President Biden turns to Venezuelan oil while snubbing domestic producers, City Council Andrae Gonzales' latest idea to combat dumpster fires lands with an unpopular thud and good news for fliers to Dallas out of Meadows Field

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 community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other company or publication.

 * ... SMART ENERGY POLICY? If you live in the oil patch, as we do, then you have to be scratching your head over President Biden's energy policy. As the administration continues to wage its war on fossil fuels and U.S. energy companies, the administration is now cutting a deal with the tyrants who run

Venezuela to increase production in return for the U.S. loosening sanctions. Wouldn't it make more sense to use U.S. produced energy, made in the U.S.A. and produced by American citizens instead of doing business with avowed enemies of our country? This comes on top of Biden begging OPEC to increase production, which they rejected. Wouldn't it make more sense to lift the restrictions on domestic oil and gas consumption so the jobs (and energy) stay here? Go figure.

 * ... HOMELESS ISSUES: It must suck to be City Councilman Andrae Gonzales sometimes. You represent Ward 2, which encompasses the downtown area where drugs, crime, vagrancy and homelessness have been out of control for too many years now to count. Whatever he has tried - better coordination with local businesses, private security and million-dollar new homeless shelters - hasn't worked. And now Gonzales is pushing an ordinance forcing businesses to securely lock their dumpsters so the homeless will stop setting the fires that have become all too common. But Gonzales immediately ran into a wall of protests from the very people he serves, downtown business owners who see this as yet another Band-Aid approach to a serious issue. It must have stung when Cassie Bittle, whose family runs KC Steakhouse and a woman who has become the voice of a frustrated business class downtown, posted this on Facebook as a response to his idea: "We've tried the locks, gravity bars, and fancy lids. Only other option is a cage which takes up space and construction for a business that has functioned without issue for over 50 years at the same location," she said. "There was no issue with homeless taking the bottles and cans until the lawlessness started...  Fixing a symptom of the issue not the root cause. AND we'll have three dumpsters to secure here pretty soon to meet new state regulations...why not throw a city ordinance in the mix.  Hope this grant doesn't make a $5,000 private project turn into a $50,000 publicly funded dumpster disaster." The only thing that is clear is this: the city's inability to deal with a very real crisis - and if you doubt it's a crisis have a chat with Cassie Bittle - has been a dismal failure. Half hearted ideas like putting the burden on businesses to secure their dumpsters are too little, too late.

 * ... MORE HOMELESS TROUBLE: If you are a regular cyclist, or runner, you know the Coffee Road underpass of the Kern River bike path is often flooded and can be extremely dangerous. But why? The area is not near water and you certainly can't blame the rain. Well now it comes to pass that we know the answer: according to what one city maintenance worker told a fellow cyclist, a homeless woman has been breaking the sprinkler heads on the irrigation lines to bathe, allowing the water to run freely and flood the pedestrian and cycling path. How does that make you feel about your community?

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: There's some good news for those of us who fly out of Meadows Field. American Airlines has announced it is increasing its capacity between Bakersfield and Dallas by using an Air Bus 319 instead of the smaller CRJ 900. That means there will be a full first-class seating and other amenities like WiFi and better air conditioning. The new service starts this week.

* ... MEMORIES: Take a look at this old saloon, located in the space now occupied by Jerry's Pizza, that appeared on the Kern County of Old Facebook page.

CSUB and other state schools will demand proof of vaccination to enroll, the city cleans homeless camps along the Kern River and three business people are appointed to the city Planning Commission

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 community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other company or publication.

 * ... PROOF OF VACCINE: If you are thinking of enrolling at CSUB or any campus in the CSU or University of California system this fall you will need to show proof of vaccination. That's the word from

the CSU Chancellor’s Office, who noted the mandate is dependent on an adequate supply of vaccines. As of now, the only exemptions will be allowed for medical or religious reasons. There have been discussions for allowing other exemptions in the future although no decision has been made.

 * ... KERN RIVER TRASH: I was thrilled to see a half dozen city of Bakersfield dump trucks and pickups on the Kern River bike path this week, busy cleaning up dozens of homeless camps along the dry riverbed. Most of the action was happening between Beach Park and Manor, a stretch of the bike path that is heavily infested with homeless encampments. The cleanup coincides with a volunteer river cleanup session set for Saturday at the parking lot off Manor.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Never understood the phrase 'I’ll give you something to cry about.' I’ve already found something to cry about. Problem solved, call off the search."

 * ... CRIME VICTIMS: A sobering view from national Crime Victim's Rights Week, down Truxtun in front of the courthouse.

 * ... CASSIE BITTLE: Cassie Bittle, owner of KC Steakhouse downtown, has been appointed to the Planning Commission. Bittle said her role on the commission would be to "give back" after local government supported small businesses during the long pandemic. There were three openings on the commission and joining Bittle as new members were Zack Bashirtash of Infiniti and businessman Larry Koman.

 * ... MEMORIES: Thanks to the Kern County of Old Facebook page for these two pictures of The Hopkins Building at 19th and Chester, one from July 1952 after the earthquake and the second in March 2021.