Today's callous idiot award goes to the driver of a white pickup who ran over a mother duck and her ducklings crossing Truxtun extension at the lake, and more on our long drought

 * … BAD FORM:  What happened on Truxtun Extension the other day is not only bad form, but also extremely bad karma for the driver of a white pickup truck. Consider this: anyone who commutes on Truxtun knows about the ducks that occasionally cross the road to the medical offices on the other side. Most times, folks slow down, stop and enjoy the parade of a mother duck and her

ducklings waddling across the road. But recently, a driver in a white pickup was not so courteous, got impatient, hit the gas and ran over at least one of the baby ducks and its mother, shocking the other drivers and sparking an outcry on social media. Witnesses are calling for the driver's head which, all things considered, seems a reasonable punishment given the callousness of the act. As one person said: "If you told your boss you were late for work because you stopped for ducks crossing the road, who wouldn't understand that?"

 * … NY TIMES: Ronal Reynier shared his thoughts about a New York Times' food review covering Bakersfield. "His conclusion about Bakersfield was that we are a land of 'oil derricks, low-riders and truck stops with Punjabi food.' We have not had 'oil derricks' for 50 years. We do have pumping units that produce 90 percent of the oil in California. I checked all three truck stops and found no Punjabi restaurants. The only stop he must have made was at Buck Owens Crystal Palace for a few drinks for lunch. We do have 13 'Indian' restaurants. I can only guess he is calling them 'Punjabi.' This is a small total of the 1,818 restaurants in town."

 * … PLEIN AIR: If you want to see some absolutely stunning paintings by California's top plein air artists, head over to Metro Galleries on 19th Street where a new exhibit has opened featuring more than 55 works. The show is part of the inaugural Kern County Plein Air Festival launched by the Arts Council of Kern. All the works in the show have been created over the past two weeks. Some of the artists in the exhibit include Bryan Mark Taylor, Anton Pavlenko,  Paul Kratter and  Bako's own Keith Wicks.

* … WATER: Dwayne Ardis had this interesting take on our drought. "As we all know, we in California have a water problem. I have an idea that might help curb our thirst for water. What happened when we were asked to cut back on our electricity usage? We got tax credits for putting in solar panels and insulation.  What happened when we were asked to not burn wood in our fireplaces?  We got a rebate for installing gas burning fireplaces. How about the water companies and California provide us with a tax credit and rebate for putting in artificial turf in our yards? That would reduce our water consumption and we could enjoy a weed free green lawn year round."

* … SMALL WORLD: This from Julie and Sunny Kapoor: "While moving our son, Nigel, into The Ohio State University last fall, Sunny and I happened upon this little gem, Bakersfield (tacos, tequila, whiskey), in Columbus, Ohio. We had to go inside and check it out. It was the middle of a Friday afternoon and it was hopping. We spoke to our waitress about the origins of the owner and she told us the owners were from Cincinnati but they loved the 'Bakersfield' sound and themed the place around Buck Owens. They have karaoke (of course they do!) on the weekends with lots of Owens, Haggard and Cash requests."

 * … ACTIS: Kudos to the students over at Actist Junior High School who recently raised more than $2,400 for the March of Dimes. Said reader Cathy Palla: "The inspiration for the DIMES WAR, came from teacher whose friend had a preemie baby. The week of fundraising had classrooms challenging each other to see who could raise the most money. These kids had a great time ,collecting money for a charity, that is so important to our entire community. OH… and most of the money came in as DIMES!"

A tribute to a career teacher who touched so many lives and dealing with a traffic nightmare on Truxtun

 * ... TRIBUTE: Jamie Henderson, who retired as superintendent of the Rosedale Union School District, dropped me this wonderful tribute to career educator  Lloyd Palmer, who died recently. Palmer spent 30 years as a social studies teacher at Curran Junior High, where Henderson found himself as one of Palmer's students in the early 1960s. "Kennedy was president, we had just come through the Cuban missile crisis and John Glenn had circled the earth.... It was a good time to be studying U.S. history and the Constitution." Henderson said Palmer knew every student by name and was always upbeat and positive. Years later, when as Rosedale superintendent Henderson was dealing with a difficult challenge, Palmer called and offered his support. "Forty years after I had been in his classroom he still checked on his students and offered them encouragement. Mr. Palmer, I realize having you as a teacher was a true blessing from God. May God continue to comfort and bless you and your family." (Californian photo of Henderson below)

 * .... TRAFFIC: The opening of the new Mohawk bridge connecting Truxtun Avenue with Rosedale Highway is proving to be a nightmare for morning commuters headed from the Southwest into town. Apparently so many drivers are using it to get off Rosedale Highway and onto Truxtun that it is backing up east-bound traffic on Truxtun almost all the way to Coffee Road. It seems particularly bad between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. when traffic it at its worst.

* ... CSUB: I will be chatting with Jeff Konya, the new CSUB Athletic Director, Friday (July 8) at 10 a.m. on SmartTalk 1230 AM on Californian Radio. Konya will lay out the strategic direction of the athletic department and answer any questions from callers. We will also discuss the embattled wrestling and women's tennis programs and the fund raising efforts to save them.

* ... SPAY, NEUTER: Did you know that one intact female dog, plus her offspring and their offspring, can product 67,000 dogs in just six years? That's the word from Ha Adolfo, founder of the Basic Needs Foundation. And that's why her group is hosting two free mobile spay-neuter clinics for low income pet owners of Lake Isabella, Wofford Heights, Onyx, Bodfish, South Lake, Mountain Mesa and Kernville. These clinics will take place on Saturday, August 20, and Saturday, October 22, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the parking lot of the Lake Isabella Vons. To schedule an appointment call 1-800-404-SPAY (7729).

* ... STREET CARS: John Pryor says you are an old timer if you remember the city's electric street cars that traveled on tracks back and forth between the Southern Pacific Railroad station on Baker Street, down 19th Street to the Santa Fe Railroad station on F Street at 15th Street, just north of Bakersfield High School. "On the very last day of the street cars operation, sometime in the 1930s, my father took me for a ride from Baker Street to F Street and back. He knew it was the end of an era for Bakersfield, and gave me an experience I still remember 70 plus years later!"

  * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From reader Kyle Estle: "You know it’s summertime in Bakersfield when the internal temperature on your outdoor grill is above 150 degrees BEFORE you light it!"