Local attorney George Martin plans big music festival, KC Steakhouse to be featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and a Valentine love story

 * … MUSIC: Local attorney George Martin is at it again, this time bringing a huge music festival to Bakersfield on May 23. There is not doubt that Martin, brains behind the highly successful Bakersfield Business Conference, knows what he is doing but I have to wonder about the price to attend. The

cheapest tickets are going for $135 each and "preferred seats" are a whopping $425. That's $270 to $850 per couple just to walk in the door to hear bands like Steppenwolf, Chubby Checker, Asleep at the Wheel and LeAnn Rimes. (Food and drinks are extra) These long-in-the-tooth acts are well beyond their prime (Steppenwolf's first hit was 47 years ago), but if anyone can pull this off, it is George. Yikes.

* … SCAM: Those scam phone calls from the Internal Revenue Agency just won't stop. This from Arnold Johansen: "I came home yesterday to find the phone message light blinking. I hit the play button and heard the following; 'This is an official final notice from the IRS. We are filing a lawsuit unless you immediately call (206) 501-3133. Thank you.' I knew mnothing was pending and I called my CPA. She said it is a scam of course and that her aunt got taken in by the call. You might want to alert your readers."

 * … FOODIE BEST BET: The Padre Hotel bar boasts an excellent grilled cheese sandwich with an added savory twist: a fried egg.

 * … KC STEAKHOUSE: And speaking of food, it looks like Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives will feature our own KC Steakhouse on Friday, March 6. That's the word from the popular downtown restaurant.

 * … VALENTINE: Today's valentine comes courtesy of Beverly Hayden: "The old miniature golf course on Mount Vernon has a special place in my memories. One summer evening my sister Judy and a few classmates from Bakersfield High School had finished playing miniature golf there and were waiting for one of our parents to give us a ride home when a car pulled up full of cute guys from East Bakersfield High. They invited us to go hang out with them, we said no because we wouldn't have had our parents permission. We did exchange phone numbers and I am thankful that the guy I had my eyes on persisted. His name is Rod and that was 57 years ago and we have been married 55 years."

 * … ROBOTICS: Judy Henderson wrote to send kudos to the robotic teams of Centennial and Highland high schools. "The have competed and won their way to the state competition. The matches will be held at the Pasadena Convention Center this Saturday. Each year, an international committee decides what the challenges will be in the robotic  arena. Students throughout the world then build a robot that can meet the new challenges. These students are tomorrow’s engineers."

 * … MEMORIES: Some memories of old Bakersfield from reader Elinor Grant: "Does anyone else remember when car license plates changed color every other year? One year they would have a black background with orange letters. Then they would switch to an orange background with black letters. Black denoting oil and orange for the California poppies. And mail delibery was twide a day Monday through Saturday. Ours came at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. And during December that included Sunday. At three cents for a letter and a penny for a postcard."

Does being married actually make you happier? And a happy ending when a rescue cat goes missing but turns up in a recliner stored in a warehouse

 * … MARRIAGE: So does being married make you happier? Or is it simply that happier people are more likely to be married? Those were the questions put to the National Bureau of Economic Research, which came to this conclusion: "Being married makes people happier and more satisfied with their lives than those who remain single - particularly during the most stressful periods, like midlife crises." As

reported in The New York Times, the irony is that fewer people are getting married these days, particularly if they are younger. Fully a quarter of today's young adults "will never have married by 2030," the highest ever.

* … HAPPY ENDING: Here's a lost cat story that should put a smile on your face. It was shared with me by Steve Williford, who runs the local ServPro franchise and also serves as president of the downtown Rotary Club. In his words: "Last weekend I received a call from my security company at 4 a.m. informing me that my motion detector was tripped, thus triggering the alarm in the warehouse.  I then hustled down to the shop only to find nothing disturbed. I re-set the alarm at this time and six hours later the alarm was tripped again. The following day, I received a text message from a customer for whom we had just performed a pack-out. (Moved furniture and contents from a residence to our warehouse).  She was missing her cat and had a notion the feline might have stowed away in a recliner during the move-out. This all made perfect sense, given the two 'false alarms' on the prior day. Turns out the cat's name is Buddy and he was a rescue and apparently still very skittish around strangers. The initial search of the shop came up empty, but a liberal offering of cat food did the trick, as the kitty immediately surfaced to scarf down a long-awaited meal. After two days in a cold dark warehouse, I am certain Buddy has a renewed appreciation for the comforts of  home!"

 * … DINERS: Bakersfield was abuzz this week when Food Network celebrity chef Guy Fieri brought this film crew to town to film episodes for Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. By last count, he had visited Moo Creamery, Muertos, Pyrenne's Cafe, 24th Street Cafe and KC Steakhouse. Even without Luigi's (which declined the offer) that's a pretty good representation of our local eateries.

* … SPOTTED: On Facebook: "I’m glad I don’t have to hunt for my food. I don’t even know where sandwiches live."

 * … SERVICE: Elinor Grant dropped me a nice note to thank the employees of the See's Candy outlet on California Avenue. Always jammed during the holiday season, Grant said the employees could not have been nicer.

 * … BAKO? Count reader Ronal Reynier among those who detest the nickname "Bako" for our hometown. Said Reynier: "The search should be on for person or organization that gave the great city of Bakersfield the name Bako. They deserve an award for the worst abomination of a cities
name in the country. Is our arch enemy Fresno, Fres? Don't go to San Francisco and say Frisco if you expect service of any kind. I'll admit that I am one of those that calls Los Angeles, L.A. Yes, I also use San Luis for San Luis Obispo… They have to be more correct than Bako."

 * … BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield "if you could find out who was engaged to whom just by coming across the Olcott's advertisement in The Californian."