Santa Barbara bans straws and establishes punishment harder than many criminal offenses, the heat wave continues and Buck Owens' legacy at the Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles

Monday July 30, 2018

 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 such a special place.

 * ... STRAWS: I am sure you have heard about Starbucks banning plastic straws right? And now the city of Santa Barbara has passed an ordinance last that gives restaurant employees six months of jail

time or a $1,000 fine for giving plastic straws to customers. I am not joking here. And all this hysteria because of our fear that the straws could end up in the ocean and strangle a turtle. But let's be serious here. I am as concerned as anyone else over the mountains of plastic in our oceans, but banning the straw and threatening jail time is beyond stupid. And here is the craziest part: the punishment for issuing straws is actually harder than many other "non violent" offenses in California that allow you to apply for early release. Offenses like domestic violence, first degree burglary, rape of a drugged person or a hate crime causing physical injury. And we wonder why people outside California think we are nuts here.

 * ... MADE IN AMERICA: If you are a fan of things Made in America, does this extend to your car? If it does, you will be interested in the list of cars manufactured with the most parts made in the USA. According to Cars.com, those models include the Jeep Cherokee, Honda Odyssey, Honda Ridgeline: Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Volt, Honda Pilot, Acura MDX, Ford Explorer, Ford F-150, and the Chevrolet Corvette.

 * ... HEAT WAVE: Remember how mild it was just a few short months ago? And then came July and with it temperatures in the 105 to 108 range, almost daily. But it may be too early to tell if we are on threatening to set new records for the most days at 100 degrees or higher. It turns out the National Weather Service in Hanford says the record for the most days at 100 or higher is 76, and that was sent back in 1917. And, just for giggles, the NWS says the hottest day ever recorded in Bakersfield was 118.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "It’s adorable when men think they should get half the closet."

 * ... MORE TWITTER: "I was mistaken for a hooker once. It was not my best day. I only made $50."

 * ... MID-STATE FAIR: Nobody does big time musical acts better than the California Mid-State Fair over in Paso Robles. Consider the lineup for the fair that just ended: Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Pitbull, Demi Lovato, ZZ Top, Dwight Yoakam, Gabriel Iglesias, Florida-Georgia Line and the list goes on. I was there doing a remote for KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM and asked the fair CEO, Michael Bradley, how the fair got so good booking such top notch talent. "You know who brought the music element to the fair in 1969?" he asked me. "It was your own Buck Owens. He started it and we have continued it since then." It was a big year for Buck, as it turns out. 1969 was the first year he co-hosted Hee Haw, a variety show that would go on for 15 seasons. So there you have it.

 * ... MEMORIES: How about this old shot of Chester Avenue around 18th Street in the late 1890s?

Monday's Bakersfield Observed: So you think it has been hot? Well get ready for yet more near record heat, and what does the prosecution of Supervisor Leticia Perez say about local politics and our changing demographics?

Monday July 23, 2018

 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 such a special place. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

* ... ARE YOU HOT ENOUGH?: So you think it's been a tad hot lately? Well get ready for yet another heat wave. Consider this advisory from the National Weather Service: "Hotter weather will return to the entire San Joaquin Valley, the Kern County desert and elevations below 4,000 feet

Tuesday through Thursday. High temperatures will range from 103 to 108 degrees in the San Joaquin Valley and lower foothills and between 105 and 115 degrees in the Kern County desert each of these days. Wednesday looks as though it will carry the greatest potential heat risk. Prolonged exposure to hot weather can lead to heat stroke or heat exhaustion. To avoid heat related illness, limit your time outdoors during the hottest time of the day, stay hydrated, apply sunscreen and wear light colored, loose fitting clothing." You have been warned.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: This from my friend David Jensen: "How hot is it? It's so hot I saw a tweaker putting the copper back into an air conditioner."

 * ... SUMMER HEAT: One benefit of these hot Bakersfield mornings: there is significantly less trash in the parks because it's simply too hot for the slobs to leave their own homes.

 * ... LETICIA PEREZ: Supporters of Supervisor Leticia Perez are planning a protest march and vigil this Tuesday, yet another sign that this very public local stink is going to get far uglier in a very quick manner.  The "Stand with Supervisor Perez" rally is planned for 8 a.m. Tuesday at the Liberty Bell, and then supporters will attend the supervisor's meeting to show their support. Perez has been charged with two counts of campaign violations, both misdemeanors. These types of campaign violations are usually dealt with by the state Fair Political Practices Commission, and Perez is believed to be the first person in California to be formally charged by a local prosecutor's office. As the only Democrat, only woman and only Latina on the board, supporters are viewing this as singling out a minority who just happened to support the MALDEF lawsuit against the county that forced a complete redistricting. It is never that simple of course, and the friction among local Democrats, among the supervisors themselves and even in a very fractured District Attorney's office is unprecedented. The Perez case should be simple - did a sitting supervisor break the law and if so what is an appropriate punishment? - but these are anything but ordinary times. Instead the Perez case has come to symbolize a changing electorate, one that has different expectations, and how all this plays out will determine who sticks around and who falls by the wayside as a tsunami of change disrupts the old political landscape and ushers in a new era. Follow along because this is going to be a wild ride.

* ... SOME PERSPECTIVE: Step back for a moment and look at where we are locally with Kern County politics. The supervisors are at odds as never before because of the MALDEF lawsuit, California's legalization of marijuana has driven wedges among traditional allies and brought new forces to bear (as in the local veterans and others who rely on medicinal cannabis to relieve pain), the browning of Kern County has emboldened Latino leaders to demand more respect at the ballot box, prosecutors in the District Attorney's office are barely talking to one another after the bitter race to succeed Lisa Green between eventual winner Cynthia Zimmer and Scott Spielman, and even the Democratic Party is fracturing between those who support Perez and others who would privately cheer if she left office to make way for them to run. This is all unprecedented in what was once a clubby group of white men and women who stayed in power via their conservative credentials and loyalty to each other. Those who cling to yesterday's norms do so at their own peril, because as Bob Dylan once said, 'times are a changing.'

 As Dylan wrote:
"Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon…

* ... EYESORE: When will the city wake up and do something about the eyesore at the Chester street bridge underpass near there Garces Circle, which has evolved into a near permanent homeless encampment complete with litter, feces and trash that the wind scatters for blocks? This eyesore has been a problem for months, and it is our collective shame that our city accepts this as an acceptable sign of the times.

 * ... DIABETES: Did you know that between 30 and 35 percent of the adults over the age of 18 in Kern County are either diabetic or suffer from pre-diabetic conditions. That is a full 10 percentage points over the national average, and it speaks to our poor diet, our lack of exercise and our lack of commitment to reversing the trend. According to Dr. Raj Patel over at Preferred Family Care, new guidelines for diabetes now urge physicians to customize their treatment of the disease, providing more aggressive therapy to those who are younger and "full committed" to reversing the process.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this old photo of the Tejon theater at its opening, compliments of the Kern County Museum.

Round 2 of the summer heat is here, get ready for Grimmway's new colored carrots and Five Guys opens its new burger joint on Calloway Drive

* ... HEAT: Are you ready for round two of our summer heat? Well it's coming. In fact, forecasters

say we will be well above the 100 degree mark for the next two weeks, with the temperature expected to get as high as 108 before settling back down to around to a more reasonable low triple figures. We can expect to be in the 103 to 104 range as the normal for most of this month.

* ... COMMENTARY: Social commentator Chris Arnade, who quit his job on Wall Street to travel America to learn more about what divides us, had this to say about our world: "Opposition to Trump is like initial opposition to Hugo Chavez. So consumed with easy outrage it misses understanding why many voted for him."

* ... NEW NETWORK: If you haven't heard of One America News yet, chances are you will in the near future. OAN is a relatively new, but fast growing news network out of San Diego that is decidedly pro Trump and is finding a home on a growing number of cable providers. Said The Washington Post in a recent profile: "In a volatile TV news landscape where the longtime ratings leader, Fox News, is suffering through a period of internal turmoil, One America has tried to elbow itself into the big leagues, publicly wooing former Fox star Bill O’Reilly to join OAN. Although O’Reilly didn’t take the bait and the channel is available in only about 30 million homes, a far cry from Fox News’s 90 million, One America is growing — in viewer numbers, in influence in Republican circles, and as a potential alternative for conservatives and libertarians who believe Fox’s commitment to a right-wing perspective is weakening."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Before you get married ask yourself: is this the person you want to watch stare at their phone the rest of your life?"

 * ... POLITICAL HUMOR: From Facebook: "Went to Hobby Lobby to get a picture frame and came home with a piece of the one true cross, a couple of Dead Sea Scrolls and the Holy Grail."

 * ... CARROTS: Are you ready for colored carrots? That's the word from Jeff Huckaby, president of Grimmway Farms who told me the world's largest carrot producer is getting ready to market a new line of organic carrots coming in a variety of colors. Much like how beets and potatoes are available in different colors and varieties, Huckaby said the carrots would have different nutritional benefits and will allow salads to contain a different visual pop. Expect to see these carrots marketed via Grimmway's Cal-Organic division.

 * ... FIVE GUYS: The new Five Guys burger restaurant has opened on Calloway Drive and like any new eatery in town, it is a mad dash to get served. Based in Virginia, burger purists claim Five Guys is the east coast's answer to our In-N-Out. My view: it's an outstanding burger but comes up short of dethroning In-N-Out for freshness.

When a visitor comes to town, it's time for Wool Grower's, Uricchio's Trattoria, Pyrennes Cafe and other iconic Bakersfield haunts, and get ready for a new gelato introduced for Luigi's Delicatessen and Sully's

 * ... FAMILY VISIT: What do you do with a visiting relative when you want to show them the best of

our town? I spent a few days with my 90-year-old step-father visiting from Scottsdale and, as always, he insisted on eating at some of our "authentic" Bakersfield restaurants. My picks: dinners at Uricchio's Trattoria, Jin Sushi and Wool Grower's with libation stops at The Padre Hotel and the new Silver Fox Lounge across the street from Mexicali downtown. Some of his favorites: the fried calamari at Uricchio's. the pickled tongue and osso bucco at Wool Grower's, and the long cool bar at Pyrennes Cafe under the fans on a hot day.

 * ... GELATO: And speaking of summer treats, make sure you tune into KERO TV anchor Tim Calahan's "Made in Kern County" series next Thursday to see his report on a new gelato being introduced locally. It's called "Gino's Gelato" and will be available at Luigi's Delicatessen and various Sully's locations. Who doesn't think this will be a hit this summer?

 * ... STEAKHOUSE: For all you fans of KC Steakhouse, be advised the popular downtown eatery will be closed July 2-July 5 and will resume normal business hours on Thursday, July 6. On the following Friday the family-owned restaurant will hold a "re-grand opening party." 

* ... HEAT: In light of the death of 48-year-old attorney Benjamin Greene during a 5K run hosted by the Bakersfield Track Club (BTC), I spoke with Dr. Raj Patel of Preferred Family Care about the dangers of exercising in extreme heat. His tip: make sure you rehydrate with liquids that contain electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium). Simply downing more water made be counter-productive because it does not contain the electrolytes that combat cramping and fatigue. His recommendation: coconut water or Pedialyte.

* ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "I only eat tacos on days that end with a 'y.'"

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "When I see names carved into a tree I don’t think it’s cute, I just think it's strange how many people take knives on a date."

 * ... CONSTRUCTION: The folks who live in Oleander are complaining that the repaving of California Avenue between Oak and H street has them boxed in, and it's not getting any better. The rebuilding of that stretch of California will take all summer to complete, adding to the already tough bottleneck at California and the Oak Street bridge for those motorists trying to get to Highway 99. Stay away from this stretch at all costs.

* ... WESTEROS: Looking for a way to get out of the heat over the Fourth of July holiday? If you are a fan of the wildly popular HBO series "Game of Thrones' as I am, be advised HBO2 will air the entire previous six seasons beginning Saturday. This will catch you up wth the entire series leading into the seventh (and final?) year that airs on July 16.

Bakersfield flirts with setting a new record for heat as we welcome the season of rolling blackouts, professional cyclist Tyler Williams returns to California for a break and some good form around town

 * ... HEAT WAVE: Welcome to the season of excessive heat, rolling blackouts, faulty air conditioning units and the general resignation that we are in for a long summer of temperatures well above 100 degrees. The folks who live in the Haggin Oaks area got their first nasty taste of summer Monday

when some 450 homes lost power, and other blackouts were reported in the Northwest as well. Will we break any records? The website ClimateSpy.com says the hottest day on record for this month was set June, 29, 1976, when the mercury hit 113.9 degrees, and the hottest month on record was July 1988 when we averaged 102.7 degrees. According to another weather website, Bakersfield averages 33 days a year with temperatures over 100 degrees. But hey, it's a dry heat, right?

* ... WELCOME HOME: Welcome home Tyler Williams, the Bakersfield lad and professional cyclist for the Israeli Cycling Academy team who just wrapped up a race in South Korea. Williams took to Instagram to say he is headed back to California after more than five months abroad (he is based in Spain) and is looking forward to being reunited with his wife, Brea Williams.

* ... RAAM: And speaking of cycling, good luck to a crew of local cyclists who are participating in the Race Across America, but this time riding fixed gear bikes. Among those racing are local fitness instructor Joe Peterson, Bill Elrich, Albert 'Vegas' Vasquez, Misha Tyler, Bo Bohannan, along with two riders from Los Angeles. The eight-man team is crossing the country headed to a finish line in Annapolis, Maryland.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Amazon is buying Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. That's about a  year's worth of groceries at that store."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "It's so hot a Tennessee Williams play just broke out in my room."

 * ... GOOD FORM: Here's an example of some good form compliments of King Door sales consultant Michael Whitmore: "I just wanted to send you a note about the great folks at Stockdale tile. Remember the disabled vet that had his donation jar ripped off a week or two ago in front of Walmart? Well the owner and staff at Stockdale Tile presented a $1,000 check to that gentleman this week to replace the money that was taken. It’s great to know that there are still kind hearted people around."

 * ... BAD FORM: Here's a good reason to avoid California Avenue between H Street and Oak Street while it is being repaved. I was on H Street headed south at the bottled up California Avenue intersection when the driver of a silver pickup tried to cut in front of a woman driving a black SUV. A verbal argument broke out, complete with heads popping out the windows hurling insults, and it ended when the man driving the silver truck threw a soda can at the woman, bouncing off her window.

 * ... MEMORIES: Karene Williams wrote to say she enjoyed "your short piece about the old Sears store in downtown Bakersfield. My mother, Winifred Williams, was auditing supervisor at that location from 1955 until it moved into the new store at Valley Plaza. She continued as auditing supervisor at the new store until she accepted a position in the headquarters offices in Alhambra. After she retired from Sears many years later, she moved to Lake Isabella and worked at the catalogue store until Sears closed their catalogue businesses. Our family has fond memories of Sears and are sad to see it go downhill."

Dining al fresco before the temperature rises to 106, beware of those sting rays at the beach and lamenting the dying coastal redwoods

 * … HEAT: Are you ready for 106 degrees next week? How about 108? It seems improbable after

this incredible mild week we have had, and I took advantage of it by dining al fresco: dinner outside at Uricchio's Trattoria, brunch on the patio at Tahoe Joe's, and appetizers at Wiki's Wine Dive. Remember this week when the sidewalks are frying in a few short days.

 * … FOODIE: And speaking of food, my recommendation of the week is the tuna salad atop a bed of avocado over at the Union Station Deli downtown across from the Post Office. The tuna comes with diced green apples and cranberries.

 * … DROUGHT: One of the long-tail effects of the drought: the sheer number of coastal redwoods dying about town. From the east side out to White Lane, hundreds of these water-needy trees are brown and dying. Beautiful trees true, but not suitable for our dry climate.

* … SUMMER: My friend Howdy Miller had some sound advice about visiting the beach this summer. Listen up: "Just a reminder to all those who enjoy the ocean by swimming - surfing - or wading in it! Please remember to SHUFFLE IN AND OUT to eliminate any possibility of stepping near, around or in my case on a cruising stingray. Happens about 1,500 times a year on the beaches of California, Texas and Florida. Last September I came out of the water in Solana Beach (near San Diego) stepping on top of a relatively small stingray. It reacted by giving me a four inch slash on my ankle and I still do not have any  feeling in the big toe of my right foot. The barbs and venom deposited by said stingray resulted in great pain and discomfort that could have been avoided by a simple shuffle. My podiatrist suggests the response may indeed last a year or longer. I love the ocean and will be surfing again this September, but lease learn to do a simple shuffle to avoid a lot of discomfort or worse!"

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Oh, you hate your job? There’s a support group for that. It’s called 'Everybody' and we meet at the bar."

 * … SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "If you want to test the strength of your willpower, just try ignoring a mosquito bite."

 * … PIE SHOP: Superior Court Judge Thomas S. Clark wrote to say he was among those who remember Scotty's Pie shop near Brundage and Highway 58. "I remember the pie shop well.  I grew up just to the east of Chester, a couple blocks away.  I have fond memories of the pies, but I only got to patronize the shop on very special occasions. The building is still there.  Unfortunately, I don’t know what type of chocolate they used, but it was very good.

Former Congressman Bill Thomas rips into the Leticia Perez campaign, saying it is built on lies and distortions. Will going negative backfire on the Perez camp?

 * ... PEREZ: Former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas pulled no punches recently in giving his view of Leticia Perez, who is locked in a pitched battle for the 16th Senate District race against  Hanford cherry farmer Andy Vidak. Thomas characterized the Perez campaign as a shameful attempt to smear Vidak through half truths and distortions, and he called the July 23 16th Senate runoff one of the most important of the year. It may have been wishful thinking, but Thomas speculated that Perez's focus on character assassination could backfire because the relentless negative campaigning is turning off some Democrats and more middle of the road voters. Thomas made his remarks on First Look with Scott Cox. Perez campaign manager Trent Hager responded by saying "the thirsty Los Angeles-based real estate special interests are the ones who started the runoff with nasty, negative and personal campaign attacks against Leticia. The only reason these special interest players would be spending upwards of $1 million in a negative campaign trying to tear Leticia down is because they are after one thing, the Valley's water. And they know, based on Andy's prior track record of never voting to deliver water to the Valley, he is just their guy." The gloves are clearly off in this campaign.

 * ... IMMIGRATION: And speaking of former congressman Thomas, he was complimentary of the comprehensive immigration reform passed in the Senate, noting that four of the five Central Valley congressmen (Reps. Jeff Denham, Jim Costa, David Valadao and Devin Nunes) have spoken in favor of reform. The one who is coldest to the Senate plan seems to be Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Whip. Instead, McCarthy has been adhering to the Republican line that the House will come up with its own package. As Thomas said: the best way to kill legislation is to say the Senate reform bill simply isn't good enough.

 * ... HEAT: If you think it is hot here when the temperature hits 109, remember that it was 127 in Death Valley and 113 in Las Vegas this week.

 * ... FREEDOM: Thanks to my regular contributor Gene Bonas for this thought in honor of July Fourth: "Depending on which source is used, World War II veterans are dying at a rate of a thousand to fifteen hundred each day.... (including)  submarine veterans, who gave everything for the freedoms we enjoy today. The month of June during Word War II was a bad month for sub losses. Seven submarines and 402 men were lost. The month of July was not as bad: Three submarines and 204 men were lost. It's interesting to note that from 1900 to the present day, a total of 65 United States Navy submarines have been lost.  Of those 65, 52 subs and a total of 3,889 men were lost during World War II. "

 * ... ACHIEVER: Kudos to Julianne Toler-Schmidt, a local girl who is headed to the University of Georgia as an assistant professor. Julianne went to Bakersfield Christian High and later to Point Loma University. After that she earned her master's and doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Said her proud father, retired Bakersfield city battalion chief Larry Toler,  "She's going from being a 'Tar Heel' to being a "Bulldog" or in my mind a Georgia Peach." Her mother, Marilyn, is a retired reading specialist with the Norris School District.