A German Shepherd loses a leg hunting for bombs in Afghanistan and earns a prestigious British medal, those political signs are popping up around town and it's time for the big Ken Barnes Skeet Tournament out at the Kern County Gun Club

* ... LUCCA: A Marine veteran buddy of mine alerted me to the story of Lucca, a 12-year-old German Shepherd who was awarded the animal version of the British Victoria Cross for service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lucca served with the U.S. Marine Corps and successfully completed more than 400 missions over six years before she lost a leg in the explosion of a roadside bomb. "On

March 23, 2012, Lucca lost her front left leg and suffered burns to her chest, neck and head while searching for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Afghanistan," a news release noted. "Ahead of a foot patrol, she found a weapons cache hidden in a haystack in a poppy field and later discovered a 30-pound IED, which was cleared. But a second IED went off when she was looking for additional dangers in their way. No soldiers were injured in the explosion." The dog was evacuated to Camp Pendleton where she recovered and is now living with Gunnery Sgt. Chris Willingham, who served with her during two tours in Iraq. Now that's a happy ending.

* ... ELECTIONS: You know it's election season when the political signs start popping up around town. So far I have spotted signs for two mayoral candidates - Kyle Carter and Nannette Gonzalez - as well as a few for Supervisor David Couch and judgeship candidate David Wolf. In another month the city will be blanketed with this evidence of visual democracy.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "When I die, I want my grave to offer free Wifi so that people visit more often."

 * ... SNAKES: There is no surer sign that summer is coming than spotting rattlesnakes on the local roads and bike paths. I have spotted two near Hart Park in the past week, sunning themselves on the blacktop.

* ... KENNY BARNES OPEN: Free this weekend? If want to witness some of the best skeet shooting in the west head out to the Kern County Gun Club to take in the Ken Barnes Open Skeet Championship. Named after our own Ken Barnes, it will run Friday through Sunday and feature All American and former world champions. My favorite: The Sunday "shutoffs" that determine class champions.

 * ... MARGE: We've had some fun recalling former KERO TV weathercaster Marge Stiles, and how she used to write "backwards" on the weather board. Not so fast says reader Terry Gaiser, who told me this: "With regards to Marge Stiles writing backwards... she really didn't. That is what it looked like, but the picture that the camera was taking was reversed through the magic of electronics and TV.

 * ... MORE MARGE: And lastly, agreeing with Terry Gaiser was Diana G. Conner: "Actually she was not writing backwards. The camera only gave the appearance of her writing backwards. She actually was writing forward from behind the clear weather board. If she stood in front of the weather clear weather board and wrote the temperatures we would of seen the numbers backwards. But standing behind it allowed us viewers to see the numbers correctly but made her look as if she was writing in reverse. Maybe someone out there could explain it better than I just did. But it was all the 'trick' of the TV camera!"

Lower income households bear the brunt of California's water conservation efforts and Paramount Farming tags Rob Yraceburu to succeed Joe MacIlvaine as president

 * … DROUGHT: This probably should not come as much as a surprise, but low income households are carrying the heaviest load when it comes to conserving water. That's according to The Los Angeles

Times which reported that residents in the wealthy enclaves like Newport Beach, La Canada Flintridge and Malibu are using more than 150 gallons of water per capital per day in January, simply because they can afford to do so. Meanwhile, in lower income Santa Ana the average is just 38 gallons but they too are being asked to curtail use.

* … PARAMOUNT: Paramount Farming is about to have a changing of the guard as president Joe MacIlvaine prepares to step aside. The global farming company has picked Rob Yraceburu, a long-time exeuctive with Wells Fargo and a graduate of Fresno State, to succeed MacIlvaine when he retires in 18 months. Yraceburu, who formerly headed up the Wells Fargo operation in Bakersfield, will join the company in May and work on a transition plan with MacIlvaine. When Yraceburu takes over, MacIlvaine will head special projects for the company. Paramount Farming is one of the largest producers of almonds and pitachios in the world and is owned by Roll Global, the holding company for Stewart and Lynda Resnick.

 * …SPOTTED: On a friend's Twitter feed: "Yawning is our body's way of saying '10% of battery remaining.'"

* … KINDNESS: This from reader D. Szczepkowski: "My neighbor and I (both senior citizens) went to Coco's for  Easter dinner and much to our surprise were told that our meals were paid for   We wish to thank this person for his or her kind and generous act. It really made the day a truly special one. "

 * … ACHIEVER: I am happy to pass along some of the achievements of the youth in our community, but this latest one stands out from the rest. This from Bakersfield High principal David Reese: "BHS Senior Alexandra (Ali) Vaughn will be completing her last days as a student with a smile on her face. After previously being accepted to attend UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine and UC Davis, Ali was nervously awaiting word on her other applications. Over spring break she finally got the word she was waiting for. She got more than the perfect trifecta that she was hoping for, it was the perfect quad special! She was admitted to Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, and Harvard. Right now she is leaning toward following her childhood dream of attending Stanford to major in English and minor in art. Proud parents are Jeffrey and Jennifer Vaughn. "
  
 * … SKEET SHOOTING: Some of the best skeet shooters in the country are in town this week for the annual Ken Barnes Open, named to honor Kenny Barnes who is in the national skeet shooting Hall of Fame. The event runs from Friday though Sunday at the Kern Country Gun Club out near the Buena Vista Lake recreational area. If you haven't been to the club recently, you should stop by if for no other reason to see the huge expansion that sporting clays have brought to the club.

* … MEMORIES: Judi Plaskett wrote to ask "if anyone from the old days at North High remembers the Art-T-Q drive in on North Chester where Winchel's Donuts was. I remember the cherry Cokes yum!  Also I haven’t seen anyone reminding us of Michener’s drive in and the special hamburger sauces and the lime freezes. Those were the good old days!"

Bako Bits: Looking for a $2 million mansion? Plenty to choose from in Bakersfield, and more on stray dogs and cats and those young gun skeet shooters about town

 * … REAL ESTATE: How many homes do you think are for sale in Bakersfield for $2 million or

more? A simple search of the Trulia real estate website found five in that range, starting at $2.3 million and soaring to a $2.9 million mansion boasting seven bedrooms, eight baths and 16,000 square feet of
living space. Meanwhile, an old home I have admired downtown that sold for $220,000 in 2010 is back on the market listed at $775,000. What is this, 2006?

* … STRAYS: The throw-away culture that exists in our society unfortunately extends to pets, and Kern County seems ground zero for stray animals. Recently an emaciated, but very sweet, female gray cat showed up on my porch. She was hungry, for food, for water and most of all, for attention. I later learned that she had been spayed and walked with a limp because of an injury that no one bothered to attend to. A friend took her in, nourished her and heard the soft purr of a cat that only wanted to be loved. By the time she was taken to a veterinarian, it was too late. Someone out there unceremoniously dumped this cat in my neighborhood, an act so cruel that it defies logic. At least "Honey," as she was named over a 72-hour period, had love at the end.

 * … OVERHEARD: A friend coming back from the beach this week remarked: "What moron at Caltrans decided to reduce Highway 46 to one lane during Spring break week for minor road work?"

 * … SPOTTED: Former Gov. Pete Wilson was in town this week and was spotted in the lobby of the Padre Hotel chatting with KEDC director Richard Chapman and county counsel Teri Goldner.

 * … YOUNG GUNS: One of Bakersfield's best kept secrets is that each year it produces some of the best young skeet shooters in the nation. And that tradition continued this weekend at the Ken Barnes Open Skeet Tournament at the Kern County Gun Club. Miles Ramsey, the 13-year-old Stockdale Christian seventh grader and son of Mark and Betsy Ramsey, came away as the class champion in both the 28 gauge and 410 bore and as High Overall Champion in his class. And Jenna Bouni, 16-year-old daughter of Frank and Lori Bouni, shot a perfect 100 X 100 in the 12 gauge and also claimed the lady's championship with an overall score of 388 X 400. She is a freshman at Grand Canyon College in Phoenix. Both kids represent a long line of local teens who have had outstanding careers shooting skeet.

   * … MEMORIES: Jack Kelley posed this question:  "Good morning Richard. I was wondering if any of the old timers in Bakersfield remember the police motorcycles painted red and black. They were painted black and white after a lawsuit forced all vehicles issuing traffic tickets had to be painted black and white. I don’t think this applies anymore."