We open the airways to talk about race in America, Jacquie Sullivan decides not to seek another term on the City Council, and Uricchio's Trattoria and Pyrenees Cafe get ready to reopen for table service

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.

 * ... RACE AND KERN COUNTY:  Michael Bowers remembers being questioned by police as a young man. Keith Wolaridge is seized by utter fear when he spots he is being followed by a police

car. Leticia Perez looks at birth rates, demographics and civic engagement and reminds us that Kern County's future will look far different than its past. And Sheriff Donny Youngblood pulls no punches in condemning the officers involved in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. These are just a smattering of the comments made over two days when I hosted these four people for a conversation on race on The Richard Beene Show (KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM). Check out these links to my conversations with Bowers and Wolaridge, and with Perez and Youngblood.

 * ... JACQUIE SULLIVAN: Jacquie Sullivan will not be seeking reelection, ending a long 25 career on the Bakersfield City Council. She becomes the second council person to say they won't seek a new term, joining Ward 1's Willie Rivera who made a similar announcement last week. It's been a while since two open seats appeared on the ballot, and it could dramatically alter the coalitions on the council. Meanwhile, fellow Councilman Bruce Freeman said he would seek another term.

 * ... STEVE TEGLIA: Breaking news here from Lois Henry, chief executive officer of SJVWATER.ORG, a non profit devoting to covering California Water issues: Steve Teglia, a long time Assistant City Manager of the City of Bakersfield, has formally taken over the reins of the Kern Delta Water District. He was appointed to the position to replace retiring Mark Mulkay on May 16 and officially took over on Monday, June 1. “This is a great move for Kern Delta and we expect Mr. Teglia to lead this district into the future,” Mulkay wrote in an email Tuesday. “I hope that the water community will accept Mr. Teglia and treat him with the patience and professionalism in which I have been for the past 27 years.” Mulkay will continue working for Kern Delta as its Water Resources Manager, according to the email.

 * ... PYRENEES: The iconic Pyrenees Cafe in old town Kern will be reopening this weekend, and you can bet its legions of fans will make it a "standing room only" event. Pyrenees owners Rod and Julie Crawford said they spent the past month doing improvements and making sure the restaurant meets health and safety guidelines.

 * ... URICCHIO'S TRATTORIA: Meanwhile, Uricchio's Trattoria will return to in-house dining next Tuesday, according to owner Claire Porter. Claire told me the dining room will hold a "soft opening" this weekend  to see how it goes in dining rooms with fewer tables and no seats at the bar. The new hours will have Uricchio's closed Sunday and Monday.

 * ... PROTESTS IN PICTURES: With my compliments to all the folks around town who captured these images, a sampling of the protests around town this past weekend.

 * ... MEMORIES: Pictures of wrecks on the old Grapevine connecting Bakersfield with Los Angeles in the years before Interstate 5 was built.

Gov. Newsom wants to shrink the state prison system at the same time business people are being threatened for reopening their shops, Uricchio's Trattoria to reopen for curbside service this Tuesday and Pastor Angelo Frazier to appear on The Richard Beene Show

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.

 * ... RELEASING PRISONERS: Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to drastically shrink the footprint of California’s prison system, blaming massive budget cuts triggered by the coronavirus. According to his revised budget, Newsom wants to close two state prisons, shutter all three of the state-run juvenile prisons and cut some inmate firefighter programs. And if that is not enough, he is also proposing that prisoners be released early by shortening parole to a maximum of two years, down

from five years. The irony, of course, is all this comes at the same time that state officials are threatening to jail business owners who open during the pandemic. Now think about that: at the same time we are releasing hardened criminals, we are threatening local business people - the lifeblood of our economy - if they reopen their business to make a living. Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood is among those who think this is ludicrous, as does District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer. Let all that sink in while you gaze at the picture below of some of the inmates of our state prison system.

 * ... RESTAURANTS: If one thing is for certain, it's that we are all itching to go back out to eat at our favorites haunts. And while we aren't there yet, people are voting with their feet. Outside Luigi's on Friday, takeout customers enjoyed sitting at a long table to catch up, and the same was happening Bootlegger's on Oak Street. This week, Tuesday to be exact, Uricchio's Trattoria opens back up for curbside pickup and it's safe to assume there will be a mad rush to catch up with owner Claire Porter and her crew of regulars.

 * ... OPEN UP: Speaking of the pandemic and the lockdown, Pastor Angelo Frazier of Riverlakes Community Church has been an outspoken proponent of allowing churches to reassemble and for businesses to reopen in Kern County. You might have spotted him at the rallies in front of City Hall, wearing a mask and waving signs urging the reopening of the economy with reasonable accommodations. Frazier will be my guest on The Richard Beene Show this Monday at 2:30 p.m.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "When a disc jockey or a talk show host or a journalist who is being paid to work from his or her home tells people who can’t work, pay bills or pay their rent or mortgage to 'Stay home and be careful because we’re all in this together,' it’s okay to question the premise."

 * ... PUBLIC DEFENDER: An attorney in the Kern County Public Defender's office has triggered a firestorm over a Facebook post suggesting there should be a "memorial" for the "victims" of law enforcement officers. The post read: "If Friday is Peace Officer's Memorial Day then is Sunday their Victim's memorial day?" Bad form? You be the judge.

 * ... EARTHQUAKE: Did you feel that 6.5 earthquake out of Nevada on Friday? It happened around 4 a.m. and while it produced little damage (see the pictures below) it was felt in some parts of Bakersfield.

 * ... JIM BURKE FORD: Well here is another sign of the times. The Jim Burke Ford dealership on Street was vandalized this past week to the tune of some $70,000. Apparently a homeless person took rocks and bricks to the showroom windows as well as damaging multiple new vehicles on the lot.

 * ... MEMORIES: Who remembers the old River Theater, where Oildale teenagers of the 1960s would enjoy a matinee for just 25 cents Thanks to the Kern County of Old Facebook page for this nugget.

Uricchio's Trattoria will reopen for curbside pickup soon, the county says it is not in the business of shutting down businesses that violate the state lockdown, and KBAK's Rachelle Murcia celebrates the end of her chemo treatment

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.

 * ... REOPENING: Uricchio's Trattoria, the popular downtown eatery that closed temporarily when the stay at home orders were passed down, will be reopening for take-out service on Tuesday, May

19. That's according to owner Claire Porter, who said Uricchio's would reopen with a limited menu as it gauges when it might return to tabletop dining both inside and on its open air patio. Porter said she anticipates the industry will be allowed to reopen but only with some restrictions, possibly limiting inside seating and requiring the use of masks and gloves by some employees. Meanwhile some local restaurants - including Mossman's Fish and Chips, Moo Creamery and Spencers - have reopened with restrictions in defiance of the state order.

 * ... PHASE TWO: As California moves into the Phase 2 process of reopening, county chief administrative officer Ryan Alsop said the county would not be in the business of shutting down businesses that violate the state order. Alsop said the county is in a position of "re-enforcing" the state mandate, but it would be up to the state to use it regulatory power to cite and punish any business that reopened prematurely. For restaurants and bars, Alsop noted, the state can use its regulatory powers over food and alcohol to mete out punishment if needed.

 * ... GIANT HORNETS: Are you ready for the killer hornets? That's right, Asian hornets that grow to two inches in length have been spotted in Washington and farmers worry they could play havoc with the bee population used to pollinate plants. Perhaps not surprisingly, we are told that eating the large hornets is common in some Asian countries.

 * ... TEACHER HONORS: Congratulations to Joseph Andreotti, who was named Teacher of the Year for the Lakeside Union School District. The honor puts him in the running to be Kern County teacher of the year. Andreotti teaches eight grade and ansi is the AVID site coordinator for the AVID program.

 * ... RACHELLE MURCIA: A big hats off to KBAK evening anchor Rachelle Murcia, who officially completed her round of chemotherapy for cancer. The local anchor posted this to celebrate the day: "FINAL CHEMO DONE! I had 4 Red Devil treatments, 4 Taxol treatment and my last treatment was in the 4th day of the 4th month. The force is strong in this one.
(I wore some special things my loved ones sent to me. What I couldn’t wear, I carried with me and that bag sat right next to me for the 5 hours of my last treatment. Thank you all!)"

* .... OLD SCHOOL FIREFIGHTERS: I spotted this photo on a friend's Facebook page so I cannot tell you the date of this photo, or where it was taken, but it is a beauty. Are those beers they are drinking?

 * ... MEMORIES: Don't you just love this picture of old Caliente? Thanks to the Kern County of Old Facebook page for this nugget from our past.

California lawmakers plan to turn the state into a "laboratory of resistance" to a Trump administration, good news for local eaters like Uricchio's Trattoria and Sequoia Sandwich Co. and dealing with an upswing in downtown smash and grab car break ins ...

 * ... ONLY IN CALIFORNIA: Well, you knew this was coming. Expect California to evolve into a "laboratory of resistance" (in the words of the New York Times) to resist the policies of a President

Donald Trump. The Times even went so far to refer to it as "Calexit," a clever take off on the Brexit vote when the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. But this is serious stuff and an all out war between a rebellious state and the federal government could quickly turn ugly and cost the state potentially billions of dollars in federal aide for programs like the infrastructure rebuilding that the Trump team is championing. Here is an example of what is not helpful: Sheila Kuehl, a member of the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, is urging government workers to disrupt Trump programs that don't suit California's needs in what she calls Operation Monkey Wrench.

* ... SEQUOIA: The 18th Street branch of Sequoia Sandwich Co. is within weeks of opening its new kitchen and catering site next to the popular downtown eatery. The expanded kitchen will allow greater capacity but it will also feature "to go" salads and sandwiches so folks don't have to wait in line during those noon crunch times.

 * ... APARTMENTS: The upscale new apartment downtown, called 17th Place Townhouse, has set its ribbon cutting for Friday, January 27. The 44-unit complex features apartments in the 1,200 square foot range and will put to the test the idea that people will start viewing the area east of Chester Avenue as suitable for downtown living. I think it's a good bet that this project will be wildly successful. The developers are Ward 4 City Councilman Bob Smith (a big advocate of urban infill) and his son Austin Smith.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Just realized my cat could be covered in tattoos and I wouldn't even know."

 * ... HAPPY EMPLOYEES: When was the last time you dined in a restaurant and your server gushed about the quality of the food and how each dish is made individually with fresh ingredients? Not to mention how nice and caring the owners are and how they treat their employees like family. It happened to me the other day while dining at Uricchio's Trattoria, and server Ashley Bledsoe shared her pride at working at the family owned eatery. (Bledsoe has worked at chain restaurants where meals come frozen and prepackaged and was amazed at the attention to detail at Uricchio's). All this just further buttresses my belief that the best food in town comes from locally owned kitchens. So hats off to owner Claire Porter and her late father, Nick Uricchio, who had the vision to bring quality food and white glove service to downtown Bakersfield.

 * ... CRIME: Something has to be done about the recent rash of smash and grab robberies involving cars and trucks in the downtown area. In the past month, I have heard of no fewer than six people who have had their car windows smashed while parked downtown in the early evening. These are not late night crimes but rather all this is happening in the 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. hours on 18th, 19th and 20th streets as folks are dining at places like Jin Sushi, Muertos, The Mark, The Padre Hotel and other popular downtown venues. This is the kind of petty crime that will drive people away from our emerging arts district.

 * ... MEMORIES: Lamar Kerley shared some memories about growing up and visiting the old Thompson's Pet Land, located on the northwest corner of 19th and O streets in the 1960s and 1970s.
"I think there is still a mural of a Toucan above the corner door.  Every weekend day that I could convince my mother to drive my brothers and I downtown, we would spend hours gazing lovingly at the tropical fish, the reptiles, the puppies and kittens. This store was nirvana for us, and many other Bakersfield children. We could pet the puppies and gaze at the large parrots, knowing that they might snap off our fingers if we put them too close. Looking at this store, I am flooded with the fondest of memories. I bet that I am not alone."

A young voice prays for tolerance and compassion as our nation struggles with race,some really bad form around town and more on those old bakeries

 * … KINDNESS: The tragic events besetting our country right now are almost behind my scope of understanding, so I will settle by sharing the words of a young woman from Nashville: "Rather than

pray for one specific race, one specific group, one specific country, or one specific community, pray for humanity. Pray for acceptance. Pray for compassion. Pray for tolerance." My thanks to reader Jerry Bowman for sharing this.

 * … NINA GRAE: Keep an eye on the rising talented singer Nina Grae, a Bakersfield product and the daughter of Claire Porter, owner of Uricchio's Trattoria downtown. I attended a private concert for Nina and her bad at Uricchio's this weekend and left believing I had been afforded a sneak peek at a rising star.

* … TRASH: Some days are worse than others, but last Saturday it seemed the entire town resembled a trash dump. On a three hour bike ride through town, I spotted three mattresses and three box springs (matched sets!) casually discarded off North Chester, the parking lane at the Panorama Bluffs park was littered with fast food cups, diapers and empty beer cans, and the Park at RiverWalk was awash in empty soda cups, soiled napkins and empty plastic water bottles.

 * … SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Want to see stupidity, watch how people are so easily confused boarding a plane."

 * … SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "I Just want to peacefully hang out with my friends, regardless of race while making fun of idiots, regardless of race."

 * … MEMORIES: A recent conversation thread about the Golden Crust Bakery stirred this memory from Barbara Kaiser Miner: "Bill Fong and Bill Upshaw's memories stirred up my memories of attending Emerson Jr. High School in 1938 and 1939. At that time I was a majorette with the Emerson Drum and Bugle Corps. Before school each morning we practiced marching to be ready for the parades. We would march south on 'L' street to the railroad tracks where we would practice our counter-march. The Golden Crust Bakery was on the south side of the railroad tracks. Since this was early morning, I also smelled the good smells that came as we approached the bakery. About 1940 the King Lumber Yard burned down."

 * … MORE MEMORIES: Mike Huckert weighed with this: "My dad drove a delivery truck for them and I can recall many trips to the bakery. The aroma of freshly backing breads is etched into my memory and there is nothing like the taste of a freshly baked sesame hamburger bun snatched off the cooling tray. At one time there was an observation deck on the north side of the bakery so people could watch twisting of the dough before it was placed in backing pans  As a young Cub Scout, we made several trips to see this and I can remember having to cross the tracks to get to the observation window and platform. I also remember certain kinds of premixed dough was delivered by rail in huge cardboard barrels and offloaded near this same area."

 * … HOME: If you don't think we live in a special place, consider this note from Ted Elder: "Yesterday I was in the Gift Shop at San Joaquin/Kaiser Hospital when a Corrections Officer offered me a beautiful custom handmade pen and thanked me for my service.  I must assume he did this because I was wearing my 'Special Forces Army Baseball Cap. My service was completed many years ago and.this recognition would never have happened where I came from - San Luis Obispo two years ago. Only in Bakersfield and thank you Bakersfield."