The energy sector reacts with disappointment to the president's State of the Union address, water trickles back into the Kern River and all the hoopla over gender identity at the Kern High School District

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.

 * ... WATER IN THE RIVER: Don't look now but there is water back in the Kern River, albeit not much but at least there is something and that's worth celebrating. Because no matter who you are, the

overwhelming percentage of Bakersfield residents say water in the river is a much coveted quality of life issue, and when it's gone - well it's just plain ugly.  And so the legal tug of wars continue over who owns the water in the river, and those of us who live and pay taxes here are left wondering when it will be public's turn to enjoy the sight of water in our river year round.

 * ... CHAD HATHAWAY: Local oil executive Chad Hathaway got a front row seat at this week's State of the Union as the invited guest of GOP  Congressman David Valadao. Hathaway, a plain speaking oilman who company has survived the erratic ups and downs of the energy market, returned frustrated that President Biden seems blind to the contributions - both big and small - of fossil fuels.

 * ... CHAMBER TRANSITION: A major transition is under way at the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce where CEO and president Nick Ortiz announced he is leaving to become vice president of local chamber relations at CalChamber and president and CEO of the business group's main training program, the Western Association of Chamber Executives. In the interim and while a nationwide search is conducted, Hilliary Haenes will replace him. Haenes is currently vice president of member engagement. Ortiz has presided over the Chamber for almost eight years and his departure is a big loss for Kern, but Haenes is experienced and talented and the transition should be a seamless one.

* ... RIP JOHN MOORHOUSE: John Moorhouse, a local insurance agent who was part of the family that owned The Bakersfield Californian, has died. He was 82. Moorhouse was married to Ginger Moorhouse, whose family owned The Bakersfield Californian for years before selling it a few years ago. He served on the company's Board of Directors until the paper was sold and he also served time as president of the Tree Foundation of Kern, as well as being a member of the downtown Bakersfield Rotary Club. Moorhouse was originally from New Hampshire and moved west to Bakersfield in 1994 when Ginger Moorhouse returned to California to run the family business.

 * ... LOU ANN DURRETT: A familiar name over at Garces Memorial High, Lou Ann Durrett, is leaving her job on the school leadership team to become executive director of the Bakersfield Catholic Education Foundation (BCEF). The foundation was previously known as the Garces Memorial High School Foundation, established in 1989 to benefit Garces.

 * ... WHAT'S HOT: The hottest ticket in town is a seat to watch the Kern High School District Board in action, and boy was there action this week. The topic: a Kern high school teacher who told The New York Times that her job is to "protect kids" and part of doing so is giving them advice on gender identity. As you can image dozens of Bible toting residents appeared demanding the Del Oro High teacher (Olivia Garrison) be fired. In addition the senior pastor of the Rock Harbor Church, Brandon Holthaus, called Garrison's remarks an affront to parental authority. For its part, school board president Bryan Batey assured the crowd that the school board believed that parents, not teachers, are the best people to counsel children.

 * ... MEMORIES: Here are a couple of wonderful old historic photos, featured on the Facebook page called Kern County History Fans, to enjoy today. The first shows the Bakersfield Fire Ladder Wagon at 20th and "K" Streets in 1911 just outside of Fire Station number 1.

U.S. oil independence is threatened by the coronavirus, wild sturgeon return to the San Joaquin river and are you spending the lockdown fat, drunk and happy?

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 person or organization.

 * ... OIL SLOWDOWN: Under the Trump administration, the United States has enjoyed a period of energy independence, but the coronavirus pandemic threatens to upend all that. That's according to Chad Hathaway, CEO of Hathaway Oil, who says worldwide consumption of oil is down 30 percent and that may not be the bottom. "We have changed the fundamental nature of travel," Hathaway told

me. "There are no places to sell our product." Hathaway says by the time the U.S. emerges from this pandemic, we will be an oil importer once again. Across the globe, Hathaway said tankers full of oil are sitting idly on the world's ocean, waiting for a place to dock and sell their goods. It's not happening. "We are running out of places to store" the oil, he said.

* ... LOCKDOWN HABITS So how are you spending your time in lockdown? Tutoring your children in math? Reading a novel? Working on a home improvement project? Researching ways to help humanity in this time of need? Well those are good thoughts, but if you believe Forbes, most of us have devolved into couch potatoes who drink too much, eat fatty foods and watch pornography. Listen to Forbes describe us: "It looks like Americans are collectively channeling their inner-slacker attitude. People are consuming more alcohol, smoking weed, playing video games, eating a lot of junk food, binge-watching Netflix and adult films more than ever before... According to investment advice site Motley Fool, 'During the first few weeks of the month, cannabis sales were soaring and spiked around the middle of the month as fears heightened that people would be confined to their homes in an effort to fight the coronavirus pandemic.' Marijuana sales are high in a number of states where it's legal... Pornhub, if you can’t tell by its name, is a popular online adult film site visited by roughly 120 million viewers every day. Now that Americans are self-quarantining at home, Pornhub has seen a large rise in traffic—up 11.6 percent."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Well, millennials finally stopped going out for avocado toast. Can everybody afford a house now?"

 * ... QUOTE OF THE DAY: You just have to love this quote from Sheriff Donny Youngblood, commenting on the party where - amid the pandemic - 400 people gathered for a party in east Bakersfield. A drive by shooting left six wounded at the party and the victims are refusing to cooperate with deputies. Said Youngblood: "You can't regulate stupidity."

 * ... GOOD MARKETING: You have to give it to the folks over at Hoffman Hospice for coming up with a brilliant way to a) lift our spirits while b) raising money for the non-profit during a difficult time. I am talking about those red "Everything Will Be Okay" signs that are popping up in yards around town. Hoffman sells them for $20 each and will deliver to the house of your choice. When one mysteriously appears in your yard (thank you Karen Rowles for the joy you brought to me and Alysia Beene) it is certain to lift your spirits.

 * ... WILD STURGEON: It's been a long time but a rare, wild green sturgeon has been found on the San Joaquin river near Merced. According to Lois Henry writing on her SJVWATER.ORG blog, it had been years that the fish had been spotted that far up the river. Like salmon, sturgeon spawn in rivers and then swim out to sea, only to return to spawn once again. Most sturgeon are bred in farms for their eggs, or caviar. Said Lois: "Though the San Joaquin River Restoration Program is concentrated on bringing back spring run Chinook salmon populations, green sturgeons were also native to the area and evolved in the same habitat so it’s not surprising to see them return as the river has been brought back to life."

 * ... EASTER SUNDAY:  This is a lovely and telling photo spotted in The Los Angeles Times of Easter Sunday in Los Angeles. Enjoy.

 * ... MEMORIES: From the Kern County History Fans Facebook page: "This is the Lakeview #2 gusher at Maricopa, May 1914. It produced 20,000 barrels a day from a depth of 3400 feet."

Local oil producer Chad Hathaway to appear as my guest on First Look with Scott Cox this Tuesday, and a couple of former NFL stars are spotted downtown dining on Chinese Food

 * … OIL INDUSTRY: After years of soaring energy prices and new drilling, the oil and gas industry has found itself in an unfamiliar position: the price of oil has dropped to a five-year low and environmentalists continue their attacks on hydraulic fracturing. We will talk about these issues when Chad Hathaway comes into the First Look studios to discuss the challenges facing the energy sector. Hathaway is a fourth generation oil producer who founded a company bearing his name in 2001. He also has been active in the Kern Citizens for Sustainable Government, an organization that has quickly evolved into an influential player on public policy. He will appear on the show at 9 a.m. Tuesday, broadcast live on KERN NewsTalk 1180 and videostreamed live on bakersfield.com.

  * … SPOTTED: Bakersfield has a long and storied history of producing great athletes in virtually every sport, and I spotted a few of them the other night while dining at Bill Lee's downtown. While chatting with local caterer Mike Ariey (former offensive tackle with the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants) he pointed out Rodney Leisle in the bar. Leisle graduated from Ridgeview High School and UCLA before spending five years with the New Orleans Saints. And yes, he was sporting a rock of a Super Bowl ring bearing the Saints emblem. Leisle is now an energy consultant with Vivint Solar.

* … THEFTS: Here is a cautionary tale: A homeowner downtown woke to find her car burglarized. Apparently the thieves used her garage door opener in the car to open her garage and make off with bicycles and other items.

* … SCAM: Yet another telephone scam, this one compliments of Patricia Kelley: "They just keep coming. This morning I received a call, 'Congrats your application for a PayPal loan has been reevaluated and you have been approved for a $1,300 loan. Call this number (631) 406-4695, Smithtown N.Y. within 24 hours for your acceptance and funds will be transferred to your bank account.' Watch out people, you are instructed to push #1 for a live operator, which I did not do. If you call the number, which I verified on my phone, it is disconnected. Nothing is free! I am now going to check my credit reports to see if there is any mischief there.

 * … MEMORIES: Some random memories from reader Ronal Reynier: "I graduated from East Bakersfield High School in 1954 and at that time an arts teacher by the name of Lois Smith could tell you the history of each painting in the school library. They said in the 'Kern's Past' article that the paintings in 2004 were worth $250,000. A William Wendt painting now would be worth almost that much. My question is were are they now? Some years ago a lady bequeathed her art collection to the County of Kern that had an estimated value at the time of one $1 million to $5 million dollars.
They were housed in the vault of the late Great Western Savings and Loan while the county checked if it was legal for them to except the collection. I have the same question, where are they now? Will these enter into the other great mysteries of the county as to where and what happened to the lion statues of the old jail building; and the neon 'Weather-Bird' sign above the Sill Building? At the time it was the largest neon sign west of the Rockies." Royal: I believe the lion statues were moved to a fraternity house at the University of Nevada at Reno.

First design of Bakersfield's new minor league baseball stadium is unveiled and more blowback on the Bakersfield Prayer Breakfast

 * ... BASEBALL: I got a sneak peek at the early plans for the new minor league baseball stadium being planned for the corner of Brimhall and Coffee roads. The principals of the Kansas City architectural design firm (Pendulum Studio) unveiled the plans before a small group of business people at the downtown, Neutra-designed home of David Coffey Wednesday evening. The first draft shows a beautiful, compact stadium built on seven acres with the ball field dug several feet below the surface, offering spectacular views from virtually anywhere around the perimeter. There is family-style seating, a mounted grass berm play area behind the outfield and a multi-purpose room that can be used for special events. The main investors, oilmen Gene Voiland and Chad Hathaway, envision a multi-purpose venue that can be used for anything from concerts to conferences to rodeos.

 * ... RESTAURANT: Bakersfield is getting a promising new restaurant next Friday. The owners of Sushi Moon say they will open February 1 in the old Hourglass Building at the corner of Brimhall and Calloway Drive. Sushi Moon will feature fusion sushi and Korean barbecue, and I am told they also will carry a nice selection of Japanese and Korean wines.

 * ... PRAYER BREAKFAST: There was a lot of response on my earlier post about the upcoming Bakersfield Prayer Breakfast and its emphasis on the Christian view of Jesus. One reader, who is Jewish, said it appeared to exclude those of other faiths, including our sizable Sikh population. And then there was this tart response from another reader: "Tell your friend, who happens to be Jewish, if he is so butt-hurt, he should start his own 'prayer breakfast.  Your newspaper is pathetic."

 * ... BANDUCCI'S: Retired oilman Lynn Blystone is one of those who remembers Banducci's Corner, and he even recalls the help there. "Our favorite waitress at the Double Tree, Inez Coronado. was a waitress at Banducci's Corner for 22 years and could tell you some stories."

 * ... MORE BANDUCCI'S: Barbara Story wrote that Julia Banducci was her grandmother, and as a child she would help in the grocery store every Saturday. "At that time the restaurant only had the counter, no dining room.  It was so busy that a dining room was added some time after the war. Dick Porter was right about all the business done during potato and grape seasons. The customers all had their special place to sit and their special lunch order.  In high school and college I worked on weekends and summers as a waitress. We knew almost everyone that came in by name.  My sister Judy and my daughter Melinda preferred to work in the kitchen.  Our children Chuck, Patrick and Michael all had their first job at Banducci’s doing dishes, and as Chuck remembers pealing lots garlic.  In that small kitchen my grandmother supervised the making of the raviolis as well as everything else.  Melinda still makes raviolis and pickle tongue for gifts for the family at Christmas.  Many, many pleasant memories like the fried chicken cooked to order with spaghetti, minestrone soup, home made pies, pickled tongue,  pickled white beans, garlic beef dips to name just a few of my favorites. One could write a soap opera about all the happening that went on at Banducci’s Corner."

* .... OLD BAKO: Joaquin Resendez wonders if anyone remembers a restaurant called Spanish Kitchen that was located next door when Sinaloa was located in the Wool Grower's building. "They also served pyrenees bread with their salsa. I believe Wool Growers was located on 21st Street at that time."

Two Bakersfield college kids spend their Thanksgiving break helping storm victims on Statin Island, and Gene Voiland will discuss his plans to revive minor league baseball in Bako

* ... BASEBALL: The plans are well under way to bring Bakersfield a new minor league baseball stadium at the corner of Brimhall and Coffee roads. The two men behind the plan are oil company executive Chad Hathaway and Gene Voiland, the retired chief executive of Aera Energy who has been at the center of civic life for many years. Gene will be my guest on California Radio KERN 1180 Monday beginning at 9 a.m. Tune in to hear his plans to revive minor league baseball here and call (661) 842-5376 with your question. (file photo of new Blaze owners Chad Hathaway and Gene Voiland)

* ... HOUSING: You have heard it before, but if you are thinking of jumping back into the housing market, you probably should do so sooner, not later. According to the Wall Street Journal, the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage "hit a record low 3.46 percent for the week ended Nov. 16." The Journal also noted that when people flocked to the rental market, rental prices started to increase and it is now cheaper in many markets to own rather than rent. All this is good news for home buyers and home sellers, not to mention our overall economy.

* ... GIVING BACK: Two Bakersfield High school graduates - Ali Schroeter and Silas Nacita - spent Thanksgiving on Staten Island helping with the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. Schroeter is now starting libero with the Rutgers volleyball team and Nacita is on a football scholarship to Cornell University. When neither could come home for Thanksgiving, they joined a group from the Liquid Church in New Brunswick, N.J., to help in the clean up and were later treated to Thanksgiving dinner. Said Ali's father Tom Schroeter:  "It was heartwarming for me as Ali's father to see how two Bakersfield students who were filling the void of no family Thanksgiving by helping others had their efforts recognized by a family committed to the same selfless cause sharing its family dinner with them."

 * ... TRASH: It was distressing to see how littered our local parks were this weekend following the Thanksgiving Holiday. Beach Park downtown was a particular mess, begging the question: is it really that difficult to pick up after yourself?

* ... ZOCALO: If you live in Bakersfield, you’re more likely than most Californians to be obese, have diabetes or suffer from cardiac disease. And you’re less likely than most Californians to be able to see a doctor any time soon. These issues and others will be the subjects of a Zocalo Public Square panel discussion in Bakersfield Tuesday night. The discussion is 7 p.m. at the Bakersfield Museum of Art, 1930 R Street. Kern Medical Center CEO Paul Hensler, University of California San Francisco Center for the Health Professions Associate Director Catherine Dower, and San Joaquin Community Hospital Vice President Jarrod McNaughton will discuss what’s keeping doctors out of Bakersfield, and how to bring in better health care.

The oil patch is booming and a group of 30-somethings create a shadow group to promote good government

 * ... ENERGY: There is a lot of good news on the local energy front. Oil and gas production is booming, good jobs are being created and now I read that U.S. petroleum imports are down to just 46 percent of total consumption, compared to 60 percent just a few years ago. That's according to the Wall Street Journal which says U.S. crude oil production has risen by 18 percent since 2008. "The reason is the appearance of a new source," the paper said, "'tight oil' which is extracted from dense rocks. In 2000 it was only about 200,000 barrels per day, 3 percent of total output. Today is is about a million barrels per day." All good news for our local companies and suppliers.

 * ... GOOD GOVERNMENT: Keep your eye on a new organization in town that is supporting responsible and sustainable government. It was created by three 30-something local businessmen - John Paul Lake, Patrick Wade and Chad Hathaway - and it promises to be an important new group to hold our local politicians accountable. It's called "Kern Citizens for Sustainable Government" and no doubt you will be hearing more from these guys in the days and weeks to come. They've got the smarts, the money and the connections to make things happen. Lake works at his family's business Rain for Rent, Wade owns Precision Pharmacy and is a member of the city Planning Commission and Hathaway is in the oil business.


 * ... OVERHEARD: A young woman at a Starbucks orders two iced green teas, one with three packets of sugar and the other with 20. That's right, 20 packets of sugar.


* ... ONCE A DRILLER: Jean Park wrote to congratulate Bakersfield High School on its undefeated season and Valley Championship. "My husband, Carl Park, played on the 1951 Valley Championship team. That game was 60 years ago almost to the day. Game was in Fresno, not sure if same school, but same town. It was a good game for Carl and good day for me. First time we met and still going strong 56 years later!" (Driller photo by Henry Barrios)

 * ... LIGHTS ON: I stopped by a neighborhood gathering in La Cresta recently to watch the lighting of a huge Christmas tree outside and join in the revelry. For the past 20 years, folks in La Cresta gather along a stretch of Hermosa Drive to light the tree and enjoy the Christmas spirit. Cindy Anspach and Kathy McDermott organized the event with That's Amore Pizza supplying dinner via a portable pizza oven mounted on a trailer. Neighbors brought appetizers and desserts and it was a remarkable way to usher in the season. Other neighbors involved included Jane and Bruce Haupt, Frankie Villani, Greg McDermott, and Reed Adamson.

 * ... SPOTTED: From reader Harry Love: "At the corner of Merle Haggard Drive and Highway 65 next to the Choco Taco stand at the Shell station. Two signs: 'Now Open Unit 7 PM,' with one underneath 'Obama Bin Lyin.' Apparently tacos are political or not liked by Democrats."