Kern County voters will be asked to approve $1.5 billion in bonds this November, Stars Dinner Theater is in trouble again and celebrating a BLT from Pyrenees Cafe

 * ... BONDS: If you are an administrator at a local school district, chances are you are sweating out the Nov. 8 general election. Why? Because Kern County voters will be asked to approve almost a

dozen school bond measures that would add some $1.5 billion in assessments on home and business owners. At least two of the measures - the Kern Community College District and the Kern High School District - will appear on almost every Kern County ballot. There are good arguments for all of these measures, but putting them on the ballot all at once can only hurt their chances.

 * ... STARS: It was distressing to read that the Stars Dinner Theater is some $50,000 behind on its rent and is once again seeking donations from the public to stay afloat. I say 'once again' because the community theater always seems to be teetering on the financial edge, constantly flirting with going out of business and having to spend an inordinate amount of time finding deep pockets to bail it out. The problem is not with Stars - its productions are first rate - but rather with the state of live theater in America which serves a very small - if loyal - niche audience. Without a sugar daddy coming forward, Stars will face either having  to either downsize to a smaller, more humble location or closing its doors for good.

* ... DRESS CODE: I know California is known for its casual vibe, and I recognize it is an even more relaxed dress code here in the Central Valley, but is it too much to ask folks not to wear their pajamas to traffic court? Not that the plaid pajama bottoms didn't match the faux leather blue boots on the older woman who lacked proof of insurance after an accident, but seems this sartorial choice was pushing the envelope of appropriateness.

 * ... SCAM: I received a call the other day and, not knowing the number, let it go to voice mail and sure enough it was yet another scam. The caller told me it was the IRS and it was preparing to file a lawsuit, and it instructed me to call back immediately. I wonder how many people fall for this and other scams that target the vulnerable.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "These meal replacement shakes aren't too bad when you chase them with a BLT."

 * ... FOODIE: And speaking of BLTs, one of the few restaurants open on Labor Day was Pyrenees Cafe, where I ordered and enjoyed a fabulous BLT with avocado on a soft croissant. Check it out next time you are on the east side in search of a good meal.

 * ... BAD FORM: It is just me or are stretches of the Westside Parkway starting to take on all the ugly characteristics of Highway 58?

 * ... OVERHEARD: At the downtown Starbucks off 24th Street, a barista is telling a customer she has already started Christmas shopping.

 * ... GOOD FORM: Ken Beggs wrote to give a shout out the Kern River Golf Course. Said Beggs: "Don't know if you are a golfer but in the last three months Kern River Golf course has turned into a local jewel. It's always been a fun and challenging course but a new greens keeper has put this course in super condition. Perfect fairways and greens. I've played this course for 30 years and never seen it in this kind for great shape. Congratulations to Jim and his crew."

 * ... BAD FORM: Finally, Lupe Flores weighed in some bad form which has become a sign of the times: "First of all I enjoy your blog very much. I saw a new  pickup here in town with a bump sticker that read 'life is a bitch don't vote for one.' It had a picture of Hillary Clinton. I thought this was very poor taste. Keep up the good work and take care."

Steak night at the remodeled Pyrennes Cafe, more on the Hell's Angels in Bakersfield and remembering the late CBS newsman Bob Simon

 * … HELL'S ANGELS: I recently posted some pictures on my online blog of the day in 1965 when the Hell's Angels roared into town, triggering this response from Ron Derbyshire. "As an avid Harley rider here in Kern County I have attended a couple of rides put on by the Bakersfield and Ventura

chapters of the Hell's Angels. The ride in Ventura was a benefit for the parents of a local high school boy who was paralyzed in a tragic football accident. The ride here in Bakersfield was a benefit to help under priviledged kids at Easter time. They collected around 600 Easter baskets to distribute." Good form, indeed.

* … FOODIE BEST BET: There are few things I enjoy more than dining at one of our locally owned Basque restaurants that boast communal seating, a standard menu and set up (cabbage soup, beans and a salad). Noriega Hotel has always been high on my list but you can add the recently remodeled Pyrennes Cafe to the list. Co-owners Rod and Julie Crawford have done a remarkable job restoring Pyrennes, and as one person at my table said, looking around the noisy and crowded room, "This is really the best of Bakersfield."

* … OVERHEARD: A woman is sharing her pet peeve of the day. "It's crazy when the GET bus stops in the middle of the block and folks are dashing across the street trying to catch it," she said. "I just saw an elderly man on 34th Street near Chester nearly get clipped."

 * … SPOTTED: On Twitter was this post: "(the late CBS newsman) Bob Simon led the kind of life that Brian Williams could only lie about."

 * … SCAMS: Caroline O. Reid has a system to handle all those annoying calls from fake IRS agents and other salespeople. "I believe I have shut them down a bit by answering the phone, 'Who is this and what do you want?' The callers are so shocked they hang up. Of course, you need Caller ID. Last night the unknown caller said, 'Have a little respect.' My response was not pretty. It was 8:30 p.m., I had company, we were watching a TV program. Very very annoying. I just reenlisted on the “Do Not Call' list but it apparently didn’t help. For people who have friends and family who might call from overseas, often the caller ID shows 'Out of Area.' Ask them to immediately say, 'Mom, it’s me.'”

 * … GOLF: This memory of the old miniature golf course on Mount Vernon comes from Dennis Franey. "In the early 1960s my classmates in elementary school would have their birthday parties there. The name was Golfland and it was located next to Paola's (Bowling) College Lanes."

 * … MEMORIES: Stephen A. Montgomery said he was watching a Huell Howser episode on the history and restoration of the Hollywood sign when it triggered a memory about a similar sign promoting real estate development in the then-bare hills of College Avenue near the intersection of Camino Sierra. The sign read 'HILLCREST' to promote postwar development in the area. Sometime around 1950 they turned out the lights and not long after the sign was gone," he said.

Local attorney George Martin plans big music festival, KC Steakhouse to be featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and a Valentine love story

 * … MUSIC: Local attorney George Martin is at it again, this time bringing a huge music festival to Bakersfield on May 23. There is not doubt that Martin, brains behind the highly successful Bakersfield Business Conference, knows what he is doing but I have to wonder about the price to attend. The

cheapest tickets are going for $135 each and "preferred seats" are a whopping $425. That's $270 to $850 per couple just to walk in the door to hear bands like Steppenwolf, Chubby Checker, Asleep at the Wheel and LeAnn Rimes. (Food and drinks are extra) These long-in-the-tooth acts are well beyond their prime (Steppenwolf's first hit was 47 years ago), but if anyone can pull this off, it is George. Yikes.

* … SCAM: Those scam phone calls from the Internal Revenue Agency just won't stop. This from Arnold Johansen: "I came home yesterday to find the phone message light blinking. I hit the play button and heard the following; 'This is an official final notice from the IRS. We are filing a lawsuit unless you immediately call (206) 501-3133. Thank you.' I knew mnothing was pending and I called my CPA. She said it is a scam of course and that her aunt got taken in by the call. You might want to alert your readers."

 * … FOODIE BEST BET: The Padre Hotel bar boasts an excellent grilled cheese sandwich with an added savory twist: a fried egg.

 * … KC STEAKHOUSE: And speaking of food, it looks like Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives will feature our own KC Steakhouse on Friday, March 6. That's the word from the popular downtown restaurant.

 * … VALENTINE: Today's valentine comes courtesy of Beverly Hayden: "The old miniature golf course on Mount Vernon has a special place in my memories. One summer evening my sister Judy and a few classmates from Bakersfield High School had finished playing miniature golf there and were waiting for one of our parents to give us a ride home when a car pulled up full of cute guys from East Bakersfield High. They invited us to go hang out with them, we said no because we wouldn't have had our parents permission. We did exchange phone numbers and I am thankful that the guy I had my eyes on persisted. His name is Rod and that was 57 years ago and we have been married 55 years."

 * … ROBOTICS: Judy Henderson wrote to send kudos to the robotic teams of Centennial and Highland high schools. "The have competed and won their way to the state competition. The matches will be held at the Pasadena Convention Center this Saturday. Each year, an international committee decides what the challenges will be in the robotic  arena. Students throughout the world then build a robot that can meet the new challenges. These students are tomorrow’s engineers."

 * … MEMORIES: Some memories of old Bakersfield from reader Elinor Grant: "Does anyone else remember when car license plates changed color every other year? One year they would have a black background with orange letters. Then they would switch to an orange background with black letters. Black denoting oil and orange for the California poppies. And mail delibery was twide a day Monday through Saturday. Ours came at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. And during December that included Sunday. At three cents for a letter and a penny for a postcard."

A huge thunderstorm rolls through Bakersfield and it's the talk of the town, and more on those IRS telephone scams that are targeting so many Kern County residents

 * … RAIN: Who knew that a passing rainstorm could pick up our spirits? The rain (and wasn't Friday night amazing?) was the No. 1 topic in town over the weekend and everyone is hoping for more. Which brings us to this: You know you are from Bakersfield when you take pictures and video of the rain and post it on social networking websites. (photos by Don Martin and Christina Sweet)

* … IRS SCAMS: Our community is being inundated by telephone sammers posing as Internal Revenue Service agents. One reader called to say she returned home to find a "very threatening" message on her answering machine from someone claiming to be front the IRS. When she called Bakersfield police, an officer told her more than 150 people a day are complaining about the scams.

 * … SCAMS: And it gets worse. Kati McKeown in Rep. Kevin McCarthy's office passed along this note from an IRS official:  "The calls can seem scary and legitimate at the beginning. They know your name, they know the last four digits of your Social Security Numbewr, and they reference a specific amount of money that you owe. They insist on immediate payment, even threatening arrest if you hang up! They sometimes keep victims on their cell phone the whole time they are going to the store and buying the pre-paid card. The latest twist is that they tell victims to show up with payment at a specific IRS office. It is not the one closest to the victim’s home. It is often an inconvenient 50 miles away. (Using the IRS office makes this seem more legitimate.) After the victim acquires the pre-paid card, the scammer 'generously' offers to let them off the hook for the lengthy drive. They 'permit' the victim to settle the debt by giving the scammer the numbers off the back of the card, without having to make the trip to the IRS office. If you could help us share just one message, it would be this: The Internal Revenue Service NEVER directs taxpayers to put money on a pre-paid card!"

 * … POLLUTION: This thoughtful note came from Carlos Luna, who was traveling west on 7th Standard Road recently when he spotted a huge mound of almond trees burning near Snow Road.
"This farmer may have had a permit or was in a hurry to get rid off the trees before regulation for no burn days takes effect. May I mention it was a hazy day our surrounding mountains were slightly
visible yet this farmer was burning. The Air Resource Board continues to cut back on citizens burn days, however allows farmers to burn huge piles of green wood. Where is the logic? We get home that afternoon listening to the TV news telling us to brown bag it, don't idle the car, walk kids to school
you get the picture. The ARB should encourage these farmers to take their trees to nearby co-gens or make mulch for our freeways  The co-gens will at least clean up the exhaust before leaving the stacks, but no they want to eliminate our burn nights and fireplaces."

 * … ACHIEVER: Hats off to Lindsay Pearson, a junior at Frontier High School who has been accepted into the 2015 Investigative Journalism Program at Boston University next summer. Her father is Jerry Pearson, a partner at the law firm of Young Wooldridge.

 * … GOP: Karen DeWalt dropped me a note to remind be that the Bakersfield Republican women are gearing up for their annual Pizzazz Luncheon and Fashion Show. The theme is "Celebrating America" and Assemblywoman Shannon Grove will be the guest speaker. The event is Tuesday, Nov. 11 at the Bakersfield Marriott. Tickets can be purchased by calling (661) 477-7004 cost is $50.

 * … MEMORIES: Bud King remembers when "you could bring a Golden Crust wrapper to the Tejon Theater on a Saturday in the summer and get in free if you were a kid. Years later my dad's company, King Trucking, tore down the old bakery. "