Bakersfield high on the list of cities with the most pedestrian deaths, Jolie Brouttier nominated for Teacher of the Year and are we finally nearing the end of the pandemic?

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.

 * ... PEDESTRIAN DEATHS: Were you surprised by the recent survey that shows Bakersfield ranking second in the nation for pedestrian deaths? The study cited wide streets that encourage speeding (true) and crosswalks that are spaced far apart (also true.) And the study when on to report (in a story carried in The Bakersfield Californian) that people of color, older adults and walkers in low income neighborhoods

suffered higher fatality rates. While that may be true, it also comes as no surprise. Why? Because across the country people in low income neighborhoods suffered higher fatality rate for all the obvious reasons, including lack of street lighting, the presence of more pedestrians, drug use and homelessness. What the study should have noted is that Kern County and Bakersfield are home to all the factors that lead to pedestrian deaths: a huge underclass of often illiterate people living in run-down neighborhoods, rampant drug use and addiction that leads people to make bad decisions, homelessness that is virtually out of control and wide, flat roads that lead to speeding. Until our demographics improve, you can expect to find Bakersfield on this list for years.

 * ... MUSIC TO MY EARS: On the one-year anniversary of the pandemic that has taken more than 500,000 American lives, it was encouraging to read the opinion piece in Thursday's Bakersfield Californian by Centric Health owner Dr. Brij Bhambi. "Science saved us," wrote Bhambi. "There is decency and divinity is saving human life. The vaccinated are less likely to spread the virus to the vulnerable and more likely to protect by literally being a human shield between the virus and the vulnerable... Now is not the time to sit on the fence and allow the virus to morph. The vaccinated are protected and protect. Vaccine hesitancy is counter to civic responsibility."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: When is Oprah going to interview people who lost their pipeline jobs?

 * ... TEACHER OF THE YEAR: A big congratulations to Jolie Brouttier, who has been nominated as Kern County Teacher of the Year representing the Bakersfield City School District. The award will be given out later this year. Brouttier taught for seven years at McKinley Elementary and is now at the Downtown School. During the pandemic, Brouttier "visited" her students at their homes, leaving yard sign greetings while spending her other spare tine raising money for backpacks and other supplies for the neediest of students.

 * ... PROSECUTORS: And speaking of high achieving women, Gina Pearl has been named Prosecutor of the Year by District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer. Others in the District Attorney's office being honored were Andrea Kohler and Arthur Norris who won the Justice Award and Amy French was honored with the Support Staff Person of the Year honors.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this classic shot of cars on the old Ridge Route encountering Dead Man's Curve, a slice of the road that took many lives, and shots of the curve today. Photos courtesy of Kern County of Old Facebook page.

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: And can you stand one more picture of the old Wayne's Dairies? Not sure of the date but the employees pose here in their crisp white shirts before the dairy entrance.

A leading doctor warns we are entering into a crisis of care locally, The Padre Hotel closes temporarily, words of wisdom from a young teacher and must-see TV in the morning

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 person or organization.

 * ... CORONAVIRUS: If you listen to the medical experts, we are in for a bone chilling, terrifying month as illnesses and deaths from the coronavirus spike in April. Dr. Brij Bhambi, cardiologist and a physician-owner of The Bakersfield Heart Hospital, said the specter of the virus killing thousands and sending thousands of others to the hospital "sends shivers down my spine." Bhambi said California is

not ready for the virus and in fact there is a dangerous shortage of PPE (personal protection equipment) like face masks, gloves and even respirators. Nationally, the experts warn that between 100,000 and 240,000 could die because of the virus, and that is a "best case" scenario. If the public does not heed the call for social distancing, the death toll could go north of 2 million people. Even worse, Bhambi worried that if we run out of hospital beds and critical equipment like respirators physicians may be forced to make heart-breaking decisions on who gets treated, and who doesn't.

 * ... THE PADRE: The iconic Padre Hotel downtown, resurrected to life with a dramatic renovation back in 2009, has shut down because of the coronavirus. A sign on the Padre's main entrance said the hotel was was expected to reopen on April 30.

 * ... BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB: Hats off to Aera Energy, which donated $100,000 to the Boys and Girls Club at a time when non-profit needs it the most. In normal tines, the organization serves some 8,000 kids at four main facilities and 65 satellite facilities, but today because of the coronavirus, it is serving a little over 100 children as well as providing lunches for 1,000 others daily.

 * ... MUST SEE TV: If you want to keep up with the coronavirus, it's wise to tune into the daily press briefings by President Trump and his crisis team, the briefings by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and locally, Maddie Janssen and Dr. Hemmal Kothary on the KGET morning show. Kothary is a breath of fresh air: authoritative, calm and a straight shooter. Kudos for KGET for locking down Kothary for this important daily segment.

 * ... BAD FORM: I suppose it's good to see people wearing face masks and rubber gloves during this crisis, but is it too much to ask them to discard them properly. In parking lots across town, people are unceremoniously discarding their gloves in the parking lots. Go figure.

 * ... WORDS OF WISDOM FROM A TEACHER: Listen to Jolie Brouttier, a first grader teacher at the Downtown Elementary school, on how we should view this time when our children are out of school. Words of wisdom from a teacher who cares: "Whether this lasts two more weeks or two more months, do not worry---we will get your kids caught up. It is our job; it’s what we are trained to do. Don’t worry if you are not the perfect homeschooling parent; don’t worry if you are torn between working at home and helping your kids. Don’t let these days be joyless for your kids. Twenty years from now, your children will not remember what they learned during the spring of 2020---honestly, they won’t. They WILL remember the time they stayed home with you (or with whomever is caring for them) for a few weeks. They will tell their own children about feeling safe, and loved, and peaceful during an anxious time. They will remember the fun things you did with them. Do what is most important for your family these days."

 * ... HOMELESS: If you notice an increase in homeless encampments along the Kern River, there is a reason for it. Adhering to some new national recommendations, authorities are not disturbing the homeless as long as they are not in dense public settings. That's the word from Jim Wheeler, executive director of Flood Ministries, who questioned the wisdom of breaking up homeless camps and dispersing the homeless in established neighborhoods at a time when  the coronavirus poses such a threat to the general public.

 * ... TRAFFIC (OR LACK THEREOF) When was the last time you saw the 405 this empty. According to a Facebook post, this picture was taken early Monday morning.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out these contrasting pictures from the bottom of the Grapevine, complements of Art Moore and the Kern County History Fans Facebook page.

Bakersfield family loses a family home in Malibu, thieves make off with two road bikes stolen in broad daylight, and words of wisdom (and warning) from Tim Calahan

Monday, November 12, 2018

 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 such a special place to live. Send your news tips to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... MALIBU FIRE: Among the victims of the Malibu fires is a Bakersfield family with deep connections to a neighborhood there that has been devastated by the flames. Jolie Brouttier, a local

elementary school teacher, said her late grandparents owned a home in Malibu and that her mother and father were there when the fires broke out. They evacuated and had no idea if the house had been spared until they watched a Los Angeles news station and - you guessed it - saw the house aflame. "Any memories I have of my grandparents were in this house.," she said. "From watching my grandpa paint in the garage, eating dark chocolates on the lap of my grandma, to both of them waving from the top of the hill as we headed home. Now it’s gone. All a blaze in a matter of seconds. We can rebuild but the heart will take time. My family is devastated." Jolie and her mother, Lois Brouttier, will be on The Richard Beene Show on KERN NewsTalks 96.1 FM tomorrow (Monday) at 2:30 p.m. Tune it to hear their story. (The first photo shows the roof of their family house intact. It later burned to the ground.)

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Shout out to weathermen telling us the barometric pressure like we know what the hell to do with that information."

 * ... TIM CALAHAN: ABC23 anchor Tim Calahan has covered three mass shootings in the past five years at the station. Appearing on my radio show last week, he wondered about the world we will be leaving our children. "Remember when we used to say that everyone knows somebody who has been touched by cancer? The thought came to me that we are heading to a time where everyone will know someone who has been touched by a mass shooting."

 * ... BIKE THEFT: The recent spike in crime locally has touched two friends, whose only mistake was taking a bike ride. Tom and Christy Morgan, avid cyclists, were out riding Saturday when they decided to stop at the Finish Line bike shop right across Stockdale Highway from Cal State Bakersfield. They parked their bikes at the entrance to the shop and left them unattended for just minutes. Two men, seen here in security footage, tossed the bikes in the back of an older Toyota pickup and took off. If you know these guys, contact Bakersfield police.

UPDATE: The bike thieves have been caught. This from Tom Morgan: " Great news everyone. Thanks to a tip from someone who saw the shared post, we were able to locate the suspect vehicle. Shortly thereafter, BPD arrived and was able to recover both bikes. Both suspect’s were taken into custody and our bike are home safe and sound (minor scratches and missing Garmin’s). BPD Officer Holmes (who took the earlier report) heard the call and did an excellent job recovering the bikes and catching both suspects. BPD Rocks! A great big Thank You to everyone for your support and kind words and especially for sharing the post


 * .... MEMORIES: I spotted this picture of what is now Lake Isabella on the Kern County of Old Facebook page. The caption read: "1927 photo of what is now Lake Isabella. You can see Cooks Peak in the upper center back. Then to the left side just out of the photo would be Kissack Cove. You can see Paradise Cove about 2 inches from the left side. To the right side of the photo would be where the Southfork Boat Ramp is now. 26 years after this photo was taken. (1953) we then had Lake Isabella."

A Bakersfield kindergarten teacher instructs her kids on the lessons of September 11, and a fund raiser is set for Saturday for the Fox Theater in Taft

* .... NEVER FORGET: Jolie Brouttier, a kindergarten teacher at McKinley Elementary School, posted this beautiful note on her Facebook page to remember the victims of the September 11 attacks.

"It is a day we will all remember and never forget. However my students, born in 2008, are unable to reflect on a day that they did not experience, nor would they understand. It is my job today not only to teach them but to instill and enlighten the beauties of being American. We cross our hearts, they pledge, and I reflect."

 * ... SPOTTED: At the Ramco gas station and market at the corner of F and 23rd streets a woman is gassing up her car, using her right hand to hold the nozzle and a cigarette at the same time.

 * ... ANIMAL CARE: Gene Bonas and his wife Robbie are animal lovers, and every year they send a nice donation to the SPCA and the animal control facility on Mt. Vernon. He always receives a nice thank you note from the facilities but has a better idea. "I suggested quite some time ago that each start a monthly pledge type donation program, such as the one conducted at The Mission of Kern County. I realized that, instead of one big donation, a monthly donation would total much more for the entire year. Although I received nice cards from both places, neither has yet to begin any kind of pledge program."


 * ... 25 HILL: The Fox Theater in Taft will be hold a special screening this Saturday for 25 Hill, a move directed by Corbin Bernson. His mother, of course, is the late soap opera star Jeanne Cooper, who grew up in Taft. The screenings will be held at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and proceeds will go to the Fox Theater digital conversion project. The movie is about the All American Soap Box Derby and a boy whose father died in Afghanistan. (file photo of Corbin Bernson)

* ... FATHER CRAIG: Monsignor Craig Harrison will be honored later this month at the annual Police Activities League (PAL) fund raiser at Seven Oaks Country Club. This is PAL's major fund raiser to support its efforts to help needy youth in Bakersfield. Monsignor Craig will be honored as PAL's Hometown Hero for all the work he has done to help our community. If you are interested in sponsoring a table at the Thursday, September 26 event, contact Naomi Vidales at (661) 283-8880.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Dolores Hoffman says you may be a Bakersfield old timer if you remember the martinis at Ewing's Tam O'Shanter were garnished with a small pickled green tomato instead of an olive. "Mickey was our favorite waitress, and dining at Tam O'Shanter was always very special.