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."