Three lost children arrested in savage beating of grandmother while life goes on for the rest of us ...

  

 * ... BRUTAL BEATING: What are we to make of the arrest of three teenagers in the savage beating death of 81-year-old Dorothy Session in her east Bakersfield home? Here we have three runaway teens, all apparently so lost and angry that they allegedly beat this poor woman to death for no apparent reason. One thing we can agree on is Sheriff Danny Youngblood's assertion that these "kids" gave up their rights to childhood when they beat this grandmother to death. And for what? To burglarize her home? The suspects were identified as David Deshawn Moses, 17, and sisters Angelique Elandra Nash, 17, and Katila Ann Jean Nash, 15. (Photos courtesy of KERO-TV)

* ... BIKE RACE: I headed out to the USA Cycling bicycle road race off Bena Road on Sunday, a truly stunning day that featured more than 400 riders from across California. This was one of those events that attracts a narrow niche of enthusiastic followers but it showed off our community beautifully. The 30-mile route went from Towerline Road down to Caliente and back. I spotted a number of local riders there, including Hank Pfister, Mike Marotta, Jeff Simpson, Mike Hudson, Pam Awe, Mike Noel, Tom Morgan, David Rous, Adam Hensley and Gareth Feldstein just to name a few. The event was coordinated by Sam Ames from Action Sports.

* ... YOUNG KARPE: Was pleased to hear that Robert Karpe, son of Ray and Lisa Karpe and a senior at Garces Memorial High School, has decided to attend college at the University of South Carolina. Robert's final two choices were South Carolina and Tulane University, and after some soul searching he decided to head to Columbia, S.C. to spend the next four years as a Gamecock. Robert's father Ray is the chief operating officer at Terrio Therapy-Fitness.

 * ... HIDDEN TREASURES: One of the great things about our community is the number of locally owned restaurants with outstanding food and service, many tucked away in out of the way places. There's Luigi's Restaurant and Delicatessen of course, Uricchio's Trattoria, Cafe Med, 24th Street Cafe, Woolgrower's, Goose Loonies, Sequoia Sandwich Shop and all the Basque eateries. I had a chance to stop by two of my favorites this weekend, Casa Munoz over on Union Avenue where service and the Mexican fare is always over the top, and the Great Castle Chinese restaurant also on Union Avenue. Try the seafood noodle soup at Great Castle, large enough to feed two and with some left over.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield when you "know that Hodel's used to be at Valley Plaza."

UC California reports toughest year ever for graduating seniors while the TSA cracks down on snow globes. Say what?

* ... UC ADMISSIONS: It wasn't surprising to read that this turned out to be one of the most competitive years ever to get into one of the nine University of California (UC) campuses. Between state budget cutbacks and the sheer number of graduating seniors, the UC system admitted just 71.6 percent of applicants, compared to 75.4 percent two years ago. The UC system has always been the crown jewel of the California colleges, but there are plenty of other worthy schools out there. Consider some of the kids over at the AVID program (Advancement Via Individual Determination) at Taft Union High School. AVID teacher Debra Popejoy noted that because of financial constraints, most of the AVID kids will be attending junior colleges, but others are headed to four year institutions. Among them are Mayra Aguilar and Emmanuel Medina going to Loyola-Marymount University,  Chesney Doak and Hannah Koerner will be attending UC Davis, and Stephannie Heerdink, Brian Parsons and Hailey Smith will be attending CSUB. Also, Stewart Bandy is going to Humboldt State while Kathy Lopez will be attending Azusa Pacific.  Jared Miller will be attending CSU Monterey Bay while Will Palmer is heading to Cal Baptist.  Lastly, Alberto Uribe is going to UC Merced. Congrats to all these kids.

 * ... BANANA SLUG? Reader Laura Wolfe emailed me that her son Matthew had been accepted to the University of California at Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz. Laura is a UC Santa Barbara graduate and pointed out other family members graduated from UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC San Francisco. Laura says Matthew is heading for Santa Cruz and "I'm okay with that.!"

* ... SNOW GLOBES: If you plan on any air travel, leave that snow globe at home or risk the wrath of the Transportation Security Agency (TSA). Former Bakersfield resident Mary Lou Fulton posted a Tweet the other day noting a sign at the Orange County airport warning passengers against carrying aboard snow globes because they might contain potentially hazardous material. Huh?

* ... ART SHERWYN: Our town is full of interesting characters, and one of the more intelligent and delightful ones is Art Sherwyn, a long-time art teacher, tennis coach and accomplished artist. On Thursday, April 29, Metro Galleries downtown will sponsor an "Evening with Art Sherwyn" during which he will share his perspectives on making art. Sherwyn's paintings will be on display (and I assume for sale) but the real draw here is Art himself. He is a fascinating story teller and intellect who has multiple talents and interests. The cost is $30. You can call the gallery to reserve your spot. 

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield when "you know who is engaged to whom by reading the Olcott's ad in The Californian."