The Kern County Fair board, tarnished by scandal, warns the Fair may go out of business, more on those controversial Accelerated Urgent Care doctors and Cafe Smitten to reopen for curbside service next week

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.

 * ... RIP KERN COUNTY FAIR?: So will the coronavirus kill the Kern County Fair? As crazy as that sounds, members of the Fair board of directors are warning they don't have enough money to

continue, and they are asking you to write a check to keep them afloat. But here's the problem: the current Fair board, led by chairwoman Blodgie Rodriguez, has been completely discredited following an audit that found members of the Board had spent lavishly on travel expenses: booze, dinners, tips etc. It's an old story of people on public and quasi-public boards abusing the public's trust, and it's hardly the position you want to find yourself in when you need the public's help to stay alive. After all, it's hard to come to the public with your hat in your hand when you have been publicly dinged for wasteful spending. My two cents: if the Fair is to survive, the current Board, and Olcott, need to resign and we should start fresh with a new group untarnished by past misdeeds. (file photos of Rodriguez and Fair director Mike Olcott)

 * ... FOX THEATER: Hats off to the historic Fox Theater for finding a creative way to generate revenue during the shutdown. Manager Matthew Spindler decided to rent out messages on the Fox sign, and the avid Dodgers fan started with this, earning him a front page mention in The Los Angeles Times.

* ... COVID-19: So where do you stand on the statements by the two Accelerated Urgent Care doctors saying that the coronavirus is nothing more than just another flu and that the country should immediately reopen for business? It's certainly a stand that appeals to the millions of people who are out of work, or if you are a small business owner watching your life's worth go down the drain, but their statements have been roundly dismissed as quack science. Virtually every prominent medical professional in Kern County - from Dignity's Dr. Hemmal Kothary to Bakersfield Heart Hospital's Dr. Brij Bhambi to infectious disease specialist Dr. Navin Amin - have denounced all or parts of the statements made by Dr. Dan Erickson and Dr. Artin Messihi. Even the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine issued a rare rebuke of the doctors, implying that their statements were motivated more by greed and eagerness to open their clinics than a genuine concern for the health of the community. "These reckless and untested musings do not speak for medical societies and are inconsistent with current science and epidemiology regarding COVID-19. As owners of local urgent care clinics, it appears these two individuals are releasing biased, non-peer reviewed data to advance their personal financial interests without regard for the public’s health,” the statement read. Given the economic and emotional stress this pandemic has created across our community, the urge to reopen is understandable, but relying on "false prophets" (as Dr. Bhambi called them) is ill-advised during a worldwide health crisis.

 * ... BLOWBACK: But you have to give Drs. Erickson and Messihi  credit for being able to parlay their grassroots appeal to a national audience. So far, by my count, they are the darlings of the Fox News channel, having appeared with Shanon Bream, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham.  Other news sources have reserved nothing more than scorn and ridicule for the "two doctors from Bakersfield." Take a look at this cartoon lifted from a national news site. And if you think these two doctors won't face some form of retribution from the more established Kern County medical establishment, my money says you should think again.

 * .... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Brian Williams is back in the news and I haven't thought about him since that time he pulled me out of the rubble on 9/11."

 * ... CAFE SMITTEN: Here's some good news for you: Cafe Smitten plans to reopen its two restaurants next week for curbside and take-out service. That's the word from Stasie Bitton, who along with husband Shai own both the downtown and Seven Oaks locations. The 18th Street location will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m.to 5 p.m. The Grand Island location will be open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 * ... GRAPEVINE: My friend John Kelley turned me onto this photo by Joe Karibian of Interstate 5 headed south. Enjoy.

 * ... MEMORIES: Feast on these pictures of the old Beale clock tower as it was under construction.

County CAO Ryan Alsop invites the city to explore a partnership on its homeless shelter, one of the killers of an elderly east Bakersfield woman may be paroled and the San Francisco 49ers show some real class to the family of Christopher Kreiser

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 reflect the views of any other individual, organization or company.


 * ... AN OFFER YOU CAN'T REFUSE? Here's an offer that just might be too hard to refuse. County chief administrative officer Ryan Alsop has invited the city to partner with the county in building a low barrier homeless shelter off Golden State. The county is well on the way to opening

the facility, which will eventually feature 150 beds, while the city has been dickering for months about finding a location. During an open ended discussion on The Richard Beene Show, Alsop invited the city to join with the county in operating one joint facility, instead of two competing ones. The advantages: the city could avoid getting into the shelter business, it would avoid ponying up millions for land and it would not have to worry about angering neighborhoods who don't want a shelter near homes. Ward 1 City Councilman Willie Rivera has long wanted to explore a partnership, while City Manager Alan Tandy and Ward 2 Councilman Andrae Gonzales are pushing for the city to buy land on East Brundage at the Calcot plant to erect its own shelter.

 * ... LOW BARRIER SHELTER: Meanwhile as the city dickers, the county shelter is well under construction and could open as early as February. Alsop said the construction of the facility, located off Golden State on a parcel of county land, will open either in late January or early February. The facility will be called a Low Barrier Navigation Center and will be run by staff of the Community Action Partnership of Kern.

* ... PROP 57: Here is yet another example of the unexpected consequences of the passage of Prop 57: a young lady who was involved in the brutal death of a helpless 81-year-old woman is about to be released from prison. That's right Katila Nash, convicted of taking part in the murder when she was 15 years old, is set to be released from prison any day now.  If you remember, Nash acted as a lookout when she and two other teenagers entered the house of Dorothy Sessions in east Bakersfield and brutally killed her. She wasn't eligible for patrol until 2030 but thanks to Prop 57, she is now eligible for release.

 * ... BAD FORM: Shame on the Kern County Fair board for its lack of discretion in spending lavishly on lobster meals and booze, and now a state agency says its has to make suitable reimbursements. According to KGET, which broke the original story, the California Department of Food snd Agriculture (CDFA) is tracking an auditor's recommendations on action taken against CEO Mike Alcott, a deputy manager and a maintenance supervisor. The auditor also noted that members of the fair board have agreed to repay $1,259 for alcohol purchases. How did we get here anyway? Board chairwoman Blodgie Rodriguez should explain that instead of dodging the cameras. When the auditor reveals what board members have repaid for what, we will report it here.

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "You know what’s more annoying than cops? People who buy old refurbished cop cars and keep the spotlight attached. We all hate you."

 * ... CHRISTOPHER KREISER: Hats off to the ownership of the San Francisco 49ers for showing some real class, and love, for a Bakersfield man who died of cancer a year ago. In memory of Christopher Kreiser and his love of the 49ers, his wife Katie, their children and friends attended last week's 49ers game against the Atlanta Falcons and were granted field access by the team owners. Rick Kreiser, Christopher's father, said the 49ers went out of their way to recognize Christopher and his fight against lymphoma.

 * ... MEMORIES: And who remembers the old Bakersfield Inn on Union Avenue. Just take a look at what it once was.