Environmental group calls for an end to oil and gas drilling on federal lands, Haggen grocery files for bankruptcy and a little history about Larry Reider

 * ... FOSSIL FUELS: Environmental groups are calling on President Obama to outlaw the production of oil and national gas from federally owned lands and along the continental shelf. Whether this can be done with the stroke of a pen is up for debate, but groups like the Center for Biological Diversity (a group often criticized for its hyperbole) say it will go a long way to reduce the effects of climate change. The problem, as cited in a report by the news service Vice, is in the details.
Said Kathleen Sgamma, public affairs spokeswoman for the Western Energy Alliance: "It's not a serious discussion. It's not a serious point of view," noting that fossil fuels provide about 80 percent of US energy needs and calls to 'Keep it in the ground' offer little in the way of replacements. "Groups like the Center for Biological Diversity will talk about wind and solar. Wind and solar are great, except they have only to do with electricity generation, which doesn't cover transportation or heat. It's just electricity, and it's just a very small portion of electricity now."

* ... DUST MITES: If you are one of those people who don't make your bed in the morning, you may be doing something right. That's the word from the BBC which reported that researchers believe that dust mites thrive in dark places, and that leaving the bed unmade could help kill them off. Dr. Stephen Pretlove told the BBC, "We know that mites can only survive by taking in water from the atmosphere using small glands on the outside of their body. Something as simple as leaving a bed unmade during the day can remove moisture from the sheets and mattress so the mites will dehydrate and eventually die." So there you have it; you can thank me.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "There are no bad photos. That’s just how you look sometimes."

 * ... HAGGEN: Now that the Haggen supermarket chain has filed bankruptcy, its store in the Town and Country Shopping Center on Gosford and Stockade Highway (it was an Albertson's not too long ago) is being cleaned out by bargain hunters before it closes. Many items are discounted up to 50 percent off but get there quickly, because everything is going fast.

 * ... OVERHEARD: Two men are talking about the opening of the craft beer venue Temblor and the explosion of craft brews across the country. Said one: "That old bank building at Chester and 18th is perfect for a craft brewery."

 * ... LARRY: Ever wonder how folks from out of town end up in our community? I ran into Larry Reider, the affable former Kern County superintendent of schools, and he shared how, as a young college graduate, he ended up in Bakersfield in 1965. "I was at the (college) job placement office (in Washington) looking for a teaching gig and I knew I wanted to go to California. So I went down the list of cities in California alphabetically and Bakersfield was at the top of the list. There was a job in Arvin at an elementary school and I drove down sight unseen." Fifty years later, a building bears his name and Larry and wife Sandra are retired happily in the town they call home.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You may be a Bakersfield old timer if you spent "getting gold stars for reading a number of books while attending the summer reading program in the basement of the Baker Street Library."

Presumed GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and wife Ann are headed to Bakersfield for a fund raiser, and Californian Radio to explore gay marriage

 * ... ROMNEY: It looks like presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and wife Ann are coming to Bakersfield for a fund raiser at the home of Grimmway Farms owner Barbara Grimm-Marshall. It's being billed as "an afternoon with Governor Mitt and Ann Romney" and will be held on Wednesday, May 30. Tickets are going for $2,500 a pop, $10,000 will get you a photo session and for $50,000 you get a private reception. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) will be there along with event co-chairs Jim and Beverly Camp, Iva and Michael Hawkins and Barbara Grimm-Marshall and Darcy Marshall.

 * ... GAY MARRIAGE: Polls show the nation is slowly warming to the idea of same-sex marriage, but the issue remains has hot as ever. On Monday, I will be take on the topic on Californian Radio KERN 1180 beginning at 9 a.m. Among my guests will be a young gay man who vehemently opposes same-sex marriages. Tune in to hear him articulate his position. We'll also hear from Dr. Raj Patel, partner in Preferred Family Care Physicians, about the obesity epidemic.


 * ... REIDER: I attended the dedication of the Larry Reider Education Center this week, named after the retired Kern County Superintendent of Schools. One of the reasons Reider is so enormously popular,  outside of guiding the department during some economically turbulent years, is his terrific sense of humor. In his speech, he recalled a friend who had been promoted to chief executive of a local company. Said Reider: "So this man asks his wife, 'Honey, in your wildest dreams did you imagine me being promoted?' And his wife replies: 'Honey, you're not in my wildest dreams.'" Classic Larry.


* ... TRASH: Tami Schumacher is a relative newcomer to Bakersfield (her family moved here from Southern California last summer) and she is amazed at the amount of trash on our streets. "I was at the park with my dog and saw a car pull up and a man drop a cup out of the car.  He proceeded to go to the basketball courts without picking up the cup and a trash can was 10 feet from him!" Tami: I wish I could tell you that what you witnessed was an anomaly, but it's not.

 * ... MAKE A WISH: The Make-A-Wish Foundation does an awful lot of good locally and generally does so without a lot of press. Which is why I'm happy to promote the organization's special fund raiser next Friday, May 18, at the Crystal Palace. It's the "Silver Spur Gala" featuring a steak dinner, live auction items and of course dancing. And, you get to taste Bowen's Whiskey, the new Bakersfield-made whiskey for just $5 a pop. (All proceeds go to Make-A-Wish). Tickets are $100 each or $1,000 for a table of eight. Call (661) 634-WISH (9474) if you are interested.

The truth meter finds fault with Terry Phillips' rambling attack on Bakersfield Observed; is refusing to recite the pledge unpatriotic? You be the judge

* ... PHILLIPS RETORT: Terry Phillips is a former Valley Public Radio broadcaster who is thinking about running for Congress against Rep. Kevin McCarthy. Last week I noted that Phillips created quite a stir at the downtown Rotary Club when he declined to participate in the pledge of allegiance before speaking there back in 2008. Phillips took me to task in a rambling letter to the editor Monday, accusing me of distorting the facts and questioning his patriotism. Really Terry? Let's review what happened. First, Phillips never denies not participating in the pledge, so it seems my reporting was accurate on that count. Second, it's also true that some folks in the mostly conservative crowd of local business leaders viewed his act a provocation and complained to Rotary officers after his speech. And third, I never accused Phillips of being unpatriotic, nor did I imply that he was fired because of the incident. (He was fired three years later) I did wonder aloud how his refusal to recite the pledge would play with voters, which seems like a reasonable thought. But as for Phillips being fired last year, I neither know nor care why VPR let him go. So indulge me as I once again review what I wrote: that he did not recite the pledge (true), that some Rotary members were upset (true) and that he was later fired (also true). Looks like a trifecta of accurate reporting to me. Isn't it funny how folks, particularly politicians or would-be politicians, have such a selective memory when the past returns to haunt them?

* ... HOUSING: We all know the dismal state of housing in states like California and Florida, but where is housing making a rebound? Realty website Inman News reports that for a second year in a row, the Midwest and Northeast dominate the markets deemed most desirable. Among the top hot markets are Raleigh, NC, Wichita, KS, Rochester, NY, Des Moines, IA, Chattanooga, TN, Peoria, ILL, and Amarillo, TX.


* ... REIDER: Kudos to retired Kern County Schools Superintendent Larry Reider who has had an educational building named after him. The five-story building in downtown Bakersfield, formerly known as the UC Merced building, has now been christened the Larry E. Reider Education Center. A fitting tribute to a longtime leader in Kern County education.

 * ... SPOTTED: Candace Bunes contributed this nugget from a day in the life of our city. "Sitting at a stop light on Truxtun and Coffee there is a lady in front of me drinking coffee, smoking a cigarette and talking on her cell phone. Beside me is a lady using a curling iron and putting on mascara. And behind me is a man doing nothing but waiting with his hands on the wheel!"

 * ... KINDNESS: Wendy Wayne, the former director of the First Five Commission who is battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, shared a wonderful story of a random act of kindness done on her behalf. The person, who Wendy did not name, was able to help a disabled veteran get a complete dental makeover. Turns out the veteran was born with a cleft pallet that required multiple surgeries. The good Samaritan found an organization called Soldiers Smile which found a dentist in Los Gatos who helped.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You may be from Bakersfield if you only use your turn signals once you are well into the turn.

How about naming a school after "Mr. Education" Larry Reider? And don't forget about First Friday

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 * ... REIDER: The Bakersfield City School District is accepting suggestions for naming two schools that will open in 2013. One name that comes to mind is Larry Reider, the wildly popular superintendent of Kern County Schools who retired in 2009 after a 40-year career in education. Reider spent the last 10 years as county superintendent, succeeding Kelly Blanton and guiding the department through a perilous economic period. Blanton had gone on an expansion spree, and it was left to Reider to refocus on the core mission when the recession hit. His long, dedicated career and the fact that he has been (and continues to be) involved in about every community non-profit there is, should qualify him for this honor. The naming involves a future elementary and middle school set to open in 2013 near the former Mesa Marin Raceway. If anyone deserves this honor, it's "Mr. Education" Larry Reider.

 * ... BLOOMFIELD'S: A recent post on Bloomfield's Drive-in triggered an email from Greg Harrison, the grandson of the couple that owned the diner, Gene and Marie Bloomfield. "My mom (Margorie) met my father at Bloomfield's. He had just arrived from Oklahoma and within hours went to Bloomfield's for a meal, saw my mom and said to his friend that he was going to marry that girl. The next thing she knows, they eloped to Las Vegas and were married for 57 years. Both are deceased now."  Harrison said his grandfather, an engineer for Southern Pacific Railroad, was the person who discovered the body of  former Chief Justice Earl Warren's father behind the drive-in. That murder remains unsolved to this day. He said there was a second location for Bloomfield's in the late 1930s and early 1940s on Monterey Street that later became a Sparkle Cleaners. The original Bloomfield's Drive-in was at the northeast corner of Niles and Baker streets.

 * ... MORE DINERS: Speaking of Bloomfield's, several readers have written to say that I am mistaken and that it was a drive-in called Hall's that was at that exact same corner. In fact reader Ann Neville told me it was her father, Howard Fifield, who was a co-owner of Hall's at the northeast corner of Baker and Niles streets. Perhaps, she said, Bloomfield's occupied the building before it was Hall's. Anybody remember? Either way, she said Hall's was "a hangout for the teenagers until Stan's opened on Union Avenue. Unfortunately the kids flocked to the new place. I spent many hours tray hopping at 75 cents an hour for my dad. Great memories!"

* ... SMALL MIRACLES: So nice to hear that more than $212,000 was raised recently for two deserving groups: Angioma Alliance and the Small Miracles Foundation. The alliance focuses on an illness called cavernous angiomas and the foundation helps families whose children are suffering from cancer. Local resident Liz Newman wrote to say that cavernous angiomas is characterized by lesions that grow and bleed in the brain. Her own son Jake had brain surgery at age 2 and her other son Sam has had four brain surgeries to remove hemorrhaging cavernous angiomas. The Small Miracles Foundation was started in memory of Lauren Small, who died of cancer in 2005 at the age of 11. "What I want you to know about this evening Mr. Beene," she wrote, "is that it stands as a true testament to the generosity of the people of Bakersfield. The auction raised $205,000 with only 22 auction items offer. Simply amazing." The event was held at Bakersfield Country Club and featured Madorom Vineyards of Napa Valley, which holds a release party of its current vintage each year in Bakersfield.


 * ... FIRST FRIDAY: It promises to be a good weekend to head downtown for First Friday. The stunning photography of Peter Fay will be on display at Metro Galleries on 19th Street. Enjoy the photographs while listening to Kama Ruby and munching on snacks provided by Mama Roomba. Meanwhile, the Bakersfield Art Association will have an exhibit called "Shoes/Zapatos" featuring paintings and one sculpture by 24 adult artists and five younger artists. Music and refreshments will be served from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Art Center is located at 1817 Eye Street. (photograph by Peter Fay below)

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield if you remember the Blackboard bar and the chicken wire that was put up to keep customers from throwing beer bottles at the band.

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Kern County women in peril and the economy continues to struggle ...

* ... WOMEN IN PERIL: The two most depressing news stories in The Californian this week had to be the Northwest Promenade rape trail and the report that Kern County leads the state in teenage pregnancies and births. The first involved the guilty verdict in the trial of Anthony Ray Graham Jr., convicted of a bold and horrific abduction and rape of a woman in broad daylight outside the Babies 'R' Us store on Rosedale Highway, one of our community's most prominent shopping venues. The idea that predators like this roam the streets of our community is terrifying enough, but it is particularly chilling to those of us with daughters. (read Jason Kotowski's full report here) Kudos to prosecutor Lisa Green for bringing a measure of justice to the victim and her family. And then there was Steven Mayer's story on Kern County having the highest teen birth rate in California, even while the statewide rate has dropped. (read his story here) This is our collective shame and you can't help but worry about the state of our young women. This is yet another reason why the work of groups like the Women and Girl's Fund of the Kern Community Foundation is so important.

 * ... ECONOMIC INDICATOR: One place I look for indications of an economic recovery is in company hiring, which has been in a funk for the past couple years. Kern County's jobless rate is near 16 percent and the business people I know have hunkered down for a long, slow recovery. Riley Parker is one person who has a finger on the pulse of hiring, since his company (Parker and Associates) does background screening of potential new employees for companies. Parker told me that part of his business has been steady this year - not great - yet another indicator of general sluggishness. But another part of his business is "booming," he said. "We have had a real surge in real estate fraud cases ... A new twist is in the number of 'intellectual property' cases that are being referred... Some displaced workers are deciding to use the proprietary information gleaned from their former employers to become entrepreneurs."

 * ... GAUCHO WORLD: Retired Kern County School superintendent Larry Reider told me to add his longtime wife Sandy to the list of local folks who hail from UC Santa Barbara. Sandy spent 33 years teaching in Arvin and Fruitvale, and according to Larry was such a diligent student at UCSB that "she was upset she couldn't get to classes when they closed the campus after they burned the Bank of America building during the Isla Vista riots!" I'll take Larry at his word, but I also know that nearly every day is a "riot" of sorts on Isla Vista.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISMS: You know you're from Bakersfield when "Instead of people thinking you're rich for having leather seats, they think you're stupid." And you also know you're from Bakersfield when you have to "explain to someone what Beach Park is all about."

Bako Bits: Brain drain at the county, more drunks on the road and a bid to spike car sales

Cleaning off my desk preparing for a little vacation on the other coast. Wish I had better news on the local economy but it's chugging along the bottom, not getting any better but not getting much worse either. Let's wrap up some loose ends:

* FATHER OF THE YEAR? ... Just as we suspected, the driver who crashed head-on into another vehicle on Enos Lane on Sunday was drunk, according to the cops. And I suppose it should come as no surprise that the driver, 27-year-old Pedro Munoz of Delano, had been arrested on drunken driving charges two years ago. The tragedy is that Pedro's lack of responsibility led to the death of his wife and his two daughters, and the injury of a family of innocents in the truck he hit. Pedro's first mistake was driving drunk and his second - and fatal - mistake was trying to outrun a CHP officer who clocked him going 83 mph on Enos. Father of the year? Don't think so. By the way, that stretch of Enos between Panama Lane and Stockdale Highway is always treacherous. You have traffic heading to Interstate 5 and then trucks towing boats and RVs coming from the Lake Buena Vista Recreational Area. Be careful out there. (photo below courtesy of KGET TV)



* COUNTY BRAIN DRAIN ... Didn't want to let it pass without noting the pending retirement of David Price III, the chief of the Resource Management Agency. Dave is a longtime county bureaucrat and a good one at that, and it never hurts when you are blessed with a keen sense of humor and wit. Dave is heading to the bucolic hills of east Tennessee where his wife has family. He's worked at the county for 21 years. Price joins a number of other longtime county employees to leave recently, including County Counsel Bernie Barmann, waste management director Daphne Harley and Schools Superintendent Larry Reider.

* CLUNKERS FOR CASH ... Nice piece in today's Californian on the "clunkers for cash" program aimed at getting high polluting cars off the road. Turns out the California New Car Dealers Assn. is advising members to hold off until details can be worked out. One dealership eager to get in on the deal is Jim Burke Ford, where general manager Dan Hay reports a lot of interest. The deal: you get up to $4,000 for a trade-in toward the purchase of a new more fuel efficient vehicle but there are some small hiccups the program has to hurdle. Questions? Call your local car dealer for details.

Short takes around town: Allen Road set to open, Reider's replacement and Rubio's juggernaut

Doing some house cleaning and came across some Bako Bits to share. But first let's all bid a fond farewell to the wonderful spring-like weather of the past month. It has certainly been a June to remember and now looks like our legendary Bako summer is about to descend upon us. So here we go:

* ... ALLEN ROAD EXTENSION: Not that it's official yet, but I hear the extension of Allen Road from Ming Avenue to White Lane in the Southwest will be opening within a week or so. This will instantly become a heavily traveled road and a much needed short cut for Southwest denizens. Be careful, however, because folks in the Seven Oaks area get on and off the bike trail there so beware of cyclists. The bike path extension now runs under the new Allen Road extension and out to Enos Lane.

* ... RUBIO RAKES IT IN: I was over at the new wine bar Imbibe off Truxtun last week and happened upon a Michael Rubio fund raiser. The county Supervisor is running for the State Senate 16th District seat being vacated by Sen. Dean Florez. He's a shoo-in to win it, particularly since former Fresno assemblywoman Sarah Reyes dropped out. Rubio is something to watch in public: smooth, working the room, collecting a ton of money, fluent on all the issues. His war chest is now approaching $400,000, so I doubt he'll have serious opposition. Among those attending were Joe and Mimi Audelo, former city councilman Mark Salvaggio, Joe Drew of Tejon Ranch and his wife Jan (I'm not implying he was there on behalf of Tejon because I don't know), local divorce attorney Karen Gaul, lawyers Tom DeNatale and Jay Rosenlieb, DA candidate Lisa Green and husband Jeff of Grimmway Farms, and a host of others. The picture below is of Michael and daughter Iliana.



* ... 100 PERCENT PECKERWOOD: Read with interest the story in today's Californian about the Oildale gang terrorizing Hart Park. This appears to be a group of clueless losers from the bowels of Oildale, self-made white supremacists who have nothing better to do on weekends than drive over to Hart Park and prey on Hispanic families enjoying a picnic. And get this: the name of the gang is the Peckerwoods. Now, I'm from Georgia, went to college in South Georgia, and even there Peckerwood is an extremely derogatory term for Southern white trash. And these guys have embraced it? Glad to see the police and DA crackdown on these knuckleheads.

* LARRY'S REPLACEMENT: Had a chance to share a glass of wine the other day with outgoing County Schools Superintendent Larry Reider, who is out as of the end of June. He tells me his replacement, Christine Lizardi Frazier, will be an instant hit. She's a 30-year educator who joined the superintendent's office in 1996. She's also done some impressive work in Compton when our Kern County office was down there trying to straighten that mess of a school system out. Looking forward to Ms. Frazier taking the lead. Below is her picture.

Bako bits: Huerta's speech raises cackles, a monster appears in court and goodbye to Larry

Lots happening around our community, plenty of controversy, Supervisors considering budget cuts, Dolores Huerta's commencement speech at CSUB and the dad accused of blinding his son finally shows up in court. Let's get to it:

* ... THE FACE OF A MONSTER? We finally got a fresh look at 34-year-old Angelo Vidal Mendoza, the man accused of eating out one of his son's eyes and badly damaging the other in what appears to have been a drug-induced craze. So there he was, in his wheelchair from a previous violent incident, draped in a pink blanket no less. Let's give him his innocence until proven guilty, but the cops say this is the guy who turned on his own son, gouged out his eye and then took an axe and broken ceramic to his own legs to pretend that he was a victim of a gang assault. What a dad! If guilty, that's a monstrous story by a monster of a man. Meanwhile little Angel, now 4, is said to be recovering the sight in one eye while a fund has been established in his name. Read the Californian's midday briefing here.



* ... HUERTA SPARKS CONTROVERSY: Lots of chatter on blogs and Facebook on a commencement speech that United Farm Workers founder Dolores Huerta gave at CSUB. Haven't yet seen a copy of the speech or seen a video but some folks are howling over its content, which was variously described as predictable and boring (on the tame side) to rabidly divisive and pedantic in tone. One poster told this to Californian editorial page editor Bob Price:

"Yawn. So, if anybody 'complained' or disagrees with Huerta's radial, left-wing world view then they are automatically attached to Rush, O'Reilly or Savage? What a load of dung! Sorry, the woman is a judgmental, anti-business polarizer, and CSUB should immediately apologize to the graduates who were trapped into listening to her pitiful harangue." Wow!

Bob says The Californian will have a package of letters to the editor on the controversy this Thursday, so be ready for it.

* ... SAYING GOODBYE TO LARRY: When someone as popular as Larry Reider retires, there are bound to be more than a few roasts and goodbye parties. Larry is longtime Kern Superintendent of Schools Larry Reider, who truly is one of the great public servants of our community. He's finally calling it quits but promises to hang around. I hear the Mendiburu Magic Foundation, on which Larry serves as a board member, will hold a dinner in his honor on June 18 at Wool Growers Basque Restaurant. A bigger communitywide dinner will be held Friday, July 10, at the Bakersfield Museum of Art (Larry served on that board too). If interested call Irma Tiner at (661) 636-4632. Tickets are $60 each and a table for eight can be reserved for $480. No host bar at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m.

School Supt. Larry Reider announces his retirement; a very public life comes to an end

Was sad to hear that Larry Reider, longtime Kern County Superintendent of Schools, has finally decided to call it quits and head into retirement. I say sad because Larry is one of the "good guys," a public official who threw his heart and soul into his work and showed up at his office every day determined to make this a better place to live. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say Larry is one of the most popular public officials in town. He has been involved and served on the boards of about every non-profit and he has always provided the resources of his offices to those in need. And, of course, it never hurts that Larry has a dynamic personality, a rapier like wit and a genuinely upbeat personality. Seeing Larry and wife Sandra at fund raisers across town has always been a highlight, and he promises to stick around and not be a stranger. Here are a few of Larry's accomplishments over the years (Larry is pictured below with museum director Bernie Herman at a recent museum opening):



* He had a 44-year career in education, the last 10 as county superintendent.
* He was one of the founders of the Community Reading Project along with The Californian and our publisher Ginger Moorhouse. That program sees hundreds of volunteers go into 30 schools to personally tutor second graders.
* He was a key player in the Ready to Start program that targets kids heading into kindergarten.
* He co-chaired a teacher retention and recruitment task force that developed approaches to recruit and retain more Kern County-based teachers.
* I could go on but you get the picture. And suffice it to say that Larry was involved in any number of local organizations, from downtown Rotary to Bakersfield Vision 2020 to the Chamber of Commerce to the Bakersfield Museum of Art. And that just scratches the surface.

Bakersfield Museum of Art: steady as she goes

One can't help but wonder when this recession is going to start hurting some of our local non-profits and art groups that hang on by a thread in the best of times. And so it was at the Bakersfield Museum of Art tonight when it held its opening for the Ludvic painting and sculpture exhibit. It was good to see so many of the loyal supporters of the arts there: Bart and Napier Hill, Larry and Sandy Reider, Rogers and Esther Brandon, Barbara Reid, Claude and Shirley Fiddler, Milt Younger, Sheryl Barbich, Sue Jennings, Bobbie George, Cynthia Icardo, George and Marcia Giumarra among others. Museum executive director Bernie Herman tells me it's a tough year for the museum, with expected cutbacks in support from the city and county amid a general sense of recession-borne frugality. But everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, including the Reiders and Rog Brandon shown in the photo.

Bakersfield Vision 2020: why it's important

Bakersfield Vision 2020 was a grassroots effort to improve our community by helping our community leaders realize what was important to the public: things like water parks, green space, better zoning, anything to help offset the "hot and dusty" reputation of our city. Why it took a grassroots campaign to help "educate" city and county leaders is another story for another time, but it's worth noting that Vision 2020 is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Local consultant and activist Sheryl Barbich has single-handedly (my words, not her's) pushed this agenda for the past decade, and it's good to see her still at it. Certainly others have helped, names like Bernie Herman, Susan Hersberger, Debbie Moreno, John Pryor, David Price, Larry Reider, Jim George and others. Here's a typical Vision 2020 priority, taken from the minutes of its February 11th meeting:

"John Pryor presented a request from council member (Zach) Scrivner for input on this two-mile sound wall along the freeway. Proposals include greenery and mural, both of which are encouraged in the V2020 Action Plan... it was recommended that any murals ... be in keeping with the image of cooler colors to offset the high negatives in Bakersfield's image of hot and dusty."

Glad to see Sheryl and her crew are still in there lobbying. We need more people willing to get involved and roll up their sleeves to help.