St. Vincent de Paul holds its annual barbecue fund raiser, a vegetarian and vegan restaurant downtown gets some kudos and local businessmen turn to security shutters to combat crime

Friday, October 5, 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 to live. Send your news tips to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... HOMELESS BBQ: One of the older organizations in town dedicated to helping the homeless is the St. Vincent de Paul homeless center off Baker Street, which held its annual barbecue fund raiser this week. Organizer Deborah Leary said more than a thousand New York steaks were served

Thursday evening, along with Casa Munoz beans, a salad and dessert. This facility feeds hundreds of homeless every day as well as provides them showers and a place to pick up mail. St. Vincent closes daily in the afternoon - it is not an overnight facility - and serves an important role in giving a helping hand to our growing homeless population. Among those I spotted were Monsignor Craig Harrison, Teri and Barry Goldner, Fran and Gregg Gunner,  Judge Robert Anspach and his wife Rosemary, their daughter and son-in-law Dr. Tom and Mary Berry, Eleanor Etcheverry, Gordon and Lynn Westhoff, Jim Sakowski and so many more.

 * ... CRIME: How bad is crime locally? Well, it is so bad that the King Door Company is doing a brisk business in security shutters for local businesses. Company owner Roman Ruiz said local businesses are being regularly broken into, and they are taking steps to combat this dangerous new wave of crime. King Door now offers a wide range of metal security shutters and steel reinforced doors. Some of their clients include a new California Highway Patrol facility, school cafeterias, Infiniti of Bakersfield, United Rentals and the Kern Oil Refinery. A sign of the times.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "To anyone that ever gave up on me all I have to say is ... good call."

 * ... MAMMA MIA: I finally stopped by Mamma Mia's, the new Italian restaurant downtown run by a chef who worked at Luigi's for more than 20 years. As expected, the menu features some Luigi's look alikes, as well as some new offerings. The night we were there it was jammed and service was spotty, but the food was excellent. My beef: my salad, the size of a normal dinner salad, cost a pricey $12.99. Yikes.

 * ... HEN'S ROOST: Meanwhile if you are looking for something more healthy, either vegetarian or vegan, try the Hen's Roost behind the downtown Post Office on G Street. Run by Jaclyn Allen and a small but dedicated staff, this new twist on a health food restaurant features some of the best non-meat burgers in town, including the "Impossible Burger" featured here.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out these photos of 19th Streets back in the day, and today. Something went wrong methinks.

Can it be possible that the best of humanity was on display in the carnage of Las Vegas? Meanwhile back home, St. Vincent de Paul holds its fund raiser to help the needy

 * ... HOPE: Is it possible that something good can emerge from the tragedy of Las Vegas?

What I witnessed was incredible courage and bravery among so many at the concert, people putting their own lives in danger to rescue others, regardless of race or age or skin color, people called upon to do the right thing when the stakes were highest. It was the human condition at its best, putting to shame the partisan tactics of our ruling political class, the hurtful polemics of our Hollywood elite and the narcissistic behavior of our sports icons. The best of us was on display a night when it rained gunfire on the innocent.

 * ... LOCAL VICTIMS: The list of those killed with links to Kern County is now five: Jack Beaton died shielding his wife from gunfire, Bailey Schweitzer was just 20 years old and starting off in the workplace, 52-year-old Victor Link was originally from Shafter, Kelsey Meadows was a 27-year-old Taft resident and Melissa Ramirez was a recent graduate of CSUB.

* ... GARCES BBQ: Leave it to the folks at Garces Memorial High School to put on a steak barbecue for the ages. The annual Holy Smoke Barbecue was held last week on a perfect evening for steaks, twice baked potatoes and libations. Among those I spotted were Brian and Melissa Dignan, Joe Zeiman, Bruce Haupt, Tommy and Jenny Haupt, Scott Spielman, Gina Pearl, Dan and Katy Raytis, county CAO Ryan Alsop, David Jensen, Jeff and Shauna Rockwell and Victor Martin and Mariah Schultz. Thanks to my friends at Mission Bank, Samy Abiaoui, Lisa Boydstun and Bob Meadows among others, for asking me to attend.

 * ... MORE STEAKS: Yet another of my favorite fund raisers is coming up this Thursday when St. Vincent de Paul Homeless Center holds its annual barbecue to support its work feeding the homeless. The center now provides two hot meals a day to upwards of 400 homeless men, women and children in our community. They receive no federal funds, so they rely on the success of their annual fall barbecue which will be held this Thursday, October 5. Doors open at 5 p.m. and they start serving Harris Ranch New York  steaks and all the trimmings, grilled by Gary and Adam Icardo, at 5:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door - 318 Baker Street, or at the thrift store next door in advance. Tickets are $30. It may be the best $30 bucks you spend all year.

* ... SANTA CAROTA BEEF: And speaking of steaks add this to my bucket list: I see that Temblor Brewing Co. is now offering a specialty hamburger featuring Santa Carota beef, a locally produced grass and carrot fed steak that is unrivaled in taste. Sign me up for that.

 * ... SPOTTED: Two adult bobcats are seen off the bike path at the base of the Panorama bluffs.

 * ... DOWNTOWN: The Soul to Soul concert featuring the husband-wife team of Faith Hill and Tim McGraw was a huge success, not only on the stage before a packed house of adoring fans but in the downtown area where the restaurants were jammed wall to wall. There was a 90-minute wait for a table at Mama Roomba, Urhicchio's Trattoria was packed and we finally snagged a seat at the bar at Jin Sushi before the crowd melted away around 7:30 p.m.

 * ...KUZZ: Congratulations to Melissa Joy Dignan, the former local TV weather anchor who is returning to media to work as an on-air personality for KUZZ radio on the weekends. Dignan worked for KERO TV from 2008 until 2011 when her contract was not renewed. During her time off she spent time raising her three children. She is married to Brian Dignan, head basketball coach at Garces Memorial High School.

Former House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Thomas to appear on First Look to talk what is going on in Washington, and Bakersfield rallies around the St. Vincent de Paul homeless center

* ... THOMAS: The ongoing stalemate in Washington that has shut down the government has left the country dismayed and plunged the popularity of Congress to an all-time low. What got us to the point, and why has Congress seemingly lost the ability to cooperate to get things done? Those are some of the questions I will be addressing with former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas when he appears as my guest on First Look with Scott Cox. The show will air at 9 a.m. Tuesday on KERN NewsTalk 1180 and will be broadcast live on bakersfield.com.

 * ... HOMELESS: Bakersfield loves to rally around a good cause, and last week it was the St. Vincent de Paul homeless center that benefitted from our community's generosity. More than 800 people showed up last Thursday to dine on Gary Icardo-cooked steaks to raise money for the Baker Street center, a turnout that came as a pleasant surprise to event chairwoman Deborah Leary. "It was a perfect night and we were all thrilled," she said. The center serves breakfast and lunch for the homeless, as well as providing showers and other essentials.

 * ... BIRTHDAY: Hank Pfister, longtime tennis pro at Stockdale Country Club, celebrated his 60 birthday this weekend in typical Pfister style. He convinced a group of 32 cyclists to ride into the Sequoias for a grueling, 106-mile ride. In exchange for his family providing food at rest stops, each rider wrote checks to support Links for Life.

* ... GIRLS' FUND: If you run a nonprofit and your focus is on educating local women and girls, The Women's and Girls' Fund is planning a new round of funding in 2014 for the right programs. The fund is a leadership initiative of the Kern Community Foundation and expects to award at least $25,000 to local nonprofit charitable organizations in 2014. The focus should be on literacy, educational attainment, dropout prevention, high school graduation, college prep or job skills training. The deadline for applications is Nov. 6. For more information go to www.kernfoundation.org.

 * ... CSUB: Make sure to mark your calendar for this Thursday, October 17, when Cal State Bakersfield will put on a tri tip fund raiser for the men's soccer team. The event will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Lengthwise Brewing Company on Schirra Court. Former House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Thomas will help run a live auction to support the college soccer program.

* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Reader Marsha Wiswall says you may be a Bakersfield old timer if you remember the drug stores run by Jules Reufener, who she described as "a most kind and unselfish man." She said Ruefener owned the drug store on the southeast corner of Baker and Sumner streets and also the one inside the Green Frog on Alta Vista. (He later had stores in Arvin, Lamont and Fresno.) "Each Halloween Jules was as happy as the revelers as he handed out Fleer double wrapped bubble gum. Inside were coveted cartoon strips. We would have contests who could blow the biggest bubbles."