Concerns are raised about a out of control spending on the homeless, Bakersfield's air is ranked worst in the nation and do you know how to get to Rosedale?

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.

 * ... MEASURE N: It's nice to see some sobriety seep into the discussions about the money our city and county are plowing into fighting homelessness, as well as a new emphasis on how the city is spending its Measure N sales tax money. First, a big shoutout to Clayton Campbell, a local businessman who serves on the city's Public Safety and Vital Services' Citizens Oversight Committee. During a discussion of how to spend $19 million in tax money, Campbell expressed fears that the recurring costs of programs to fight

homelessness would set a dangerous precedent in the future. "I'm not satisfied that this money is being spent in a way that actually resolves any homelessness," said Campbell. "I'm not convinced that there's information to support that." Echoing that sentiment and cheering on Campbell was former City Councilman Mark Salvaggio, who has been warning of an out of control "homeless industrial complex that has become the third rail entitlement in our local city and county governments." Campbell and Salvaggio represent a growing faction of local leaders who are wary of the millions being poured into homeless while issues like crime and safety get short shrift. It is a conversation that is long overdue and some taxpayers are wondering how crime and homelessness remain so hopeless after we have spent millions, and whether we are spending too much time trying to find housing for the homeless rather than providing safe streets and quicker response times.

* ... AIR POLLUTION: One of the benefits of these winter storms has been the incredible crystal clear skies that are ushered in during the storm's aftermath. But these picture postcard days hide a hard truth that says despite progress we have made, Bakersfield remains one of the most polluted cities in America. According to a survey run by The Guardian newspaper in Longdon, "America’s top spot is not a traffic-clogged metropolis or renowned heavy industry zone but a small town surrounded by farmland and mountains." The survey found that in many cities, the high pollution areas are homes to minority families. Rounding out the top five worst polluters after Bakersfield were south Los Angeles, southwest Chicago, northwest Indianapolis and central Midwest industrial zone.

 * ... DOWNTOWN SHOOTOUT: The downtown homeowner who exchanged gunfire with three men who allegedly were trying to break into his home has been identified as local custom home builder John Dovichi. The Feb. 23 incident, which happened at the end of the Pine Street cul-de-sac on the south side of 24th Street. was triggered when Dovichi drove home after dinner only to find a strange car parked in his driveway and three men outside. Shots were exchanged and one of the suspects, 43-year-old Melvin Carter, was shot in his thigh and arm and is at Kern Medical Center. Also arrested was 36-year-old Frederic Minnoy III of Bakersfield. A third suspect has not been identified. Police are trying to determine if this incident is related to other home invasions or if this incidents stands alone.

 * ... HOMELESS PROBLEMS: Did you hear about the homeless guy who broke into the downtown Post Office and spent the overnight hours trying to break into lockers and urinating on the floor? Well it happened at the Merle Haggard post office on 18th Street and the unidentified homeless man was taken to a local hospital for psychiatric examination. All of this might even be funny were it not for the toll of destruction left behind by homeless vagrants. Things are so bad downtown that the Post Office removed the street mail boxes because they were not secure. And so it goes. (A random homeless person takes care of business in town)

 * ... WHERE IS ROSEDALE: If you live in Bakersfield, you have some idea of how to drive to Rosedale. Or do you? It turns out the boundaries of what we now call Rosedale have changed over the years, and a man named Mark McGowan schooled me on the rich history of Rosedale in a recent post on the Facebook page of the Kern County History Fans. Listen to McGowan describe old Rosedale: "When I was a kid, there were distinct communities along Rosedale Hwy. west of 99. Then, in the 90s, along came the developers. I guess they figured it was easier to call everything Rosedale to avoid confusing people. Here, however, is the way it was before that.

 The area from 99 (or Pierce Rd. before that) to the tracks was called Fairhaven. There was a Hancock service station, Hagestad Drilling, and Reagan Reese oil tools there. My friend, Gary Stites, was a Fairhavener!

 From the tracks to Coffee Rd (which only went south from Rosedale Hwy to Brimhall Rd) was Fruitvale. That's where we lived until I was seven. We had Fruitvale School (now Vista West) which boasted an Olympic sized swimming pool with low and high diving boards, an annual BBQ, a church, a store (Hudson's Market) with Sunland gas pumps, a Mohawk gas station, and Bookout's Wrecking Yard. There were also numerous wood and steel standard oil derricks in the area.

 From Coffee Rd. to the Santa Fe tracks (there was no overpass back then) was Greenacres. We would live there a couple years too. The area incuded the power plant, a drive through Milk Jug dairy outlet, a store (Clem's Market), Perry's Drive In (now Super Tom's), a fire station, a coffee shop, a church, a barber shop, and Greenacres Primary school (now Fruitvale Jr. High), which had a huge recreation area behind it that hosted "Rec" at night during the summer.

 From the tracks to Renfro Rd. was ROSEDALE! It included a school (where our Cub Scout troop met), an annual BBQ, a church, a store, gas stations, and a coffee shop, but it was primarily, alfafa fields. My first sweetheart, Bernadette Fregeau Parks Angelo was a Rosedalian, even though Fruitvale and Rosedale were rivals!

 From Renfro to Superior Rd. was called Greely. It was mostly farms and the families who ran them, but they did have a store and a church. It's where we met for Weblows (between Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts).

 Beyond there was Rio Bravo. They had a school (still there), a church and a gas station.

 So, now you know that it's not all Rosedale!"

 (Thank you Mark and thanks to the Kern County History Fans for this fascinating look into our collective past.)

 * ... TOBERLONE: Did you hear the Swiss chocolate maker Toblerone is changing its iconic branding by removing its famous mountain peak on the wrapper. First, let's state that this is not a reaction to any Swiss wokeism, but rather a response to a Swiss law that prevents images of national symbols to be on packages sold out of the country.

 * ... PASSINGS: Two local restaurants have called it quits, both popular among diehard fans but apparently that wasn't enough to stay in business. Famous Dave's barbeque and Randy's Donuts have both called it quits locally. 

* ... MEMORIES: Check out these old photos from our friends at the Kern County History Fans Facebook book page. Always an interesting journey.

California lawmakers plan to turn the state into a "laboratory of resistance" to a Trump administration, good news for local eaters like Uricchio's Trattoria and Sequoia Sandwich Co. and dealing with an upswing in downtown smash and grab car break ins ...

 * ... ONLY IN CALIFORNIA: Well, you knew this was coming. Expect California to evolve into a "laboratory of resistance" (in the words of the New York Times) to resist the policies of a President

Donald Trump. The Times even went so far to refer to it as "Calexit," a clever take off on the Brexit vote when the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. But this is serious stuff and an all out war between a rebellious state and the federal government could quickly turn ugly and cost the state potentially billions of dollars in federal aide for programs like the infrastructure rebuilding that the Trump team is championing. Here is an example of what is not helpful: Sheila Kuehl, a member of the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, is urging government workers to disrupt Trump programs that don't suit California's needs in what she calls Operation Monkey Wrench.

* ... SEQUOIA: The 18th Street branch of Sequoia Sandwich Co. is within weeks of opening its new kitchen and catering site next to the popular downtown eatery. The expanded kitchen will allow greater capacity but it will also feature "to go" salads and sandwiches so folks don't have to wait in line during those noon crunch times.

 * ... APARTMENTS: The upscale new apartment downtown, called 17th Place Townhouse, has set its ribbon cutting for Friday, January 27. The 44-unit complex features apartments in the 1,200 square foot range and will put to the test the idea that people will start viewing the area east of Chester Avenue as suitable for downtown living. I think it's a good bet that this project will be wildly successful. The developers are Ward 4 City Councilman Bob Smith (a big advocate of urban infill) and his son Austin Smith.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Just realized my cat could be covered in tattoos and I wouldn't even know."

 * ... HAPPY EMPLOYEES: When was the last time you dined in a restaurant and your server gushed about the quality of the food and how each dish is made individually with fresh ingredients? Not to mention how nice and caring the owners are and how they treat their employees like family. It happened to me the other day while dining at Uricchio's Trattoria, and server Ashley Bledsoe shared her pride at working at the family owned eatery. (Bledsoe has worked at chain restaurants where meals come frozen and prepackaged and was amazed at the attention to detail at Uricchio's). All this just further buttresses my belief that the best food in town comes from locally owned kitchens. So hats off to owner Claire Porter and her late father, Nick Uricchio, who had the vision to bring quality food and white glove service to downtown Bakersfield.

 * ... CRIME: Something has to be done about the recent rash of smash and grab robberies involving cars and trucks in the downtown area. In the past month, I have heard of no fewer than six people who have had their car windows smashed while parked downtown in the early evening. These are not late night crimes but rather all this is happening in the 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. hours on 18th, 19th and 20th streets as folks are dining at places like Jin Sushi, Muertos, The Mark, The Padre Hotel and other popular downtown venues. This is the kind of petty crime that will drive people away from our emerging arts district.

 * ... MEMORIES: Lamar Kerley shared some memories about growing up and visiting the old Thompson's Pet Land, located on the northwest corner of 19th and O streets in the 1960s and 1970s.
"I think there is still a mural of a Toucan above the corner door.  Every weekend day that I could convince my mother to drive my brothers and I downtown, we would spend hours gazing lovingly at the tropical fish, the reptiles, the puppies and kittens. This store was nirvana for us, and many other Bakersfield children. We could pet the puppies and gaze at the large parrots, knowing that they might snap off our fingers if we put them too close. Looking at this store, I am flooded with the fondest of memories. I bet that I am not alone."

Two new boutique restaurants are coming to downtown Bakersfield's arts district, and remembering the tunnels that exist under the old Chinatown area of Bakersfield

 * … OUCH: A reader took me to the woodshed recently for promoting a fund raiser where tickets cost $75 each. Said Alvin Gregorio: "Do you have any idea how much money that is for the average

person, the non notables, non VIPS, non Bakersfield family-heritage elite?" He went on to describe this blog as elitist and said he might join me at the Padre bar, but only if we order "non notable" wine. Thanks for the note Alvin, and I can now scratch being an "elitist" off my bucket list. And by the way, just so you know.,this elitist prefers wine in the $4.99 range. Just ask Ray at Trader Joe's. And if you'd like to join me at the Padre, please bring your list of non-elitist topics that you find suitable for this forum.

 * … EATERIES: Downtown Bakersfield's arts district will soon get two new restaurants. One will go into the space formally occupied by The Foundry on 19th Street (right next to The Metro Galleries). It will be named "InBread." The other, called "Crash," will go into the building previously occupied by the failed cooking studio Sustenance 101. That is on Eye Street next to the Caribbean themed eatery Mama Roomba.

 * … TUNNELS: I am enjoying the feedback from readers about the old Chinese-made tunnels that exist under parts of downtown. Jim Murray, 92. remembers visiting the tunnels as a teen-ager when a Chinese friend took him down. "Right near Mexicali is where there were four Chinese restaurants" with tunnels underneath, he said. "They smoked opium down there and if you wanted to gamble, that's where you went. " Murray remembers the Chinese community well, noting that "they were wonderful people and we never had one bit of trouble in the area." Murray will join me on First Look with Scott Cox on Tuesday at 9 a.m. on NewsTalk KERN 1180 and broadcast live on bakersfield.com.

 * … MORE TUNNELS: Added Bryan Kelley: "The building at 21st and L streets (used to be a Leslie's pool supply - might still be) has an entrance to the tunnels in the basement. In the 1970s it was loosely boarded closed, but you could see through the cracks. A friend who worked there showed me  this one night after closing and some of the boards just accidentally came off. We just happened to have strong flashlights (imagine that). I went some 20 feet into the tunnel before claustrophobia reared its ugly head. One path kept going straight and one veered to the right (south) and i could see where  there were two others, one going west and another headed back east. There were also a couple of 'cubby holes' in the walls, supposedly where one could sleep. I also have a friend who, as a little girl (late 1930s-early 1940s), was sent into the tunnels to find her father and bring him home. Men would meet down there to drink and gamble. She and her family are still alive today and somewhat prominent so I don't think she would appreciate the family's name in your column."

 * … MEMORIES: Edith Lyons called to remind me that when Valley Plaza first opened there was a Swenson's  ice cream shop near the Brock's department store. She said there were two others, one in Taft and the other in the Hillcrest area.

Friends of Oildale plan a clean up and volunteer day and lots of new eateries popping up around town

 *... OILDALE: This is the type of news I love to share. On Saturday, September 28, a large group of

civic minded folks will meet in the morning at Standard Middle School to spruce up the sidewalks in Oildale. This "Love Oildale" movement is a day of service sponsored by a group known as the Oildale Leadership Alliance. It is also a prelude to a bigger day of service set for March 29 next year. If you are interested in helping, go to the group's website at www.loveoildale.com.  Thanks to Cher Pannell, president of the leadership alliance, for bringing this to my attention.

* ... BUSINESS: Frosting, Ink Bakeshop has opened in its new, stunning location downtown. The cupcake and sweet tooth shop owned by Sheila Heninger is now open on Eye Street at 19th in the renovated Hay Building. It is beautifully decorated with exposed brick walls and a bright and lively interior. Next door is the new Eye Gallery, an equally impressive space that is part of The Metro Galleries. Both businesses will have outdoor seating.

 * ... MORE OPENINGS: And speaking of new businesses, Chipotle Mexican Grill has opened a new location on Coffee and Hageman, serving the growing Northwest. And the popular chain is building yet another near Sam's Club down Gosford Road to serve Southwest residents.

* ... SPOTTED: A middle aged woman riding in the front passenger seat of a blue SUV, stopped for a light at North Chester and Roberts Lane,  casually rolls down her window and dumps her portable cup holder full of trash and assorted paper in the street.

 * ... ARTFEST: I stopped by Artfest on Saturday, the popular annual fund raiser for the Boys and Girls Club of Bakersfield. Held at the beautiful Moorea Banquet Centre off Harris Road in the Southwest, the event featured tiles and paintings done by the program kids and a live auction. The annual gala raises some $150,000 a year for this community program.

* ... COLLEGE FOOTBALL: If it is fall, you can bet I will hear from Sunny Kapoor, a proud 1985 graduate of The Ohio State University. He was gleeful to note he attended the Ohio State-Cal game in Berkeley, a rout by the Buckeyes. He went with his wife, Julie, sons Nigel (Bakersfield College student) and Arie (Cal State Chico student). "Being a Buckeye alumni, we sat in the visitors section, with all my Buckeye brethren. It was amazing to see all the scarlet and gray at the stadium... Our seats were adjacent to the 'best damn band in the land' and were regaled by their tunes related to the state of Ohio and The Ohio State University. All in all it was a great visit, and sure looks like the Buckeyes may have a shot at the National Championship, but we have to go through Michigan first, and that game should be evenly matched. Anyhow, I am making my reservations for the Rose Bowl at the very least !"

The Harvest Moon over downtown Bakersfield ....

 The harvest moon looms brightly over a California bungalow in downtown Bakersfield.

An ode to a Bakersfield spring, the emerging downtown and events to save CSUB wrestling

 * ... BACK HOME: Spent the last ten days in Spain visiting my younger daughter who is wrapping up her junior year semester abroad. There's a lot to like about traveling alone with your daughter, particularly in Europe, and these moments are precious and fleeting. But coming home is just as sweet, and I found myself longing for the Bakersfield spring which our town wears so well. I returned to find my roses in full bloom, the first tiny green tomatoes in my garden and a lonesome tabby cat sitting on the porch. It's not Madrid, but it's home.

 * ... DOWNTOWN: There's a lot of learn from the great capitals of Europe, who have always embraced their old towns as the centers of life, entertainment and commerce. The London-based Financial Times, in a report on what makes cities "livable and lovable," addressed the uniquely American problem of decaying inner cities, seeing it as an opportunity for renewal. When the affluent flee to the suburbs, the Times noted "there is space to be filled by artists and architects, by poorer immigrants arriving with a drive to make money and by the proliferation of food outlets, studios and galleries. These, in turn, attract the wealthy back to the centre, at first to consume, and then to gentrify.... it is at these moments that cities begin to show  potential for real transformation of lives, or for the creation of new ideas, culture, cuisine and wealth." Sound familiar? Much of this is happening now  is downtown Bakersfield, as witnessed on any weekend evening.

 * ... HIGH ACHIEVER: Received a nice note from "proud grand parents" Barry and Tena Mathis who wanted to share the good news that their grand daughter, Elizabeth Jackman, is graduating from Fordham University in the Bronx with a degree in Arabic studies and language. Elizabeth graduated from Garces Memorial High School. Her parents are Chad and Michelle Jackman. Dad is a sergeant with the Bakersfield Police Department and Michelle is dean of students at Garces.

 * ... WRESTLING: There is a lot of activity to save the wrestling program at Cal State Bakersfield, including two fund raisers coming up later this month. There will be a celebrity poker night on Thursday, May 19, at the Aviator Casino in Delano, and the following night there will be an event at the Icardo Center starting at 6 p.m. Call Chris Cortez at the casino at (661) 721-7770 or Tonya Eagle for the Icardo Center fund raiser at (661) 302-4455.

 * ... BIKE TRAIL: For all you fans of our bike trail, this Saturday the Parkway Foundation will hold an event at Hart Park to distribute information on the bike trail and future plans. This is a family event and will feature food, entertainment and booths. CALM will be there as well as representatives of the parks service. It runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. across from the old ranger station.

 * ... WHO KNEW? Did you know that the almond trees that surround our community have life spans of 20 to 25 years?

Gaggles of ex cons put downtown residents on edge, and solving the mystery of the internment camps

 * ... ANIMAL ABUSE: Am glad to see prosecutors going after the 43-year-old man accused of taking a golf club to a small dog and then spraying bleach into its eyes. It's a case of almost unimaginable cruelty, but things like this also bring out the best in our community. Folks at the Coffee Road Animal Hospital say they have been overwhelmed with donations to help the dog, named Lacey. And a rescue home has already stepped forward to care for Lacey, whose long-term prognosis remains uncertain. Meanwhile, prosecutors are filing felony animal cruelty charges against Robert Gonzales, the alleged abuser.

* ... GRAPEVINE: Larry Miller, a retired battalion commander with the Kern County Fire Department, wrote to recall the hot summer days before air conditioning when trucks would navigate the Grapevine. "I marveled at the truck drivers who would stand on the running board of their trucks trying to escape the hellish, mind-bending engine and pavement heat coming up through the floorboards of their rigs as they were creeping over the Grapevine at 10 miles per hour. With a brick propped on the accelerator to keep the rigs moving, they would reach through the open cab door with their right hand on the steering wheel while clinging to the open door frame with their left arm. No seat belts on those days." 

 * ... EX CONS: If you live or work downtown, you're accustomed to seeing groups of freshly paroled prisoners hanging out in front of the Greyhound Bus Station. They're unmistakable in their khaki pants, black slippers with no laces, white T-shirts and prison-issued manila envelopes. These are people who have served their time, but their presence has put some downtown business people on edge. Don Martin, the tireless advocate for downtown and himself owner of Metro Galleries on 19th Street, lives downtown and routinely enjoys his walk to and from work. But not always. He was outside the downtown Rite Aid the other day when he was "stopped by a guy saying he just got released from prison. He wanted me to fill a prescription for him. I told management at Rite Aid." The previous day, he was stopped on 19th Street by another man who also had just been released who was trying to sell him stamps. Martin politely declined. With the recession deepening and the state on the verge of releasing thousands more inmates because of overcrowding chances are this kind of thing will continue for a while. Meanwhile, Martin is one of a group of downtown business owners who have been working - unsuccessfully so far - to get the bus station moved.

* ... INTERNMENT CAMP:  I may have learned what happened to the couple who ran a produce stand in 1943 but were sent to a Japanese internment camp. A reader, who did not want her name published, said the name of the produce stand and market was Sogo's Produce, and it was owned an operated by Utaro and Koye Sogo and their son-in-law, Kingo Nakamoto. Their families, longtime Bakersfield residents, were relocated to Poston, Arizona where there was a Japanese internment camp. Apparently, according to this source, the business was turned over to the Lum family who successfully ran a produce business in town for many years. The produce stand was located at the intersection of Golden State Highway and Union Avenue.

 * ... OVERHEARD: Reader Becky Williams: shared her encounter with a young lady at a local sandwich store recently.  "I'd like a turkey sandwich please,"  she said. The young lady replied, "I'm sorry. I can't make you a sandwich because our lettuce hasn't come yet."  Hold the lettuce then, Williams answered.  "I can't do that," the clerk said, "because I don't have any lettuce and it has to look like the picture."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're a Bakersfield old timer "if you've taken part in the soap box derby races held in the late 1930s on River Boulevard between Columbus and Greenlawn Cemetery." Thanks to F. Valentich for that one.

Visalia holds a role model for downtown revitalization, and East Rotary raises $25,000 for scholarships

 * ... DOWNTOWN: Want a model on how to revitalize downtown? Then look no further than Visalia, which boasts a wonderful, safe downtown full of vitality and fun. Jim Houck, a former Bakersfield resident who now lives in Visalia, is observing the local debate about creating a special tax district here and wrote this: "It's amazing that a few folks are holding up what could be a great step forward for downtown Bakersfield. Visalia has the most successful downtown in the Valley, and PBID is one of the things that holds it together.. Downtown Visalia is alive six days and nights a week. The fact that there is an active business organization downtown has given it a lot more political clout than it looks like downtown Bakersfield has. I didn't have the sense that downtown Bakersfield has much input to what the city did to Chester Avenue ten or so years ago. Here, not a shovel would have been turned without the input and approval of downtown Visalians."

 * ... BIG WEEK: This will be one of those busy fall weeks that has something for everyone. On Wednesday night country superstar Carrie Underwood is appearing at Rabobank Arena, and on Thursday evening the restored Padre Hotel is having its grand opening gala. There are still tickets for the Padre red-carpet event, where $125 gets you into the door with all the food and drink on the house. Then on Sunday, Luigi's celebrates its 100th birthday with a huge bash from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Tickets are limited and are available at Luigi's website. And don't forget First Friday, when downtown comes alive with the arts. Make sure to stop by Uricchio's Trattoria or your favorite locally owned restaurant to get a start on the evening.

 * ... KEVIN: Our local congressman, Rep. Kevin McCarthy,  is in the thick of the fight for control of the House of Representatives in the November election. It's hard to watch cable news without seeing McCarthy, one of the GOP's "Young Guns," sparring with the Democrats over the direction of the country. If the Republicans do take control of the House in November, McCarthy will be in a key leadership position.

 * ... SCHOLARSHIP:  I dropped by the lovely home of Janis and Vernon Varner this weekend for "An Elegant Evening of Wine," an East Rotary event that raised  more than $25,000 for the Joe Alexander Scholarship fund. Meir Brown and his crew from Cafe Med were there doing the catering and a number of wineries provided the drinks. It was a perfect sell-out evening for this event that is now in its eighth year. Spotted in the crowd were incoming District Attorney Lisa Green and husband Jeff, Bank of the Sierra senior vice president Michael Olague and wife Christine, City Councilman David Couch, CSUB President Horace Mitchell, accountant Geoff King, businesswoman Molly Busacca, CASA development manager Teresa Fahsbender and husband Bryan, potato farmer Brian Kirschenmann and wife Katie, event emcee Phil Icardo and wife Suzanne, among others.

* ... MEMORY LANE: Barbara Miner sent this missive about growing up in Bakersfield. "You could walk from Brundage Lane to where the Circle is today on Chester Avenue. You could walk out of a movie theater in the summer and crunch, crunch on June bugs that were all over the sidewalk. Packing a lunch when riding your bicycle out to Stockdale, because it was 'way out in the country.' Brundage was just a two-lane road then. The street crossing signals used to have an arm that would come up for when to stop."

 * ... SPOTTED: Used diaper rolled up and sitting next to the curb at Beach Park Saturday morning, not 20 feet from a trash can. 

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: This from my friend Jeff Green: "You know you're from Bakersfield is you remember Garces teacher Miss Smile and her dog Peppy and you were sent back to row F."

Dealing with an invasion of dragonflies, the homeless and plunging home sales

* ... DRAGON FLIES: Gretchen Knaggs shot me an email wondering what is going on with all the dragonflies on the west side of town. "I'm not sure if it is just in our part of town (out near Brimhall and Old Farm roads) but it is really something else. There were close to 15 in our front yard the other evening!" Gretchen ended with her own memory of east Bakersfield. "You know you're an old school east sider if remember Plahn's Bakery on Niles near Mount Vernon. That's a throwback to my grandparents Eric and Agnes Plahn."

 * ... HOMELESS: A local therapist took issue with my earlier post citing "one of the nuttier" areas of our community populated by the homeless and recently released parolees. Wrote Ethel C. Katz: "The 'homeless denizens' and 'scary looking parolees" are often suffering from chronic illnesses. They do not chose to live on the streets but without the necessary medication are relegated to them or to jails ... Most of this population do not have middle class homes to go to nor do they have incomes to purchase medication which would quiet their 'animated conversations with invisible partners.' A bit of sensitivity would go a long way to helping this under-served population." Sorry if I sounded insensitive, and I understand the issues, but it nevertheless is a nutty scene.

 * ... HOME SALES: Hard to be optimistic after hearing that home sales dropped 27.2 percent in July in another signal that this recession has a lot of life left in it. Regionally, the west dropped 25 percent and across the country, homes in the distressed category accounted for more than a third of all sales. This is not good news folks. It's easy to underestimate how important steady growth and a healthy real estate market are to our local economy, but the consumer is wary and lacking confidence. On the plus side, it is a great time to be in the market: mortgage rates are near historic lows and there is a lot of property to choose from. But consumers remain skittish, banks have raised their lending standards and many folks are just sitting on the  sidelines until this mess gets better.

 * ... UCSB: Local attorney Harley Pinson and his wife Cindy will be hosting a reception for all the young people heading to UC Santa Barbara. The Pinsons, both Gaucho grads, will host the incoming freshmen, their parents and local UCSB alumni on Sunday, September 12 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Meetings like this allow the kids to exchange contact information for car pooling and are great opportunities for the parents to learn more about the school. If interested, call Harley at (661) 599-5584.

 * ... OLD EATERIES: Local farmer Dick Porter shot me a message recalling a restaurant that his parents took him to in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Called "Mr. and Mrs." it was located on the west side of Chester Avenue a few blocks south of California. "Their specialty was pan fried steaks, not breaded, just steaks fried in pans. I can still smell the absolutely fabulous aromas coming from the frying pans just across a stool counter. I can remember the floors were black and white linoleum tile and there were pictures of movie stars on the wall. Just fantastic food!"
 
  * ... SPOTTED: From reader Sue Allred: "Observed in the dress department at a Valley Plaza department store on Memorial Day afternoon. A young man said to a woman: 'If you choose a dress in the next 15 minutes I will pay for it.'" And Sue added: "You know you're from Bakersfield if on your summer walks you know what 'follow the shade' means. It can lead to some great new paths."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're a Bakersfield  old timer if "you remember what was on the northeast corner of 19th Street and Union Avenue before Stan's Drive-in. (the old street car barn)

New lofts project is headed to the arts district in downtown Bakersfield, and a gas war heats up in Shafter

 * ... CITY LOFTS: Downtown Bakersfield received some good news this week when the city Redevelopment Agency approved a $612,000 loan for finishing construction of the 1612 City Lofts Project at 19th and Eye streets. The money will go to finishing nine upstairs lofts in the building that houses the Metro Galleries, Ellie Jaye's Kids Boutique and Jezebel's Boutique. The building is owned by local Realtor Eydie Gibson and a partner and is located in the core of the emerging downtown arts district. I'm told the owners have already spent $1 million on the project and the loan will allow them to complete the project in six to nine months. These will be rental lofts - not low income rentals - and will go for between $895 and $1,395 a month.  They are designated "affordable moderate income" rentals, meaning they will be available to single people with an income not higher than $47,000 and a couple with a gross income of not more than $53,000. The building itself was constructed in 1893 and is said to be the second oldest still standing commercial structure downtown. It was originally a rooming house. Let's hope the lofts attract more young urban professionals to the downtown area.

* ... AIRFIELD: I continue to receive a lot of feedback about the old La Cresta Airfield that was located off Panorama Drive near Bakersfield College. One reader asked when it was built, which I could not answer. Any history buffs out there know? Another reader, Mickey Pearson, recalled a small cafe at the airfield that served burgers, fries, sandwiches and a great bowl of chili. He said it was run by his grandparents, Ezra and Myrtle Pearson. "While eating lunch you could try your luck at the punch boards. Pay your money for a chance to win cash. They had a small tool about the size of a toothpick. You would push a small rolled up paper out the back of the board, unroll it and see if you won."


 * ... CRIME WATCH: A reader who lives near Pacheco Road and Hughes Lane called with a horrifying story of a break-in at her home in May and a warning to others to be on guard for the unexpected. She was outside in her yard and had left the front door unlocked, like we all do when we are puttering around the yard. Turns out a group of robbers slipped inside when she wasn't looking and when her daughter showed to pick her up to run an errand, she locked them inside. When she returned, she surprised three men in her house who scattered out through the back yard. "The police were down the street investigating another burglary and were here in two minutes! Now I never leave the house without locking every door even if I am outside five minutes. This is happened all over town, not just out here."


 * ... GAS WAR: Folks in Shafter are abuzz over a local gas war, started when a new ARCO station opened at the corner of Lerdo Highway and Highway 43. One resident, David Vanderpool, told me the ARCO opening forced the local Fastrip to drastically cut its prices to the point where Fastrip now has some of the cheapest gas in the county. "Most people in Shafter, before the ARCO opened up, would buy their gas in Bakersfield since it was cheaper than Shafter on any given day. So yes, competition is great!"

* ... MEMORIES: Reader Paula Rodenburg touched based to share her memories of shopping for clothes with her mother at Brock's, Fedway and JC Penney. "After Brocks we'd go down the street heading east on 19th to Woody's Toy Circus and Thompson's Petland (Woody's moved to Chester Avenue later after a fire, I believe). LOVED Thompson's-puppies and kittens in the back and I'd always beg for more pets even though we were full up at home. And Zippy the Clown-he was at my sixth birthday party. I believe he was on the George Day show. Good times."

 * ... REMEMBER WHEN: Carole Lynn Anderson wrote to recall the days when "you could see the tops of the West High School locker buildings from the corner of Stockdale Highway and California. The only building between Stockdale Highway and California was the White Front store ... everything else in between included oil pumps, scrub brushes and the occasional kit fox!"

* ...  DALEY LEAVES: Heard from reader Pattie Otts that Dr. Patrick Daley has left Bakersfield to assume a family practice in Ojai. His last day at the Mohawk Medical Group was July 30. He had been in private practice specializing in sports medicine for some 20 years and was active in the Kern County Medical Society, where he served one year as president.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're a Bakersfield old-timer if "you still have a copy of Isabel Forker's guacamole recipe."

Local kid heads to Oregon to work for Republican congressional hopeful and a photography show worth seeing

 * ...MID-TERM ELECTIONS: Looks like Robby McCarthy, one of the young guns in the office of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (not related), is leaving to become the finance director for a Republican running for an important Oregon congressional district. Robby will be on temporary leave to work for Scott Bruun (check out his website here) who is running against one-term incumbent Kurt Schrader in Oregon's 5th Congressional District. This is a big race for the Republicans as they try to exploit the economic malaise and President Obama's weaknesses in the mid-term elections. Robby is the son of Judi McCarthy, head of the Kern Community Foundation, and Rob McCarthy, owner and founder of Lightspeed Systems. He graduated from Garces Memorial High School and then the University of Southern California in 2006. He will return to the Bakersfield Republican congressman's office after the November elections.

 * ... AIR PARK: How many of you knew there used to be a small air strip up on Panorama Drive? Old timers will remember the La Cresta Airpark located between what is now Greenlawn Mortuary and Cemetery and Bakersfield College. The runway was situated almost perpendicular to Panorama Drive, meaning small planes taking off or landing sometimes had to fly over the bluffs. Houses now sit on the old air park land.

 * ... AIR FORCE: Nice to hear that Foothill High graduate Edward Ramirez has graduated from the Air Force Academy and is headed to Arizona for flight school. He is the son of Ruben and Virginia Ramirez. If you remember, Ruben was the long time wrestling coach at Arvin High School who died in 2000 of complications of a 1982 car wreck.  

* ... ART SHOW: If you've got the mid-summer blues, stop by The Padre Hotel to catch a show of some outstanding photography in the hotel's Farmacy Cafe. It's the work of Fred Castillo, a Bakersfield native who left town but returned in 2004 to help care for his ailing father. There will be about 14 prints on display of various sizes, all of them capturing the special mood, flavor and taste of our community. There is a stunning sunset shot of Fox Theatre and some interesting landscapes. The show opens Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and is sponsored by Don Martin's Metro Galleries, which consistently sponsors some of the best art seen in our town for years. (not all of the shots shown below will be on display)

 * ... WHERE'S WESTCHESTER? My earlier post about a burglary on 20th Street in Westchester drew this response from Geraldine Sproul: "As I have stated before many times, Westchester is located north of 24th Street. This area was developed in the late 1940s after World War II. I was living here then and well remember it. I live in Westchester as I am north of 24th Street. I am sorry to say ... 20th Street is not in Westchester."

* ... UNION AVENUE: Reader Donna Garone Calanchini dropped a note to recall "attending children's birthday parties at the old Carnation Ice Cream plan on Union Avenue in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Other fascinations on Union Avenue in those days were, of course, the Bakersfield sign stretching across the highway and the roundness of the Saddle 'n Sirloin building."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From reader Esther Brandon: You know you're from Bakersfield when "a fellow customer at Blockbuster spits on the floor while browsing the slasher flics."

Padre targeted by unions: but are they effective?

The new Padre Hotel became the latest in a long string of local businesses (including The Californian several years ago) to be targeted by organized labor for allegedly using non-union workers or paying prevailing wages on contracts. The problem for the union: these "shame on" protests have become so common they no longer draw attention, so to my knowledge are ineffective. And my guess is the folks they hire to stand behind the signs all day are not being paid "prevailing wages."