Citizens rage over the homeless and associated crime, but is anyone listening? Plus a local artist faces some health challenges and a walk down memory lane in photos

Friday, August 9, 2019

 Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. Send news items to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... CITIZEN RAGE: The level of frustration over the homeless and associated incidents of vandalism, indecent exposure and general craziness has reached a boiling point. Today I will share

the musings of some of our fellow citizens.

 * ... HOMELESS: Rusty Burchfield, an engineer at American General Media, posted this on his Facebook page which speaks volumes: "We spent five days in Las Vegas last week and I can’t recall seeing one homeless person, which is very odd to me. Today, in Bakersfield I stopped to fuel up on my way to a tower site and was asked at the pump if I had any spare change. Then asked for money on the way out of the store (because there was no receipt at the pump), then in Wasco as I was at a Subway a woman asked me to buy her a Pepsi because it was 'hot' and when I said no she followed me inside talking crazy and the employees did nothing about it. She eventually left and then as I walked outside to get into my car I was asked for money by someone else. I passed several tents setup on the sidewalks today, saw several homeless with dogs, some with cell phones, some on bikes, many with shopping carts. This is totally out of control and again, I remind you I was just in “Sin City” for five days and I can’t recall seeing one homeless person fitting anything like what I saw in just one afternoon here in Kern County. I am very disgusted with our lack of finding a solution to this in our own town."

 * ... MORE VAGRANTS: and then there was this, from the owner of the Rig City Coffee Roasters downtown: "Had a guy OD right outside our shop door (Rig City Coffee Roasters) today. He was completely unresponsive. VERY thankful that DA Cynthia Zimmer and her co-worker were there getting coffee and helped take care of the situation. First responders were there within minutes. She asked me if this was a common thing downtown and I was eager to share my opinion telling her all we owners put up with."

 * ... AND MORE: And finally, this post is from former homebuilder and mayoral candidate Kyle Carter: "I was forced to call 911 this evening. I knew it would do no good at all but I at least had to try. Maybe this time it would be different. Just Maybe. . .  The guy had a knife with about an 9 inch blade. Something that could easily penetrate all the way through a child or an unsuspecting woman. And he was walking toward Central Park throwing his tattooed arms in the air in what seamed to be extreme anger and screaming vulgar obscenities. He didn’t have a shirt on but his dirty baggy sweatpants kept falling down to his knees exposing what I consider to be private parts.  So I did it. I followed him to the park. I was afraid for the unsuspecting souls there. The 911 operator told me it would be some time until there would be an officer in the area. And she really didn’t want to learn much about this guy. She told me not to follow him. Just another day in California. That didn’t surprise me much. Yesterday there was one of them masturbating while sitting on the sidewalk on Chester Avenue at about noon. And then another dancing through the intersection at 24th and Oak. High as a kite. Then there is the guy that broke into our storage garage and the guy that likes to pee on our doors. My stories are endless. It’s come to the point where anarchy may be more than just a thought. Someone has got to provide protection. And there has got to be consequences for those that do not recognize that there are laws.This reminds me of the TV show the walking dead. Except it’s them that are the only ones with rights. Because I now have NONE !"

 *... SICK BAY: I learned the other day that Faith Taylor, a local artist who moved to Los Angeles a few years ago, is battling a tough series of heath setbacks and is in the intensive care unit at the USC Hospital. Her daughter, Sarah Hester, reported on Facebook that Taylor suffered from a ruptured bowel and that was followed with an aneurysm and a "massive" stroke. Sarah has established a GoFundMe account to help the family with expenses.

 * ... MEMORIES: Once again thanks to Art Moore and his Facebook page Kern County History Fans for these jewels.

Bako Bits: Kern Wheelmen New Year's Day ride attracts 150 riders, bad form on the bike path and another First Friday

 * ... NEW YEAR'S RIDE: Hats off to the Kern Wheelmen bicycle club for hosting the annual New Years Day ride up Round Mountain. More than 150 riders showed up for the annual trek up the mountain. Most of these folks are not hard core cyclists but rather regular people with a passion for cycling and staying in shape. It was a spectacular sight and inspiring to see all these people get a
healthy start on the new year. Among those I spotted were local tennis pro Hank Pfister, retired endodontist Bob Smith, local racer Tyler Williams, Carl Crawford, Kim Keathley, Pete Elieff, Greg Walker, Zane Adamo, Rob Baker, Robin Ablin, the entire Brown Monkeys cycling team and many more.

 * ... BIKE PATH: And speaking of cycling, shame on the middle aged woman who was walking her dog on the bike path near the RiverWalk amphitheater when she unloaded verbal obscenities on a cyclist who politely asked her to pull in her dog leash. The woman was walking on the far right (which is correct) but her small dog was on the other side of the yellow line on its leash, a recipe for disaster for the dog, the woman and a rider. When asked to pull in the leash, she unleashed a vulgar assault that should not be repeated.

 * ... FIRST FRIDAY: If you don't already have plans, it's worth a trip downtown to take in the monthly First Friday celebrations. A show worth catching is an exhibit at The Metro Galleries featuring the stunning paintings by Pasadena (and former Bakersfield resident) artist Faith Taylor.

 * … BAD FORM: From a reader: "Saturday morning at Costco there are two children in full-blown pajamas. The parents also are in full blown pajamas, slippers and all. How did they get in the door ? Do they realize what can be transferred from pajamas to food? Maybe we need new signs that read 'No PJs'  and tank tops .... no service!"

* … MANNERS: Betsy Gosling wrote to weigh on on the issue of proper etiquette for rooting at youth sports games. "Recently a woman wrote to you indicating she thought it was 'poor taste'  for a parent, for example to yell to the pitcher to strike out the batter.  I've thought about those comments and wanted to respond. If that pitcher was my son or grandson, I would be yelling for him to do his job and strike out the batter.  If the batter were my son or grandson, I'd be yelling for him to hit a home run. That's not criticism as she suggested. That's encouraging the person to do the very best they can do.  Their job was to play baseball at that moment in time. I believe these boys were about 12 years old. If they haven't learned to handle criticism, even constructive criticism, and not let it bother them, this is a good opportunity for them, in playing sports. It's a cruel world out there; in case, anyone hasn't noticed.  We need to teach our children to the best of our ability how to handle successes and failures. They shouldn't be treated like "princesses" during their young life; what a shock that  will be for them when they grow up and find out a person has to work and work hard to succeed in life. Sports is a great area to help parents teach these important lessons, boy or girls, team or individual sports."

U.S. 15-year-olds lose ground to other nations in math, science and reading on international tests, but at least we have First Friday to look forward to

 * … SCORES: A new international research survey shows that U.S. 15-year-olds have lost ground to their counterparts in other countries when it comes to math and science. The study showed that the

American students slid from 25th to 31st in match since 2009, from 20th to 24th in science and from 11th to 21st in reading. All this does not bode well for students who are growing up in a global economy. While we slide, other countries like Poland and Ireland improved and moved ahead of the United States.

 * … FIRST FRIDAY: It's time for the December First Friday downtown, and there's no better place to pick up unique Christmas gifts. My suggestions: Start at the Ice House Framing and Gallery on 19th Street, then head to Kuka's Folk Art across the street or In Your Wildest Dreams across from The Padre Hotel. Or pick up gift certificates from any of the locally owned downtown restaurants, including Muertos, The Mark, Uricchio's Trattoria, Chef's Choice Noodle Bar or the fun and funky pet store Biscuit Boutique. The downtown art galleries open at 5 p.m. Over at The Metro Galleries, a stunning new show will feature the work of Pasadena artist (and former Bakersfield resident) Faith Taylor while The Foundry will hold its last exhibit before closing its doors for good. (photo of one of Taylor's paintings).

 * … PHOTOGRAPHY: Meanwhile there is another interesting show this Friday at the Ice House Framing and Gallery on 19th Street. The business will be featuring the photography of Anthony Ghighia, a well known surf photographer whose images are breathtaking.  The La Jolla-based Ghiglia is a senior photographer at Surfer Magazine.

* … HELMETS: The Bakersfield Family Medical Center/Heritage Physicians Network are running a commercial on local television that has some folks scratching their heads. Among them is Elton Kelly, who noted the commercials show a mother, father and two children on bicycles at a local park, not wearing helmets. Said Kelly: "I have a vested interest in wearing a helmet as 20 plus yearsm ago I crashed and smashed my helmet - but, saved my head."

 * … MEMORIES: Russell L. Rink has a question for all you Bakersfield old timers: "I was wondering if anyone remembers the old military complex in Oildale that was bounded on the north side by Douglas Street and was called Veterans Square.  The complex was converted to apartments for veterans after WW II.  I lived there in the late 1940s. We lived on Highland Drive.  It was just east of the Kern County airport and east of the now existing Wingland School."