Federal government drastically cuts its estimates of recoverable oil in the Monterey Shale, and the inspiring story of a kind hearted mailman who rescued the dog that bit him

* … SHALE: The government's stunning announcement dramatically cutting the amount of oil believed to be in the Monterey Shale could have widespread consequences for Kern County. Oil

industry experts were shocked when the Energy Information Administration estimated that there are only 600 million barrels of extractable oil in the shale, a drastic cut from the 13.7 billion barrels that were originally thought to be there. The reaction here? Local drillers shrugged it off, saying if the oil is there, the industry will find a way to extract it. I'm betting with the oil industry on this one.

* … GOOD FORM: This note from Joan Muller made my day. "I recently had to deal with finding kittens in the wall of my house. Mama kitty had gotten into the attic (which will be fixed) and had her litter of three babies. The kittens fell in a hollow spot which was about a 10 foot drop from the attic into the wall. Not having the means to extract the little ones from the wall I called my cousin Brook Muller for help. He was at church choir practice when I called but stated he would be over as soon as he finished. He showed up as promised at 9 p.m. with his saw and had to cut out three small portions of the garage wall before we finally found two little kittens which were starving and scared  While I put them in a pet carrier and gave them food and water Brook put the cut panels back in place, swept the floor and put all the boxes back where I had them. I found the third one the next day.  I just wanted to give a HUGE shout out to my wonderful cousin who gave of his time and talent to help God's defenseless creatures! He is a blessing to his family and this community!"

 * … THEFT: Add downtown to the growing list of neighborhoods where a resident has awakened to find his struck on blocks, the wheels and tires stolen in the night. This time it happened to a late model Toyota truck. Trucks in Stockdale Estates and La Cresta have suffered similar fates.

 * … CHUTZPAH: My use of the word "chutzpah" recently drew this response from reader Terry Beals: "While the mayor of Porterville is surely outspoken and ill informed, his unfortunate comments don't rise to a level of chutzpah. As a youngster I was told that a definition of chutzpah is difficult to create; but that the following description could suffice. A man convicted of killing both of his parents pleads for mercy from the judge, ... because he is an orphan. That is CHUTZPAH."

 * … SNUFFY: Dan Cooper wrote with this inspirational tale of Snuffy, a small white dog rescued from death row. "Our family moved from Reno to Bakersfiield in 1937, and we brought Snuffy with us, a small white dog with a mean streak. We lived on Orange Street. Snuffy bit the mailman and was picked up by the authorities to be held for 10 days, and if not adopted, put down. We did not want him back. The mailman asked us about the dog… On the last day, we later found out the mailman adopted the dog. The dog that bit him. We drove by his house, and there was Snuffy on a chain. Lucky dog, kind hearted mailman."

Former House and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas to appear on First Look with Scott Cox on Monday at 9 a.m., and more dirty diapers left in the scorching sun

 * ... ENERGY: Did you know that more than 70 percent of the oil and gas produced in California comes from the fields of Kern County? Taken alone, Kern County produces 10 percent of all the oil and gas produced in the country. Yet, the state still imports half of its gas and oil annually, a fact that Rep. Kevin McCarthy is blaming on overbearing and restrictive regulations. McCarthy called this "unfathomable" particularly in view of the untapped reserves located in the Monterey Shale.

 * ... THOMAS: Make sure you tune into First Look with Scott Scott Monday at 9 a.m. when our guest will be Bill Thomas, former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Opinion page editor Bob Price will get his thoughts on a variety of issues, from national topics like immigration reform to local news like the stink in the southwest over a homeowner boarding up an entrance to his cul-de-sac. Tune in at 9 a.m. at KERN Newstalk 1180 or watch it live on bakersfield.com

 * ... GOOD DEED: Here's a nice note from Gail Romley over at Curves. It turns out that one of the members at Curves in Dawn Baumgarten, who owns Log Cabin Florist. She lost a valuable and sentimental ring at the club and was thrilled that it was turned in. "She was so thankful that it was turned in that she brought in 125 long stemmed roses for all the members to show her appreciation for getting it back. Some may remember that Log Cabin Florist has given out free roses for Good Neighbor Day in the past. You could go in, get a free dozen but you had to give them to others. What a neat way to put a smile on someone's face! I was the recipient of one of the roses in the past, and it was a member here at Curves."

 * ... BAD FORM: Shame on the mother who changed her baby's diaper in the back seat of her black GMC SUV and then casually left it in the parking lot of the Target on Rosedale Highway Saturday afternoon when the temperature hovered around 104.

 * ... MEMORIES: Local attorney William R. Go read an earlier blog post about the 1960s band Strawberry Alarm Clock playing at the Golden State Lanes and added this: "It was the summer of 1967 and I was in a band that played before they performed. If I recall we were paid $60 (the entire band) for our performance. Also performing around this time at the same venue was a group called 'Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band' whose hit was 'DIDDY WAH DIDDY.' The Golden State Lanes also had a restaurant called the 'Hoffbrau' which was briefly popular."

* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You may be a Bakersfield old timer if you ever went out to Meadows Field and skated the landing strip with your roller skates until workers drove you off. After being chased off, Rocky Robins said his crew would run over to Stan's Drive-in on Union for a burger.