Monday's Bakersfield Observed: Countryside Market wins the Mac 'n Cheese fest (yet again), the story behind a downtown Sycamore tree, Brian Kiser's confirmation in the Catholic Church and homeless graffiti

 Monday, April 22, 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.

 * ... COUNTRYSIDE MARKET: Congratulations to Countryside Market that took home the

People's Choice award for an unprecedented fourth time in the annual Mac 'n Cheese Festival at CSUB. The festival was a sellout and featured more than 30 food vendors, live music from Truxton Mile and plenty of beer and wine. Proceeds from the event go to the CSUB Athletic Scholarship fund. The annual feed is put on by American General Media, owner of KERN NewsTalk and other radio stations in town.

 * ... HOUSE OF FLOWERS: Among the vendors at Mac 'n Cheese was House of Flowers, the popular flower shop on 19th Street. Owner Diana Klawitter was happily passing out colorful flower "crowns" for both men and women that proved to be the hit of the event.

* ... DOWNTOWN SYCAMORE: One of the most iconic trees in downtown Bakersfield - and truth is there are many - lives at the northeast corner of A and 20 streets. A graceful old sycamore, one of its huge branches shoots over the intersection providing shade. As it turns out, this tree was planted in 1977 by a then-resident of the intersection named Stephanie Foe. I met Foe recently and she told me she dug up the tree, then about three feet high, in a wash ravine in the San Gabriel mountains and transplanted it to Bakersfield where it continues to flourish today. She said it struggled early on, but daily she would urge it to grow and thrive. And indeed, it did.

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: This woman was tagging the freeway overpass at Ming and Wible and was caught on camera doing so. Recognize her?

 * ... MILESTONES: Happy birthday to Miranda Whitworth Munoz, communications manager at Kern Medical who celebrated in classic style with a Saturday brunch at Luigi's. Her birthday fell on Easter Sunday. Also hats off to my friend Brian Kiser, who was confirmed in the Catholic Church Saturday evening. Kiser works for California Resources Corp.

* ... CSUB BARBECUE: The annual spring barbecue at CSUB is set for Thursday, May 9, out at the southwest campus. The annual feed goes to support athletic scholarships at the campus. Tickets are just $30. Call Logan Belz for tickets or sponsorship opportunities at (661) 654-2361.

* ... MEMORIES: Check out this old postcard showing a parade down Chester Avenue to mark the end of the Spanish-American War.

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: And check out this photo from the Kern County History page on Facebook. The caption read: "Photo of the aftermath of a wind storm in Fellows in 1926. Murvin and Eugene Delaney were asleep in the bedroom of this clapboard house when the wind blew over a wooden derrick which landed on the house killing Eugene."

Beetle infestations threaten to wipe out millions of trees in California and the debate rages on: are high taxes and regulation forcing Californias to leave for Texas, Nevada and other states?

 * ... SHOT HOLE BORE BEETLE: Did you read the story in The Las Angeles Times about the threat to hundreds of thousands of trees in Southern California? It's a serious issue that could make our region "look, feel, sound and smell much less pleasant than it does now." According to The Times,

botanists have documented insect infestations that threaten to wipe out the California live oak, avocado, ash, almond, peach and even our stately sycamores that are so common in Kern County. The threat: something called the polyphagous shot hole borer beetle that "could kill as many as 27 million trees in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including parts of the desert." Can you imagine if this infestation reaches Kern County? One expert from UC Riverside had this warning: "If we cannot control the shot hole borer, it will kill all the sycamores in California."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "How long are you supposed to wait before you unpause the TV after your wife tells you she wants a divorce?"

 * ... LEAVING CAL: We've sparked a lively debate here over the issue of leaving California because of its burdensome taxes, which are soon going higher. Whether you stay or leave one thing is certain: there is a net outflow of Californians to other states, with Texas being the top destination. Said one report in the Sacramento Bee based on US Census data: "The leading destination for those leaving California is Texas, with about 293,000 economically disadvantaged residents leaving and about 137,000 coming for a net loss of 156,000 from 2005 through 2015. Next up are states surrounding California; in order, Arizona, Nevada and Oregon."

 * ... LEAVING: Among those weighing in is Chad Jackman: "In response to Mr. Jon Johnston taking issue with folks taking their retirements that they were 'given' and moving out of the state of California. First off, no member of the community 'gave' me anything, I earn it. As a proud member of the Bakersfield PD I served my community and like all that wear a badge, put my butt on the line for them. We have the right to live in whichever state we chose. (It's kinda in the name United States) Those of us that chose to leave California no longer use any services or infrastructure. So that would be taxation without representation, we fought a war about that kinda stuff. By the way, in the great state of Tennessee there are no state income tax and the roads are great and trash free."

 * ... MORE LEAVING: And there was this from Chris Padham: "Pretty hilarious about Kathy Harlan. Her comment about the entire state of Arizona has crummy air quality compared to California, then reading the article with the tag line of 'California again leads cities with sullied air.' And I looked and looked at the list of the top ten polluted cities and gosh, not one from Arizona,  but five in California. I can only assume she has never traveled out of state. Oh, by the way I can assure Kathy that when I retire I will gladly leave California. And I'm certain I'll be very happy in Arizona. "

 * ... THE BLUFFS: Jon Sarad had this to say about the location of an old bar in town. Said Sarad: "I remember the Bluffs Bar as being a beer bar on southeast corner near North Baker and Irene Street. The building is still there‎, but no cool ones for years. I think Hannings liquors was owned by family who had a famous old bar catty corner on 17th from Haberfelde Builfinh. Was it Mike Huston, or Hutson who remembered Panorama Liquors? If Huston, his family owned Arrow Liquors on Columbus. Before the days of 7-11 and Thriftymart all the College Heights kids got ice cream, candy and sodas there."

 * ... MORE BLUFFS: Johnna Beard Hall ended the note this way: "My parents owned The Bluffs for 45 years. It was on the corner of North Baker and Irene Street, a small neighborhood bar."

 * ... MEMORIES: Jim Smith poses this question about the old Maison Jaussauds on south Union: "Did not the Shah of Iran and his entourage stop at Maison Jaussauds for lunch on their way north to Yosemite Valley back in the 1970s? Am I right or abysmally wrong? You're archives or a reader can confirm."