Californian Radio tackles gun control with guests Donny Youngblood, Kern County Sheriff, and Gene Thome, owner of the gun store Bear Mountain Sports

* ... GUN CONTROL: With the Democrats holding a super majority in the California legislature, it's a sure bet that our state's already tough gun laws are about to get much stricter. So what is next? Background checks on buying ammunition? More restrictions on the types and models of weapons that can be sold? On Monday, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood will be on Californian Radio KERN 1180 to talk about gun control, the recent shooting in Taft and the 2nd Amendment. We will also be joined by Gene Thome, the owner of Bear Mountain Sports on Weedpatch Highway. Tune in at 9 a.m. to join a lively discussion on the hot issue of the day.

* ... FISHER: Fisher Communications, the company that owns KBAK TV and the Fox affiliate KBFX, appears to be up for sale. Industry insiders say the company is exploring "strategic alternatives" because of pressure from billionaire investor Mario Gabelli. Fisher also owns TV stations in Portland, Seattle and Boise among other markets. It is not certain if the company will be sold as a group or broken apart, and it is too early to tell what that will mean for the local staff and the direction of KBAK and the local Fox affiliate.

 * ... SPOTTED: Reader Virginia Childres submitted this about a homeless person she spotted on a local street. "I read this morning about the sign your friend saw and I remembered the funniest one I saw yesterday. I laughed again every time I thought of it, 'I'm too ugly to prostitute and too dumb to get a job. Just give me money.'"


 * ... HARVARD: Joe Feghali is a graduate of Stockdale High School who is now attending Harvard University, and he has returned to talk to other Bakersfield students about getting into Harvard and other elite schools. He will speak to students at Stockdale and 15 other local high school and middle schools this month.

 * ... NRA DINNER: Don't forget the annual Southern Valley Friends of the National Rifle Association dinner and auction which is set for Friday, February 1, at the Bakersfield Elks Lodge. Dinner tickets at $50 each and there will be opportunities to enter special drawings. Call Cyndi Benson if you are interested in sponsorships or donations, (661) 205-8569.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You may be a Bakersfield old timer if you remember Banducci's Corner at Weedpatch and Edison highway as a great place for lunch.

Ted Nugent on the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms and concealed weapons

Always amazed (and often pleasantly surprised) at the stuff making the rounds on the internet these days. The internet is by nature a source of unwashed and unfiltered opinion, so you have to be careful what you believe. And nothing seems to stir up passions in Bakersfield like an attack on the Second Amendment. One prominent businessman forwarded an email to me today saying the Senate was moving toward making gun owners register their weapons on their tax returns next year. Snopes.com is a good source to check these rumors and of course this one also was not true. Then, perhaps an hour later, I get another email forwarding an interview that rocker Ted Nugent gave with the editor of Texas Monthly on gun ownership. Ted is famous for saying what he means, in the bluntest of terms. Here he is: