Commercial real estate broker Duane Keathley on our market: retail on Panama Lane will explode and East Hills Mall is "in play" for a razing or a renovation

 * … RETAIL: Duane Keathley is one of the smartest folks in town on the subject of commercial real estate, and Tuesday I spent an hour picking his brain on First Look with Scott Cox. Some factoids from my conversation with the senior partner at Cushman Wakefield: At one point the first Dollar General store on North Chester and China Grade Loop was one of the highest performing stores in the chain;

Panama Lane west of Highway 99 is set to explode with new retail over the next few years; East Hills Mall is "in play" as the new owners decide whether to raze it or revive part of it; there is new retail planned for Brimhall and Allen roads; and the average size of a BevMo! (beer and wine retailer) is about the size of Trader Joe's. And finally, at one point the relatively new Golden Corral on Ming Avenue was the No. 2 performing outlet in the chain.

 *  …  MORE RETAIL: Reader Joe Chavez wrote asking if there are plans by any big retailers to set up shop in the Northeast. According to Keathley, likely not. Most of them are looking west, and southwest, where the average incomes are higher and there is more "day traffic," meaning more places of employment where workers may shop at lunch or after work.

* … IMMIGRATION: It looks like there may be a breakthrough on immigration reform. News reports say the House Republican leadership will be holding a three-day retreat during which Speaker John Boehner will issue his position on including a path to citizenship or legal status for illegal immigrants along with tighter border security. This is a huge issue in California, of course, where the political pressure has been intense on House Republicans to get something done. Protests at the local office of House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy have become an almost weekly event, but it remains to be seen if the new Republican stance is enough for a true breakthrough with the Democratic controlled Senate.

 * …. DROUGHT: The drought being played out in California is serious stuff, and now it looks like the Republicans are using it as a political issue. Central Valley Republicans hosted House Speaker John Boehner last week to criticize environmental laws that divert water from farmers to engendered species. As Boehner said, putting fish over people is a "crazy idea" where he comes from. As the drought intensifies there is little doubt that House Republicans will continue to seize on it as a hot issue. Stay tuned.

 * … MORE DROUGHT: On the local front, you may have noticed the GET buses wrapped with messages encouraging water conservation. It's all part of a campaign by the non profit Water Association of Kern County to encourage water conservation in Kern County. The six buses will run for six months and they advertise a website - www.wakc.com - where people can find lots of ways to conserve water.

Remembering the great Bakersfield Dust Storm of 1977 and celebrating some good news on the economic front as major retailers head for Bakersfield

 * … DUST: This week's dust storm got me to thinking about the Great Bakersfield Dust Storm of 1977 that left several people dead and caused millions of dollars in damages. That event happened in

mid December and, like now, followed several years of severe drought. The day began normal enough, with a low of 44 degrees, but by midday it had warmed considerably and then the winds came roaring in, blowing swamp coolers off roofs and leaving the town littered with debris. Sound familiar? Time to pray for some rain.

* … RETAIL: One of the surest signs of a recovering economy comes when major retailers free up capital to expand into new markets. And that's why we should all be encouraged with news that retailers like Nordstrom Rack and the organic grocer Sprouts Farmers Market may be coming to the Shops at RiverWalk. These aren't done deals yet but all indications are that both retailers are Bakersfield bound. Another good sign: apparently the opening of the Hobby Lobby here was such a big success that the crafts store is already thinking of expanding in the old Mervyn's building. Golden Corral is another business that came to Bakersfield and enjoyed a near record grand opening and is one of the restaurant chain's top performing outlets.

 * … HOT CITIES: For the third year in a row the city of Atlanta has been ranked the top city where people are moving. This is the word from the truck rental company Penske, which tracks where folks are moving. Rounding out the top ten of most popular places to move were  Tampa/Sarasota, Fla.,  Dallas/Fort Worth, Orlando, Phoenix, Houston, Seattle, Chicago, Denver and Las Vegas. (file photo of Atlanta)

* … LAMENT: My old friend Bryan Kelly always has an interesting take on thing, and here is his lament on today's society. "My little hometown in Texas, as did so many others, died in the early 1960s when the interstate highway system by-passed it. In the 1980s a prison was built and the inmates were put to work cleaning the roadways, parks and lake area. They also keep schools, state, city and county buildings painted and in good repair. The townspeople show their appreciation. Little old ladies are always baking cookies and muffins for the work crews. Here?  If kids are asked to take the last five minutes of the day to pick up litter which has blown over the fence into the school yard, a mother has a fit. This is not her kid's problem!"

 * … BAD FORM: Sometimes it's hard to believe how reckless some of our local drivers can be. This story came from a colleague. "Around 9 p.m.  (on a recent) Saturday, I was at the Ming Avenue-Ashe Road intersection preparing to turn left (west) onto Ming from Ashe. The westbound traffic on Ming had a protected left turn southbound onto Ashe, and two women in a white van began turning left. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a grey SUV (might have been a Bronco or Suburban) barreling toward the intersection against a red light. The SUV slammed into the van, smashing parts of both cars' front ends; though luckily it could have been far worse, as neither car was traveling very fast. I got ready to put on my flashers and get out of the car to help, when suddenly the driver of the SUV peels out, turns sharply and screams off into the night northbound down Ashe. The white van, still drivable as well, heads off south down Ashe. I made a U-turn, assuming they would pull over and I would assist them as best I could. Nope. They drove off as well, beating me to a street light and off into distance — with most of their front bumper peeled off. It all happened pretty quickly and I wasn't able to recall license plate numbers or specific vehicle descriptions, but man: Two cars, a red light run, a collision and both take off from the scene."