We will be skiing at Mammoth into August thanks to the snowpack, CNN will focus on Tom and Christy Morgan and Dignity Health wins Corporation of the Year at the annual Beautiful Bakersfield awards

Monday, June 3, 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.

 * ... SNOWPACK:  How much rain did we get this summer? Enough to make the snowpack in the

high Sierras 202 percent of average, or 33 percent bigger than last year. That's right, that means there is enough snow to keep the ski lifts at Mammoth open until August. It's all great news for the spring and summer runoff that will feed rivers and reservoirs, water crops and fill bathtubs.

 * ... WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE: The Kern River is bank to bank with water through town, giving all of us a sneak peak into how our city would look with year-round water. Kayaks and canoes were out in force this weekend, but they had to contend with the visual pollution of literally dozens of homeless emcampments along the river, a kind of homeless "House Hunters" episode where everyone gets a waterfront camping spot.

 * ... DIGNITY HEALTH: It's been a great week for Dignity Health. First, it won the coveted Corporation of the Year award at the Beautiful Bakersfield Awards, and later it was announced that Derek and David Car had signed on to continue their sponsorship and endorsement of Dignity Health Central California. Not a bad week I would say.

 * ... MONEYWISE GUYS: And speaking of the Beautiful Bakersfield Awards, it was great to see the Moneywise Wealth group (known as the Moneywise Guys on KERN NewsTalk radio) recognized as the Small Business of the Year. Outstanding people and outstanding service.

 * ... REDEMPTION PROJECT: If you watched CNN's Redemption Project Sunday night chances are you spotted a few familiar faces. The project focuses on victims of crime facing their accusers, and among those featured was former Kern County deputy (and later county counsel) Tom Morgan, who was shot and left for dead by a gang member more than 20 years ago. In the series, Morgan comes face to face with the shooter and talks about forgiveness, hope and salvation.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Welcome to middle age. Prepare to pay for all the damage  you did to your body over the past 40 years."

 * ... MORE SPOTTED: "Got one of those laser pointer things for my cat, and now I'm having to sit through all these presentations."

 * ... CLIFFORD AND BROWN: There has been a mass exodus at the law firm of Clifford and Brown, where eight attorneys have left to form their own firm. Leaving to form the new comprehensive law firm called Zimmer and Melton were Charles Melton, Richard Zimmer, T. Mark Smith, Nicholas Street, Victoria Trichell, Jeffrey Travis, Dennis Gallagher and William Zimmer. The head of the firm, Steve Clifford, died last year and his son, Dan Clifford, recently left the firm to become house counsel for Bolthouse Properties.

 * ... FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Think about this for a minute.

 * ... MEMORIES: Courtesy of the Facebook page Kern County History Fans,. check out this picture of the old Vincent's across from the post office.

Steve Holloway steps up to help a veterans project downtown, the failure of the In-n-Out Burger boycott and a memorial service is scheduled for Steve Clifford

Monday, September 3, 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.

 * ... GOOD FORM: For the past month or so a group of volunteers has been working on the "Portrait of a Warrior" gallery on Eye Street between 18th and 19th streets. Conceived as tribute to

our local veterans, the gallery has come together at the hands of volunteers, many of them veterans, who have put in the sweat equity to get it done. This weekend, because of a snafu, the painting contractor did not show up so Steve Holloway stepped up and sent in his own crew from his painting company - at his own expense - and finished the job. Hats off also to the 9/11 Veteran Committee that has been involved (Zachary Reese, Julio Torres, Ike Johnson and Chad Garcia Mioni), the CSUB Veterans Club , the Wounded Heroes Fund and others like Anthony Noble and Jennifer Lopez. Some of the local businesses that pitched in included Jost Flooring, Rebuilding Kern Together, Lowe's and Home Depot.

 * ... OVERHEARD: A man is relating a story about the opening day of dove season: "Two friends drove up from Long Beach on Friday. It took them seven hours to get from Long Beach to Bakersfield. Seven hours."

* ... BURGER BOYCOTT: Whoever dreamed up the idea of boycotting In-n-Out Burger because of its contributions to the California Republican Party must be regretting it now. The boycott was a colossal failure and in fact triggered a run on the popular burger chain by people wanting to express their support. A new menu item even emerged, ordering your burger "Republican style."

 * ... CLIFFORD: A memorial service for the late Steve Clifford is set for this Friday at St. John's Lutheran Church on Buena Vista Road. Clifford, one of Bakersfield's preeminent lawyers, died last week at the age of 77 after battling cancer. In lieu of flowers, the family recommends you can make a donation to Trinity Anglican Church, the MARE Riding Center or the Memorial Hospital Foundation. The service will start at 11 a.m.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this old photo of Mercy Hospital back in the day, courtesy of the Kern County of Old Facebook page.

Bakersfield loses Steve Clifford after a battle with cancer, some really bad form with the homeless about town, Kevin and Judi McCarthy mark a wedding anniversary and locking your trash bins to keep the homeless out

Friday, August 31, 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.

 * ... RIP STEVE CLIFFORD: I was saddened to learn of the death of Stephen T. Clifford, one of our community's best lawyers and a man who devoted his life to his hometown. Clifford, 77, died

after a long battle with cancer. A third generation Bakersfield native, Clifford was born in 1940 and graduated from Bakersfield High School, later going on to UC Davis and the Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. He was a specialist in labor and employment law, business litigation and hospital negligence cases. He was a member of the Bakersfield Rotary Club and served on the board of directors of Mercy Hospital and Memorial Hospital.

 * ... HOMELESS ASSISTANCE: For the first time in a while, there is a glimmer of hope in the fight against homelessness. It came in the form of a new state program called HEAP that stands for Homeless Emergency Aid Program, and it provides $700 million in block grants to help California counties combat homelessness. According to Supervisor Leticia Perez, the grants will be awarded to counties that show a cooperative approach to combat the problem. Perez said the money would be used to provide housing for the mentally ill and then services to deal with their illness. It is not a comprehensive solution by any means, but it is a start.

 * ...  HOMELESS FATIGUE: Here are just a few homeless sightings (along with graphic pictures) from around town this week: a young homeless woman is captured on camera at 2 p.m. downtown masturbating in public after defecating behind the 18th Street parking garage, and a second homeless woman is spotted with her pants down washing her rear end and private parts in a public drinking fountain at Jastro Park. Finally, yet another homeless woman is caught on camera defecating in the front yard of a single-family residence. And you wonder why the public is suffering from homeless fatigue.

 * ... KEVIN AND JUDY: Congratulations to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and wife Judy for celebrating their 26th wedding anniversary. McCarthy was in town to celebrate but left to attend the funeral service for the late Sen. John McCain. As a ranking member of the House aligned with the Trump administration, McCarthy comes under regular criticism, but the spirituality and kindness of Judy is beyond reproach.

* ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: Jeff Pickering, former head of the Kern Community Foundation who left for Florida a few years ago, posted this on his Facebook page: "Good to find a little Bako in Vero Beach. Thanks John Zaninovich! VBZ Grapes.'

 * ... MORE FACEBOOK: "Don’t you wish karma was like pizza and could be delivered in under 30 minutes?"

 * ... MONEYWISE GUYS: Moneywise, a financial advisor partnership located off Stockdale Highway across from CSU Bakersfield, is thinking about moving to a new location, possibly downtown. Two of the partners - David Anderson and Sherod Waite- told me they would like to relocate to larger quarters downtown to show their commitment to the community. The company has committed itself to a deep level of community involvement. Its daily radio program called "The Moneywise Guys" runs daily from noon to 1 p.m. to KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM.

* ... DUMPSTER DIVING: A neighbor showed me how to lock the trash and blue recycle bins to keep the homeless out of it. A bit of a hassle but seems to work.

 * ... MEMORIES: Spotted this example of the wonderful architecture of old Bakersfield on the Kern County of old Facebook page. Enjoy.