CBD oil picks up a fan in Kyle Carter, turmoil over at Clinica Sierra Vista under a new CEO and Father Craig Harrison heads to Italy for a sabbatical

Friday/Memorial Day Weekend May 25, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. 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 place. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

 * ... CBD OIL: You know the world is changing when someone like former home builder Kyle

Carter, a staunch conservative who rarely drinks, comes out in favor of CBD oil, the non-intoxicating marijuana extract that is being credited with helping treat a host of medical problems -- everything from epileptic seizures to anxiety to inflammation to sleeplessness. Carter, who lost to Karen Goh in the last mayoral election, told me a friend turned him onto CBD oil to help him deal with pain and other issues associated with five surgeries for scoliosis. "They put two drops under my tongue" and it helped alleviate his pain, he said. Cannabidiol is extracted from the flowers and buds of marijuana or hemp plants. It does not produce intoxication. Instead, marijuana's "high" is caused by the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

 * ... CLINICA: So what is happening over at Clinica Sierra Vista? The once proud health organization, built by now retired CEO Steve Schilling, has been in turmoil since Schilling retired and was replaced by new CEO Brian Harris. I am told Harris came in with a swagger, telling a group of managers a week into the job that there was "a new sheriff in town" and to expect changes, and that a number of key employees have been unceremoniously fired. "He is dismantling everything Steve built" is how one former employee put it. So is this a simple matter of a new CEO mixing things up and facing a "deep state" of employees loyal to the previous boss, or is Harris the proverbial sharp elbowed bull in a china shop eager to put his own stamp on the organization? Stay tuned. (file photo of Brian Harris)

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "How many consecutive weeks do you have to miss church to requalify for visitor parking?

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "It doesn’t matter if the glass is half full or half empty… it’s clearly almost time to order another drink."

* ... FATHER CRAIG: Monsignor Craig Harrison is headed to Italy for his annual trip, but this time it is not for a week or two, but for three months. Harrison told me this three-month trip recognizes a well deserved sabbatical after 30 years in the priesthood. While there, he hopes to meet with Pope Francis, preside over a wedding of a couple from Bakersfield and meet with friends touring Italy.

 * ... CRIME WAVE: If recent events are any indication of things to come, it will be long summer of crime here in Bakersfield. Oleander has been hit with a long string of car break-ins and windows smashed, with one street seeing five cars hit in one night. Meanwhile over in Seven Oaks, a rash of home burglaries near the Ronald Reagan School has homeowners on edge. And if you really want to be frightened, go to Turnto23.com and check out the video of two teenagers trying to kick in the door of a home near Stockdale and Old River Road, in broad daylight.

 * ... TACOS: Check out these tacos offered at the Silver Fox Starlite Lounge on Taco Tuesdays. The iconic lounge, restored and reopened by Pyrenees Cafe owners Rod and Julie Crawford, has been enjoying a gangbusters business since reopening.

 * ... RIDGE ROUTE: Here's a great picture of part of the old Ridge Route on a bad stretch of road call "Deadman's Curve" as seen along the southbound later of I-5 about two miles below Lebec. Photo courtesy of the Bakersfield Memories Facebook page.

 * ... BEST BETS: Check out Los Angeles Americana singer Chelsea Williams Friday night at Temblor Brewing. Showtime is 7 p.m. Then make reservations to hear the Birds of Chicago June 8 at the Bakersfield Museum of Art. Both great shows featuring rising artists.

Steve Schilling given a proper sendoff as he heads to retirement, the Wounded Heroes Fund puts on a comedy jam and Rod and Julie Crawford survive the nuclear scare in Hawaii

Monday, January 15, 2018

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 place. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes (good form, bad form, kids doing well, anniversaries, observations) to rsbeene@yahoo.com.


 * ... OLD GUARD: There was a big send off for Steve Schilling as the outgoing CEO of Clinica Sierra Vista last week, and it many ways it showcased the changing of the guard in Kern County.

Schilling spent more than 40 years building Clinica into one of the largest providers of healthcare in the West, and over that time he moved adroitly on the political right and left to get what he needed to provide basic health care for the underserved. Among those I spotted at a reception at the downtown Women's Club were former Congressman Bill Thomas, former state senator and supervisor Roy Ashburn, Supervisor Mike Maggard, Mayor Karen Goh, Ben Stinson III, cardiologist Dr. Brij Bhambi, attorney Matt Clark and Schilling's replacement, new Clinica CEO Brian Harris. At one time Schilling, Thomas and Ashburn were at the center of political power in Bakersfield, and it was curious to see them back together for perhaps one of the last times.

 * ... TBC TROIKA: And speaking of the old guard, it was also curious to see so many former Bakersfield Californian big wigs at the reception, all of whom have since left TBC to strike out on their own. (Full disclosure: I too am a former TBC employee). The exodus from our local newspaper of top talent in the past year has been stunning, and it was on full display at the Schilling reception. Among those I spotted were former lifestyles editor Jennifer Self, now a director of advocacy for Clinica, former city editor Christine Bedell, now an alumni affairs director at CSUB, and former columnist Lois Henry, TBC's star editor/reporter who abandoned ship to work with a business advocacy group. And taking their picture? None other than John Hart, formerly one of TBC's talented photographers. Between the four of them, they represented more than 80 years of reporting on Kern County.

 * ... SOUND WALLS: It looks like work has started to build sound walls on the north side of 24th Street as the widening project moves into the construction phase. The sound walls (only on the north side, not the south) go in first followed by a total widening, resurfacing and installation of a landscaped median. The entire project, from Highway 99 to C Street, is expected to take two years. As City Manager Alan Tandy told me: "It will be a mess." Ain't that the truth.

 * ... COMEDY HOUR: Hats off to Julio Torres and the folks over at the Wounded Heroes Fund for a raucous, hilarious and successful comedy night to support the service dog program for combat veterans. Held Saturday night at the  Elks Club near the Garces Circle, the event raised money to train service dogs for veterans suffering from post traumatic issues.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "If I got a nuke alert I wouldn't call my family and say goodbye or anything. I'd be here tweeting top quality content for you all, harvesting retweets until the fireball took me."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: A tropical outdoor bar is shown in a picture with this written on a chalkboard: "We have beer as cold as your ex's heart."

 * ... HAWAII: Rod and Julie Crawford, owner of Pyrenees Cafe and the Silver Fox Starlite Lounge, had just arrived in Hawaii for a vacation when the alarm sounded that a nuclear strike was imminent. This Facebook post from Julie says it all:  "Just want to say I LOVE YOU to all my friends and family today. I didn’t realize how sweet life is till I thought it was gone. Huddling between the beds holding our six year old baby girl between us kissing each other good bye was the real deal. I’ve never been so scared or more thankful all at the same time. I was not happy to die but glad we were all together as a family. Ok so now back to the vacation in beautiful Hawaii."

Looking forward to 2018 and thinking about those New Year's resolutions ... a hope for new leadership and saying goodbye to some inspiring local leaders

 * ... HAPPY NEW YEAR: Have you sat down to list your New Year's resolutions? If you could have three wishes for 2018 what would they be? My top three don't change through the years,
because they represent wealth that money cannot buy: personal happiness for those I love, health and hope for those less fortunate.

 * ... LOCAL POLITICS: On the local political level, I hope 2018 brings a new wave of younger, savvy, more forward thinking and thoughtful candidates to put an end to the clubby, risk averse and often backward reputation that Kern County has earned over the years.

 * ... OPIATES: Along those lines, wouldn't it be nice to hear our city council or Board of Supervisors express as much - or more - concern about the opioid crisis than they do about marijuana? While we fritter the night away wringing our hands about pot, people die every day from crushing addictions that start with legal prescription drugs and often end with crude and dangerous forms of street drugs. And some of the hardest hit? Our combat veterans - who we claim to admire and love - who often return home with crippling injuries that can lead to addiction to opiates.

 * ... RICO'S LIST: I compiled my own list of younger, engaged citizens that I hope one day will consider running for office. I do not know their personal politics, but all are educated and smart and have shown a love for this community. My "watch list" includes Michael Bowers, Melissa Poole, Lauren Mae, Don Bynum, Thomas Maxwell, Patrick Wade, Jay Tamsi, Justin Salters, Dana Culhane Brennan, Anna Smith and David Milazzo. Who did I miss?

 * ... ANIMALS: And how about this for a resolution: Here's hoping we stop treating our pets as disposable items here in Kern County and see fewer of them roaming our streets hungry, afraid and alone.

 * ... HORACE MITCHELL: We will lose Horace Mitchell to retirement as president of CSUB this year, and here's hoping his replacement is as dynamic, forward thinking and inclusive as Mitchell has been during his 13 years at the helm of our local university. These are all tricky decisions, and there is no guarantee that the next CSUB president will show the vision that Mitchell brought when he arrived on campus in 2004.

 * ... STEVE SCHILLING: Another notable retirement is that of Steve Schilling, the longtime head of Clinica Sierra Vista which provides basic health care services to thousands of Californians across multiple counties. Schilling almost single handedly built Clinica into a massive, important health care organization, and let's hope his replacement- Brian Harris - shares the energy and vision that Schilling brought to his job.

 * ... SMALL GIFTS: Happiness is never tied to a zip code, and isn't it true that it is always the small things that make life such a gift? A few of mine: an 11-year-old tabby whose love is boundless, friends who make me laugh so hard my side hurts, grown children whose success and happiness brings me such joy, a hike in the hills above Hart Park on a crisp Bakersfield morning, indescribably delicious Christmas cookies from my neighbor Robin, sitting under my grand sycamore tree in downtown Bakersfield while listening to the train couplings, a cozy evening at the "Italian embassy" (Uricchio's Trattoria as Rick Kreiser calls it) seeing old friends, and a new wife who gets my jokes, makes me laugh and fills a room with her smile.

* ... THANKFUL: And finally, here's to some of the local cast of characters who continually surprise, challenge and inspire me in so many different ways: Monsignor Craig Harrison, Louis Gill of the Bakersfield Homeless Center, CSUB basketball coach Rod Barnes, Dr. Raj Patel of Preferred Family Care and Randy Martin of Convenant Community Services.