Former Congressman Bill Thomas pushes his agenda in the race for a seat on the Kern Community College District, a homeless woman hurls a rock through the window of local radio host Ralph Bailey and a walk down memory lane at Bakersfield High School

Monday, September 17, 2018

 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 such a special to live. Send your news tips to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... BILL THOMAS: Bill Thomas, the former chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means

Committee, may be retired from Congress but he is as active as ever on the local level. And when Thomas senses something is amiss with one of his pet projects, he works to make sure things go his way. All this explains why Thomas is making the rounds on talk radio campaigning for Nan Gomez Heitzeberg who is running for a seat on the Kern Community College District. Thomas has been filling an unexpired term on the board and is not running for reelection, and he has a beef with fellow trustee Kyle Carter (the ex homebuilder and mayoral candidate) about how to spend the nearly half billion dollars in bond money to rebuild Bakersfield College. Thomas wants the money spent within a five year period to completely rebuild the aging campus, while Carter has advocated a more lengthy timeline to provide local jobs. Heitzeberg agrees with Thomas, while Carter and fellow candidate Karen DeWalt (who worked on Carter's mayoral campaign) believe otherwise. These "down ballot" races rarely get much attention, but Thomas is busy making the media rounds to make sure otherwise. Stay tuned.

 * ... SHOOTING: Here is an odd one: Remember that jealous ex husband who killed his ex wife and four other people last week off Weedpatch Highway? Well according to ABC23, a single funeral service will be held to honor the couple. The news station said they family is planning a single funeral service for the gunman, Javier Casarez, and his ex wife, Petra Maribel Bolanos De Cararez. The two were divorced in June and authorities believed the killings stemmed from the ex husband's suspicion that his former wife was having an affair with one or possible two of the victims.

 * ... MAIL THEFT: Did you hear the story out of Milwaukee about the postal worker stealing greeting cards with money and checks in them? That's right, the 20-year-old postal worker, Ebony Lavonne Smith, pleaded guiding to stealing more than 6,000 greeting cards filled with cash and checks in Wisconsin. She was caught in a sting operation after hundreds of people complained their letters and cards went missing in the mail.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I lost eleven pounds in two days, and you can, too, provided you follow my raw poultry diet!"

 * ... SPOTTED AROUND TOWN: At the corner of Brundage and Cypress, an apparently homeless man on a bicycle is spotted riding with a fully blown up sex doll on his back.

 * ... HOMELESS: And if you don't think the homeless situation is getting worse, consider this note from my friend Justin Salters, who was walking to his car from lunch with this wife and infant daughter when they were approached by a homeless man asking for money. When Salters declined, the man retorted: "I hope it doesn't happen to your kid." And then there was this: Friday evening an apparently deranged homeless woman was knocking on doors downtown when she ended up at the apartment complex of KERN radio host Ralph Bailey. Before leaving, she hurled a rock through his front window. If you don't think the homeless are getting more aggressive, think again.

 * ... MEMORIES: From the Kern County of Old Facebook page comes this post by local historian Gilbert Gia: "The big white house across from the stadium is the relocated McDonald house. It was the high school’s second girls’ dormitory. My updated story is called Bakersfield High’s Dormitories, 1915-1955 (v6) and it is on the “School” page at https://www.historicbakersfieldandkerncounty.com/"

CBD oil picks up a fan in Kyle Carter, turmoil over at Clinica Sierra Vista under a new CEO and Father Craig Harrison heads to Italy for a sabbatical

Friday/Memorial Day Weekend May 25, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

 * ... CBD OIL: You know the world is changing when someone like former home builder Kyle

Carter, a staunch conservative who rarely drinks, comes out in favor of CBD oil, the non-intoxicating marijuana extract that is being credited with helping treat a host of medical problems -- everything from epileptic seizures to anxiety to inflammation to sleeplessness. Carter, who lost to Karen Goh in the last mayoral election, told me a friend turned him onto CBD oil to help him deal with pain and other issues associated with five surgeries for scoliosis. "They put two drops under my tongue" and it helped alleviate his pain, he said. Cannabidiol is extracted from the flowers and buds of marijuana or hemp plants. It does not produce intoxication. Instead, marijuana's "high" is caused by the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

 * ... CLINICA: So what is happening over at Clinica Sierra Vista? The once proud health organization, built by now retired CEO Steve Schilling, has been in turmoil since Schilling retired and was replaced by new CEO Brian Harris. I am told Harris came in with a swagger, telling a group of managers a week into the job that there was "a new sheriff in town" and to expect changes, and that a number of key employees have been unceremoniously fired. "He is dismantling everything Steve built" is how one former employee put it. So is this a simple matter of a new CEO mixing things up and facing a "deep state" of employees loyal to the previous boss, or is Harris the proverbial sharp elbowed bull in a china shop eager to put his own stamp on the organization? Stay tuned. (file photo of Brian Harris)

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "How many consecutive weeks do you have to miss church to requalify for visitor parking?

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "It doesn’t matter if the glass is half full or half empty… it’s clearly almost time to order another drink."

* ... FATHER CRAIG: Monsignor Craig Harrison is headed to Italy for his annual trip, but this time it is not for a week or two, but for three months. Harrison told me this three-month trip recognizes a well deserved sabbatical after 30 years in the priesthood. While there, he hopes to meet with Pope Francis, preside over a wedding of a couple from Bakersfield and meet with friends touring Italy.

 * ... CRIME WAVE: If recent events are any indication of things to come, it will be long summer of crime here in Bakersfield. Oleander has been hit with a long string of car break-ins and windows smashed, with one street seeing five cars hit in one night. Meanwhile over in Seven Oaks, a rash of home burglaries near the Ronald Reagan School has homeowners on edge. And if you really want to be frightened, go to Turnto23.com and check out the video of two teenagers trying to kick in the door of a home near Stockdale and Old River Road, in broad daylight.

 * ... TACOS: Check out these tacos offered at the Silver Fox Starlite Lounge on Taco Tuesdays. The iconic lounge, restored and reopened by Pyrenees Cafe owners Rod and Julie Crawford, has been enjoying a gangbusters business since reopening.

 * ... RIDGE ROUTE: Here's a great picture of part of the old Ridge Route on a bad stretch of road call "Deadman's Curve" as seen along the southbound later of I-5 about two miles below Lebec. Photo courtesy of the Bakersfield Memories Facebook page.

 * ... BEST BETS: Check out Los Angeles Americana singer Chelsea Williams Friday night at Temblor Brewing. Showtime is 7 p.m. Then make reservations to hear the Birds of Chicago June 8 at the Bakersfield Museum of Art. Both great shows featuring rising artists.

Wrestling with the meaning of the election of Donald Trump, Terry Maxwell gets hung by the noose of the 24th Street widening project and RIP to the mainstream media

* ... TRUMP: My take on the election of Donald Trump comes down to this: all of us, especially the pollsters and the media, underestimated two important factors... the deep personal unpopularity of Hillary Clinton, and

more importantly the widespread feeling that Washington (our government) isn't working for a wide swath of America. Casting this as a rural versus urban vote is only partially true, and it overlooks a deep and serious anxiety in this country that the ruling elite (so to speak) operate under a different set of rules than the rest of us. Clinton, more so than President Obama, represented the idea that those in power can get away with conduct and behavior that would land others in jail. Dismissing rural and "fly over" voters as uninformed boobs seems to miss an important message that half the country does not want business as usual. Trump did not create this widespread national anxiety; instead he rode it and exploited it while offering an (albeit jarring) alternative. The fact that so many voters overlooked his well documented flaws speaks volumes about the level of distrust of the political establishment. (Below: a map circulating on social media)

 * ... LOCAL ELECTIONS: Locally, I was surprised to see the local school bond measures pass (they were all well funded), Ward 2 City Councilman Terry Maxwell was hung by the noose of his opposition to the 24th Street widening project, and Congressman David Valadao fought off Democrat Emilio Huerta in a particularly nasty slugfest that won my award for the most dishonest campaign of the season. Karen Goh looks headed to a squeaker of a win over Kyle Carter in the mayor's race, and Jeffrey Tkac sent Harold Hanson into forced political retirement in the Ward 5 council race.

* ... ENERGY: Trump's election will be good news for the oil and gas sector, and we can expect a dramatic rollback of environmental regulations that have been the hallmark of the Obama presidency. Expect the Keystone Pipeline to be built and for regulators to have a friendlier attitude toward both coal and hydraulic fracturing.

 * ... MAINSTREAD MEDIA: And finally, RIP to the mainstream media, the traditional "gatekeepers" of political thought who were violently repudiated in this election. Will we ever be able to trust the polls again?

* ... ELECTION HUMOR: From Twitter: On election day "I saw the line where they were giving out stickers and wound up getting a damn flu shot."

 * ... STEAKS: One of the best cooks in town, Mike Ariey of Big Mike's Ragin' BBQ, is serving up a 16-ounce New York steak lunch at The Mark every Friday. The steak comes with cowboy potatoes, chili beans, green salad and corn bread. Lunch is served in the out door patio next door (called The Park at The Mark on 19th Street) and is open from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. And if a steak isn't your think, try the garlic chicken or excellent slow cooked baby back ribs, my personal favorite.

* ... OLD BARS: Here's a puzzler some of you readers may be able to answer. Karen R. Williams wrote: "Many years ago, the family of two of my school friends owned a bar that I believe was located in the alley behind the Haberfelde Building. It was called Potts Back Door. My friends were Gloria and Steve Potts. I was wondering if this is the location of one of the bars that have been in the news recently. It sure brings back memories from the late 1950s." Anybody remember this place and what occupies the space today?

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and former Rep. Bill Thomas go different ways on the Bakersfield mayor's race, and the hit group HoneyHoney appears Friday at Temblor Brewing Co.

 * ... POLITICS: One of the curious sideshows in this year's election is the split between House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and his old boss, former Rep. Bill Thomas, on the Bakersfield

mayor's race. McCarthy has endorsed Karen Goh while Thomas has thrown his reputation and influence behind former homebuilder Kyle Carter. Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall when McCarthy and Thomas are discussing the Goh-Carter showdown and why they ended up in different camps?

* ... TRASH: Sometimes when I am out and about I torture myself by making mental notes of the various kinds of trash I see about our community. We are a community of litterers, but this goes beyond the fast food cups and paper bags you see everywhere. Among the items I spotted this week: an old washing machine, a discarded copier, a broken and rusted baby stroller, tires, roof shingles, diapers and of course the ubiquitous soiled mattress and box spring.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "My eyes are just fine... It's my life that's out of focus."

 * ... LIVE MUSIC: When was the last night you got out of your comfort zone and enjoyed some live music in town? Tonight (Friday) at 6:30 p.m. a dynamic duo called HoneyHoney will appear at Temblor Brewing Co. Trust me on this: the music of singer and violinist Suzanne Santo and vocalist and guitarist Ben Jaffe will leave you tapping your toes with a smile on your face. Tickets are $25 each and can be purchased at the door.

 * ... OUR TOWN: Pat Chandler had visitors in town recently and had this to say: "Just had company come in for a flying visit from London, via San Francisco and Napa. They are pretty sophisticated world travelers, plus being vegetarians. What to do with them? I put them up at the Padre Hotel and took them to dinner at Valentien. Not only were they delighted, but also impressed. Nice one Bakersfield!"

 * ... CHANGES: Hal Bopp read my post on the closing of Orchard Supply Hardware and added this: "Things don't change, do they? I was just as sad to see Vons close its store in the same building on Ming and Ashe back in 1991 (plus or minus).  When we moved into our Courtside at Laurelglen condo in 1990, we were happy to have a grocery store right across the street that we could walk to.  Then, the Marketplace opened just down the street with a more ginormous Vons Super Market. Vons' first statement was that they had not made a decision on the Ming and Ashe store. When they announced that it was closing no more than about three weeks later, it was pretty clear they knew all along."

 * ... GOOD FORM: And finally, Shirley Rowles shared this surprise she experienced recently.
"My oldest, dearest art friends, Coral and Nancy, had arranged an 85th birthday lunch for me at the Red Pepper.  We had a great visit with a lot of laughs. When we were ready to leave we were informed that a lovely lady at a nearby table had paid for our birthday lunches when she left. It was a delightful surprise and we all plan to pay it forward."

Step aside all you negative people, researchers show happy people really do have more fun ... plus a trip to Lakeside School and LGBTQ group shuns both mayoral candidates

 * ... LAKESIDE: Want to feel good about America and our country? Spend a few hours in one of our local classrooms and chances are you will come out impressed with the level of teaching and

surprised at how bright our kids are these days. I rarely set foot inside a school these days, but this week I spoke to Joseph Andreotti's AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) class at the Lakeside School. My thoughts: a committed teacher, promising and bright students and a supportive faculty and administration.

 * ... HAPPINESS: And here's something else that lifted my spirits: researchers say people who are genuinely happy, kind and sympathetic really do have more fun. That's good news in a world where narcissism and pettiness seem to rule the landscape in politics and entertainment. Said the Wall Street Journal: "Nice people, rejoice: Notwithstanding the prominent examples today in political and popular culture, the best available research still clearly shows that in everyday life the nice people, not the creeps, do the best at work, in love and in happiness."

* ... QUEER THE VOTE: So what do you think of the movement to write in "Queer the Vote" instead of voting for either Kyle Carter or Karen Goh as mayor? That's the recommendation of some folks in our local LGBTQ community who are unhappy with either candidate. Neither Carter nor Goh, they argue, has done enough to embrace the gay, lesbian and transgender community. To his credit, Carter has been up front about saying he would not participate in a gay pride parade for fear or angering some segment of the community. (Carter says he has gay friends but on this issue he will not get involved.) Goh has been consistent too in dodging the question and failing to return calls. This issue is hardly large enough to turn this election, but it's an interesting sideshow in this show we call the 2016 election campaign.

* ... FOODIE: If you like food that talks back to you, try the new spicy chicken sandwich at The Padre Hotel, part of its new menu that was rolled out recently.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Bad Hombre" is the name of the cologne I buy at the Dollar Store."

 * ... WATER TOWER: Remember the old water tower that was taken down at Bakersfield High School to make way for the renovation at Griffith Field? It's now at the Kern County Museum and a group of Driller supporters are looking for input on how to make it a star attraction there. There will be a meeting at 4:30 p.m. on November 2 to discuss this. For more information call Jami Anderson at (661) 633-0340.

 * ... GOOD FORM: And hats off to those ladies over at the Assistance League of Bakersfield who will be contributing books to the students at Stella Hills Elementary School this Saturday. Said Dona Chertok: "We are participating in the Make a Difference Day; on which thousands of volunteers will be giving back to their communities. On Oct. 22, volunteers from across the country will unite for Make A Difference Day, one of the largest annual single-days of service nationwide."

 * ... LIBRARIES: Those mini, roadside libraries about town are about to celebrate their fourth anniversary. Named after the late Wendy Wayne, an educator and inspiring community activist, there are now some 63 libraries in Kern County, according to Susan Reep. One of them, located in front of Bernadette Ferguson's house on C Street, was featured on a Times Square billboard as a finalist in a Black and Decker contest.

Anti fracking measures in Colorado fail to make the fall ballot, a candid conversation with Bako's mayoral candidates and a local woman's reaction to the Colin Kaepernick controversy

 * ... FRACKING NOTES: There is good news for the oil and gas industry out of Colorado. According to The Wall Street Journal, two measures to allow communities in Colorado to bad

hydraulic fracturing have failed to make the fall ballot. The Journal says this is "the most high profile defeat to date for groups aiming to curtail the drilling practice." Despite this, the anti fracking groups are not going away, and we can expect more such measures on future ballots.

* ... ELECTION: Did you realize the November general election is just two months away? Forget Trump and Clinton for a minute and focus locally, where there are plenty of lively races (and tax hiking propositions) on the ballot. I am intrigued by the contest to replace Harvey Hall as mayor, a largely ceremonial job that has come down to a runoff between two strong candidates: former home builder Kyle Carter and non-profit CEO Karen Goh. Yet, even at this late date, the personal stories of Goh and Carter remain somewhat a mystery. So this Friday I will be chatting with both of them when I fill in as host of the Ralph Bailey show on KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM. Goh will come on at 4 p.m. and Carter at 5 p.m. Tune in, and call in with your questions.

 * ... KAEPERNICK: What did you think of the decision by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick not to stand during the playing of the national anthem as a way to protest racism? Judging by the reactions on social media, Kaepernick's stunt backfired turned into a black eye for the franchise, which enjoys a large and loyal following in Kern County. I had to chuckle when one of my friends, Pam Gleim Binns, took to Facebook to post a video of her burning Kaepernick's No. 7 jersey in the backyard of her Bakersfield home.

* ... SEQUOIA: The downtown location of Sequoia Sandwich Co. is about to undergo a major expansion. That's the word from Jeff Simpson, one of the owners who told me the popular deli has taken over the space to the east (once home to Moseley Design) where a new central kitchen will be housed along with a whole new series of "to go" items, including salads, sandwiches and desserts. Simpson hopes the new "to go" counter relieves some of the stress from the restaurant next door, which enjoys a huge weekday crowd thanks to jurors and bailiffs from the nearby courthouse.

 * ... MEMORIES: From Karene Williams comes this memory of an old market in east Bakersfield. "Way back in the 1950s and 1960s there was a little local market owned by the Fraley family. I believe it was actually named Fraley’s Market. I do not recall the exact location but his home was on Monterey just east of Baker."

  * ... MORE MEMORIES: And finally, Becky Whitehead wrote to answer another reader's question about the whistle at the old Santa Fe rail yard. "The whistle in the Santa Fe yard blew at noon for the workers to go to 'beans' and at 12:20 p.m. to return to work. It blew again at 3 p.m. to signal end of shift.  I grew up on California Avenue across from the railroad."

Keep an eye on those tax raising proposals on the November ballot, Kyle Carter picks up an important endorsement and the Bako Sweet mini seedless watermelon shows up on the streets of New York City

 * ... TAXES: Here's yet another reason to pay attention to what your local government is doing these days: despite the defeat of the proposed library tax in June, more proposes to raise your taxes are headed to the November ballot. Bakersfield College is pushing one measure to improve its facilities, and other groups (public safety unions and Sheriff Donny Youngblood) tried unsuccessfully to increase the sales tax

to fund public safety and transportation projects. For taxpayers, this looks like death from a thousand small cuts as politicians use the ballot box to push vital decisions back to the voters. I found this response from former city councilman Mark Salvaggio noteworthy: "There is an old idiom: You never let a serious crisis go to waste.  In this vein, our county government needs to make some structural budget cuts to remain solvent.  If it is not done now during this budget crisis, it will never happen; it will be government as usual. Now is the time to cut back on dozens of unfilled public safety positions that are still funded but have little hope of being filled in the future.  These funds are used to pay for expensive overtime for the rank and file in these departments, the hiring of temporary employees to complement the current permanent employees, i.e., the Probation Department and who knows what else... The Kern Community College District Board of Trustees just voted to put a $503 million dollar bond on the ballot in November.  If passed, this will add another tax on our property tax bills which already have numerous bond taxes on them.  For example, this college district currently has 3 other outstanding bonds on the property tax rolls along with 1 maybe 2 for the Kern High School District as well as dozens of elementary school district bonds throughout Kern County."

 * ... ENDORSEMENTS: Kyle Carter has picked up an important endorsement in his quest to succeed Harvey Hall as mayor. The country's largest police union, the Kern Law Enforcement Association, said it was supporting Carter because of his commitment to landing new funding for local law enforcement. Meanwhile Carter's opponent, Karen Goh, picked up a less weighty endorsement when she won the support of local attorney Milt Younger, once a kingmaker in local Democratic politics and a longtime voice for liberal causes throughout the region.

 * ... SMALL WORLD: My oldest daughter, a graduate of Garces Memorial High and later UC Berkeley, now lives in Brooklyn but carries a piece of Bakersfield in her heart. So I should not have been surprised when she texted me a picture of a seedless, organic mini watermelon with the brand "Bako Sweet" that she found in a local New York City street market. It turns out the melon she purchased in Brooklyn is from Valpredo Farms here in Kern County, founded by Chester and John Valpredo and carried on by the family to this day. Check out the family's website at www.bakosweet.com.

* ... GOOD FORM: If you already love Trader Joe's, this note from Bonnie Farrer will make you love it even more: "Is Trader Joe's a great store or what? Today I needed a few items there but was not allowed to put my small dog in the grocery cart. I couldn't leave him in the hot car so one of the  clerks stood outside the door with Toby on a leash while I shopped. Bravo to that young man!"

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Stalking is when two people go for a long romantic walk together but only one of them knows about it."

 * ... BAD FORM: Fred Valenzano weighed on our litter habit with this thought: "Your Friday column (7/22) has a slight error in your comments about plastic bags: quite a few smokers STILL throw away cigarette butts like they are nothing! I know and am related to current and ex-smokers who are/were always thoughtful. But I see people everywhere who still treat our world as their personal ashtray. Ugh!"

Another local business, Gregg's Pharmacy, sells out to Rite Aid, researching those old District Attorneys and remembering the Golden Crust Bakery

* … LOCAL HISTORY: The District Attorney's office is reaching out to the public for help in finding photos and information on some of the district attorneys who served Kern County since 1866.

The DA's office needs photos of A.C. Lawrence (1872-74), James W. Freeman (1874-79, 1883-88), Alvin Fay (1889-92, 1895-98), J.W. Ahern (1893-94, 1899-1903), and Barclay McCowan (1915-18). If you have information on these men, contact Christy King in the District Attorney's office at (661) 868-2716.

* … FAMILY BUSINESS: Every time a locally owned family business closes or sells out, we lose a little piece of the character of our community. And now I learned that Gregg's Pharmacy (owned by Gregg and Fran Gunner) has sold to Rite Aid, bringing an end to the Gunner family's long footprint in our community. Gregg Gunner (the only way to describe him is witty and joyful) bought the family pharmacy from his father Don in 1976. Prior to that Don Gunner owned and operated Gunner, Medical and San Dimas pharmacies. Gregg's father's sister's family also owned Yant's pharmacies locally during that time.

* … SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "The most important part of being on a gluten free diet is telling everyone about it."

 * … JACK: My pal Jack McGee over at Bakersfield Optical spoke for many of us when he left me this message: "It's terrible that we have two candidates running for mayor in Bako (Kyle Carter and Karen Goh) that have more character and integrity than the candidates running for president."

* … MEMORIES: Ann Cierly wrote to answer a reader's question about the old Golden Crust Bakery: "My 19 year-old father, W. R. Cierley, brought his new bride to Bakersfield in 1930 to go to work for his cousin, H.L.( Hub) Cierley, one of the owners of the bakery, which was on the north side of the railroad tracks on M Street. He worked there until his untimely death in 1946. I visited the bakery many times and remember fondly the great Labor Day employee picnics at what is now Hart Park, and the several Christmas programs in which he volunteered his very young daughter to recite The Night Before Christmas, ha! I know I'm among many old-timers who went to Emerson Jr. High when it was located on Truxtun across the street from the Baptist church. Many late Spring afternoons sitting upstairs in math class, with the windows wide open (no air conditioning then), we would sigh with pleasure as the smell of fresh baking bread wafted through the room."

 * … MORE MEMORIES: And Robert Ricou added this: "The Sanitary Golden Crust Bakery (full name) was located on the north side of the railroad tracks on M Street. My father drove the transport that delivered bread and Fontana Pies to Tehachapi, Mojave, Ridgecrest/China Lake until their closing in the late 1960s. While in high school and attending BC, my summer job was loading the China Lake and the Fresno transport which both left at midnight. Also, I unloaded sacks of flour from railroad boxcars on the tracks adjacent to the bakery. "

 * … FIREWORKS: And finally, former city councilman Mark Salvaggio reacted to my lament about fireworks this way: "Perhaps these dog owners who lose their pets on Independence Day ought to show some self-responsibility and keep their dogs inside on this night.  Better yet, they should keep their dogs inside every night during triple digit temperature days. Maybe you and Lois Henry ought to live back east where there are plenty of Big Brother liberals who also spout taking the joy out of this American pastime. You could do an exhaustive study on which are more noisy:  illegal fireworks or safe and sane legal fireworks."

Bakersfield mayor's race headed for runoff while the main event in November will pit Councilman Terry Maxwell against challenger Andrae Gonzales

 * ... MAYOR'S RACE: So now it's down to two in the mayor's race, former homebuilder Kyle Carter and nonprofit director Karen Goh. Both are Bakersfield natives, yet both bear the burden of re-introducing

themselves to the community to earn our votes. Goh is relentless in attending every chicken dinner and non profit event, but that tells us little about who she is, her values, and what makes her tick. Goh is a former supervisor (she was appointed to finish a term and lost to Leticia Perez in an election) and she is widely assumed to wear her political ambition like the scarf around her neck. Carter is the more relaxed and open of the two, yet he too will need to spend more time explaining who he is and why this job appeals to him. Let's hope, over the next few months, we can dig a little deeper into the personalities, views and values of these people who want to be our next mayor.

 * ... CITY COUNCIL: And now that the June primary is behind us, we can start looking to the November election when one of the main events will pit Ward 2 Councilman Terry Maxwell against challenger Andrae Gonzales. Like others I wish Maxwell would end his Don Quixote-like opposition to the 24th Street widening (sorry Terry, I just don't buy your arguments) but he does play an important role in questioning spending and refusing to kowtow to City Manager Alan Tandy's pet projects. And say what you will about Maxwell, you always know where he stands. Gonzales will position himself as a more thoughtful, younger, inclusive member of the council, and no doubt he be a formidable contender. This is one November race to watch.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I love when strangers smile at me and I smile back and we have that nice stranger smiling moment."

 * ... BAD FORM: A pox on the house of whoever decided to dump their ashtray full of cigarette butts at the entryway of the 24th Street Starbucks. Hey genius, there was a trashcan less than five feet from your car.

 * ... OVERHEARD: Outside a local In Shape City are two homeless couples, both with dogs on a rope. One greeted the other with this: "There seems to be more of us every day."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "I need to stop lying to my therapist. I also just need to stop lying. I don't have a therapist."

 * ... LIBRARY TAX: Local Realtor Ken Barnes had this to say about the defeat of the proposed library tax: "I only wish it were possible for me to face each person that voted against Measure F so I could look them in the eye and ask why they could not afford an extra one penny for every $8 they spend. Shame, shame on all of them."

 * ... MEMORIES: Paul Poor shares these memories of being a young man growing up in Bakersfield: "My memories of downtown are summer camp and swimming at YMCA at P and 23rd streets, Vincent’s Cyclery 18th across from post office, Jumbo drive-in on 24th between Union and Golden State, Bakersfield Bowling Academy 24th and Golden State, Farmer Johns Coffee Shop at Union and Golden State, original Lorene’s (24th Street Café), Royal Palms Golf Course Union at Columbus, Stan’s Drive In (Funny Farm) at 19th and Union, Stan’s Car Wash at L and 24th. As ki’s my brother and sisters in the 1960s 1970s we would ride our bikes from northeast Bakersfield to downtown and back again (or catch a ride home with our parents). We were 8 to 15 years old. Those were the good days in Bakersfield."

KERO TV anchor Jackie Parks leaves Bakersfield after 27 years, Kyle Carter addresses the gay question and celebrating those kids going on to college

 * ... PARKS: The Bakersfield television market has long been used as a stepping stone for local anchors and reporters to get some experience and trade it in for a better job elsewhere. They move in and out of the market so quickly that sometimes it's hard to put a face with a local network. But

occasionally some TV talent finds a reason to stick around, to raise a family and enjoy what our town has to offer, and one of them is Jackie Parks, the longtime KERO TV anchor whose last day is today. After 27 years here, she is leaving for Maryland to join husband Todd Karli at a local station. Parks is a class act, smart, sensitive and humble, and she will be missed. Good luck, Jackie.

 * ... CARTER: You have to give Kyle Carter credit for transparency. Unlike other mayoral candidates who have dodged the question, the former homebuilder chose to address the question of participating in a gay pride parade head on. Said Carter: "As mayor, would I march in a LGBTQ parade? I believe it would be unwise for a mayor to try to represent every event that the people of Bakersfield can possibly host. For a mayor to stand for everything would automatically cause him to stand against something else. As mayor I think my time and efforts should be spent to promote job growth and education and also work on our transportation and water issues, while providing support for fighting crime and solving homelessness. And then celebrate those things."

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "All I’m saying is you don’t see many neck tattoos on Jeopardy."

 * ... OVERHEARD: From a reader: "An Aul-Dailian with bulls extremities hanging from his truck trailer hitch engages a Toyota driving bearded fellow who has 'SF' on his bumper. 'It’s bay area weenies like you that have ruined our country!' The un-assuming bearded man responds…'Actually, SF is for the ten years that I spent in Special Forces.' OOPS!"

 * ... FLAGS: If you are out and about this weekend, make sure you swing by the Park at RiverWalk which will be adorned with a thousand American flags. This popular Breakfast Rotary project is visually stunning, and worth a trip to recognize Memorial Day and all the sacrifices made for our country.

 * ... LIBERTY HIGH: Liberty High School is well known for producing outstanding athletes, but who knew it was also a feeder for Division 1 cheer and dance team members? Proud Liberty parent Basconcillo passed along where some of the young Liberty women have gone: Kennedy Poe, class of 2012, Cal Poly, SLO Mustangs Cheer; Lauren Fringer, class of 2012, Boise St. Broncos Dance Team; Paige Basconcillo, class of 2013, Cal Bears Dance Team; Annalee Fanucchi, class of 2015, Fresno State Bulldogs Dance Team; Amy Cox, class of 2015, Long Beach State 49rs Dance Team; Chandler Basconcillo, class of 2016, UC Santa Barbara Gauchos Dance Team.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Jack Kelley submits this tidbit from the way back machine: "You may be a Bakersfield old timer if you remember when there wasn’t a Christmas Tree Lane, and not a Foothill High School either. LOL."