Is Bakersfield headed for a new real estate bubble? And Texas leads the country with the most cities that are best for jobs

 * ... HOUSING: Is Bakersfield's housing market headed for yet another bubble? That's the warning from Gary Crabtree, a respected appraiser and a thoughtful analyst of our local real estate market. Crabtree shared a story from HousingWire that noted in markets like Bakersfield that have never "fully unwound" from the last bubble, "rapidly increasing price levels are a potential cause forconcern." Added Fitch Ratings: "The supply is also artificially low, as recent regulations have limited the pace of foreclosure sales and the large percentage of underwater borrowers continues to hope for future price increases to be able to sell their homes at a profit?" Sounds like Bakersfield. Stay tuned.

 * ... JOBS: What are the best cities for jobs in this economy? According to Forbes, the business-friendly state of Texas placed four cities in the top ten: Fort Worth (4), Houston (5), Dallas (6), and Austin (10). Others making the list included San Francisco, Salt Lake City, San Jose, Charlotte and Denver.

 * ... RODEWALD: Our community lost one of its great characters with the passing of longtime TV personality Don Rodewald. One reader, Joe Stormont, shared a memory of Rodewald's afternoon show, also known as Matinee. One feature was called Dialing for Dollars. "Don had a rotating bin with the telephone white pages cut into little strips. Don would spin the bin, then open it up and draw out a piece of the phone book. Count up or down a pre selected number of names from the top or bottom, and call that phone number... If the person who answered knew the 'count and the amount,' they would win the money. The prize amount started at $23 and increased by a few dollars each time he didn't have a winner. Sometimes the jackpot reached over $100."

 * ... OVERHEARD: A prominent local educator, recently retired, is telling a friend about moving into The Greens, the popular 55-plus gated community at Seven Oaks. "We love it," he said. "But the first day we were there a new neighbor came up to me and said, 'Didn't you used to be somebody?' I guess that says it all!"

 * ... AIRPARK: Reader James Irwin dropped me a note to ask about the airport that once existed on the Panorama Bluffs. That landing strip, James, was called La Cresta airfield and was located between Bakersfield College and where Greenlawn Mortuary Cemetery now stands. It was built duringWorld War 11 and planes took off over the Panorama Bluffs. The place has quite a storied history, and it was there when a young Mary K. Shell (a former mayor and supervisor) met her future husband, Joe.

 * ... KCUHS: Bill Deaver of Mojave remembers the two-headed calf that resided in a science room at the old Kern County Union High School. "I remember that two-headed calf," he said. "My grandparents, Henry Mack Sr. and educator Addie Mack, lived on Chester Lane, and we frequently drove by 'KC,' as my mom, former Californian East Kern correspondent Marion Mack, an alumnus, called it! This was in the 1940s and later."

Petty thefts, robberies and burglaries soar in Bakersfield and the collective shame of the litter in our community

 * ... CRIME: Did the news that the number of thefts and robberies have spiked recently really surprise anyone? There is hardly a neighborhood in town that hasn't seen an increase of petty thefts, car break ins and home burglaries. Prison realignment has dumped thousands of "non violent "offenders on our streets, but it doesn't make the person who returns home to find the house ransacked feel any better. What can we do? Police Chief Greg Williamson appealed for more community support, which to me translates into active community watch programs and constant communication with the police when you see something suspicious.

* ... LITTER: You know our litter problem here is bad when a visitor from Oregon takes the time to write a letter to the newspaper about how terrible we look to outsiders. "Of all the areas we have traveled in California as well as all over the USA, the trash around Bakersfield was deplorable. Surely the citizens care about the impression they are making," wrote Marcia Nashem of Bend, Ore.

 * ... OVERHEARD: An employee at a local grocery store is overheard telling a customer about shoplifters."The most common things they steal here are meat, cheese and coffee. Hard times."

 * ... DIETS: A recent study by the New England Journal of Medicine seems to confirm what we all know: dieters who eat earlier in the day rather than later lose more weight. In otherwise almost identical groups with the same caloric intake, those who ate dinner before 3 p.m. lost more weight than those who ate later. "Weight loss," a story in The New York Times said, "should focus not just on calories and nutrients, but also the timing of food.

* ... EAST HIGH: I have already mentioned that legendary broadcaster Don Rodewald is being inducted into the East High School Hall of Fame, but I neglected to mention the other honorees. They include Cornel Jordan, Don Galey, Rick McLeod, Manuel Oroz, Vernon Bell, Ruscel Reader, Bob Boyer, Terry Moreland, Ed Granillo, Dean Jones and Larry Press.

* ... MEMORY: Jack Moore is a third generation Bakersfieldian whose grandparents owned the Speedway Market. His own father regaled him with stories of the old Union Avenue Plunge and the mischief of his youth. "My dad was quite a rambunctious kid.  I am guessing that there were homeless people back then that lived down on the river and a friend and my dad would shoot at them with bow and arrows. He always referred to them as bums and they would get chased off.  He would also throw oranges at the cars and trucks pulling into the Orange Grove Trailer Park where they lived. My dad eventually went to Bakersfield Union High School for a year, about the time that Frank Gifford was becoming a football star."

* ... MEA CULPA: I screwed up in reporting on the success of Stacy Vanderhurst, a 2003 graduate of Centennial High School who went on to graduate from Notre Dame and is now completing her doctorate at Brown University. I erred in saying she graduated from high school a decade earlier.

Is the super high end housing market warming up? And get ready for some cyclocross racing at Hart Park on Sunday when Bakersfield hosts the California state championships

  * ... HOUSING MARKET: The last five years hasn't seen much activity in the high end real estate market, but that may be starting to change. Mary Christenson, the Watson agent who specializes in high end properties in the Southwest, told me a $1.4 million home on the Seven Oaks golf course had four offers in five days of showing. "We have three buyers still ready to buy! Where are the new listings?" she asked.

 * ... TRASH: This note came from a reader reacting to those who so casually litter our streets. "Concerning those we see throwing trash out of their car. I went to Cal Poly SLO, and if you saw anyone throwing trash out of their vehicle, you would turn them in. This was in late 1970s. Now when I see it in a parking lot I confront the people and they have always picked it up without a confrontation. Maybe if more of did this, it may make a difference."

 * ... RODEWALD: Legendary Kern County broadcaster Don Rodewald will be inducted into the East Bakersfield High School Hall of Fame on February 16. Bakersfield City School District trustee Rick Van Horne told me that East High recently sent a film crew to sit down with Rodewald and let him reminiscence about his early days in radio and television. "Don is still in good spirits at Glenwood Gardens, so much so, that the crew ran out of video taking it all in," he said.

 * ... CYCLOCROSS: If you're looking for something to do this weekend, drive out to Hart Park to take in the California State Cyclocross Championship. It runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday and will feature some remarkable athletes riding off road on a European-style course. Even if you don't know much about the sport, it provides a great spectacle from multiple angles, and is absolutely free. Organizers Sam Ames and Keith Barnden tell me there will be a beer garden, drum line, bag pipes, food and more.

* ... CLEAN UP: The Oildale Foundation is planning a massive clean up of the area around the North Chester bridge on Saturday. Patrick Frase told me that Mayor Harvey Hall will be joining in the effort and he is urging other folks to volunteer. "With the very generous commitment of Mr. Greg Sanders and Varner Brothers Disposal we will beautify this area by removing tumbleweeds, dead vegetation and litter! Yes there is a lot of it... months of debris and neglect! With that said I am asking for volunteer help. We are starting at 8 a.m. meeting at Beardsley and North Chester Avenue. Trash clean up supplies will be provided."

 * ... WRESTLING: I goofed in writing about an upcoming dinner to support CSUB's storied wrestling program. The event is February 9 (not in April) so get your tickets now. They cost $40 each. Make your checks payable to The Coyote Club and mail to Janis Varner, 12300 Old Town Road, Bakersfield, 93312.

 * ... BANDUCCI'S: Another memory about the old restaurant Banducci's Corner on Weedpatch Highway. Terry Gaiser writes: "My favorite memories of Banducci's: Bud and his wife, the spaghetti and best, their apple pie with the secret rum sauce!"

Miami, Los Angeles top the list of airports with the highest theft rates by TSA employees, and Rabobank drops its sponsorship of a major world cycling team, citing the culture of doping and cheating

 * ... THEFT: Have you ever had anything stolen from your suitcase while it was being inspected at the airport? While thievery involving airport security is not widespread, the Transportation Security Agency is finally coming clean with just how extensive it is. Said an ABC News report: "The TSA has fired nearly 400 employees for allegedly stealing from travelers, and for the first time, the agency is revealing the airports where those fired employees worked." The top five airports for TSA employee theft: Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Dallas-Fort Worth.

 * ... RABOBANK: The Dutch banking giant Rabobank has pulled out of competitive bike racing, citing the culture of doping that led to Lance Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. The company was spending some $20 million a year to sponsor one of the sport's best teams, which excelled on the European circuit. Locally, Rabobank was also a big sponsor and supporter of the Tour of California. If the Tour of California returns to Bakersfield, the loss of such a prominent sponsor will be hard to overcome.

 * ... WRESTLING: You have to hand it to the supporters of the CSUB wrestling program, which is being funded almost entirely by private donations. Supporters of the storied program will hold another fund raiser on Thursday, Nov. 1, featuring Olympic gold medalist Jake Varner, at the Petroleum Club. Also appearing will be Kern County's other two Olympians, track cyclist Jimmy Watkins and hurdler Sonali Merrill. The cost is $100 per person. Call (661) 302-4455 for tickets.

 * ... FREEDOM TRAIN: From my mailbag, this one from Bill Schaefer: "Reading your items about the Freedom Train immediately had me humming the (tour) tune when it was touring the nation in 1947.  A Google search gave me the chance to hear the song again. It was written by Irving Berlin and recorded by a group including Johnnie Mercer, Peggy Lee, Bennie Goodman, Margaret Whiting and the Pied Pipers all on one recording. All proceeds went to the National Heritage Foundation. I didn't get to see the train, but I sure remember the song. Thanks for bringing back good memories."

 * ... RODEWALD: Kim Escalera answered my recent "Puzzler" asking if anyone remembered the tune that accompanied Don Rodewald's radio and television show. "Hello, I believe the answer to the question regarding the opening song is for Don Rodewald's show may be 'Popcorn' by Hot Butter.  If not, I know that it was someone's theme song back in the day.  I am kind of hoping I'm incorrect because if I'm right, I will have to bear the stamp... OMG I'm old!."

 * ... DON RESPONDS: Sorry Kim, but I spoke with Don Rodewald this week he said he never had a theme song but used to open his Wasco radio show with a "rattlely battlely thing to get everyone's attention. There really wasn't a song." Once he moved to KERO TV, he signed off his program by saying "Until tomorrow at three, when it's just you and me." Don is now living at Glenwood Gardens living the life of a retiree.

Obesity rate skyrockets and Donna Hylton is out as executive director of the Kern Adult Literacy Council

* ... OBESITY: How fat are we as a nation? Would you believe that the obesity rate among American adults is expected to top 42 percent by 2030? There are a host of factors of course - our obsession with fast food, snacks, sodas and and our aversion to exercise among them - but experts are warning the consequences for our health care system will be enormous. The diabetes epidemic alone will be devastating. Maybe we should start with smaller serving sizes, exercising more and giving up that morning Starbucks high calorie coffee (topped with whip cream) that really isn't much different than having a milkshake for breakfast. (photo courtesy of The Orange County Register)

* ... SHAKE UP: Donna Hylton, longtime executive director of the Kern Adult Literacy Council, is out after almost 12 years on the job. No word yet on who will replace Hylton, whose main job was raising money for literacy programs and operational expenses. The Council has long been on the forefront of confronting Kern County's illiteracy problem, which affects almost 25 percent of Kern adults.

* ... SPOTTED:  A young couple, sitting in a grey Nissan in the Target parking lot at Valley Plaza with an infant in a car seat, casually toss their Carl's Jr. burger wrappers and used napkins out the window before pulling out. As a friend told me: "Now there's some good modeling behavior."

 * ... PEREZ: Leticia Perez, the district representative for state Sen. Michael Rubio who is running for county supervisor in the 5th District, has picked up the support of the powerful Kern County Fire Fighters Union via its Political Action Committee. The union is mailing out flyers urging voters to cast their ballots for Perez, who is running against incumbent Karen Goh. This promises to be one of the closest races to watch, so stay tuned. (photos of Perez and Goh)

* ... ASSISTEENS: The Assisteens League, which has guided so many of our daughters through the years, is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The group was formed locally in 1963 and is open to young people in grades 9 through 12. Marianne Keathley told me they are looking for former members for an anniversary event to be held next year. Contact Marianne at mtkeathley@hotmail.com for more information.

 * ... RODEWALD: Yet another memory of the bomb shelter years after the Cuban Missile Crisis. This nuggets from Rocky King, whose father in law is former local TV personality Don Rodewald. "He spent a month in a Nuedeck bomb shelter down on 19th Street during the bomb shelter scare. He and his wife, Shirley, spent the time together in the shelter and for their sacrifice, recieved a free bomb shelter from Nuedeck pools. Don asked the Neudeck brothers if he could have a swimming pool instead. The rest is history. By the way, Don still lives here in town in a senior living place and I am his ex-son in law."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield if "traffic has come to a halt due to a huge flock of sheep crossing the road."