Monday's Bakersfield Observed: Taft landmarks appear in a Super Bowl ad, a chat with former Centennial and USC great Cody Kessler, a new salad joint opens up downtown combat veteran Chad Garcia to appear on KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM

Monday, February 5, 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. 

 * ... TAFT: If you spotted a few familiar scenes during the Super Bowl commercials, you were not
alone. It turns out Toyota filmed its commercial in Taft, and it included scenes of the iconic Oasis bar and restaurant, the First Baptist Church and the historic Fox theater.

* ... MOVING UP: Jimmy Phillips, who spent 10 years at Adventist Health Bakersfield/San Joaquin Community Hospital, has been promoted to the group's Regional Director of Marketing for Adventist Health's Southern California Region. Said Phillips: "My responsibilities will be to oversee all marketing activities for our hospitals in Glendale, East LA and Simi Valley, along with our clinics throughout the Greater LA area. Even though I'll be saying goodbye to Adventist Health in Bakersfield, Natalie and I will continue to make our home here (and I will get to know the Grapevine really well). Thanks to all our family and friends for the support over the years. It means more than you know. "

 * ... DIGNAN: And congratulations to Brian Dignan who has been named athletic director at Garces Memorial High School. He previously served as the school's head men's basketball coach.

* ... CODY KESSLER: I chatted with Cody Kessler the other day to catch up with the Centennial and USC grad who is now a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. He was home here in Bakersfield, headed to the Super Bowl and then on to Newport Beach for off season training. Kessler is hopeful to win the starting job after seeing little action last year. He says he is fit and ready to help turn the Browns around. And ... his favorite place to eat when he comes home? Salty's BBQ he told me.

 * ... HEALTHY EATING: I have wondered for a long time why Bakersfield doesn't have more restaurants devoted to healthy salads. Well, one just opened downtown on 19th and Eye Streets called "Tossit" and it features make it yourself salads for under $10. The owner, Gabby Gonzalez, told me they hope to capitalize on the healthy eating trend without sacrificing quality. Check it out. Tossit is on Eye Street in the same building that houses Metro Galleries and Jin Sushi.

 * ... FOODIE: Speaking of healthy eating, our local Eureka burger will start selling the new, leaner, grass and carrot fed Santa Carota beef burger this Thursday. The beef is from a local cattle ranching family and is leaner and moister than the more fatty versions found around town.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I found a horse’s head in my bed this morning, and that’s when I knew things were getting serious with my overdue balance at Comcast."

 * ... OLD PHOTO: Check this photo out from the Facebook page Kern County of Old: "Buck Owens' Buckmobile N Chester Ave and RR tracks Oildale about 1975. Photo courtesy of Thomas Bethune (thanks Tom)."

 * ... TUNE IN: On Tuesday this week, I will be chatting with combat veteran Chad Garcia on a wide range of veterans issues- from PTSD, to suicide to adjusting to life after years in a combat zone. Garcia is a former producer for the recently fired Jaz McKay radio host and was at the center of his dismissal, and his personal story is reflective of the challenges that many veterans face. Garcia will appear Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. on KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM.

California welcomes the "atmospheric river" of rain and snow, what's going on at the Fox Theater and my seven month retirement ends with a daily radio show starting next week

 * ... RAIN AND SNOW: Take a deep breath and enjoy this "atmospheric river" of rain that has been pummeling California for the past few weeks. To be sure it is not enough to end the long drought, but there is plenty of good news for our lakes and reservoirs. As Louis Sahagun of the Los

Angeles Times reported: "Lake Tahoe has risen 12 inches in just the last two weeks as the storms have dumped 33.6 billion gallons of water into the massive landmark, which measures 72 miles around and has a capacity for 37 trillion gallons of water. As of Tuesday morning, 154 of the largest reservoirs tracked by the California Department of Water Resources had filled to about 97 percent of their collective average for the day ... Just a year ago, many were at or below 50 percent of average." Even Lake Oroville has risen 90 feet since December. (photo courtesy of SFGate)

 * ... GOING, GOING, GONE?: The Wall Street Journal recently compiled a list of popular products that have fallen out of favor with consumers. Among them: powder detergent (replaced by pods), processed cheese, bar soap, margarine, ground coffee (replaced by the Keurig cups), frozen juice concentrate and alkaline batteries.

 * ... FOX THEATER: What is going on over at the Fox Theater and the folks who are running the show? Jennifer Self, the Californian's longtime features editor who is plugged into the local entertainment community, shed some light this week when she questioned what happened to Bob Bender, who apparently lost his job running the Fox and booking shows at the iconic venue. So who is running this local community treasure? I hope it's not Melanie Farmer, the head of the Fox Theater Foundation who has zero experience in concert promotion. Other than telling Self the foundation was looking at being a more "hands-on operation" (what does that mean?) we are left in the dark. Memo to Farmer: The Fox is a community treasure and many of us have opened our wallets to preserve and restore it. If Bender is out, tell us what the plan is for the grand old dame of Bakersfield.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I've never done jail time, but I've been stuck in a group text with my family and it can't be much worse."

 * ... RADIO: I spent a career in print journalism but my second love has always been news radio, a more free wheeling environment that is both authentic and unpredictable. So I am pleased to announce that effective this Monday, Jan. 16, I will host my own two hour daily talk show on KERN NewsTalk (96.1 FM/1180 AM) from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (I will be the lead-in for the popular Ralph Bailey Show that comes on at 3 p.m.) Join me on inauguration week for a lineup of special guests including Monsignor Craig Harrison, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker, former Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, Reuters Washington, D.C., correspondent Bill Trott, CSUB political science professor Jeanine Kraybill, water expert Harry Starkey, Californian columnist Lois Henry, CSUB basketball Coach Rod Barnes, Californian executive editor Bob Price and many more.

 * ... FOODIE: Were you surprised that the Mimi's restaurant on California Avenue closed? Eateries come and go but Mimi's always seemed to have a steady clientele. But the food business is a tough one, and the public can be fickle in its loyalty. Across the street, I made my first visit to the Habit Burger and while it is no In-N-Out, the burger was rich and tasty and the service was excellent. I was also pleased to read that RJ's Bar and Grill had reopened and was back in business on Hageman Road.

 * ... STOLEN CARS: Car and truck theft is rampant here is Bakersfield, and here are some of the most popular targets according to the Bakersfield Police Department: 1990 through 2000 Honda Accords and Civics; 2000 through 2008 Chevrolet Silverado trucks; 2000 through 2008 GMC Sierra trucks; and 1990 through 2000 Acura Integras.

Local radio group adds an FM simulcast for First Look with Scott Cox and The Ralph Bailey show, heating up the local radio wars …

 * … RADIO WARS: The local radio wars heated up this week when American General Media

accounced it had added a new FM station to its broadcast of News-Talk 1180 KERN. The station will simulcast KERN-AM on 96.1 FM, giving local hosts Scott Cox and Ralph Bailey new reach on the FM dial. AGM president Rogers Brandon said the simulcast will "allow KERN-AM and the excellent talent that we have on the station to be discovered by the vastly larger FM audience."

* … BIRTH: Did you hear about the woman who gave birth on a Southwest Airlines flight from San Francisco to Phoenix? Lind Brammer wondered: "Who issues the birth certificate? Which county?  I think it would be an interesting item for that baby to put on his/her resume, that he/she was born inflight, somewhere over the San Joaquin Valley."

* … PANDHANLDERS: Sandra Hurtado witnessed something the other day that is worth sharing. In her words: "We were exiting freeway at White Lane and a young girl in her 20s was standing at the median with her cardboard sign asking for money. My daughter made a comment that it was so sad because she is so young. We all felt bad for her. I proceeded to my destination at Urner's to pick up my order. I'm standing in the back and I see the young lady walking through the parking lot and get in a car. She sat in the car for awhile … counting her money. She left in a shiny red SUV, a really nice car.  It's so hard to judge now when giving money."

 * … RIP NANCY: Nancy Sherman spent 30 years working as a nurse at Kern Medical Center, and over that time became almost legendary in her commitment to her patients. This note from my friend Gordon Westhoff speaks volumes: "I just read the obituary today for Nancy Sherman and wanted to say a few words regarding her. I had the privilege as a sales rep in healthcare to call on Nancy for over twenty years at KMC. She was the best and most dedicated clinical nurse I ever knew - her patients were all that mattered to her. Doctors and sales reps both feared and respected her  As a rep you better NEVER try and sell her a product that was not the best for her patients  I was terrified of her when I first met her becasue she let me know in VERY clear terms to not ever waste her time with salesman bull! Her nurses all respected her and her patient's families loved her. She was a true legend at KMC."

 * … FOODIE: If you are a fan of anchovies, make sure to order the Ceasar salad at The Padre Hotel which comes with lightly and delicately fried anchovies. Highly recommended.

 * … SPOTTED: A man waiting in line at the downtown Sequoia Sandwich Shop is wearing a T-shirt that reads: "Bakersfield. It's really not that bad."

 * … GOOD FORM: Hats off to Shirley Cody who recently completed 1,000 miles of water walking at the McMurtry Aquatic Center. Not a bad feat for an 80-year-old woman who devoted five years of her life to achieving this goal.

 * … BAD FORM: Kern County sheriff's deputies have arrested two teenage boys for allegedly feeding a cat to two large dogs and vide taping the grusome act. According to KGET, the video surfaced on social media and the teenagers were tracked down and arrested for animal cruelty. This kind of behavior defies all logic. In the video, the teenagers could be heard encouraging the dogs to attack the cat. No word on if the cat survived.