California welcomes the "atmospheric river" of rain and snow, what's going on at the Fox Theater and my seven month retirement ends with a daily radio show starting next week

 * ... RAIN AND SNOW: Take a deep breath and enjoy this "atmospheric river" of rain that has been pummeling California for the past few weeks. To be sure it is not enough to end the long drought, but there is plenty of good news for our lakes and reservoirs. As Louis Sahagun of the Los

Angeles Times reported: "Lake Tahoe has risen 12 inches in just the last two weeks as the storms have dumped 33.6 billion gallons of water into the massive landmark, which measures 72 miles around and has a capacity for 37 trillion gallons of water. As of Tuesday morning, 154 of the largest reservoirs tracked by the California Department of Water Resources had filled to about 97 percent of their collective average for the day ... Just a year ago, many were at or below 50 percent of average." Even Lake Oroville has risen 90 feet since December. (photo courtesy of SFGate)

 * ... GOING, GOING, GONE?: The Wall Street Journal recently compiled a list of popular products that have fallen out of favor with consumers. Among them: powder detergent (replaced by pods), processed cheese, bar soap, margarine, ground coffee (replaced by the Keurig cups), frozen juice concentrate and alkaline batteries.

 * ... FOX THEATER: What is going on over at the Fox Theater and the folks who are running the show? Jennifer Self, the Californian's longtime features editor who is plugged into the local entertainment community, shed some light this week when she questioned what happened to Bob Bender, who apparently lost his job running the Fox and booking shows at the iconic venue. So who is running this local community treasure? I hope it's not Melanie Farmer, the head of the Fox Theater Foundation who has zero experience in concert promotion. Other than telling Self the foundation was looking at being a more "hands-on operation" (what does that mean?) we are left in the dark. Memo to Farmer: The Fox is a community treasure and many of us have opened our wallets to preserve and restore it. If Bender is out, tell us what the plan is for the grand old dame of Bakersfield.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I've never done jail time, but I've been stuck in a group text with my family and it can't be much worse."

 * ... RADIO: I spent a career in print journalism but my second love has always been news radio, a more free wheeling environment that is both authentic and unpredictable. So I am pleased to announce that effective this Monday, Jan. 16, I will host my own two hour daily talk show on KERN NewsTalk (96.1 FM/1180 AM) from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (I will be the lead-in for the popular Ralph Bailey Show that comes on at 3 p.m.) Join me on inauguration week for a lineup of special guests including Monsignor Craig Harrison, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker, former Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, Reuters Washington, D.C., correspondent Bill Trott, CSUB political science professor Jeanine Kraybill, water expert Harry Starkey, Californian columnist Lois Henry, CSUB basketball Coach Rod Barnes, Californian executive editor Bob Price and many more.

 * ... FOODIE: Were you surprised that the Mimi's restaurant on California Avenue closed? Eateries come and go but Mimi's always seemed to have a steady clientele. But the food business is a tough one, and the public can be fickle in its loyalty. Across the street, I made my first visit to the Habit Burger and while it is no In-N-Out, the burger was rich and tasty and the service was excellent. I was also pleased to read that RJ's Bar and Grill had reopened and was back in business on Hageman Road.

 * ... STOLEN CARS: Car and truck theft is rampant here is Bakersfield, and here are some of the most popular targets according to the Bakersfield Police Department: 1990 through 2000 Honda Accords and Civics; 2000 through 2008 Chevrolet Silverado trucks; 2000 through 2008 GMC Sierra trucks; and 1990 through 2000 Acura Integras.

Is an Apple Store headed to Bakersfield? And Westchester is hit with a rash of car and truck thefts

 * ... APPLE STORE: It looks like Bakersfield may finally get an Apple Store after all.  Apple has yet to announce it and no word on where it will locate, but it seems clear Apple is coming. Local attorney Mike Abril tipped me to a job posting on the networking site LinkedIn advertising for employees for a new Apple Store coming to Bakersfield. And Abril told me an employee of an Apple Store in Los Angeles confirmed that the company is indeed opening a new outlet here. One commercial real estate broker speculated Apple might end up in Valley Plaza.

* ... THEFTS: The downtown and Westchester neighborhoods have been hit with a rash of auto thefts, no less than a half dozen stolen in the last week. In one case, a woman who cares for rescued dogs awoke to find her 2004 Silverado pickup, hooked up to a rental trailer with 1,600 pounds of donated dog food, gone along with her black 2004 black Saab. Both cars were alarmed, which tells me this isn't the work of amateurs.

 * ... RUBIO: Join me Monday on Californian Radio KERN 1180 when I will be chatting with state Sen. Michael Rubio about the recent elections and what that means going forward. The show runs from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

* ... OVERHEARD: A local businessman talking to a friend: "She wants to take me out to lunch for my birthday but she's so broke she has to borrow money from me to do it!"


 * ... BIKE PATH: Longtime KERO TV anchor Jackie Parks has two young children and she shared with me her frustration over how some folks use the bike path. "I'm concerned and frustrated by the number of parents who use the bike path as an outing for toddlers. A few weeks ago I almost ran over a child who was learning to walk near the side of the path. And today the rider in front of me had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting a child who was walking IN FRONT OF HIS OWN STROLLER. Shouldn't there be some rule about this since parental common sense doesn't seem to be enough?"

  * ... PREFIXES: Irene Randolph poses a question I cannot answer: "Regarding Bakersfield telephone prefixes, wasn't Oildale's [EX] for EXport?  And another east Bakersfield prefix was Triangle?"

 * ... MORE PREFIXES: Gene Bonas added this thought to the discussion on prefixes: "I thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing about the phone prefixes that I knew growing up in east Bakersfield.  It also reminded me of a game a group of us would play called 'play the busy signal.'  Several neighborhood guys would get together and dial our own number.  When we got the busy signal, between buzzes you could talk to others playing the busy signal.  We'd give out our phone number and wait.  In a few minutes a girl would call and a conversation would ensue.  We met a lot of girls this way... Often they attended the same schools we did.  When we met, we usually met at the miniature golf course by the Green Frog Market on Alta Vista.  The golf course is no longer there, but playing the busy signal was some fun."

Meet Zeb Smith, hero of the anti "Shame On" movement, on Californian Radio KERN 1180 Monday morning

 * ... STARDOM: Zeb Smith may not be a household name now but he's darn close to it. If you haven't heard, Smith is the local contractor who took on those folks who picket local businesses with the "Shame On" signs. Smith works as a non-union contractor and has long been fed up watching these Carpenter's Union workers picket local companies. When he saw them in front of the new Dewar's candy store in the Northwest, he thought "enough is enough." He made his own poster, reading "Shame on These ...(expletive)" and had his picture taken next to the banner. After posting on Facebook, the picture went viral and he's become an instant hero to legends of people who disagree with the "Shame On" protesters. I'll have Smith on Californian Radio KERN 1180 Monday at 9 a.m. Tune in to hear how Smith has become a hero to many in our community.

 * ... MATLOCK: Learned the other day that retired Bakersfield police chief Eric Matlock has been battling a serious illness that has left his weak. Matlock served as chief from 1999 to 2004 when he retired, and has remained active in our community. In 2007 he was inducted into the CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame. Keep Matlock and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

* ... SPOTTED: From reader Craig Holland: "A guy on a skateboard going around the (Garces) traffic circle against traffic! It is difficult enough on a bike going with traffic. He looks like a future nominee for an upcoming Darwin award."

 * ... LEADERSHIP: A new organization is seeking nominees to honor the "unsung heroes in our midst who represent the humble qualities of servant leadership." The award is named for the late civic leader Warren Carter, former president of Watson Realty. A breakfast to honor the winner is set for Thursday, May 3, at Stockdale Country Club. To nominate someone go to www.kernleadershipalliance.org.

* ... HISTORY LESSON: Another nugget from a June 1896 edition of The Californian: An advertisement for Grove's Tasteless Chill Tonic promises that "it makes children as fat as pigs... just as good for adults." It was offered for sale by J.A. Hughes, "leading prescription pharmacist of Kern County."

 * ... SAM THE HIPPO: Randy Martin over at Covenant Community Services wonders who remembers a hippopotamus who used to live over near Sam Lynn Ball Park. "If it wasn't a hippo," he told me, "it was some other large beast."