California brings back the mask mandate but don't expect compliance in Kern County, a son of Bakersfield is running for office in Texas and a new study finds that 75 percent of all coronavirus deaths occurred with the elderly

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. 

 * ... MASKS ARE BACK: So are you ready to wear a mask again indoors? Are you willing to comply with a new state mandate that requires wearing a mask indoors regardless of your vaccination status? Well if you live in Kern County, the answer likely will be a resounding "no!" In the past, local authorities have

made it clear they won't do the state's dirty work in enforcing the mask mandate, and given our reputation for bucking the mandates of Sacramento, I bet very few local businesses will comply. Some of the most popular restaurants in town will simply ignore the new rule and there will be no consequences. Meanwhile in other parts of the state the mask mandate will be rigorously enforced, but don't expect to see much of a change here.

 * ... BAKERSFIELD LOVE: Bakersfield got some love recently when The New York Times published an article highlighting our lower cost of living and the influx of younger couples looking for affordable housing. The piece mentioned the cost of housing, urban development, downtown development and geography as reasons why Bakersfield remains a destination for Californians desperate to find affordability and a lifestyle conducive to all ages. You never know where these stories from out of town media will go, but this one was no doubt helped because the writer, Jill Cowen, worked at The Californian as an intern a decade ago and is well versed on our lifestyle.

 * ... ELDERLY AT RISK: After all the politically inspired debate about the coronavirus, and resistance to the idea of wearing masks, we come to find that the most vunlerable are those age 65 and older. That's according to a report in The New York Times that said we are on the cusp of hitting 800,000 deaths nationwide due to the virus. But when you look at the numbers more closely, you see fully 75 percent of those who died were 65 and older. That means 600,000 of the 800,000 deaths are among the most vulnerable of the population. Wearing a mask, then, is more about protecting the older population if not yourself. Said the Times: "Seventy-five percent of people who have died of the virus in the United States — or about 600,000 of the nearly 800,000 who have perished so far — have been 65 or older. One in 100 older Americans has died from the virus. For people younger than 65, that ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400.

The heightened risk for older people has dominated life for many, partly as friends and family try to protect them. “You get kind of forgotten,” said Pat Hayashi, 65, of San Francisco. “In the pandemic, the isolation and the loneliness got worse. We lost our freedom and we lost our services.”

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "So apparently, telling a woman 'I wanna rock your body' makes women happy in the USA and scared in Afghanistan."

 * ... ROB MCCARTHY: A former Bakersfield resident whose family moved to Texas is running for a seat in the Texas legislature. Rob McCarthy, son of Rob and Judi McCarthy, announced his bid to run for Texas House District 47 as a Republican. The district includes the cities of Austin, Bee Case, Lakeway and western Travis County. McCarthy is a graduate of Garces Memorial High School and USC and later served as a senior aide to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. After earning his MBA McCarthy worked as business development director for Lightspeed Systems, a family owned educational software business. Fed up with California's high taxes and burdensome regulations, Rob and Judi McCarthy left California more than five years ago and moved the company to Austin. Judi McCarthy was one of the founders of the Women's and Girl's Fund, a philanthropic arm of the Kern Community Foundation that funds programs to help women in need.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out the scenes from old Bakersfield back in the day, compliments of the Kern County of Old and Kern County History Fans Facebook pages.

Kern County's Dr. Brij Bhambi of Centric Health takes on the vaccine deniers, warns of doubling down on a losing idea in which you maintain your concept of freedom, but die making the point

 Today Bakersfield Observed features an essay by Dr Brij Bhambi, one of the owners of Centric Health and Bakersfield Heart Hospital and one of the most prominent cardiologists in town. Listen to Bhambi use some harsh words to characterize where our nation is in its fight against the coronavirus.

By BRIJ BHAMBI

 "Covid-19 is the most over promoted hoax in generations, if not millennia. Just when Alpha gets beat, it goes Beta. Then Gamma, then Delta, and Im not kidding, now Delta plus. 

A Greek alphabet soup!

 The hoax has become self perpetuating. Common cold, way more lethal, at least maintains common civility and not dress up in a new iteration at every twist of lethality. No doubt, the virus was nefariously designed by a formidable adversary to subdue the competition in to submission. 

 Virus is a hoax but the strategy, gone viral behind the business motives, resonates. The US government failed to fall for naiveté and put science to work through operation Warp Speed. Rumor has it, vaccines so created amalgamated science, precision, logistics, safety and efficacy against the virus in a record time. 

 What a crowning glory for the humanity!

 Then we are talking about a virus thats a weaker cousin of common cold. 

 Science and its shenanigans! 

 Muddled messaging from CDC to Fauci confirmed the obvious to the all knowing. The Covid dead were over counted to control the masses through fear. And dead seldom come back to correct death certificates. 

A weak virus, invincible individual immunity, exaggerated death burden, a commitment to contain erosion to personal liberties, a purported scientific miracle that barely provided waning safety to 95% and panic promoting governmental overreach, confirmed the worst fears among the faithful. 

 Its the hill to die upon. 

 Honor held high. 

 Screams to heaven reinforcing the inviolable truth among believers, unvaccinated die a brave death.

Government is a word that inspires lack of trust. Antigovernment sentiment is well promoted by those who want to be the government aka congressmen, representatives, senators and other selfless humans like governors and God forbid president. 

 The governmental overreach is an ultimate sin. How dare you propose to penetrate my body with an unwelcome needle that's going to inject a gene control serum to reduce me to your puppet. I know people who have developed a tail. Definitely gone sterile. Their thoughts are satellite controlled and pay for Bill and Melinda divorce. And that divorce my friends is doozie when it comes to dollars.

Some have developed a third eye.

God forbid they may actually use it to see.

 It's a relief that medicare, medical, pension, military, social security, disability and welfare like institutions fall outside the premise of government.

Imagine government ruining that for us too.

 It's a good thing we are self funded.

 Hard work of our lives enshrined in a timeless promise.

 The institutions in this country were given one body blow after another by our government trashing governments over decades.

 Derelict and damaged, they crumbled under their own weight. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. CIA, FBI, Police, Judiciary, Education, CDC, FDA etc etc have all been laid bare by preceding governments.

 Those are our guts.

 Vultures feed our guts, as we watch mesmerized.

 We will find a way to our preordained exceptionalism.

 Thats our unquestioned right. Our God given prerogative will not be denied. The way will find us.

The dual between virus and vaccine maybe wreaking wreckage but it sure is transfixing.

The much hyped vaccines do fail. All the time. They may come between sickness, hospitalization and death.

 But they fail.

 Who wants to bet on the side of a failure.

 Everyone knows a cousin or uncle who got virus from the vaccine. Bravo to cousins and uncles who lived to tell.

 Besides why one would allow invasion of his/her body when FDA hasn’t even authorized the vaccine. FDA should have configured pandemic preparedness in its population response. Tools necessary for drug or device development lack the urgent responsiveness of an inferno. In its lethargic bureaucracy FDA is gutting the common faith. This ass sitting does equal CYA.

As an argument it has merit, for now.

 It will fall to wayside after its approval because of “political motives”.

 The “wait and see” crowd is not nearly on pins and needles. They have a day job. Vaccine needs to be trashed.

 We are a nation of laws.

 We should have a drunk drive car pool lane.

 Mix fun with safety.

 Same as unvaccinated healthcare. Patients appreciate infections from the caretakers with exalted commitment to personal freedoms. Patients die happy.

Its nitty gritty that drags us.

Past injustices like Tuskegee experiment figure prominently.

And with merit.

 Some prejudices have outlived merit.

 Accepting virus over vaccine is a self created prejudice. Double down on losing the current war as a revenge to losing the previous war has a ring to it.

 The cost concerns pertaining to vaccine and access to vaccine are issues not raised infrequently. The fact that its free and easily accessible can’t be shared. It can poison the environment.

We all know natural infection provides strong and enduring immunity. Big pharma has studies countering that. What do you expect! With our robust immune system that made virus cry mama, we are untouchables. And big pharma is always corrupt.

 Pity the weak and infirm.

 Cycle of life.

 I know in India cow urine insulates humans from all maladies. Its a go to treatment for Covid-19 among a segment of believers. And don’t belittle cow urine as snake oil. All of us have seen cow urine, snake oil anyone? We don’t lack cows in our part of the world. Some solutions don’t have access problems. Snake oil may draw more discriminating audience but the truth serum flows in abundance.

When its all said and done, a believer would have had a celebrated journey without the tyrannical clutches of coerced vaccination.

An “occasional slip” with tube down the throat and protracted lonely death can be easily outsourced to allegedly “tireless” healthcare workers. They signed on to heal the sick. If in the process they sicken and kill their own, its a bonus, a higher calling. The brave healthcare souls can march to fearless martyrdom.

Heal the sick and die trying it!

Yet celebrate the unvaccinated.

Unvaccinated emphasize personal freedom.

Some freedoms tread the dead.

And worth it!

Los Angeles City Council passes tough new anti-camping bill to control homelessness, Kern County mourns the death of a deputy and will your employer require vaccinations for the coronavirus?

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.

 * ... HOMELESS: Kudos to the Los Angeles City Council which approved a new anti-camping ordinance to clean up long-standing homeless encampments. The ordinance prohibits sitting, sleeping or storing

property on public property near libraries, parks, day-care centers, schools, freeway overpasses, recently opened homeless shelters and other locations. Make no mistake this is not the solution, but it is a solid start that should get the attention of Bakersfield and Kern County officials who have been struggling to control homelessness. As harsh as it sounds, our efforts here have failed despite millions of dollars, new homeless facilities and a lot of attention. If Los Angeles can do it, what is our excuse here?

  * ... DEPUTY KILLED: The Bakersfield community is still reeling from the shooting death of a Kern County deputy who was serving on the SWAT team when he was gunned down while responding to a

domestic dispute in Wasco. It's a heart breaking story that led to the death of Phillip Campas, 35, a five year sheriff's deputy who had served with the Marines in Afghanistan. Four other people died in the shootout including the gunman, who had shot and killed two of his sons and their mother before officers arrived. The shooter was identified as Jose Manuel Ramirez Jr., 41, who is suspected of killing his partner, Viviana Ramirez, and two of their sons along with Campas. Ramirez faced three misdemeanor charges related to the battery of a spouse and willful cruelty for a child. KGET said the charges stem from two 2020 incidents which law enforcement documents say involved physical confrontations between Ramirez and Viviana, who told police at the time they had been married for more than 20 years.

 * ... VACCINATIONS: So did you hear that the Cal State system will require its 500,000 students and faculty to be vaccinated for the coronavirus this fall? The move is the latest as private companies and public agencies, including the state, figure out how to handle the resurging pandemic. The Washington Post, Google and Facebook did something similar this week. Is your company next?

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "No one told me that marriage would include so much time listening to the sound of someone’s spoon clanking against the inside of a bowl."

 * ... KAELYN PETERSON: Big news over at the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce where Kaelyn Peterson has been promoted to executive vice president and also head of the Chamber's political action committee. Peterson is a graduate of California State University Bakersfield and has been on a trajectory to take her into the top tiers of Chamber leadership. Are they positioning her if Chamber CEO Nick Ortiz ever leaves or retires? Time will tell.

 * ... MEMORIES: Thanks to the Facebook groups highlighting Kern County history, I share a couple of remarkable posts. Enjoy.

Researchers suggest we may all need a "new" vaccine shot or a booster in the near future, Amazon buys the Wilson Road Walmart to get up a delivery facility and a sign from Chet's Club joins the museum

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 VACCINES: There seems to be a growing consensus that the array of coronavirus vaccines - Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson - are not long-term solutions to the ongoing threat of mutant

variant viruses. Researchers now say they vaccines will likely need booster shots, or new vaccines altogether, because they lose their effectiveness over time. That, of course, would mean that billions of people across the world may have to receive a booster shot just so society can maintain an upper hand against the Covid-19 viruses and its variants. Researchers are hoping they can find a way to give the vaccine in pill form, vastly reducing the hassle factor in receiving the dose.

 

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Did they stop painting wings on brick walls or did girls just find other places to take pictures?"

 * ... SEXUAL ORIENTATION: This clip from a CNN discussion pretty much says sit all. What do you think?

 * ... AMAZON: Did you hear Amazon is expanding again in Bakersfield, this time taking over the old Kmart on Wilson Road as a new delivery station? The company said the building would under go an extensive renovation to evolve into a Last Mile delivery building creating some 200 jobs. The company hopes to open the new facility at the end of this year.

 * ... MUTANT VARIANT: Right when it looks like things are getting better with the pandemic we learn there is a new "double mutant variant" discovered in California. The new variant first emerged in India and a handful of cases have been detected in the Bay Area. The "double mutant" carries two mutations that helps it latch onto cells.

 * ... CHET'S CLUB: Yet another iconic neon sign has joined the Kern County Museum, this one from Chet's Club, an old card club  and diner on Edison Highway. Chet's Club was housed next to the Lucky Spot honky tonk and was known for its coffee, chili and occasional rough crowd. The sign is now at the Kern County Museum.

 * ... MEMORIES: A nice old picture of the Penny's building that is now a local museum. Thanks to the Kern County History Fans and Art Moore for sharing this.

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: And this one, again from the Kern County History Fans, of that famous place the Bakersfield Inn.

Bakersfield high on the list of cities with the most pedestrian deaths, Jolie Brouttier nominated for Teacher of the Year and are we finally nearing the end of the pandemic?

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.

 * ... PEDESTRIAN DEATHS: Were you surprised by the recent survey that shows Bakersfield ranking second in the nation for pedestrian deaths? The study cited wide streets that encourage speeding (true) and crosswalks that are spaced far apart (also true.) And the study when on to report (in a story carried in The Bakersfield Californian) that people of color, older adults and walkers in low income neighborhoods

suffered higher fatality rates. While that may be true, it also comes as no surprise. Why? Because across the country people in low income neighborhoods suffered higher fatality rate for all the obvious reasons, including lack of street lighting, the presence of more pedestrians, drug use and homelessness. What the study should have noted is that Kern County and Bakersfield are home to all the factors that lead to pedestrian deaths: a huge underclass of often illiterate people living in run-down neighborhoods, rampant drug use and addiction that leads people to make bad decisions, homelessness that is virtually out of control and wide, flat roads that lead to speeding. Until our demographics improve, you can expect to find Bakersfield on this list for years.

 * ... MUSIC TO MY EARS: On the one-year anniversary of the pandemic that has taken more than 500,000 American lives, it was encouraging to read the opinion piece in Thursday's Bakersfield Californian by Centric Health owner Dr. Brij Bhambi. "Science saved us," wrote Bhambi. "There is decency and divinity is saving human life. The vaccinated are less likely to spread the virus to the vulnerable and more likely to protect by literally being a human shield between the virus and the vulnerable... Now is not the time to sit on the fence and allow the virus to morph. The vaccinated are protected and protect. Vaccine hesitancy is counter to civic responsibility."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: When is Oprah going to interview people who lost their pipeline jobs?

 * ... TEACHER OF THE YEAR: A big congratulations to Jolie Brouttier, who has been nominated as Kern County Teacher of the Year representing the Bakersfield City School District. The award will be given out later this year. Brouttier taught for seven years at McKinley Elementary and is now at the Downtown School. During the pandemic, Brouttier "visited" her students at their homes, leaving yard sign greetings while spending her other spare tine raising money for backpacks and other supplies for the neediest of students.

 * ... PROSECUTORS: And speaking of high achieving women, Gina Pearl has been named Prosecutor of the Year by District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer. Others in the District Attorney's office being honored were Andrea Kohler and Arthur Norris who won the Justice Award and Amy French was honored with the Support Staff Person of the Year honors.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this classic shot of cars on the old Ridge Route encountering Dead Man's Curve, a slice of the road that took many lives, and shots of the curve today. Photos courtesy of Kern County of Old Facebook page.

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: And can you stand one more picture of the old Wayne's Dairies? Not sure of the date but the employees pose here in their crisp white shirts before the dairy entrance.

Pressure is on for the San Diego Padres to drop the "Swinging Padre," the sheriff warns us about hundreds of prisoners being dumped on our streets and Bakersfield is one of the USA's top coronavirus metro areas

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.

 * ... OFFENSIVE NAMES: First came the Washington Redskins, then the Cleveland Indians and then Confederate statues honoring Civil War dead were targeted because of their offensive nature, but the cleansing is not done. It now looks like the San Diego Padres have been targeted by a group that

demands major league baseball stop using all "Catholic names and depictions" and in particular "cease all papist caricatures." Dozens of Catholic leaders are pressuring baseball to drop the Padres nickname, and they are also asking the Los Angeles Angels to "cease using the halo." Where will it all end? Well, late word has yet another group is pressuring the New Orleans Saints to rename its team.

 * ... PRISON DUMP: Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood is warning us about yet another move to dump release hundreds of prisoners onto the streets of Bakersfield. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has signaled it will release some 600 inmates from four Kern County facilities: North Kern State Prison, Kern Valley State Prison, the California Correctional Institution and Wasco State Prison. Said Youngblood: "You must be an overachiever at committing crimes to be in (a state prison)," he said. "These are reoffenders and they're going to go out and reoffend."

 * ... COVID: We made another list and this one is as bad as it gets According to Fox News, Bakersfield ranks No 2 on the list of metro areas with the fastest growth in the coronavirus, second only to McAllen, Texas. Rounding out the top five are the Texas cities of Brownsville and San Antonio and then Boise City, Idaho.

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "Be careful allowing someone to take your temperature before entering a supermarket. It erases your memory and instead of leaving with a dozen eggs you return with two cases of beer."

 * ... SURGE TESTING: A new federally funded Covid-19 testing site is up and running at the Kern County Fairgrounds, where officials hope to test as many as 60,000 people over 12 days. Rep. Kevin McCarthy announced the federal surge program, which is being replicated in other metro areas. There is no cost for the testing but reservations are recommended.

* ... TEJON PASS: Consider these remarkable pictures of Tejon Pass circa 1870 and a more recent shot. The caption read: Civil War photographer, Alexander Gardner, took this photo of Tejon Pass prior to his retirement in 1870.

The coronavirus comes roaring back and we brace for another disrupted fall, we lose an icon in Herb Walker, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy notes the passing of the great John Lewis

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: A few things seem increasingly true as we head into the late summer and fall in the season of Covid: kids won't be returning to classes anytime soon, forget about fall college football,

there will be no live music shows and even the Kern County Fair is in jeopardy of being canceled. In April we had a cautious sense that we had this thing under control, and yet now hospitals across the country have reached capacity. More than two dozen states have halted or rolled back their reopening plans, and some cities have been hit so hard (Los Angeles, for one) that they be facing another total lock down. And to make matters worse: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say at least 40 percent of people who get the virus could show no symptoms, meaning thousands of Americans could be unknowingly still infecting others.

 * ... RIP HERB WALKER: Our community lost a local icon when Herb Walker passed away over the weekend. Walker was the tall, dapper founder of H. Walker's men's clothing, which has been clothing men in Kern County since 1971. His daughter Tracy, who now runs the store, said her father was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and he later contracted pneumonia. To make matters worse, toward the end he contracted Covid-19 and in the end it was just too much. Walker and his close friends were known for their love of golf, high spirited jokes and afternoon cocktails, and they would lighten a room by their presence. For years you could find Herb in the store, always looking sharp in his pressed golf shirts and casual leather loafers, the picture of the perfect host, greeting everyone with a warm smile and joyful twinkle that became his personal trademark.

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "Facebook is a place that reminds you that everyone disappoints you."

 * ... JOHN LEWIS: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy joined the national outcry mourning the death of Georgia congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, telling Twitter that Lewis "was an extraordinary man—a patriot in the truest sense. And he was my friend. One of the greatest honors of my life was to join him for multiple trips to Selma to march across the bridge. His life and legacy as a civil rights icon will endure for as long as America does."

 * ... DROWNING: There has been yet another drowning in the Kern River, this time in the relatively calm waters off Hart Park. Kern County Sheriff's officials say the latest victim was a 14-year-old girl who fell in the Kern River and did not survived. A helicopter located the girl after she was reported missing. She was located in the water but died at a local hospital.

 * ... MEMORIES: I spotted this old picture of a traveling salesman on the Kern County of Old Facebook page with this caption: "This is my grandpa, Ira J Springer. He was a sewing machine salesman in the 20s, 30s and 40s. He would load his car with machines and sell them in the desert as far as Bishop. Notice the Padre Hotel in the background. If you inherited a treadle machine that was bought locally, chances are my grandpa was the dealer."

Gov. Newsom orders bars shut in Kern and six other counties because of the coronavirus, Medicali becomes the latest restaurant to close temporarily, vagrants take over the old 24 Hour Fitness and the hold bar at Noriega's is salvaged

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.

 * ... BARS TO CLOSE:  Faced with an alarming spike in coronavirus cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered bars in Kern and six other counties to close. The order came Sunday for bars in the

following counties to close: Los Angeles, Fresno, Kern, San Joaquin, Tulare, Kings and Imperial.  In addition, eight other counties have have been asked by state officials to issue local health orders closing bars: Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Sacramento, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Stanislaus. “COVID-19 is still circulating in California, and in some parts of the state, growing stronger,” Newsom was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying. “That’s why it is critical we take this step to limit the spread of the virus in the counties that are seeing the biggest increases.” The question here: faced with their own dire economic circumstances, will bar owners comply?

 * ... COVID VICTIM: It looks like Mexicali has become the latest victim of Covid-19. Word is at least two employees have tested positive (other employees have been tested but the results are not

back) and the popular downtown restaurant has been closed all weekend, the only notice being a sign on the door. Mexicali joins a growing list of local eateries to close because of the pandemic, including Luigi's, In-N-Out, Dewar's and Woolgrowers.

 * ... HBO MOVIE: A new HBO mini series called "I'll Be Gone In The Dark" debuted this weekend, the story of the notorious Golden State Killer who terrorized multiple communities and was only tracked down because of DNA evidence. A local expert on the case, former Kern County sheriff's deputy Martin Downs, will appear on The Richard Beene Show Tuesday to discuss the case that started in Tulare County as the killer spread fear throughout the state. Tune in Tuesday at 1:30 for my conversation with Martin Downs.

 * ... 24 HOUR FITNESS: One of our city's hot spots for the homeless is near the intersection of Gosford Road and White Lane, home of the 24 Hour Fitness that closed a couple weeks ago. As soon as the company hauled away its exercise equipment, the building became a magnet for the homeless. I drove by there Saturday to find more than a dozen homeless making the building their new outposts. Two men were using a syringe to feed drugs into their veins while others had set up camps in the shade near the front entrance. And so it goes.

 * ... RIP NORIEGA'S: Anyone who spent any time in Noriega's has been mourning its demise, closed by its owners after Covid-19 dealt a death blow to family-style eating. These pictures of the restaurant and bar tell the story. The long bar is headed to the Kern County Museum to be on display where, unfortunately, it will be lost in the mountains of displays of other artifacts.

 * ... MEMORIES: Courtesy of the Kern County History Fans Facebook page, check out this old image of roads at the base of the Panorama Bluffs around 1911. The caption reads: "Shown are China Grade Road and Jewett Lane north toward the Kern River Bridge. I think this image is from the Californian of July 1, 1911 posted in anticipation of a major auto race. Of interest is the then-forestation of the general area now called Panorama Preserve."