Give Big Kern raises close to $1 million for local charities, Nordstrom and Whole Foods flee San Francisco and remembering the late Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other company or publication.

* ... GIVE BIG KERN: The countywide drive to support non-profits called Give Big Kern is over and it raised more than $919,000 for some outstanding organizations and programs. Topping the leaderboard as the top fund raiser was the Dolores Huerta Foundation, which raised an impressive $226,487 from 345

donors. Independence Through Grace ran second with $126,593 and Bakersfield Pregnancy Center was third with $57,312. My favorite was SJVWater.Org, the non profit run by former Californian investigator editor Lois Henry, which pulled in $7,345 for its work covering the politics of water in California. (Full disclosure: I serve on SJV's board of directors) Interesting, some groups did poorly, reflecting a  disorganized fund drive or a disengaged board of directors. For example the HUB of Bakersfield, which bills itself as a group that hopes to redefine and revitalize downtown Bakersfield (Ward 2 Councilman Andre Gonzales is a big supporter) raised a meager $50 from two donors, meaning some of the HUB's 16 board of directors likely failed to rally to the call to donate. The same was true with American Cancer Society which didn't raise a single dollar. Despite the spotty results, Give Big Kern has evolved in a major positive force in our community and non-profits who choose to participate should take this opportunity seriously.

* ... WHOLE FOODS LEAVES SAN FRANCISCO: Do you remember when Whole Foods made a big gamble on San Francisco, opening a huge new store in a blighted area? Well it is now closed after just a year, and critics are having a field day saying 'I told you so.'" The market has been the scene of just about everything: a machete wielding customer threatening others, vagrants defecating in the aisles, people overdosing on fentanyl in its bath rooms and the mentally ill harassing others. And then there is this: Nordstrom, or what is left of the once influential department store, is also leaving San Francisco. Is anybody surprised by this?

 * ... RIP SEAN MCKEOWN: A popular longtime high school teacher and coach, Sean McKeown, has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer and has passed away. The notice of his death was made by Kati McKeown, Sean's wife who works for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the district home office. McKeown worked as a teacher and coach at Bakersfield High, Independence and Stockdale high schools, earning legions of admirers along the way. He was diagnosed with cancer just a few months ago and fought bravely to the end. Services are are set for Saturday, May 28, at St. John's Lutheran Church. (file photo from 2016 courtesy of Kati McKeown)

 * ... PADRE HOTEL: There is nothing quite like opening The Wall Street Journal and bumping into a feature story on the iconic Padre Hotel, the grand dame of downtown Bakersfield. Built in 1928, just two years after the nearby Bakersfield Californian building, the eight-story building was the largest in town at the time and withstood multiple earthquakes over the years. The review mentions the Prairie Fire Grill and the poke nachos, but it recommends the classic Padre burger for the road weary.

 * ... REMEMBERING MERLE: Country singer David Frizzell penned a lovely short tribute to the late Merle Haggard and his wife Bonnie, leaving this entry on Facebook: "Remembering Bonnie Owens today. We were just talking about Bonnie and Merle on the way home from Illinois... I was sitting with Merle one day and he was telling me he went and seen Bonnie at the care facility where she was living at the time (due to Alzheimers)... he was having a great visit with her when she asked 'Do you want to see my room'? Merle of course said yes and they got to the room and walked in and Bonnie pointed up to a poster of Merle hanging on her wall and said, 'You see that guy right there? That is my favorite singer! '

Miss them both!" (photo courtesy of the Kern County of Old Facebook page)

 * ... WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY: How fat are our children today? Well check this out: The Wall Street Journal reports that the number of children undergoing bariatric weight surgery has skyrocketed, multiplying five fold to total more than 500 surgeries. a year Before the pandemic, some 20 percent of all American children were deemed obese, and that number is expected to rise.

 * ... OUR WILDFLOWERS: I just can't resist sharing the incredibly stunning wildflower pictures from my friend Pam Taylor, whose travels have taken her to some of the most spectacular blooms. Check out these two Pam Taylor shots.

 * ... MORE WILDFLOWERS: And one of my favorite local photographers, JoJo Paredes Butingan, submitted this incredible shot of a field of red flowers.

* ... MEMORIES: Do you remember this scene with Jack Nicholson in the movie Five Easy Pieces (1970, dir. Bob Rafelson)? It was shot on Highway 99 at the 53 off ramp to Shafter and Wasco.  Thanks to the Kern County History Fans for this timely nugget.

High drama is being playing out as farmers and governments spar over the re-emerging Tulare Lake, a class of new county firefighters graduates and celebrating Ricochet the famous surfing dog

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other company or publication.

 * ... POWER, INFLUENCE AND WATER: Keep an eye on the tug-of-war among farmers and local governments out where Tulare Lake is re-emerging after the deluge of local rains. Thousands of acres of prime farmland is now under water or about to be under water, and how this plays out could affect both farmers (who stand to lose their crops) and residents of smaller valley communities (who stand to lose their towns to flooding). There isn't a better place to follow this story than San Joaquin Valley Water
(SJVWater.org or https://tinyurl.com/39m9apz5), a non-profit run by investigative journalist Lois Henry who is not afraid to speak truth to power. Already the huge farming conglomerate J.G. Boswell has reported Lois to the local sheriff's department for the mere infraction of asking for a quote. This story will only grow in importance - and don't expect Lois Henry or SJVWater.org to back down - as time goes on and the melting snowmelt brings more water to the valley, and the emerging Tulare Lake.

* ... MORE TULARE LAKE: The story of Tulare Lake captured the attention of The New York Times, which put the sheer size of the lake in perspective: "The lake is essentially at 790-square-mile bathtub - the side of four Lake Tahoes - that dates back to the Ice Age. Mammoths once sipped at Tulare Lake's shores, and tule elk ranged in its marshlands."

 * ... THE BEAUTY OF WHERE WE LIVE: More beauty to share of our valley from local photographers. Let's start with two shots out near the Taft prison by Pam Taylor, followed by another remarkable shot by Taylor of Mount Able. Then we have two pictures by JoJo Paredes Butingan (how about those wildflowers near Woody?), Gabby Osdale provides a lovely picture of the Kern River and Landon Peppel closes it out with a sunset over water.

 * ... RIP RICOCHET: Did you hear Ricochet, the amazing surfing therapy dog from San Diego, died recently at the age of 15? That's the word from the Los Angeles Times who said the golden retriever had been diagnosed with liver cancer in August and passed away Friday. Said the Times: "Ricochet was raised to be a service dog, but the energetic pup was more fond of chasing birds than assisting with household chores...Throughout her life, the beloved dog touched the lives of kids with special needs, wounded service members and families of fallen veterans. Ricochet was known as an affectionate companion, a shameless belly-rub beggar and had an intuition for people who needed a cuddle." (Los Angeles Times photo)

 * ... NEW FIREFIGHTERS: Kern County graduated a new class of firefighters this week and they will be reporting to their respective stations almost immediately. Among the graduates was Colin Ames, son of Sam and Andrea Ames and shown here with his proud mother.

* ... MEMORIES: Take a look at this old postcard that shows where the old Sears store was on 19th Street near the Kress Building. Thanks to the folks over at Kern County History Fans for this one.

Are rolling blackouts the "new norm" in California and will Gov. Gavin Newsom pay a political price? Plus Kelly Ardis leaves The Californian to join CSUB and another trip down memory lane with some old photos

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not reflect the views of any other individual, organization or company. 

 * ... WINDS: Hey California, does it feel like we are becoming the next Venezuela, a nation-state of endless shortages, uncertainty and bloated bureaucracy? It sure looks like it when we wake up and

find the power has been shut off and the state bureaucracy is telling us to shut up because this is the "new norm" in California. It is all because of Pacific Gas and Electric, the utility that cannot seem to shoot straight, has instituted rolling blackouts during the windy season to prevent wildfires. That's right, after the lack of maintenance led to horrifying fires in northern California, the utility has decided to pass the buck to us instead of doing what we expect it to do. But here is the ugly truth: historically the utility has put the pockets of its investors over routine maintenance of its power lines, creating a system that puts shareholder profits over safety. (Thankfully that practice ended recently thanks to a federal judge), Now you know what I mean when I say California is starting to look a lot like Venezuela.

 * ... RECALL NEWSOM: So where does all this leave our Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has long been eyeing a run for the presidency at some point? Will the rolling power outages lead to more pressure on Newsom, and act as a catalyst for the "recall Newsom" movement? Recall supporters point to Newsom's moratorium on the death penalty (after being upheld by voters), his decision to take gas tax money meant to improve highways and divert it to pet rail projects, and now this. Time will tell but the pressure is growing on Newsom as the state struggles to keep the lights on.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "You're an adult now. That means nobody can stop you from putting shrimp in a bowl of melted butter and eating it like cereal. Not anymore."

 * ... MOVING UP: Congratulations to Kelly Ardis, a longtime Bakersfield Californian features reporter who is joining the ranks at CSUB in a marketing position. Ardis is the latest TBC alumni to join CSUB, closing ranks with Christine Bedell who works in alumni affairs, and head communications director Jennifer Self. Ardis will work for the school of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering, reporting to Dean Kathleen Madden and working closely with Jennifer Self, director of public affairs and communications. The school of NSME is on the rise at CSUB, having earned a prestigious engineering accreditation in 2018.

 * ... THE POLITICS OF WATER: If you live in California, you should pay closer attention to water policy and how politics plays a role in who gets this precious resources, and who doesn't. And now there is a comprehensive new non-profit that offers in-depth reporting and writing on California's love/hate relationship with water. It's called SJVWATER.ORG and it is run by award winning journalist Lois Henry, who has devoted her life to reporting and writing about water in the Central Valley. Go to the website and support it, financially, by becoming a subscriber. I did.

 * ... MEMORIES: And what do you think of this, a shot of "West side girls" back in the day. Thanks to Art Moore and the Kern County History Fans Facebook page. And check out this second photo of the old Ridge Route back in the day.