Eureka Burger prepares to open in the Southwest and saying goodbye to Warren Haupt

 * .... NEW EATS: Looks like the new Eureka Burger restaurant in the Southwest is getting ready to open. Located next to the relatively new Chipotle off Stockdale Highway at the Park at Riverwalk, the Fresno-based burger chain has been training its employees and is looking at opening as early as next week. Knowing our town, you can expect a mad rush when it opens. Eureka Burger offers specialty beers and gourmet hamburgers.

* ... HAUPT: The funeral for long-timer local businessman Warren Haupt, who died earlier this week at the age of 83, is being held today (Friday) at St. Francis Church. John Croson is one of the many people in town who considered Warren a friend, and he passed along this note to me. "I had the pleasure of meeting Warren during our Health for Life class at Glinn and Giordano Physical Therapy.  I always looked forward to the class because Warren was so much fun to spar with about all subjects of life. We solved a lot of USA and world problems if only someone else had listened!  He was just a lot of fun to be around and I am sure all who knew him will miss him greatly…  His family was always in his thoughts and he told me many stories of the adventures and times they spent together and the achievements his children and grand children had obtained.  He was so proud of his family and inspired by all they did. Warren, thanks for sharing a little of your life with me and may you rest in peace."

* ... BAKERSFIELD SOUND: One local resident who visited the Bakersfield Sound exhibit in Nashville is Dave Rangel, who recommends it highly. "Coming into  Nashville there were billboards with the pictures of Buck and Merle at the end of the famous Bakersfield arch. Even city buses had the arch on them. I am even more proud of Bakersfield after visiting the exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame. People in Nashville always ask where and why you are visiting Nashville, of course after they open the door for you. You tell them, 'from Bakersfield,' and they think you know Buck and Merle. What a great town to visit."

* ... SPCA: If it's spring, it's time to do a little house cleaning and take all those books and music to the local SPCA for its annual book sale. SPCA spokesman Chuck Nordstrom said the annual SPCA book sale will run from April 27 to May 26. "Now is the time to clean out your closets and make a donation that will not only rid you of clutter but make a difference in helping to save the lives of stray and abandoned pets," Nordstrom said. "All donations are tax deductible. To donate you can simply take your books up to our book sale location, 3501 Mall View Road near the old Michael's store. This is our largest fundraiser of the year!"

 * ... VOTE: Speaking of animals, the Kern County Animal Shelter needs our help to win $100,000 in the Rachel Ray challenge to help shelters across the country. All you have to do is go to www.votetosavelives.org and vote for the Kern County shelter. We are currently in 10th place but within a few hundred votes of jumping up in line. The voting ends Monday.

* ... BURBS LOSE APPEAL: Apparently our country's romance with living in the suburbs is coming to an end. At least that's what USA Today reported after reviewing Census data which shows more people living closer to the inner city than ever before. Why? More folks are renting (thanks to foreclosures), gas prices are making living in the suburbs more expensive and high unemployment is driving more folks to where the jobs are.

RIP Warren Haupt and more on Smithsonian magazine's spotlight on Bakersfield Basque tradition

 * ... BASQUE: Thanks to Mayor Harvey Hall for passing along a copy of the recent Smithsonian magazine that featured a nice spread on Bakersfield and our Basque restaurants. Written by travel writer Jonathan Gold and called "The Basque Revolution," it singles out places like Wool Growers, Benji's, the Pyrennes Cafe and the Noreiga Hotel, as well as several Basque eateries in Nevada. Said Gold: "I loved the Nevada restaurants. But still, I couldn't wait to get back to Bakersfield, which feels like home." He also visited Dewar's, which he described as "maybe the best unreconstructed ice cream parlor in the country, famous for its banana splits and its peanut butter chews." (photo courtesy of the Smithsonian magazine)

 * ... RIP WARREN HAUPT: Our community lost one of its great characters this week with the death of Warren Haupt at the age of 83. Warren and his wife, Catherine, had five boys, all of whom turned out to be productive citizens with families of their own. The Haupts are a large, Catholic family with strong ties to Our Lady of Perpetual Help school and Garces Memorial High School. Warren grew up in Bakersfield, attended Kern County Union High School and later managed Kern Rock Company for 30 years. Services will be held at St. Francis Catholic Church on Friday at 10 a.m. Keep his widow Catherine, and this special family in your thoughts.

* ... MORE MEMORIES: Reader Rod Kearns wrote in response to an earlier post about a Camillia bush that traveled with a family for many years. His note: "I read your blog each day it is in the paper and enjoy it immensely. The note about Camellia memories prompted memories of my own.  Our little rose bush's life is ten years short of the camellia's life, but this bush will certainly outlive us. Our family moved from Sanger to Fresno when I was ten years of age. To celebrate our new home I rode my bicycle a couple miles to a nursery and purchased a miniature rose bush. My parents planted the bush in our family garden where it thrived. When my wife and I moved to Bakersfield in late 1970, my parents transplanted the bush for us as a gift for our new home south of Bakersfield College. Seventeen years later we built our current home further east of BC and the rose bush went with us. It has adorned our entry flower bed for twenty-five years. We love the small pink blossoms and the memories are grand.  This little rose bush has been with us in three locations for 56 years."


* ... GOH: Four-time Pro Bowl football player Joey Porter and wife Christy are hosting a fund raiser for county supervisor Karen Goh in her bid to win a full term. The Porters will be opening their home on April 27 with food and entertainment. Call (661) 322-2225 if you are interested in tickets. Goh is running against former public defender Leticia Perez for the 5th District seat.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Kurt Seeger says you may be a Bakersfield old-timer "if you remember Uncle Woody and his Toy Circus toy shop on Chester Avenue. He also would perform, with his sidekick, Zippy, at private birthday parties."