Water level at Lake Isabella rises amid predictions we will have water in the river through the summer, a former priest has a bad day in court and Bakersfield loses two prominent businessmen and notables

 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 company or publication.

 * ... LAKE ISABELLA: All this rain is finally having a positive impact on filling some of the states reservoirs, which were drained dangerously low during the long drought. Closer to home the rains almost doubled the amount of water stored at Lake Isabella, going from a low of about 135,000 acre feet to

around 265,000 acre feet now. Mark Mulkay, Kern Water Master, told KGET it was "a once-in-a-generation event that’s going to happen this year. There’s going to be a lot of water in the river all year long.” Mulkay said. Depending on the depth of the water in the river, that means we could be seeing a lot of kayaking, canoeing and swimming this summer along the Kern River through town. (file photo of Lake Isabella)

 * ... GOOD NEWS? Is there finally some good news for our beleaguered downtown? Did the powers at be finally listen to the people and businesses who have been crying for help for years? Hopefully that answer is a firm yes now that the City Council has authorized city staff to  place bids on 13 different properties that are deemed eyesores, and potential fire hazards. This is a terrific start and it deserves our applause, but we should all be aware that the city may need to pony up yet more money to buy and refurbish these old properties. It's a start in the right direction.

 

 * ... CRAIG HARRISON COURT LOSS: It has been a bad - and expensive - week for Craig Harrison following yet another loss in court, the latest setback for the embattled former monsignor who is fighting allegations he spent part of his career as a repeated abuser. Harrison and his civil defense team, led by local attorney Craig Edmonston, have been ordered to pay $219,800 in attorney costs after their defamation lawsuit against Stephen Brady was tossed out of court. Brady was among a handful of people that Harrison sued for defamation, and so far his defense team has struck out in court, racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees without a single win show for their efforts. In addition to the lawsuit against Brady, Harrison's defamation lawsuit against former monk Ryan Gilligan was also thrown out of court. If Harrison is ordered to pay those attorney fees as well, he could be on the hook for almost a half million dollars in fees. And all this before Harrison even steps foot in trial to defend two civil lawsuits from men who claim to have been abused by the former priest. Those cases, and thousands of dollars in attorney fees, are making their way through the courts. Edmonston told KGET it is unlikely Harrison can pay the fees. “He spent his entire life in the church, and he was compensated slightly above subsistence,” the attorney said. While that may be true, Harrison's lifestyle has been anything but subsistence level. He lives in a downtown home valued at more than $700,000 (owned by supporters) routinely posts pictures of himself on an oceanview property on the central coast and often takes long excursions to Italy with friends. Stay tuned to see how all that plays out in court. (file photos of Harrison and Craig Edmonston)

 * ... REST IN PEACE: Our community has lost some good people lately, business men and women and community members whose individual sweat and toil helped make Bakersfield a better place. Some of these names may not be familiar, but each deserves a recognition for being part of the fabric of a community we call home.

  HENRY MARTIN "MARTY" MAYFOHRT Jr.: Marty Mayfohrt lost his battle with cancer on March 10 after spending a lifetime raising his family and working in the San Joaquin Valley. He was a graduate of West High and CSUB and worked as an accountant with Lou Barbich and Geoff King before he got "the car bug" and became general manager of Bill Wright Toyota and later Family Motors. In 2000 Marty realized a lifelong dream and purchased the Madera Auto Center and moved to Clovis where he lived with his wife, Lela, and daughters Lauren and Michelle. A proud graduate of CSUB, Marty was a member of the downtown Rotary Club, Seven Oaks Country Club and other civic organizations. He was 68. Marty is shown here with his wife, Lela.

 JOHN  BROCK JR. A descendant of the family that ran the famous Brock's Department store, John Brock Jr. was a lifelong resident of Bakersfield and a prominent member of the business community. After his family sold the department store Brock joined Gregory Bynum and Associates in 1988 where he was integral in hundreds of developments around down. John graduated with a BA degree from Stanford and a Master's degree in business administration from the University of Southern California. A true gentleman with a soft touch and dry wit, John is shown with his wife, Ginette. John was 75 years ago.

 * ... MEMORIES: From the archives of the Kern County History Fans' page on Facebook comes this look at Guarantee Shoe Center over the years.

Uricchio's Trattoria will reopen for curbside pickup soon, the county says it is not in the business of shutting down businesses that violate the state lockdown, and KBAK's Rachelle Murcia celebrates the end of her chemo treatment

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.

 * ... REOPENING: Uricchio's Trattoria, the popular downtown eatery that closed temporarily when the stay at home orders were passed down, will be reopening for take-out service on Tuesday, May

19. That's according to owner Claire Porter, who said Uricchio's would reopen with a limited menu as it gauges when it might return to tabletop dining both inside and on its open air patio. Porter said she anticipates the industry will be allowed to reopen but only with some restrictions, possibly limiting inside seating and requiring the use of masks and gloves by some employees. Meanwhile some local restaurants - including Mossman's Fish and Chips, Moo Creamery and Spencers - have reopened with restrictions in defiance of the state order.

 * ... PHASE TWO: As California moves into the Phase 2 process of reopening, county chief administrative officer Ryan Alsop said the county would not be in the business of shutting down businesses that violate the state order. Alsop said the county is in a position of "re-enforcing" the state mandate, but it would be up to the state to use it regulatory power to cite and punish any business that reopened prematurely. For restaurants and bars, Alsop noted, the state can use its regulatory powers over food and alcohol to mete out punishment if needed.

 * ... GIANT HORNETS: Are you ready for the killer hornets? That's right, Asian hornets that grow to two inches in length have been spotted in Washington and farmers worry they could play havoc with the bee population used to pollinate plants. Perhaps not surprisingly, we are told that eating the large hornets is common in some Asian countries.

 * ... TEACHER HONORS: Congratulations to Joseph Andreotti, who was named Teacher of the Year for the Lakeside Union School District. The honor puts him in the running to be Kern County teacher of the year. Andreotti teaches eight grade and ansi is the AVID site coordinator for the AVID program.

 * ... RACHELLE MURCIA: A big hats off to KBAK evening anchor Rachelle Murcia, who officially completed her round of chemotherapy for cancer. The local anchor posted this to celebrate the day: "FINAL CHEMO DONE! I had 4 Red Devil treatments, 4 Taxol treatment and my last treatment was in the 4th day of the 4th month. The force is strong in this one.
(I wore some special things my loved ones sent to me. What I couldn’t wear, I carried with me and that bag sat right next to me for the 5 hours of my last treatment. Thank you all!)"

* .... OLD SCHOOL FIREFIGHTERS: I spotted this photo on a friend's Facebook page so I cannot tell you the date of this photo, or where it was taken, but it is a beauty. Are those beers they are drinking?

 * ... MEMORIES: Don't you just love this picture of old Caliente? Thanks to the Kern County of Old Facebook page for this nugget from our past.

City firefighter Jeff Heinle challenges Supervisor Mike Maggard. Will the question of regulating marijuana be enough to elevate Heinle's candidacy? And check this out: there is some good news in the fight against cancer

Friday, January 12, 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 place. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes (good form, bad form, kids doing well, anniversaries, observations) to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... MAGGARD VS HEINLE: Hold onto your seats but it looks like we have a doozy of a race coming up when Supervisor Mike Maggard faces off against city firefighter Jeff Heinle in the 3rd District county supervisor's race. Maggard has already come out swinging, implying Heinle will bring "Bay Area values" to more conservative Kern County, and he also accused Heinle as being a front man for pro marijuana interests. And even worse, Maggard claims fellow Supervisor Leticia Perez and her husband, consultant Fernando Jara, may also be conspiring against him. For the record, Heinle was born in the Bay Area but moved here as a teenager and has served 27 years as a city firefighter, hardly a carpet bagger. Heinle also took issue with Maggard on two important issues: he said he would support the regulation and sale of marijuana and he would have supported the Rudnick proposal to build a concert venue off Interstate 5.

 * ... THE POT VOTE: The real question in the Maggard-Heinle race will be this: to what extent did Maggard injure himself by voting against regulating and taxing marijuana when the county faces such a huge budget deficit? I think Maggard and the other supervisors were stunned by the blowback on social media by people of all ages, incomes and races after the Supervisors chose not to regulate cannabis. This much is true: there is a huge number of people (doctors, lawyers, veterans, business people) who support the legalization of marijuana because they recognize is it a relatively benign natural drug and its taxation could greatly help our community. The backlash is real. Will it be enough to elevate Heinle's candidacy? We will see.

 * ... CANCER: Are you ready for some good news on cancer? I posed that query to Dr. Ravi Patel, chief oncologist at the Comprehensive Blood and Cancer Center who appeared on KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM this week. And indeed there is some good news. It turns out total deaths from cancer have dropped 25 percent since 1991, mostly because more people are giving up smoking. And if you want to reduce your chances of getting cancer, keep your weight down. Patel said it also turns out that 35 percent of all cancers are linked to obesity.

 * ... ECONOMIC WOES: Every year the Milkin Institute surveys the nation's largest metro area and rates them in terms of economic growth. The best performing large metro area? That would be Provo, Utah, which has become a technology hotbed. Following Provo were Raleigh, N.C., and Dallas. The worst performing metro area? You guessed it: Bakersfield. We fell from 59 last year to 101 this year. Said Milkin: "One of the largest oil producing counties was hit by the crude downtown a few years ago and employment still hasn't fully recovered."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Optimistic people want to hear the bad news first, while pessimists ask for the good. Realists just start drinking."

 * ... GOOD FORM: Local combat veteran Christopher Quinones believes in karma, so when a cashier accidentally gave him an extra $10 in gas than he paid for, he reminded her of her error. "But I couldn’t let it happen so I had to go back in and tell her what she did because I believe highly in karma. Then she says 'let me find out how God is going to bless you today!'"

 * ... BAD FORM: There are few things worse than bad grammar and misspellings when you are in the communications and marketing business. One repeat offender is the Downtown Business Association whose newsletter regularly contains misspellings and bad grammar. In its latest missive, it confused "your" and "you are." The DBA needs to learn to spell or hire a copy editor.

If you still smoke, you now have a host of other smoke-related illnesses to worry about, and gas prices are back on the rise after a long slump

 * … SMOKING: If you smoke cigarettes, you suddenly have a lot more to worry about than simply dying of smoking related diseases. A major new study has added a host of new ailments liked to smoking: kidney failure, intestinal blood vessel blockage,  hypertensive heart disease, infections and

breast and prostate cancers. Yet, the researchers said that those who do smoke are stubbornly holding onto the habit, no matter how many new illnesses are tied to tobacco use. A report in the New York Times noted there has been "a decided slowdown in smoking cessation rates in recent years, fueling a belief that getting the remaining hard core of smokers to quit will require new strategies."

* … GAS PRICES: I hope you have enjoyed those lower gas prices recently because they are back on the rise. According to the Lundberg survey, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States rose 13 cents in the past two weeks, bringing it up 26 cents since prices bottomed out after a nine-month slide ended in January. And experts say it will only get more expensive, thanks to the introduction of pricier seasonal gas, scheduled maintenance and the fire at a ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance.

* … GOOD FORM: Janeen Pierce contacted me to give a shout out to a stranger who found her driver's license on the bike path Sunday and kindly drove to her house to deliver it. "Thank you!  Thank you!" she said. "I appreciate you taking time out of your Sunday to save me from what could have been some messy consequences of losing my ID."

 * … SPOTTED: On a friend's Twitter feed: "Every time I use a public bathroom, one thought occurs…'Seriously? This many people have Sharpies on them at all times?'"

* … HYUNDAI: Good news for the folks over at Bakersfield Hyundai which has been awarded a 2015 DealerRater Consumer Satisfaction Award, a recognition auto dealerships can earn by delivering outstanding customer service as rated by online consumer reviews. DealerRater, the car dealer review site for consumers, created the Consumer Satisfaction Awards to enable online car shoppers to instantly spot car dealerships that provide high-quality customer service. Consumer Satisfaction Awards will be given annually to the top 10 percent of U.S. new-car dealers based on their PowerScore.

 * … MEMORIES: A recent blog post on some memories from the past drew this note from reader Neil Walker. "How about the kids’ Saturday matinee at the Fox?  For 25 cents you got a double-feature with Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, Buck Rogers, and other white-hatted heroes, separated by the requisite Bugs Bunny cartoon. For an additional dime, you could score a box of Black Crows, Jujubees or Dots. The intermission included a ticket drawing by the emcee. Woody’s Toys often provided the prizes. I once won a 25-piece set of green plastic toy soldiers. I was the most popular boy at the Fox that day! Just think … a half-day of babysitting for mom and dad for only 35 cents!"

Researchers say getting cancer for many people may just be plain bad luck, Guy Fieri rolls into town looking for good bar food and another random act of kindness gets a nod

 * … CANCER: I am not sure if this is good news or bad, but researchers now say that in most cases, coming down with various types of cancer may just be plain bad luck. In fact, random genetic mistakes may account for "two thirds of the risk of getting many types of cancer, leaving the usual suspects -

heredity and environmental factors - to account for only one third," reported The New York Times. Said one researcher: "For the average cancer patient, I think this is good news. Knowing that over all, a lot of it is just bad luck, I think in a sense it's comforting." Of course, some cancers like lung disease can largely be avoided by our own personal behavior, but other deadly forms of cancer appear to be tied to random luck.

 * … KINDNESS: A reader whose wife underwent a recent liver transplant in Los Angeles reached out to thank his longtime neighbors in the Polo Grounds, Vickie and Mike Taylor, who have been caring for his 4-year-old dachshund while they have been away. (He asked not to be identified since he is out of town so much). "Frannie (the dog) got out of the yard Friday and Vickie called in tears. Bakersfield City Animal Control called and said a nice lady had Frannie at her home and was holding her for Vickie to pick up. Thank you to the unknown Bakersfield good Samaritan and the Taylors for keeping our pet well cared for."

 * … GUY FIERI: It looks like a number of local restaurants will be featured on Guy Fieri's popular Food Network show Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. In addition to Pyrennes Cafe, I have heard the show will also be filming at Mama Roomba downtown, 24th Street Cafe and Salty's BBQ. This doesn't guarantee that all the restaurants will make the cut, but film crews are about town chronicling some of our favorite lunch spots.

 * … NARDUCCI'S: More local restaurant news; the popular lunch spot Narducci's has opened a second location called Narducci's North Beach Cafe on 21st and O streets.

 * … OVERHEARD: At the Garden Spot recently and man is overheard talking about reading the newspaper: "I always check the obituaries. Mainly to make sure I'm not in there."

 * … SPOTTED: From reporter Steve Mayer's Facebook wall: "Someone has invented a smart belt with a buckle that automatically loosens when you've eaten too much. First, this is a sad commentary on our society. Second, where can I get one?"

 * … BUCKEYES: I always hear from reader Sunny Kapoor when his beloved Ohio State Buckeyes post a victory (which is often these days) so it was just a manner of time before his email landed in my in-box. "The Buckeyes were amazing last night," he wrote after OSU upset Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, "and the victory was very much enjoyed at my household, where I watched the game with my wife, and sons Arie (Chico State) and Nigel (Ohio State). I hope to be able to go watch them play in the National Championship game in Dallas, but if not, I am sure they will make this Buckeye proud. Go Bucks!"

Downtown Bakersfield gets a new restaurant, Texas 28, and a new study links sunburns during youth with a higher incidence of cancer

* … EATERY: Another new restaurant is opening in downtown Bakersfield. It's called Texas 28 and it is located on 18th Street between Eye Street and Chester Avenue. Shawna Haddad, owner of

Muertos just a few blocks away, conspired with the owners to create a menu featuring a variety of waffle dishes as well as items like Chicken Fried Steak Strips, Blue Pig Quesadilla, Pulled Pork Salad and a Fried Chicken Sandwich. It opens at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

 * … SPOTTED: Sarah Audelo, a Ridgeview High graduate who went on to attend Georgetown University, was spotted in a picture in the Californian of President Barak Obama signing a presidential memorandum reducing the burden of student loan debt. Sarah now works for the Center of American Progress in Washington, D.C. She is the daughter of Joe and Mimi Audelo, who recently moved to Santa Barbara.

 * … HEAT: Here's another cautionary tale about staying out of the sun. A new study suggests that the risk of developing skin cancer is directly tied to sunburns in childhood. As reported in The New York Times, the study found that "women who had at least five blistering sunburns during their teenage years had a greater likelihood of developing any of the three main forms of skin cancer." It went on to say that the "risk was particularly high for melanoma, which kills an estimated 8,800 Americans every year."

* … BAD FORM: The following image is compliments of reader Pearl Birchard-Adam: "Just before noon (the other day) both my husband and I saw at Sam's on Gosford a darling 2-foot Pekinese in the basket of a shopping cart scratch his anus on the same wire where we place our fruits and vegetables. The manager who we had called insisted that the store could not keep out guide dogs for the disabled. I repeated the dog's size several times to no avail. My description of the two well dressed ladies caused him to say that they have signs posted saying no dogs are allowed. My husband added that this is the second time he has seen cute dogs in Sam's shopping carts. This must be a concern for all shopper's health. I do not want any of my food to have had contact with dog excretions. The employee at the entrance who verifies Sam's cards can and should also verify a dog's size and utility. Adorable is not sufficient."

 * … ST. JOSEPH'S: Cecilia (Aughinbaugh) Bishop called to respond to an earlier reader's comments about the old St. Joseph School. "There are plenty of us still around," she told me. "But I don't remember the school being on Baker Street. I was there from 1956-1960 and I remember it as being on Oregon Street, or somewhere around there." Any other St. Joseph alumni out there who can shed light on this?

 * … MEMORIES: And finally, this last memory of Tiny's Restaurant from reader John Kidd. "During the early and mid 1960s our bunch of couples would hang out there after the game or movie. We always tried to get the big circular booth in the southwest corner of the building, and succeeded dozens of times. It was adjacent to the staircase that led downstairs to the bathrooms in the basement. It eventually dawned on us that a lot of people who went down there never came back up the staircase. We even went so far as to go down there, and see if there were people still in the bathroom. In addition to the two bathrooms, there was a third door through which we could make out the sound of machines  (perhaps cooling or heating equipment). Does anyone else remember this or know what was going on down there? I have always thought it was probably illegal gambling, and may have been tied in with the infamous downtown tunnels."

College decision time for high school seniors and the pain of Roy Ashburn

* ... TATUM'S COMEBACK: Behind every fund raiser and worthy cause there are a thousand inspiring stories. One of them belongs to Tatum Holland, a high achieving youngster who was diagnosed with cancer when she was just 15 years old. Today, six years cancer free, she is a lively, intelligent, healthy 22-year-old student at Sacramento State making her parents proud every day. Tatum, who graduated from Liberty High School, overcame a rare form of bone cancer that led to chemotherapy and surgery. She is one of the reasons that her father, Greg Holland, and his team over at Coldwell Banker are sponsoring the "Relay for Life Wine Tasting and Auction" fund raiser. It will be held this Saturday (March 13) from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Motor City Lexus on Gasoline Alley to benefit the American Cancer Society. There will be plenty of wine (featuring 25 Central Coast wineries) and food so pick up your tickets at any Coldwell Banker office or at Imbibe Wine and Spirits on Truxtun Avenue. Proud father Greg  told me: "We have seen first hand what this disease can do and we have also seen how God works in the lives of those people affected by this terrible disease. So thank you very much!" Tatum's mother, Janet Sanders, and step mom Stephanie Holland are both deeply involved in cancer fighting and fund raising efforts. (Tatum is shown in the picture below.)

 * ... ROY'S SAGA:  Nobody should take any joy in the drama surrounding state Sen. Roy Ashburn, the conservative Bakersfield legislator whose arrest on DUI charges in Sacramento (after leaving a gay night club) led to his "coming out" as a homosexual on the Inga Barks KERN Newstalk radio program. There's a deep sadness to all this, if for no other reason than one can only imagine Ashburn's pain in dealing with his sexual identity. Which is why I thought it was piling on when Pastor Chad Vegas told Barks that Ashburn's admission was a "perversion... a sin ... a corruption of Roy." I'd prefer to let Roy work this thing out himself without playing moral judge and jury. Pastor Vegas and others should remember what my late mama always told me: "Live and let live."

 * ... DECISION TIME: It's that time of year when high school seniors all over Bakersfield are getting their acceptance letters or emails from colleges around the country. Some of the most popular local choices - UCLA, UC Berkeley and USC - won't be heard from until early April. These are stressful but exciting times for both our kids and their parents. My advice: enjoy these special moments because you wake up, and your children are gone. Seems like just yesterday that my youngest was at Christa McAuliffe Elementary in Marsha Ketchell's class and today she's wrapping up her sophomore year at Michigan in Ann Arbor. If you'd like to share where your sons and daughters are going to college, shoot me an email and I will compile a list.

* ... GAUCHO COCKROACHES: Speaking of universities, one of my work colleagues is reporter Gretchen Wenner, who has some deep roots at UC Santa Barbara. Not only did she graduate there, but her father is a retired UCSB biology professor. One of her favorite memories was the live collection of giant African cockroaches her father kept at the portable biology trailer, housed in plastic garbage cans that he would put on counters so the janitors would not accidentally trash them. Her parents, by the way, met at the University of Michigan. "So there's Wolverine and Gaucho blood there," she said. That's some good heritage.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield when "You know the ingredients in a George's Special and you have had a 'Black and White' for lunch."

Lenore Carter loses her fight with cancer, more local kids return home and CSUB women's tennis

  

* .. DEMOLITION OF OLD THREE-WAY CHEVY: One of the longtime institutions of Bakersfield, the old Three-Way Chevrolet dealership on California Avenue near Highway 99, has been torn down by the bulldozers. The dealership moved to the auto mall and the prime acreage - it's one of the busiest intersections in town - has been put on the market by Grubb and Ellis-ASU Associates. Tom Anchordoquy, a principal in the firm, told me the 12.4-acre site was purchased by local attorney and businessman Tim Lewy in July. He said 10 acres actually front California Avenue with another 2.4 acres on Easton Drive. He said Lewy was "in the preliminary discussion stage with several tenants, while he considers the overall master plan for the property."  In another time this prime piece of property would have been gobbled up and developed immediately, but thanks to scarce capital and a deepening recession it is being turned into another vacant lot in town-at least for the time being.

 * ... MORE KIDS WHO HAVE RETURNED: Thanks to all who are submitting names of youngsters who went away to college, got their degrees and chose to return to make Bakersfield home. The list keeps growing. A few more: Dr. Travis Thurman, a Highland High graduate, went off to Texas A and M, spent some time in Grenada and is now associated with San Joaquin Veterinary Hospital. Another Highland grad is Dr. Kurt Sturz, a pediatric dentist who went to Oregon and came back to establish his own practice. Finally, Rebecca Andrews graduated from Bakersfield High in the year 2000, went on to UC San Diego and earned her master's from Boston University. She's now working as a speech pathologist at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital. I will post yet more names of local kids who returned on Wednesday. Keep those names coming.

 * RIP LENORE CARTER: I was saddened to hear about the death of Lenore Carter, wife of Warren Carter and mother of Ken Carter, president of Watson-Touchstone Realty. Lenore died at home on Thanksgiving in the care of Hoffman Hospice after battling cancer. Warren and Lenore are longtime Bakersfield residents, well known because of their active roles in our community and their ownership of Watson Realty, now known as Watson-Touchstone Realty. The Carters have a home on the coast and were shuttling between here and there after turning over the company to son Ken. In April, Lenore was diagnosed with non-small cell adenocarcinoma in her left lung. Ken told me his mother's cancer was a type of lung cancer and "she never smoked a day in her life." He said the family had gathered together for the end after the long illness and "it was sweet in the end. We were all there." Lenore was just 73. Graveside services will be held Friday in Cayucos and a memorial will be held in Bakersfield on Saturday, December 12 at the Olive Drive Church. She fought a valiant fight. Prayers for the family.

 * ... CAL STATE WOMEN'S TENNIS: Got a nice email from Molly Busacca, one of the owners of Secure Systems, pitching the Cal State women's tennis team for some publicity. She was enthusiastic about coach Dan McCain who was not only a national high school and college champion but also played on the professional circuit. McCain graduated from the University of Michigan, where he played No. 1 on the Wolverines tennis team, and he received a post bachelor's degree from Illinois State, where he served as assistant coach of the women's team. While there, Illinois State won back to back Missouri Valley Conference titles. Check out the Roadrunners' website here for a schedule of the upcoming season. My younger daughter played all four years varsity tennis at Stockdale High School and one of her fellow Mustangs, Julie Hutton, is a scholarship player at CSUB. It's a team worth following.

 

Sarah Palin and Bakersfield a dream team and a business born in the recession booms

 * .. LIKE THROWING RAW MEAT TO WOLVES: You have to hand it to George Martin, the local attorney who is bringing back the once wildly popular Bakersfield Business Conference. Martin scored it big by landing former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to be a headliner at the event, which is now scheduled for next October 9. Say what you will about Palin, but she is a red hot commodity right now and bringing her to Bakersfield's conservative audience is like throwing raw meat to a pack of hungry wolves. Meanwhile, no word yet on where the one-day conference will be held, but I hear Martin's first choice is the amphitheater at the Park at River Walk over off Stockdale Highway. The old venue over at Cal State Bakersfield appears to be out, partly because of the construction of the new student recreation center and the new bike path that winds around it.

 * ... A BUSINESS BORN IN THE RECESSION: If you're looking for some good news in the depth of this recession, consider Imbibe Wine and Spirits Merchants over off Truxtun Extension and Empire Drive. The business, owned and run by David and Tami Dobbs, is beautifully done and features a full wine store as well as a tasting area where you can sample wines by the ounce. The couple bought the building in July 2008, gutted and renovated it and opened Imbibe in March in the absolute depths of the recession. How are they doing? Tami tells me they are well ahead of their revenue goals and could not be happier with their growing clientele. The couple (she graduated from Bakersfield High and David from North High) spent 20 years in the wine business in Glendale before moving back in 2006 to be closer to family. This is a true entrepreneurial couple who built a business through sheer sweat equity against all odds in a recession. More power and all success to them.

* ... OFF TO HAITI: I saw Evan Evans, a local Allstate insurance manager, at Starbucks on 24th Street Monday morning where he regularly meets for coffee with his old high school pal Harry Starkey, head of the Berrenda Mesa Water District. Evans told me he was off to Haiti with 20 other members of the Olive Knolls Church of the Nazarene to build and work in a clinic. Apparently this is a 10-day trip and another example how many folks in this community give back in untold number of ways.

 * ... BOBBY'S BRIGADE FUND RAISER: If you're  looking for a good cause to support, drop over to B Ryder's sports grill this Thursday for an event supporting Relay For Life. The event is named for the son of CeCe Cross who lost his battle with leukemia. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door and includes trip-tip dinner, salad, beans, bread and a drink. B Ryder's is located at 7401 White Lane. Call CeCe Cross for details at 661-703-2050, or Vanessa Cierley at 661-246-8886. The event starts at 6 p.m.

 * ... RIP KURT YAEGER: I heard the other day that Kurt Yaeger, a local attorney who left town in the year 2000, had passed away in Riverside. Kurt and his wife Andrea Yaeger lived in Haggin Oaks and were avid golfers at Seven Oaks Country Club, where they were charter members and Kurt was the first head of the Board of Governors. Kurt was diagnosed with cancer three years ago and died at Loma Linda University Medical Center on November 10. He was 53. Keep Kurt, Andrea and their daughters Jacqueline and Elizabeth in your thoughts.