Does the restoration of Putah Creek provide a model to bring back the Kern River? Plus the Democratic no-shows at debates, prayers for Pastor Roger Spradlin and three women wanted for setting fire to a Party City

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 company or publication.

 * ... WATER IN THE KERN: If you are among the many who dream about a regular flow of water in the Kern River through town, you should know about something called the Putah Creek Accord signed on May 23, 2000. In that case Putah Creek, much smaller than the Kern but similar in that it had devolved

into a largely dry creek bed full of trash and debris, became the focus of lawsuits and political action that eventually led to a comprehensive plan to restore the creek while dividing the water between farmers and the public interest served by a free flowing creek. Backed by the Public Trust Doctrine and Fish and Game Code 5937, a coalition involving environmental groups, the city of Davis and UC Davis spent four year negotiating with water agencies before a federal judge basically forced the sides to settle. Today, Putah Creek has been fully restored (a major surprise was the return of salmon), water agencies are happy to have a predicable flow of water every year and the creek has evolved into a major recreational asset. The organization Bring Back the Kern recently held a roundtable on Putah Creek focusing on ways we can get water back into the Kern River. Check out the panel discussion at Bring Back the Kern's Facebook page or at their website.

 * ... SHAME SHAME SHAME: The next time someone on the City Council tries to downplay the sharp spike in crime, remember the three women who visited the Party City store on Rosedale Highway this week and - get ready for it - set the place on fire. That's right, Bakersfield police are looking for the women in these photos - and the white Jeep - after they allegedly set fire to the store, perhaps to cover up for their shoplifting. Getting the feeling crime is out of control?

 * ... DEBATE NO SHOWS: What started with one candidate refusing to show up for a debate has apparently now become a "thing," at least among Democrats. If you recall I was harshly critical of Assemblyman Rudy Salas when he abruptly failed to show up for a scheduled televised debate with Rep. David Valadao on KGET. Now another Democratic candidate, 16th State Senate District's Melissa Hurtado, has joined in, backing out of her own scheduled debate with challenger David Shephard. Let's be clear here: when you put your name forward to represent 'the people" in a race, the very least we can expect of you is to share your views in a public setting, and to answer the criticisms in a debate. The news department over at KGET TV graciously provided the time and manpower to host the debate; the least you can do is to show up.

 * ... ROGER SPRADLIN: The community at Valley Baptist Church has rallied around Pastor Roger Spradlin who is battling an inoperable illness. Spradlin's legions of followers are being kept up to date on his condition via a Facebook account. According to a note from Andrew Spradlin, the pastor's condition is inoperable but a prayer chain is hoping for a miracle.

 * ... RICKY'S TACOS: One of the most famous taco trucks in Los Angeles is coming to Bakersfield. That's right, the widely heralded Ricky's Fish Taco truck, long considered one of the best taco trucks in the LA basin, has announced it is headed to Bakersfield to offer its highly acclaimed Ensenada-style fish and shrimp tacos. The Los Angeles Times said the award-winning taquero "garnered national attention, first popping up in Silver Lake in 2009 with a metal three-drawer filing cabinet that Piña had converted into a makeshift fryer, then with a food truck parked primarily in Los Feliz, and, more recently, in Hollywood, where he plans to sell seafood tacos for the next two weekends before leaving town." The report said the move shocked fans of Ricky's Fish Tacos who called the news devastating. Once here, the company will alert fans as to the truck's whereabouts on Twitter. (photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times)

 * ... RIP DAVID WOOD: There has been yet another fatality involving a car hitting a bicyclist, and this time the cyclist died. Bakersfield Police said David Wood, an employee of The Finish Line bicycle shop on Stockdale Highway, was hit on Allen Road on Oct. 17 and died. There are no reports of anyone being charged or further details.

 * ... LAKE MEAD: Lake Mead is surrendering old treasures and secrets as its water level shrinks to historic levels because of the long drought. Here's a shot of a 1938 Chrysler Imperial that showed up in low water, and under it a picture of an original similar car.

 

* ... MEMORIES: Take a look at this old postcard, from Taft, along with the note on the back side. This comes compliments of the Kern County History Fans page on Facebook.

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: And lastly, check out this picture of Buck Owens along with other musical greats that appeared on the Kern County of Old Facebook page. The caption read: "1989 in San Francisco this iconic photo was taken at the music awards called the Bammies! Buck Owens performed and these other  famous musicians are all around Buck in the photo. Huey Lewis, Chris Isaak, Neil Young, Joe Saterini and John Foggerty.  Anywhere in the world that Buck Owens appeared he was always introduced from Bakersfield, California. You could say he put the city on the map!"

 

A decade of wage stagnation and the Great Recession are leaving a long tail of homelessness and despair, celebrating the mighty sycamore tree and the benefits of owning a dog

 * ... OUR COUNTRY: What is coming of our country? Are you troubled like me when you witness the explosion of homelessness across our nation, the opioid crisis, the deterioration of our great cities and legions of Americans simply giving up and checking out of the

system? We have seen a decade of wage stagnation, the death of many programs aimed at the poor, the great recession and now we are paying the price. And check this out: according to Supervisor Leticia Perez, 25 percent of all the homeless in the United States live in California. We see it on our streets, in the tent camps along the freeways, along our river and in the alleys of our neighborhoods.

 * ... SYCAMORE: My favorite tree is the mighty sycamore that graces so many yards in the downtown and northeast areas of town. I have a tall one in my back yard, and it provides shade and a lovely backdrop to my small space where I entertain. But did you know that sometimes the

sycamores give off a distinctive odor? Answering a reader question about the scent, the New York Times reported: "The sycamore is also called the buttonwood tree or American planeteree. Perhaps you're thinking of an unrelated old world tree, Ficus sycomordus, or sycamore fig, which is far better known to perfume makers. Chanel once used an extract of its leaves in its famous fragrance. In both trees, and in many other odoriferous species, the chemical source of the scent may be the same. Their leaves, bark and sometimes wood are rich in organic chemicals called terpenes and terpenoids, volatile oils that are a major component of the essential oils used in perfumes."

 * ... DOGS: Meanwhile, the Times also reported this about one of the many benefits of owning a dog: "Older dog owners who walked their dogs at least once a day got 20 percent more physical activity than people without dogs ... and spent 30 fewer minutes a day being sedentary, on average."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I prefer not to think before I speak. I like being just as surprised as everyone else by what comes out of my mouth."

* ... KERN RIVER: Here's a note from reader John Bertolucci, who like many of us is clearly frustrated with folks from out of town ignoring warnings about the dangers of swimming in the Kern River. In his words, dripping with a healthy dose of sarcasm: "How about a word from the realists and contrarians: Those that are going to get in the river had better do it, and decrease the surplus population of California. We are all dying as we walk through life, why not die nobly in the mighty Kern just outside the hicksville town Bakersfield. Donald Trump should build a wall around the river to keep those people IN it!"

 * ... MEMORIES: Ronal Reynier added this to the conversation about Bakersfield police officer Sgt. Chitwood. "In my school days when we still used clay tablets: Tom Kelly, of the Bakersfield Police Department, came to school classrooms to give talks. This was many years before Sgt. Chitwood. Tom Kelly was a favorite with students who went home and told their parents what a great guy he was. I seem to remember he came to the school on a motorcycle. He parlayed these stories and a great smile in running and becoming sheriff from 1951 to 1955. I am sure there are those out there who have better memories than I. I may even have my facts turned around."

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: And lastly, Lynn LeBeau had this to say: "I have often thought about Sgt. Chitwood when driving around town. He was my behind-the-wheel driver's ed teacher during East High's summer school program in 1968. He was authoritative but patient - and added a twinkle of humor to ease a nervous teen's jitters. His lessons have kept me (and others) safe these many years!"

SEIU targets House Majority Leader McCarthy with radio campaign, CSUB continues its magical year in the NIT and water in the river triggers an explosion of activity

* ... HEALTH CARE: Big money from both the left and right is being thrown into the health care debate, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is one of the prime targets. The latest radio

advertising campaign attacking McCarthy for supporting the repeal of the Affordable Care Act comes from big labor, in this case the SEIU (Service Employees International Union). The local unit of the SEIU was among the organizations that recently protested in front of McCarthy's personal residence in the Southwest.

* ... WIND WOLVES: I spent four hours hiking the majestic Wind Wolves Preserve this past weekend and was heartened to see so many people taking in the beauty of its 93,000 unspoiled acres. I arrived to a half full parking lot at 9 a.m. and when I left at 1 p.m. there were so many cars entering it looked like a scene from Woodstock. The wildflowers are spectacular so get out there before the summer heat settles in.

 * ... ROAD RUNNERS: Is there a hotter team in college basketball than CSUB, which continued its run through the National Invitational Tournament with yet another impressive win over Colorado State? The branding power of seeing CSUB on national TV cannot be underestimated. Up next: Texas-Arlington in the NIT quarterfinal on Wednesday.

* ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: This post from my friend Jolie Brouttier, a teacher at McKinley Elementary: "If I wanted to touch the past, I'd touch a rock. If I wanted to touch the present, I'd touch a flower. But I want to touch the future, so I teach."

 * ... PADDLE BOARDING: Summer isn't here yet but I have already spotted some paddle boarders on the Kern River. The last time we had this kind of water in the river there was an explosion of recreational activity from Beach Park south to the Park at River Walk: canoes, paddle boards, rafts and swimmers. Expect an even bigger summer this year.

 * ... MAILBOX CRIME: A friend of mine reached out to share this rant. It speaks for itself.
"Twice this week we've had our credit cards stolen! My new corporate card never made it to my house, so I suspect mailbox theft (again). A few months ago, our mailboxes were broken into and our new debit card was stolen. Somehow, the thieves were able to activate the card and immediately stole $2,000 from us. Why is this a low level crime in the eyes of BPD and the USPS? Is it because the banks make us whole again? It is such a hassle! I'm having our new cards (three of them this week alone) be delivered via Fed Ex, with signature required."

Broken TSA screening machine leaves dozens stranded at Meadows Field

 * ... AIRPORT NIGHTMARE: It was a nightmare at Meadows Field Tuesday morning when some 30 passengers were stranded when their Phoenix-bound US Airways flight left without them. What happened? It seems the TSA X-ray baggage screening machine broke on Monday, forcing every piece of luggage to be hand checked. Passengers who showed up over an hour early  for the 6:20 a.m. Phoenix flight didn't make it through the screening in time and the plane left without them. There was no warning of this on the Meadows Field website and no email alert from the airline, leading one passenger to moan, "Another reason not to fly out of Bakersfield." Meadows Field director Jack Gotcher told me the machine was fixed by midday Tuesday and he had no idea why two days passed without it being repaired. "This is a TSA issue," he said, noting that four flights leave within an hour of each other in the morning to Phoenix, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco and there is little room for error.

 * ... DOUBLE DIP: It looks like the dreaded "double dip" in housing is now official. Prices continue to fall as tens of thousands of foreclosed properties queue up to move through depressed markets across the country. One expert told CNBC that "our fingers are crossed" that housing may begin to recover in late 2012. Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that the percentage of Americans owning homes has sunk to 1998 levels and will drop further because of general disenchantment with the market.


 * ... KERN RIVER: Spent Memorial Day paddle boarding on the Kern River, starting at Beach Park and ending up 6.5 miles downstream at the Park at River Walk. Friend and columnist Herb Benham promised a stress relieving bit of exercise mixed with pure unmitigated fun, and he didn't disappoint. Ninety minutes of pure bliss in a bank to bank river that bristled with wildlife, affording a spectacular view of our community thanks to the record snowfalls. The Kern should have water most of the summer, and this particular area is generally shallow and fairly safe.

 * ... IRISH: Amazing how many local kids end up at Notre Dame, and here are two more who just graduated. This from Cindy Gallegos: "I just wanted to let you know that our family just returned from South Bend, Indiana. We were there to see our daughter Chelsi Gallegos (Garces class of 2007) graduate from the University of Notre Dame.  She will be living in Chicago and working for the Aon Corporation. We were also able to visit with the family of Ricky Gonzalez (East High class of 2007). Ricky will be working for General Mills in Minneapolis. We are very proud of both of them. Go Irish."

 * ... HOFFMAN: Hoffman Hospice held a fund raiser last week and got an unexpected boost when dinner with BakersfieldLife's Dining Divas brought in a whopping $3,500. Wendy Porter, director of the  Wounded Hero's Fund, was the top bidder and is anxious to dine with the Divas. The  Divas include Californian columnist Lois Henry, Robin Noble, Kim Jessup,  Sofie Zimmermann and Sofia Ronquillo.  Each month the Dining Divas review a local restaurant about town and apparently it can be a lively group.

 * ... MEA CULPA: I goofed in an earlier post about an upcoming book signing this Saturday at Russo's Books. The local author is Shirley Castro and the book is in the Pelican Family Series. Turns out Shirley does not live at the beach and lives right here in Bakersfield.

 * ... MEMORY: Karen Earl DeWalt wrote to wonder if anyone remembers "Sudds Hardware on North Chester and the Standard Malt Shop on Ferguson next to Standard School?"

Let's hear your voice: if you want water in the Kern River, time to speak out

 Make sure you check out Lois Henry's column in today's Californian regarding an important hearing coming up March 10. This is a rare chance to let public officials know how much we all want water in our river year round. It's good for our ambiance, good for the community and the right thing to do.

Remembering with the Civic hosted the Rolling Stones, the Jefferson Airplane and so many other rock favorites

 * ... BASQUE PRAISE: The new edition of the LA Weekly threw Bakersfield some love, focusing on our Basque restaurants as well as our unique character. Writer Jonathan Gold, a former Los Angeles Times writer, noted he has a soft spot in his heart for our community.  Wrote Gold: "Bakersfield, a scant two hours away, offers the not-inconsiderable pleasure of being in a place that is neither Los Angeles nor part of greater Los Angeles, a town that is thoroughly Californian but can also feel a lot like the good parts of Oklahoma. It's the home of the Bakersfield Sound, the Merle Haggard/Buck Owen/Rose Maddox thing that brought a bit of grit back to country music, and without it the radio now would probably sound even more like Taylor Swift. But mostly, at least for me, there is the old-fashioned cooking at one of the city's Basque dining halls, huge, multicourse feasts originally intended for the Basque shepherds staying at the local boardinghouses. They have become so popular that the few sheep men who show up are treated like local celebrities." (photo courtesy of the LA Weekly)

* ... CONCERTS: Old friend Rick Kreiser, owner of Carney's Business Technology Center, dropped me a note after reading about the rock band The Doors appearing at the Civic Auditorium in 1968. Not only was he there, but it prompted a flood of  memories when famous bands regularly showed up at the Civic. "How about half-way up left center to catch the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean with my Janzen shirt, baby blue Levis, and Converse low tops (all from Bud Johnson's in Hillcrest) with my mother! Or perhaps sitting in Orchestra Row T, seat 1, for the greatest rock and roll band in the world (still)... Mick and the boys in July of 1966 with the Standells, McCoys and Trade Winds opening the show. I painted the entire outside of our College Heights house in exchange for the price of a ticket ... six bucks!" Finally, Kreiser remembers when Civic manager Chuck Graviss pulled the plug on Grace Slick and the Jefferson Airplane during the haunting rock ballad 'White Rabbit' at the stroke of midnight, resulting in the rock goddess leading a few hundred angry fans down Truxtun Avenue to show the police how unhappy they were."Thanks for the memories, Ricky.  

 * ... CARNIVAL: Al Sandrini, manager over at Sundale Country Club, wrote to remember the old carnival that once entertained thousands down near the Kern River. "I can't say I am 100 percent correct, but I think the carnival at the river was set up just about where the 24th Street exit from northbound 99 is located," he said. "I remember that we would walk from the carnival and go into the river and walk out and cool off. The water at this point was about two feet deep and ran very slowly."

 * ... MEMORIAL RIDE: Friends of the late Paul White, the retired educator who died of a heart attack while riding his bike last week, have established an educational fund in his name to help struggling young teachers at the Panama Buena Vista School District. To raise money for the fund, the first Paul White Memorial Bike Ride will be held on Saturday, February 26, at Yokuts Park. It will start at 9 a.m. and head out to Hart Park and back, riding past Greenlawn Mortuary and Cemetery on Panorama where he is buried. The cost is $20 per rider. Interested? Contact Margaret Patteson at margpatt@sbcglobal.net or just show up at 8:30 a.m. on the day of the ride.

 * ... SPOTTED: A beautiful picture of Bakersfield's Tiler Peck, a member of the New York City Ballet, in a performance of Balanchine's 'Divertimento No. 15' in the Arts section of The New York Times. The story praised Peck's "brightness and keen musical responsiveness" in the performance. (photo courtesy of The New York Times)

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From reader Jack Kelley: You know you're a Bakersfield old timer "if you remember the River Theater in Oildale, which later became Buck Owens' recording studio."

Random shots of the Kern River through Bakersfield, thanks to Don Martin

Water in the Kern River: what a difference a thimble full of water does for a community's mood

The picture above pretty much tells the story. Only in Bakersfield do you have a river where ... well ... there is no water. And in a community known to the outside world for its 115-degree summers, not to mention dust storms so strong and ugly that you think you're in Egypt's great Western Desert, God knows we can use a little water. Which is why weekends like this one, where for one reason or another a thimble full of water showed up in the river, are so joyous. The Californian reported that we'll have water for two to three weeks because two water districts are doing so as part of a joint water banking program. It's amazing how a little water can improve the mood. Everyone comments on it, folks go down to the riverbank to wade in it, and I even spotted one woman taking pictures of it. Imagine that! Water in a riverbed has become so rare we take pictures of it. I'm not smart enough to know why we don't have water in the river year round. You'll have to ask Lois Henry or someone with a higher pay grade. But it has always astounded me that there isn't more political pressure to make it happen. How many more homes would we sell and what kind of riverside development would we have if we had a water flowing year round, like the picture of the upstream Kern River below? We've all just seemed to have given up. So in the meantime, as the T-shirts say:

"Bakersfield: a riverbed runs through it."

Morning report: short takes around town

Cleaning out the cupboard this morning and found some nuggets to share about our community:
* A group of equestrians have formed an organization to lobby for the preservation and improvement of horse trails around town. They're fond of the network of trails along the Kern River near the Panorama bluffs. Check out their advocacy website here.
* Steven Mayer has a wonderful piece on an act of heroism by a Bakersfield soldier in Afghanistan. Read Sgt. Robert Fortner's story here.
* Those college acceptances are arriving and local kids have until May 1 to make up their minds. I'll be compiling a list to celebrate those kids moving on. If you have a name, shoot it to me.
* Media analyst and author of "What Would Google Do?" author Jeff Jarvis takes newspaper publishers to task in a scathing diatribe that has a lot of truth to it. Read his post here.
* Ray and Lisa Karpe of Karpe Real Estate spent yesterday in Fresno at a White House Regional Forum on Health Reform. They were there as directors of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Southern California Chapter.
* The Women's and Girls Fund of Kern County will be handing out new grants on April 29 at Seven Oaks Country Club. This is the fifth annual event for this worthy group that promotes women and girls locally. Call 325-5346 by April 22 for infomation to attend.