The daily struggle of some businesses against crime and vagrancy, Pyrenees Cafe promotes its breakfast fare and catch up with the Greens and a place called Yoga Culture

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.

 * ... THE WOES OF WARD 2: If you think it's tough running a business these days, try doing it downtown where homelessness, vagrancy, crime, graffiti and trash are among the costs of doing business. Is it better since the city has thrown millions into building homeless centers and and hiring contractors to pick up

trash and patrol the streets? Yes, but the sad truth is it is still a mess and no amount of lipstick can make it look better. Just ask the owners of Blue Oak Coffee Roasting downtown who have been broken into twice this week - back to back days. Or ask the residents downtown who call 911 when vagrants are pounding on doors at 3 a.m. only to be told no officer is available. Or try keeping up with the number of vacant buildings that have burned to the ground because of vagrants? The twin issues of crime and homelessness seem to be beyond our control, and yet Ward 2 City Councilman Andrae Gonzales continues to push the idea of pumping millions into the old Southern Pacific Depot on Baker Street, which unfortunately is near the Ground Zero of lost causes in Bakersfield. So is Andrae a visionary or just loose with someone else's money? Time will tell, and if a private investor wants to plow the money into the Depot, have at it. But let's stabilize life in Ward 2 before we dump tax dollars into a potential bad investment. Just take a look at the old Noriega's storefront to see how time can be cruel for businesses near Baker Street.

 * ... BREAKFAST IN BAKO: So where is the best breakfast in Bakersfield? The 24th Street Cafe? Arizona Cafe? Both terrific iconic businesses, but what about the Pyrenees Cafe, a place more well known for its stiff drinks, live music and classic Basque lunch and dinner entrees? Pyrenees owners Rod and Julie Crawford are rightfully proud of their breakfast menu and have taken to advertising it on billboards around town.

 * ... STRAY DOGS: This Facebook post from the Bakersfield SPCA says it all about this adorable pup seen here: "When will it ever end?? A Good Samaritan just brought in this little abandoned puppy they found out all alone. This is happening way too much all around town. The little girl is only about 4 weeks old. We have her now safely tucked away in her bed in the nursery where she will be taken care of for about another month before she is old enough to be put up for adoption. I know the City and County shelters see this daily as well. STOP the breeding, Spay/Neuter your pets!"

 * ... YOGA CULTURE: Some people are just born entrepreneurs, blessed with a vision of their community and surroundings that sees only possibilities. Two such creatures are Ryan and Natalie Green, publishers of a downtown magazine called Stroll, an affirmational look our town and the world that focuses on what is right in the world, not wrong. And now the Greens have announced they are working on their own yoga study on 18th Street called Yoga Culture. Stay tuned for the opening and what the Greens have in store next.

 * ... MEMORIES: And while we are speaking of the old depot, I turned to the Facebook group Kern County History Fans to find a marvelous old photo or two of the depot back in its heyday.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy distances himself from a Republican congresswoman who spoke at a white nationalist meeting, Bakersfield cops warn cyclists about wild dogs on the Kern River Parkway and are you willing to dig into your own pocket to save the Baker Street rail depot?

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.

 * ... KEVIN MCCARTHY: Rep. Kevin McCarthy, seemingly on track to become the next Speaker of the House following the mid term elections, has found himself in a pickle while trying to defend the actions of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene spoke at the white nationalist America First

Political Action Committee this week, forcing McCarthy to distance himself from Greene while saying there was "no place in our party" for white nationalist sentiments. (Greene later disrupted the State of the Union address by trying to interrupt the president's speech with loud outbursts) But Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would not let McCarthy off the hook, saying McCarthy "has been protecting his little KKK Caucus for years with these toothless statements and meetings.... He's now helped them for so long they've escalated their open antisemitism and collaboration with white nationalist groups. He is just as culpable." There appears little doubt that the Republicans will sweep the mid terms and elevate McCarthy to speaker. The wild card is the right wing fringe of his party, embodied by people like Taylor Greene, who don't trust McCarthy and who have proved impossible to control.

 * ... INFLATION: Get ready to pay more for just about everything as the crisis in the Ukraine aggravates an inflationary spiral that is raising the cost of everything from doughnuts to hotel rooms. A survey in The New York Times revealed that companies are taking advantage of hot consumer demand by raising prices on just about everything, particularly in restaurants and other retail establishments. Outback Steakhouse is planning to raise prices about 5 percent to cover rising costs and Shake Shack is also planning to raise its prices to offset inflationary pressures.

 * ... SIGN OF THE TIMES: It must be infuriating to work in the energy sector and witness how the U.S. is now importing 600,000 gallons of Russian oil daily just to meet our energy needs. This, of course, stands in sharp contrast to the energy independence that the U.S. . enjoyed under former President Trump. That led to this provocative billboard in Times Square.

 * ... RAIL DEPOT: So what do you think about the effort under way to use tax dollars to save the old Southern Pacific Railroad Depot on Baker Street? Sounds like a good idea, right? Historic preservation, honoring the past, resisting the California urge to demolish historic structures... all good so far. But is this a reasonable project worthy of our time, or is this just the latest shiny object that has caught the attention of Ward 2 Councilman Andrae Gonzales and others who are blinded by the possibility of what the depot could be? On the one side you have preservationists who believe this is a worthy, if expensive, project. And then you have critics who argue that Ward 2 is a mess already, awash in homelessness, downtown businesses are under almost daily assault by vandals and crime, and they point to the Kern River Parkway (much of it in Ward 2) that has become one long winding homeless encampment. If the city can't control the homeless in our parks, the argument goes, what makes us think we can save a depot that - like it or not - is located in a distressed area already challenged by crime and homelessness? One thing is sure: people who use the bike path and see the mess on the parkway are fed up, and are asking why more is not being done to clear the parkway so runners and cyclists can use it without fear of assault. And they ask themselves: why are we focusing on other risky expensive projects when we have failed so miserably to keep the parkway safe? And lastly there is this: depot supporters want you to pony up your own money, via a GoFundMe account, to save the project. Good luck with that.

 * ... DID YOU KNOW? And speaking of the bike path and Kern River Parkway, did you know the problem with crime and stray dogs has become so serious that Bakersfield police officers are now stopping cyclists to actually warn them about the chances of being bitten by a dog? It happened twice in the last month by grateful cyclists who rarely ride the path now without pepper spray and other weapons (yes, some cyclists carry firearms) to protect themselves from both dogs and the tweakers who roam the paths.

 * ... MEMORIES: Enjoy this old advertising piece from Snyder's bicycle shop from back in 1914.