The stink over a local orange blossom festival and a fond farewell to Bob Montgomery

 * ... THE STINK OVER ORANGES: It looks like local citrus manager Ben Taft has stirred up a hornet's nest in the small Valley town of Lindsay over his idea for Bakersfield to host its own Orange Blossom Festival. Within a day of Taft floating his idea (read the previous post here) the folks in Lindsay were up in arms, reminding me (and Taft) that Lindsay has had its own orange blossom festival for 77 years and Bakersfield should simply back off. Deanna Pitts, who identified herself as the unofficial historian for the City of Lindsay, asked Taft to come up with another name because "our communities are too close for there not to be confusion." Taft has received literally dozens of emails, some quite nasty in tone, and others imploring Bakersfield not to "steal" an idea that - in their words - has become the lifeblood of the city. Taft is known not only for his quick wit but also for his sarcasm and told me he was moving ahead with a Bakersfield Orange Blossom Festival. He added:

 "And I am sorry that they feel Bakersfield waits in the weeds for the next great idea to escape the city limits just to be stolen by some ne'er-do-well from Kern County."

 Taft added that a simple Google search turns up orange blossom festivals in Riverside, McAllen, Texas, Naples, Florida and a dozen other communities. He added 100 percent of the net proceeds from a Bakersfield event would go to the local Ronald McDonald House and the new pediatric medical center planned for Memorial Hospital. Stay tuned for more fireworks.

 * ... RIP BOB MONTGOMERY: Was saddened to learn this weekend of the death of Bob Montgomery, a longtime Bakersfield businessman and entrepreneur. Montgomery was a founding board member at the old San Joaquin Bank and continued to serve on it until the end came on October 16. He was 89 and a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Bakersfield, which he faithfully attended. Montgomery grew up of modest means on San Emidio Street, graduated from Kern Union High School (now Bakersfield High School), served in the Navy in World War II and later went on to graduate from Stanford University. He founded Montgomery Drilling Co., a dynamic enterprise that stretched from Nevada to Alaska. Rogers Brandon, the American General Media president who was the San Joaquin chairman at the end, described him this way:

 "Whenever I flew with him and we landed, he'd look at whoever he was with and mutter, 'cheated death again.' He loved the bank and was a founding board member. He loved his family and he loved his Stanford."

* ... FORD'S HOT NEW FUSION: Had a chance to test drive the new Fusion, Ford's hot new hybrid that is helping lead Ford Motor Co.'s revival. The car is simply stunning, inside and out. It's no wonder that the Fusion is selling well in this recessionary economy because it gets more than 40 miles to the gallon. Chad Manning, sales manager over at Jim Burke Ford, tells me the Fusion is sitting on the lot an average of 3.4 days before it sells, compared to 63 days for the entire inventory. Said Chad:

 "Our sales rate would be much higher but the inventory from the factory is limited. Hybrid Fusion production is at capacity and we have much higher demand than the supply fills."

 Local car dealers have had it tough in this economy, along with the rest of us, and we'll never be out of the woods until credit eases and folks start buying new cars and homes again. Here's hoping the Fusion helps lead us out of this mess.

 * ... US AIRWAYS  MAKES MORE CUTS: I read with some trepidation a report in the Wall Street Journal that US Airways is cutting back on a number of routes and laying off another 1,000 people. The story did not give many details but let's hope the popular Bakersfield-Phoenix flights are not affected. Meadows Field already looks like a ghost town during part of the day, and this is something we just don't need. Speaking of Meadows Field, Mel Atkinson of the M.D. Atkinson commercial real estate company told me he spotted ex Meadows general manager Ray Bishop in Rapid City, S.D., of all places, where both were making airline connections. Bishop left Bakersfield to run the airport in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Bako bits: The explosion of homeless in Bako and all the hoopla over a new Target opening

  

* ... THE STREETS OF BAKERSFIELD: I have no statistics to prove it but sure seems like the number of homeless has skyrocketed on our local streets. If you don't work downtown you may not notice it, but a casual mid morning run over to Starbucks on 24th Street or the Rite Aid on H Street can be an eye opening experience. Of course downtown has both the Greyhound bus station and the GET bus depot, as well as the huge Goodwill store on Chester, but it's hard to deny the sharp increase of street people lugging their possessions around the downtown area and meandering on virtually every street corner. The homeless shelters are filled to the brim and if you factor in adults not looking for work or those who have given up on the job search, Kern County's unemployment rate spikes north of 20 percent. All of this adds to more people on the streets, more folks in needs of help and fewer dollars available to provide it.

 * ... A TARGET OPENS AND THE CROWD GOES WILD: What is it about our community that every time a new retailer or restaurant opens we react like we've just won the lottery? Witness the crowds at the new Target over at RiverWalk on Stockdale Highway, which opened earlier this month. It's a nice place no doubt, but you'd think they were giving away Krugerrands the way our community has responded. And it's not like we don't already have three other Targets in town. Of course the same is true for every new restaurant that opens locally: hour-long waits the first three months and a year later they're closed or begging for business. Meanwhile developer Castle and Cooke says it has a signed contract for Panera Bread to move into the building in front of the Target. Panera is a class act but the folks over at locally owned Sequoia Sandwich Shop are not sitting still. Co-owner Jeff Simpson has been testing a new line of panini sandwiches that he may add to his already well diversified and popular menu. Stay tuned.

 * ... ORANGE BLOSSOM FESTIVAL? Gilroy has the Garlic Festival and Pamplona has the Running of the Bulls, so why shouldn't Bakersfield have its own signature event? How about an Orange Blossom Festival? That's the vision of Ben Taft over at the California Fruit Depot who is leading an effort to create something truly unique for Bakersfield. Ben has the energy and drive to do it, but it will all depend on how many sponsors and supporters sign up for the event, which he wants to launch the weekend of March 20, 2010. In his words:

 "Music, concerts, artisans, children's activities, demonstrations, citrus cooking contests, runs, fun walks, bialthlon, half marathon and a 40-mile challenge bike race, BMX events and much more and possibly a lttle less. This will be a comprehensive family/adult friendly event which will be something we can be proud of as a community." 


 If you are interested in participating, either as a sponsor or just to help, call Ben Taft at 661-978-9044 or email him at ben@calfruitdepot.com


  * ... IN MEMORY OF RON FONTAINE: If you're looking for a good cause to support this weekend you might consider the 9th Annual Ron Fontaine Memorial Run being held out at the California Living Museum (CALM) Saturday morning. Ron was a South High teacher and administrator over at the Kern Superintendent of Schools who died in June of 2001. He was an avid runner and longtime member of South Rotary. Pete Elieff, former South Rotary president, says Ron originally conceived of the idea of a run to raise money for local scholarships and more than $100,000 has been generated so far for  local kids. This is a terrific event held out by the Kern River and Lake Ming during a beautiful time of year in our community. If you are interested in registering call Pete at 661-805-8500 or John Lindsay at 661-636-4625. Last year, Pete said $13,800 in scholarship money was awarded to students from South, Ridgeview and Stockdale high schools.