Nashville songstress heads to Bakersfield for a Sunday concert, more concerns about the drought and a Liberty High graduate punts for the Buffalo Bills

* … CONCERT: Don't forget about a very special concert coming up this Sunday over at the Bakersfield Museum of Art. The show features a folk indie band out of Nashville called Nora Jane

Struthers and The Party Line. The doors open at 5 p.m. and the concert starts at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20 at the door. I suspect this may be one of the best shows yet sponsored by a group of friends who formed a group called Passing Through Productions, devoted to bringing live music to out town.

 * … DROUGHT: Diana Nelson is one of a handful of readers who reached out to me about the long drought facing California. "I really don't think people understand how serious it is. My husband and I redid our backyard last winter, replacing all of the thirsty plants and lawn with drought tolerant plants, with the exception of three redwood trees that act as a screen, and a dwarf orange tree. We have not got it perfected yet, but we have gone from watering every day to watering for the most part twice a week during the summer… We are going to work on the front yard this winter. This works for us because we do not have children or grandchildren in the area. Plus we wanted to cut down on the maintenance cost, attract birds, bees, and butterflies, and use less water."

 * … MORE DROUGHT: Patty Orsburn of Tehachapi agrees. "I took my kids to play at North of the River's Polo Community Park and was so sad to see the grass not only well watered but very flooded in many areas! I understand trying to keep the parks somewhat nice, but come on NOR, there are communities running out of water, turn your sprinkler timers down!"

 * … PUNTER: District Attorney Lisa Green is an avid fan of the Buffalo Bills, and last week she flew to Chicago to watch the Bills take on the Chicago Bears. To her surprise, former Liberty High School and UC Davis grad Colton Schmidt had been signed by the Bills as the team's punter just days before. "His family (mom, dad and siblings) lives here. Anyway he had a great game (ESPN punter of  the week). After the game one of my friends who traveled to the game and had seats behind the Bills bench yelled out 'hey Bakersfield'  and Colton came over and talked with my friend for a few minutes. Thought you'd like the story about a Bakersfield kid making it in the pros."

 * … EAST ROTARY: If you treat yourself to one pricey charity event of the year, I'd recommend the upcoming "Elegant Evening of Wine" benefitting the Joe Alexander Scholarship Foundation of the Rotary Club of Bakersfield East. This years event 's planned for Saturday, Oct. 11, at the downtown home of Mark and Sue Ashley. Meir Brown of Cafe Med will be pairing the food and wine as usual, and the Ashley home will provide a beautiful setting. Individual tickets are $175 each and sponsorships are available. Call Vernon Varner for more information at (661) 979-5788.

 * … GOOD FORM: William Goldman is another satisfied customer of Hearing Aids Today and its owner Rick Chesire. "When I moved to Bakersfield,four years ago, I needed a new hearing aid. After calling three places, I knew Rick was the man for me. He goes out of his way for everyone. He's even done emergency repairs for me on weekends."

Bako Bits: Bakersfield turns out for an annual clean up day, bad form at Starbucks and good form to honor city firemen

 * … CLEAN UP: Hats off to all the local people who scanned out around town Saturday for the Keep Bakersfield Beautiful and the Great American Cleanup. I spotted hundreds of folks about town

participating, and city crews were busy on the bike path between Beach Park and Manor Drive picking up discarded grocery carts and other trash.

 * … SPOTTED: At the Starbucks on Oswell a young mother is sitting in a brown leather chair cuddling with her young son. The problem: her shoes are off and her dirty feet are lounging on the surface of the round table where people place their food.

 * … GOOD FORM: A group of city firemen from the No. 15 station in Seven Oaks are at Jersey Mike's restaurant when they learned a patron has picked up their bill. "We were all surprised and so thankful," fireman Stephen Elrod told me. "All we know was that his name was Walk and we wanted to thank him."

 * … THE MARK: It looks like The Mark will be the latest restaurant it town to cash in on the popularity of outside dining. The eatery has leased a parking lot next to its building on 19th Street and is planning on outside dining with a bar, modeled after what Luigi's Delicatessan did a few years ago when it expanded its garden seating.

 * … TRASH: Karen DeWalt submitted this bit of good news: "I recently submitted an article about Caltrans cleaning up the corner of Golden State frontage road and F Street and trimming the Oleanders.  Last Wednesday the corner was getting cleaned up, not by Caltrans but someone who saw the article. Not only cleaned up the corner but the road as well. This group is called Retiree Pickup.  The corner is cleaned up and now waiting for Caltrans to pick up the weeds. Thank you so much for the Retirees Pickup Group which goes out every Wednesday where needed."

 * … FUND RAISER: There are still tickets left to this year's Vino Amore 2014, the fund raiser put on by Bakersfield East Rotary. It's on for Saturday, April 26, at Monsignor Leddy Hall at Garces Memorial High School. Chef Gino Valpredo and Luigi's will provide dinner paired with wines from Croad Vineyards. Tickets are $75 each and can be purchased by calling Scarlett Sabin at (661) 900-8995.

  * … MEMORIES: My recent blog post about the old Toohey's restaurant triggered this response from Virginia Ratzlaff Pool. "The article about Toohey's brought about memories of the first shopping center outside of downtown. Toohey's was only a small part of the village. I lived across the street from Reimer's Spic-N-Span Market and only half block from Toohey's. I ran around with the Toohey girls who lived on Jeffrey Street. The neighborhood was really nice back then. Mr. Toohey would let us girls come into the restaurant with our roller skates on during closed hours and skate around the counter.  It was quite something. Those were the good old days."

UC, CSU systems threatening huge tuition hikes as they grapple with budget cuts

 * ... TUITION: Chilling news out of the office of the University of California president Mark Yudoff. Calling it a "nasty scenario," Yudoff is warning that UC students may face a 32 percent mid year hike in tuition if Gov. Jerry Brown's plan for tax extensions is not approved. And that would come on top of the 8 percent tuition hike set for this fall. UC tuition is expected to go to about $11,000 in the fall and if the 32 percent hike goes into effect, it will rise to $14,800. The CSU system is facing similar challenges and is warning of waiting lists, cuts in course offerings and even enrollment caps. None of this is good news in the midst of high unemployment, tight credit and a struggling economy.

 * ... SHERWYN RETIRING: It looks like this is the final year of teaching for Art Sherwyn, the long-time educator, artist and tennis coach. Sherwyn is one of the staples on the local art scene and his work has been shown across town, from the Bakersfield Museum of Art to Metro Galleries on 19th Street. But he is also well known for his long career in the classroom, most recently at Stockdale High School where he taught art as well as coached the successful Stockdale girls tennis team. He may be out of the classroom, but he will be around town. If you haven't checked out his website, you can do so here.

 * ... SPORTS MONDAY: You'll see some changes in the daily Bakersfield Californian starting Monday with the debut of "Sports Monday." We will be featuring expanded sports coverage and on most days the front page will be devoted to sports as well. We will continue to offer all our regular news and features but with an expanded emphasis on sports. Let us know what you think.

 * ... NEW EATERY: It looks like there is a another new restaurant opening downtown, yet another positive sign in the resurgence of our arts district. I am told that two local doctors - Mark Hamilton and Lee Marek - are renovating the 19th Street space once occupied by Goose Loonie's and the ill fated Victor  Victoria's. Called "The Mark," the new restaurant will open in the fall and the style will be in the tradition of the old Maison Jassaud's.

 * ... EAST ROTARY: The East Rotary Club has left the old Veteran's Hall building on the east side for a new venue, the Star's Theater downtown. The East Club had met on the east side for 52 years but apparently a more central location was more attractive to some of the club members.

 * ... MEMORY: Reader Jean Burdette to wrote to recall when her family would cross town "to get an ice cold Reed and Bell root beer - the best! - a little mug free for the children. I still have one of the mugs somewhere."

 * ... CAL RADIO: Join me Friday at 10 a.m. on SmartTalk 1230 Californian radio when I will be chatting with Gene Thome about gun rights and what is hot in the shooting sports. Gene owns Bear Mountain Sports and is active in the sporting community. If you can't get to a radio, Google "Radio Time" and listen to the program via your computer.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: And loyal reader Linda Welch added this one: You might be a Bakersfield old-timer if you remember "when Zody's Department Store opened and Buck Owens was there along with the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders."

Bank of the Sierra plans aggressive new growth strategy and Barry Hibbard leaves Tejon Ranch

 * ... HIBBARD LEAVES TEJON: I learned yesterday that Barry Hibbard, the longtime vice president of commercial development for Tejon Ranch, is leaving the company to strike out on his own. Hibbard told me he plans to start a company that will invest in distressed commercial real estate for longer term investors. He said the commercial slump (which is expected to get worse) represents a "generational opportunity that I wanted to be in on." The two primary areas of investment will be the Central Valley and Central Coast. In addition, Hibbard said he has grown weary of the commute to Tejon, his wife is two and a half months pregnant and he'd like to spend more time at home. At 6-foot 7 inches, Hibbard is a former Big Ten scholarship swimmer at Michigan State University and an avid athlete. He worked at Tejon for 12 years and his last day is Friday.

* ... OLAGUE'S RETURN: I had a chance to catch up over lunch the other day with Michael Olague, the longtime local banker who is now Senior Vice President and Senior Area Manager for Bank of the Sierra. Olague joined the bank in November and spent the first two months in Porterville - the bank is based there- learning the culture and mapping an aggressive strategy to position the bank as "the business bank of choice." I was surprised to learn that the bank, which has 25 offices scattered throughout the Central Valley, has $1.3 billion in total assets. Sierra has always had a quiet profile here, but my guess is that will change under Olague's more ambitious direction. Olague brings instant credibility and wide contacts to the bank, which enjoys more visibility and market share in places like Tulare County than it does locally. Previously Olague headed the local offices of Bank of America and Dutch-based Rabobank and worked at San Joaquin Bank.

* ... HOLD THE COCKTAILS: Sandi Schwartz, a member of East Rotary and secretary of the Plank Foundation, wrote to take issue with Men Health magazine's rating of Bakersfield as one of America's 'drunkest cities.' "I sent this article from Men's Health to my son Bryan Phillips who is Kern County raised, West Point grad, now living in Houston," she said. "He quickly defended Bakersfield stating that the article was unfair due to mass transit in large cities. Don't I have a brilliant son?" Indeed you do Sandi.