Private investment sparks a renewal in the "Eastchester" zone, Pastor Roger Spradlin addresses his church while battling cancer and the never ending battle to clean up trash and debris

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.

 * ... MERRY CHRISTMAS: One of the winners of 2022 was downtown Bakersfield, pockets of which have shown remarkable growth and improvement thanks to private investment that seems to be going block by block. Homelessness, vandalism, crime and graffiti remain a problem to be sure, but the downtown

area east of Chester (known as "Eastchester") has enjoyed dynamic growth despite the problems. Call it "the Sage" effect because none of this would have happened without the vision of City Councilman Bob Smith and his company Sage Equities. Smith helped put his daughter Stasie and husband Shai in business with Cafe Smitten coffee shop on 18th Street, a development that seemed to spark other private investment in the area, including Sage's 17th Street Townhomes. Sage is also about to open another apartment complex, The Que, further down 18th and three other projects are in the planning stages. Add to that a flurry of downtown shops opening - PaperPlane Coffee on 19th and The Botanist on 18th just opened recently joining the 18th Street Bar and Grill, Zama, BottleShock and others  - and we have what one calls a positive trend. 

 

 * ... HOMELESS TRASH: Next time you see a city maintenance vehicle around town, you might want to thank the driver for pitching it to help fight the mess that homelessness creates. Check out these photos posted by the city highlighting the Support Team for Operations, Rangers and Maintenance (STORM) , which assists Park Rangers in trash removal. Here, more than 500 pounds of trash was removed from the San Miguel Grove off the Kern River Parkway. The last picture shows the Grove after cleaning.

 * ... WELCOME HOME: Pastor Roger Spradlin of Valley Baptist has been courageously fighting a tough battle against cancer and recently returned home to the church to preside over services once again. Faced with a fatal prognosis, Spradlin has displayed amazing courage and compassion as he fights the battle of his life.

 * ... RIDGE ROUTE: John Kelley knows more about the old Ridge Route, the curvy and dangerous road that connected Los Angeles with Bakersfield before Interstate 5, and he has access to hundreds of old pictures and drawings of the old road. Here are three John highlighted on his Facebook page.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this old advertisement for the grand opening of the Rice Bowl downtown, compliments of the Kern County History Fans Facebook page. The caption: 1948 - Grand Opening Rice Bowl... 1119 19th Street ... Bakersfield, Kern County, California ... Owners: William "Bill" Leong (1904-2003) Helen Leong (1913-2004)

Two men file lawsuits claiming they were sexually abused by Craig Harrison, the Sierra Club joins the chorus of people lamenting the damage homeless have done to the Kern River Parkway,

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.

 * ... FATHER CRAIG: It was a remarkable scene out of Fresno this week when a prominent child abuse attorney laid out two lawsuits filed against former Bakersfield priest Craig Harrison. Jeff Anderson of Jeff Anderson and Associates referred to Harrison as a "predator" whose actions against young men were of a "serial nature," and he speculated that even out of the church, Harrison represented a "peril" to other men.

Anderson's firm represents two men, both unidentified, who claim Harrison sexually abused them in the early 1990s. Furthermore, the lawsuits claim the Diocese of Fresno not only knew about Harrison's actions but also covered them up. Anderson further indicated that there may be more victims. "We are interviewing others," he said. "How many? We don't know." Meanwhile, back home Harrison's criminal defense attorney, Kyle Humphrey, doubled down on his claim that victims were coming forward simply for the money. Humphrey had predicted the lawsuits and said people would come forward like "pigs" to a trough in search of money. One of two things is happening here: either the past has caught up with Craig Harrison, or Humphrey is correct. Now that the accusers have filed suit, the public can judge for itself when the accusers lay out their case in depositions and trial testimony. Harrison and his attorneys are now juggling five separate lawsuits, including three defamation suits that Harrison filed against critics and the two latest which put Harrison on the defensive.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Maybe I will get a $100 gift card to Lowe’s for Father’s Day so I can buy 1 sheet of plywood."

 * ... OUR TRASHED TOWN: Momentum is building in the community to do something about the homeless, the culmination of a growing frustration that government is watching with hands tied as parts of our city are being trashed. And no where is that trashing worse than along the bike path and the Kern River Parkway, which is now home to several hundred homeless who have left the riverbed looking like a scene out of the famous Rio de Janerio slums. And now comes the Kern-Kaweah chapter of the Sierra Club, which has joined the chorus of people complaining that something must be done. "At present much of the river (now far too often a dry riverbed) is being trashed. This includes San Miguel Grove, Uplands of the Kern and, to a lesser extent, Beach and Yokuts Park. San Miguel Grove is a particularly tragic example of what should be a natural open riparian area is strewn with all manner of rash, left by unlawful campers and others using the place for a dump, leaving the area strewn with all manner of waste filth, broken glass and drug related paraphernalia including sharps," Stephen Montgomery of the Sierra Club wrote to Beatris Sanders, chair of the citizens committee overseeing Measure N funding. Montgomery called on the city to set aside money to keep the riverbed clean by hiring more police on bikes to patrol the area, do a better job of cleaning up litter and conducting a longer term study to address issues along the riverbed.

 * ... BAKERSFIELD OBSERVED: My new podcast, Bakersfield Observed with Richard Beene, is up and running, focusing attention every week on an important issue or newsmaker about town. The first two episodes are now up, the first an interview with Lois Henry on how parts of central California are literally sinking because too much water is pumped out of the ground, and the second a chat with Carlos Baldovinos about the ongoing homelessness issue. The next episode will be released Thursday and examine the controversial concept of Critical Race Theory, which proposes a new way of teaching American history with a new emphasis on race, power and privilege. Bakersfield High teacher Jeremy Adams is my guest. Follow the podcast on KERNRADIO.COM, on Spotify or wherever you access your podcasts.

 * ... RIDGE ROUTE: I spotted these pictures of the old Ridge Route on a Facebook page devoted to Highway 99. Not sure of the dates. Enjoy.

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: And finally thanks to the Kern County History Fans who posted this picture of a grocer. The cutline: "1930's - H. H. Close Market... 301 South 10th Street (was then South Lincoln)

Taft, Kern County, California  Proprietor: Herbert Henry Close (1889-1963) Credit to Lawrence Peahl for address and approximate years open.