Maze Cup, Plein Air Festival and Haggard home all happening this weekend, some good form about town and a shout out to the Cynthia Lake Charitable Trust

 * ... WEEKEND: Here are three things to consider this weekend, each unique and affordable: this is the weekend of the Plein Air Festival and on Friday a dozen artists will be painting downtown with their works on display at the Metro Galleries on 19th Street for First Friday. On Saturday, other

paintings by these artists will go on sale at The Bakersfield Museum of Art from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. If that doesn't suit your tastes, head over to Stockdale Country Club where the Maze Cup features some of the best 16 and 18 year old tennis players in the nation, and admission is free. Finally, on Sunday you can drop by Kern Pioneer Village to check out the public debut of Merle Haggard's family home, appropriately opening on the year anniversary of his death.

 * ... CYNTHIA LAKE: And by the way, here's a big shout out to the Cynthia Lake Charitable Trust that funded the restoration of Merle Haggard's childhood home, an expensive undertaking that will serve generations of Kern County residents.

* ... RAIDERS: The move of the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas triggered this note from Alan Hine: "Good news for Bakersfield Raider's fans. Google says it is only two minutes longer to drive to Las Vegas than it is to drive to Oakland, and there is a lot more to do in Vegas than there is in Oakland and the food and lodging is also better."
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* ... TRASH: My earlier post about the people who use Fairfax as their personal dumping group drew this response from Sam Colt: "Thanks for the article on trash along Fairfax. I too have seen alot of it along Comanche Road on the way to the dump. It might be a good idea to refresh memories the city will pick up large items (matresses, etc) from your house just call them at (661) 326-3114 to make an appointment."

* ... SPOTTED: In the Kern River near Beach Park a man is being baptized on the shoreline. Nice to see a little rain bring out the religion in us.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "When going on a roller coaster bring nuts and bolts, lean to the person in front and say… 'Woah dude, these came out of your seat!'"

 * ... GOOD FORM: Here's a note from Larry Jenks that should brighten your day: "I would like to share with you a recent event my wife and I were party to. We were having dinner at Chili's Monday night. After ordering and receiving our meal the server approached and handed us our bill, saying a couple had paid for our meal. Written in the bill was the following: 'We wanted to treat you to dinner! This is our second anniversary, we pray to be as in love and as cute as the two of you are as we grow older together. Have a super blessed night. Love, the Swatzells.' My bride and I are going to celebrate our 65th wedding anniversary June 28. We are blessed!"

 * ... MORE GOOD FORM: And there was this from reader Don Luvisi: "Purchased some items at Floyd's this week and when checking out the cashier asked if I wanted to round up my three cents to an even five e cents with the two cents going to a charity. A great idea. If more stores followed suit less pennies to deal with and local charities would benefit."

New museum director struggles with logo for Pioneer Village and CSUB President Horace Mitchell and wife Barbara celebrate 50 years of marriage

 * ... MUSEUM: Zoot Velasco was hired as a "change agent" for the Kern County Museum (now

Pioneer Village) and as the new CEO he has certainly come in with enough energy and new ideas to fill a room. But judging by the two proposed new logos to brand Kern Pioneer Village, Velasco lacks an eye for graphic design. It would be charitable to describe both as uninspiring, clunky and amateurish, so let's hope the museum's board of directors (can you hear me Beth Pandol?) steps in to help Zoot find a logo that lives up to the museum's promise.

 * ... FIRST COUPLE: Congratulations to CSUB President Horace Mitchell and his wife Barbara who are celebrating their 50th year wedding anniversary. Mitchell became CSUB's fourth president in July 2004.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Common Sense isn’t a gift. It’s punishment, because you have to deal with everyone who doesn’t have it."

 * ... MEMORIES: Superior Court Judge Thomas Clark dropped me a note to recall some memories when he was a boy. Said Clark: "Your mention of crawdad fishing in the canals brought back memories. As a boy I fished many a crawdad out of the irrigation canal that abutted our property (near Brundage and N Street). All the canals were teeming with crawdads in those days. I think they are long gone now---probably as a result of mosquito abatement spraying."

 * ... GOOD FORM: Here's a big shout out to Joe Rivera, a Bakersfield High graduate who just achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. He is a member of Troop 125, which is the troop associated with St. Francis Parish. Said his proud mother Katie Rivera: "His Eagle Scout project was to paint address curbs for the senior citizens of the Kern City neighborhood, to make it easier for emergency vehicles like police, fire and ambulance to find their homes in the case of emergency. Joe and the great boys from Troop 125 (and his two younger sisters) painted 227 address curbs, a project which spanned about two months."  Joe is now a freshman at Bakersfield College.

 * ... SPOTTED: An older red Ford SUV is spotted around town with a bumper sticker that reads: "*UCK TRUMP" under what appears to be the symbol of the United Farm Workers. Do we really have to share our foul personal sentiments with everyone else?

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: This nugget comes from reader Bill Upshaw: "You would be an old timer if you remember the Santa Fe Rail Road whistle that was sounded each week day at noon and again at (I think) 12:20 p.m. This whistle was located at the rail road round house at California Avenue and Oak Streets and could be heard all over town."