New scam involving the cheating website Ashley Madison makes the rounds, more crime downtown and lamenting the trash and litter about town

 * ... SCAM: One of the latest email scams going around involves the controversial website Ashley Madison (ashleymadison.com), which is devoted to connecting men and women who want to cheat on their spouses. The website was hacked, and now thousands of unfaithful cheaters across the world are living in fear of being exposed in their local communities. Of course, if you never signed up, you have nothing to fear, but that doesn't stop scammers from trying to extort a few bucks out of you. One local man received the scam and shared the email, which began like this: "If you want to keep your cheating and lies secret from your significant other, your family, your friends and work contacts then pay very close attention to this email. As what we demand is non-negotiable and you might ruin your life if you decide to ignore this email." It goes on to demand multiple payments or even payment in Bitcoins.

 * ... CRIME: There has been another burst in criminal activity in the Oleander and Westchester areas. Two homes downtown were burglarized in the past two weeks, and both of the break ins happened between noon at 3 p.m. located on alleyways. Similar break ins are reported in Oleander while a rash of car thefts has been reported in the Northwest neighborhoods. We are headed into the holiday season so turn on that alarm and join a neighborhood watch.

 * ... SMALL WORLD: Jeff Pickering, who ran the Kern Community Foundation before leaving to take a similar job in Florida, sent me this note the other day: "Retired Col. Martin Zickert was in today discussing the work of our local veteran's council. During conversation he shared a story of his time in early 1990s as a commanding officer at Edwards AFB. He was adopting his wife's 12 year old daughter and rather than hiring a lawyer, drove the back and forth ride to Bakersfield over several months to complete the process at the Kern County courthouse himself. 'Some of the nicest people I've ever met,' he said. Small world."

 * ... STARS: Kudos to the Stars Music Theater downtown and its attractive new outdoor dining and seating area covered by a beautiful new shade awning. The project at 20th Street and Chester Avenue was made possible by a grant from The Bakersfield Californian (family) Foundation.

 * ... SPOTTED TWITTER: "I would like to give thanks to the brave men and women who died a long time ago tasting which plants were edible and which plants were not."

 * ... TRASH: Randy Dickow recently hiked a 140-mile segment of the Camino de Santiago trail from southern France to Pamplona, Spain (how fun does that sound?) and he had this observation. "Litter, it is beneath us. Along with retired Superior Court Judge Jon Stuebbe and another friend from the coast we just hiked" the 140 miles and "it quickly became very obvious that litter is not a problem over there. I saw a total of three pieces of litter during the entire adventure. This path is not some little used trail in the wilderness, but goes though hamlets, villages and cities. Over 250,000 people use it every year. Just sayin', 140 miles and no litter. I can't walk 14 feet here without seeing lots of trash.

 * ... ACHIEVER: It was nice to see the photo of a smiling Rachel Goldner on the front of Fordham University's website the other day. The daughter of local attorney Barry Goldner and county counsel Teresa Goldner, Rachel graduated from Fordham University last year and is now working in Manhattan.

Bako Bits: A kid goes east to school and thoughts for some local folks on the injured reserve list

Cleaning off my desk and checking on folks around town ...

* ... OFF TO FORDHAM: Is there anything better than seeing your children succeed? Duane and Corey Keathley have a lot to be thankful for now that youngest daughter Michele is off to school at Fordham University in the Bronx on a volleyball scholarship. Duane surprised Michele recently by flying to Buffalo, N.Y. to watch Fordham play Seton Hall, Boston College and the University of Buffalo. Michele made the starting rotation as a freshman and - get this - her roommate is Randi Ewing, daughter of former Georgetown and NBA great Patrick Ewing. Meanwhile, sister Kimberly Keathley is thriving as well, now a junior at Point Loma Nazarene down near San Diego. (Michele is on the left with Kim in picture below, courtesy of the Keathleys) Duane is a principal at CB Richard Ellis and is president of the downtown Rotary this year.





* ... ON THE INJURED LIST: Heard that old friend Leonard Bidart, one of the owners of Bidart Brothers Farms and a generous sponsor of local non-profits, took a nasty spill on his bicycle last weekend while coming down Lion's Trail near Caliente. Turns out Leonard broke his jaw in several places and underwent a long surgery at the UCLA Medical Center. He's apparently on the mend but it will be a long road back. Leonard is an avid cyclist and fitness nut and one of the all around good people of our community. Send some positive thoughts his way.

* ... ALSO RECOVERING: Also try to keep Marvin Steinert in your thoughts as well. Marv is one of our city's real treasures, personally generous, active in groups like the Stars Theater and downtown Rotary. Turns out Marv is suffering from a condition known as temporal arteritis, an inflammation or damage to blood vessels that supply the head area. Marv's eyesight has been temporarily adversely affected but he's under good care. (photo of Marv below)



* ... FALL FUND RAISING: If it's fall in Bakersfield you can bet you'll be attending a fund raiser sometime soon. And pity the school and non-profits who must be struggling in this horrible economy when so many folks can't be as generous as they would like. But here are a couple of good causes for you to consider: On Thursday, Oct. 1 Garces Memorial High School will hold its annual Fall BBQ. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the door. Doors open at 5 p.m. Then a week later on Thursday, Oct. 8, Cal State Bakersfield holds its 31st annual Fall BBQ for the athletics program. Tickets are $25 sold before the event and $30 at the door. To order tickets or help with a sponsorship, call 661-654-3473.