Bakersfield loses Steve Clifford after a battle with cancer, some really bad form with the homeless about town, Kevin and Judi McCarthy mark a wedding anniversary and locking your trash bins to keep the homeless out

Friday, August 31, 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 to live. Send your news tips to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... RIP STEVE CLIFFORD: I was saddened to learn of the death of Stephen T. Clifford, one of our community's best lawyers and a man who devoted his life to his hometown. Clifford, 77, died

after a long battle with cancer. A third generation Bakersfield native, Clifford was born in 1940 and graduated from Bakersfield High School, later going on to UC Davis and the Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. He was a specialist in labor and employment law, business litigation and hospital negligence cases. He was a member of the Bakersfield Rotary Club and served on the board of directors of Mercy Hospital and Memorial Hospital.

 * ... HOMELESS ASSISTANCE: For the first time in a while, there is a glimmer of hope in the fight against homelessness. It came in the form of a new state program called HEAP that stands for Homeless Emergency Aid Program, and it provides $700 million in block grants to help California counties combat homelessness. According to Supervisor Leticia Perez, the grants will be awarded to counties that show a cooperative approach to combat the problem. Perez said the money would be used to provide housing for the mentally ill and then services to deal with their illness. It is not a comprehensive solution by any means, but it is a start.

 * ...  HOMELESS FATIGUE: Here are just a few homeless sightings (along with graphic pictures) from around town this week: a young homeless woman is captured on camera at 2 p.m. downtown masturbating in public after defecating behind the 18th Street parking garage, and a second homeless woman is spotted with her pants down washing her rear end and private parts in a public drinking fountain at Jastro Park. Finally, yet another homeless woman is caught on camera defecating in the front yard of a single-family residence. And you wonder why the public is suffering from homeless fatigue.

 * ... KEVIN AND JUDY: Congratulations to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and wife Judy for celebrating their 26th wedding anniversary. McCarthy was in town to celebrate but left to attend the funeral service for the late Sen. John McCain. As a ranking member of the House aligned with the Trump administration, McCarthy comes under regular criticism, but the spirituality and kindness of Judy is beyond reproach.

* ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: Jeff Pickering, former head of the Kern Community Foundation who left for Florida a few years ago, posted this on his Facebook page: "Good to find a little Bako in Vero Beach. Thanks John Zaninovich! VBZ Grapes.'

 * ... MORE FACEBOOK: "Don’t you wish karma was like pizza and could be delivered in under 30 minutes?"

 * ... MONEYWISE GUYS: Moneywise, a financial advisor partnership located off Stockdale Highway across from CSU Bakersfield, is thinking about moving to a new location, possibly downtown. Two of the partners - David Anderson and Sherod Waite- told me they would like to relocate to larger quarters downtown to show their commitment to the community. The company has committed itself to a deep level of community involvement. Its daily radio program called "The Moneywise Guys" runs daily from noon to 1 p.m. to KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM.

* ... DUMPSTER DIVING: A neighbor showed me how to lock the trash and blue recycle bins to keep the homeless out of it. A bit of a hassle but seems to work.

 * ... MEMORIES: Spotted this example of the wonderful architecture of old Bakersfield on the Kern County of old Facebook page. Enjoy.

Kevin McCarthy's stunning decision to drop out of the race for House Speaker, it's time for the 99 Music Fest out at CSUB and Connie Perez considers a run against Rep. David Valadao

 * ... MCCARTHY: Politics, like aging, is not a game for sissies, but I couldn't help but feel for Rep. Kevin McCarthy and his family after he bowed out of the race to become the next Speaker of the House. McCarthy is an adult and can take the heat, but when he took questions from a swarm of reporters, flanked by his wife Judy and their children Meghan and Connor, it was painful to see the expression on Judy's face as her husband
fielded the inevitable queries under the glare of national scrutiny. No matter what you think of McCarthy and his politics, the emotional toll on his family is not something to celebrate or to take joy in.

* ... MUSIC FEST: Your best bet for entertainment this weekend is the 99 Music Festival out at the CSUB amphi-theater. There will be seven bands on two stages featuring pure 'Americana' music, a blend of folk, country and Bakersfield sounds that helped forge the unique music of our nation. Among the headliners will be James McMurtry, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Sam Outlaw, Truxton Mile, the Roustabouts, the Canadian group The Sheepdogs and Bakersfield's own Monty Byrom. The gates open at noon and the first music starts at 12:30 p.m. There will be plenty of wine, beer and food. Tickets at 99musicfest.com and available for $50 at the door. This is a '21 and over' event. (file photos of Sam Outlaw, Monty Byron)

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of payments."

* ... OIL SUMMIT: Hats off to the West Kern Petroleum Summit that has sold out all 700 seats for its event next weekend at Taft College. Only in its second year, this summit has hit the sweet spot for a new event devoted to energy production. Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens will be the keynote speaker, Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek will work as emcee and Rep. Kevin McCarthy will also address the crowd. If you missed out on tickets the event will be streamed live on bakersfield.com.

 * ... PEREZ: Folks who follow this stuff are scratching their heads over word that Connie Perez, a partner in the accounting firm Brown Armstrong, is considering challenging Rep. David Valadao in the 21st Congressional District. Perez is a virtual unknown, has never held elective office, works in Pasadena but nevertheless is known to be personally ambitious. While some local Democrats say Perez has a powerful story to tell (she grew up poor in Tulare County and overcame numerous obstacles to succeed), others see her candidacy as a misguided "hail Mary" to unseat the well entrenched Valadao.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You may be a Bakersfield old timer if you remember celebrating St. Patrick's Day at Lemucchi's Tam O'Shanter up on Alta Vista.

McCarthy: allow banks to repay TARP money; Republicans regrouping to fight spending

A busy week for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakerfield) that included his wife and daughter attending the First Lady's Luncheon. In his own words:

"This week was a busy week on several legislative fronts. After listening to many of our neighbors in our communities and attending the Bakersfield tea party, I continued to hear about the fear that many of us have with the record Federal spending and borrowing that’s taking place in Washington. We voted on the final version of the Federal budget blueprint, and I voted against it because it contained the same extraordinary levels of spending and borrowing that could lead our nation to doubling our national debt in five years, and tripling it in ten years. This unprecedented lack of fiscal responsibility will only mortgage the futures of our children and grandchildren tomorrow to pay for new spending programs and bailouts today.

"Serving on the House Financial Services Committee, I have been troubled by news that Treasury is making it difficult for banks that received taxpayer-funded TARP bailout money to repay portions of those loans back to the Treasury, and ultimately the taxpayers. That is why I introduced legislation to make sure that if a bank wants to repay bailout money, that the money goes straight towards paying down our national debt, instead of going back to Treasury where it can be spent. This prevents that repaid money from being used as a revolving line of credit for other things Washington would like to spend money on.

"The swine flu continues to be a major concern for our country, and especially our communities, given our close proximity to the United States-Mexican border. As of Thursday, there were 14 reported cases in California. I have posted a link to the Centers for Disease Control on my website for current updates and background information.

"The week ended with a big national announcement. On Thursday, my colleagues and I introduced the National Council for a New America, a new group to listen, facilitate, and create solutions to address the problems we face in our country. Listening to the American people will provide the real solutions that our country needs to solve our current challenges. We know the best ideas are not in Washington, but throughout America. The National Council for a New America will engage our communities in a conversation to gather common-sense solutions from hard-working American families. Please join us in this discussion as we use the power of new ideas to move our country forward. You can email me your thoughts through my website, or send me a tweet on Twitter or a note on Facebook. I also discussed this on CNN and Fox News to introduce this new grassroots group that will be a policy-based forum to engage in a thoughtful conversation with the American people. You can check out those interviews on my YouTube page.

"And finally, check out my new official website -- it was just redesigned in an attempt to make it more user-friendly and easier to access information. If you would like, let me know what you think (and also about other ideas you may have) by submitting feedback and thoughts here.
My wife, Judy, and daughter, Meghan, were in DC for a few days and were able to attend the first ladies luncheon with First Lady Michelle Obama, and today we are headed home. We are en route back to Bakersfield. Have a good weekend!

Lunch with the First Lady, home invasions, the new Ford and dogs at the museum

A few short takes around town, starting with a few locals having lunch today with First Lady Michelle Obama.
* FIRST LADY LUNCH: The annual First Lady's Luncheon will be held today at the Washington Hilton and four McCarthys from Bakersfield will be there. The wife of Congressman Kevin McCarthy, Judy, and daughter Meghan will be there, along with their guests Judi McCarthy and daughter Katie. Though not related the connections here are deep, so bear with me: the second Judi McCarthy is the chair of the Kern Community Foundation and founder of the Women and Girl's Fund, which I wrote about yesterday. Just so happens her son, USC grad Rob, works for the congressman in D.C. Daughter Katie is a grad of Loyola Marymount and works as a magazine editor in Los Angeles.
* HOME INVASIONS: Not sure about you, but the piece in today's Californian about home invasion robberies doesn't exactly make me feel any better. The story says most are not totally random, and that there always is some kind of connection - like a kid down the street who grew up to be a thug or someone who worked on your car or a former contractor. I'm not sure how this is supposed to calm any fears unless you have gone through life in total solitude. And it won't stop folks from arming themselves to the teeth to protect their castle. So the next time someone barges into your house and puts a 9mm Glock to your wife's head, think: "I should know this guy!:
* INCREDIBLE GAS MILEAGE: I wrote earlier (see post here) about a team from Ford setting out to get 1,000 miles out of a single tank of gas with the new Ford Fusion hybrid. Well, sales manager Chad Manning over at Jim Burke Ford tells me they did it. Actually, the team managed to get 1,445 miles (or 81 miles per gallon) out of the Fusion hybrid. This is one of Ford's hottest new models and every time they get one over at Burke Ford, it doesn't last.

* DOGS GONE WILD: I heard from Beth Pandol over at the Bakerfield Museum of Art that the museum is holding a "Doggone Morning" next Wednesday May 6. Folks can bring their dogs over for classes on training, obedience, behavior and breed characteristics. Wouldn't it be terrific if this led to some kind of "Big Dog" parade like they have in Santa Barbara every year? The event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Contact David Gordon at 661-323-7219 for details.