Readers tip a hat to Chalet Basque and medical marijuana will be the focus of Californian Radio, KERN 1180

 * ... CHALET BASQUE: The son of J.B. and Marie Curutchague, former owners of the Chalet Basque, dropped me a note on behalf of his parents to thank their customers all through the years. Christian Curutchague says his father is suffering from a rare disease that has symptoms of both Alzheimer's an Parkinson's, but he is alert enough to remember his years at Chalet Basque. "If you ask them what they miss most about the restaurant business, they will always respond, 'we miss all the wonderful customers we grew to know and love throughout the community and beyond.' Today they look forward to when dad has a good day." When a reader mentioned Chalet Basque in this blog, Christian said it triggered a "bombardment of phone calls from former employees, family and friends. You can’t imagine the joy and happiness my parents felt and will continue to feel."

* ... CANNABIS: The debate over medical marijuana is showing now signs of abating, and Kern County voters will likely be deciding its fate at the ballot box. Law enforcement generally hates it, believing that cannabis storefronts attract crime, but others believe it's time to accept it for its medicinal attributes. On Monday at 9 a.m., join me on Californian Radio KERN 1180 when I will be speaking with Jeff Jarvis, one of more vocal proponents of medical cannabis, who will give us his perspective on the debate.

* .... PAJAMAS: Pat Gracey of Tehahapi doesn't really care if folks wear pajamas when they take their children to school, but she does add this caveat. "In 1943 my mother took my father to work at 6 a.m. and was wearing her white chinelle house coat (robe). Innocent enough until another lady, also in said nightwear rear ended our 1937 Lincoln Zephyr on Chester Avenue. Only the bumpers were entangled and both ladies were, in their nightdress, out jumping on the bumpers trying to disentangle them. A man came by and completed the task for them. With that picture in mind, I never drive a 'foot' or a 'mile' without being completely dressed."

 * ... SPOTTED: Friend Pete Wonderly posted this on his Facebook page: "To the woman driving slowly and erratically on 178, while eating a hamburger and texting: Jesus loves you - but I sure don't."

 * ... JAMES MCKINNEY: If you are a Bakersfield old timer you no doubt know the story of James McKinney, the outlaw who shot and killed two law enforcement officers in downtown Bakersfield back in 1903. Reader Linda Polston wrote to say that it was her great uncle, John Kelly, who helped organize the posse that tracked down McKinney at the old Chinese Joss house. McKinney was killed but not before he took down Deputy Sheriff Will Tibbett and Constable Jeff Packard.

Local Bakersfield businessman spents eight days in an adventure race across Tasmania and lives to tell about it

 * ... EXTREME SPORTS: By day Glenn Bland runs a successful solar company (Bland Solar) but the 46-year-old Bakersfield native spends his off hours testing his body in extreme athletic events. Bland just returned from eight days in Tasmania, where he completed in the World Championship Expedition Race that drew 80 of the best four-man teams in the world. It included 130 miles of hiking, 200 miles of mountain biking, 100 miles of kayaking, navigation, and sleep deprivation. The Tasmanian government granted special permission to allow the teams to traverse some incredibly rugged - and beautiful - terrain, a true wilderness adventure. Bland previously competed in a similar race in Australia.

 * ... HART PARK: I stopped by Hart Park Sunday (is there a more beautiful setting in town than Hart Park this time of year?) to catch a cyclocross race put on by Sam Ames of Action Sports. This was a warm up race before the cyclocross state championships set for January 21 at Hart Park. Pete "the voice" Wonderly provided the sound stage to announce the action and the hills were teeming with cyclists. Spotted on the course were local riders Mike Noel, David Rous, Leo Hinds, Adam Hensley, Carl Crawford, Wayne Rosenthal, Matt Clark, Anthony Finocchiaro, Jim Pappe and Gareth Feldstein.
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* ... MEA CULPA: Several readers reprimanded me for omitting Wasco High in my post about local schools vying for football Valley Championships. Though the Tigers fell short Friday night, they had a stellar year and deserve some recognition. Well done, lads.

 * ... WINNER: Hats off to Chris Laramy over at Culligan Water of Bakersfield for winning last week's Pig Skin Pick 'em contest in The Californian. He is now a two-time winner and certainly seems to know his football.

* ... FOX HISTORY: Phil Foster wrote with an interesting bit of history about his family and the Fox Theater. Turns out his father and two brothers came to Bakersfield in 1929 and all were musicians. His uncle, Roy Foster, played the organ in the orchestra pit at the Fox during the 1930s and 1940s. "The orchestra pit was on a hydraulic lift and came up during the intermissions and Roy would play for the entertainment." His father, Les Foster, taught the piano and accordion and his other uncle, Lawrence, taught the brass instruments."

 * ... MORE FOX: Emily Shapiro reminded me that St. Louis, where she lived most of her life, also has a Fox Theater that was built a year earlier than our own Fox.

 * ... SPCA: Local Realtor Patsy Sadler wrote with a well deserved pitch for our local SPCA. "When I dropped off some blankets at the SPCA I found out they operate solely on donations.... no government help!  I bet a lot of people don't realize that, so I just thought I'd drop a line and maybe people would be more giving to that organization that always need more dollars. They will keep a dog or cat until it dies no matter how old it is."

* ... BOY SCOUTS: Tom and Jack Saba asked that I give a plug to a fund raiser for Boy Scout Troop 147, and who is going to say no to the Scouts? The troop is holding its "Great American Bowl Off Junior and Adult Tournament" on Saturday, January 28, at AMF Southwest Lanes on Wible Road. It's only $20 to enter and that includes a slice of pizza, soda and bowling shoes. You need to be signed up no later than January 3. Call Tom or Jack at (661) 304-1993 or contact them at tom@sabaagency.com.
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Some advice for our young folk and a local businessman comes down with Valley Fever

  * ...  SOUND ADVICE: Pete Wonderly is a thoughtful and articulate friend, and he agreed to share his response to a new report noting that if the San Joaquin Valley were a state, it would vie for last place on a human condition index with West Virginia. His suggestion to some of our young people?
 * "Stop having unprotected premarital sex and inflicting upon society the inevitable unwanted children, one after the other.
 *  "Stop indulging in controlled substances and thereby killing your brain cells, which you can ill-afford.
  * "Start actually taking your studies in school seriously and stop acting as though you have a million dollar inheritance just waiting for you to turn 18 years-old.
  * "Get a part-time job so you'll have money to buy your own luxuries and to limit the amount of unsupervised free time at your disposal.
  * "Get used to following rules – it’s the glue that holds society together, and if you become one of those individuals whom just can’t get the hang of it, you’ll wind up in prison where there are – wait for it…even MORE rules.

 * ... URNER'S: The folks over at Urner's Appliance Center never seem to shy away from pitching in for a good cause. And they will be doing it again Wednesday when they will be donating about $25,000 of new furniture for the new transition dormitory at Teen Challenge. This will happen at the women’s campus on E. Roberts Lane. In April, Urner's donated 135 Tempur Pedic mattresses and bedding items to Teen Challenge at a value of more than $200,000. Yet another reason to support these located businesses who do so much for our community.

 * .... SPOTTED: Flipping through Fortune magazine the other day and ran across a picture of Steve Ruggenberg, the former head of Golden Empire Transit who left town more than a decade ago to pursue his love of cooking. Ruggenberg is now teaching at the Culinary Institute of America in the Napa Valley. His picture, in full chef regalia, accompanied a story on the popularity of cooking schools  across the country.

 * ... SICK BAY: Learned the other day that Jeff Simpson, one of the owners of the popular deli Sequoia Sandwich Co., has been diagnosed with Valley Fever.  Jeff also told me he had a brief bout with whooping cough but that is now under control. A fitness buff and avid cyclist, Jeff said he hopes to be back on his bike in a matter of weeks. Sequoia is one of those locally owned companies that is always generous to charities and other good causes.

* ... OILDALE: One of my steady correspondents is Geraldine "Geri" Sproul, who wrote to share some of her memories of Oildale back in the day. "The block north of Sudd's Hardware Store (corner of North Chester and Washington Avenue) was Red's Cigar Store and service station. My uncle was running the station at that time and came by one day to bring me something special: Bubble Gum!... Across the street and half block south was the Alma Mae dress shop. Frances Sullivan bought it and what a wonderful shop it was. Women from all over the area came to shop there. Oh what memories we have!"

 * ... ACHIEVER: Jeff Miller is 17 years old, carries a 4.16 GPA at Centennial High School and is one of 150 youngsters attending the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Children's Congress in Washington, D.C. Turns out Jeff's Centennial High team was the leading school fund raiser in Bakersfield's 2010 JDRF Walk. According to proud dad Bill Miller, Jeff hopes to become and endocrinologist, a position where he can help others with Type 1 diabetes.