Remembering the legacy of Harvey Hall, Bakersfield has its own version of a royal wedding and someone was caught cheating in the La Cresta area

Monday, May 21, 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. 

 * ... RIP HARVEY: We lost Harvey Hall this weekend, and with it a bit of Bakersfield history. Everyone has their own story of the former mayor, but all of them have one thing in common: his

love for this community and his big heart. Harvey's lesson for me? Wake up every day and be thankful for what you have, embrace your community even with all its flaws, and love your neighbor. This is his legacy, and he left us all in a better place because of it.

 * ... ROYAL MARRIAGE BAKO STYLE: Did you know that Bakersfield had its own form of a royal wedding right here at home this weekend? That's what friends of Matt Munoz and Miranda Whitworth were calling it with the popular pair tied the knot before friends at the Kern County Museum. Matt is the marketing director for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (he is also the lead singer in the wildly popular band Mento Buru) while Miranda works in marketing for Kern Medical. Congrats to these two who make this a special place to call home.

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "You can't please everybody. You are not a taco."

 * ... MEA CULPA: I goofed last week in saying that district attorney candidate Cynthia Zimmer was represented by Cathy Abernathy's Western Pacific Research. In fact, Zimmer is using the Sacramento-based Meridian Pacific Political Consulting, a highly regarding consultant known for its tough tactics to win elections.

 * ... MOVING UP: Congratulations to Amy Radditz who has taken a job with OneLegacy, an organization dedicated to saving and healing lives through organ, eye and tissue donation. She will join the organization as a Donation Development Coordinator. Radditz has served six years with CASA as a resource development manager.

 * ... ACHIEVER: And add Alex Shelbourne to your list of local young people making their mark in the world. The Bakersfield High graduate is now entering New York University as a sophomore and was recently appointed to the board of the Tisch New Theater. The TNT has become the premiere student theatre organization at NYU.  It has established itself as an avenue for students to work in all facets of the theatre: performance, management, direction, production, and other technical and design aspects. Alex is the son of Jeff and Sarah Shelbourne. His mother is CEO of Optimal Health Services.

 * ... CHEATING HUSBAND: Well now, check out these posters that appeared in the La Cresta area this weekend. Looks like someone is cheating.

Rosedale Highway Lions Club launches blood drive to honor the late county supervisor Trice Harvey, the search for the missing Trout's sign continues and Jeep chooses Kern County for a national commercial

 * ... BLOOD DRIVE: Former county supervisor and Assemblyman Trice Harvey died in January but his legacy of wit and love for our community lives on. On Saturday the Rosedale Highway Lions Club, where Harvey was a member for 43 years, is sponsoring a blood drive in his honor at the

Houchin Blood Bank on Bolthouse Drive. If Saturday doesn't work, the Lions club said anyone can donate blood in Harvey's name at any of the blood bank locations during the month of July. The club is trying to match Harvey's lifetime donation of 26 gallons.

 * ... LOCAL CRIME: Mike Huston sounded a familiar lament about crime when he dropped me this note: "Living in the gated Bellagio community, across from Centennial High School, you'd think it's safe. This past weekend, someone broke into my friend's car and stole her gym bag and her dad's ashes! Yes, her dad's ashes. If you are the person, or know of those responsible, it would be a nice gesture to atone, by returning, at the very least, the ashes. It's the proper thing to do.":

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Scientists predict hipsters' man buns to fully evolve into beehive hairdos by mid 2017."

 * ... TROUT'S: Ken Barnes weighed in on the missing, iconic neon sign at Trout's with this missive: "Like everyone else, I am wondering where the Trout's fish sign might be. Back in the early 1970s after I sold my tire shop on the Garces Circle, the 'Big Indian' I had in front of the store went missing. One night in the late 1980s I received a call from my son Mike about one in the morning. At the time he was a Kern County deputy, and he said, 'Dad... you won't believe what I am looking at in the back yard of someone's house here in an alley in Oildale. It's the Big Indian. It was later restored and now stands proudly at Ethyl's Cafe on the way to Hart Park. So I would like to think there is still hope for the Trout's fish."

 * ... ASSISTANCE LEAGUE: The Assistance League of Bakersfield has awarded a new round of college scholarships to seven graduating high school seniors. Among those awarded $1,000 each were Yesenia Aguilar of Arvin High; Belen Bravo of Ridgeview High; Luisa Guzman Gomez of East High; Rosa Linda Lopez of McFarland High, Edgar Sanchez Jr. of North High; Ashleen Kaur Sodhi of Ridgeview High and Amy Tinoco of McFarland High.

 *... MOVING UP: Congratulations to a couple of young Bakersfield professionals on the move. Matt Munoz has been hired as the membership service and marketing coodinator for the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Meanwhile, Miranda Whitworth is leaving her job at Kern Federal Credit Union to take a position as manager of communications for Kern Medical.

 * ... SCENIC ROADS: Next time you are watching television pay attention to a new Jeep commercial that features a familiar stretch of road. The spot focuses in on the intersection of the Bena-Caliente Bodfish loop just off Highway 58, a favorite venue for local cyclists.

Lots of shout outs: to good customer service, the folks who work to make this a better place, and embracing the good that is called home

 * ... HOME: I spent a few days with my younger daughter in Chicago, her adopted hometown now that she is working and out of college. Chicago is one of the world's great cities, and her downtown Lakeview area is an eclectic mix of bars and boutique restaurants brimming with young people setting out on their own. It's easy to become infatuated with what you don't have, but even with all our quirks and challenges, Bakersfield is a good place to call home. To that I will add this: You know you're from Bakersfield when you pick out friends' homes in La Cresta when the commuter jet flies over the Panorama Bluffs before landing.

 * ... GOOD FORM: Here's a hats off to some folks working to make our city a better place. The potted trees that were planted downtown have really spruced the place up. It was the work of Melissa Iger of The Tree Foundation of Kern, paid for by a grant from The Bakersfield Californian (family) Foundation. Don Martin, owner of The Metro Galleries and long a driving force in the downtown renaissance, helped plant the trees and then decorated them with beautiful fall flowers. And kudos to the city of Bakersfield which has been diligently going about the thankless job of picking up tons of trash and old clothes left on the bike path between Beach Park and Manor Street. That corridor is a favorite haunt for runners, walkers and cyclists but it is shared with the homeless who often discard their belongings near the path.

 * ... CUSTOMER SERVICE: And speaking of good form, is there any better customer service in town that what you witness at the downtown Cruz Thru car wash? Whoever owns this franchise either has a terrific training program or is an ace at finding the right employees.

 * ... MUSEUM: Matt Munoz has joined the Bakersfield Museum of Art to head up its marketing department. Matt is a member of the popular local band Mento Buru and most recently was an entertainment reporter at The Bakersfield Californian.

 * ... KINDNESS:  This random act of kindness comes courtesy of reader Denise Pennell:  "My husband and I were enjoying an ice cream outing with friends at Dewar’s on Rosedale Highway when a family in an adjacent booth finished their Dewar’s adventure and left the store. Another young family with three children came in just behind them and sat in the same booth next to ours that was just vacated. The oldest daughter – of around eight years old – discovered a wallet in the booth which obviously belonged to the gentleman who had just left. Her parents pointed him out in the parking lot and the young girl ran to deliver the wallet before he could leave. We didn’t witness the exchange but I can only imagine how grateful he was to have his wallet returned with everything still intact. As we were leaving, I asked the parents if I could pass along a Kindness Coin to this young lady after witnessing her selfless act of kindness. Her face lit up when she received the coin and listened to the Random Acts of Kindness story, and I knew that it would make a difference in her life as she promised to 'pay it forward.'  Dr. Chuck Wall’s movement still thrives today as displayed by the prompt action of this young girl and her parents who obviously teach their children well the value of honesty, integrity and kindness. And I still believe there is goodness in just about everyone. We need to continue to pay it forward."

Celebrating a saucy new downtown and targeting the tattoo crowd: why niche publications work

I've written extensively about the very serious challenges facing the mass media, and by that I mean newspapers, local and network TV, radio and magazines. All face the same demons: a fragmenting media market that shrinks market share and this absolutely dismal economy and advertising slump. But one area of real hope and growth is in the niche publications that target highly focused groups with well defined interests. Find 1,000 people with a common love of Portuguese water dogs and you have the makings of a business model. Interests and behavior bind folks together, whereas the mass media tries to have something for everyone, and often ends up doing none of it very well. Readers like it because the content speaks directly to them, to their lifestyle, to their interests. Advertisers like it because it allows them to speak directly to a specific audience that lines up nicely with their products.



One of the more successful niche publications is BakersfieldLife, a glossy city magazine owned by The Californian. It's focused on a more upscale Bakersfield and on people who are involved and are active and care about the community. The typical reader is a college graduate, earns $75,000 a year or more and is involved in the community. It is upbeat, affirmational and - without apology - focuses on what is good about our community. This is a monthly publication that is only available with a home subscription of the newspaper and arrives on your driveway the last Saturday of the month, which means this weekend. I was thrilled to see the July cover story is on Don Martin, the owner of the popular Metro Galleries downtown (see previous post here) and one of the key figures in the revival of the arts downtown. Local freelance writer Lisa Kimble wrote the piece and did a splendid job telling Don's story, which has him job hopping until he found his passion in opening an art gallery. By the way, Don and Olivia Garcia, the mag's publisher, will be on KGFM 101.5 chatting with radio personality Rachel Legan this Friday around 7:45 a.m. or so. If you haven't been by Metro Galleries on 19th Street, stop by for a special treat.





Another successful niche publication is Bakotopia magazine, another Californian product that targets a younger, more hipper crowd. These are the downtown bar denizens who might sport multiple piercings, a tattoo or three and share a common love of music. All music, all the time. Matt Munoz, a member of the popular band Mento Buru, is the energetic editor of this bimonthly mag and he instills it with wit, style and substance. It can be a tad racy and over the top at times, but that's the audience. This is not your father's Oldsmobile. Oh, and did I mention good art? Feast your eyes on the Bakotopia cover story and inside shot above, the work of Holly Carlyle. Great stuff. Bakotopia is free and can be found at multiple coffee shops, bars and restaurants in the downtown area.