Local family fights with California Coastal Commission to build a home on the coast near Avila Beach, and RIP to Carol Stepanovich and soap opera star Jeanne Cooper

 * ... PERMIT: I have been following the saga of a private/public land battle that Bakersfield's Judi and Rob McCarthy are having in San Luis Obispo County. Seems the California Coastal Commission doesn't like the McCarthys' plan to build a home on 37 acres of prime coastal land above Cave Landing Road between Pismo Beach and Avila Beach. The San Luis Planning Commission approved the project three years ago with no public dissent, but two members of the Coastal Commission appealed the permit to the commission, and it's been all lawyers since then. And now the commission is talking about taking all of the McCarthy land through "prescriptive access" (even eminent domain would be preferable; at least then they have to pay for it). The McCarthys have offered to build a safe hiking trail for the public, but it looks like the Coastal Commission has an appetite for the entire parcel. Wonder how this would play in Kern County? Stay tuned. (file photo of Cave Landing Road)

 * ... GOODNIGHT CAROL: Our community lost a wonderful citizen the other day when retired Panama Buena Vista school district teacher Carol Stepanovich died after suffering a stroke. Carol taught at Stockdale Elementary for years and was involved in many local organizations, including the Assistance League of Bakersfield. Her husband is Mike Stepanovich, executive director of the Bakersfield College Foundation and a local wine expert. Keep Mike and his family in your thoughts. (Facebook picture of Mike and Carol)

 * ... RIP JEANNE: Jeanne Cooper, who played the role of matriarch Katherine Chancellor on the long running soap opera "The Young and the Restless," also died this week. She grew up in Taft and studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and the College of the Pacific in Stockton. She had one son, actor Corbin Bernsen. She was 84.

* ... SYMPHONY: The ouster of longtime Bakersfield Symphony conductor John Farrer drew this response from reader Stephen Montgomery: "First they cut the symphony's funding including various youth oriented programs, then they blame Farrer for the shortcomings. Is that new CEO (Bryan Burrow) old enough to even remember what the symphony sounded like before Farrer? For lovers of serious music a well performed program rivaling those of much bigger cities was the reward. Any acoustic issues can be laid at the feet of those who don't see the need for a more up to date performing arts center. I don't have a journalist's access to the back story but none of the shortcomings apparent to me can be with any accuracy blamed on Farrer. What am I missing here?"

 * ... MORE FARRER: And then there was this from Maxine Pihlaja Love: "In your column a couple of days ago you mentioned that the symphony concert audiences are getting smaller and older.  That is not the fault of the conductor or his music selections for concerts. That has been happening all over the country for the last 25 or more years. People do not get exposed or connected with classical music in their early years, which needs to happen by about age seven. School curriculum used to include information about classical composers... which helped to round out the education of all."

 * ... ACHIEVER: Hats off to Kimberly Jensen, a fourth grader at Endeavour Elementary who ended up third in the state in the California History Day competition. Kimberly participated in the Elementary 2-D division in the state competition.

The real story behind the "retirement" of longtime symphony conductor John Farrer has yet to be told. And Uricchio's, Luigi's and Tahoe Joe's are big winners in a reader's poll

 * ... SYMPHONY: There is a lot more to the story behind the ouster of longtime symphony conductor John Farrer than is being said in public. The fact that neither Farrer, one of our community's more decent citizens, nor symphony executives are saying much tells me that lawyers are involved, and when that happens everybody shuts down. Farrer has been the face of the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra for 38 years, but he is now being pushed out for no clearly defined reason. (Farrer flatly
says he is not ready for retirement and the symphony board is trying to put a positive spin on it). Farrer's supporters say he is being blamed for classical music's lack of following here, particularly among young people, but that's like blaming Mick Jagger for the fact that his fan base grew older. It is, after all, a genre of music that appeals to an older, more sophisticated audience, and bringing in a new maestro is not going to change that. If the new symphony CEO Bryan Burrow and board chair Jim Bell want to reach a younger audience, how about hiring Jay-Z to put his spin on some Verdi?

* ... BEST EATS: Our recent issue of BakersfieldLife magazine featured a list of restaurants and businesses that were voted best in their class by Kern County readers. We mistakenly omitted 10 top restaurants, including some of my favorites, including: Best Italian, Uricchio's Trattoria; Best Lunch, Luigi's; Best Thai Food, Chef's Choice Noodle Bar; Best Happy Hour, Tahoe Joe's; Best Steak, Tahoe Joe's; Best Barbecue, Famous Dave's; Best Catering, Jake's Original Tex-Mex; Best Bar, The Padre Hotel; Best Wings, Buffalo Wild Wings; Best Restaurant for Kids, John's Incredible Pizza Co. My apologies to these businesses, which will be highlighted in the next issue of BakersfieldLife.

 * ... GOOD FORM: Ron Rowlinson is a CSUB graduate who moved to the coast, but when he returns he regularly spots an "attractive retired woman" who does her best to keep her neighborhood clean.  "She not only daily works both sides of the streets to pick up trash, but also has rescued several stray dogs left to die. She takes them home to offer food and water while they wait for a pick up. When animals have been killed in the road, she has also contacted the SPCA to get the messy remains cleaned up," he said. "She told me she hoped that when folks drive by and witnessed her efforts, that they would be more inclined to help solve the problem and less inclined to dump their trash. She told me today that she sees a tiny bit of progress each week."

 * ... GIRLS' FUND: The Women' and Girls' Fund, part of the Kern Community Foundation, is doling out another $25,000 in grants to local non-profit organizations that focus on education and training. In addition, two deserving young women were honored for their philanthropic leadership: Shafter resident Winnie Bartel and Kern Valley High School senior Jessica Yasin. As "Women Defining Philantrhopy," Bartel and Yasin selected the Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault and the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation to receive $500 grants in their honor.

 * ... ACHIEVER: I am always happy to pass along some good news about local kids doing well. This one comes from Arizona State University where Lebec native Nikki Oxford will graduate this month, the first in her family to do so. While in Tempe, she worked on programs to end homelessness and will soon start a job related to ending domestic violence in Maricopa County. She earned an impressive 4.0 GPA at ASU and plans on attending graduate school. Her goal: to become a high school psychologist.

 * ... REMODEL: The remodeling of the Smart and Final supermarket on F Street is under way, a welcome upgrade to a fine store located in an undesirable shopping center. Employees there say the whole project should take about two months.