It's Girl Scout cookie season again, RIP to Edward Lee of Action Sports, Providence Consulting opens a second office in Fresno a picture of the homeless that live among us

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. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other person or organization.

 * ... PROVIDENCE OPENS IN FRESNO: Big news for Providence Strategic Consulting, Inc., a local governmental affairs firm that has now opened a second office in Fresno. Under president and

CEO Tracy Leach, Providence has grown into one of the most influential local PR firms particularly in the area of energy and fossil fuels. The opening of the office drew attention from the Fresno Business Journal, which noted that Providence has run PR on eight successful ballot initiatives.
Providence has hired Hanford-born and longtime Fresno resident, Monica Sozinho, as government and public affairs manager for the new office.

 * ... GIRL SCOUTS: It's that season again, the annual Girl Scout cookie sale that sends tens of thousands of young girls across the country raising money for their local troops. Ever wonder what the favorite cookie is in your state? Perhaps no surprise, but the Thin Mint is the favorite in California as well as multiple other states including Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

 * ... RIP EDWARD LEE: Not everyone can live the life of a celebrity, or TV personality or political figure. Most of us just try to work and do the right thing, plodding along quietly while playing by the rules and leading good, productive lives. And that would describe Ed Lee, who touched thousands of lives with his quiet, unassuming manner and quick wit. Unless you were into exercise and fitness, or hung out at Kerry Ryan's Action Sports, you may not have known Edward Lee, an expert bike mechanic with a wicked sense of humor, warm smile and a master's mechanical touch. (He also worked at TA Cycles before Action Sports) Lee was just 53 but he died this week after suffering two strokes. Ed was beloved not only by his coworkers at Action Sports, but also the legions of cyclists, runners and snow borders who got to know him while hanging around Action Sports. He passed away quietly at Adventist Health Hospital. RIP, Ed.

* ... LOCAL CRIME: I spotted this post on the Bakersfield Thieves Facebook page. Be careful out there: "SCAM ALERT!! Last Friday 1/31 on Union and California there where people collecting money for a 6 year old girl named Dalia. Posters they had said she had Lymphoma. Jars they were carrying looked like 1 gallon water jugs covered in red duct tape. Today Tues 2/4 they have moved down to Union and Brudage and 'Dalia' is now a 9 year old and 'Suffers from Cerebral Palsy.' Same people, same collection jugs, different story. Sorry no pictures, I was driving."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "My 2 year old daughter watched the Super Bowl halftime show. She's now a stripper and selling pictures of her feet online. She's supporting the entire family and we've never been more proud."

 * ... MORE TWITTER: "I just dislocated my knee trying to imitate Shakira's hip pop."

 * ... STREET LIFE: A couple of random shots of people living on the street, the first one compliments of Nick Ellis and the second by a friend. Both pictures were taken downtown this week.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this old picture of the corner of Chester and 18th Street, now home to The 18 Hundred restaurant. The first is a colorized version of the original.

City attorney Ginny Gennaro among the applicants to replace city manager Alan Tandy, Tracy Leach works overtime to combat misleading information on the oil industry and a UC Berkeley instructor thinks rural Americans are cursed

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. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not reflect the views of any other individual, organization or company. 

 * ... ALAN TANDY: Is City Manager Alan Tandy standing in the way of a faster, cheaper way to build a low barrier homeless shelter? That's what City Councilman Willie Rivera thinks, and he articulated it during an appearance on The Richard Beene Show this week. Rivera claimed that Tandy

is hellbent on the city building its own shelter with Measure N money, and has ignored overtures by the county to work together to attack the problem. Both Supervisor David Couch and county CAO Ryan Alsop have offered to work with the city, and Rivera himself asked city staff to look into a city/county venture. What happened? According to Rivera, it fell on deaf ears as Tandy pushed ahead to build a separate city shelter. Rivera, if you recall, opposed a city staff recommendation to buy property on East Brundage, a move that likely irritated Tandy to no end. Meanwhile, the city continues its quest to find a suitable site, but Rivera made it clear he is waiting for Tandy to retire Jan. 10, 2020, to get a fresh start on this nagging problem.

 * ... REPLACING TANDY: Meanwhile the city has more than 20 applicants to replace Tandy, and at least one of them in an inside candidate. I am told that city attorney Ginny Gennaro has thrown her hat into the ring to replace Tandy. No word on if our two assistant city managers, Chris Huot and Jacqui Kitchen, have also applied. Gennaro is well respected and well liked on the city council. (file photos if Gennaro, Kitchen and Hot)

 * ... FULL MOON: Are you ready for the last full moon of the decade? Well that is happening this week so get ready to cast your eyes toward the sky to catch it. Known as the "cold moon," this one will appear larger and brighter than usual, according to NASA. "Cold Moon" is a name the Algonquin tribes gave December's full moon as a way to mark the long, cold nights that accompany it. Other nicknames for this month's moon include Oak Moon, Moon before Yule, Long Night Moon, Uduvapa Poya, the Karthikai Deepam Moon and the Chang'e Moon.

 * ... ARE WE 'BAD PEOPLE?':  If you come from a farming family or one involved with oil, do you consider yourself a "bad person?" Well, apparently Jackson Kernion does and she should know because - well, you know - he teaches philosophy courses at UC Berkeley and he is prone to deep thinking. "I unironically embrace the bashing of rural Americans," Kernion wrote in a now deleted tweet. "They, as a group, are bad people who have made bad life decisions ... and we should shame people who aren't pro-city." Okay, let that sink in for a minute. This is a teacher at an elite university who apparently has no shame. Kernion also said rural citizens should pay more in taxes and be forced to live "uncomfortable" lives for rejecting "efficient" city life. Kernion later deleted the tweet and said he would "reflect" on it. And there you have it.

 * ... SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: If you work in the oil and gas industry, it is hard enough dealing with distortions and half truths when it comes to the fossil fuel industry. And that is what happened when former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger went on 'Meet the Press' last week and proclaimed - inaccurately - that Kern County produces more jobs in the solar industry than the oil and gas. Among those who were livid was Tracy Leach, head of Providence Consulting, who represents fossil fuel interests. Said Providence: "In the Meet the Press interview, Schwarzenegger stated as fact that the solar industry provides more jobs for our area than oil. The truth is our oil and gas industry provides 23,900 direct and indirect jobs whereas solar has only 1500 permanent jobs created since 2007! Clearly there is no comparison and how the former California governor got this so wrong is very unfortunate."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Tonight I'll be drinking wine from the skull of the guy that wouldn't stop asking questions during the webinar."

* ... BAD FORM: Just when you things could not get worse, you learn that people who received gifts from non-profits are returning them to retailers for cash. That's right, just check out this post I spotted on Facebook: "I just witnessed the most sickening thing... a woman returning multiple 'gifts,' clothes, bikes, skateboards, dolls... all given by Angel Tree. Walmart didn't give her cash, but they gave her a gift card to be used for ANYTHING Walmart sells! After almost crying (seriously), I asked the Walmart associate how often they saw this, the answer was ALL DAY the day after Christmas... IF you do give to ANY of the multiple organizations that give to the needy children, please take time to mark through the bar code with a black Sharpie (Walmart says they look for this)...(I copied and pasted this from a friend. Sickening!) Mark through those barcodes.":

* ... MEMORIES: A walk down memory lane in pictures, looking first at the old Kress building and later an old theater back in the day.

In just a few short hours we will all be voting. Watching the Latino turnout, Couch and Maggard fight for their jobs and Providence Strategic Consulting throws a soiree

Monday, November 5, 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.

 * ... ELECTIONS: If you are into local politics as I am, you will be watching the outcome of a slew of hot local races on Tuesday. But forget about the national implications for a second and remember the old refrain: all politics are local. So first, keep an eye on the Latino turnout, and if they swing

Democratic (as expected) or Republican. That no doubt will play out in the 4th Supervisor District where David Couch is vying for reelection. In the 3rd District, can Mike Maggard fend off Jeff Heinle, and in the Assembly, can incumbent Rudy Salas contend with challenger Justin Mendes? (By the way this is a race in which both candidates will spend a combined total of around $3 million). And then there are the twin sales tax issues for both the city and the county, the dueling marijuana initiatives and Prop 6 which seeks to repeal the gas tax. It will be a full few days and we will watch the results.

 * ... BIG QUESTIONS: One of the things to look for Tuesday: are we seeing the end of the "old guard" in Kern County because of demographic shifts in the electorate? Can you image if both David Couch and Mike Maggard were defeated on the Board of Supervisors? If Grace Vallejo beats Couch walking away, what does that say about the emerging strength of the Latino vote in Kern County? And are the Latinos a lock for the Democrats? Justin Mendes is a formidable candidate against Assemblyman Rudy Salas, but does he have enough support to push him past Salas and his deep campaign coffers? Even the down ballot race for an open seat on the Kern High School District raises important issues. Bryan Colebrook, backed by Cathy Abernathy's Western Pacific Research, fumbled badly in implying his opponent Jenifer Pitcher was not qualified because she is single and has no children. Will the vaunted Abernathy machine be able to push him past the finish line?

 * ...GAVIN NEWSOM: Have you seen pictures of the truck following the Gavin Newsom bus around the state? Check it out here:

 * ... PROVIDENCE CONSULTING: I ran into CASA's Colleen McGauley at the annual soiree that Providence Strategic Consulting put on at The Mark restaurant. Providence owner Tracy Leach always puts on a good show, providing an excellent opportunity to network and catch up with old (and new) friends. McGauley was there, and we had a chance to talk about her decision to leave CASA after 17 years. She said it was her call to step aside, citing how large and involved the organization had grown over the years. She will no doubt remain in the non-profit world, and when she lands a new job, we will report it here. Others I spotted there were Kevin Burton, Holly Arnold, Rick Kreiser, David Couch, Perry Finzel, Barry Zoeller, Cindy Pollard, Beatris Espericueta Sanders, Derek Jeffery and so many more.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "You know it's a big game day when your husband walks in the bedroom at 10 a.m. and nonchalantly says, 'Wanna beer?'"

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "Life is short. Make sure you spent most of your time arguing about politics with strangers on the internet."

 * ... ART IN THE PARK: Sometimes it is the small things that uplift us. That's how I felt when I saw so many of the electrical and power boxes along Panorama Park painted by local artists, a brilliant move that enlivens the area and deters graffiti artists. Supervisor Mike Maggard teamed up with local artist David Gordon of the Arts Council of Kern to have artists do the painting. Panorama Park now has "art in the park" so to speak.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this grainy old photo of the mouth of the canyon when it was just a dirt road, compliments of the Facebook page Kern County of Old.

Are the streets of Bakersfield growing meaner by the day? And would it surprise you to know that the labrador retriever is among the dogs that need the most attention?

 * ... MEAN STREETS: Are our streets growing meaner by the day? I've been mulling this over for the past year or so as I've noticed an explosion of homelessness as well as an alarming rise in young men who clearly of the criminal bent. For the most part the homeless are harmless, and many are

suffering from emotional or mental disorders or just simply down on their luck. But the restless, jobless criminal element is also out there, contributing to the spike in petty thefts and burglaries that has not left any neighborhood unscathed. And we wonder why folks want to live behind the gates in Seven Oaks and other planned communities.

* ... DOGS: Do you know what breeds of dogs need the most attention? By that I mean they thrive on human interaction. According to the iHeartdogs.com website, the Australian Shepherd tops the list follows by the Labrador Retriever, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Border Collie, Brussels Griffon, German Shorthair Pointer and the Cocker Spaniel. Personally my tastes have always run toward pound mutts.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Russia hacked the election and I can't even hack my neighbors wifi."

 * ... PROVIDENCE: Congratulations to Tracy Leach and her crew over at Providence Strategic Consulting which held a holiday open house at its newly renovated offices on F Street. Leach furnished the offices with some handsome locally made tables and wrought iron, a testament to the creativity that Kern County offers.

 * ... WOOD WORKING: And speaking of local artists, I recently purchased a seven-foot long handmade wood table from Sam Ames, a friend who has been repairing wood instruments (violins etc) for years and has now turned his attention to making custom furniture  The table is made from reclaimed vineyard stakes and - like the piece in Tracy Leach's office - speaks to our local history, our agricultural heritage and a burgeoning local artisan scene.

* ... STARS THEATER: The Stars Dinner Theater has been struggling financially for several years now, but its regulars give its performances rave reviews. Said Marilynn Dunbar: "We attended Forever Plaid, the Christmas version, and it was delightful. The talent was amazing, as good as anything you would see in Los Angeles. The only thing lacking was a larger audience."

* ... MEMORIES: Here's some more on those junior baseball fields that existed next to Memorial Hospital, from reader Warren Pectin. "There were 10 baseball diamonds at the JBA fields on 34th Street near the Memorial Hospital. I played two years in the minor league (junior high school age) and two years in the major leagues (freshman and sophomore years.) ... There were close to 60 different teams consisting of about 15 to 18 individuals/ team, each with a sponsor that provided uniforms, bats, baseballs, etc... The managers and assistant managers were guys who enjoyed baseball and coaching, some of whom were fathers of the players but not on the same team as I recall. We usually played one game a week on a Saturday and the 'season' started before school was out and ended by the last days of summer. Each age group had an all-star game that was played at Sam Lynn field on North Chester. The playing fields were moved to the Sam Lynn area my second year in the minors (1959) and remained there for some years after I quit playing. The 1,000 or so boys who played and the 120 managers and assistant managers were kept up to date weekly as standings were published weekly by the Californian and occasionally an article about an individual or team would also be featured in the Californian."

Tracy Leach forms a group to tell a positive story about the oil and gas sector, an indie-folk singer comes to Bakersfield and Brock Bonetti shines as a star of the Texas A&M swimming team

 * … ENERGY: Keep an eye on a new organization that is working on behalf of our oil and gas sector here in Kern County. Founded by Tracy Leach, the Kern Citizens for Energy is focused on countering some of the misinformation being put forth by environmental and anti-fossil fuel groups. This is long overdue, primarily because the energy sector has done a lousy job talking about its safety record and the benefits of oil and gas exploration. If you don't think the energy sector is important here, consider this: the sector employs some 12,000 people directly, but indirectly supports some 50,000 jobs throughout Kern County.

 * … MUSIC: In music news about town there is a talented singer and musician coming to town this Sunday over at the Bakersfield Museum of Art. Her name is Lauren Shera, an indie-folk singer who has recorded some terrific melodies. The show is hosted by Passing Through, a local group of businessmen dedicated to bringing good live music to our community. Doors open at 5 p.m. with the show at 6 p.m. It's worth checking out.

 * … BONETTI: Congratulations to former Stockdale High swimmer Brock Bonetti, who has been named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week as a member of the Texas AM swim team. Bonetti led the Aggies to a victory over rival Southern Methodist University with an individual and relay first place finish. He is the son of Brett and Cindy Bonetti.

 * … CAR DEALERS: More nostalgia about long-gone car dealers, this memory compliments of my friend Rick Kreiser. "An Austrian (I think) cat named Fred Clad had the original Fiat dealership in the spot at the foot of westbound 178 currently occupied by a Hookah lounge (across from – then – Ed Fant Buick).  I lusted for months over a bright red 1963 Austin Healy 3000 as the East Bakersfield swim bus braked for the stoplight at the end of the freeway every day back in 1970. Mom thought ‘it was too old’ for Little Richard’s first auto investment, so the co-signer effectively canned that deal in favor of a 1967 Triumph. He did his own PR with the catch line 'Fred Clad Imports…twunty-forz and N'…guess you had to hear the accent to appreciate it. Which, curiously enough, I do fairly often. You see, Fred’s still at it some 55 years later. I rent him a couple of spaces in my building where he details and flips used cars!"

 * … MORE CARS: And Robert Mergler added this: "Concerning recent comments on auto dealerships of past years, has Van Wyk's VW on 24th Street been overlooked? I bought my first Volkswagen there in 1962. "

 * … HOUSING: The housing market will soon be entering its critical spring phase, and new home builders are slowly getting back into the action. Lennar Homes will hold a grand opening for its Chateau Series model homes at Mountain Gate II this weekend. The tract is located in the southwest just north of Taft Highway and east of Ashe Road.

 * … BAKERSFIELDISM: Ronal Reynier said you may be a real Bakersfield old timer if you remember "when the local hills were covered each spring with California poppies, and the area below the Grapevine was covered with hundreds of acres of blue lupines. In those days the scenic routes marked in maps were indeed scenic. At times the Carrizo Plain could be covered so densely
with poppies and yellow daisies you could not see the ground. At Carrizo Plain you can still see wild elk and prong-horned antelope on the hills, if you're lucky.