American cyclists more likely to die in bike crashes, Temblor Brewing Co. opens its doors to the public and good news for the Boys and Girls Club of Kern County

 * ... CLCLING: There are few better forms of exercise than cycling - the benefits to the

cardiovascular system are well known - but there is a dark downside to the explosion of recreational cyclists on our roads. I have chronicled numerous cycling accidents in this blog, and almost invariably they involve inexperienced or "beginning" cyclists riding beyond their talent level. Surprising? Not really according to The New York Times, which reports that "per kilometer and per trip cycled, American bicyclists are twice as likely to get killed as German cyclists and over three times as likely as Dutch cyclists." Why? American motorists are largely intolerant of cyclists, bike lanes here are rare and often inadequate and American riders are simply going too fast or not paying attention.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "The first 80 years of adulthood are always the toughest."

* ... TEMBLOR: I stopped by the new Temblor Brewing Co. to see what all the buzz was about in the community. This new local craft brewery is located in a cavernous building off Buck Owens Boulevard and is run by founders Thomas Maxwell and Don Bynum, two 30-somethings living the dream of owning their own brewery. (Maxwell is the son of local restaurateur and city councilman Terry Maxwell and Bynum the son of local developer Greg Bynum). Maxwell told me there are about 30 local investors and on the Sunday I visited, the place was busy with folks tasting Temblor's line of craft beers and enjoying entrees from the kitchen. Temblor is undergoing a soft opening with the official "grand opening" set for mid October.

 * ... RESCUE DOGS: Last week I wrote about a new thrift store that has opened to benefit the HALT (Helping Animals Live Tomorrow) rescue organization. Liz Keogh wrote to remind me that some 40 years ago, the Kern Humane Society opened its own thrift shop (aka "The Antique Store" as one client at a clinic referred to it). It is located at 2111 Brundage Lane, and the proceeds from the sales are used to fund their much-needed and successful programs for spay/neuter and limited medical assistance vouchers. Good luck to both these worthy organizations.

 * ... GOOD FORM: Jason Cohen is a financial adviser who spends hours volunteering as the president of the Boy and Girls Club of Kern County. He is understandably proud of this organization,  which was named the best Boys and Girls Club in the nation recently in several categories, and he shot me a note to remind me of all the good it does. In his words: "The Boys and Girls Clubs of Kern County now has 535 incredible employees who day in and day out work tirelessly to give our 8,000 kids a day tools to be productive and caring citizens. We started this school year with 62 sites making us the largest club in California. All really amazing facts we should be proud of as residents."

 * ... NORIEGA: Longtime business attorney Rob Noriega is joining the Young Wooldridge law firm in its business law department. Noriega, who serves as legal counsel for TBC Media, has been carrying on the practice of his late father, Joe Noriega, since his retirement 20 years ago.
"I did so with a wonderful partner, Eric Bradshaw, for many years. After Eric left the firm to join the Kern County Superior Court in 2009, I became interested in joining a larger law practice. A few months ago, I was approached by the Young Wooldridge firm about joining the firm’s Business Law Department and we appeared to match up well from the beginning. I was attracted to the firm’s long history in this community, the firm’s culture, and its excellent reputation in some core areas of legal practice."

Today's Bako Bits: from an obesity summit to Michael Rubio to Lois Henry and Alan Tandy

Coming off another fabulous weekend in B-town, beautiful weather, everyone outdoors, on the bike paths, out and about. But life and politics and fund raising goes on. Here are some tidbits about town:

* A PITBULL NAMED LOIS: You'd think City Manager Alan Tandy would know better by now than to take on Lois Henry. Alan is notoriously prickly and seethes when Californian columnist Lois points her snarky prose his way. But what is going on now is rich beyond words. Word to Alan: don't challenge Lois to do any digging because that's like giving scent to a Tennessee bloodhound. There is nothing she won't find. Check out their latest dueling on her blog found here. Enjoy.
* OBESITY SUMMIT: Not to pick on Bakersfield, but could there be a better place for an "Obesity Summit" than our fair city? Well we're having one, set for April 30, and no it won't be held at Costco or Hometown Buffet. It's sponsored by a host of well meaning public health organizations and will feature Gwen Foster, the "health czar" who challenged the city of Philadelphia to get serious about obesity. It's set for the Marriott Convention Center. Call Public Health at 661-868-0306 for more information.
* AREA PARK: Was great to see the crowds over at the new Aera Park baseball fields in the southwest this weekend. Thanks to a generous donation from Aera Energy and the efforts of folks over at Southwest Baseball, we have a dozen new fields on 40 acres that are absolutely beautiful. Hats off to folks like Duane Keathley (incoming downtown Rotary president and all around good guy) and local attorney Rob Noriega for making this happen.
* RUBIO FOR SENATE: Fifth district Supervisor Michael Rubio is one of the local Democrats' rising stars. He's got all the tools: he's young, extremely bright, extremely ambitious, has the nice looking family and most important, he has the money. Shown here with wife Dora and adorable daughter Iliana, Rubio is running for the 16th State Senate district seat being vacated by Sen. Dean Florez, the Shafter Democrat who is being termed out. Word has it that Rubio has raised almost $400,000 to scare off any competitors and it appears to be working. The only serious competitor for the 2010 race is former Assemblywoman Sara Reyes. Rubio, who also happens to be an accomplished runner and cyclist, is now up on Facebook (check out his website here) and is Twittering like a madman.

Southwest Baseball's Aera Park to open in April

Here's some welcome good news: that long-planned mega baseball park in the Southwest is set to open in April. If you recall this is "Aera Park," so named because of Aera Energy's generous donation of $250,000 to help the Southwest Baseball organization realize its dream. (the donation actually came from Kern Community Foundation via funds donated by Aera) Our town is sorely in need of improved facilities for our kids (soccer and baseball most prominently) so this will be a huge boost. There will be eleven baseball diamonds located behind Riverwalk off Jewetta and Stockdale Highway. Rob Noriega, a local attorney and VP of Southwest Baseball, filled me in over lunch and said Aera Park will be city owned but that his organization will run it on contract for 15 years. Southwest Baseball, which serves about 1,500 kids, will get priority and other groups can use the facilities by scheduling through Noriega's group. Three folks have been working diligently to make this happen: Rob, Aera communications chief Susan Hersberger and Duane Keathley, president of the baseball group.