Santa Carota beef gets some love from Food and Wine magazine, the city takes heat for moving too slowly on our homeless and drug crisis, and who knew In-N-Out burger had treats for dogs?

Friday, September 13, 2019

 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. Send news items to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... DRUG CRISIS: It was an angry scene at City Hall this week when dozens of residents lined up during the public comment session to voice their concerns about our drug and homeless crisis. The

theme was clear: we need to understand that we have a drug addiction problem, not so much of a homeless problem. The city has been criticized for being too tentative, moving too slowly, sitting on their hands while this problem has grown out of control. The county, by contrast, has already approved plans for a low-barrier shelter while the city continues to "study" where their's might be located. If nothing else, the city got an earful from a public that is at its wit's end with crime, public intoxication, public urination and defecation and general craziness that rules our streets. Is anyone listening?

 * ... SANTA CAROTA BEEF: Do you hear that Food and Wine magazine threw some love to our local producers of the grass fed and carrot finished Santa Carota beef? That's right, this is the same beef raised by the Pettit family that has proved to be wildly popular in local restaurants. Fed on grass and finished off by tons of carrots, the process produces a beef that is both more tender and tastier, and healthier as well. Check out this excerpt from the story: "The Pettit family has been raising cattle in Edison (an unincorporated community just seven miles from Bakersfield) for 30 years, and much of that time they have been supplementing their grass-fed cattle with culled carrots from nearby producers like Bolthouse Farms and Grimmway Farms, which produce more than a million pounds of carrots each in a day—the most in the world. But until two years ago, Justin and Corinne Pettit and Justin’s father, Mike, were growing their cattle to 800 pounds on grass and carrots, then sending them to a feedlot to be bulked up and finished to nearly 1300 pounds on grain. They had never considered finishing a cow on carrots, until, Justin describes, they conducted a single experiment, which they planned to try for Justin’s birthday in April of 2017 (with a pizza order as a back-up plan). Just one bite of the steaks, and they put down their forks and looked at each other. “And we said, Oh, now we have to go to work.” And they literally bet the farm. “We sold all our equipment, put everything on our credit line … had packing boxes all over our conference tables. We have everything riding on it, but we believe in it.” Within 18 months, they’d developed their logo and began selling to some of the best restaurants in the West."

 * ... DOG TREATS: Did you know that In-N-Out burger has a few menu items for your dog? That's right, the popular chain actually has two offerings for your mutt: the first a plain, salt-free burger patty. Another off-menu item, which is also available for humans but was supposedly originally devised for dogs, is the Flying Dutchman, which is two beef patties and two slices of cheese.

* ... BRANDING: The city and county rolled out their new branding and message campaigns this week, ending a two year process meant to reposition our hometown in a more positive light. The city's version, branding as "The Sound of Something Better," features a green logo in the shape of a guitar pic emblazoned with a 'b" that looks like a musical note.

 * ... THEFT: We talk a lot about our "homeless" crisis but our real problem is a drug and crime crisis. As Sacramento has passed a series of decriminalizing laws to keep people our of prison, crime has risen dramatically. Consider this post I spotted on Facebook: "Two tall skinny black guys with baseball caps came running out of the garden dept at the Home Depot on Ming with 3 big boxes. Power tools of some sort. Hopped in this black car and hit a shopping cart that a guy was trying to block them with. Glad he wasn't hurt. Headed east on Ming. I hate thieves. So brazen. "

 * ... MEMORIES: And check this amazing photo out from the Kern County History Fans Facebook page. Just wow.

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: And how about the old Plunge on Union Avenue?

District attorney candidate says pot shops are frequented by gang members, Maya Cinemas to give it Bakersfield facility a facelift and yet another telephone scam

Monday, May 14, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

 * ... MARIJUANA: California has decriminalized marijuana and made it legal to use for both medical and recreational purposes, and recently President Trump indicated he was ready to allow

states to decide for themselves, signaling a radical change in the federal government's view of cannabis. And consider this: nine states and the District of Columbia now allow for recreational marijuana use and 30 allow for medical use. And more states are lining up to join the legalization wave. Sounds like a trend, right? Yet locally, opposition to cannabis remains strong and appears rooted in an antiquated view of the hemp that has been around for thousands of years. Which is why I found a story in the Taft Midway Driller on district attorney candidate Cynthia Zimmer so intriguing. In it, she says this: "I will tell you, the customers in pot shops are gang members. They are not (all) people who are sick, although some may be." The most frequent customers, Zimmer said, "are physically well people between the ages of 18 and 24, male, who come up and buy marijuana." That may make a good sound bite for a DA candidate in a conservative county, but it does not sync with well documented research that shows the heaviest support (and use) of cannabis comes with people ages 50 and older, middle aged professionals who hardly qualify as gang members. And it also detracts from research showing that widespread use of cannabis (even for recreational use) can help combat the opioid crisis by providing addicts with a more benevolent alternative than street drugs. The times are changing, as they say, just slower here in Kern County.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Sometimes, when my husband has a day off, I like to bring the TV remote with me to work."

* ... MAYA CINEMAS: It looks like Maya Cinemas will get a facelift later this summer. That's the word from Larry Poricelli, vice president of marketing for Maya, who told me last week work will begin in August to spruce up the popular theater. The downtown theater is now eight years old and Poricelli said we can expect new seats (likely the new larger leather recliners that will reduce the total number of seats in each theater) as well as other upgrade. Meanwhile, the new Maya Cinemas in Delano opens this Thursday.

 * ... FOODIE: Good news for the local Pettit family that producers the grass-fed, carrot finished Santa Carota beef. The beef has been so popular at our local Eureka Burger that the restaurant chain now offers it at all 20 of its California locations.

 * ... MORE FOOD NEWS: Speaking of restaurants, how difficult is it for restaurants to recover after getting a bad review or running into trouble with the health department? First, restaurant critic Pete Tittl savaged the new Texas Roadhouse out a Valley Plaza in a piece in the Sunday Californian, faulting  both the quality of the steaks and the side dishes. And last week, downtown eatery T.L. Maxwell's was also savaged when an ex worker sued it claiming she was forced to served moldly food in a dirty kitchen full of vermin and roaches. In the age of social media, these stories are circulated, shared, liked and commented on thousands of times, zipping through the internet at the speed of light and tarnishing reputations along the way.

* ... SCAM: Remember when I told you about the 31-year-old high school English teacher who was scammed out of $6,000 by someone on the phone claiming to be from the IRS? Well it has happened again, and this time it turned ugly and personal. Tina Zimmerman, a sales rep for the American General Media radio group in town, received a call Friday from someone claiming to have kidnapped her daughter. "When I answered the phone there was the voice of a young girl screaming that she had been kidnapped," Zimmerman said. Then a man came on the phone, claiming he had kidnapped her daughter and ordering her to go to a bank to withdraw money, all the while demanding that she stay on the phone. Zimmerman smartly put the man on speaker phone and motioned to a nearby friend to call her daughter's boyfriend. It turned out her daughter was okay, but Zimmerman was left badly shaken. "All I could think about was my daughter and if she was safe," she told me. So the next time a stranger calls, let it go to voice mail.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this classic photo from the Kern County of Old Facebook Page. A classic.

A prowler with a scoped rifle cases homes in Seven Oaks, new retail around the Maya Cinemas, some important work being done by Jim Scott and KGET and some old pics of Disneyland

Monday, March 12, 2018


Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

* ... PROWLER: Did you see the story on the local television website about a prowler in Seven

Oaks? A homeowner's security camera caught the prowler, a young black man, holding a scoped rifle, or possibly an assault weapon, walking up to the front door. The security camera scared him off but it's enough to make you think about crime throughout our community. This is Seven Oaks, not downtown, not Oleander, not the east side, and not Niles Street. Let that sink in for a minute. Police later arrested William Kindred, 24, and believe he may be the man with the weapon.

 * ... NEW RETAIL: Two new businesses opened in the new retail area built adjacent to the downtown Maya Cinemas. The first tenants are Yogurtland and China Bistro. There is room for another half dozen or so retail tenants.

* ... LOCAL TV: Some of the best reporting on local television appears every Saturday afternoon hosted by veteran anchor Jim Scott. In a world when media is fragmenting, and the ranks of reporters who play the watchdog role have dwindled to almost nothing, we desperately need the kind of reporting that Scott brings with "Kern County In Depth." It's relevant, local, civil and presents all sides. The problem? KGET buries it in the Saturday afternoon time slot, a ratings disaster for such an important show that should be more widely viewed.

* ... ADAM BOWLES: Congratulations to meteorologist Adam Bowles who has left KERO TV for a new job in New Orleans. The Mississippi State University alumni announced his departure on Facebook, pretty much par for the course for the millennial generation.

 * ... WOOD-DALE: The opening of the second location for Wood-Dale Market in Grand Island Village has been a huge hit. Perhaps this is no surprise but for owner Israel Vasquez, pouring thousands of dollars into a new location - with its pricey rent - is enough to make you sweat. But both Vasquez and his son Chris told me the reception in the Seven Oaks area has been outstanding. One of the big hits: the locally produced Santa Carota, grass-fed and carrot finished beef.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "There’s someone out there for everyone. All you have to do is sort through 6.93 billion people. Good luck."

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this old picture from the 1955 opening of Disneyland and its commissary.

Influential political consultant Mark Abernathy dies, Santa Carota beef to appear in Eureka burger locations and theft during a yoga class?

Monday, January 29, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes (good form, bad form, kids doing well, anniversaries, observations) to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... ABERNATHY: I was sad to learn of the passing of Mark Abernathy, a local Republican

political consultant and strategist who left his mark on Kern County politics. News of his death was posted on Facebook by his daughter Maggie who said only that Abernathy died after a short illness. Abernathy was a sometime polarizing figure in local politics because of the enormous power he held to wage bare knuckled campaigns. Always a determined and fierce competitor, he devoted his life to making sure Kern County stayed true to its conservative roots. His company, Western Pacific Research, helped Karen Goh defeat Kyle Carter in the Bakersfield mayor's race and he also ran Bruce Freeman's successful campaign for the city council. In addition, he ran Supervisor Zack Scrivner's campaign as well as former supervisors Roy Ashburn and Ken Peterson.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I want to find someone who looks at me the way my dog looks at cheeseballs."

 * ... SANTA CAROTA BEEF: Good news for the local ranching family that produces the carrot fed Santa Carota beef: the Eureka! burger restaurant chain will start serving a Santa Carota burger at four locations next month. In addition to the Bakersfield location, the locally produced burger will be available in Hawthorne, San Diego and at the new Eureka! location in Las Vegas. Local ranchers Justin and Corinne Pettit said the beef, high in vitamin B12 and leaner than a normal burger, is also being sold at KC Steakhouse, Temblor Brewing Co., Luigi's and Wood-Dale Market.

 * ... HOT YOGA: This may mark a new low when it comes to criminals. Last Sunday at the downtown yoga studio Inner Body Works, someone snuck into the studio while a class was in session and rifled through the purses and jackets stored in the studio cabbie holes. Cash was taken from the register and some wallets and phones were taken.

 * ... GOOD FORM: When you finally give up on your big bank that treats you like a faceless pest, head over to Mission Bank for some old school, friendly customer service. I did, and it was the best move I have made in a long time.

 * ... BAD FORM: Spotted on Facebook: "Another lesson learned in not keeping your garage door opener in your truck. Bastards got into the truck then into the garage, luckily only grabbed a couple things. If anyone sees a Dewalt drill with extra battery, charger and a case of Craftsman tools come up for sale let me know. Happened in San Lauren neighborhood off Hageman and Knudsen."

 * ... HISTORY: Spotted this historic photo on the Kern County of Old Facebook page, with this entry: "The New China Cafe at 18th and Q, as seen in this 1929 shot, was built of specially fired colored bricks in 1928. It was badly damaged in the 52 quake and was reinforced and rebuilt with Flemish Bond bricks. Today it houses the Jasmine Nyree Care Center."

 * ... MORE HISTORY: These two pictures were also posted on the same Facebook page. Enjoy.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy walks a political tightrope by aligning himself with the president, and follow the money, and connections, in the 3rd District supervisor's race

Wednesday, January 17, 2018


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 such a special place. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes (good form, bad form, kids doing well, anniversaries, observations) to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... KMAC: Here's a question worth pondering: how much damage is Kevin McCarthy doing to himself because of his close relationship with Donald Trump? It's topic No. 1 at lunch across town when when it comes to our favorite locally grown House Majority Leader, and increasingly folks are

going public with what they think. While a recent Washington Post story credited McCarthy for his ability to establish a relationship of trust with the president, here are home some people are thinking he has sold his soul for political expedience. It's a growing chorus of criticism that is growing bolder by the day, and you have to wonder what McCarthy is thinking as he shares the spotlight with a president who has become so divisive. Two vocal critics of McCarthy (albeit both are Democrats so some of this is expected) are criminal lawyer David Torres and plaintiffs attorney Matt Clark, both of whom use social media to take on McCarthy. Consider this recent post by Torres: "Why does our Representative Kevin McCarthy continue to defend the actions of President Trump? Why does 'Trump’s Kevin' believe it is ok to turn his head and ignore the hatred, racism and ugliness that spews out of Trump’s mouth and policies? Is it too difficult for McCarthy to shed the cloak of cowardice and exhibit fortitude, not like a man, but like a caring human being, and tell his constituents, better yet, American’s, that he condemns the President’s ill choice of words and lack of diplomacy against impoverished countries? That he does not believe those countries Trump impugned are inferior to the USA and that McCarthy acknowledges the scores of Americans from Haiti, Jamaica, Africa and Latin American countries who have contributed greatly to our society." (photo of David A. Torres)

 * ... MAGGARD VS HEINLE: Just how ugly will the race for 3rd District county supervisor get in the months ahead? If the last week is any indication, it will be plenty ugly. Supervisor Mike Maggard has come out swinging, accusing his challenger - city firefighter Jeff Heinle - of being backrolled by pro marijuana interests. But here's a hint: follow the money and
pay attention to who is supporting both Maggard and Heinle. There is no direct evidence that Heinle is backed by pro marijuana interests, and even if he were, it's totally legal as cannabis enters the mainstream of California politics. And here's something interesting: political strategist Kim Schaefer is now running Maggard's campaign. But it doesn't stop there. Schaefer is also working for a group called Kern Citizens for Patient's Rights that has a medical marijuana initiative on the city ballot. While it wouldn't affect the unincorporated county, the irony here is rich that Maggard's campaign is being run by an operative who is helping run a pro medicinal marijuana initiative that Maggard voted against when it came before the Board of Supervisors. What is it they say about politics making strange bedfellows? Anyway, would that qualify as a conflict for Maggard? Schaefer, by the way, formerly worked for Congressman Jim Costa and briefly was chief of staff for Supervisor Leticia Perez, who Maggard has accused by plotting against him along with her political consultant husband, Fernando Jara. As I said, pay attention to these connections and their own interests. Isn't politics grand? (photo courtesy of The Bakersfield Californian; Kim Schaefer photo from Facebook)

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "When people with multiple personality disorders are about to die, whose life flashes before their eyes?"

* ... SANTA CAROTA BEEF: Good news for the local ranching family that produces the grass and carrot fed Santa Carota beef: Eureka Burger will be featuring the beef this month. The burger, produced right here in Kern County, will be available at the Eureka Burger locations in Bakersfield, Hawthorne, San Diego and Las Vegas.

 * ... AMC THEATER: Have you been to the remodeled AMC Theater off California Avenue near Coconut Joe's? The theater features six small viewing rooms, each with about 20 seats with fully reclining, comfortable chairs. What's best: you can buy your tickets online and reserve your seating. The chain also has full beer and wine service and an extensive menu. The bad: a lot of ambient noise from the lobby and I had to use Fandango because the AMC website was not working. Still, worth your try.

 * ... EAST HIGH: East High School will be inducting 10 more people into its alumni hall of fame. The Feb. 10 banquet, held at the Marriott Hotel, will honor Ruben Elias, Rudy Gonzalez, Milt Henderson, Michael Mangrum, Julio Mercado, Dr. Jim Nuanaz, Ron Ray, Dr. Caleb Thompson, Mary Gordon and Judy Marsha Baer Yeager.

Instead of rushing to "do something" about gun control, let's focus on something that works. The lessons from Las Vegas, more bobcats sighted in town and my verdict on the Santa Carota hamburger

 * ... GUN CONTROL: One of the difficulties in the debate over gun control is the definition of exactly what turns a semi-automatic weapon into an "assault rifle." Regulating (or outlawing) weapons by design or how lethal they "look" is foolhardy when the internal mechanisms are basically the same as a hunting rifle, which is why I found this piece in the Washington Post by Leah Libresco so interesting. Libresco works for FiveThirtyEight, a website  that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging. Said Libresco: "When I looked at the other oft-praised policies, I found out that no gun owner walks into the store to buy an 'assault weapon.' It’s an invented classification that includes any semi-automatic that has two or more features, such as a

bayonet mount, a rocket-propelled grenade-launcher mount, a folding stock or a pistol grip. But guns are modular, and any hobbyist can easily add these features at home, just as if they were snapping together Legos. As for silencers — they deserve that name only in movies, where they reduce gunfire to a soft 'puick puick.' In real life, silencers limit hearing damage for shooters but don’t make gunfire dangerously quiet. An AR-15 with a silencer is about as loud as a jackhammer. Magazine limits were a little more promising, but a practiced shooter could still change magazines so fast as to make the limit meaningless." If the Las Vegas shooting demands a national conversation on gun laws, and I for one think it is appropriate, then we need to spend less time focusing on "doing something" and more on doing something that works.

* ... BOBCATS: Remember those two bobcats that were seen off the bike path below the Panorama Bluffs? Doug White spotted two more, adult bobcats on the bike trail two to three miles east of Enos Lane in August. "The female had already crossed while the male just stood motionless at the path's shoulder while I rode by.  I wasn't about to stop to take a picture. Since they are so rare here, I wonder if they are the same pair."

 * ... CAROTA BURGER: I checked off the Santa Carota burger off my bucket list when I accompanied a group of friends to Temblor Brewing Co. to try the famous grass and carrot-fed beef. My verdict: a delicious half-pound burger but at almost $14 with a side of fries, perhaps a little too rich for my wallet. Still, it's worth a try.

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "I'm having people over later to stare at their phones if you want to stop by."

 * ... GOOD FORM: Frances Quiroz gave a shoutout to local Dr. William Baker. "My 17-year-old son broke his fibula playing football. I couldn't get him into an orthopedic, because no one would see him. I was referred to Dr. Baker by the athletic director at my son's school. Within 30 minutes we were sitting in his waiting room... and he managed to get my son seen by an ortho within hours. After the day I had, dealing with the stress of my son having a broken leg, not knowing if he needed surgery to repair it and none of the ortho doctors the urgent care referred us to would see/access him.... the care Dr. Baker and his staff treated us with was so overwhelming that it literally brought me to tears. I would recommend Dr. Baker to anyone and everyone. I feel blessed to have him as my son's doctor. His kindness, care and generosity is not easily found."

 * ... MORE GOOD FORM: Hats off to Tony Martinez who is now volunteering his time with a non-profit that helps needy families renovate their homes and neighborhoods. Martinez, a retired Bakersfield police officer who ran for mayor this last go around, is working for Rebuilding Together/Kern County, a group formerly known as Christmas in April. The organization is helping homeowners in the "Carnation tract" of homes near McKinley Elementary School make basic repairs on their homes.

Five California universities make the top ten of the nation's best public colleges, get ready for Santa Carota beef to hit the market and battling an infestation of weevils

 * ... TOP UNIVERSITIES: U.S. News has unveiled its annual list of the top public colleges and universities and once again the state of California occupies five of the top ten spots. In no particular

order the top ten are the College of William and Mary, Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, the University of Florida, the University of Michigan, the University of North Carolina and the University of Virginia.

 * ... SANTA CAROTA: If you haven't heard of Santa Carota steaks yet, you will soon. The brainchild of Kern County ranchers Justin and Corrine Pettit, this new beef is totally gluten free and a perfect addition to the farm to table movement that values free range beef raised without grains. How do they do it? The cattle are grass raised and carrot finished, meaning they eat up to 200 pounds of carrots a day. The steaks are leaner, lighter and tastier. They are available now at the Luigi's deli and soon Santa Carota ground beef and steaks will be on sale at the Wood Dale butcher shop.

 * ... WINE: When did Trader Joe's famous "two buck Chuck" become "three buck Chuck?"

 * ... WEEVILS: I opened a cupboard this weekend to find a nasty infestation of weevils, those pesky insects that exploit any opportunity to crawl into an open bag of flour or grain. That, along with an equally irksome infestation of gnats at Bakersfield Racquet Club, left me thinking about the effect of our wet winter and its connection to an insect explosion across town.

* ... PICKLEBALL: Congratulations to Nick Jacobs who staged a successful inaugural Renegade Cup Pickleball tournament up at Bakersfield College this weekend. Jacobs, head tennis coach at BC, said he had more than 100 players from Fresno, Visalia, Lancaster, Hanford and Phoenix attend the tournament.

 * ... SOUTH HIGH: South High School is holding a gala at the Doubletree Hotel later this month to honor a new group of inductees into its alumni hall of fame. Hats off to all the folks who are being honored, including Californian columnist Herb Benham. basketball player Winston Crite, educators Jeanne Johnson Harry and Richard Giese, Mike Davis, former educators Bill Miller and Mike Stricker, and former coach John Wren,.

* ... MEMORIES: Bud King wrote with some memories of the old Lebec Hotel. "King Trucking of Bakersfield did the demolition of the Lebec Hotel.  They were getting so many flats on the trucks that they got with the Fire Department across Highway 99 and Interstate 5 to use their parking lot to make repairs. That is where I learned a lesson about split rim truck rims, always put the split side down. One of the tire repairman didn't, it blew off during inflation and took the top of his head off. "