The county moves forward with its homeless shelter despite concerns from the High Speed Rail Authority, Tiler Peck shows up in the Ray Donovan series and ABC23's Tim Calahan calls it quits

* ... THREE CHEERS: You just have to love the county's response to the California High-Speed Rail Authority who signaled it has a problem with the county's location for a new low barrier homeless shelter. The Authority warned it may need the land over off Golden State Highway where the shelter is being built. The county's response: we are going forward. Said county communications director Megan Person: “The talk about the high speed rail has been going on for 20 years. So the

county is just saying we are not going to be holding our breath anymore. We have a crisis that we need to address. We understand we’re in the pathway. We’re moving forward... ” This is exactly the kind of response we need, and I for one applaud it. The idea that this state boondoggle called high speed rail could de-rail (pardon the pun) an important project is absurd.

 * ... WAS THAT TILER PECK?: It's not every day when you are watching one of your favorite cable shows and you spot a Bakersfield girl in the cast. But there she was, our own Tiler Peck, a member of the New York City Ballet, appearing on a Showtime episode of Ray Donovan. Peck appeared in the season debut of Ray Donovan's new season called “Faith. Hope. Love. Luck" as the friend (girlfriend?) in a character pursued and beaten by Ray Donovan. Peck is not only a star with the ballet, but she regularly dabbles in TV and movies.

 * ... TIM CALAHAN: Adios to Tim Calahan, ABC23's evening anchor who brought wit, dignity and insight into our homes nightly. Calahan won't say what his next move is, but he appears to be staying in town and looking for a new chapter that does not involve the demanding hours of being a TV anchor. Calahan previously worked for KGET and the Mission of Kern County before joining KERO TV.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: From Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak: "In order to save our planet, I’m asking everyone in America who’s 73-years-old or older to join me in pledging not to have any more children. #SignThePledge."

 * ... BAD FORM: I spotted this post on Facebook regarding some alleged thieves at The Marketplace. It read: "So today at Vons at the Marketplace, I saw management kicking three known shoplifters out. I decided to take a few pictures of their plate as they left. The fat one in the pictures below rolled down the rear window and struck me in the face and chest with an unopened bottle of Gatorade as they fled. Unfortunately, BPD doesn't have the ability to run the numbers on the temp plates the DMV uses now like they can a regular plate. They did take a report for assault with a deadly weapon. If you know where these pieces of trash live, please let me know.
Vons management stated these three have stolen around $12k in liquor from them this year and are known to hit multiple stores in a day."

 * ... FIRE MUSEUM: Have you heard about the proposed new fire museum downtown? It will be located directly behind the Fox Theater and across from the downtown fire station on G Street. Check out the artist rendering.

 * ... BRATCHER: A new home design business has opened on 18th Street next to Sequoia Sandwich Co. downtown. Bratcher design studio was founded by creative director Brooke Bratcher, who has worked in residential interior design for more than eight years. The store is open from 10 am. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, the studio offers "grab and go" items and exclusive furniture lines, as well as a space for planning customized interiors.

* .. MEMORIES: Yet another trip down memory lane looking at 19th Street back in the day.

Bako Bits: graduation season, celebrating high achievers and fretting about the lost generation

Coming off another splendid weekend in Bakersfield, which lived up to its nickname "Bako" on Sunday when my car told me it was 106 degrees outside. Hot as it was, the skies were blue and everyone was out: working in their yards, washing cars, on the bike trail early, enjoying the coming of our "warm season." I spent the weekend at a skeet tournament in west Kern where I came across a number of youngsters, most of them high school seniors eager to call it a day and move on to college. I admire these kids who manage to stay focused to the end, particularly one who sat on a sofa studying for her final Advanced Placement exam and another who was celebrating a scholarship to a small college in Missouri. But let's be honest: Kern County has a dismal high school dropout rate (above 20 percent) and only 7 percent of our seniors have what it takes to get into a "UC" like UCLA, Berkeley, UC Davis etc. So it's worth celebrating those that do:



* ... BEST AND BRIGHTEST: The magazine BakersfieldLife is once again devoting its cover story (check it out above) to some of our high achieving kids. I'm always impressed with these kids and their stories. This year we've got one going to MIT in Cambridge, a bunch headed to UCLA and one bound for Georgetown. (Hint to the uninformed: you have to have better than a mere 4.0 GPA to get into UCLA and Georgetown) I challenge anyone to read this and not be impressed. Local writer Dana Martin wrote the story and did a terrific job capturing the spirit of these kids. Look for BakersfieldLife in the Saturday home delivered edition of The Californian on May 30.
* ... MICHELLE OBAMA: Hats off to First Lady Michelle Obama who gave the first commencement address at the new UC Merced campus. Reports said her 22-minute speech was truly uplifting, a nice valentine to this new California campus.
* .... AND WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS?: I made the mistake of dropping by the Marketplace shopping center early Friday evening. I was greeted by literally hundreds of young teens and they didn't exactly inspire me or give me confidence for the future. Many of these kids looked liked a classic "lost generation" of underachievers who might one day be part of those kids who never make it through high school. Judgmental yes, but take a look for yourself.

Bako Bits: From CASA's "Light of Hope" event to warnings to keep your doors locked at night

Heading into what should be a splendid weekend, I'll leave you with a few nuggets from our town to chew on:
* CASA EVENT: April is national Child Abuse Prevention month so it's time for CASA of Kern County (Court Appointed Special Advocates)to hold its "Light of Hope" event, set for next Thursday (April 23) at the Marketplace grand fountain. CASA is a wonderful local organization headed by Coleen McGauley that does so much to help kids in need. The Light of Hope begins at 6:30 p.m. with the lighting of candles placed around the fountain recognizing child advocates. The names, which are placed on the candles, are purchased for $5 each. Call Nicole Stanford at 661-631-2272 for more information.
* LOCK YOUR DOORS: Not sure I would call it a "crime wave" yet but there sure have been a lot of reports of home burglaries across our city, regardless of neighborhood. Heard the other day about a homeowner being tied up and assaulted by two men who entered his house off White Lane near Seven Oaks at 3 p.m. They were arrested when the stolen car they were driving was found at the Motel 6 off Easton Drive. A couple weeks earlier a homeowner in my neighborhood was awakened in his own bed by someone shining a flashlight in his face. Turns out the "intruders" thought no one was home because there were two newspapers on the driveway. Guess these guys weren't smart enough to realize that some folks actually take two different newspapers every day. The homeowner and his wife chased the intruders out of the house before anything could be taken. Cops will tell you our city is teeming with opportunist criminals who spend the darkest hours checking cars and homes for unlocked doors. Keep your alarm on.
* GUN RUSH: The Wall Street Journal took notice of the surge in gun sales by Americans fearing that President Obama and the Democratic Congress will impose new restrictions. The Journal said four million background checks were performed in the first three months of this year, a 27 percent increase over last year. Walk into any gun store in Kern County (see previous post on this subject here.) and you will understand why. Weapons are flying off the shelves and you can hardly find ammunition for handguns
* WIDE BODY: The most overlooked story of the week was in the Los Angeles Times, which reported that United Airlines - after receiving more than 700 complaints - will now start forcing overweight people to buy two seats. The airline has been inundated from complaints about the discomfort of being seated next to the truly obese. This is particularly true in the small 50-passenger jets that serve Bakersfield with flights to Meadows Field.