CSUB Foundation. Last week outgoing Foundation chair Geoff King publicly called on Byl to resign, and I have now learned that Ben Stinson (Stinson's Stationers) resigned from the Foundation Board because of Byl's divisive nature. In addition, Stinson apparently sent word to Mitchell that he would not write another check to support the athletic programs until Byl was gone. Both King and Stinson are CSUB graduates and Foundation chairs and they represent the kind of supporters no university can afford to alienate. I have also learned that King, Stinson and former Foundation chairs Mel Atkinson, Rogers Brandon and Greg Bynum met with Mitchell 18 months ago to share their concerns about Byl, but it fell on deaf ears. The climate inside the University Advancement office is described as "a constant state of paranoia" where employees fear Byl will cut their pay or eliminate their position if she feels one is not on her team. Up to this point Mitchell has enjoyed widespread support, but as one insider told me: "All this could really hurt Horace's legacy." Stay tuned. (file photos of Byl, Mitchell)

 

 * ... OLD GLORY: Steve McCalley wrote in response to an early reader's complaint about American flags being made in China. "I have purchased my flags at Congressman Kevin McCarthy's office for several years. Made in the USA for under 20 bucks." Mary Helen Barro added that American-made flags are also on sale at Floyd's and Supply Sergeant, and reader Pat Mahan said Orchard Hardware Supply also has flags made in the USA.

 * ... FREDDIE'S: An earlier blog about Freddie's Top of the Hill drew this response from reader Gene Bonus. He noted his Garces class of 1957 had its 10-year reunion there because a classmate, Bradley Paola, was a nephew of the original owner. "One of the most famous watering holes in Bakersfield at that time was Amestoy's On the Hill. That place was always jumping. Amestoy's served excellent lunches and it was the place to be, especially on weekends. After being separated from the Navy and having returned to college (Bakersfield JC and Fresno State College extension) I spent many days at Amestoy's studying. According to legend, Mr. Paola named his place Top of the Hill since Frank and Marie Amestoy already had On the Hill."

 * ... MORE FREDDIE'S: Phillip Beltran grew up in Oildale where he went to North High, moved to Santa Clarita and was back visiting his parents when he read my blog about Freddie's. He noted that his father, Ray Beltran Jr., used to work for Freddie Giovanitte at the Skyway House restaurant out at Meadows field. "You also had a reader mention the Rio Grande service station at the corner of Roberts Lane and Chester. I don't know how many of your readers recall Sandy's Drive In at the east end of Roberts Lane before the extension of Manor Drive was completed. Sandy's sat facing west where that intersection came to a T.... Life as a child in Oildale was carefree and fun. We didn't have cell phones but our parents never worried where we were. Our time to come home was before the streetlights came on. Thank you for publishing memories in your column."

 * .... LAST WORD: And there is this from John N. Mixon: "Don't believe in beating a dead horse, but couldn't resist mentioned that you are really an old time if you remember when Freddie had a small restaurant at the Garces Circle and later at the airport before Top of the Hill. Also was the victim of an unsolved murder."

 * ... TAX ATTORNEY: Mark Allison, a Foothill High graduate who went on to graduate from Claremont McKenna, has joined the law firm of Caplin and Drysdale in New York. Mark is the son of Bob and Heidi Allison. He earned his law degrees from American University and New York University. He will be a New York based member in the tax controversies and tax litigation unit.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From reader LaVone Walker: You know you're from Bakersfield if you remember when there was a train, zoo and bumper cars at Hart Park.

Appreciating locally owned businesses and getting ready for more parolees to walk the streets of Bakersfield

 * ... STINSON'S: Dropped by Stinson's Stationers this week and joined a couple hundred other people for a tri tip sandwich lunch. The occasion was a table top show featuring more than 30 vendors displaying the latest in office supplies. Ben Stinson III wielded a bullhorn and worked the Sonoma Street warehouse like a showman, giving away prizes and introducing folks as they walked in the door. Locally owned since 1947, Stinson's is one of those reminders why Bakersfield is such a special place to live. There is nothing like walking into a Stinson's showroom, or a locally owned restaurant like Uricchio's or Luigi's or Casa Munoz, and being greeted by name by the owner.

* ... INMATE RELEASE: It was disheartening, not to mention alarming, to read that the Supreme Court has ordered the California prison system to release 30,000 inmates because of crowding. Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood called it "shocking" and "dangerous" and noted state inmates are more of the hard core criminal types. "These are real prisoners, real felons," he warned, not just some pot smoking offender. It's  yet another consequence of this long recession that has left California broke and with a swollen prison population, many of whom will be dumped on the streets of Bakersfield. (Photo courtesy of the California Department of Corrections)

 * ... SPOTTED: Mick Fleetwood, founder and co-namesake of the legendary rock band Fleetwood Mac, was spotted at the downtown Padre Hotel this weekend.  The British-born Fleetwood was seen talking to friends and fans on the Prairie Fire lounge but it was not immediately known why he was in town.

 * ... GARCES CIRCLE: Nice to see the Garces Circle all spruced up and landscaped after the long Cal-Trans project to improve the overpass. If you haven't been down to the circle, it's worth a drive by. 


 * ... YOUNG DOC: Michele Newell wrote to sing the praises of her nephew, Jon Witcher, former valedictorian at Centennial High School. The son of Bob and Caryl Witcher, he will be graduating in June with a Ph.D. in Engineering and Applied Science from UC Davis. He attended the University of Arizona where he received his bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering and  then transferred to UC Davis where he earned his master’s.  "Not only will he become Dr. Witcher in 2011, he will also gain a wife! In October, he will marry Jasmyn Pangilinan, a graduate of BHS and daughter to Florencio and Nenette. Florencio is a local physician here in Bakersfield. Our family could not be more proud!" she said.

 * ... UCLA BOUND: Another local high school senior, Daniel Kinder, is headed to UCLA to study neuroscience. What makes this particularly appealing is that Daniel, who attends Liberty High, will be able to part of research for a cancer that has struck his own father. "On May 18, 2010 my father was diagnosed with a brain tumor that was eventually deemed cancerous. My major will allow me to be part of the research for cancer at the UCLA Medical School campus." Congratulations, Daniel.

 * .. BAKERSFIELDISM: You know  you may be from "old Oildale" if you remember Art 'D Que's Drive-in on the corner of North Chester and Justine Street, where Winchell's now stands. Thanks to Clete Harper for this little nugget.