The nation turns its attention to Rep. Kevin McCarthy as he maneuvers to become the next House Speaker, looking for common sense on the 'kiss cam' and Rotarians pitch in to clean the streets

 * ... MCCARTHY: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy started the week posing with Pope Francis and ended with him the odds-on favorite to replace John Boehner as Speaker of the U.S.

House of Representatives. This is enough to give anyone a healthy case of vertigo, and it is just beginning. To say McCarthy's rise to power has been quick is an understatement, and the national press (and public) have a renewed interest in understanding just what makes this Bakersfield Republican tick. The Kevin McCarthy we know is now under intense scrutiny by people with their own agendas, and no doubt he will have to have some thick skin to endure the inevitable arrows thrown his way.

* ... KISS CAM: Whatever happened to common sense? Consider this story about the familiar
"kiss cam" in sporting arenas, which often features couples on a Jumbotron kissing during breaks. It's an innocent and often sweet way to show an open display of affection, but it is now under attack. During a recent football game between Syracuse and Wake Forest, a man named Steve Port said he witnessed "two incidences on the kiss cam in which women indicated they didn’t want to be kissed. Yet, the men nearby kissed them anyway to cheers from the crowd." So he wrote a letter to the university and it now looks like the "kiss cam" has seen its last days at Syracuse. Said his letter: “The instances I witnessed at the game encourage and condone sexual assault and a sense of male entitlement, at best. And they are an actual instance of assault, at worst."

* ... SPOTTED: Spotted on the placard of a panhandler, who was standing atop a freeway offramp: "Ugly, Broke, and Stupid."

 * ... GOOD FORM: If the streets of downtown Bakersfield look a little cleaner today, you can think the Rotary clubs of Bakersfield whose members hit the streets this week to prepare for next week's District Conference. Rotarians throughout Kern County and the Central Coast will be coming to the Marriott and surrounding area for the conference (the first we've had in Bakersfield in 25 years), so local Rotarians pitched in to clean the streets. The clubs are also asking downtown businesses to please sustain our efforts by keeping the sidewalks, gutters, and streets in front of their establishments free of debris.

 * ... BAD FORM: On Sunday morning, at two different intersections downtown, motorists stopped at a red light simply blew through it and took a left against the red. I understand things are slow on a Sunday morning, but this is beyond reckless.

 * ... BARBECUE: Fall means barbecue fundraising season in Bakersfield. Among the biggest, and most worthwhile: the annual St. Vincent de Paul Homeless Center BBQ. Mark your calendars for this year's event - Thursday, Oct. 8 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the center, 316 Baker Street. Chefs Gary and Adam Icardo will be grilling Harris Ranch New York steaks served with all the trimmings. Tickets are available at the Thrift Store on Baker or the night of the BBQ.  For more information, call (661) 323-2942.

Plop down in front in front of the TV at your own risk and a non-profit will collect blankets and towels for local animal shelters the Sunday before the national election

 * ... SITTING: There are a lot of reasons to plop down in your favorite recliner and catch some TV: the World Series, the presidential debates, college and pro football. But now comes word that the more time we all spend sitting, "the shorter and less robust" our lives will be. That's according to two new studies which The New York Times said definitely point out the risks of spending too much time watching television. "And the findings were sobering: Every single hour of television watched watched after the age of 25 reduces the viewer's life expectancy by 21.8 minutes."

 * ... SHELTERS: Here's something we can all get behind: a non-profit group called Operation Blankets for Love will be collecting blankets, towels, collars, leashes and animal beds for dogs and cats on Sunday, Nov. 4, at the Bakersfield Racquet Club. All items donated will distributed to shelters here in Kern County. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 * ... THE BUZZ: Rudy Salas, the Bakersfield City Councilman running for the State Assembly, has created a stink by making an issue of opponent Pedro Rios' run-in with the law 20 years ago. Rios was a young convenience store worker when he was cited for selling alcohol to a minor, and Salas implied he was a teacher at the time, which he was not. My in box has been filled with notes from readers like this one: "How is he (Salas) the poster boy for 'wellness' (Salas appeared in the Bwell healthy living publication) when his devious mind deliberately exploits a human error made by his opponent twenty years ago? I have no dog in this race; howerver, if I did I would not consider voting for Rudy Salas." 

* ... FREEDOM TRAIN: Jerry Kirkland remembers when the Freedom Tain rolled into Bakersfield when he was a student at Emerson Junior High in 1947-48. "Each homeroom at Emerson sent a representative to view this collection of our nation's most precious historic documents and I was fortunate enough to have been selected from my homeroom.  It was an opportunity of a lifetime and one that I would love to have again. The 127 documents included the Magna Carta (from 1215), one of the 13 original copies of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address. Also the surrender documents signed by the Japanese and Germans that officially ended World War II. And surprisingly enough, while it was strongly supported by President Truman (who loved trains), the Freedom Train was not funded by the federal government but rather by private donations to the American Heritage Foundation."

 * ... ROTARY: Congratulations to Jim Bell, general manager of Clear Channel radio, for being elected to become district governor of Rotary District 5240. It has been years since the district, which includes much of the coast and all the Bakersfield clubs, has been led by a governor from Bakersfield. He is a member of the Twilight Rotary Club. (photo courtesy of Bakersfield Twilight Rotary Club)

 * ... STREET SWEEPERS: A woman who asked to remain anonymous wrote to come to the defense of the city street sweepers, who have been criticized for leaving more of a mess than they clean. "I'm sure most street sweepers are hard-working individuals and they deserve better than the public flogging handed to them by (a reader). I can't imagine that their job is very easy. On behalf of the mothers of street sweepers, thank you!"

 * ... PUZZLER: Here's a reader question I cannot answer. Let me know if you can. "What was the name of the song that opened and closed the Don Rodewald radio and television shows?  If I remember, it sounded like a bath tub draining."

Oh to be Irish in Bakersfield! And what is with our community's obsession with pit bulls?

 * ... MORE IRISH: Bakersfield has always had a strong pipeline sending kids to Notre Dame, and Janet Saltvick Nelson is among those parents who beam with pride at everything Irish. Her daughter, Katie O'Sullivan, graduated from Cal State Bakersfield and went on to Notre Dame to earn her Ph.D. in geology.  "She was born and raised here in Bakersfield and is a product of the Bakersfield school districts. As her single mother of all those years, raising her here in Bakersfield, I have always told her she could accomplish what ever she wanted to and she has. That is what she wrote as her dedication to me in her dissertation. I think the thing I am most proud of is that she and I have accomplished getting her through nine years of college with absolutely no debt. It can be done. Her entire extended family and friends that have supported her are thrilled to call the future Dr. Katie M. O'Sullivan, a Bakersfield native." That deserves a job well done to you, mom.

* ... PITBULLS: I am aware of the argument that pitbulls are like any other dog, but I am among those who are simply uncomfortable getting too close to a strange one. And so is Christian Zoller, a reader who wrote that he encounters a lot of the dogs up on the Panorama Bluffs. "Just within the last week, on two separate nights,  I have been alarmed to see that numerous people are exercising their unusually muscled pit bulls by running and walking them up and down the bluffs. Some of the dogs have bar bell plates around their collars. Many are left off of their leashes. The paths are very narrow in places and can be very difficult to avoid being near them, especially the ones that are not on a leash. I hope you can inform your readers of this potentially dangerous condition. Many families run and walk on these same paths."

 * ... BLUFFS: And speaking of the bluffs, it's always discouraging to see the mounds of trash (usually fast-food wrappers but also the occasional diaper) casually left in the gutter by those enjoying the Panorama Bluffs.

 * ... SPOTTED: In front of Hoggz Surf Shop a young woman gives her boyfriend an affectionate kiss before they hop on bicycles (sans helmets) and head out on the bike trial. Memo to boyfriend Matt: remember what paramedics call bicycle riders who don't wear helmets? Organ donors.

* ... ROTARY: Another shoutout to our community's Rotarians, this one from Vija A. Turjanis who supervises a children's team at Kern County Mental Health.  "We work with very high risk youth many of whom are in foster care and have had extremely traumatic life experiences.  I read your column regularly and was pleased to see that you recognized the Twilight Rotary. Please recognize Bakersfield West Rotary as they have been sponsoring my team since 2005. The way they sponsor us is by an event called Child Spree where they usually provide 30 kids with a $100 gift card for school clothes (shopping spree at Kohl's), back pack complete with school supplies and a hot breakfast.  This year they sponsored 40 of our neediest youth at Child Spree.  It is events like Child Spree that boost these youth self-image/esteem by preparing them for the new school year, but moreover by letting them know that there are people in the community who believe and care for them. "

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From Evan Jones: "You know you're from Bakersfield if you've ever stood in line for Huell Howser's autograph."