Bakersfield College athletics gets big boost with fund raiser at the Campbell home, and another lesson in bad form

* ... BC ATHLETICS: Hard to beat the spring-like weather we enjoyed this weekend, and it proved to be a perfect setting for the annual fundraiser for Bakersfield College athletics at the beautiful home of Joe and Jana Campbell near Bakersfield Country Club.  Gino Valpredo and his crew from Luigi's provided the steak dinner (Big Mike Ariey was helping on the grill). I chatted with Gerry Collis and football coach Jeff Chudy there and left impressed with the wide and deep community support Bakersfield College enjoys. Among those I spotted were Tom and Cindy Anspach, Chad Manning, Vernon and Janis Varner,  newlyweds Michael and Jan Tivnon, Steve and Terri Haupt, Kevin and Tess Antongiovanni, Carl Bowser, Patti Houchin, Jack and Byron Campbell, Bruce and Jane Haupt with daughter Elyse, Steve Holloway and so many more.

* ... BAD FORM: Today's lesson on bad behavior comes from Brian Foster, a businessman who works on Patton Avenue. He found what appeared to be a dead cat in front of his business and called Kern County Animal Control, who responded promptly by sending a truck out several hours later.  "The officer got out of the truck, inspected the situation, got back in the truck and drove off. I assumed he would be back later to do the 30 second job. The next morning, the mess was still there. Wednesday morning came to work and it was still there. I called KC Animal Control and informed them of what I witnessed on Monday and the dispatcher commented, 'I hate when they do that.'" Foster eventually cleaned up the mess himself. "My wife and I are animal lovers, rescue our share of strays and find them homes. I know that Animal Control is taxed and stretched thin but this came down to sheer laziness and disregard. Jeers on the KC Animal Control worker!"

  * ... DONATION: Hats off to the law firm of Chain, Cohn and Stiles for its $200,000 donation to the Grossman Burn Center at San Joaquin Hospital. Managing partner David Cohn told me he is impressed "with this world class burn center right here in Bakersfield. They do so much good and now victims don't have to go out of town to get first class care."

 * ... CAL RADIO: State Sen. Michael Rubio is proposing putting a limit on the percentage of out of state students allowed in the University of California system. It's no secret that universities are catering to out of state students who pay much higher tuition, and in California the percentage of non-resident students is skyrocketing. Rubio will be my guest of Californian Radio KERN 1180 on Monday. Later in the hour we will talk about the obesity epidemic with Dr. Raj Patel of Preferred Family Physicians. Join me at 9 a.m. when we discuss his proposal. (Los Angeles Times photo of the Berkeley campus.)

 * .... MINTER: Sentimental Journey is one of only five flying B-17s left in the world, and the fully restored Flying Fortress will be at Minter Field over the Memorial Day weekend. This Saturday, the Air Museum will hold a deep pit beef dinner in the evening, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., at the museum hanger. Tickets are $20 per person and proceeds will benefit the museum's operation and projects.

 * ... SHOPLIFTING: Will Winn writes that he dropped into a dollar store recently and was welcomed by a security guard.  "The store manager said the shoplifting had become so bad they had to take extreme measures! At the 99 cents store!  This seems to be going on all over town, including a convenience store in the south where the owner was forced to defend himslf and killed two alleged shoplifting thieves."

Top UC schools move to admit more out of state students and Bryan Goodman joins the CSUB basketball squad

 * ... COLLEGE REPORT: It looks like it is going to get even harder for local students to get into the more selective state universities like UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC San Diego. Strapped for cash, the schools are now admitting record numbers of out of state students simply because they pay twice the tuition as California residents. According to the Los Angeles Times, 30 percent of the incoming freshman class at Berkeley will be from out of state, up from 23 percent last year. At UCLA, nonresidents will make up 18 percent of the freshman class, up from 15 percent. And at San Diego, the nonresident freshman class doubled from 9 percent to 18 percent.

 * ... CRIME ALERT: A resident of La Cresta passed along the story of a 14-year-old who stole her car and smashed it into a fire hydrant after the Highway Patrol gave chase. The car was stolen sometime between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. out of her driveway. Apparently her husband, who had moved the car earlier in the day, left the keys in his own car and left that car unlocked. Police say summer is the time when crimes of opportunity spike, and thieves are walking through neighborhoods pulling on door handles trying to find one open. In the La Cresta case, the owners were told that local gangs recruit minors to steal cars because they do so little time after they are caught.

 * ... OVERHEARD: A young women is overheard telling her companion about a trip to Valley Plaza. "In 30 minutes I saw a mother slap her child, a guy shoplift a rice krispy treat from a kiosk and another man talking on his cell phone with his other hand down his pants."

 * ... GOODMAN: Had a chance over the weekend to meet Bryan Goodman, the new CSUB assistant baseketball coach. Coach Rod Barnes recruited Goodman from the University of Oklahoma where he served in a similar position. Before that, the 39-year-old Goodman served at Bucknell University. He and his wife have 5-year-old triplets and she hopes to join him here later this summer.

 * ... MOHAWK BRIDGE: Only in Bakersfield do we get excited about the opening of a new bridge that shortens our commute. How many of you have taken the trip over the new Mohawk bridge just to see it?

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Reader Linda Welch is asking if anyone remembers the downtown bowling alley that was located on 18th Street east of Chester Avenue back in the 1940s. She said her brothers were pin setters there but we can't recall the exact location.

First Friday is alive and well in downtown Bakersfield and some perspective on the local housing market

  * ... HOUSING: Local appraiser Gary Crabtree, arguably the foremost authority on the Kern County housing market, added some perspective to news that the nation's housing market has hit the dreaded  double dip. "Let's not hammer another nail in the Bakersfield market coffin just yet. My independent research for the first quarter of 2011, indicates that the Bakersfield market is still 2.7% above falling into the 'double dip' category. My preliminary numbers for May indicate the median price rose last month to $131,750 or an increase of 4.6% over March. Sales volume has remained stable at around 550 units per month and foreclosures have remained stable at an average of 400 units per month over the last year. Well conditioned 'short sales' are receiving multiple offers  What is driving the Bakersfield market? Investors - they account for 1 of every 3 sales in Bakersfield in the past year."

  * ... FIRST FRIDAY: It's time for another First Friday downtown, and yes First Friday is alive and well. There seems to be some confusion about that since the advent of Third Thursday, a new event which replaces the old Chester Avenue Street fairs sponsored by the Downtown Business Association. These are two distinctly different venues serving different audiences. First Friday is more high brow, focusing on the arts district, art galleries and downtown businesses and restaurants and is the brainchild of Metro Galleries owner Don Martin. Third Thursday seems to be an extension of the old street fair idea with kettle corn and other street vendors hawking their wares, though it has moved to the more attractive Mill Creek Park. Different experiences, but both deserving of our support.

 * ... METRO EXHIBIT: And speaking of First Friday, Metro Galleries will feature an all-women art show that will benefit the Women's and Girls' Fund, part of the Kern Community Foundation. The show is called "Chronicles" and features the art of Chris McKee, Claire Putney, Barbara Reid and Marlene Tatsuno. Also on display will be new works by artist Heidi Rufeh. A portion of the opening night sales will be donated to the Women's and Girls' Fund. Metro Galleries is located on 19th Street but make sure you visit the other galleries, businesses and restaurants in the downtown area.

 * ... TUITION: The annual cost of tuition, room and board and a private, four-year college has not soared to $37,000 and tops $50,000 at some elite schools. For public schools, the average annual tuition is $16,000. The University of California system's tuition is set at $11,000 and change but could rise dramatically if the state budget is not brought under control.

 * ... CSUB SPORTS: Did you hear that three CSUB sports teams (men's basketball, women's water polo and golf) were among eight NCAA Division 1 sports programs in California that have been warned by the NCAA for poor academic performance? Not surprisingly, a supporter of the embattled wrestling program wrote to point out that three of the ten starters on the CSUB wrestling team are on the national All Academic Team: David Morgan, Elijah Nacita and Tyler Iwamura.

 * ... FOUNDATION: The Bakersfield Californian Foundation, a private family foundation run outside the auspices of the newspaper company, recently handed out almost $62,000 in grants. This round of grants focused on the Tehachapi area and included groups such at the Rotary Club of Tehachapi, the Tehachapi Community Orchestra, the Tehachapi Community Theater Association and the Tehachapi Mountain Foundation.

 * ... OVERHEARD: A downtown resident is heard telling a friend that he has taken to mowing the lawn of the abandoned house across the street because he fears its dismal state will hurt his chances of selling his own home.

More angst over rising college tuition costs while the UC System goes shopping for out of state students

* ... COLLEGE TUITION: My earlier post on the rise in tuition in the Cal State System prompted an e-mail from former Bakersfield resident Sandy Nozick, who follows my blog from her home in Colorado. Like many Californians, she was frustrated by the seemingly endless annual increases in state college tuition. "My daughter left SF State after two years because of money and when she tried to return, she was one of the 20,000 students cut last year and then again one of the 20,000 students cut this year. I worked for the county library. Our staff was cut by one third two summers ago and another 10 percent last summer." Is she happy in Colorado? "The masthead for the late Rocky Mountain News said, 'tis a privilege to live in Colorado.' And it's true."

 * ... MORE TUITION: And speaking of tuition, another sad and inevitable result of this mess we're in is being playing out in the admissions programs of the UC System, possibly at the expense of California applicants. According to The Los Angeles Times, the cash-strapped UC System is now actively seeking to increase the number of out-of-state students simply to get the extra $23,000 in annual tuition it charges for non-residents. It seems this can only hurt the chances of deserving California students of getting into the already highly competitive UC System.

 * ... MUSIC AWARDS: Proud parents Linka and Tim Chapman wrote to tell me that their daughter, Celeigh (Kaylee) Chapman, has been nominated for a Hollywood Music Media Award. Celeigh attended Thorner School, then Compton Junior High and later graduated from East High School. She then went on to the USC Thornton School of Music and now works for Sony/Columbia Creative Licensing. She was nominated for the song "I'm Lucky." Good luck to this young achiever.

* ... ANNIVERSARY: Nice to hear that Abate-A-Weed, a locally owned weed and insect control company, is celebrating its 45th year in business. The company was founded in 1965 by Jona Feil and Marvin Bartel and later expanded into the sales of chemical and lawn and garden equipment. It changed ownership in 2001 when Dennis Penner and Darrell Feil, Jona Feil's son, partnered together to continue the business. Hats off to these folks.

  *  … DOC BOCK: Heard recently that Matthew Bock, son of local CPA Jim Bock, is well on his way to a career in medicine. Matthew, who graduated from Garces Memorial High, UC Davis and the Drexel College of Medicine, will start a pediatric cardiology fellowship next July at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City. It’s a three-year program. He was one of only 125 people to earn this type of fellowship. He is currently in his third year of residency at Loma Linda Children’s Hospital.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From reader Jolie Brouttier: You know you're from Bakersfield "if you start salivating at the mouth and thinking about Smith's cookies when you see a yellow happy face!"