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.

Monday's Bakersfield Observed: Could you forgive someone who tried to kill you? Tom Morgan talks about this this week, more on the death of former KGET anchor Chris Burrous and Goose Loonies readies to open a second location

Monday, February 25, 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 such a special to live. Send your tips to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS: Twenty-two years ago Tom Morgan was a young Kern County Sheriff's deputy when he responded to a call off Planz Road. Within minutes, he was ambushed by a young gang member and shot point blank in the neck with a 410 gauge shotgun

derringer. Left for dead, he miraculously survived, left street patrol, became a lawyer and set about putting his life back together. Today, more than two decades later, Morgan is on a new mission: to forgive the man who shot him and to testify on his behalf at an upcoming parole hearing. Morgan will share his story of setbacks, pain, challenge and forgiveness on my radio show (KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM) this Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. He will be joined by his wife, Christy, who will share her own journey of facing the man who tried to kill her husband, of her own struggle to forgive and move on, and how baking has helped her face the daunting task of moving on.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I skipped CrossFit today after spending a few hours trying to wrestle a duvet cover onto a comforter."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "My friend's newborn baby is allergic to their dog. I told him there are plenty of places that will take in a baby."

 * ... PICKLE BALL: Good news for all you fans of pickle ball, the fastest growing sport in the country. City Manager Alan Tandy told me the city is renovating the tennis courts at Jastro Park and converting some of the courts into dedicated pickle ball courts, which are narrower and shorter. In the end there will be six pickle ball courts and three tennis courts.

 * ... GOOSE LOONIES: Good news for foodies about town. The popular tavern Goose Loonies is opening a second location on Truxtun Avenue in a space once occupied by the failed Craft Tap House (and formerly the old Salad Bar). The original location on 18th Street will remain open, and I am betting the new location will be a big hit.

 * ... BURROUS: The coroner has released the cause of death of former Bakersfield TV anchor Chris Burruos, who died at a Glendale hotel two days after Christmas. The cause: methamphetamine toxicity. Burrous did time in Bakersfield at KGET and later ended up in Los Angeles. In addition to methamphetamine toxicity, other contributing factors included hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Burrous was at the hotel with a male friend apparently engaging in sex and dabbling in drugs.

 * ... MEMORIES: Soak up the richness of this photo of the post 1952 earthquake downtown.

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: And then there was the old Topper Motel on Union Avenue. Who remembers it?

Bakersfield family loses a family home in Malibu, thieves make off with two road bikes stolen in broad daylight, and words of wisdom (and warning) from Tim Calahan

Monday, November 12, 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 place to live. Send your news tips to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... MALIBU FIRE: Among the victims of the Malibu fires is a Bakersfield family with deep connections to a neighborhood there that has been devastated by the flames. Jolie Brouttier, a local

elementary school teacher, said her late grandparents owned a home in Malibu and that her mother and father were there when the fires broke out. They evacuated and had no idea if the house had been spared until they watched a Los Angeles news station and - you guessed it - saw the house aflame. "Any memories I have of my grandparents were in this house.," she said. "From watching my grandpa paint in the garage, eating dark chocolates on the lap of my grandma, to both of them waving from the top of the hill as we headed home. Now it’s gone. All a blaze in a matter of seconds. We can rebuild but the heart will take time. My family is devastated." Jolie and her mother, Lois Brouttier, will be on The Richard Beene Show on KERN NewsTalks 96.1 FM tomorrow (Monday) at 2:30 p.m. Tune it to hear their story. (The first photo shows the roof of their family house intact. It later burned to the ground.)

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Shout out to weathermen telling us the barometric pressure like we know what the hell to do with that information."

 * ... TIM CALAHAN: ABC23 anchor Tim Calahan has covered three mass shootings in the past five years at the station. Appearing on my radio show last week, he wondered about the world we will be leaving our children. "Remember when we used to say that everyone knows somebody who has been touched by cancer? The thought came to me that we are heading to a time where everyone will know someone who has been touched by a mass shooting."

 * ... BIKE THEFT: The recent spike in crime locally has touched two friends, whose only mistake was taking a bike ride. Tom and Christy Morgan, avid cyclists, were out riding Saturday when they decided to stop at the Finish Line bike shop right across Stockdale Highway from Cal State Bakersfield. They parked their bikes at the entrance to the shop and left them unattended for just minutes. Two men, seen here in security footage, tossed the bikes in the back of an older Toyota pickup and took off. If you know these guys, contact Bakersfield police.

UPDATE: The bike thieves have been caught. This from Tom Morgan: " Great news everyone. Thanks to a tip from someone who saw the shared post, we were able to locate the suspect vehicle. Shortly thereafter, BPD arrived and was able to recover both bikes. Both suspect’s were taken into custody and our bike are home safe and sound (minor scratches and missing Garmin’s). BPD Officer Holmes (who took the earlier report) heard the call and did an excellent job recovering the bikes and catching both suspects. BPD Rocks! A great big Thank You to everyone for your support and kind words and especially for sharing the post


 * .... MEMORIES: I spotted this picture of what is now Lake Isabella on the Kern County of Old Facebook page. The caption read: "1927 photo of what is now Lake Isabella. You can see Cooks Peak in the upper center back. Then to the left side just out of the photo would be Kissack Cove. You can see Paradise Cove about 2 inches from the left side. To the right side of the photo would be where the Southfork Boat Ramp is now. 26 years after this photo was taken. (1953) we then had Lake Isabella."

Despite our fascination with tiny houses, American's prefer bigger homes with more rooms and garage space, and a former Kern County deputy shares his near death experience at the hands of a gang banger

 * ... HOUSING: Despite the popularity of reality television shows like HGTV's "Tiny House Hunters," Americans still have a love affair with bigger, wider open spaces. According to The Wall

Street Journal, the average size of a new American home increased to 2,720 square feet, up from 2,660 just a year earlier. About half of the new homes had four or more bedrooms, and 25 percent of them had room for three or more cars. Analysts said one reason is that many of the new homes being built now are at the high end of the market, but it's clear a nation of tiny house hunters is little more than a dream.

 * ... TOM MORGAN: I spent part of Tuesday morning interviewing Tom Morgan about his brush with death and how - many years later - he has found forgiveness for the gang banger who critically wounded him while he was a deputy sheriff. Morgan is now deputy county counsel, but his ability to forgive, and even express pity, for the now 34-year former gang banger was inspiring. It turns out Morgan's kindness is well known in our community, as Tom Pavich told me after listening to the interview on KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM. "Tom Morgan is one of the finest persons I have ever had the pleasure of meeting," Pavich wrote. "I met him as the result of an unfortunate event in my life: a mountain bike crash during a race in the Hart Park foothills five years ago. There were no witnesses to my crash and somehow I picked up myself and finished the race without any memory of the crash.  It wasn't until I crossed the finish line, when Tom and others questioned me, examined my helmet and jersey, that they realized I had crashed. Tom, without hesitation, volunteered to take me to the ER at Bakersfield Memorial for examination and stayed with me for over four hours of X-Rays and MRIs.  With no broken bones and only a minor concussion, I was released and Tom returned me to my vehicle so that I could drive myself home. Although I thanked Tom at the time, I would like to take this opportunity to thank him again publicly. After listening to your interview with him, one can see it is obvious that this man possesses a caring, loving and forgiving exceptional character. You are a good man Tom Morgan."

* ... OVERHEARD: At a local restaurant a man is telling a friend: "The older I get, I care less about more."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Nothing tests that whole 'for better or worse' thing like the question, 'Does this look infected?'"

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: A sign is posted along a road that reads: "Just because you are offended doesn't mean you are right."

 * ... TRUMP: Retired oil executive F. Lynn Blystone had this thought about Donald Trump: "It appears that Donald Trump is becoming the political equivalent of Lawrence Welk, about whom it was said that nobody liked him except the audience."

* ... DOWNTOWN: Good news for all you art lovers: a new non-profit has been formed to promote the emerging arts district, the first of its kind locally. It's the brainchild of Don Martin, owner of  Metro Galleries on 19th Street and the man who created the concept of First Friday, the popular monthly celebration of the arts that has helped rejuvenate downtown. Called the Bakersfield Arts District Foundation, the non-profit has picked up funding from Dignity Health, which is sponsoring a "Breath of Fresh Air" campaign, a public art exhibit designed to raise awareness about lung cancer screenings, early detection and treatment. Martin's organization fills an important void downtown by focusing solely on the arts, moving the entire First Friday operation under the non-profit and introducing new arts educational programs for younger students.

Bakersfield ranks No. 3 on a survey of the best smaller cities for college graduates, right behind Ventura and Bridgeport, CT; and noting the 45th anniversary of the loss of 99 sailors on the USS Scorpion nuclear submarine

 * ... BAKO: Bakersfield has long suffered a "brain drain" as some of our best and brightest young people leave for greener pastures, but now comes word that our community is becoming increasingly attractive to young college graduates. According to a recent survey, Bakersfield ranked No. 3 on a list of smaller cities that pay a premium for college graduates. The Ventura-Oxnard area was No. 1 on the

list, followed by Bridgeport, CT., Bakersfield, Poughkeepsie, NY, and Melbourne, FL. The survey, conducted by CreditDonkey, took into account median income, cost of living and a salary premium for having a degree.

 * ... BAD FORM: A pox on the passengers in a small white sedan who deliberately ran down a cyclist on Panorama Drive this week and either threw something at his head or used a club to bash his helmet. The cyclist happened to be Tom Morgan, a former Kern County Sheriff's deputy who was shot point blank in the neck some years ago during an arrest and miraculously survived. He is now a lawyer with the county counsel office and took up cycling for fitness. Morgan escaped serious injury in the latest incident, but only because his helmet saved him from serious head trauma. So this is his reward for putting his life on the line in service of our community? (file photo of Tom Morgan)

* ... ACHIEVER: Good news for Timothy Schmidt, a 1989 graduate of Foothill High School who has been awarded tenure at South East Missouri State. He graduated from Westmont College with a bachelor of arts degree, received a masters from Northern Colorado University and his doctorate from the University of Illinois.  He has been on the music faculty at “SEMO” for the past five years. He is the son of Gerhard and Mary Schmidt of Bakersfield.

 * ... GRADUATE: And kudos go to Elizabeth Key, a graduate of Ridgeview High School who just graduated from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. She graduated with university honors and cum laude. She has now moved to Toledo, Ohio, to work for the Red Cross and plans to eventually earn a PhD in biology.

 * ... FLY IN: The Bakersfield Municipal Airport is holding an open house and a "fly in" on Saturday, June 1, starting at 9 a.m. This looks like a great event for parents and their children and is free to the publice. Aircraft will be on display and there will even be a Porsche and Mopar club cars there.

 * ... MEMORIES: More memories of Wayne's Dairy and the growth of our town. This one comes from reader Bow Porter" "Our family was a Wayne's Dairy customer also. We lived in a Gannon built house on Mt. Vernon when it was a dirt road, and our back door was open to George, our milkman. As Bakersfield moved east, we did too, making about three moves as new houses became available over the years... George's route kept up,  also moving east. My son, Ken Klose, had a Sunday morning newspaper route, and would report new residents, new potential customers to George who rewarded him with a special treat of chocolate milk or donuts... We paid our bill monthly, and I didn't  keep track of what George put in our refrigerator; he just knew what we used and kept us supplied. Life was so simple and trusting and honest."

 * ... NAVY: And finally reader Gene Bonas reminded me that May 22 was the 45th anniversary of  the loss of the nuclear submarine the USS Scorpion. Ninety-nine sailors died in the incident. As Gene said: "Anytime a Navy shipmate is lost, we Navy veterans say: 'Sailors Rest Your Oar! We Will Always Remember!'" (historic photo of USS Scorpion)