Protesters destroy statues in San Francisco of Father Serra and Ulysses S. Grant, and how soon will they come for Father Garces at the traffic circle and the Big Indian at Ethyl's Corral? Plus a walk down memory lane with some old shots of Highway 99

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. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other person or organization.

 * ... THE GREAT CLEANSING: The great cleansing of our national history, from statues to names of schools to street signs, continues across this nation. This weekend protesters turned their fury on

three statues in San Francisco, one of Father Junipero Serra, one of Francis Scott Key and a third of Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who just happened to be instrumental in defeating the Confederacy and freeing the slaves.  All three were unceremoniously defaced and torn down as police looked on. And so it goes.

 * ... MORE STATUES: The tearing down of history brought this retort on Facebook: "Last night, the mob took down down three statues in Golden Gate Park: one of St. Junipero Serra, and founder of the California missions; on off Francis Scott Key, composer of the "Star Spangled Banner"; and one of Ulysses S. Grant, whom Frederick Douglass eulogized as “a man too broad for prejudice, too humane to despise the humblest, too great to be small at any point. In him the Negro found a protector, the Indian a friend, a vanquished foe a brother, an imperiled nation a savior.” Think about that. On Juneteenth. The man probably most responsible for emancipation not named Lincoln had his statue torn down and vandalized. And the apologists for the mob are justifying it on the grounds that Grant once held a single enslaved person, who he manumitted before the Civil War, and because he had married a woman from a slaveholding family. Had enough yet?"

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Sometimes, when I squirt the dish-washing liquid, a few soap bubbles escape and float through the air and I'm instantly five-years-old again."

 * ... MORE SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "To the guy in line at the post office telling everyone about the governor's mandate to wear masks... Your mask doesn't do diddly squat on your chin with your mouth and nose exposed."

 * ... LOCAL ICONS: Locally, you have to wonder when the mob is going to come after some of the icon institutions here in Bakersfield. Will the statue of Father Garces at the traffic circle suffer the same fate at Junipero Serra in San Francisco? How long will it be before they come for the statue of the Big Indian out a Ethyl's Corral? And didn't Ben Franklin own slaves, even though he denounced slavery later in life? We will also have to rename Franklin Elementary, and you might as well rename Jefferson school at the same time. So much work to do and so little time.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out these old pictures of California Highway 99 over the years. 

Clinica Sierra Vista lends a hand to the neediest among us, the last house on 24th Street goes down and how long before someone calls for the removal of the state of Father Garces?

 * ... HELPING HAND: Hats off to Clinica Sierra Vista and a number of other organizations that teamed up to lend a hand to some of the neediest among us. The organization, which provides basic

medical services to the poor and needy, opened its doors at its Old Town Kern facility to provide free haircuts, breakfast burritos, HIV testing and screening for glucose and high blood pressure.
It was all part of National Health Center Week, an annual celebration of community health centers like Clinica Sierra Vista. Said Clinica CEO Steve Schilling: “The marginalized of our community are why Clinica was created. We can’t forget our roots.”

 * ... FRANKLIN: A sign of the times about traffic and growth: parents of students going to Franklin Elementary downtown have been told that walking their kids to school on busy Truxtun Avenue is too dangerous because of the speeding cars. Instead, they now must enter the school from the rear entrance on 18th Street.

 * ... FATHER GARCES: How long do you think it will take before someone calls for the removal of the statue of Father Francisco Tomas Garces at the Garces traffic circle? Is he a symbol of the white European repression of native Indian tribes, or an inspiration as one of the first Europeans to discover California? Take your pick.

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "I thought I felt a cold breeze but it was just my mother's sighs of disappointment."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "If anyone asks, I'm drinking all this wine to collect corks for a Pinterest project."

 * ... 24TH STREET: The last house standing in the way of the 24th Street widening is being demolished this week, clearing the way for the next phase in what will be a long process to improve the road. Next up: installation of sound walls on the north side of 24th.

 * ... OVERHEARD: A downtown resident is telling friends about a homeless woman who showed up at his door one evening past 9 p.m. "She was holding two Ramen noodle cups and asked me for hot water. I turned on the hot water and looked back and she was inside my house. When she saw I had ordered a pizza, she said 'Can I have some?'"

 * ... PEOPLE IN THE NEWS: Providence Strategic  Consulting Inc. has announced that two local business women have become affiliated with the firm. They are Kristin Hagan, a local attorney, and Kim Schaefer, a political and public affairs advisor who most recently was the public face behind the successful effort to rescind the PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program.

 * ... WEEKEND MOVIE: Playing locally here at the Maya Cinemas is a movie called Wind River starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olson. It is one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year and is touted as a moving, dark drama set on an Indian Reservation. Olson plays an FBI agent sent to Wyoming to investigate a murder. Worth considering for your weekend enjoyment.