Caltrans' recommendation to put a freeway through the Westpark neighborhood gets more heat from readers, and do you allow your dog or cat to share your bed?

* ... WESTPARK: My earlier blog about the plans by Caltrans to rip through Westpark to extend Highway 58 drew this response from former resident James Houck. "Your piece today and Lois Henry's were interesting to this old timer who remembers what Caltrans, abetted by the city of Bakersfield, did to stable neighborhoods in the 1950s and 1960s. They started ruining neighborhoods by turning 24th Street and Niles Street into one-way thoroughfares. Westchester and what is now called old Westchester are still dealing with that mess, as you well know. Then they ripped through some nice old neighborhoods to turn 58 (then 466) and 178 into freeways. The results can still be seen from H Street to about Cottonwood Road on 58 and from Union Avenue to about Haley Street on 178. No wonder those are among the highest-crime areas in the city. Westpark will join them soon."

 * ... PETS: A recent national survey revealed that of the American families that own pets, fully 70 percent of them allow their dogs or cats to sleep with them, a percentage almost equal to the number of married people who share the same bed. Surprised?

* ... MADISON: I wrote recently about the great Hollywood actor Guy Madison, who grew up in Bakersfield before a successful acting career in the 1950s. I apparently erred in reporting that he went to East High when in fact he graduated from the old Kern County Union High School. Said Joyce Hobbs: "After re-reading your column, I realized that Guy Madison must have transferred from East High to Bakersfield Junior College, on the same grounds those days as KCUHS. Darn, and all that time I thought he was a Driller!" You were correct Joyce. Mea culpa.

 * ... MORE MADISON: And there was this from William Upshaw: "I take exception to your piece about Guy Madison. His real name was Robert Mosley. He lived on Terrace Way, just east of Chester Avenue. He attended Kern County Union High School, not East High. He joined the Navy during WW II. He had bit parts in movies before he become Wild Bill Hickok. His family and my family were close friends."

* ... ADIOS KRCH: And another reader, Virginia Frazier of Lamont, wrote to express her dismay that KBAK TV had parted ways with anchor Lisa Krch. "This is just too much... John Dabkovich, Leyla Santiago and Cambi Brown.  I think management should seriously think about replacing news director Cristi Jesse. We are seriously considering switching to Channel 17 for our morning and evening news."

 * ... KBAK: And speaking of Krch, it looks like Amity Addrisi will be replacing Krch as anchor of the KBAK weekday newscasts. Amity has spent time as a morning anchor on Channel 29.

Longtime KBAK anchor Lisa Krch is leaving the station and questioning why Caltrans insists on plowing through a long established neighborhood to extend a freeway

* ... ANCHOR AWAY: Longtime KBAK/KBFX Eyewitness News anchor Lisa Krch has reportedly been let go by the CBS and Fox affiliates. Krch arrived in 1997 from Chico/Redding as morning anchor and later moved to the prime evening anchor slot. This latest talent change is one of many that news director Cristi Jesse has made since arriving at the duopoly last year.

 * ... WESTPARK: If you haven't read the column by Lois Henry on why Caltrans is insisting on plowing through the Westpark neighborhood to extend Highway 58, I recommend you do so. It is amazing to me that we would opt to destroy several hundred single-family homes and permanently divide a neighborhood just to save a couple of parks, which could easily be relocated and replaced.

* ... CALIFORNIA: There is little doubt that California economy is improving, but how you feel about that depends on where you live. Coastal areas are rebounding nicely, but the Central Valley and other inland areas are still struggling. According to a New York Times analysis, the Bakersfield metro area has a jobless rate of 13.4 percent compared to 7.7 percent in Santa Barbara and 7.9 percent in San Francisco. Fresno's unemployment rate came in at 14.9 percent, which the state average held at just over 10 percent.

 * ... WHAT RECESSION? Our jobless rate may be stubbornly high, but it hasn't stopped us from enjoying our favorite restaurants. I was out Saturday night and tried - unsuccessfully - to get a seat at both K.C. Steakhouse and Enso downtown, both of them doing booming businesses. We ended up squeezing in at Muertos in the Wall Street alley, but it's good to see the local eateries seems to be doing well.

 * ... HOT MARKET: And if you don't think the local housing market is heating up, consider this: A friend who works at Trader Joe's is being transferred and listed his house the day before Thanksgiving. By the Friday after Thanksgiving, he had five offers on his house and seven scheduled showings the next day. His listing agent: Laurie McCarty of Coldwell Banker.

 * ... CHRISTMAS NEEDS: The Centennial Medical Group has collected supplies for our troops overseas but is having trouble finding someone to help box them and ship them abroad. If you can help, contact Joanne Pearce at (661) 326-8989.

 * ... DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that Guy Madison, the Hollywood star who played a starring role in "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" in the 1950s, was from Bakersfield? He was born in Pumpkin Center and went to both East High School and Bakersfield College before heading off to Hollywood. He was married briefly to the actress Gail Russell and died in 1966.

Luigi's opening second location at Bakersfield Racquet Club and a big tip at Cafe Med

 * ... LUIGI'S WEST: Now here's some welcome news: Luigi's Delicatessen, the popular Italian eatery on 19th Street that has some of the best food in town not to mention a loyal following in the thousands,  is opening a second outlet at the Bakersfield Racquet Club. The club has been looking for a new restaurant manager to replace Big Popy's Deli, which is moving out at the end of this month. But no one expected Luigi's the fill the void. And, I am told that Darci Atkinson, a local caterer, has been hired to run the place for Gino Valpredo, one of Luigi's owners. This marriage of two Bakersfield institutions is a win-win for everyone: Luigi's gets a second location that is small enough to handle with ease, Atkinson gets a solid gig, the Racquet Club gets exposure to folks who would not otherwise visit, and Luigi's fans get a alternate venue for its famous half and half pasta and beans.

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 * ... CITIZENS ARREST: Everyone needs a neighbor like Wayne, a friend of mine who just happens to be a long-distance cyclist at peak fitness. He was returning to his Westpark neighborhood about 1 p.m. Sunday, with his bike in his truck, when he and his wife noticed two young men leaving their neighbor's home on a BMX bike, with a black garbage bag sitting on the handlebars. "My wife said 'that's not right' since our neighbors are not home," he said. After noticing his neighbor's gate was broken, Wayne quickly unloaded his bike from the truck and sped off after the young men. "I caught up to them about two blocks later and said 'you just left my neighbor's house. What's in the bag?'" The BMX rider then tried to race away from Wayne, a futile move under any circumstance. " I found incredibly funny ... (I) said 'is that really your plan? Because I can do this all day,'" he said. Finally realizing they couldn't shake Wayne, the lads dropped the bag, which was full of Christmas presents from the neighbor's home, and sped off. Wayne called the police and later identified one of the youths who "was a county (jail) guest at least for a night." Nice to have a Lance Armstrong-like neighbor there in the time of need.






 * ... THE BUZZ: Meir Brown, owner of the popular restaurant Cafe Med over on Stockdale Highway, contacted me with this incredible story. "I thought you would be interested, last night a generous patron tipped one of my servers $5,000 on a $1,760 tab. When the server verified the intent with the patron he just said, 'Yes, Merry Christmas!' There are great generous people in our midst." Wow.

* ... WACKER TOWING: Robbie Horton of Mayflower, Arkansas, wrote to remember and recommend Tallywacker towing service. She said it was owned by Louie Tally and possibly Kenny Eggenberg, who still owns the property.

 * ... SICK BAY: Californian columnist Herb Benham is recuperating from his hip surgery and doing well. He's happy to report that his surgeon remarked that he has "good bones," a comment that we no doubt will soon be reading about. Also Sending out best wishes to regular reader and contributor Jack Kelley who is recovering from knee replacement surgery. His wife, Sidney, tells me Jack entertains her by reciting "Bakersfieldisms" while they drive around town. "We'll be driving by somewhere and he'll say, 'I used to shoot pheasants right here,' pointing to the Jim Burke Ford lot on Oak Street."Get well, Jack.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From reader John Martin: "You are truly a Bakersfield old timer if you remember ordering the Blue Plate business man's lunch ($1.29) at Martin's Malt Shop, on the corner of Baker and Lake Streets."