Emilio Huerta launches dishonest attack ad in the 21st Congressional District, City Councilman Bob Smith shows some real class and local school bond measures face an uphill fight

* ... BAD FORM: If they gave out Academy Awards for dishonest political attack ads, then Emilio Huerta would walk home with the Oscar. His latest video ad is built on the twin themes of deceit and dishonesty. In it, he ties incumbent Congressman David Valadao to Donald Trump, when in truth

Valadao has denounced Trump and make it clear he has no intentions of voting for him. In fairness to Valadao, he was one of the early Republicans who put distance between himself and the Republican presidential nominee. But the attack ad doesn't stop there, implying somehow that neither Trump nor Valadao believe the water crisis in California is real. Really? There is little chance that voters in the 21st Congressional District will fall for this malarkey, but this is the political currency that Huerta and his mother, Dolores Huerta, choose to trade in.

* ... GOOD FORM: But enough of the dishonesty of the Huerta clan and let's shine the light on a local politician who has done what we hire these folks to do. I'm talking about City Councilman Bob Smith who displayed a rare display of leadership by forging a compromise to establish a sound buffer along the Westside Parkway. Residents wanted a sound wall, but Smith came up with the idea of a large earthen berm that should do the trick. And guess what? Everyone seems to be happy with the results. It's rare these days when our political leaders actually show some initiative to bring us all together.

 * ... BOND MEASURES: What are the odds that some of the local bond measures for schools will pass with the required 55 percent of the vote? So far Measure J (Kern Community College District) Measure K (Kern High School District) and Measure N (Bakersfield City School District) are getting little to no attention in this heated election season. And the fact that there will be more than a dozen local and statewide initiatives on the ballot this year, few people are betting that any of these measures will pass.

* ... CSUB: Are you ready for some big time college basketball? Last year Coach Rod Barnes and the CSUB Roadrunners won the Western Athletic Conference tournament and appeared in the NCAA tournament, losing to Oklahoma in the first round. The Runners are picked to finish third on the men's side and fourth on the women's side. This is a team worth following, folks.

* ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "I will be glad for the election to be over so I can have my friends back."

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Sorry I sent a card saying, 'my condolences during this difficult time' when you said you're engaged. I hadn't realized this was good news."

 * ... MORE TWITTER: "I've managed to keep a plant alive for six months now, so obviously I'm ready for a serious relationship again."

 * ... MAGIC: More feedback from the folks who got to meet Magic Johnson when he spoke at the Bakersfield Business Conference last week. Said Jerome Caneta: 'Magic was VERY gracious backstage. He posed for pictures and signed autographs until everyone had theirs. It took a large amount of time and he did so with that winning smile the whole time! Then he asked if everyone got their pictures, they all nodded, he said his goodbyes and drove off.  There's more to this story, but he was pure class."

Remembering the talented Pat Conroy, Bob Smith endorses Andrae Gonzales for City Council and readers weigh in on unruly patrons at The Fox Theater

 * ... PAT CONROY: Among the passings recently was Pat Conroy, a fellow native Southerner whose semi auto-biographical novels like "The Great Santini" and "Prince of Tides" reflected the joys

and torment of growing up in Georgia and South Carolina. In his obituary in The New York Times, he gave advice that all great writers appreciate: "One of the greatest gifts you can get as a writer is to be born into an unhappy family," he said. "I could not have been born into a better one. I don't have to look very far for melodrama. It's all right there."

 * ... CITY COUNCIL: Ward 4 City Councilman Bob Smith has wasted no time in endorsing Andrae Gonzales in his bid to unseat Terry Maxwell in the Ward 2 race. Maxwell's opposition to the widening of 24th Street and and his perceived prickly personality has earned the enmity of some members of the council, as well as City Manager Alan Tandy. In an email to friends, Smith urged everyone to attend a fund raiser for Gonzales this Thursday.

* ... FOX THEATER: There has been a lot of buzz recently about unruly guests at concerts, including here at the Fox Theater. From my mailbag come these responses: "I stopped going to the Fox Theatre when I went to a concert there for Merle Haggard," wrote Cheryl. "The crowd was so loud and obnoxious and drunk that he stopped the concert and told them if they didn't behave he wouldn't play anymore. That did it for me. That would never happen at the Crystal Palace. They need to fix this at the Fox."

 * ... MORE FOX: But Carolyn Mack added this: "My husband and I attended the same Jennifer Nettles concert as the person who wrote to you under 'Bad Form' in today's paper. We had no problems. There were many people who were clearly enjoying themselves and having liquid refreshment, but no one near us was rude, drunk, or obnoxious. It was a Saturday night, there were three opening acts, and Ms. Nettles did not appear until two hours after the concert began. Plenty of time to become unruly! We enjoy the venue and hope concerts there will continue."

 * ... FOX LOVE: And finally Amy Knight weighed in as a lover of the Fox: "It broke my heart to read the 'bad form' letter about the unfortunate experience at the Fox Theater.  I have lived in Bakersfield for over 50 years and in my younger days, I always loved going there when it was a movie theater... The management for these shows has changed hands in the past years and perhaps needs to look more closely at how they deal with people who disrupt the show for everyone else... I worry that attendance at local events will plummet even further.  Please don’t let one bad experience paint the picture of the Fox. That kind of attitude is like accepting the image of our town as filled with redneck illiterates. We need to support local arts, theater and musical events. The few rowdy unruly people are not representative of us."

 * ... NOISE POLLUTION: Allen Byrd wrote to call out the Express Transit buses that operate around town. "Express Transit continues to blast their air horns multiple times per day to announce their arrival to drop off and pick up clients at the care home on Columbia Lane despite requests over the years that the horn honking cease  I suppose the drivers would think about the situation differently if they lived near a residence caring for the disabled and they had to listen to annoying commercial air horns."

* ... CRIME: From local resident Chris Brakebill: "Seems that smashing car windows is on the increase here. Several cars, including ours, had windows smashed while parked outside of Bakersfield Swim Club one night. It’s a good idea to not leave anything you don’t want to lose…keys, garage door openers, registration, watches, glasses, etc. The time of thinking 'it won’t happen to me' is over."

A day trek to Wind Wolves Preserve off Highway 166, remembering some good men who died too early and who remembers full service gas stations?

 * ... WIND WOLVES: How is it possible that I have lived here for more than 20 years and never set foot in the Wind Wolves Preserve off Highway 166? At the invitation of my friend Bob Smith (not the city councilman or the builder but the retired endodontist) we drove out to this 93,000 acre piece

of heaven owned by the Wildlands Conservancy. We hiked 10 miles and enjoyed some incredible vistas on a day that was as clear as it will ever be here in the southern San Joaquin Valley. You don't have to hike, or mountain bike, but simply drive out and enjoy the day. With permission you can also camp, picnic or attend nature hikes. If you haven't checked it out, you need to do so.

 * ... GOOD MEN: I spotted a remarkable old picture on Facebook the other day, snapped while Action Sports owner Kerry Ryan and others were competing in the 1995 Race Across America bicycle epic. The picture showed two good men alongside a race van: the late Norm Hoffman and the late Alton Saceaux. Ironically, both were killed while riding their bikes. Hoffman was killed by a distracted young driver in 2000 and Saceaux died in 2009 when he was hit by a driver who had been drinking. Good memories of two good men who were taken too young.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "My workout plan really only consists of me wandering around in parking lots because I forgot where I parked."

 * ... FULL SERVICE: Bow Porter wrote in response to Gene Bonas, a Navy veteran, about the days when gas stations offered full service. "And yes, I remember this, and miss it. I am  a San Diego old timer, who remembers sailors in bell bottom trousers, with 13 buttons, pea coats, blouses with big square collars in the back and a dixie cup on the head. Bet Gene remembers those days... Not a Navy veteran, but worked for the Navy at San Diego and Third Fleet Headquarters at Pearl Harbor."

* ... MAIL SERVICE: Joe Moesta wrote about something that has puzzled me for a long time. Consider this: "Has anyone ever ordered something on line and wondered why it took two weeks to receive it? Out of curiosity I followed a package in the FedEx tracking system. Our order was made to a company in Virginia on Dec. 7. It went from Martinsville, VA, to Concord, NC, to Hayti, MO, to Grover City, Ohio,  back to Joplin, M0., then to San Jon, NM,  to Lake Havisu, AZ, to Chino, CA, finally arriving in Bakersfield and delivered on Dec. 21. Another good reason to buy locally if you can find the product you want."

Local engineer, cycling enthusiast and City Council candidate Bob Smith will appear on Monday's Californian Radio; meanwhile another Bob Smith heads to the Seven Oaks Homeowner's Association board

* ... CITY COUNCIL: Bob Smith is a local civil engineer and land planning expert who is running to succeed David Couch on the City Council, and Monday he will be my guest on Californian Radio KERN 1180 beginning at 9 a.m. Smith is clear front runner in the race for the Ward 4 seat, now that attorney Harley Pinson has dropped out. The only other name on the ballot is Daniel Mbagwu, who has not campaigned visibly. City council candidate Bob Smith is also the founder of Bike Bakersfield, a group that encourages cycling friendly initiatives. He has been endorsed by Couch and should easily win election. But he should not be confused with another avid cyclist named Bob Smith, who is a retired endodontist, a USC alum and now a new member of the Seven Oaks homeowner's association board. (Council candidate Bob Smith shown below)

 * ... TROJANS: And speaking of the University of Southern California, I took in the game at the Coliseum Saturday and watched the Trojans easily dispatch the Cal Bears. And proving you can't go anywhere without running into someone from Bakersfield, I stumbled into Joan and Bernie Herman and Carol and Mike Stepanovich at the game. Bernie runs the Bakersfield Museum of Art, Joan is a school administrator, Stepanovich works at Bakersfield College and Carol is a retired teacher. 

* ... B-25 CRASH: Local Realtor Dick Taylor shared with me his own personal take on the 1945 crash of a B-25 Mitchell into the Empire State Building. Turns out his mother, Suzy Taylor, worked on the 32nd floor of the New York landmark but was off the Saturday of the crash. "In a notable coincidence, her future husband, my late dad Harris Taylor, was a B-25 pilot who was shot down a year earlier near Tarawa while on his 17th combat mission.  He survived and married my mom in
1953."

* ... COLLEGE: The Princeton Review has come out with its list of the "least studious" universities, and most of them are in the deep South. Coming in at No. 1 was the University of Alabama followed by the University of North Dakota, West Virginia University, City University of New York- Baruch College, the University of Mississippi, the University of Maryland – College Park, Florida State University, the University of Iowa, James Madison University and University of Alabama – Birmingham.


* ... OKTOBERFEST: Reader David Collins submitted a shout out to one of his favorite local eateries. "Since it is currently Oktoberfest, my family and I went to Bit of Germany, a local culinary treasure.  Owner Frannie and her daughter, Denise, cooked and served a terrific dinner with Germany potatoes, melt-in-you-mouth trout and hot apple strudel.  If you haven't been to Bit of Germany in a while, now is the perfect time to take a quick spin to 'Bavaria.'

 * ... BIKE PATH: Hard to beat the cooler mornings we've been having and Sunday our local bike path was crowded with walkers, runners and cyclists. The bike path now extends from as far west as Enos Lane all the way out to Hart Park and beyond, and literally of hundreds of folks enjoy it as a way to exercise and enjoy the local scenery. It's one part of our community that we can boast about.

Lost jobs, lack of insurance and a struggling real estate market: taking the economic pulse of our community:

I don't pretend to be an economist, but I do listen when I'm out and what I'm hearing these days indicates an economic stagnation of a depth unseen in our generation. Some snippets of where we are:

* ... THE ECONOMIC CRISIS ON TRUXTUN EXTENSION: Had a chance last week to visit with Dr. Raj Patel of Preferred Family Care Physicians over off Truxtun. Patel has been our family doctor for years and I'm an unapologetic fan of his practice, which teams him with Dr. John Heidrick and office manager Teri Reyes. I was there getting my semi-annual allergy shot, and Patel shared with me that his practice is off 10-plus percent because of this economy. Why? First, many folks have simply lost their jobs and with that their health insurance. So they're gone. Second, many companies have pushed their employees to high deductible plans where the employee pays the first $2,000 or $2,500 in health care out of their own pocket. With money as tight as it is, folks simply aren't showing up at the doctor's office for every ailment. And lastly - and this was a tad surprising - Raj said even some folks with insurance are delaying visits because they are so strapped for cash. The result: fewer people in the waiting room and no doubt some folks who should be there are not. (Patel is third from right in this group photo taken when Preferred Family was honored by the Red Cross as one of our community heroes last year)



* ... VIEW FROM A CUSTOM BUILDER: Got a nice email from Dave Turner, owner of Turner Custom Homes, giving me his take on the real estate market. Dave is one of the high-end builders who has been sucker-punched by this downturn. I had cited Dave in an earlier post (read it here) and he wanted to clarify a few points. In his words:
a)The upturn in new home construction is mild, and mostly in the entry level due to the stimulus.
b) The market locally seems in balance between buyers and sellers, which should stabilize prices somewhat. The foreclosures may keep values down for quite a while, but banks seem to be metering out their REO’s (Real Estate Owned, i.e. foreclosures) so they don’t flood the market and push prices lower;
c)The study I cited from San Diego was from a builder publication noting that the head of the Dept. of Real Estate at a San Diego university (don’t recall which) predicted that values in the San Diego market would not return to 2005 levels until 2016. Real estate is local, and what is true elsewhere may or may not be true in Bakersfield. I cited it only as an indicator of what we might expect “value-wise.” I don’t expect our activity level will ever get back to where we were during the giddy days.
d)Regarding the higher-end, I don’t think I mentioned a National Assn. of Home Builders publication that predicted the higher-end market won’t return until 2012. Again, that is a national prediction, and may or may not be true here – just another indicator.

* ... LOCAL BOY PUNTING FOR THE HUSKIES: It was good to see Will Mahan, a product of Bakersfield High School and Bakersfield College, on the field and doing well as a punter for the University of Washington Huskies this weekend. Thanks to retired endodontist Dr. Bob Smith, himself a Driller dad, for pointing this out to me.

Our kids: keeping up with where they are now

Nothing makes me feel better than to see our Bakersfield kids - from North and Stockdale and West and BHS and all the rest - succeeding and thriving. These are the same kids who gave us headaches and heartbreak in their teen years but now make our hearts swell with pride. Was sorry I missed the quick visit this past week of Robby McCarthy, son of Rob and Judi McCarthy. (Rob owns Lightspeed Systems and Judi is founder of the Women's and Girls' Fund of Kern County). Robby (pictured) now works in Washington, D.C. for Congressman Kevin McCarthy (no relation) and is having a ball. He was in the district helping with the annual Lincoln Day dinner and "working the district" to hear complaints and concerns from constituents. Robby graduated from Garces High School and later USC. He brought along a congressional intern named Freddy Barnes, son of Fred Barnes, editor of the conservative Weekly Standard and a regular on the Fox News network.
I also had lunch last week with Ray Dezember, the retired banker affectionately known as "Mr. Bakersfield" in recognition of his involvement in the community. Ray and wife Joan just returned from a long trip overseas that included a visit to Taipei where grand-daughter Suzy Dezember is now teaching English. One of Brent and Anna Dezember's girls, Suzy also graduated from Garces and later LMU. Ray was proud to say that Michelle, Suzy's sister and a graduate of Santa Clara, is working and living in Barcelona. Meanwhile, I hear Erica Smith (BHS and University of Arizona) is now in grad school at USC, which makes her father, retired endodontist and Trojan Bob Smith, happy. And finally, Leonard Bidart, owner of Bidart Brothers Farms, tells me his elder daughter Breanna (BHS and USC) is now living and working in Boston. So much talent and so much to be proud of.