The city of Fresno pops up on a list of 20 cities that may be headed to bankruptcy due to unfunded pensions, and the evolving and utterly weird story of the PGE implosion gets odder by the day

 * ... FINANCIAL WOES: The city of Fresno has popped up on a list of cities that could be headed for bankruptcy. According to the website Newsmax, Fresno ranked No. 3 on a list of 20 cities with

serious financial problems due to unfunded pension liabilities. Said Newsmax: "Fresno had the ratings of its lease-revenue bonds downgraded to junk-level by Moody's, which also downgraded its convention center and pension obligation bonds due to the city's 'exceedingly weak financial position.' The other cities in the top five were Compton, East Greenbush, N.Y., Gulf County, Fla., and Harrisburg, Pa.

 * ... EXPLOSION: Can this story about the disastrous implosion of the PGE plant on Rosedale Highway get any weirder? Californian reporter John Cox is now reporting that one of the subcontractors was not legally licensed, and it seems no one can figure out just who - if anyone - reviewed the plans to implode the twin plant towers. Build a wheelchair ramp on your house and you need a permit, but blow up a power plant and no one seems to know exactly who needs to review the plans.


 * ... SAN FRAN: Kern County Auditor and Controller Mary B. Bedard dropped me a note about a previous blog post noting that an astounding one in 28 residents of San Francisco are on the public payroll. She noted: "While not defending San Francisco, I would like to point out that the staffing levels at the city of Bakersfield and San Francisco are not comparable because San Francisco is organized as both a city and county in a single governmental entity. Therefore, San Francisco is providing services such as libraries, public health, district attorney, public defender, aging and adult services, child support services, and many other services that are provided to the residents of Bakersfield by the County of Kern."



 * ... BOOMERS: Did you know that this week (August 6, actually) marked the 68th anniversary of the last submarine lost in World War II? Gene Bonas, a friend who served on two different 'boomers,' told me the last sub lost was the USS Bullhead SS 332 with the loss of 84 men. "The month of August saw the loss of four subs and 241 men. One sub, the USS S-39, ran aground on a reef with all crew rescued. Another sub, the USS Cochino SS-345, was lost in 1949 due to a battery explosion and fire.  One Cochino submariner was lost and six men assisting from the USS Tusk SS 426 were lost."

 * ... JINGLE: Matt Koelzer wrote to settle the riddle on the old radio jingle advertising a business on Wible Road. He said it was the Bakersfield Swap Meet, located on the site where 3 Way Chevrolet now sits.

* ... MEMORIES: From reader Mike Stewart: "I thoroughly enjoy your column, as it brings back memories of old Bakersfield. I have a question for you and fellow readers. Does anyone remember a little neighborhood market called Gus's? It was on E Street, off Palm? I remember swimming at the Beale Park pool and then going to the small store for candy afterwards."

New study sheds positive light on City of Bakersfield municipal workforce, and plaintiff's lawyer David Cohn weighs in on the power plant implosion

 * ... CITY PAYROLL: The city of Bakersfield under City Manager Alan Tandy is running much leaner than cities of comparable size. At least that's the conclusion of a new study by the Washington Examiner, which calculated the ratio of residents to city workers for U.S. cities with a population of at least 200,000. Here is one example: while one out of every 28 residents in San Francisco is on the city payroll, Bakersfield has the highest - 246 residents per employee. Said reader John Pryor: "We should be proud of our local leadership and management. Overstaffing translates to unfunded pension liability and ultimately to municipal bankruptcy."

 * ... COMMODITIES: The value of all Kern County agricultural commodities jumped 11 percent last year, elevating Kern as the second largest agriculture producing county in the nation. The top crops: grapes, almonds, milk, citrus, pistachios, cattle, carrots, hay and alfalfa, cotton and potatoes.

* ... POWER PLANT: Local plaintiff's lawyer David Cohn is questioning if whoever approved the PG and E plant explosion did its due diligence.  Talking on First Look with Scott Cox, Cohn wondered why the twin plant towers did not have protective screening (wraps or plywood) to prevent shrapnel from flying into the crowd of onlookers. He called the power plant a "honeycomb" of steel and valves and pipes that posed a clear safety risk to anyone in the area.

 * ... OVERHEARD: An absolutely ebullient woman, grinning ear to ear, runs up to a friend in a local Starbucks and says, "It just took me four minutes to get into town on the Westside Parkway! I love it!"

* ... WEST ROTARY: West Rotary helped some needy children this past weekend, allowing several dozen kids to particiape in the $100 Children's Shopping Spree at Kohl's. Said member Vija Turjanis: "Instead of 30 kids, the final count was 32, and when Rotarians realized that there were two additional children, they magically produced two more $100 gift cards. It was a fabulous event and wonderful to watch these children's faces beaming with joy when they come out of the store with their new clothes for school. Additionally, after the children completed their shopping, they were treated to a hot breakfast, and then they were also able to select a brand new backpack equipped with school supplies from a variety of colors."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: And here is a special Bakersfieldism from longtime resident and Californian reader Robert Delgado, who just celebrated his 87th birthday. "I remember when I was about 5 years old, my dad took a wagon load of hay all the way down Wible Road (now Oak Street) to the stock yard, that was next to the train tracks for cattle loading. At that time there was no overpass and only a Man Signal on the track."