A high school teacher and a graphic porn site but Bakersfield in the news, City Councilman Andrae Gonzales brushes off an attack by Fernando Jara and Jean Fuller pushes an "early college" program

Friday, February 1, 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 such a special to live. Send your tips to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... FRONTIER PORN: There wasn't a bigger story this week than the revelation that a Frontier High School science teacher allegedly posted graphic videos on a porn site. Will the teacher, Emily

Salazar, lose her job now that virtually every male student at the school has likely watched their teacher perform in the most graphic fashion? Legal experts, including noted plaintiff lawyer Daniel Rodriguez, say it is not clear if Salazar can be fired for her behavior outside the classroom. Rodriguez noted that in some similar cases elsewhere, the teacher was transferred but kept her teaching credentials. Stay tuned for this one. (file photo of Emily Salazar)

 * ... POLITICS: Ah local politics .... dripping with irony and full of grand standing, personal attacks and duplicity. Let's start with the latest dustup in the Kern County Democratic Party where political

consultant Fernando Jara (husband of Supervisor Leticia Perez) launched a vicious personal attack on City Councilman Andrae Gonzales for allegedly not being Democratic enough in the mid-term elections. Among other things, Jara said Gonzales was directly responsible for two Democrats losing their races for supervisor: Jeff Heinle (he lost to Mike Maggard) and Grace Vallejo (she lost to David Couch.) But he didn't leave it there, opting to go personal with this post: "You are the money changer, not a follower of the radical Jesus of the Gospel.You are the inn-keeper who sends children to be born in mangers. Certainly, Councilman, you are the man who reaches out for a bag of coins from the powers that be and hand over your leaders and the poor of this community, people of color, the least of these, to political, economic, and psychological Lynching. Repent." All this hides the fact that there is no love lost between Perez and Gonzales, or the fact that it was Jara's own work for the marijuana industry that led to conflict of interest charges against his wife. For his part, Gonzales took the high road and dismissed Jara's attacks as "nothing. I don't pay attention to him." (Facebook photo of Fernando Jara)

 * ... KAMALA HARRIS: Do you like your health insurance? Is it provided by your employer, or school, or perhaps you work for the county or the city? Polls and any number of surveys reflect that the overwhelming number of Americans are happy with their insurance, despite the fact there is a push on the left to move to a single payer system. And who is leading that charge on the national level? None other that Kamala Harris, the California senator who announced a presidential run this week. Under her plan, all private policies (including plans negotiated with local and state governments) would be stripped and replaced by a Medicare for all program. How does that make you feel?

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, you’re probably really hot."

 * ... EARLY COLLEGE: A few select high schools in Kern County are the first in the state to offer a new program called "early college" where students can graduate from high school while also earning their junior college associate's degree. The idea: allow students to take college level classes while in high school while forgoing traditional college tuition, and graduate from high school ready to transfer into college as a junior. Heading up the program is Dr. Jean Fuller, former minority leader of the State Senate who has been termed out of office.

 * ... MEMORIES: The Beale Clock Tower circa 1949. Thanks to the folks at the Kern County History Fans Facebook page.

Texas leapfrogs to the third largest oil supplier in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Russia, H.A. Sala defends Supervisor Leticia Perez and the community rallies behind the Gleaners

Friday, July 20, 2018

 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 such a special place. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

 * ... SHALE BOOM: Just how important is the shale oil boom in the United States? Well check this

out: did you know that the Lone Star state is now the world's No. 3 oil producer, behind only Russia and Saudi Arabia? That's what a recent HSBC report said, thanks to two massive Texas oil fields and advances in hydraulic fracturing technology. Said CNN: "Much of the excitement in Texas centers around the Permian Basin. Some oil execs believe the amount of oil in the Permian rivals Saudi Arabia's Ghawar Field, the world's largest conventional oilfield. Rapid technological advances have dramatically brought down the cost of pumping oil everywhere, especially out of the Permian. Wells there can be profitable below $40 a barrel."

 * ... LETICIA PEREZ: The lawyer defending Supervisor Leticia Perez on conflict of interest charges appears to be focusing on unequal treatment under the law, and not that she was the victim of racism. H.A. Sala, one of the keenest criminal defense attorneys in the valley, told me on KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM that District Attorney Lisa Green had not presented one shred of evidence that Perez stood to benefit from her position supporting the regulation and sale of marijuana in Kern County, even though her husband, Fernando Jara, was a cannabis consultant. Instead, he said, there might be a stronger underlying reason why Green chose to prosecute. And that, he said, was because Perez did not actively campaign for assistant DA Scott Spielman to replace Green as district attorney. Further, he wondered why Perez was not treated similarly to City Councilman Bob Smith, when Smith was cited for lobbying for a client before the city Planning Commission. Both Smith and Perez, Sala said, stood to benefit financially and unlike Smith, Perez never lobbied on behalf of one of her husband's clients. Sala said he would demand a full dismissal of the charges, and if not, we are headed for a trial.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Here’s the thing, I love you but I don’t want to rearrange furniture just to see how it looks."

 * ... MORE TWITTER: "Next up, Melania holds a presser to say she thought her jacket said 'I really do care' not "I really don't care.'"

 * ... GLEANERS: You know how they say that Kern County is such a generous place to live? Well there was more evidence of that when the community rallied behind the Golden Empire Gleaners after thieves stripped its air conditioning unit of all copper. The community stepped forward with grants and in-kind donations and the unit has now been replaced. The Gleaners specifically thanks California Resources Corp., Whisler Air Conditioning and Heating and Reese's Crane Service.

 * ... CRIME: How bad is crime about town? Check out this Facebook post from a man who video taped a young man stealing items out of cars and trucks near White Lane and Old River Road: "Confronted this guy and his buddy just causally walking down the street this morning at 5:30 AM, check car doors, stealing stuff, claiming they need to feed their family. Brazen, defiant, bold. Near Old River and White Lane. The early bird gets the worm! There were several cars unlocked that they just reached inside, filled their backpack, and kept on walking. What would you do? Is it worth escalating? It's only 'just stuff' being stolen when it's not your stuff...right? I just followed them for about 30 minutes and called the police. Is it only me but does it feel like our culture is against law and order? Yes, I filed a police report."

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out these old photos from a personal photo album, take in December 1946.

Sen. Tim Scott and Rep. trey Gowdy help raise money for Shannon Grove and Fernando Jara to tell his story on KERN Newstalk 96.1 FM

Monday, May 28, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

* ... SHANNON GROVE: There was a big fund raiser for Shannon Grove this weekend up in

Tulare, and it was a star studded affair. Appearing on behalf of Grove were South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and his colleague in the House of Representatives, Trey Gowdy. It was well attended and served to fatten the campaign coffers of the Grove for State Senate campaign.

* ... POLITICS: Isn't local politics something? The brouhaha on the Board of Supervisors has become something of a spectator sport, pitting the "old guard" against Supervisor Leticia Perez who somehow has become a threatening figure on what always has been a clubby group of insiders. And much of the enmity directed toward Perez has to do with her husband, Fernando Jara, head of Savage Consulting. Jara represents marijuana interests and has his own personal story to tell about how the medicinal uses of hemp and cannabis changed his life. He will tell that story this Wednesday on The Richard Beene Show (KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM) at 2 p.m. According to the Los Angeles Times, Jara worked in the Middle East after 9/11 and speaks Arabic. What happened while he was there? What role did he play? Hear his story this week only on KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "You think you’re pretty smart until you have to figure out how to turn on someone else’s shower."

 * ... GOOD FORM: Hats off the the lone man who was walking up Fairfax Drive on Sunday picking up trash. Just think if we all did this once a week how much better our community would look.

 * ... LOGAN MOLEN: Logan Molen, who spent more than 25 years at the Bakersfield Californian including the last five as chief operating officer, has been appointed publisher of the Steamboat Springs Pilot. Molen most recently served as publisher at the Eugene Register-Guard in Oregon, and now joins Reno-based Swift Communications at the Colorado publication.

 * ... MEMORIES: Enjoy this picture of the old Lakeview Hotel in Maricopa around 1910. Photo courtesy of Jerry Gibby and the Facebook page Kern County of Old.

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: And then here is one of the Tejon Pass on the original Ridge Route. At 4,213 feet it was the highest of the three routes (Old 99, Alternate and I-5). This is also the only place where all three routes are still visible next to each other. Photo and caption courtesy of Bakersfield Memories Facebook page.

 * ... MEMORIAL DAY: Some shots of Memorial Day around Kern County. Enjoy.

District attorney looking into a conflict of interest on the Board of Supervisors, a classic Craftsman comes up for sale downtown and a new Greek eatery gets some love...

 * ... CANNABIS: It appears the Kern County District Attorney's office is looking into the controversy involving Supervisors Letitia Perez and Mike Maggard in the ongoing debate over

marijuana. Specifically, KGET's Danny Freeman reported that the DA public integrity unit was looking into allegations that Perez had a conflict of interest when she voted to regulate marijuana in the unincorporated areas of the county. Fernando Jara, Perez's husband, is alleged to have been deeply involved in the cannabis fight therefore creating a conflict for his wife. Stay tuned because all this is just heating up.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "The problem with drinking with people from work is they’re the ones I bitch about when I’m drunk."

 * ... CRAFTSMAN: One of my favorite homes in Bakersfield, a beautifully restored Craftsman on 19th Street downtown, has come up for sale. Easily one of the most recognizable homes in the downtown area, the home has 2,637 square feet of living space, four bedrooms and two baths, a detached garage and a classic wrap around porch. The price: $625,000.

 * ... DARLINGSIDE: Don't miss the Boston-based group Darlingside when they appear at the Bakersfield Music Hall of Fame on Wednesday, March 7. Sponsored by Passing through Productions, tickets are available on eventbrite.com for just $20 each. Consider this excerpt from a recent review of the group: "Boston quartet Darlingside manage exactly that on their new album, Extralife, a sumptuous set of harmony-heavy songs that, like an impressionist painting, conjures the feeling and texture of end times while leaving plenty of space for the listener to decide just what such an event would actually look like. The follow-up to their acclaimed 2016 album, Whippoorwill, finds Darlingside eschewing the Americana-leaning folk-rock of their earlier work to explore experimental, complex chamber pop, all while spinning sparkling yarns of underground bunkers and nuclear fallout."

 * ... SULTAN'S: Have you tried Sultan's Mediterrean Grill out off Allen Road? A friend swears it is the hottest new eatery in town, featuring fresh Greek entrees at affordable prices. The restaurant is located on the corner of Allen and Brimhall roads.

 * ... FATHER CRAIG: Monsignor Craig Harrison may be one of the most joyful, hopeful and spiritual person I know. But even a man of the cloth has his limits. What bugs him most? Negativity, divisiveness and personal attacks. "That's the main reason I defriend people on Facebook," he told me this week. "I use Facebook to uplift me, not to make me angry." And the other reason he defriends on Facebook? "People who post every meal they eat." Sounds about right, Father Craig.

 * ... OLD BANK: I found this photo of the old Anglo-California bank, located at 18th and Chester, on the Kern County of Old Facebook page. The building now houses the Chain Cohn Stiles law firm.

RIP to the old mainstream media, and get ready for a new "gold rush" by podcasts and streaming video platforms to fill the void. .. and hey how about a cool old photo?

 * ... LOCAL MEDIA: The graveside services for what was known as "the mainstream media" - your local newspaper, network TV and its local affiliate news stations - were held long ago. Media is splintering, newspapers are struggling to keep the lights on and TV ratings are shrinking. In its place,

blogs, podcasts and new video streaming platforms are flourishing, if for no other reason than they don't need truckloads of cash and advertising to stay in business. This is particularly true on the local level, where new "media channels" position themselves to capture the audiences that have abandoned newspapers and other "mainstream" platforms. Locally, look no further than KERNCAST.COM, a new venture catering to the political right and run by former mayoral candidate and pro cannabis activist T.J. Esposito. So far, he has signed up former KNZR radio personalities Chad Garcia and Inga K. Barks, as well as Denise Gary, to do weekly video streaming episodes, and more are in the works. (KERNCAST also hosts a lively "Bored in Bakersfield" channel that is worth checking out). Esposito can be a polarizing figure about town, but it would be wrong to prematurely dismiss him or KERNCAST. The gatekeepers of old media are dead, and there is a new gold rush to see who will fill the void.

 * ... CANNABIS DRAMA: Speaking of old media, it took our local newspaper more than a month but it finally got around to covering the dramatic charges and counter charges involving Supervisors Mike Maggard and Leticia Perez in the local cannabis debate. It's another example of how shrinking staffs in "old media" simply can't keep up with more nimble news sources, and how new alternative news outlets are now leading the way. By the way, if you want a real, unfiltered view of this cannabis mess, go to the KERNRADIO.COM archives to hear interviews with all the players in the local pot debate: Heather Epps, David Abbasi, T.J. Esposito, Kim Schaefer, Ben Eilenberg, Fernando Jara, Maggard and Perez.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: Pat Sajak, host of "Wheel of Fortune," posted this: "It must be exhausting to spend your days monitoring everyone’s speech searching for something to turn into a hashtag hate campaign. #Getalife"

 * ... DISNEYLAND: There is some bad news at the happiest place on earth. That's right Disneyland is raising its prices again and those on the annual season passes are getting slammed. For annual passes, the least expensive pass now costs $729, up from $619, and the Signature Pass (includes parking) is now going for a princely $999 a year. A family of four can easily spend near $4,000 a year for the passes, and that doesn't include gas, hotels or food.

* ... VETERANS: Comrades and Canopies, a group of local veterans dedicated to improving the lives of those who have served, is taking eight Honor Flight vets out to Skydive Taft this weekend. Event organizer Chad Garcia said some of the War World II and Korean War vets had not jumped out of a plane in decades. Garcia and other veterans will be raising money this week at BJ's Brewhouse on Stockdale Highway and Salty's BBQ on White Lane.

 * ... MEMORIES: Tell me you are not transfixed by this photo shared by Mark McGown on the Facebook page "Kern County of Old." In McGowan's words: "L to R: May Stark, Adalaine Nicholson, and Ella Faye in 1894. They were teachers at Kern County High School."

Is Hollywood getting ready to make a movie about Fernando Jara, the husband of Supervisor Leticia Perez who claims to have worked for the CIA in Yemen?

 * ... SPOTTED: Los Angeles actor Michael Pena, who had parts in the movies Tower Heist, End of Watch as well as the cable hit Eastbound and Down, was seen in the bar at The Padre Hotel talking to 5th District Supervisor Leticia Perez and her husband Fernando Jara. Apparently Pena is (file photo of Michael Pena)
interested in the life story of Jara, who recently revealed he worked for the CIA in Yemen after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

 * ... CHLOE: Sad to hear that Chloe, the adorable yellow labrador retriever who appeared with owner Tracy Walker-Kiser on the front of this month's BakersfieldLife magazine, has been diagnosed with lupus. Chloe can not only go outside with sunscreen but there is little doubt that Tracy and husband Brian Kiser will make her comfortable.

* ... MARKET: Remember the old ADS Market on Baker Street? John Pryor does, and says it was owned by the Sprayberry family. "ADS was the owner’s initials. His name? There must be a story here: Admiral Dewey Sprayberry. I grew up in that neighborhood and, as a kid, bought lots of candy there!  Dewey – as he was called – was a great guy from a kid’s perspective."

 * ... MEMORIES: Becky Arguedas took a trip down memory lane, remembering a Bakersfield when it was a small, more intimate place. "Every time my sister visits from Texas, we reminisce about how it used to be when we were growing up. We talk about Don Rodewald, George Day, Zippy, Meet Mitchell and Unlock-a-lock (remember that one?) and one other we can't remember the name.  Who was the woman that advertised the face cream and always ate a little bit to show it was pure and wouldn't harm you?"

 * ... GRAPEVINE: And Joe Fontaine remembers when you could gaze at the cars lights inching up the Grapevine. "If you are truly a Bakersfield old timer you will remember that on Friday evenings the lights on the Grapevine were the white of car headlights because the refugees from Los Angeles were fleeing north toward Bakersfield. They were red taillights on Sunday evenings because they were headed south back to the drudgery of southern California. Unfortunately we can't see either one today because of poor visibility due to air pollution."

 * ... DMV: Retired Superior Court Judge Jim Stuart gave a shoutout to the DMV office in Shafter. Said Stuart: "About to turn 71 next month, got a notice in the mail that in order to renew my driver's license I would have to pass a vision and a written test. Mind you, the one and only time I took the written test was in 1958 and the only test I have taken since then that really mattered was the Bar Exam, and that was back in 1968. The thought of being without a driver's license was scary, the thought of taking the test was equally scary.  I went to pick up the driver's handbook in Bakersfield and was amazed at how crowded it was. On the advice of a neighbor, I went to the Shafter office of the DMV. Crowded, but not too bad. No appointment, got a number, sat and waited... and watched. Contrary to the common perception many of us have of DMV employees, those at the Shafter office without exception were smiling, patient and just down-right gracious in the way they handled the many people who were in line ahead of me, and the lady who was assigned to me seemed to sense my anxiety, make a quick comment that put me at ease, smiled as she told me I had passed the test and wished me well."

Leticia Perez turns her back on the supervisor job and throws her hat in the ring for the 16th state Senate district seat. Meanwhile we are all still absorbing the odd story of her husband, Fernando Jara

 * ... PEREZ: As predicted 5th District Supervisor Leticia Perez, who has been in office less than three months, is running for the open 16th state Senate seat abandoned by her former mentor Michael Rubio. Aside from her willingness to abandon a job she was just elected to, it should be interesting to watch her square off against Fran Florez, recognizing that there is no love lost between these two camps. And, add to all this the odd, made-for-TV movie storyline of Leticia's husband Fernando Jara, a self described former street thug who converted to Islam, learned Arabic and claimed to have worked with the CIA before coming home to devote his life to helping men with addictions. That's enough content for a 13-part series on HBO, but that's his story and he's sticking to it. Who needs fiction when you have stories like this? Stay tuned.

 * ... TEXTING: Did you know that fully 70 percent of all Americans between the ages of 16 and 64 say they have talked or texted on their cell phones while driving? That is an alarming statistic but The New York Times says the problem is getting worse, not better. Thirty percent admit to texting while driving in the past 30 days. Said Ileana Arias of the Centers for Disease Control: "If anything, it seems to be getting worse." (photo courtesy of The New York Times)

 * ... SPOTTED: Two fathers get in a good old fashioned brawl at the BASA softball fields Monday during the Centennial High School junior varsity tournament, embarrassing not only themselves but also their daughters on the field.

* ... BAD FORM: Stephen Montgomery was driving to Santa Maria on State Route 166 last week when he found himself being tailgated by a black Chrysler. "After riding my bumper for a few miles the driver passed me. I was surprised to see his vanity plate that read CHIP 2 with a small CHP logo on the left side. This guy, apparently one of California's finest driving his private car, later had pulled over with his left wheels almost touching the side line on the highway. He had his door wide open extending well into the driving lane but closed it when I got close but not before I had pulled over the center line to avoid it. Soon he was back on my tail before passing me again and disappearing. Oh yeah, I was not dragging my feet. In a 55 zone I was moving at 64 mph.  What an example!"

 * ... FIRST LOOK: Make sure you tune into bakersfield.com on your computer or iPad tomorrow for First Look with Scott Cox. Cox will be talking to Sheriff Donny Youngblood at 8 a.m. and Californian columnist Lois Henry will be on at 9 a.m., all from the Dignity Health studios inside The Bakersfield Californian. Watch it live or hear it on NewsTalk 1180 KERN from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.

* ... LITTER: If you want to pitch it to help pick up litter along the Freeway 99 on and off ramps, contact Tom Burch over at Henley's Photo. The sheer volume of trash in our community is overwhelming, but it's nice to see some folks try to tackle it. Burch said the group meets every Wednesday to pick up trash along Highway 99 (178 is coming soon). Go to the Keep Bakersfield Beautiful website to find out where to show up. If you want to contact Burch directly, do so at
tburch@henleysphoto.com

Weirdest story of the day: Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez' husband, a former gang banger, converts to Islam and helps CIA post 9/11

 In what can only be described as one of the oddest stories of the day, the husband of 5th District Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez is revealed to have converted to Islam and to have worked with the CIA in Yemen and other countries after the September 11 attacks.
 His name is Fernando Jara, and according to a front page story in the Los Angeles Times, he is a former gang banger who - in search of himself - converted is Islam. After the September 11 attacks, he claims he offered up his services to the CIA and was sent overseas. He apparently speaks fluent Arabic and now runs a recovery center for addicts.
 The story paints the picture of a rocky marriage and emotional trauma suffered by Jara after his service. The Times claims to have verified most of his claims of service. Perez is now thinking of running for the open 16th state Senate seat.  (file photo of Perez and husband Fernando Jara)