One man's success story in the middle of a recession, and more bad form involving people and their cell phones

* ... SUCCESS: Here's my feel-good story of the day. This one comes from Tom Myers, a 1996 graduate of Cal State Bakersfield who has certainly had his share of ups and downs in this economy. After graduating, Myers worked for 10 years with First American Title Co. before leaving to try his hand at real estate development. He got caught up in the real estate crash and "ended up shooting myself in the foot after the project failed. A month after I left the land development firm, I went to an interview with Farmers Insurance to look into becoming an independent self-employed agent. Needless to say, I will have finished my fourth year at the beginning of March 2011 and even though it has been a struggle, I have managed to start a business in a down economy without so much as taking a single penny from unemployment or charity. This is not to say that both have value and there are people deserving of it, but to point out if you give a man a fish he'll eat for a day. Teach him to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime. Perhaps it's time that we start teaching others to fish." And by he way, Myers was named 2008 Career Agent of the Year at Farmers.

 * ... BAD FORM: What is it about cell phones that turns people into such inconsiderate dolts? Anthony Meeks, lease manager for Lamar Advertising, was at Russo's Books the other night to hear former Secret Service agent Clint Hill talk when a man in the audience received a call on his cell phone. "Apparently he felt the call was important enough to take, but he didn't have the common courtesy to excuse himself so the others could hear Agent Hill. I am no longer amazed at people's disrespect of others, especially on their phones, but even this surprised me. I would assume that to be sitting in the front means he arrived early and has a genuine interest in the subject, but even that wasn't enough for him to go a few minutes without contact from the outside world." Good grief.

 * ... OVERHEARD: A man in my peer group casually mentioning that he was diagnosed with a "mega colon" following his first colonoscopy. What does it say when men of a certain age in Bakersfield all know gastroenterologist Dr. Rabinder Bhogal on a first name basis?

 * ... KELEHER'S COOKIES: Received a nice note the other day from local artist Barbara Reid, who wanted to share a story about a special brand of holiday cookies. Turns out the family that owns and operates Keleher Shorthand Reporters makes cookies for its clients every holiday season. "Every year my family has looked forward to a plate of home-baked deliciousness from the Keleher kitchen," Reid said. Jean Keleher is a graduate of North High and now a member of East Rotary. Reid described her as "one of the hardest working and nicest home grown ladies I know."

 
 * ... BIG-TIME SPORTS: Now that Cal State Bakersfield has gone Division 1 in sports, we're starting to see some big-time schools put Bakersfield on their travel schedules. The University of Colorado will be in town on Jan. 2 to play the Runners in basketball, and in March the Runners will host The Ohio State University baseball team at Hardt Field.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Another one from reader Jack Kelley: You know you're a Bakersfield old-timer if you "remember when the Bakersfield Hospital was located at the northwest corner of 19th and R Street, by Central Park. I had my tonsils removed there by Dr. Joe Smith in 1935."

Short takes around town: new park, same old homeless; Beautiful Bakersfield goes boring

Coming off another wonderful weekend here in Bako, lots of things happening, hot but not (yet) unbearable. Let's get to it:

* ... NEW PARK, SAME HOMELESS: The newly renovated Central Park officially opened this weekend with high expectations. The city spent hundreds of thousands sprucing up this "needle park," long a magnet for the homeless, the drug addicted and generally the worst of our community. The Bakersfield Museum of Art is next door and has been awaiting the renovation with crossed fingers.... meaning: will the homeless and drug addicts simply return after all the ribbon cuttings are done? Even I wondered privately if this wouldn't turn out to be what an old boss once called a bad story pitched with a different angle: "You can give a bum a shave and a haircut," he said, "but he's still a bum." So I had to smile when I saw a Facebook posting by none other than John Harte, a former Californian photographer known for his strong opinions as well as his talented eye for a good photograph. He posted the following status message followed by the picture he took:

"Here you go. 24 hours post grand opening of the new "family oriented" Central Park and here's our first transient settling in. The public needs to trust their media for balanced coverage. Local media which glowingly promoted the park without balancing it with the long history of transients, alcohol and drug use and crime at the park has violated that trust." Touche, John!



* ... BEAUTIFUL BUT BORING: Turned on the television Saturday night to find the "Beautiful Bakersfield" awards banquet being shown live. The awards were started by the Chamber of Commerce some years ago to honor folks who make our community proud, but since then they've grown into an endless and seemingly pointless series of awards for some of the most obscure categories imaginable. With all respect to some very deserving nominees and winners, watching the KGET-TV production was painful beyond words. Even KGET's Jim Scott and Robin Mangarin, old pros who do this for a living, could not breathe life into this DOA format. As they say down South: "this dog don't hunt." I just hope KGET is getting some credit to comply with FCC regulations that require the station to televise local content. Folks at the Chamber would do well to revisit the entire thing and reduce the number of awards and stop pretending it's the Oscars.
* ... CINDY'S FAREWELL: Californian columnist Herb Benham devoted his Sunday column to a fitting farewell to Cindy Pollard, a longtime Bakersfield resident and USC grad who is moving to Sacramento to take a job with PG and E. Cindy was always deeply involved in the community and will be missed.

Investing during a recession: signs of spring?

It's always a good sign when small businesses - certainly the backbone of our economy here in Bakersfield - choose to expend scarce capital during a deepening recession. So I was heartened to read in the Downtown Business Assn. newsletter about the number of businesses honored for major renovations or new construction. Among the honorees were The Dream Center and Coffee Shop, Elaine's Cafe and Market, Goose Loonies, Larry McAbee Construction, American Sound Recording Studio and the Marriott Hotel. Alexander and Associates, Memorial Hospital and Little White Dress (owner Jennifer Cantelmi shown in picture) were cited for new construction. The DBA also talked about the possibility of 20th Street becoming a "great street," providing an east-west walkable connection from the new Mill Creek Linear Park (Central Park) to the historic Fox Theater.