Locally owned Olcott's home store will be closing and what's the problem with hailing a cab at Meadows Field airport?

 * ... IRISH: Dr. Shawn Shambaugh and his wife Teri were among the thousands who flew to Dublin, Ireland, last week to watch Notre Dame beat Navy in college football. They traveled with Mike and Marci Soper and Craig and Mary Kaye Hammon, and while there saw many local kids, including Notre Dame students Julia Berchtold and Brandon West and Ian Hagen (a graduate of Garces Memorial High) and David Dolinar (Stockdale High), both of whom are attending the Naval Academy. Said Shawn: "I can attest personally, we all can be very proud of these kids."

 * ... OLCOTTS: I was saddened to see that Olcott's, the large home furnishings retailer that has been a staple of our community for years, has gone out of business. Here's something to remember about locally owned businesses like Olcott's: online and other national and regional retailers can perhaps offer greater selections and competitive prices, but they can never replace the way families like the Olcotts have given back to our community in ways small and large. Every time we lose an Olcott's, the community loses a little of the fabric that makes Bakersfield special.

 * .... OVERHEARD: In a local dental office a woman is talking about her car being broken into off Gosford and White Lane. "I was picking up my friend and went into her house for maybe three minutes. When we returned my window was smashed and my purse was gone."

* ... MEADOWS: Ever try to catch a cab at Meadows Field after a flight? Well, it's not easy and in fact in some cases seemingly impossible. Take the case of Rogers Brandon, a local radio group owner and friend who flew in from Phoenix at 6 p.m. last Monday only to find no cabs waiting. Luckily he had called ahead and managed to grab a cab and spoke to the driver about why more cabs didn't meet flights Apparently, Yellow and American Cab (same ownership) have the concession for cab service from the airport. The concession is about $3,500 per year and it gives them the right to meet planes and prohibits all others from doing the same. The problem, according to my driver, is that Yellow and American cab rarely meet the planes, stranding people at the airport. If another company is called, as I did, they may circle the airport to pick up a fare. But only by appointment. The driver said that he regularly is called to the airport to pick up stranded passengers, delivers them and returns to the airport for more passengers. His record is four trips to meet fares from the same plane." The driver said he had approached airport management but was shrugged off. "Most residents do not use the cab concession and so you don't hear about it. But dozens from out of town plan to use the cabs everyday and, when stranded,  it reflects very poorly on our community."

 * ... SPOTTED: Christine Lollar was at the intersection of Fruitvale and Rosedale Highway Tuesday morning when she came upon a woman whose SUV had died. "It seemed like several hundred cars were behind us. I rolled down my window to call to her when to our relief (more her's than mine to be sure) a young man wearing a Bakersfield firefighter shirt walked up to her then proceeded to push her (quite the hill - pushing several thousand pounds - not the lady, the car) across Rosedale to the dead end portion of Fruitvale. I rolled down my window and bellowed 'thank you' receiving a dashing smile in return (not the lady, the firefighter). I will say I 'spotted' at least several dozen men in work trucks and business suits who didn’t help at all."

UC California reports toughest year ever for graduating seniors while the TSA cracks down on snow globes. Say what?

* ... UC ADMISSIONS: It wasn't surprising to read that this turned out to be one of the most competitive years ever to get into one of the nine University of California (UC) campuses. Between state budget cutbacks and the sheer number of graduating seniors, the UC system admitted just 71.6 percent of applicants, compared to 75.4 percent two years ago. The UC system has always been the crown jewel of the California colleges, but there are plenty of other worthy schools out there. Consider some of the kids over at the AVID program (Advancement Via Individual Determination) at Taft Union High School. AVID teacher Debra Popejoy noted that because of financial constraints, most of the AVID kids will be attending junior colleges, but others are headed to four year institutions. Among them are Mayra Aguilar and Emmanuel Medina going to Loyola-Marymount University,  Chesney Doak and Hannah Koerner will be attending UC Davis, and Stephannie Heerdink, Brian Parsons and Hailey Smith will be attending CSUB. Also, Stewart Bandy is going to Humboldt State while Kathy Lopez will be attending Azusa Pacific.  Jared Miller will be attending CSU Monterey Bay while Will Palmer is heading to Cal Baptist.  Lastly, Alberto Uribe is going to UC Merced. Congrats to all these kids.

 * ... BANANA SLUG? Reader Laura Wolfe emailed me that her son Matthew had been accepted to the University of California at Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz. Laura is a UC Santa Barbara graduate and pointed out other family members graduated from UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC San Francisco. Laura says Matthew is heading for Santa Cruz and "I'm okay with that.!"

* ... SNOW GLOBES: If you plan on any air travel, leave that snow globe at home or risk the wrath of the Transportation Security Agency (TSA). Former Bakersfield resident Mary Lou Fulton posted a Tweet the other day noting a sign at the Orange County airport warning passengers against carrying aboard snow globes because they might contain potentially hazardous material. Huh?

* ... ART SHERWYN: Our town is full of interesting characters, and one of the more intelligent and delightful ones is Art Sherwyn, a long-time art teacher, tennis coach and accomplished artist. On Thursday, April 29, Metro Galleries downtown will sponsor an "Evening with Art Sherwyn" during which he will share his perspectives on making art. Sherwyn's paintings will be on display (and I assume for sale) but the real draw here is Art himself. He is a fascinating story teller and intellect who has multiple talents and interests. The cost is $30. You can call the gallery to reserve your spot. 

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield when "you know who is engaged to whom by reading the Olcott's ad in The Californian."