Remembering some lives cut short while celebrating a youngster named a partner in a law firm, and our signature local eateries enjoy huge holiday crowds

* ... LIVES CUT SHORT: We've lost a lot of good people this year, and their contributions to our community should not go unnoticed. In the past week, we noted the death of Steve Starbuck, the 48-

year-old partner in the tax/audit firm of Brown Armstrong, and Ray Bishop, the former head of the Kern County Airport who helped build the Bill Thomas Terminal. Bishop was a Vietnam veteran who left Bakersfield to run the airport in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He was 69. In October, we said goodbye to Steve Ruggenberg, former head of Golden Empire Transit who left us to pursue his love of baking and cooking. Also a Vietnam veteran, Ruggenberg was 70. Three good men, now gone. As my friend Brad Barnes says: "Every heartbeat counts."

* ... LAWYER: Here's a reason to applaud those children who go away to college but return to put down roots in our community. One of them is Neil Gehlawat, who has been named a partner in the plaintiffs law firm of Chain Cohn Stiles. Gehlawat is a Stockade High School graduate who went on to attend UC Berkeley and the University of Texas School of Law. Not a bad accomplishment for this 27-year-old wunderkind.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "They don’t make pizza or beer out of celery. And that is all you need to know about celery."

 * ... HOLIDAYS: One of the great joys of this time of year are the holiday parties that showcase our community's signature restaurants. On a rainy weekend like the one we just experienced, you could barely find a seat in the iconic food joints like Luigi's Delicatessen, Noriega Hotel, Uricchio's Trattoria or Pyrenees Cafe and Saloon. Good to see these locally owned eateries doing so well.

 * ... FOOD: And did you catch the mouth watering, special Pete Tittl section of food and restaurants in the Saturday Californian? I did, and I immediately hurried over to Coconut Joe's for their signature fish and chips. Located off California Avenue, Coconut Joe's has always offered some of the most consistent food and service in town.

 * ... SCAM: We have yet another scam to worry about, and this one could destroy your credit and put you at risk in other ways. Here's how it works: you receive a check in the mail from ATT for $3,650, part of a larger gift you have "won." The letter says the check helps cover a $1,450 tax fee. This happened to reader Carla Rivas, and when she checked with her bank, she was told if she cashed the check the scammers would have access to her checking account number, routing numbers, Social Security and other information. "I am so angry because I know that some elderly people will fall for this, and they will be out the $1,450 'tax fee,' and their vital info will be stolen," she said, "After the check bounces, I have to pay the bank back and now I have sent a Western Union payment and I am out that." The lesson: if it looks too good to be true, it normally is.

Monday Bako Bits: more scams running amok on social media, the city responds to illegal dumping and giving a shout out to Coconut Joe's restaurant

 * … SCAM: Here is yet another scam that leverages our obsession with social media. A friend's nephew is vacationing in Mexico and the lad mentions it on Facebook. Someone sees this, and calls the

nephew's grandmother (how he got the number, I don't know) posing as a Mexican lawyer, saying her grandson was in jail and he needed $100,000 to get out. The grandmother, wisely, checked on the safety of her nephew before wiring money to the would be thief.

 * … TRASH: Hats off to the city Solid Waste Division which will partner with Sean Battle and Garden Pathways’ volunteers to clean up a stretch of Fairfax Drive that is littered with discarded furniture. Said Sal Moretti, city solid waste superintendent: "The city will provide a trash truck and driver and Garden Pathways will provide the workers.  Let me know if you need any more information.

 * … THEFT: This is an example of both bad, and good, form. First the bad: a woman who had erected a small "free library" stand in her yard (the idea is to provide free books to neighborhood children to encourage reading) was upset that her stash of books had been stolen not once, but twice. Now the good: after word of the theft was circulated on a neighborhood watch e-mail list, neighbors downtown pitched it to restock the free library.

 * … FOODIE BEST BET: The very best locally owned restaurants have several things in common: consistently outstanding service and food that never disappoints. Luigi's Delicatessen and Uricchio's Trattoria are two, and you can add Coconut Joe's to that list. Try the fish and chips, among the best in town.

 * … CARL'S JR: I was surprised at the number of responses i received to a post questioning how appropriate the Carl's Jr. ads are featuring scantily clad women eating burgers atop a black car. There are too many to print, so here is a sampling. This one from Robin Kraucyk was typical: "Yes Wanda G. Reilly, we have noticed. Many friends and relatives have emailed Carl's Jr. with our opinions of their 'sex' sells hamburgers ads. We all received a 'form' email back saying, thank you for your opinion. I was not satisfied with that and wrote back again with stronger opinions stated. I then received an email with an actual name on it stating the same … thank you and we don't mean to offend anyone. We are now writing to the television stations which show these commercials.  Please join us in standing up for decency and letting Carl's Jr. know that they should stand behind their product because it is good food and that they don't have to use what constitutes as pornography catch our attention. Maybe if enough people talk, they will listen."

* … MORE: David Losa added this: "If Wanda Reilly wants to know who else is put off by Carl's Jr. TV ad, she can count me in. Remember the 'If it doesn't go all over the place, it doesn't belong on your face' ad? That, I also found disgusting and it encouraged our young to be slobs. Here I am a grandparent trying to teach my young grandchildren good basic table manners being exposed to this disgusting ad. I found this business's burgers decent but I don't take them there as a sign of a one man protest."

* … MORE: And Tim Unruh was another, saying he hasn't eaten at the burger chain since its Hugh Hefner campaign around 2003. "Obviously, this burger restaurant does not care for my demographic. The reality is that it is their choice to run the ad and ultimately my choice to ignore them. In-N-Out burgers are better anyway."