Ron Fraze bows out of the Ward 2 city council race to succeed Sue Benham, and Californian Radio prepares to review Tuesday's primary election

* ... FRAZE: Former city fire chief Ron Fraze has pulled out of the race to succeed Sue Benham in the Ward 2 City Council race. Fraze was one of the first to express interest in running for Council but sent an email Friday telling friends he had reconsidered. "We appreciate your friendship and your support, however, we believe God is leading us in a different direction. We intend to return all monies that were contributed to my campaign," he wrote. Others running for the seat in the November election include Elliot Kirschenmann, a member of the Bakersfield Planning Commission, and Terry Maxwell , a local restaurant owner.

 * ... POLITICS: And speaking of politics, are you ready to vote in Tuesday's primary election? Are you familiar with the issues on the ballot? We will be previewing Tuesday's election on Californian Radio KERN 1180 beginning at 9 a.m. We will also talk to Dr. Raj Patel of Preferred Family Care Physicians about the epidemic of diabetes in our community.


* ... BIOLA: Al Gutierrez wrote that that he was in the audience last week when his grandson, Michael McClain, graduated from  Biola University in La Mirada. "We then rushed back to Bakersfield Christian High School to witness the cum laude graduation of his brother, Kevin McClain. Kevin's next stop is the University of Arizona. The boys are the off-spring of Steve and Becci McClain."


* ... BAD SERVICE: Is there any worse customer service on the planet than ATT? I was forced to convert to ATT for internet service when I ordered DirecTV, and friends had warmed me about the company's reputation for poor service. But even I was dumbfounded after I spent more than two hours - yes that is correct - being shuffled around to different numbers and customer service reps just to locate a lost order.

* ... PHONE PREFIXES: Craig Holland remembers the old telephone prefixes back in the day. From Craig: "The central part of Bakersfield had the FAirview exchange, while the east side had EMpire, Oildale had EXport and south side of town had TEmple... I can still remember the first phone number my mom had me memorize: FA3-5146."

* ... LITERACY: The Kern Adult Literacy Council has found a new executive director to replace Donna Hylton, who resigned recently.  Ida Tagliente will fill the role on an interim basis and her position will be reevaluated in six to nine months. Board president Clayton Mongtomery said, "Ida’s past experience on the executive board and at Bright House Networks makes her a great fit for our team, and I have every confidence that she will guide us through this transition and into a stronger position."

 * ... BAD GRADE: And speaking of literacy did you know that Bakersfield is considered the "least educated" city in America? According to The New York Times, only 15 percent of the adults in Bakersfield hold a college degree, compared to a national average of 32 percent. Lost Angeles weighed in at 21 percent, Las Vegas at 21.6 percent, Boston at 43 percent and Dallas at 31 percent.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Local physical therapist Kyle Lacy says you have been around Bakersfield a while if you remember Fred Clad motors that featured imported auto brands like Jaguar, Porsche and others.

Former city fire chief Ron Fraze being courted to run for Ward 2 City Council seat, and CSUB wrestling fights to survive

  * ... THE BUZZ: The talk downtown is that former city Fire Chief Ron Fraze may run for the Ward 2 City Council seat being vacated by Sue Benham. Benham, now vice president of development at Memorial Hospital, has said she won't run for another term in the ward, which covers much of the downtown area. Fraze lives downtown and supporters feel his inside knowledge of how the city works would serve the area well.  I talked to Fraze Saturday and he told me he is considering a run and is honored that some folks are urging him to enter the race. Stay tuned.

  * ... WRESTLING: Had coffee the other day with Craig Tobin, a local businessman who is among a growing group of people trying save the wrestling program out at CSUB. Wrestling is one of those sports that is basically fending for itself in an era of extreme budget cuts and Tobin and others have been committed to finding ways to keep it alive. There have been fund raisers and some guerrilla marketing, and last week they put more than 1,000 people in the stands at the Icardo Center to watch CSUB take on Arizona State. Craig will be my guest today (Monday) on Californian Radio KERN 1180 beginning at 9 a.m. Stay tuned because you will hear from from these folks.


 * ... KINDNESS: Christine Lollar dropped me a note to send her good wishes to Wendy Wayne, who is dealing with a recurrence of cancer and was recently honored with a random act of kindness. "Thank you, Richard, for listing the 'kindness' and mentioning Wendy’s 'battling' non-Hodgkin’s. What a perfect adjective. I found it ironic that the organization is called 'Soldier’s Smile' because that is exactly what Wendy Wayne wears on her face every day, a 'soldier’s smile.' She’s long been my mentor. If I could have her grace and humbleness in my pinky finger I will have lived a successful life. When you think of her life from the Peace Corps to First Five, immunization volunteer, and ever the civic servant whenever called upon. Wendy is an amazing, all around, individual, and she has truly fought her own fight (her physical battles) and the fight of thousands, maybe millions, who could not fight for themselves."

 * ... OVERHEARD: This little gem comes from reader Walter Stewart. "I am amazed and amused in a Bakersfield restaurant yesterday. The man sitting in the booth in front of me was wearing a cap. I was amazed when a man walking by paused and said, 'Cultured people remove their hats in restaurants.' I was amused when the man dryly responded, 'Cultured people mind their own business.' I am still chuckling."


* ... SPOTTED: Jessica Massey submits this bit of bad form, spotted in the parking lot of Albertson's on Gosford and White Lane. "The woman in the truck in front of me completely stopped the flow of traffic in the parking lot by coming to a full stop to open her driver's side door and toss a soda cup on the ground! I honked at her and gave her the 'are you serious?' signal and she just gave me a dirty look and drove off. So rude to the poor Albertson's employee that probably had to pick it up and to me for getting that dirty look!"

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield when keeping up with the Jones means serving Smith's cookies. Thanks to J.R. Lewis of Keller Williams for that little ditty.