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.

Coming off the disabled list: Wendy Wayne, John Moorhouse on the mend

Catching up with a couple folks who have been battling the demons of illness: Wendy Wayne and John Moorhouse. Traded emails with Wendy and got a rundown of her battle against non-Hodgkins lymphoma (see previous post here). She just returned from four days in Austin visiting son Larkin, his wife Katie and adorable granddaughter Maya (pictured with Wendy). She's done with the stem cell harvesting and will head back to the City of Hope Hospital next week for a battery of tests. Then later this month she'll check in as an inpatient for the stem cell transplant. As usual, Wendy doesn't dwell on her own illness but spends time asking others about their lives.

Meanwhile John Moorhouse, husband of Californian publisher Ginger Moorhouse and a longtime local insurance agent (pictured here), is doing better after a kidney transplant down at UCLA Medical Center. The transplant went without a hitch but in the recovery John developed valley fever and now he's being treated for that. Good news: John was released last week, readmitted with a minor development and should be back soon. Thoughts and prayers go to both Wendy and John.

Bako Bits: short takes around town, from a Rubio run to kids making college decisions

Some short takes around our community following another splendid spring weekend, celebrating folks getting together for a good cause and our children moving on in their lives.
* RELAY FOR LIFE: You have to hand it to the organizers of Bakersfield's annual Relay for Life event out at Cal State Bakersfield. Thousands showed up and camped and walked and tens of thousands of dollars were raised to fight cancer. This has become one of our community's signature events and it is certainly something to rally around. Has any family not been touched by this dreaded disease?
* KUDOS TO KBAK: The folks over at channel 29 KBAK did a nice job with their live reporting from Relay for Life on Saturday morning. Personal testimonials from weatherman Miles Muzio were done in a quiet and respectful manner.
* RUNAWAY WINDMILL: Spotted this headline on the Californian breaking news Twitter feed: "runaway windmill closes Highway 58." Only in California would we understand runaway windmills.
* CLEAR PATH FOR RUBIO: When former Assemblywoman Sarah Reyes bowed out of the race for the State Senate 16th District, it virtually handed it to Supervisor Michael Rubio. Rubio's war chest of almost $400,000 and his total commitment to winning this seat is scaring away potential opponents. Others may emerge, but Mr. Rubio is going to Sacramento.

Last Friday was the day our high school seniors had to make final decisions on what colleges they will attend. This is clearly one of the most important decisions these young folks will have made in their short lives, and it will shape their lives forever. Here's a sampling of where some kids I know will spend the next four years:
* USC TROJANS: Frances Ellison, a senior at Stockdale High, will be heading to the USC engineering program. Frances was the top singles player for the Stockdale tennis team. Her sister Denise (also the No. 1 singles player before her) ended up at Notre Dame. They are the daughters of Bob and Patricia Ellison.
* LINDENWOOD LIONS: Elizabeth Key, senior at Ridgeview, decides on private Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., taking advantage of a scholarship that recognizes her academic achievements along with skeet shooting. She's the daughter of local businessman Keith Keys.
* GO BRUINS: Andrew Green, senior at BHS, heads to Westwood to enjoy the beautiful UCLA campus. Andrew is the son of deputy District Attorney Lisa Green and Grimmway counsel Jeff Green. His brother is attending UC Irvine.
* SAN LUIS: Brooke Shuford, another Driller over at BHS, is headed to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Brooke was a Driller swimmer and is the daughter of Kellie and Dan Shuford.
* TO THE BEACH: Scott Camp, Stockdale High, heads to the beach at UC Santa Barbara to study. Scott is the son of Jim Camp, owner of S.A. Camp company, and Carol Camp.
* TEXAS BOUND: Cassie Clayton, a golfer over at Garces Memorial High, heads to Texas Christian University, a favorite of a lot of Bakersfield kids. Cassie is the daughter of Judy and Greg Clayton.
* MISSOURI BOUND: Brian Foley, Ridgeview High, also heads to Lindenwood to hone his shooting skills on a skeet scholarship. He is the son of Kim and Tim Foley.

Publisher heads into kidney transplant at UCLA

Ginger Moorhouse, publisher of The Californian and my boss, heads to UCLA Medical Center this week to donate a kidney to her husband, John Moorhouse, a longtime insurance broker. Ginger has been blogging about her procedure (catch up the the "Kidney Chronicles" here) and it is one dramatic story. UCLA Medical Center is a national leader in these transplants and has amassed an amazing success rate. But it's been a full year of poking and prodding and tests for both Ginger and John as they prepare for this week. The surgery is set for Thursday, February 19th. Keep them in your thoughts.