Zoot Velasco out as director of the Kern County Museum, more developments on the 18th Street Corridor and remembering when Bonanza's Hop Sing came to town

* ... ZOOT: So did Zoot Velasco get the boot as chief executive officer of the Kern County Museum? The official word is that he resigned, but there was plenty of bad blood in the air during his short eight-month tenure, so we can all read what we like into what really happened. Almost from the day

Velasco started the job, there were grumblings about his management style (some board members viewed him as arrogant and aloof) and that doesn't play in a meat and potatoes town like Bakersfield. Velasco joins a long and growing list of folks who have been recruited to come to Bakersfield for important fund raising jobs only to quickly flame out.

 * ... QWIKCAFE: Attention downtowners: the new QwikCafe, a new "to go" venture by the folks who own the popular Sequoia Sandwich Co., will officially open on Monday, March 20, the first day of Spring. QwikCafe is located next to the downtown Sequoia Branch at 18th and L streets and will feature 'to go' salads and sandwiches. An attractive new dark awning just went up this week to match it to the Sequoia shop just next door.

 * ... CAFE SMITTEN: Meanwhile a few blocks east down 18th Street, the newly opened Cafe Smitten coffee house continues to do a gangbusters business, making it hard to get into at times. Said Sharon Antongiovanni. "I took your advice on the 27th of February and attempted a trip to Café Smitten. I was reminded why I do not go downtown. There is no where to park, it was 3:30 in the afternoon and there was not a table available due to students with laptops taking up all the tables with empty cups. I hope they can stay open but they need us baby boomers to spend money in there instead of just college people that are just taking up space. I had an out of town guest and we were looking forward to some coffee and something sweet. Unfortunately it will be along time before I venture downtown again." Give it another shot Sharon, it is worth the wait

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "'Engagement' can mean either planning to marry or initiating combat. Coincidence?"

 * ... GOOD FORM: Karen Frost shared this scene that will make your day. "My job takes me down Union Avenue, with all of its sad sights, twice a day. This morning I saw something that I just have to share with you. It is 42 degrees outside and as I sat in my car at a red light, a woman with bare feet walked across the street in front of me.  When she reached the other side of the street, a woman in a Kia pulled over, beckoned to her, got out of her car, and gave the barefoot woman the shoes off of her own feet. No idea who that woman is, but I'd like her to know she inspired me to do something for someone else today."

  * ... MORE GOOD FORM: Sunny Kapoor, my favorite Ohio State Buckeye, shared with me some good news on his son, Arie, who has been accepted into the Royal Veterinary College of London, beginning in September. Aries is a graduate of Centennial High School and of Chico State where he earned a degree in Animal Sciences. "He most likely will end up with some hefty college loans, but it is a fulfillment of a lifelong dream of being a veterinarian," he told me. "My younger son, Nigel, also a Centennial grad, is a senior at University of Arizona in the Electrical Engineering program. Bakersfield has been good to our family."

 * ... MEMORIES: And finally, there is this from reader Jim D. Smith: "The blog about Dan Blocker of Bonanza fame caught my eye. A couple of years after the series ended, the Cartwright cook, Hop Sing, was in Bakersfield.  Real life name Victor Sen Yung. He gave a cooking demonstration in the houseware department of Brock's where I worked. It was at the beginning of the wok craze."

New museum director struggles with logo for Pioneer Village and CSUB President Horace Mitchell and wife Barbara celebrate 50 years of marriage

 * ... MUSEUM: Zoot Velasco was hired as a "change agent" for the Kern County Museum (now

Pioneer Village) and as the new CEO he has certainly come in with enough energy and new ideas to fill a room. But judging by the two proposed new logos to brand Kern Pioneer Village, Velasco lacks an eye for graphic design. It would be charitable to describe both as uninspiring, clunky and amateurish, so let's hope the museum's board of directors (can you hear me Beth Pandol?) steps in to help Zoot find a logo that lives up to the museum's promise.

 * ... FIRST COUPLE: Congratulations to CSUB President Horace Mitchell and his wife Barbara who are celebrating their 50th year wedding anniversary. Mitchell became CSUB's fourth president in July 2004.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Common Sense isn’t a gift. It’s punishment, because you have to deal with everyone who doesn’t have it."

 * ... MEMORIES: Superior Court Judge Thomas Clark dropped me a note to recall some memories when he was a boy. Said Clark: "Your mention of crawdad fishing in the canals brought back memories. As a boy I fished many a crawdad out of the irrigation canal that abutted our property (near Brundage and N Street). All the canals were teeming with crawdads in those days. I think they are long gone now---probably as a result of mosquito abatement spraying."

 * ... GOOD FORM: Here's a big shout out to Joe Rivera, a Bakersfield High graduate who just achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. He is a member of Troop 125, which is the troop associated with St. Francis Parish. Said his proud mother Katie Rivera: "His Eagle Scout project was to paint address curbs for the senior citizens of the Kern City neighborhood, to make it easier for emergency vehicles like police, fire and ambulance to find their homes in the case of emergency. Joe and the great boys from Troop 125 (and his two younger sisters) painted 227 address curbs, a project which spanned about two months."  Joe is now a freshman at Bakersfield College.

 * ... SPOTTED: An older red Ford SUV is spotted around town with a bumper sticker that reads: "*UCK TRUMP" under what appears to be the symbol of the United Farm Workers. Do we really have to share our foul personal sentiments with everyone else?

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: This nugget comes from reader Bill Upshaw: "You would be an old timer if you remember the Santa Fe Rail Road whistle that was sounded each week day at noon and again at (I think) 12:20 p.m. This whistle was located at the rail road round house at California Avenue and Oak Streets and could be heard all over town."

 

Remembering the Indian statue at the Garces Circle and gal pals raise money to fight domestic violence

 * ... MUSEUM MAKEOVER: Jeff Nickell, director of the Kern County Museum, added some details to the new paint job the museum recently received. Said Jeff: "We were able to do the exterior painting due to the generosity of Jim Black Construction who gave us a great deal. If you think that looks good, I invite you to check out the interior. We ripped out the mezzanine, which allowed us to re-install the original windows that had been taken out in the 1950s. We also took out the 'ugly track lighting' and chandeliers have been installed. The interior now has fresh paint matching the original colors as closely as possible just as we did with the exterior."

* ... GIRLS NIGHT: Lili Marsh at the Petroleum Club asked me to spread the news of a fun evening to benefit the Alliance Against Family Violence. Apparently some gal pals were sitting around talking about going to the premiere of the new "Sex and the City 2" movie that opens May 27. That led to an idea about turning it into a event to raise money for the Alliance while having some fun. So for $100, you get reserved tickets to the 7 p.m. movie, drinks and light snacks at Mama Tosca's at the Marketplace and an after hours dessert party at Hourglass. Stilettos required, I am told. Interested? Call 661-378-5646 or pick up tickets at Christines or Lolo's.



 * ... PROUD GRANDMA: Norene Todd wrote to brag about her grandson, 2008 Stockdale High graduate Brent Lomas. He went to USC on an academic scholarship, graduated with honors and is now working at a charter school in Los Angeles. Not being done yet, he went on to UCLA to get his masters and will soon graduate. His dream is to live in New York and Norene expects him to be there before the end of the year. "How proud I am of him," she said. "I'm sure that whatever he sets out to do, he will." Brent is the son of Barbara and Tony Lomas. Thanks for sharing, Norene.

 * ... KEDC EFFORT: Heard from Robin Fleming, who works in business development for the Kern Economic Development Corporation, about a push by the KEDC Foundation to get more women involved in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM courses.) Apparently the Foundation is the umbrella organization for the Alliance of Women in Energy, and the Alliance of Women in Energy Mentoring Initiative.  "The AWE Mentoring Initiative promotes innovation-centered education and increases female students' achievement in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses through a year-long mentoring program at the Independence High School Energy and Utility Academy. Currently 44 young ladies obtain one-on-one mentoring with professional women in a cross-section of energy-related businesses and are introduced to real-life career opportunities in the energy sector. What better way to learn about energy than from some of our brightest Kern County women." 

 * ... CHIEF FIRE WATER: Had a couple calls from readers questioning the veracity of an earlier "Bakersfieldism" reporting that there used to be an Indian statue on the Garces circle. This is the response from reader Will Winn:  "Guess you are too young to remember when the huge Indian statue (now at Ethyl's Old Corral Cafe on Alfred Harrel Hwy) was in front of, I think it was a Big 'O' tire shop, on the circle as you headed north on Chester Avenue My oldest son, Jason, wanted to stop there one evening after dark and take a closer look at the big chief.  When I lifted him up he began to scream, 'Let me down, let me down.'  I put him down and as he ran back to our car I looked up and saw that the chief appeared to be looking right down at me with a very angry visage. Scared me, too!"


* ... EAST BAKERSFIELDISM: A new thread comes from an anonymous Bakersfield resident now living in Visalia. "You know you're an East Bakersfield old timer if Ben Stinson Sr. was your letter carrier before the store opened."

 

Oildale as art and a window on the past through the Kern County Historical Society

Starting the week bracing for more temperatures in the 100s but getting some joy out of new life in the stock market. Let's take a look at some of the things going on in our world:



* ... DOGS AND MORE DOGS: I always look forward to the quarterly "bulletin" from the Kern County Historical Society. It's always rich with content about our past and carries some fascinating historic images. The latest issue did not disappoint, and focuses on an issue that is familiar to us all: the licensing of dogs in our community. The bulletin carries a notice that appeared in the Californian on Feb. 23, 1898, telling folks that all dogs had to be registered and if not, they'd end up in a new city pound. Some interesting tidbits:
* In 1898 there were 125 dogs registered, in 1900 that jumped to 174 and the following year 129.
* The most prevalent name in the books for a dog was Prince and "was bestowed on spaniels, setters, pugs, a poodle and a bulldog. Another popular name was Jip.
* The Pacific Coast Field Trial Club hosted field trials at several Bakersfield locations, including the old Stockdale Ranch in 1902, owned by William S. Tevis.
If you'd like to view a complete listing of the registrations, go to the Collections and Research section of the Kern County Museum website located here.



* ... OILDALE ART IN LA: Spotted this brochure for the Oildale art exhibit on the Facebook page of Claudia True, one of our popular local artists who recently picked up and moved out of town. Claudia is good at staying in touch and promoting our local artists, and I'm happy to pass this along. If you are in Los Angeles, make sure you check out the art exhibit.

* ... CARBON CAPTURE: Got word that the CSUB Department of Geology will be hosting a public workshop on "Carbon Capture and Sequestration" on Friday, Sept. 25, at the CSUB Student Union. Apparently a bunch of experts from across the country will be on campus to discuss various aspects to this technology. It's open to the public and free but you have to register. Go to the link here to do so.