Santa Barbara bans straws and establishes punishment harder than many criminal offenses, the heat wave continues and Buck Owens' legacy at the Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles

Monday July 30, 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.

 * ... STRAWS: I am sure you have heard about Starbucks banning plastic straws right? And now the city of Santa Barbara has passed an ordinance last that gives restaurant employees six months of jail

time or a $1,000 fine for giving plastic straws to customers. I am not joking here. And all this hysteria because of our fear that the straws could end up in the ocean and strangle a turtle. But let's be serious here. I am as concerned as anyone else over the mountains of plastic in our oceans, but banning the straw and threatening jail time is beyond stupid. And here is the craziest part: the punishment for issuing straws is actually harder than many other "non violent" offenses in California that allow you to apply for early release. Offenses like domestic violence, first degree burglary, rape of a drugged person or a hate crime causing physical injury. And we wonder why people outside California think we are nuts here.

 * ... MADE IN AMERICA: If you are a fan of things Made in America, does this extend to your car? If it does, you will be interested in the list of cars manufactured with the most parts made in the USA. According to Cars.com, those models include the Jeep Cherokee, Honda Odyssey, Honda Ridgeline: Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Volt, Honda Pilot, Acura MDX, Ford Explorer, Ford F-150, and the Chevrolet Corvette.

 * ... HEAT WAVE: Remember how mild it was just a few short months ago? And then came July and with it temperatures in the 105 to 108 range, almost daily. But it may be too early to tell if we are on threatening to set new records for the most days at 100 degrees or higher. It turns out the National Weather Service in Hanford says the record for the most days at 100 or higher is 76, and that was sent back in 1917. And, just for giggles, the NWS says the hottest day ever recorded in Bakersfield was 118.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "It’s adorable when men think they should get half the closet."

 * ... MORE TWITTER: "I was mistaken for a hooker once. It was not my best day. I only made $50."

 * ... MID-STATE FAIR: Nobody does big time musical acts better than the California Mid-State Fair over in Paso Robles. Consider the lineup for the fair that just ended: Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Pitbull, Demi Lovato, ZZ Top, Dwight Yoakam, Gabriel Iglesias, Florida-Georgia Line and the list goes on. I was there doing a remote for KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM and asked the fair CEO, Michael Bradley, how the fair got so good booking such top notch talent. "You know who brought the music element to the fair in 1969?" he asked me. "It was your own Buck Owens. He started it and we have continued it since then." It was a big year for Buck, as it turns out. 1969 was the first year he co-hosted Hee Haw, a variety show that would go on for 15 seasons. So there you have it.

 * ... MEMORIES: How about this old shot of Chester Avenue around 18th Street in the late 1890s?

A writer explores the barrios and neighborhoods of east Bakersfield, my search for the best watermelon margarita in town and Motel Radio will appear at Temblor Brewing Co.

 * ... CHRIS ARNADE: Chris Arnade is a former Wall Street investor who for the past year has been traveling the country visiting the poorer areas of our nation to learn more about the issues that divide us. After driving from the east coast he ended up in Kern County recently where he spent time in east

Bakersfield visiting his favorite haunts for the poor: small churches, the local McDonald's and neighborhoods. His reports appear via Twitter and his last two tweets were these: "The US right now is massively divided. The biggest division is race. Even after Obama. The next biggest division is education." And he added this: "I have rarely seen as large a homeless community, relative to town size, as here in Bakersfield."

* ... MARGARITAS: Here's a followup valentine to my friend Dee Rhodes, who challenged me to find the best watermelon margarita in town. One reader, Derek Vaughn, wrote that "the watermelon margarita at Nuestro Mexico is the best I have ever had. They ran out of watermelon one day and the owner went to the store and bought more so he could make them for all of us." Blair Budai, a lighting specialist, chimed in that Centro 18 "serves one that is amazing. I think the best include jalapeño." While having lunch at Eureka Burger in the Southwest this weekend, I ordered one off the menu and it too was outstanding.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Fish don’t seem that stupid to me. If a burrito dropped out of the sky and hung in mid-air I would probably eat it."

* ...MOTEL RADIO: Looking for some fresh and inspiring music this week? If so check out the New Orleans-based band Motel Radio that will be appearing at Temblor Brewing Co. on Thursday evening. Grab a bite in Temblor's restaurant and then enjoy this evolving group featuring Americana music. The music starts at 7:30 p.m. and get your tickets online at www.passingthroughprouctions.com.

 * ... GARTH BROOKS: How about this for popularity: The Garth Brooks concert scheduled for the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles sold out in just 30 seconds, breaking the fair's record for the fastest one-day sell out. Brooks added a second show that is now scheduled for 10:30 p.m. on July 27. Tickets will be on sale at noon on Thursday, June 29.

 * ... GOODWILL: Goodwill Industries is opening its sixth store in Bakersfield this week, going into the space of the old Orchard Supply building at Ming Avenue and Ashe Road. This new space occupies 18,000 square feet of the building and will employ 28 people.

 * ... DAN BLOCKER: John Rodenburg wrote to remember the time that Bonanza star Dan Blocker (Hoss Cartwright on the show) frequented Bakersfield. "Regarding your recent columns concerning Dan Blocker, my mother Johanna Rodenburg believes he was grand marshal of the Bakersfield Christmas Parade in 1960 rather than 1961. I have no reason to doubt her as her memory of such past events is both legendary and scary. She was at the parade that night, standing at the old Foster Freeze at Chester and 10th Street in extremely foggy conditions. She also noted that Lorne Greene of Bonanza fame was part of that same parade. "