Good news for the Monarch butterfly population, former city councilman Harold Hanson dies and local crooner Joe Peters to sing the national anthem at Dodger Stadium

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 company or publication.

 * ... MONARCH BUTTERFLIES: One of the great joys of living in central California is witnessing the annual migration of the stunningly beautiful Monarch butterflies as they head to their winter journey in Mexico. Scientists long have been warning that the number of Monarchs are dwindling, but now a new study casts doubt on that. According to The New York Times, the new study focused on the size of the

summer breeding populations and said the numbers were smaller in the Midwest but larger in some other areas. "North America is home to two populations of monarchs," The Times said. "The larger, Eastern population spends its summers breeding in milkweed filled fields along the East Coast and Midwest before winging its way down to Mexico each fall. A smaller, Western population generally converges on California each autumn." The declines have been attributed to climate change and to logging near overwintering sites, as well as a herbicide known as glyphosate. So take heart, we might just enjoy another robust Monarch migration season.

 * ... RIP HAROLD HANSON: Former Bakersfield city councilman Harold Hanson died this month at Mercy Southwest Hospital. Hanson was 85 years old and served as Ward 5 councilman for 16 years, from 2000 to 2016.  He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Lana. Services will be held at St. Phillip the Apostle Church on Stockdale Highway on June 23 at 9:30 a.m.

 * ... GAS REBATE: I was thrilled to see The Bakersfield Californian editorial calling on the California legislature to approve a gas tax holiday to battle inflation. That's been my position for some time now, even though most Democrats (and many others) oppose it because Big Oil is enjoying windfall profits. My take: stop worrying about Big Oil and worry instead about the poor Californians who live on poverty's edge and are forced to use their cars and trucks to get to work. This obsession with Big Oil and its profits should not come at the expense of our working class citizens who are struggling to make ends meet.

 * ... JOE PETERS: There's some good news for rising country music singer Joe Peters, a Bakersfield lad with a growing following about town. Peters, who frequently appears at The Pour House and other local venues, said on his Facebook page he would be singing the national anthem at the Sept. 2 Los Angeles Dodgers game at Chavez Ravine.

* ... BITS AND PIECES: Useful news tidbits from around the world:

 - Microsoft has announced that Internet Explorer, once the go-to browser for millions across the globe, is being abandoned and will no longer be supported. Microsoft is urging users to transition to a newer browser called Microsoft Edge. Google's Chrome browser is not the market leader with about two thirds of all users opting for Chrome.

 - Heads up all you shoppers: major U.S. retailers say there are some killer deals lurking as stores adjust to pandemic related shipping issues and other anomalies. Target, Walmart and Macy's all accounted recently that they were receiving huge amounts of outdoor furniture and electronics that were in scarce supply during the pandemic. To get folks back into the stores, the retailers were expected to start offering deep discounts. Some of the deepest discounted items include furniture and lounger.

 - Just how popular has pickleball become across the country? Well, big enough that the New York Times devoted a full page recently to the passion for pickleball, noting it has become big business as entrepreneurs look for creative ways to build more courts along with amenities like bars and restaurants and retail sports stores.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this old poster for the 1963  Kern County Fair, which appeared on the Facebook page of the Kern County History Fans.

 * ... OLD BAKER STREET: And from the Kern County of Old history group comes this wonderful old picture of Baker Street and the old Grenada Theater back in the day.

Out with the old guard and in with the new and Bakersfield welcomes a new mayor, police chief and new council members, and recognizing the remarkable work of retiring Californian photographer Casey Christie

* ... CITY COUNCIL: Change is inevitable, particularly in politics and government, but it was bittersweet to watch the new City Council being sworn in. We will all miss Mayor Harvey Hall, the

eternal optimist and ambassador of goodwill, but I am confident incoming Mayor Karen Goh will display the same inclusiveness that was the hallmark of the Hall years. It's in her nature to do so. Terry Maxwell and Harold Hanson are also gone, and in their places are Andre Gonzales (downtown) and Jeff Tkac (southwest). New energy for new times.

 * ... CASEY CHRISTIE: Also leaving the local scene is longtime Californian photographer Casey Christie, whose stunning photographs graced the pages of the local newspaper for more than 25 years. Like Harvey Hall, Christie was always gracious, kind and thoughtful as he went about his work. Life will go on, but we will all miss his keen eye for capturing life in this place we call home.

 * ... LYLE MARTIN: And finally I am not sure there could have been a better choice to lead our police department than Lyle Martin, who replaced the retiring Greg Williamson as police chief. Martin's personality is one of openness and honesty, and he will have to call on that to confront a department under attack after yet another officer-involved shooting, this time claiming the life of an unarmed 73-year-old man in the southwest. Martin deserves a change to address some of the cultural and training issues facing the Bakersfield Police Department.

 * ... DUMP ROAD: Most of you have never been on the old County Dump Road right off Fairfax and Alfred Harrell Highway. The dump has long been closed, and the road is a dead end so it doesn't get much traffic other than cyclists who like its long steady climb to the top. And even though "no dumping" signs are posted all along the way, the road has become a favorite spot for people to discard everything from soiled mattresses to washing machines to old sofas and chairs. It is an absolute mess, a civic embarrassment, and it resembles something out of a dirt poor Third World country. Can we get it cleaned up?

* ... MEAN STREETS: My earlier post about the growing criminal element on our streets hit a nerve and prompted responses like this one from reader Lydia Dunton: "I think 'prison realignment' and the subsequent early-release programs are a direct cause of our mean streets. It doesn't take a genius to foresee that this would happen. Thanks federal mandate!"

* ... TAFT COLLEGE: There was a nice scene out at Taft College recently when the college foundation surprised Chevron with an announcement that it was naming its STEM Lab after the energy company. The Chevron STEM Lab recognizes Chevron's generosity to the college, totaling more than $1.3 million over the last several years. Said Dr. Deb Daniels, president of Taft College: “We are grateful to Chevron for their continuous generous support of not only the programs and students of Taft College but of their support for education from elementary school through college. Their investment in our community has made it possible for more students to go to college and become part of an educated workforce to return to our community."

 * ... MEMORIES: Lastly, Bill Clayton wrote to talk about the old 34th Street Junior Baseball diamonds off 34th Street. "I played Little League there in the 1950s and my team was the Hod Carriers sponsored by the labor union by the same name. Our coach was Mr. Pigg who I think was a union member. I like your Bakersfield Observed column!" Thank you Bill.

Bako bits: an explosion of swine flu cases locally and the local ties to Citizens Business Bank

* ... SWINE FLU CASES EXPLODE: Heard some alarming news regarding the swine flu Wednesday from Dr. Raj Patel, a co-owner of Preferred Family Care Physicians off Truxtun Extension and my personal doctor. Patel said his office has seen a virtual explosion of the swine flu (H1N1) in recent weeks, going from two to three diagnosed cases a day to 20 to 25 a day in just two weeks. These numbers far outstrip the  number of swine flu cases that the Kern County health department reported earlier this week, but Patel says the cases are real and frightening. "We've stopped counting," he said. "Every day it is more and more and more. We are swamped." Patel received his first shipment of the H1N1 vaccine but went through it in a couple days and is awaiting a new shipment. Now comes word that the U.S. health authorities are warning there will be shortage of the H1N1 vaccine (read the story here) and that there may not be sufficient quantities to cover everyone until December. Patel said the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 8 percent of all Americans have the swine flu now, and by the end of the year fully 60 percent of us will have some kind of flu: either a regular version of the flu or the H1N1.

 * ... THE LOCAL CONNECTION TO CITIZENS: Had a nice chat the other day with Ray Dezember, the retired banker who knows just about everybody in town. Ray reminded me that Citizens Business Bank, which took over the failed San Joaquin Bank, has a strong connection to Bakersfield. For you local history buffs, Ray was running the old American National Bank when it was absorbed by Wells Fargo Bank back in 1990. Working with Ray at American National was D. Linn Wiley, who shortly thereafter went to Ontario to become CEO of Citizens Business Bank. Linn has since retired but remains as vice chairman of the board at Citizens. Other American National alumni now working at Citizens Business Bank include Harold Hanson, John Ivy and John Tait. Ray said it was Linn Wiley who actually recruited Citizens CEO Christopher Myers.

 * ... WHERE'S MIKE OLAGUE? Speaking of local bankers, lots of folks are wondering what happened to Michael Olague, the longtime Bakersfield banker who has been replaced as head of the regional Rabobank office. Rabobank is a private, well diversified Dutch-held company that keeps a tight rein on public announcements, and it's not saying anything about what happened to Olague. All the office would say is that the new regional president is Anker Fanoe. Olague previously ran the regional Bank of America office and worked for a time at the old San Joaquin Bank.


 * ... THE MESS WITH LOCAL APPRAISALS: Readers of this blog know I am a big fan of local appraiser Gary Crabtree and his "Crabtree Report," which remains one of the single most authoritative sources on the local housing market. I'm always impressed by the depth and breadth of his reports, which in this day and age makes for a sobering read. His latest report shows Bakersfield remaining the seventh worst foreclosure market in the nation with a staggering 13.14 per 1,000 households. And the mess with out of town appraisers supplying incomplete or erroneous appraisals remains a big problem. From his report:

 "The HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct) is continuing to cause problems with low appraisals performed by either lesser experienced and/or geographically incompetent appraisers ... Research of the MLS appraiser members indicates that 58 percent of the appraiser members are from out of the area as far north as San Francisco and as far south as San Diego, with one appraiser from Huntsville, Alabama. What is even more concerning is that according to the California Office of Real Estate Appraisers there are a total of 119 licensed appraisers in Bakersfield, yet only 50 are 'appraiser members' of the MLS. This begs the question: where and how are the other 69 members obtaining their market data information or do they possess a real estate license and are Realtor members?"