Bakersfield College athletics gets big boost with fund raiser at the Campbell home, and another lesson in bad form

* ... BC ATHLETICS: Hard to beat the spring-like weather we enjoyed this weekend, and it proved to be a perfect setting for the annual fundraiser for Bakersfield College athletics at the beautiful home of Joe and Jana Campbell near Bakersfield Country Club.  Gino Valpredo and his crew from Luigi's provided the steak dinner (Big Mike Ariey was helping on the grill). I chatted with Gerry Collis and football coach Jeff Chudy there and left impressed with the wide and deep community support Bakersfield College enjoys. Among those I spotted were Tom and Cindy Anspach, Chad Manning, Vernon and Janis Varner,  newlyweds Michael and Jan Tivnon, Steve and Terri Haupt, Kevin and Tess Antongiovanni, Carl Bowser, Patti Houchin, Jack and Byron Campbell, Bruce and Jane Haupt with daughter Elyse, Steve Holloway and so many more.

* ... BAD FORM: Today's lesson on bad behavior comes from Brian Foster, a businessman who works on Patton Avenue. He found what appeared to be a dead cat in front of his business and called Kern County Animal Control, who responded promptly by sending a truck out several hours later.  "The officer got out of the truck, inspected the situation, got back in the truck and drove off. I assumed he would be back later to do the 30 second job. The next morning, the mess was still there. Wednesday morning came to work and it was still there. I called KC Animal Control and informed them of what I witnessed on Monday and the dispatcher commented, 'I hate when they do that.'" Foster eventually cleaned up the mess himself. "My wife and I are animal lovers, rescue our share of strays and find them homes. I know that Animal Control is taxed and stretched thin but this came down to sheer laziness and disregard. Jeers on the KC Animal Control worker!"

  * ... DONATION: Hats off to the law firm of Chain, Cohn and Stiles for its $200,000 donation to the Grossman Burn Center at San Joaquin Hospital. Managing partner David Cohn told me he is impressed "with this world class burn center right here in Bakersfield. They do so much good and now victims don't have to go out of town to get first class care."

 * ... CAL RADIO: State Sen. Michael Rubio is proposing putting a limit on the percentage of out of state students allowed in the University of California system. It's no secret that universities are catering to out of state students who pay much higher tuition, and in California the percentage of non-resident students is skyrocketing. Rubio will be my guest of Californian Radio KERN 1180 on Monday. Later in the hour we will talk about the obesity epidemic with Dr. Raj Patel of Preferred Family Physicians. Join me at 9 a.m. when we discuss his proposal. (Los Angeles Times photo of the Berkeley campus.)

 * .... MINTER: Sentimental Journey is one of only five flying B-17s left in the world, and the fully restored Flying Fortress will be at Minter Field over the Memorial Day weekend. This Saturday, the Air Museum will hold a deep pit beef dinner in the evening, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., at the museum hanger. Tickets are $20 per person and proceeds will benefit the museum's operation and projects.

 * ... SHOPLIFTING: Will Winn writes that he dropped into a dollar store recently and was welcomed by a security guard.  "The store manager said the shoplifting had become so bad they had to take extreme measures! At the 99 cents store!  This seems to be going on all over town, including a convenience store in the south where the owner was forced to defend himslf and killed two alleged shoplifting thieves."

Another Bakersfield allergy season, the death of June Aaron and remembering UC Santa Barbara in the early days

* ... ALLERGY SEASON:  The downside of the annual explosion of wildflowers and greenery in Kern County is the onset of allergy season. This year it seems like everyone I know is suffering from a scratchy throat, watery eyes and headaches. I checked in with Dr. Raj Patel over at Preferred Family Physicians on Truxtun Extension who said this is starting as a fairly typical year, but he has some advice about how to protect yourself. "If everyone would keep their windows closed at night you would reduce the symptoms by 50 percent. The weather is so nice there is a temptation to open up and enjoy the cool air." Patel said the worst months for allergies here are March and August. He recommended three over-the-counter drugs if you're suffering: Claritin, Zyrtec and Cetirizine, a generic for Zyrtec.

* ... JUNE AARON: I was saddened to hear of the death of June Aaron after a 20-year battle with lupus. June was the wife of Hal Aaron, one our community's true gentlemen and the owner of the real estate development firm Aaron Development. Hal told me he was fortunate to be there at the end, and that his wife died in his arms. He had nothing but wonderful things to say about Hoffmann Hospice, and he mentioned that a memorial service will be scheduled at a later date. June served on the Kern County Grand Jury, was a volunteer at the Guild House and was a member of the Kern County Republican Central Committee. The Aarons have also been huge supporters of both the Bakersfield SPCA and Children's Home Society. They were married 52 years.

 * ... SICK BAY: I also heard that Mark Ehly, a longtime California Highway Patrol officer stationed at Fort Tejon, had a setback in his recovery from a December brain aneurysm. Mark was in rehabilitation locally when he experienced more problems and was rushed to San Joaquin Hospital where he underwent surgery to control the bleeding in his brain. He is now in an induced coma. You may remember Mark because he's the public affairs "face" of the CHP at Fort Tejon and has appeared numerous times on local TV and in the newspaper. He is just 50 years old. Keep his wife Shannon and their family in your thoughts.

* ... LOOKING BACK: Retired Cal State Bakersfield math professor Lee Webb wrote to tell me about growing up in Santa Barbara in the days when UC Santa Barbara didn't enjoy the stature it does today. His father had been a geology professor at UCLA and joined the new UC Santa Barbara campus. In Lee's words:"
  "Apparently UCSB was to be UCSBC and not to have the stature of a Berkeley or UCLA (little did they know that a few year's ago UCSB would produce more Nobel Laureates than Berkeley and UCLA).  All of my father's science colleagues at UCLA told him he was crazy to go to that backwater place to be called UCSBC.  As I remember in 1947 there weren't even any stop lights in the Santa Barbara. My father was a very wise man, because he accepted the position. What a place to be raised as a child, compared to LA!  I remember in the late 1940's going to UCSBC football games at La Playa Stadium, which is now the stadium for Santa Barbara City College. UCSBC was up on the Riviera above the mission and Industrial Arts was located where the current SBCC campus is now located.  Dad often had one of his antique Franklin cars in the building where students worked on it in the Automotive class."
 Lee graduated from UCSB as did his son Rob. His daughter Tamara was accepted there but chose Cal Poly and eventually ended up with a degree from Cal State Bakersfield.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: This from work colleague Evan Jones: You know you're from Bakersfield when "your funeral is followed by a car wash." Ouch!