Bakersfield Commons retail project looks for traction and Newsweek throws Rep. McCarthy some love

 * ... BAKERSFIELD COMMONS: Had a chance this week to catch up with Daniel Niemann, project manager for the huge Bakersfield Commons mixed retail, commercial and residential development at the corner of Brimhall and Coffee roads. The project will go before the Planning Commission this Thursday (5:30 p.m. in the City Council chamber) and Niemann hopes it will finally gain some traction. The first phase is 600,000 square feet of retail plus another 200,000 square feet of commercial, and he believes our market is ready for some upscale retail. Niemann told me that Dillard's department store has already signed a "letter of interest" (nonbinding of course) and that JCPenny would be the other anchor. With a jobless rate of 17.1 percent, Kern County should be receptive to a project that promises to bring 4,600 construction jobs and 11,000 permanent jobs once fully built out, but there have been issues over the impact on local traffic flow. That said, there's no doubt that parcel will eventually be developed and we could use the jobs. With a little luck, the project could go before the City Council in June. We'll see. (to read a previous post on the project, click here)

 * ... THE NEW NEWT: Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) received some valuable recognition this week when Newsweek magazine ran a two-page spread calling him the "new" Newt Gingrich of the Republican party. (click here to read the entire piece) The story referred to McCarthy as an optimist and one of the GOP's "young guns" who was trying to repeat the 1994 Republican  "Contract with America" engineered by then House Speaker Gingrich. Late last year, the story added that House Minority Leader John Boehner assigned McCarthy the task of helping the GOP overcome the rap of being the "party of no." Though times have changed McCarthy is clearly one of the GOP's rising stars and someone to be watched.


* ... LORI'S KIDS: Reader Lori Drury sent me an email to update me on her children and their accomplishments. Her oldest daughter is Lindsay Rath, a 2002 graduate of UC San Diego who later went into the Navy and medical school. Her travels took her to Philippines, Japan and Thailand. She will move back to San Diego in August to begin a residency in anesthesiology. Her brother, Jason Meeks, went to UC Davis and later UC San Francisco Medical School, also studying anesthesiology. He is awaiting word on where he will do his internship. Another daughter is Christa Kenney, a nurse who graduated from Cal State Bakersfield who is  now working in the neonatal intensive care unit at Memorial Hospital. Finally, there is a younger daughter who is attending high school and wants to be a registered dietitian. As Lori said: "I guess we could start my own hospital if I had any more kids!"

 * ... LOU ELLA'S: Got a nice note from Bitsy Ming sharing her recollections of the old Lou Ella's children's store on Baker Street. Bitsy (her husband is Garrett Ming of Jim Burke Lincoln Mercury) spent countless hours at Lou Ella's as a child, playing with owner Brenda and Armanda's dogs. "My best friend Sara Mettler (Nilson) and I often went with our mothers and purchased identical outfits so we looked like Cindy Brady or my preference, Buffy of Family Affair. Our Cotillion clothes were purchased at Lou Ella's complete with gloves and stockings. Much later, after we had the misfortune of outgrowing Lou Ella's, we were back purchasing baby shower gifts and then even better our own children's clothing and blankets. It was hard believing it was our children's turn to lay with Armanda and Brenda's dogs as well as their toys while we completed our purchases."

 * ... TONY SPOTTED: NASCAR driver Tony Stewart was spotted last Thursday night dining at the Petroleum Club and apparently had great things to say about the food and service. No word on what brought him to town.

 * ... COLLEGE BOUND: Anna Keathley, a Bakersfield High senior and chair of the Assisteens, will be attending Loyola Marymount University in the Fall. Thanks to her mother, Marianne Keathley, for sharing the good news.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISMS: You know you're from Bakersfield when "you remember the two times in the last 25 years that it snowed and you remember everything you did that day."

Fondly recalling Lou Ella's children's store and Coldwell Banker plans big fund raiser for Relay for Life

 

 * ... RELAY FOR LIFE: Greg Holland over at Coldwell Banker reminded me that one of the most important fund raisers of the year, the Relay for Life Wine Tasting and Auction, will be held next weekend (March 13) at the Motor City Lexus dealership. This is the second year this event has been held and only 550 tickets will be sold. It's a terrific way to support a good cause and meet your neighbors, all while dining on some of Bakersfield's finest food and enjoying wine from 25 Central Coast wineries. Last year the event raised more than $37,000 for the Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society. Holland said tickets are $50 in advance and $60 at the door and are available all Coldwell Banker offices and at Imbibe Wine Merchants. Remember: it's next Saturday at the Lexus dealership and runs from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. You can also call 661-747-6208 for tickets. Kudos to the Coldwell Banker team for coordinating this event.
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. * ... REMEMBERING LOU ELLA'S: Susan Lewis is a former Bakersfield resident who now lives in Scottsdale, Az., who wrote to share her memories of the old Lou Ella's children's store on Baker Street. "My favorite thing there was the stock of Story Book Dolls. Every spring, the new dolls arrived in their polka dot dresses ... stacked along the north wall just behind the window display area. Lou Ella's is a part of my memory of my childhood... a good memory." Susan left Bakersfield in 1958 but often returns and said she always drives down Baker Street.
 Another reader, Kelly Donovan, called Lou Ella's one of our "finest institutions."
 "My grandmother Mrs. Vincent Casper used to take me down and dress me in Lou Ella's finest. It was at Lou Ella's that I learned how to dress, how to appreciate a pulled-together look. Even as a very young girl, the minute we pulled her Thunderbird up into the parking lot I knew I was in for a wonderful treat.. One of the most precious memories I have is of my grandmother taking me down to purchase a layette before my son was born. Armanda and Brenda were there to help me feel special then, just as they always were."

 * ... ONE LEGACY: It looks like the recent golf tournament to raise money for One Legacy and Donate Life was a huge success. Preliminary proceeds from the raffle and auctions alone totals more than $70,000 and the entire event could raise up to $100,000, according to those involved. Former Pittsburgh Steeler and Foothill High School product Joey Porter donated two football jerseys, both bringing in $4,000 a pop. The event was held at Seven Oaks Country Club and put on my Lori Malkin. Lori's son, Jeff Johns, died in a car crash a year ago and on that same day became an organ and tissue donor. His organs saved five lives and his tissue donations healed 50 others. The recipient of a kidney was in attendance. Now that's an inspirational story.

 * ...  FIRST FRIDAY: Only rain will be able to spoil the excitement around Friday Friday in the arts district. Make sure you check out the "Opening Doors to the Arts" exhibit in which downtown streets will have "public art" featuring colorfully painted old doors. Make a night of it downtown, beginning with the multiple arts studios to dinner at one of the many downtown eateries: Uricchios Trattoria, Mama Roomba's, the Padre Hotel and Mexicali just to name a few. The "public art" will be on display only from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Also this weekend is the popular "Cioppino Feed" to fund the Bakersfield West Rotary Foundation, which has helped so many non-profits and charities over the years. This is always a huge event featuring the event's famous seafood cioppino stew and a lively auction. It will be held Saturday night at Leddy Hall on the campus of Garces Memorial High School. Contact Howdy Miller at Ticor Title for tickets, at 661-846-5606.


 * ... BAKERSFIELDISMS:  You know you're from Bakersfield when "Everyone always says they're going to leave, but you know that if you try, you will get sucked right back in."