Businesses and homeowners continue to flee California and its taxes and regulations, Chef's Choice Noodle Bar abandons downtown and Nicole Parra is back and running for Congress

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 community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other company or publication.

 * ... GOODBYE CALIFORNIA: Is California about to reach a tipping point in its ability to impose new taxes and regulations on its citizenry? It may be if you look at population trends of the Golden State,

which show that our growth rate is near a record low as more people leave the state. It seems to be a thing, led by tech giants like Tesla, Oracle and Dropbox all announcing they were moving to Texas, and thousands of individuals fleeing high cost urban areas for cheaper, cleaner ares like Texas, Idaho, Arizona and Nevada. With all that said, there are still 39 million people living in California, leaving us the largest state in the union even with all the bad news.

 * ... SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: Did you hear that Southwest Airlines will begin service from Fresno-Yosemite International Airport in 2021? Although the airline did not specify the destinations, it did say it would also begin flying out of Santa Barbara next year as well. Having Southwest serve Bakersfield has long been a dream - a pipe dream some might say - but we can take heart that the airlines is adding Fresno and Santa Barbara to its growing list of cities it serves.

 * ... LEAVING DOWNTOWN: Chef's Choice Noodle Bar is leaving downtown for the greener (and safer) pastures of The Marketplace in the Southwest, the latest blow to the downtown restaurant scene. News of the departure comes two days after Tina Marie's Downtown Cafe on 20th Street burned to the ground in a fire believed to have been caused by vagrants. Chef's Choice owner Nick Hamsa said he was weary of the vagrants and problems endemic to downtown, and decided to abandon the building that has served him well.

 * ... NICOLE PARRA:  Did you hear Nicole Parra is running for Congress? That's right, Democrat T.J. Cox is barely out of office and she has announced she is running in the 21st Congressional District where David Valadao has just narrowly unseated Cox. The daughter of former Supervisor Pete Parra said she is running because "the people in the Central Valley deserve better; they deserve a representative with a proven track record and the experience and the leadership skills necessary to solve real problems. As a member of California State Assembly, I always put the needs of my district above partisan politics. Decades of public service have taught me that a member of Congress should be honest, empathic, courageous, humble, practical, intelligent, and always be willing to put the people’s interests before their own. It’s time for new leadership and a fresh approach in the 21st Congressional District." Though more than a tad early, Parra said she had already been endorsed by Fresno City Councilman Miguel Arias, Kings County Supervisor Richard Valle, Arvin Mayor Olivia Trujillo, Avenal Mayor Alvaro Preciado, Corcoran Mayor, Pat Nolen, Kern Community District Trustee Yovani Jimenez and Bakersfield City School Board Trustee Lillian Tafoya.

 * ... MORE PARRA: Parra expanded on her vision when she appeared on The Richard Beene Show as my guest, positioning herself as a centrist Valley Democrat who understands the value of fossil fuels and how a rush to green energy could disrupt local economics. "Why do we have to pick and choose" between renewable energy and fossil fuels, she asked. "I don't want to run away from the industry I work for," she added, referring to her job in marketing with Marathon Petroleum in Sacramento. Parra has an interesting bi-partisan resume: she worked for former Democratic Congressman Cal Dooley, a moderate, she has endorsed Republicans for office (Andy Vidak and Carly Fiorina) and she worked with former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in a state position. 

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: Well now, it is hard to argue with this logic!

 * ... JOHN HEFNER: There aren't a lot of people in town who are universally loved, but John Hefner is one of them. The longtime educator, best known for his tenure as principal of Fruitvale Junior High School, has been diagnosed with cancer. KGET reported that Hefner has lymphoma and is receiving treatment and is currently at home. In addition to Fruitvale, where Hefner was key in the school's successful History Day program, Hefner was instrumental in Bakersfield's Sister City program. 

 * ... MEMORIES: The Facebook page Kern County History Fans always has some remarkable views or our community back in the day. Enjoy this one of 19th Street looking west.

Nicole Parra takes a shot at the local paper, Irma Carson bows out and remembering the big 1952 quake

 * ... NICOLE IS OUT: So Nicole Parra is out of the race to succeed State Senate bound Michael Rubio on the Kern County Board of Supervisors.  "I have lived in Fresno for the past two years, I am president of Parra Consulting, and never considered a move or appointment to the Kern County Board of Supervisors," she wrote in a terse email to me and others. " I was flattered that some community leaders in Kern County did approach me three months ago, but I politely declined.  All your staff had to do was check the requirements for the appointment and see I was registered and voted in Fresno County. As far as your coverage of the appointment process in the Bakersfield Californian, it has been compared to 'tabloid material.'  It is obvious you, your staff support Wendy Wayne and have tried to discredit my father Pete Parra in the process." Don't you just love local politics? Turns out our staff did its work while Nicole was being coy and evasive about her intentions. I wonder if Nicole, as president of Parra Consulting, advises her clients to be more forthcoming.

 * ... GOODBYE IRMA: One local politician who rarely played games is Irma Carson, who is stepping down from the City Council after a long career. As Gretchen Wenner wrote in a Sunday profile in The Californian, Irma broke many barriers in Bakersfield and can look back proudly on doing a lot for her ward. With Irma, you always knew where she stood, even if you didn't agree. Good luck, Irma.

* ... OUR TRASH: Sick of hearing about the trash in our town? Well so am I but Marilyn Wilson offered an ingenious way to dealing with litter. "In traveling to various cities and towns in North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Carolina and Florida, one of the things that I most noticed was how clean their highways, roads and cities were compared to California and particularly Bakersfield.  Many people in these states take pride in how their cities and states look as it is a reflection on them who live there. I had read where one of these cities had a program called:  Will Work for Pay.  Why couldn't the city of Bakersfield establish a program like this where there would be no liability or benefits but would give people an opportunity to earn cash in keeping Bakersfield clean? I could see that it might start with 1) those who are on the street corners asking for donations, 2) people in front of stores and in malls asking for change to get on a bus, 3) people at gas stations asking for money for gas, 4) young people in juvenile hall, those at the Lerdo facility and those in half way houses 5) and people who are living at the Homeless Shelter, Rescue Mission and Salvation Army Mission. These people could earn money, self respect and dignity and at the same time contribute to the community in which they live.  I see this as a win - win situation for all who would participate." Nice thought.

 * ... 1952 QUAKE: Reader Joseph Harper was just 11 years old when the big 1952 earthquake shook Bakersfield, but he remembers it as if it happened yesterday. He was asleep and when the quake hit, "my bed did a jig clear across the room almost to the other side. Then as the house started to settle the second shock hit... When the second shock hit I went up and as I came back down I hit just to the edge of the bed, enough to slip it upside down right on top of me. Talk about a rude awakening!"

 * .. TAKEOVER: Heard the other day that the popular cable show "Salon Takeover" with Tabatha Coffey may be filming in Bakersfield this week. The show, in which Coffey gives salons tips to improve their business, is supposed to be filming at Serenity on Coffee Road. The show runs on the Bravo network. (Photo courtesy of Bravo TV)

 * ... CRABFEST: Mark January 21 on your calendar for Crabfest, the annual fund raiser for St. Francis Parish School. This year it will return to Harvest Hall at the Kern County Fairgrounds. This is a wonderful fund raiser featuring outstanding crab an all for a good cause. Table sponsorships are available for $1,000.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From regular contributor Jack Kelley: You know you're a Bakersfield old-timer if you "remember the rodeos at the old fairgrounds at what is now Sam Lynn Park on North Chester."

Warning newcomers about the dangers of Valley Fever and musing about about Zack Scrivner's pot conviction

* ... VALLEY FEVER: Pauline Larwood, a former county supervisor and one of the leaders in an effort to find a cure for valley fever, dropped me this note regarding what every newcomer to our town should know: "September's reported cases show a sharp rise in valley fever infection in Kern County. The number of monthly cases in tracked by both the Kern County Health Department and Physician's Automated Lab. September's cases likely were exposed to Coccidioides immitis spores six weeks prior to infection. people who have lived here all their lives are likely still susceptible. History shows that the old, the very young, those who are immune suppressed, blacks and Filipinos and some other Asian ancestries all seem to be more susceptible to serious disease. New residents probably know little about the disease and should educate themselves. One way to do that is to visit www.valleyfever.com."

 * ... THE BUZZ: Lots of talk around town about county supervisor candidate Zack Scrivner's disclosure that he was arrested on a marijuana charge while a student at UC Santa Barbara. Call me jaded, but I can't get overly agitated over this whole affair. Isla Vista, where Zack was busted, is not much different from Chico, Berkeley, Boulder, Austin, Ann Arbor or any other college town. Marijuana is a fact of life and the idea that kids experiment with it should come as no surprise to anyone .That's not an endorsement of his behavior, or the fact that he didn't come clean about it earlier, but rather a concession that with youth comes indiscretion.

 * ... SHE'S BACK: Read with interest Californian opinion editor Robert Price's Sunday column talking about the very real possibility that Nicole Parra will be appointed county supervisor to replace the state Senate bound Michael Rubio. Parra, a former Assemblywoman, would be appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger if Rubio wins the 16th State Senate race as he is expected to do. As Price points out, this is rich with irony since Parra would return to reclaim her "deposed father's place on the dais, replacing the man who defeated Pete Parra six years ago - and who happens to be a former protege of her sworn blood enemy, termed out 16th District state Sen. Dean Florez."

* ... GREEN FROG: Reader Nancy Vibe recalled when her father-in-law leased the produce section of the Green Frog market on Alta Vista for 32 years. In the old days, he said "people would come in on Saturday, dressed in their good clothes, and shop. He said the men had on nice sport coats and ties, and the women had on - get this - fur coats! So they would come in all dolled up, buy their veggies and give and get the latest gossip about Bakersfield's finest. You had to see Roy Vibe on Saturday to get the good stuff!"

 * ... IRON MAN: Mike Toland is one of those guys who makes us all look bad. Fit, trim and disciplined, this geologist at the state Department of Conservation is one of our community's most committed athletes, not to mention a gracious and decent man. So it was nice to hear that Toland is headed to the International Triathlon Union's World Long Course Championships in Las Vegas next year. Mike qualified to be part of Team USA in the 55-59 age group by competing in the National Long Course Championships in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The race included a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13-mile run. Now that's something to crow about.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're a Bakersfield old-timer if you "remember what was on the northwest corner of 20th and K streets. (The Trailways Santa Fe Bus Depot)