Does cannabis help protect you from contracting the coronavirus? And are just weeks away from running out of hospital beds? Plus Grimmway Farms hands out its scholarships

 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.

 * ... COVID AND RENT: Did you know that 31 percent of the people who either rent or own a

home missed their payment in May? That's the word from CSUB economics professor Richard Gearhart who said the longtime economic slowdown is starting to affect our ability to meet basic housing obligations. In June, Gearhart said that number stayed the same - right at 30 percent - and that many of those renters and homeowners are living in fear of being evicted.

 * ... CANNABIS AND COVID: In a world of turmoil and bad news, here is an interesting tidbit that should brighten your day. Cannabis - marijuana, pot, weed, ganga whatever you care to call it - may help prevent or treat the coronavirus infection. Thats according to researchers from the University of Lethbridge who said a study in April showed at least 13 cannabis plants were high in CBD that appeared to affect the ACE2 pathways that the bug uses to access the body. The results, printed in online journal Preprints, indicated hemp extracts high in CBD may help block proteins that provide a “gateway” for COVID-19 to enter host cells.While they stressed that more research was needed, the study gave hope that the cannabis, if proven to modulate the enzyme, “may prove a plausible strategy for decreasing disease susceptibility” as well as “become a useful and safe addition to the treatment of COVID-19 as an adjunct therapy.”

 * ... COVID SURGE: it was distressing to read in The Californian and Dignity's Mercy Southwest Hospital had to turn away Covid-19 patients this past weekend because of staffing shortages. Reporter John Cox said so many hospital employees (nurses, doctors and support staff) have been sickened by the virus that they are having trouble keeping the vital positions filled. According to Cox, at the current rate we should run out of hospital beds sometime in the next three weeks.

 * .... SICK BAY: And finally on the Cover-19 front, Michael Bowers is the latest of our citizens to be stricken with the coronavirus. A former aide to state Sen. Andy Vidak and Congressman David Valadao, Bowers is now vice president of marketing with Centric Health. While he recovers at home, keep him and the other Covid victims in your thoughts.

 * ... GRIMMWAY: Grimmway Farms has awarded another 64 college scholarships to students who have a parent or guardian employed by the Bakersfield-based company. The scholarships were given as part of the annual Rod and Bob Grimm Memorial Scholarship Program, Grimmway's founders.
This year's scholarship recipients will attend a range of top-ranked schools, including Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Colgate University, Fresno State, UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara. The scholarships, which are renewable for four years, are based on academic achievement and provide financial support for students attending two- and four-year colleges and universities. Applicants who exceed a grade point average of 3.5 receive a MacBook Pro laptop in addition to renewable scholarship funds.

 * ... MEMORIES: Nothing like a trip down memory lane to get a view of old Bakersfield and Highway 99 back in the day.

CSUB holds its annual alumni bash, millennials turn on Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan and Temblor Brewing Co. becomes known for comedy

 * ... CSUB ALUMNI: Did you know that CSUB now has more than 47,000 alumni? That's the word

from Sarah Hendrick, head of Alumni Engagement and one of the organizers of the Friday "Party in the Park" event to raise money for alumni scholarships. The idea: fully engage as many alumni as possible to give them an emotional ownership stake in their university. Consider the good that would come if each of those 47,000 alumni contributed $50 a year to the scholarship fund.

* ... CANNABIS: It must have come as a surprise to City Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan when she encountered a firestorm of criticism to a Facebook page she posted urging county supervisors to ban the legal sale of cannabis. The page, called "Kern County: Get off the Pot" triggered more than a thousand comments, and 90 plus percentage of them wanted marijuana to be regulated. From what I could tell, most of the comments came from the millennials, a generation that has grown up with cannabis in their lives much as past generations did with cigarettes. The war on cannabis is largely a generational issue, and eventually the young win those battles.

* ... DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It must be odd to be a prosecutor in the Kern County District Attorney's office, and not because the job is hard or crime is increasing. Rather, deputy DAs are lining up to support either assistant DA Scott Spielman or deputy DA Cynthia Zimmer in the race to succeed the retiring Lisa Green as District Attorney. In an office of some 80 prosecutors, one might expect some tension between co-workers as we head to the June 2018 primary election.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I'm not impressed by your looks, money, social status or job title. I'm impressed by the way you treat other human beings."

 * ... TEMBLOR: Temblor Brewing Co. was founded as a homage to craft beer, but the business off Buck Owens Boulevard is increasingly being known for something else: a home for live stand-up comedy. Among some of the comedians appearing soon at Temblor: Adam Carolla, Carlos Mencia, Pauly Shore and Kevin Hefferman. For dates and times, check out the Temblor Facebook page.

 * ... GOOD FORM: Bakersfield College instructor Olivia Garcia shared this bit of good form on Facebook: "I wish I could thank the stranger who passed on a little bit of kindness to me today: In a rush to meet up with one of my mentors today, my bright red scarf accidentally slipped off and fell somewhere near my car in a busy shopping mall parking lot. Upon my return, more than an hour later, I saw the scarf neatly wrapped into the handle of my driver's door, waiving through a nice breeze, as if it was greeting me. It was a small gesture, but it made me realize that there is such goodness in our Bako town. We should be proud of that. I will definitely pay it forward."

Local pet suffers a rattlesnake bite while on a morning walk and new polls indicate growing support for a recreational marijuana initiative on the November ballot

 * ... SNAKES: If you don't believe we are in the middle of rattlesnake season, just ask Carl Moreland. Said Moreland: "My English Pointer Tess suffered a rattlesnake bite at 7 a.m. today while walking along an auto track trail east of Morning Drive approximately half way between Panorama

Drive and Paladino Drive. Should have heeded your warning in your blog about snakes. She is now at the Animal Emergency and Urgent Care at 4300 Easton Drive. They had the anti-venom shots available and she is under their care now and she is doing well. Tess will be wearing her electronic collar on our walks for the rest of the snake season. Other dog walkers in fields may want to do the same."

 * ... OBIT: Making the rounds on social media was an obituary from Richmond, Va., which started this way: "Faced with the prospect of voting for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, Mary Anne Noland of Richmond chose, instead, to pass into the eternal love of God on Sunday, May 15, 2016, at the age of 68."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "People who make really bad decisions always think, 'I have the worst luck.'"

 * ... MARIJUANA: Is this the year that California voters approve the recreational use of marijuana? That's what the polls seem to reflect, indicating that a November ballot initiative will be approved making California the latest state to end the war on cannabis. In Colorado even Gov. John Hickenlooper, who opposed the initiative in that state, now concedes it seems to be working. Said Hickenlooper: legal cannabis "is not as vexing as we thought it was going to be."

 * ... FLAGS: Get ready for another majestic display over Memorial Day weekend when a thousand American flags will transform the Park at Riverwalk into a patriotic canvas. This is the third year that the Breakfast Rotary Club has sponsored this event. Flag sponsorships are still available at $50 per flag and can be ordered online at www.thousandflags.org.

 * ... ACHIEVERS: George and Agnes Plantenga of Bakersfield shared with me that they have five grandchildren graduating this month: Alysse De Jager from Fresno State, Nathan De Jager from Bakersfield Christian High, George Plantenga from Los Osos High in Alta Loma, Hannah Fluegel of Central Valley Christian High in Visalia and Joshua Plantenga from Vineyard Junior High, also in Alta Loma. Sounds like the Plantengas have plenty of travel this month.

Bako Bits: Have you ever grabbed a sock under your bed and found it belonged to a burglar hiding under there? That and more odd stories from Bakersfield and Kern County

 * … GOOD FORM: A friend of mine lost her checkbook recently but was lucky there are good people in this world. When she returned home, her bank had called and left a message that the

checkbook was at Albertson's, turned in by a kind stranger. "Do you realize how lucky I was? My whole bank book with checks and I didn't even know it. They did not know who found it, so to this day I haven't a clue who the MOST honest person was. So chalk up a good mark… Ole Bakersfield people are pretty special!"

* … BAD FORM: I came across this note about a man who had an unwelcome visitor in his home. I will not identify him given the nature of the crime. "He came home to his new house tonight and found various subtle things amiss… So eventually he checks under his bed and finds a sock. He goes in to grab the sock and there's a foot in it. A BAD GUY IS UNDER THE BED! He runs out of the house and calls the sheriff's department back… Anyway, bad guy got away."

 * … CRABFEST: Tickets are sale for the annual Rib and Crabfest benefitting the St. Francis School Parish. This is always one of my favorite fund raisers in a town that excels at raising money for good causes. It's held at the Kern County Fairgrounds, is presided over by Monsignor Craig Harrison and features some of the best ribs and crabs you will ever eat. Tickets for the event, held on Friday, Jan. 24, are $75 each and can be purchased at St. Francis school. (photo of Tracy and Brian Kiser at Crabfest)

 * … CANNABIS: The politics around the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana are quickly changing. Colorado and Washington have decriminalized its use for recreational muses, and New York is looking at relaxing its own laws governing cannabis. On Tuesday, at 9 a.m., I will be chatting with local attorney Phil Ganong who has been actively pushing for Kern County be less restrictive about the sale of cannabis for medical purposes. The interview will be video streamed live on bakersfield.com and can be heard on First Look with Scott Cox on KERN NewsTalk 1180.

* … LITTER: This note from Interim HealthCare's Darlyn Baker:  "I saw something today that resonated with me. At the traffic light at the Oswell off ramp of 178 East, there frequently is a person standing with a sign asking for money, but not today.  Someone had obviously provided some food in the past three days. On top of the transformer box sat two clear plastic cups half filled with water.  In the weeds next to where the person stands were two medium size white Styrofoam food containers.  Seeing this, it seems as though those who give food to these individuals need to say, 'Be sure to take this container and put it in a trash can.'"
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