The real face on the recession, getting ready for gridlock and the courage of a rape victim

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 * ... JOBLESS: I received a thoughtful note from a reader challenging my notion that foreclosed homes are the "picture of this recession." The contributor noted that it's not the house itself, but rather the person in the unemployment line that is more representative of these difficult economic times. "It's the face of the person at the unemployment office, trying to figure out the confusing and contradictory paperwork, trying to get a hold of someone to answer simple questions and hoping that a paperwork snafu or single Senator won't result in the loss of benefits or force him out of his home and make him wonder how he will eat." I stand corrected. These are tenuous times for so many of our neighbors. I appreciate this input, which stands  in contrast to others who -  blessed with jobs and homes and security - trivialize the pain of others by waltzing through this recession engaged in idle gossip seemingly oblivious to what is happening around them. And so it goes.

 * ... COLLEGE BOUND: Terri Richmond, social studies chair over at Foothill High School, alerted me to two of her International Baccalaureate students who have been accepted into some impressive colleges. Maria Zepeda will choose from Wellesley, Yale, Stanford, Brown and Columbia, and Omar Gonzales has been accepted at the University of Southern California and Emory University in Atlanta. Going on to any college is something to celebrate, but these two kids have really excelled. Well done.

* ... MORE FOOTHILL: Beyond the kids mentioned above, Foothill High has a lot more to crow about. Joan Herman, lead counselor, told me the school is seeing a "depth and breadth of college acceptances that thrills us: Yale, Columbia, Brown, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Emory, Grinnell, Stanford, USC, Occidental, UCLA (9!), UC Berkeley ... What is especially notable is that these students have done it with none of the advantages that others enjoy: most of our students come from extremely low-income homes, are usually the first in their family to go to college (and sometimes to finish high school) and often come from homes where English is not the first language. Despite those obstacles, they achieve at the highest levels!" Joan gave special thanks to Rebecca Farley, the international baccalaureate coordinator who is tireless in her efforts to prepare these students to excel.

  * ... VICTIM COURAGE: I was moved by the story of rape victim Donna Bulford speaking at Cal State Bakersfield this week.(read the Californian full story here) Bulford was the victim in the "Babies R Us" case in which she was robbed, kidnapped and raped in broad daylight. It took courage for this young woman to face her accuser and then share her story with others. This is a strong young woman who obviously was reared by parents who filled her with confidence and self-esteem. (Californian photo by Michael Fagans)

  * ... GRIDLOCK: Don't say that City Manager Alan Tandy didn't warn us. Now that the rainy season is about over, work is getting underway on road projects across town. And if you think it's bad now, just wait because it's going to get much worse. Consider the already nightmarish intersection of Brimhall and Coffee roads, where they are rerouting a sewer line and planning massive improvements. The morning and afternoon commutes - already hellish - are starting to look like something you expect elsewhere. And don't forget about the year-long project at Coffee Road and Truxtun Extension. Getting through that intersection is going to make a colonoscopy look like a walk in the park.

* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield when "you complain that it takes you almost 20 minutes to go from one side of town to the other."

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."