Lynda Halligan returns to KBAK TV as a morning anchor, and is Walmart headed to the old Mervyn's plaza on California Avenue?

 * ... KBAK: There is a familiar face back on the local morning television circuit. Lynda Halligan, who worked as a noon anchor and co-anchor of the evening news on KBAK TV (29) from 2003 to 2007, has returned as anchor of Channel 29's morning program. Halligan has spent more than 14 years in broadcasting, including time with QVC, Fuse and most recently the ReelzChannel. In the morning she is teamed with Aaron Perlman and Cambi Brown.

* ... LaLANNE: Did you know the late great fitness guru Jack LaLanne had a strong local connection? That's what I learned from a local couple, Herb and Rita Loken, who said they visited Jack's widow, Elaine, recently in Morro Bay. She said her husband and Jack met in the 1940s in Minneapolis and their friendship was renewed in the 1950s when Herb joined the staff at Bakersfield College. "As you may know, Jack LaLanne spent his early years in Lamont as a puny little kid but went on to be the forerunner of physical fitness. They opened their home to us on many occasions and their visits to Bakersfield always included dinner at the Woolgrowers," Rita said.

 * ... MILESTONES: It was three years ago this week that locally owned San Joaquin Bank was seized by federal regulators and shuttered during the housing and banking crisis.

 * ... OVERHEARD: One of my favorite local businesses, the UPS Store in the old Mervyn's plaza, is being forced to move because the building is being torn down. What will be built in its space? One friend was hoping for a Cabela's, and another for a Bass Pro Shop. Sorry, but one commercial real estate insider says a new Walmart will be built there.

* ... BC JAZZ: Here's a cause I could get behind. Some folks up at Bakersfield College have formed an organization devoted to the arts and culture. It's called "Friends of BC Jazz" and was the brainchild of two professors, Kris Tiner and Dr. Randal Beeman. The idea: raise an endowment of $50,000 to purchase equipment and to offer scholarships and travel for students. "We are more than pleased to announce that Columbine Vineyards in Delano has stepped up to the plate first with a $10,000 gift for the purchase of new equipment, which we hope to have on campus in time for our November concert," Beeman said. Anyone wishing to contribute a tax deductible gift can send a check to Friends of BC Jazz, in care of the Bakersfield College Foundation, 1801 Panorama Drive, Bakersfield 93305.

  * ... IRISH: Carolyn Bergman wrote to remind me of yet another Bakersfield youngster who is off to school at the University of Notre Dame. She is Nicole Madrilejo, a 2010 graduate of Garces Memorial High School who is now a junior in South Bend. She is an Irish cheerleader and is the latest in her family to attend the school. Her father, Dr. Nelson Madrilejo, graduated from Notre Dame while her mother, Nicole Madrilejo, is a nurse at San Joaquin Community Hospital.

 * ... FOOD SHOW: If you are a foodie, or even an aspiring cook, make sure you get your tickets to Savor Bakersfield, our town's most impressive cooking show set for Nov. 13 at Rabobank Theatre. It is a production of Dash (Parade) magazine and will feature English chef Jon Aston. Tickets are just $20 and available at ticketmaster.com or calling (800) 745-3000. The event will feature boutique shopping from over 40 local vendors, food sampling from 10 local restaurants (Noodle Bar, Padre, Johnny Rockets, Red Pepper, etc...) plus beer and wine sampling.

San Joaquin Bank nears an ominous anniversary and a Rudy Giuliani sighting at Seven Oaks Country Club

 * ... SAN JOAQUIN: Hard to believe it's been almost a full year since San Joaquin Bank was shut down by federal and state regulators. It was October 16, 2010, when a dozen or so regulators in dark suits swept into the bank at the end of the day and closed it forever. So far this year, the FDIC has shuttered 129 banks, well on track to eclipse the 140 closed last year. Since the financial crisis started in 2007, 297 banks have been closed, bringing the loss to the FDIC Deposit Insurance Fund to $72.6 billion. Most of the employees and executives at San Joaquin have landed jobs elsewhere and as time marches on, the bank and its considerable imprint it left on this community become little more than a curious and sad historical footnote.

 * ... SPOTTED: Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, one of the speakers at the Bakersfield Business Conference, was seen playing golf at Seven Oaks Country Club on Sunday. Sheri Horn Bunk, head of the Taft College Foundation, and friend Mary King spotted Giuliani playing behind them and stopped to pose for a few pictures. Said Sheri: "We drove back to the hole where he was finishing up his putt and acted like we had lost a club. And I said to the body guard who was a bit like a Sopranos character, 'that man looks like Rudy Giuliani' and he said it is. Rudy walks over with cigar in tow and says 'hello ladies!' We took the picture and both Mary and I said 'can we post it to Facebook?' And he said 'yes please do!' We all cracked up and he continued to play behind us. He also signed two scorecards for us and personalized them too."

  

* ... VALLEY FEVER: Local civic leader Sheryl Barbich wrote in with a warning to folks who are new to our community and are not familiar with Valley Fever. Said Sheryl: "Your comment about (Ralph) Bailey reminded me that Soraya Coley, Provost at CSUB, has one of the stories that people traveling through here need to know. She and her husband were recently vacationing in Hawaii when he suddenly got sick. Of course, no one there knew anything about Valley Fever, so they tried all kinds of TB tests, etc.  Fortunately, Soraya phoned Dr. (Horace) Mitchell who suggested that it might be Valley Fever. Sure enough! With input from Dr. Royce Johnson, her husband wound up in the hospital at UC San Francisco.  He only recently went back to work part time.  I’ve heard stories (Pauline Larwood and Sandy Larson) about people visiting from other countries/states, who got sick when they went home, were not diagnosed properly, and ultimately died." That's sound advice.


* ... NIGHT WALK: Reader Lynn Finch reminded me of the Light the Night Walk this Saturday, a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, whose mission is to find a cure for the blood cancers. This is a worthy effort and the event will be held at the Marketplace on Saturday starting at 5 p.m. with the walk following at 7 p.m. Lynn's own son, Chad Hathaway, is an 11-year survivor. He had leukemia and underwent a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor. My own mother, Julia Squier of Scottsdale, Arizona, died of lymphoma two years ago.

 * ... YMCA: From Dave Wilkerson of the YMCA: "Just wanted to let you know that thanks to Kari Grimm-Anderson and Grimmway Farms the YMCA for the first time ever has programs for the kids in the Arvin-Lamont area. Grimmway is paying half the cost per child, paying for uniforms, soccer field etc. What a blessing this is for the kids in this area of Kern County."

 * ... OPEN HOUSE: Remember the open house for prospective students at Garces Memorial High School is this Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From reader and All-America skeet shooter Ken Barnes: You know you're a Bakersfield old-timer if you "remember buying two hamburgers, fries and a small drink for 60 cents at the Jumbo drive-in on Golden State Avenue. Or, if you were one of the kids who shot arrows into the Big Indian I put up at my tire store on the Garces Circle."

Longtime Californian editor Mike Jenner leaving for academia and watching for fireworks in the Scrivner-Perez runoff

* .. FAREWELL: Mike Jenner, the longtime editor and voice of The Californian in his popular weekly "Sound Off" column, is leaving to become the dean of an endowed chair of journalism at his alma mater, the University of Missouri. Mike is one of our community's true good guys, deeply involved in civic life and committed to making this a better place to live. He came here a single man 17 years ago and is leaving with a wife (Jean), two energetic boys (Joe and Andrew) and wonderful memories of Bakersfield. He is a dear friend and he will be missed. Replacing him is another longtime friend of mine, John Arthur (photo below). John is former executive editor of the Los Angeles Times where he headed coverage for two Pulitzer Prize events, the 1994 Northridge earthquake and the North Hollywood bank shootout. A resident of Santa Monica, John's wife is from Bakersfield so he knows our community well. No doubt he'll soon know it even better.

* ... SCRIVNER-PEREZ: Now that Zack Scrivner has made it into the runoff with Steve Perez for the 2nd District county Supervisor post, you wonder what the unions will do to keep him out of office. The fire fighter's union launched a sharp and expensive campaign against Scrivner, who has led the charge for public pension reform and to make the public employees pick up more of their health care costs. Perez served two terms as a supervisor as well as 26 years in the Kern County Sheriff's Office. This should be a spirited race to watch.

 * ... EAST BAKO: A reader named Kelly submitted these thoughts about growing up in East Bakersfield: "The Big T atop the ThriftyMart grocery store! How about on the Fourth of July when Bakersfield College would shoot out toys attached to parachutes into the surrounding neighborhoods! I cannot talk about the Helms man without getting all misty eyed!"

 * ... DUI CHECKPOINTS: The Bakersfield Police Department will be conducting DUI checkpoints on Saturday, June 19, and the following Friday, June 25. To avoid trouble, simply don't drink and drive or take a cab. No sense asking for trouble. Be careful out there.

 * ... TIME FLIES: Hard to believe it has been over eight months since San Joaquin Bank was seized by state and federal regulators and shut down. For years the bank was a local institution known for supporting non-profits and local businesses. Now it's gone and most of the executives and employees have landed elsewhere. Former bank financial officer Steve Annis is now at Valley Republic Bank, and former CEO Bart Hill is working in fund raising at California State University Bakersfield.

 * ... SMASH 'N GRAB: A friend was the victim of a "smash and grab" recently when she parked and locked her car - for just two minutes - in front of a prominent retailer off Truxtun Extension. Thinking she was safe in broad daylight with the car locked, she left her purse on her seat. She returned just minutes later to a smashed window and stolen purse.A bad economy makes for desperate times.

* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From reader Terry Willey: "You know you're from Bakersfield when someone mentions a 'bluff' and you don't think of poker."

Men behaving badly, regulators behaving badly and Steve Annis lands on his feet

 * ...STREET BUZZ: I heard that Steve Annis, the chief financial officer of the now defunct San Joaquin Bank, has been hired in the same post at Valley Republic Bank. Annis is the latest of a long string of San Joaquin employees to land on their feet following San Joaquin's seizure by the FDIC  last October 16. He is a talented banker with many years of experience, including a long stint at American National Bank.

 * ... FED BONUSES: Speaking of banks, I saw the Associated Press reported that our government handed out millions of dollars in bonuses to federal regulators whose agencies ignored the warning signs that our financial system was on the verge of a meltdown. Said the AP: "The bonuses ... are the latest evidence of the government's false sense of security during the go-go days of the financial boom. Just as bank executives got bonuses despite taking on dangerous amounts of risk, regulators got taxpayer-funded bonuses for doing 'superior' working monitoring the banks." And so it goes.

 * ... MEN BEHAVING BADLY: There's a sociological experiment of sorts going on over at the newly renovated Padre Hotel involving hygiene and men behaving badly. It started when I overheard a group of women at the bar pointing to a young man who had failed to wash his hands after using the men's restroom. How did they know? Turns out, the hotel has a common wash space outside the restrooms that men and women share and this guy had bypassed the wash station and headed straight to the bar. You've been warned, gents.

* ... LOVE STORY: I received a wonderful email from Michael Edgerle, who was eager to tell me about his own love story and return to Bakersfield. Turns out Michael did all his early schooling in one city block: Eissler Elementary, Chipman Junior High and Highland High School, class of 1990. He went on to Evangel University, a Christian college in Missouri where he spent four winters learning to scrape ice off his car windows. He returned to Bakersfield and met Tiffany Shick at his church. She grew up in McFarland, graduated from Garces Memorial High School and was attending Azusa Pacific University. She eventually worked for Catholic Healthcare West and he worked at Dole Fresh Fruit before the company left town. He now works at Adventist Health (San Joaquin Hospital) and she stays at home with their three children.
 "I had no idea what would be in store for me career wise coming back to Bakersfield... (but) now we're back in the Northeast part of town (City in the Hills), still attending Canyon Hills church where Tiffany and I met, and busy raising our kids in this great community of ours. And doing it all in our hometown where we have four generations on either side of our family. It is a true blessing."

 * ... ANOTHER RETURNS: Bill and Avon Wonderly wrote to tell me about her daughter, Sally Wonderly, who also graduated from Garces Memorial High School, went to UCLA to pursue her dream of becoming and doctor and has now returned after many years. "Sally and her husband of 15 years, Jeff Nalesnik, and their three boys (our grandchildren) have moved back home to Bako!!!  Sally Wonderly Nalesnik is an OB/GYN at Advanced Women's Health Center, while Jeff is a Urologist for Kaiser Permanente. Their three active boys are students at St. Francis School (third generation)....it is a dream come true for us...Bakersfield has been a wonderful place to live and now Sally's family is finding this to be true as well.  Thank you for letting us share our happiness and welcome them home to Bakersfield."

  
* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield when "Anywhere that takes longer than a ten-minute drive is way too far."

Remembering San Joaquin Bank, and UC Santa Barbara alumni speak out

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 * ... TIME FLIES: It's amazing to think that it has been almost five months since state and federal regulators closed San Joaquin Bank, one of the premier business banks in our community. It was the afternoon of Oct. 16 when the regulators descended on the bank, locked the doors and announced that Citizens Business Bank was taking over. It's difficult to gauge the impact - both psychological and financial - of the closing of a well connected bank in any community. More than 100 banks were closed across our country in 2009, and some 22 have been shut this year alone, another indication that recovery remains a long way off. On a happier note, March marks the one-year anniversary of the opening of Imbibe Wine and Spirits off Truxtun Extension, one of the success stories in this recession. Opened by spouses Dave and Tami Dobbs, this wine specialty store has been an instant hit and is frequently used by business groups for social gatherings. The downtown Rotary Club held a social there last week, featuring Imbibe's impressive array of specialty cheeses and wines.

 * ... GAUCHO NATION: I received a thoughtful hand-written note from reader Ruth Ann Ullman in response to an earlier post (from Helen and Chester Troudy, read it here) speculating over who is the oldest living UC Santa Barbara grad in Bakersfield. "I am not sure if my husband is older than Chester (Troudy), he is only 85! But he did graduate from UC Santa Barbara in 1948 and we have been married for 63 years." Ullman said her husband taught with the Kern High School District in the Kern Valley and later transferred to North High School. He eventually worked at the newly opened Highland High and became the applied arts chairman. She added: "When John graduated from Santa Barbara, Will Turney and Don Lucas graduated at the same time with degrees in industrial education... they both returned to Bakersfield."

 * .. TWICE GAUCHOS: I ran into local attorney Harley Pinson the other day and he reminded me that both he and his wife Cynthia graduated from UC Santa Barbara. In fact, they are Gauchos twice over, having graduated from El Cerrito High School in the Bay Area where the mascot is the Gauchos. The couple has been married for over 36 years. Harley helped start the UCSB alumni chapter in Kern County about a decade ago and served on the board of the UCSB Alumni Association for seven years. Their son Adam (Stockdale High) is also a UCSB alum while daughter Lisa (also Stockdale High) graduated from Azusa Pacific University. Both kids now live in Bakersfield. Harley is now a partner with the local law firm of Klein, DeNatale, Goldner, Cooper and Kimball after spending 30 years as a legal counsel for Occidental Petroleum.

 * ... MACNEIL RETURNS: Old friend Laura Wolfe shot me an email to tell me that Shafter's native son Robert MacNeil will return to Kern County for a performance with the Bakersfield Symphony/Masterworks Chorale on March 13, to be followed by a benefit concert in Shafter the next day. MacNeil graduated from Shafter High School in 1987, and will perform a benefit concert for the Class of 2010 on March 14 at 3 p.m. in the Shafter Mennonite Bretheren Church. MacNeil is a graduate of Chapman University and USC, where he was a student of the Thornton School of Music. He is an accomplished soloist, having sung with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and performed solos at Carnegie Hall. For more information, email his sister Alanna Henry at alannahenry82@yahoo.com

* ... BAKERSFIELDISMS: You know you're  from Bakersfield when "You know where  all the haunted houses are when Halloween rolls around" and "You have offered someone a Dewar's chew."

Former FDIC chairman leads investors group to buy banks his own agency closed

 This post is only relevant in regard to the hundreds of locally run banks that have been closed by regulators in recent years, including Bakersfield's San Joaquin Bank, shuttered last October. Without excusing any bank for making risky loans, there's a healthy debate about the cost (to taxpayers and local communities) of rushing to close so many of these community banks. Many, like San Joaquin, were deeply involved in supporting non profits on a very generous level. Now here comes Bloomberg News with an incredible story about how the former chairman of the FDIC, William Isaac, is leading a group of investors to purchase some of the very banks that his former agency is closing. All this is legal of course, but to me it screams of potential conflicts and calls into question a lot of practices. Here's the link to the full story. Be your own judge.

Short takes around town: The generosity of Marv Steinert and a rescue dog finds a home in Bako

* ... THE GENEROSITY OF MARV: How would you react if  you awoke virtually blind? One day you are healthy and productive and the next you're facing total darkness. If you're like me, you'd likely spend far too much time wallowing in self pity and asking "why me?" Which is why the story of Marvin Steinert is so amazing. Marv is the local businessman who is suffering from an illness known as "temporal arteritis," a rare condition that causes inflammation of the blood vessels to the head, and it has left him blind. (read the previous post here) But instead of withdrawing, Marv is spending his time keeping in touch with the community and having family members read him the newspaper and other publications. Marv is a longtime active member of the downtown Rotary Club, and when his son read him a club bulletin about Memorial Hospital's drive to build a 60-bed children's hospital, he responded by writing a check for $50,000 to support the effort. (read the full Memorial story here) Marv apparently wants the money to go to the new PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) which is all part of the big drive by Memorial CEO Jon Van Boening to give our community a children's hospital so our ill kids don't have to be sent north to Fresno or south to Los Angeles. Folks who know  Marv are not surprised by his generosity, but given his own health challenges, this gesture is simply awe inspiring.

 * ... BART HILL'S GRACIOUS EXIT: At last week's downtown Rotary meeting Bart Hill, former CEO of San Joaquin Bank, took the floor microphone and made a gracious speech thanking the community for the support all these years. Bart was accompanied by his wife, North Carolina-born interior designer Napier, and pulled no punches in talking about the demise of San Joaquin and the last-ditch efforts by board members to save it. He had only nice things to say about Citizens Business Bank, which took over San Joaquin in a state and FDIC operation on Friday, October 16. Bart said he plans to stay in the community and will likely look for work after taking some personal time off. Bart has served on a number of nonprofit boards around town, including the Tree Foundation of Kern and the downtown Rotary, and he will continue to serve as a director on my board at The Californian. He received a standing ovation.

 * ... GOING FROM BAD TO WORSE: The latest report from the Great Valley Center held no surprises, but it's a depressing read nonetheless. According to a story in the Visalia Times-Delta newspaper (read the story here), the Valley Center says indicators like poverty, foreclosures and joblessness are up, and they aren't likely to get better anytime soon. "We think the timetable for economic recovery in the Central Valley is going to be slower than the rest of the state," said Amy Moffat, the center's director of research. "Overall, poverty and unemployment are high. There is a deficit of good jobs while the general population and those seeking jobs continue to grow." Kern County's grim statistics speak for themselves: a dreadfully low percentage of college educated adults, a staggeringly high adult illiteracy rate (nearing 25 percent for the entire county) and one of the highest high school dropout rates in the state. So dig in, it's going to be a long slow crawl back to what we once viewed as normal.

 *  ... RESCUE DOG FINDS HOME: The problem with abandoned and abused pets in our community has been well documented and is tragic beyond words. How many times have you cringed watching the stray dog meandering lost through traffic on Ming Avenue or Chester on your way home? So I was happy to read on Facebook that Jim Pappe, a software specialist at Lightspeed Systems downtown, rescued an abandoned dog while on his way home Friday. Jim is a bicycle commuter and found the dog tied to a fence off the bike path. In his words:

 "He is very gentle, attentive, well-kept. No collar nor tags, just a leash. When I first saw him, he was tied up as if someone was coming back for him after their run. When I came back 4 hours later, it was dark and apparent something was amiss. I posted on Craigslist to see if someone just forgot to pick him up. I'm hoping not..."

 When Jim went back to check on the dog at 9 p.m. Friday, he found him huddled and afraid. He finally had to coax him out and spent some time just sitting with him before untying him and taking him home. Early Sunday Jim told me the dog had warmed to his wife Debbie and their children, spent a quiet and restful night and took a nice walk around the  park near his Southwest Bakersfield home. Now that's a happy ending.

Bako bits: Mourning the loss of a local bank and Laura Wolfe finds a new gig

 
 * ... LAMENTING THE LOSS OF SAN JOAQUIN: The closing of San Joaquin Bank is a loss for our community on many levels. First, it has been one of the stalwart business banks that has helped this community grow, and it has done so while choosing to support the non-profits in a way the "too big to fail" banks would never deign. It was San Joaquin, after all, that provided the loan (at below market rates) that allowed the Bakersfield Museum of Art to expand, and that's just one example. In addition to all the good people who are now out of work, one has to wonder about the aggressive tactics of the state Department of Financial Institutions and the FDIC in closing the place down. The bank argues that it had met and exceeded the DFI demand to raise $27 million in capital, so why would the state agency pull the plug anyway? What possible good can come from closing a community bank in this economy? And there are some interesting questions being raised about when Citizens Business Bank was told it had the green light to take over San Joaquin. For example, new custom Citizens signage was installed at the old San Joaquin Coffee Road branch  less  than 24 hours after the bail failed. Was the signage ordered while the San Joaquin board was busy raising capital and meeting the Fed demands? Had the FDIC and DFI already made up their minds by the time the San Joaquin board met the capital demands by the Friday afternoon deadline? When the real story of San Joaquin and the bank closings is told, let's hope it doesn't smack of a new era of McCarthyism.


 * ... WOLFE TO ARTS COUNCIL: Was happy to hear that Laura Wolfe, who lost her job in a shakeup at  CSUB's development office, has landed a new gig as part-time development officer for the Arts Council of Kern. Laura is a longtime Shafter resident who was a fixture at Cal State until new university development director Beverly Byl let her go, citing budget cutbacks. If Laura brings the energy to the Arts Council that she showed at CSUB, the arts will most certainly benefit. Laura reminded  me that ARTini, the Arts Council's martini tasting fund raiser, is set for Friday, November 6, at the Petroleum Club. Individual tickets are $65 for non members and $50 for members. Tickets include a tasting glass, tasting and heavy appetizers. I've heard this is a terrific event and all for a good cause: promoting the arts in our community. For more information call 661-324-9000.  

 * ... HUELL HEADS BACK TO BAKERSFIELD: Learned the other day that Huell Howser, the folksy and popular host of public television's "California's Gold" series, is heading back to Bakersfield next week. Huell will be filming a followup report on the relocation of the historic Lopez-Hill House to the Kern County Museum. Howser is scheduled to be shooting next Thursday, according to Penelope Birtenstein, who works with the museum Foundation. The original house was built by J.J. Lopez at Chester and California avenues in 1909. Lopez had  worked as a sheepherder at Tejon Ranch and died in 1938. The house was later moved out off Rosedale Highway and now is at home at the museum.


* ... THE BOYS FROM HODEL'S: Had a chance to speak to a luncheon meeting of the Sons in Retirement (SIRs), a group I didn't even know exist before I spent some time with them.  It was an interesting mix of about 100 retired business, educators and professionals who had one thing in common: staying connected with the community via friendly networking over lunch at Hodel's over off Olive Drive. The best of Bakersfield has always been its people, and it was good to spend a couple hours with a group of citizens who chose to stay involved and on the top of issues. My thanks to Lon Kellenberger, retired dean at the School of Education over at Cal State Bakersfield, for the invite, not to mention the free lunch.

Bruce Maclin out at San Joaquin Bank, jobless figures higher than expected

* ... SHAKEUP AT SAN JOAQUIN: Big news over at San Joaquin Bank where longtime chairman Bruce Maclin is out in questionable circumstances. It's being positioned as a retirement but Maclin is out, replaced as chairman by board member Rogers Brandon, co-owner of American General Media and a member of the board since 2000. This is a significant development that no doubt will be viewed favorably by potential investors, who are being asked to pony up significant money to keep the bank afloat and to get federal regulators off the bank's back. Maclin's role was seen by many as redundant since bank President Bart Hill is the real public face of the bank and has been in charge of the daily operations. His departure will not only save the bank significant money (his salary, canceled retirement package etc)  but also put a fresh face and new urgency behind the bank's quest to recapitalize. Brandon, Hill,  and newly appointed chief operating officer Steve Annis have been busy raising capital to satisfy federal and state demands that the bank raise at least $27 million by mid October.. Maclin's departure and his decision to surrender  his lucrative retirement package - the packages for Hill and Annis were surrendered earlier - together adds $6.5 million in additional capital. For the full story according to the bank's press released, read it here. Stay tuned for more.

 * ... MORE BAD NEWS ON THE JOB FRONT: Frightening to read in the Sunday New York Times that the jobless picture is actually worse than previously thought. Turns out new figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal that during the 12 months that ended last March, our economy lost 5.6 million jobs. That's  fully 824,000 more than the 4.8 million they previously reported. (read the full story here) And get this: they said it's not cleaer if the economy has even hit bottom yet in terms of employment, even though technically the recession may be over. Here's a sobering excerpt:

 "The government’s data since 1939 shows only one time when there was a larger percentage decline in civilian jobs. That fall, of 10.1 percent, came at the end of World War II when defense contractors laid off workers no longer needed for the war effort — a total of 4.3 million lost jobs. In no downturn since World War II did that many jobs vanish, until the current recession."

 * ... ANOTHER HONOR FOR WENDY:  Was nice to see another honor for Wendy Wayne, the community activist and all around good egg who has been battling non-Hodgins lymphoma. She was honored as "Humanitarian of the Year" by The Plank Foundation. Wendy received the award on Monday following the foundation's annual golf tournament at Bakersfield Country Club.


 

San Joaquin Bank: Indian investors to pour $38 million in major recapitalization

Locally owned San Joaquin Bank had a bit of good and bad news for its investors and shareholders today. First the good: the bank is getting a much needed infusion of capital, to the tune of $38 million, from a group of Indian investors. Like banks across the country, San Joaquin has been struggling as its real estate portfolio continues to deteriorate, and it's now working under some stringent federal guidelines for troubled banks (read the earlier post here) Bart Hill, San Joaquin's CEO, says they hope to get the $38 million soon. He said the money is coming from 11 different Indian families and the issuance of 8.1 million in new shares would give the Indians 62 percent of the company's outstanding shares and two seats on the bank's board. This is huge news for the bank, which has been battling a series of nasty and destructive street rumors about its future. Public institutions like banks live and die on the confidence of the street, and the folks at San Joaquin have been doing everything they can to restore confidence in the bank.
Now here's the bad news: at the same time the bank announces the recapitalization, it is also amending its first quarter results to reflect an even worse loan and earnings environment. Some facts:
* The company originally reported it had $105.5 million in classified loans, but based on new information and consultations with the Federal Reserve, those classified loans are now $163 million. Of those loans, the bank expects that $98 million are now "impaired" compared to the original estimate of $61.6 million. Not good.
* The bank originally reported net charge offs of $858,000 in the first quarter, and that has now been raised to $10.7 million. Whew!
Bart told me that "real estate values were just cascading in the first quarter," but he now seems "some bottoming signs... I'm seeing a turn."
Beyond San Joaquin's fortunes, it's important to look at what this means for our local economy in a larger sense. San Joaquin was like any other bank and now is stuck with collateralized loans that are deemed "impaired." The loans are constantly scrutinized and reappraised, and the restatement of first quarter earnings simply means the market has a ways to go before we begin to see normal again. In other words: we're still in the middle of the shakeout, and until we move through it, banks like San Joaquin will continue to struggle.
For a complete story, check out The Californian Tuesday or look for it on bakersfield.com

Recession stories: local businesses hunker down and prepare for a long, hot, stark summer

Had the opportunity over the past week to spend some time catching up with local business leaders, first at a charity golf tournament and later at a couple of fund raisers. If there is one common theme it is this: nobody sees an end to this recession and everyone is preparing for a long, hot Bakersfield summer in a sick economy. Trust me, I'm trying to look for silver linings and signs of an uptick, but I just can't find them. Among some of the disturbing indicators:
* MORE FORECLOSURES: California and Florida led the country in home foreclosures in the first quarter. California had 13 cities among the top 25 with the highest foreclosure rates, including Bakersfield holding down the No. 7 position. (for the full story read it here). Others on the foreclosure hall of shame list include Merced, Stockton, Riverside-Ontario, Modesto and Vallejo-Fairfield.
* MORE JOBLESS: Our local unemployment rate is an astonishing 14-plus percent and it may get worse, according to RealtyTrac, a seller of default data.
* STUDENT LOANS: Defaults on student loans are also skyrocketing across the country. According to the Wall Street Journal, a combination of a weak job market for graduates, higher tuition costs and parents losing their jobs is leading to a sharp spike in defaults.
* BANKING MESS: It's clear that there will be no recovery until credit eases and the banking industry gets healthy. So it didn't help when the Bank of America reported a $4.25 billion profit but the stock slid because the bank reported a 46 percent increase in non-performing loans. Even a stalwart locally-owned bank like San Joaquin Bank is under the microscope to clean up questionable loans on its books.
* WHO'S BUYING CARS?: Our local car dealers continue to struggle, even with some new fuel efficient and reliable lines on their lots. One problem: even people with good credit are having trouble getting loans while others who have the money are hunkering down and hording cash.
* NON-PROFIT CRUNCH: I won't name them here, but non-profits and foundations across Bakersfield have been slammed by a downturn in donations and charitable giving. They too are cutting back on expenses and staffing.
Enough said. I'll share some good news when I get it!

Federal Reserve tightens control on San Joaquin Bank; stock tumbles on news

It's yet another sign of the difficulty of the times when a local institution like San Joaquin Bank comes under the thumb of the Federal Reserve. All banks are under an intense Fed microscope these days as they struggle with bad loans made in the go-go days, and San Joaquin is no exception. Now it turns out, revealed today, that San Joaquin has entered into a 15-page agreement on tightened controls with the Federal Reserve. (read one version of the story here) Among other things the Fed is demanding a plan to strengthen board oversight of management and operations of the bank. Within 60 days, the bank must also submit a plan to strengthen credit risk management practices. The bank's board reads like a "who's who" of local business leaders including my boss, Ginger Moorhouse, publisher of The Californian, local accounting firm owner Lou Barbich, and Rogers Brandon, coowner of American General Media, a radio group. Also on the board are property manager Mel Atkinson, farmer Jerry Chicca and of course bank president Bart Hill and bank chairman Bruce Maclin.
Within a couple hours of the announcement, San Joaquin's stock fell from $6.50 to $4.22 at midday. No doubt that the new upstart competitor in town, Valley Republic Bank, will seek to use this to its advantage.