Does Bakersfield need an anti-camping ordinance to deal with the homeless? Plus Tony Martinez and wife Elva help the needy, check out a food truck called Vatos Tacos and Dan Raytis accepted a partnership in a local law firm

Monday, August 27, 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: So how did you spent your weekend? Going to a movie? Dining out? Seeing friends? If you were retired police community liaison officer Tony Martinez and his wife Elva,

you spent it taking care of the needy who live amongst us. Martinez works with an organization that identifies families in need and then pulls together volunteers to help repair their homes. Joined by folks from Lowe's, the local carpenter's union and others, Martinez spent the day painting the home of the Rufino Talamantes family, repairing the stairs, installing carpeting, repairing appliances and sprucing the place up. The world needs more people like Tony and Elva Martinez.

* ... HOMELESSNESS: If there is one topic that comes up virtually anywhere across town, it is homelessness. The sheer number of vagrants walking our streets, pushing stolen carts with all their belongings, is beyond stunning. I spent part of Saturday shopping for bathroom tile along District Boulevard and was shocked at how many homeless I spotted near White Lane and Gosford Road. Sleeping in the grass medians next to the street, in the parking lots, behind fast food restaurants, their numbers just seem to grow by leaps every week. One of the worst spots in town is clearly Oak Street between California and Brundage Lane, and don't even think of driving on Haley near Food Co. and Lowe's at dusk. Jaywalking is an accepted form of movement in that area.

 * ... ANTI-CAMPING: And speaking of the homeless, why hasn't our City Council adopted an anti-campaign ordinance to prohibit the homeless from sleeping in public and using our public roadways as their personal toilets? The city of Sacramento has done it, as has the cities of Fresno, Mission Viejo and a host of others. The ACLU has filed lawsuits against some cities that have enacted such legislation, arguing that it is selectively enforced against the homeless, but who cares? Let them sue. If we provide homeless shelters, food and lodging for those who want it, why should we turn our streets over to the drug addicted, mentally ill vagrants who choose to live on our streets?

 * ... VATOS TACOS: I am a big fan of the "At The Table" food segment on KERO TV hosted by Jada Montemarano and her recent piece on the Vatos Tacos food truck had me hankering to pay them a visit. The food truck is parked on Rosedale Highway behind a Valvoline station and its offerings of tacos and burritos look simply delicious. Vatos Tacos is located at 10115 Rosedale Highway.

 * ... DAN RAYTIS:  Congratulations to local attorney Dan Raytis who has accepted a partnership at Belden Blaine Raytis, LLP.  Other partners include Scott Belden, David Blaine and someone Dan is familiar with, his wife and fellow attorney Katy McMurtrey Raytis.

* ... MEMORIES: Check out this old potato sack with some interesting artwork, date of photo uncertain.

Instead of rushing to "do something" about gun control, let's focus on something that works. The lessons from Las Vegas, more bobcats sighted in town and my verdict on the Santa Carota hamburger

 * ... GUN CONTROL: One of the difficulties in the debate over gun control is the definition of exactly what turns a semi-automatic weapon into an "assault rifle." Regulating (or outlawing) weapons by design or how lethal they "look" is foolhardy when the internal mechanisms are basically the same as a hunting rifle, which is why I found this piece in the Washington Post by Leah Libresco so interesting. Libresco works for FiveThirtyEight, a website  that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging. Said Libresco: "When I looked at the other oft-praised policies, I found out that no gun owner walks into the store to buy an 'assault weapon.' It’s an invented classification that includes any semi-automatic that has two or more features, such as a

bayonet mount, a rocket-propelled grenade-launcher mount, a folding stock or a pistol grip. But guns are modular, and any hobbyist can easily add these features at home, just as if they were snapping together Legos. As for silencers — they deserve that name only in movies, where they reduce gunfire to a soft 'puick puick.' In real life, silencers limit hearing damage for shooters but don’t make gunfire dangerously quiet. An AR-15 with a silencer is about as loud as a jackhammer. Magazine limits were a little more promising, but a practiced shooter could still change magazines so fast as to make the limit meaningless." If the Las Vegas shooting demands a national conversation on gun laws, and I for one think it is appropriate, then we need to spend less time focusing on "doing something" and more on doing something that works.

* ... BOBCATS: Remember those two bobcats that were seen off the bike path below the Panorama Bluffs? Doug White spotted two more, adult bobcats on the bike trail two to three miles east of Enos Lane in August. "The female had already crossed while the male just stood motionless at the path's shoulder while I rode by.  I wasn't about to stop to take a picture. Since they are so rare here, I wonder if they are the same pair."

 * ... CAROTA BURGER: I checked off the Santa Carota burger off my bucket list when I accompanied a group of friends to Temblor Brewing Co. to try the famous grass and carrot-fed beef. My verdict: a delicious half-pound burger but at almost $14 with a side of fries, perhaps a little too rich for my wallet. Still, it's worth a try.

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "I'm having people over later to stare at their phones if you want to stop by."

 * ... GOOD FORM: Frances Quiroz gave a shoutout to local Dr. William Baker. "My 17-year-old son broke his fibula playing football. I couldn't get him into an orthopedic, because no one would see him. I was referred to Dr. Baker by the athletic director at my son's school. Within 30 minutes we were sitting in his waiting room... and he managed to get my son seen by an ortho within hours. After the day I had, dealing with the stress of my son having a broken leg, not knowing if he needed surgery to repair it and none of the ortho doctors the urgent care referred us to would see/access him.... the care Dr. Baker and his staff treated us with was so overwhelming that it literally brought me to tears. I would recommend Dr. Baker to anyone and everyone. I feel blessed to have him as my son's doctor. His kindness, care and generosity is not easily found."

 * ... MORE GOOD FORM: Hats off to Tony Martinez who is now volunteering his time with a non-profit that helps needy families renovate their homes and neighborhoods. Martinez, a retired Bakersfield police officer who ran for mayor this last go around, is working for Rebuilding Together/Kern County, a group formerly known as Christmas in April. The organization is helping homeowners in the "Carnation tract" of homes near McKinley Elementary School make basic repairs on their homes.

BPD's Tony Martinez battles an illness and more details on the administration's new rules on deporting illegal immigrants

 * ... SICK BAY: Tony Martinez,  the Bakersfield Police Department community relations officer and a tireless promoter of our city, is suffering from a rare neurological disorder. He broke the news on Facebook, posting this message: "Emotionally it was easier to send a text message then to call and say

"It's time to clear my desk...I need to move on.' These past months looking through literally hundreds of photos brought back so many good memories. What I saw in them is that if in work and life you make it fun and surround yourself with good community partners, positive people, an equality hard working wife and family 'nothing is impossible' so to you I say 'Thank You.' In June the Lord blessed me with Miller-Fisher Syndrome and now wait to see what he has planned for me." Keep Tony and his family in your thoughts.

 * ... IMMIGRATION: Don C. Craib wrote to question why The Californian has not more fully covered the new regulations prohibiting some illegal immigrants from being deported. "These include illegal aliens who are parents or legal guardians (1) who are primary caretakers of minor aliens (including minors in the country illegally); who have a direct interest in family or child welfare
proceedings; and (3) whose minor children are physically present in the U.S. and are citizens or legal permanent residents. I follow immigration issues quite closely and, for the life of me, I
can't remember reading about these changes in your paper.  It is incomprehensible that you would not publish this information because it gives millions of illegal aliens the right to stay in this country."

 * ... BAD FORM: From a reader who asked that her name be withheld. "Doctor's staff screwed up my appointment; not even written down. Okay we all make mistakes. I guess the words 'I'm sorry for the inconvenience' are no longer proper etiquette. I certainly haven't heard them in a long time. Sad.
Please don't use my name, I love my doctor and will not change to another."

 * ... TRASH: Jerry Beckwith spent a few days in Colorado, enjoying the fall colors and snow, and returned with these thoughts: "We didn't see roadside trash or graffiti anywhere. Drivers use their blinkers to signal lane changes - and turns. On 75 mph freeways, drivers use the No. 1 lane for passing and then return to the right lane. Witnessed no road rage or overly aggressive driving the whole time and not to mention fuel was $2.99 on the reservation and $3.22 at Costco."

 * ... MINTER FIELD: One of best - and free - events in town is coming up next weekend when Minter Field holds its annual "fly in." It is set for Saturday, Nov. 2, beginning at 7 a.m. There will be warbirds, tail draggers, jets, sports planes, ultra-lites and helicopters. There is also a pancake breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. that costs just $5. Otherwise, admission is free.