Will NBC anchor Brian Williams survive the firestorm over his inflated memory about what happened a decade ago? And some more walks down memory lane about old Bakersfield

* … ANCHOR: NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, caught in a lie about being on a

helicopter that came under fire in Iraq a decade ago, is off the air for now as the network conducts an internal investigation. And now comes word that Williams may have exaggerated his reporting from Hurricane Katrina, where he recounted seeing bodies floating down the street outside his French Quarter hotel. The problem: the French Quarter was never flooded during Katrina. Williams has been pilliored on social media, prompting this thought from the New York Times' Maureen Dowd: "Social media — the genre that helped make the TV evening news irrelevant by showing us that we don’t need someone to tell us every night what happened that day — was gutting the institution further. Although Williams’s determination to wrap himself in others’ valor is indefensible, it seems almost redundant to gnaw on his bones, given the fact that the Internet has already taken down a much larger target: the long-ingrained automatic impulse to turn on the TV when news happens."

* … ACHIEVER: Kudos to Victoria Cody, a 2009 graduate of Garces Memorial High School and a recent graduate from the University of Southern California. The English major was appointed young alumni counsel at USC and she also serves as the vice president of the local alumni chapter.

 * … HONOR FLIGHT: The folks who run the Kern County Honor Flights are looking for World War II veterans for a spring trip to Washington, D.C. If you know a deserving veteran, call (661) 204-9680.

 * … SERVICE: Helen Venosdel wrote to give a big shout out to some great customer service over at Rosedale Automotive. "We have dealt with Julie and Bruce at Rosedale Automotive for years, and they are not only professionals, but very compassionate people," she wrote. "We brought my sister's car up from LA because we wanted to help her with smog compliance. They spent two days on phone calls and then yesterday morning examining the vehicle. When we determined the extensive repairs needed to smog it were not worth it, Bruce and Julie did not charge us for all their time and effort. I am grateful to deal with such amazing people at a superior business!"

 * … GOLF: Yet another reader recalls the old miniature golf courses. Said Irene Randolph: "I recall Harvey Richey's miniature golf course on Oak Street that adjoined Young's Market back parking lot.  Part of it became Whitney-Biggar general contractors, part of the back was Blue Chips Stamps. Today Barnett Superior Tire,  California Keyboards, and Panda Palace occupied the former miniature golf course."

 * … MEMORIES: Today's walk down memory lane comes from reader David Clark. "I love your blog about memory lane and wanted to add one more. When I was in elementary school in the 1960s there was a county dump at the southeast corner of Highway 65 and James Road. I lived in Oildale and a boy down the street from me had some pet pigeons. One day his mother decided the pigeons were too messy and told us to put them in a box and she drove us out to the dump to let them go. There was a large flock of pigeons that lived at the dump so we thought they would like it there. We let them go at the dump and drove directly home; we lived on DeVore Street so it didn’t take very long to get home.  By the time we got back the pigeons were already back at his house. I guess that is why they are called homing pigeons."

 * … MORE MEMORIES: And finally, Rebecca Wyatt submitted this thought from her father, Rudy C. Wyatt. "My dad was a student at Bakersfield High School when his art teacher, Mrs. Emerson, commissioned him to prepare identification signs for the holes on this miniature golf course (on Brundage and Oak streest). Mr. Battastoni, the owner of the golf course, had a contest to name the holes. My Dad entered the name, 'Triple Whammy' the tri-level hole, the most difficult hole in the course; he won a season pass and had many pleasant memories on summer nights at the golf course. My dad recalled another hole that looked like a volcano named 'The Stromboli.'"

House Majority Leader McCarthy: "I support the air strikes" against the Islamic State and stand ready to confront this crisis

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, House Majority Leader, weighs in with his weekly view from Capitol Hill. In his words:

 "With each passing day, an unchecked ISIS grows more powerful, increasing in territory it occupies and continuing to target and kill religious minorities and moderate Muslims. These actions have

destabilized the entire Middle East region and have created the largest terrorist safe haven since September 11, 2001, posing a direct threat to the United States and our allies.

 "The threat to U.S. personnel in Erbil and the potential death of thousands of Christian and Yazidi minorities trapped on a mountaintop by ISIS militants in Iraq is but the latest example of ISIS' reign of terror.

 "I support the targeted air strikes authorized by the President.  Frankly the threat posed by ISIS requires a more fulsome response and a more comprehensive plan than has thus far been put forward by the Administration. We shouldn't wait until terrorists are at the doorstep of U.S. personnel or are threatening thousands of civilians with death on a mountaintop to confront this threat. I stand ready, as I know my colleagues on both sides of the aisle do, to work with the President and confront this crisis."

Spc. Jordan Zoeller heads home from Iraq

Always good news when one of our own does their duty with the military and comes home safe. In this case it's Spc. Jordan Zoeller, son of Barry Zoeller, vice president and chief spokesman for the Tejon Ranch Co. and a former TV anchor in town. Barry is in my Rotary Club and he's kept us abreast of Jordan's stint in Iraq. The photo shows Jordan in front of a Mobile Gun System Stryker vehicle he was assigned to drive. The main gun is a 105mm cannon, the same gun found on an M-1 tank. Jordan served with the 2nd Stryker Battalion, 25th Infantry Division of the Army. The boy was supposed to come home this month but it's been pushed back to early April, but the good news is he is in Kuwait headed home via Hawaii. Welcome home, soldier.

A tragedy in Iraq, with a Bakersfield connection

Last month I told you about Pam Binns, commercial and operations manager for Walter Mortenson Insurance, who every Christmas strong arms her friends and colleagues to contribute to care packages for U.S. soldiers in Iraq. It started when Pam's son was serving overseas but has continued even after his tour has ended. She's done it at great personal expense, only because she believes in the sacrifice our young men and women are making and feels some responsibility to show her support. Now comes news from Pam (her photo was taken during a happier occasion) that four of the young men who enjoyed those care packages died in the recent crashes of two helicopters. Pam's email:

"I am sad to report that 4 of our brave servicemen that we supported for Christmas have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. 2 helicopters went down recently and 4 of them perished...

Our prayers are with their unit, families, and friends as they try to come to terms with this terrible tragedy.

Once again, we love and support our troops !


Pam says she will continue with her annual gift giving as long as our troops are there.