A prowler with a scoped rifle cases homes in Seven Oaks, new retail around the Maya Cinemas, some important work being done by Jim Scott and KGET and some old pics of Disneyland

Monday, March 12, 2018


Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

* ... PROWLER: Did you see the story on the local television website about a prowler in Seven

Oaks? A homeowner's security camera caught the prowler, a young black man, holding a scoped rifle, or possibly an assault weapon, walking up to the front door. The security camera scared him off but it's enough to make you think about crime throughout our community. This is Seven Oaks, not downtown, not Oleander, not the east side, and not Niles Street. Let that sink in for a minute. Police later arrested William Kindred, 24, and believe he may be the man with the weapon.

 * ... NEW RETAIL: Two new businesses opened in the new retail area built adjacent to the downtown Maya Cinemas. The first tenants are Yogurtland and China Bistro. There is room for another half dozen or so retail tenants.

* ... LOCAL TV: Some of the best reporting on local television appears every Saturday afternoon hosted by veteran anchor Jim Scott. In a world when media is fragmenting, and the ranks of reporters who play the watchdog role have dwindled to almost nothing, we desperately need the kind of reporting that Scott brings with "Kern County In Depth." It's relevant, local, civil and presents all sides. The problem? KGET buries it in the Saturday afternoon time slot, a ratings disaster for such an important show that should be more widely viewed.

* ... ADAM BOWLES: Congratulations to meteorologist Adam Bowles who has left KERO TV for a new job in New Orleans. The Mississippi State University alumni announced his departure on Facebook, pretty much par for the course for the millennial generation.

 * ... WOOD-DALE: The opening of the second location for Wood-Dale Market in Grand Island Village has been a huge hit. Perhaps this is no surprise but for owner Israel Vasquez, pouring thousands of dollars into a new location - with its pricey rent - is enough to make you sweat. But both Vasquez and his son Chris told me the reception in the Seven Oaks area has been outstanding. One of the big hits: the locally produced Santa Carota, grass-fed and carrot finished beef.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "There’s someone out there for everyone. All you have to do is sort through 6.93 billion people. Good luck."

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this old picture from the 1955 opening of Disneyland and its commissary.

Sexual harassment is alive and well in Kern County, Wood-Dale Market to carry fresh fish at its new location and Kevin Burton joins a local law firm

 * ... SEXUAL HARASSMENT: Given all the sexual harassment and groping charges on the national level, did you ever think if it is better - or worse - here in Kern County? I posed that question to Katy Raytis, a lawyer who specializes in sexual harassment for Belden/Blaine/Raytis. Her answer might surprise you. It is actually worse here, she told me, because of the chummy nature of our community. "Everyone knows everyone," she said, "and that leads to familiarity and the idea that it
can't happen to me. But it does." The time of year when we should all watch our behavior? The holidays, of course, when we find ourselves at company Christmas parties with our guard down while alcohol is being served.

 * ... ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIPS: And speaking of surprising, did you know that only 2 percent of high school athletes actually receive some sort of athletic scholarship to attend college? That's the word from Trevor Horn, prep sports writer for The Bakersfield Californian. The number is so small, in fact, that Horn has this advice for parents who are dreaming their children will get a scholarship: "Relax and just enjoy the ride," he said. "Enjoy them participating in sports and let them play multiple sports."

 * ... FISH MARKET: It looks like the new Wood-Dale Market at Grand Island Village will be opening sometime after the first of the year. And here is some good news: Chris Vasquez, son of owner Israel Vasquez, says the old-style meat market will also be carrying fresh fish. Vasquez told me they will start with the most popular types of fish - salmon, sea bass etc - but will let the customers decide what they should carry. Work at the new location, next to the Sol Y Luna restaurant across from Wiki's Wine Dive and Grill, is well under way as they shoot to open after the first of the year.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Congressmen only make $174,000 a year! How can they be expected, on such a meager pittance, to raise a family, buy groceries, send their kids to school, and pay massive sexual harassment settlements? Impossible."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "One day you're 18, eating pizza for every meal, wearing a size 4 and the next you're 30, drinking kale and debating wearing a T-shirt in the pool."

  * ... KEVIN BURTON: Kevin Burton, who has been the face of the marketing for Adventist Health for the past seven years, is leaving his job as head of its foundation to join the law firm of Klein DeNatale Goldner. Burton will be overseeing corporate and business development as well as marketing the firm.

 * ... THE TOWER: It looks like the old downtown church that has housed several restaurants (Bell Tower Club, The Ivy) is about to get a new owner. Robert Alimirzaie, executive chef at Bakersfield Country Club, has purchased the elegant old church and will open it as a restaurant called "The Tower" in February.