Former homebebuilder Kyle Carter buys the American Sound Recording Studio to create a Bakersfield Music Hall of Fame, and Rick Kreiser brings more talent to town

 * … HALL OF FAME: Former homebuilder Kyle Carter has purchased the American Sound Recording Studio and is looking at creating a Bakersfield Music Hall of Fame to recognize our area's

rich musical past. Carter, who incidentally is eyeing a run for mayor, puchased the state of the art recording studio recently and promptly initiated a complete renovation that will make it our area's premier venue for showcasing local and out of town artists. His idea: create a facility that will showcase our history while providing venues for shows and local rentals. Carter's vision is shared by his wife Kim McAbee, a singer with Buck Owens who has her own musicial career.

 * … DESERT ROSE BAND: My personal taste in music runs a tad eclectic, and I am not one to pine away for the music of my youth. That said, there is one musician (Chris Hillman) who I will simply not miss when he comes to town. As an original member of the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Souther-Hillman-Furay and now the Desert Rose Band, Hillman was a pioneer in the evolution of country rock, one of the first big-time rock musicians to embrace country and bring the pedal steel guitar, mandolin, banjo and fiddle to mainstream rock. A gifted song writer and vocalist whose melodies will tear at your heart strings, Hillman will bring his band to the newly renovated Bakersfield College indoor theater thanks to Rick Kreiser and his Guitar Masters series. This can't miss acoustic event is this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $33 or $18 for students.

 * … BAKO: Local architect Steve Kieke was in Charlotte, N.C., recenbtly when he spotted a local eatery called Bakersfield East Tacos. "It turns out that it is the newest location of the Bakersfield OTR restaurant in Cincinnati that TBC has reported on previously (can’t recall if it was you or Robert Price. Mayor Hall presented the owners a key to the City in Cincinnati in 2012). They now have five locations; Cincinnati, Columbus, Nashville, Indianapolis and Charlotte. According to the owners, ‘the concept was taken from Bakersfield, Ca., where outlaw country music and Mexican restaurants find a comfortable cohabitation. Bakersfield is a spot where the food is simple, the service is warm and the atmosphere is alive.’ Sounds like us alright. It was even featured in Diners, Drive-ins and Dives last summer; it might have inspired Fieri to come here!.. It’s great to see Bakersfield mentioned in a positive light as opposed to all of those nasty ‘quality of life’ lists we always end up on the wrong end of."

* … SPOTTED: On a friend's social media post: "Just saw a girl driving a pink Smart Car with a Disney Princess license plate. A moment of silence for whatever poor guy ends up dating her."

* … FOODIE: One of my favorite Bakersfield steak houses is KC Steakhouse, an understated eatery with a lot of history and color. This week it is offering some killer deals with coupons in The Californian, including a "buy one and get one free" offer for both lunch and dinner. Check it out.

The dilemma of widening 24th Street through downtown Bakersfield: what is your take? And now is the time to trade that used car in for top dollar

* ... 24th STREET: I attended the public hearing on the proposed widening of 24th Street and got an earful from the red shirted opponents of the project. These folks prefer the "no build" option, arguing that widening 24th will divide the neighborhoods on each side of street and drive down property values. But aren't the neighborhoods already divided, and is doing nothing really an option? Here's an interesting compromise I picked up at the meeting: adopt the alternative to take a row of houses on the north side, but instead of leaving a center turn lane (turning against traffic on 24th is already a suicide mission at best) install a landscaped median with bike lanes in each direction. That way you end up with six lanes of traffic that looks more like Old River Road than Ashe Road.

 * ... STEVE HILL: The Desert Rose Band, featuring Chris Hillman and Herb Pederson, played at the Crystal Palace this week and I left promising myself I'd spend more time at this terrific local musical venue. Hillman was a founding member of the Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and in the audience was Steve Hill, a little known songwriter who co-wrote with Hillman hits like "I Still Believe in You," "Summer Wind" and"Start all Over Again." I chatted briefly with Hill, an accomplished fiddle and violin player, who told me he now lives in Lebec and is still writing music.

 * ... USED CARS: If you are holding onto a good used car and have been thinking about buying new, now is the time to do it. Quality used cars are scarce, and auto dealers are offering killer trade in deals to lure new car buyers. Two friends told me they bought new when two separate dealers offered to pay off their existing leases just to get their business. Dan Hay, general manager over at Jim Burke Ford, told me that "good, clean used cars at any price are at a premium right now and will continue so into the foreseeable future. It really doesn’t matter the price range; good used cars bring all the money and we not only buy them but give top dollar as a trade."

 * ... MORE CARS: Meanwhile over at Motor City, general manager John Pitre said trucks are still king in Kern County. "We are buying 2004 to 2011 trucks from private parties and our client base at  very competitive prices because we have buyers waiting. Our internet sales have reached new highs and we are selling cars all over the world... just exported several to Russia, the Middle East and even Mongolia. We have such great offers on new vehicles due to manufacturer incentives that the spread from used to new has never been so close, thus people can move up to a new 2012 GMC or Buick and after their trade in - there is very little difference due. Kern County is leading the recovery in California and we are at the epicenter."

 *... BELTER: I caught up with young Mallory Belter this past weekend when we ran into each other at a wedding in La Jolla. The daughter of Gary and Bettina Belter, the 22-year-old Mallory just graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles and is now working as a wardrobe stylist. She's landed her first client and is living in Los Angeles. Good to see these local kids thriving.

 * ... MEA CULPA: I goofed in an earlier blog when I wrote about Mark Parsons, who is working with the Red Cross in the Colorado fires. Ann Danforth is his sister, not his mother.