A huge "hydro event" of storms and rainfall are coming to California over the next week, new gun laws restricting ammo sales are on the books and a final goodbye from Mayor Harvey Hall

* ... STORMS ARE COMING: If you thought the rains last week were something, get ready for a huge "hydro event" over the next week. Meteorologists are warning that California will experience "jaw

dropping" amounts of rain, including up to 42 inches of precipitation for the Merced and San Joaquin River basins and up to 300 inches (or 25 feet) of snowfall into the Southern Sierra Crest, including the Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Mountain areas. This hydro event has already started in the Sierras and will include heavy rains in Central California through the weekend. And speaking of storms, wasn't our New Year's Day spectacular? Bright, sunny skies with the snow capped mountains clearer than I have seen them for years. Keep your cameras ready because more is coming.

* ... GUN LAWS: You can thank the California Legislature for the surge in gun and ammunition sales at local firearms shops. The Legislature passed a slew of new laws - some won't take effect until next January - that will make it much harder for law abiding citizens to buy ammunition or even borrow someone's weapon. It's interesting that the lawmakers who pass these laws are the same ones who choose to ignore other laws that don't suit their tastes, including declaring "sanctuary cities" to avoid working with federal immigration authorities. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to pick and choose which laws to obey?

* ... END OF AN ERA: Did you catch Harvey Hall's open letter to the community in the Tuesday Californian? It was typical Mayor Hall, oozing with sincerity and all from the heart, honoring our community and the people who make this such a special place to live. Hall's legacy as mayor will be one of inclusion and unity. Let's hope his successor, Karen Goh, does the same.

* ... GOOD FORM: Digging through old emails I found this note from Patricia Basset about her commute between Lake Isabella and Bakersfield. The message was from last year (sorry I missed it Patricia) but it is still relevant. Said Basset: "Quite often the canyon is closed due to an accident, someone over the cliff, rocks in the road, etc. (Recently) there was a large rock slide about half way up the canyon and the line of cars waiting to get through was massive. It was hot, hot, hot and we were told it could be up to 10 hours to get the road cleared. While I was driving up 178, I was behind a young man in a truck, pulling a backhoe. He was waiting along with all of us until a young woman walked back down the road, after going to the slide area. When that girl told the guy in front of me about the slide, he didn't even think twice. He pulled the chains off his backhoe, unloaded it (no simple task) and took off up the hill. Within minutes, he cleared one side of the road of several huge rocks which allowed the traffic to move slowly, but steadily along. I am pretty confident that nobody thanked him, but I want that man to know my husband and I, along with all those waiting, really appreciated his being willing to go out of his way to help us get through the canyon. We do have good people here in Bakersfield."

 * ... MILESTONE: I reached a personal milestone the other day when I actually remembered to bring a reusable plastic bag into Trader Joe's.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "How dare you call me mentally unstable on this, the day of my cat's quinceanera."

 * ... TAFT COLLEGE: the annual Triple Play dinner and auction benefiting Taft College is set for Jan. 27 at the Historic Fort in Taft. Eric Byres, a former Oakland A's outfielder and now an ultra marathoner, will be the guest speaker. For tickets call (661) 763-7936.

 * ... PUZZLER: Here is a head scratcher from Bonnie Farrer: "While visiting my daughter and family in Orlando for Christmas we were all pleasantly surprised to see that the large bag of mandarin oranges on her kitchen shelf were from Bakersfield! When I returned home yesterday, I bought  mandarine oranges here. They were  from Florida. This doesn't make sense. PS: the Bakersfield oranges were seedless and tastier!"

Hats off to Sal Moretti for cleaning up a community eyesore, Californians rush to buy guns and ammunition and Jackie Parks remembers Bryan Kelly

* ... TRASH: Here's a shout-out to Sal Moretti and the folks over at the city Solid Waste Division for taking the time to clean up a stretch of road that has become a community eyesore. After I posted last week about the mounds of garbage (mattresses, chairs, couches, old washing machines etc) that people

illegally discarded off Fairfax (the old county dump road) Moretti privately messaged me that he was going to send crews out to clean it up. And that they did. Supervisor Robert Manuel and his team filled several dump trucks full and left the area pristine. The city can't force people to do the right thing, and it must be tiring to spend so much time and energy cleaning up after people who view the world as their own personal toilet. But thank you Sal. So here is my remedy for that road: since it already is a dead end, close it off at Fairfax with a gate and code to allow access to authorized personnel. There is no reason for any vehicles to travel that road. And finally, shed the name Old County Dump Road and name it after Sal. (Before and after pictures provided by Sal Moretti)

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "On my marriage license, where they ask in which state I live, I wrote: Depression."

 * ... GUN LAWS: There's another rush on guns and ammunition in California, thanks to a legislature that embraces some of the toughest anti-gun laws in the country. Remarked Realtor Michael Richert: "I’m not good on a crowded day at Disneyland, or anywhere for that matter where my space bubble is pierced. That was never more evident on Saturday, December 17 when I stopped by for some ammo at a local gun store. The last Saturday to purchase certain types of riffles and it was chaos. We usually stay dormant unless someone tells us we can’t have something anymore."

 * ... BRYAN KELLY: When I wrote about the death of 63-year-old Bryan Kelly the other day, it triggered this response from former KBAK anchor Jackie Parks, who moved to a TV market outside of Baltimore with husband Todd Karli. Said Jackie: "You see, he was a dear friend of my eccentric aunt Millie when she lived in Bakersfield many, many years ago. He would later keep her updated on my life (from watching me on TV) and was thrilled to meet me one day at Trader Joe's so he could let Millie know. Over the years he chatted with me about the birth of our kids, recommended kid-friendly foods, talked to them about their interests, encouraged piano and ballet lessons (neither which took hold for long) and never failed to ask about Millie who, at 92, will be heartbroken to hear he is gone. Thanks for writing such a nice farewell."

* ... MAILBOX THEFT: I received a note from reader Kelly Clanton with this plea: "We have suffered our third mail theft this year, this time Friday night with Christmas packages taken from our dropbox. Last time a check was forged and we had to get a new account. At least 10 mail thefts have occurred within a half mile radius of our 'safe' northwest neighborhood this year. Sending this to encourage Postmaster Linda La Force, postal inspectors Jeff Fitch and Bill Zembridge and  Congressman Kevin McCarthy to work faster on this for us, and come up with an immediate solution please.  Running to the mailbox to pick up our mail mid day and driving miles to the post office to drop off outgoing mail is not the answer."

 * ... GOOD SERVICE: James in Taft wrote to thank someone who goes over and above with customer service: "Last Sunday morning (12/18/16) at 7 a.m. I was warming up with my morning tea as it was 32 outside, when my doorbell rang. I thought who would be hear that early. When I opened the door and I was surprised it was my Californian deliverer, Michelle Ayala in Taft. She handed me my paper and said it was too cold to have to come out and get it. She has been doing a great job and it was a pleasure to give her a Christmas gift as I try and do every year.  So all you subscribers be sure and do the same for your deliverer as they have to endure all types of weather and conditions.
MERRY CHRISTMAS."