Is California ready for the ARkStorm, a period of rain and flooding of near biblical proportions? Scientists say we are over due. That and more on Alex Trebek and the Bakersfield Racquet Club hosts its annual pro open

Monday, March 11, 2019

 Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. 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 to live. Send your tips to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... ARKSTORM: If you are running out of things to worry about, boy do I have something for

you. Climate scientists are now warning that California could be on the verge of another "ARkStorm," a devastating period of rain and flooding that could leave the entire state under water with trillions of dollars in damages. A severe ARkStorm “is estimated to produce precipitation that in many places exceeds levels only experienced on average once every 500 to 1,000 years,” a 2011 government report states. The last time we experienced an ARkStorm was in December 1861 and January 1862 when the state was inundated with non-stop rainstorms for 43 straight days. The storm overwhelmed Sacramento, “turning the Sacramento Valley into an inland sea” and forcing California’s government to temporarily relocate to San Francisco.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Imagine going to the gym and not posting about it."

 * ... EVA SCHLOSS: Once again anti-Semitism is on the rise, not only in the United States but across the world. It has even infected the Democratic Party (77 percent of Jews identify themselves as Democrats) which cannot seem to find the courage to censure a freshman congresswoman from Minnesota who clearly speaks in anti-Semitic dog whistles. All this to explain why it is important you attend an evening with Eva Schloss this Tuesday at the Fox Theater, where the 90-year-old step sister of Anne Frank will recount her own harrowing ordeal at the Auschwitz death camp where Anne Frank and her family were also taken. There are a few tickets left (check the Fox website for availability) for this important evening with a Holocaust survivor.

 * ... ALEX TREBEK: The outpouring of love for Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek continues, particularly among his fans at Taft College where Trebek helped fund an engineering scholarship in his name. Bob Hampton, a longtime Taft College booster, even went so far to share his anti-cancer drink that helped him overcome two bouts with cancer. Trebek, 78, has been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

 * ... TENNIS OPEN: "Players from around the globe have descended on Bakersfield this week for the 6th annual U.S. Tennis Association's Men's Futures Pro Tournament at the Bakersfield Racquet Club. Qualifying begins Monday, culminating with championship weekend March 16 and 17, where American Tennis Professionals will compete for a $25,000 purse in our own backyard. Some of the best players have come through this tournament where Bakersfield's hospitality makes it a favorite on the circuit. Access to top-flight players on their way up the rankings any place else might cost hundreds of dollars per seat. Admission to the Bakersfield Tennis Open is free.

 * ... MEMORIES: A shot of old 19th Street.

Celebrating a good samaritan and lamenting the trashing of our parks after a summer weekend

  

* ... GOOD SAMARITAN: From readers Gene and Shirley Takach, the story of a local good samaritan: "Recently while walking our pug Otto, we were attacked by a loose pit bull in the intersection of Old Farm Road and Palm Drive. A good samaritan stopped in the middle of the intersection, ran over and quickly got the pit bull to stop the attack and to turn tail and leave. Thankfully, due to this stranger's willingness to intercede in a vicious attack where he also could have been severely injured, Otto and I had only minor bites. It is heartwarming to know that there are people in Bakersfield who practice The Golden Rule, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'  Our good samaritan, Steve, wished to be anonymous but we will be forever grateful for his bravery."
                             
 * ... WHAT WORKS: I spend a lot of time lamenting bureaucracy and unresponsive public agencies, so it's a treat when you run into things that actually do work. And it happened at the California DMV office on F Street downtown. Imagine that. A trip to the DMV is normally akin to undergoing a colonoscopy without anesthesia, but apparently no longer. The DMV now allows you to make an appointment online for a specific time and purpose. Mine was for 9:20 a.m. on Friday for a new driver's license. I arrived at 9:15 a.m. and was called precisely at 9:23 a.m. The process took two minutes and I was out the door at 9:25 a.m. Now that is something to celebrate.

 * ... FIGHT ON: Looks like another local kid is heading to Los Angeles to attend school at the University of Southern California. This according to former Kern High School District trustee Bob Hampton, himself a proud USC alum. His granddaughter, Stockdale High graduate Emily Bernstein, will soon be off to "Figueroa Tech" and four years of chanting "Fight on!" Her parents are Dan and Karen Bernstein.  The Bernsteins own a large engineering firm in town called Processes Unlimited, International. Emily will major in chemical engineering.

 * ... BAD FORM: Would whoever left the two used diapers, the Bud Light cans and the Doritos bag  down by the river at Beach Park please return to discard them?

 * ... OVERHEARD: Lots of buzz among downtown residents that a new grocery store may be headed for the area. There hasn't been a downtown grocery since Fike's closed some years ago, forcing residents of Westchester, Riviera Westchester and Oleander to either head to the Southwest or to the East side of town up Highway 178.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From reader Terry Willey: You know you're from Bakersfield "when you know the Grapevine isn't where you get your wine from."

Meg Whitman hits town to court business leaders

Heard this afternoon that Meg Whitman, the former eBay president who is considering a run for governor, slipped quietly into Bakersfield today for a luncheon with local business leaders at the estate of Barbara Grimm-Marshall. The luncheon featured about 30 business leaders and was not a fund raiser but rather was billed as a "get to know you" session with Whitman. I'm told Whitman talked about the need for education and budgetary reform in California and floated the idea - to applause - that we need to return to a part-time legislature. She also mentioned that if she runs as a Republican (check out her website here) she will make effective use of technology, like President Obama, to extend her campaign. Among those attending were Realtor Ray and Lisa Karpe, Bob Stine (president & CEO of Tejon Ranch) and wife Betty, Brent Dezember (president of Structurecast) and wife Anna, retired banker Ray Dezember and wife Joan, Castle and Cooke CEO Bruce Freeman and wife Monica, farmer Pete Pankey, retired Kern High School District trustee Bob Hampton, Joe Colombo, Greg Bynum, Grimmway's Jeff and Amy Meger, Sean McNally and former Aera Energy CEO Gene Voiland. Grimm-Marshall, one of the primary owners of Grimmway Farms, the largest carrot producer in the world, has been busy on the political scene. Last weekend she hosted a fund raiser for Lisa Green, running to replace Ed Jagels as Kern County District Attorney.