Bakersfield high on the list of cities with the most pedestrian deaths, Jolie Brouttier nominated for Teacher of the Year and are we finally nearing the end of the pandemic?

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.

 * ... PEDESTRIAN DEATHS: Were you surprised by the recent survey that shows Bakersfield ranking second in the nation for pedestrian deaths? The study cited wide streets that encourage speeding (true) and crosswalks that are spaced far apart (also true.) And the study when on to report (in a story carried in The Bakersfield Californian) that people of color, older adults and walkers in low income neighborhoods

suffered higher fatality rates. While that may be true, it also comes as no surprise. Why? Because across the country people in low income neighborhoods suffered higher fatality rate for all the obvious reasons, including lack of street lighting, the presence of more pedestrians, drug use and homelessness. What the study should have noted is that Kern County and Bakersfield are home to all the factors that lead to pedestrian deaths: a huge underclass of often illiterate people living in run-down neighborhoods, rampant drug use and addiction that leads people to make bad decisions, homelessness that is virtually out of control and wide, flat roads that lead to speeding. Until our demographics improve, you can expect to find Bakersfield on this list for years.

 * ... MUSIC TO MY EARS: On the one-year anniversary of the pandemic that has taken more than 500,000 American lives, it was encouraging to read the opinion piece in Thursday's Bakersfield Californian by Centric Health owner Dr. Brij Bhambi. "Science saved us," wrote Bhambi. "There is decency and divinity is saving human life. The vaccinated are less likely to spread the virus to the vulnerable and more likely to protect by literally being a human shield between the virus and the vulnerable... Now is not the time to sit on the fence and allow the virus to morph. The vaccinated are protected and protect. Vaccine hesitancy is counter to civic responsibility."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: When is Oprah going to interview people who lost their pipeline jobs?

 * ... TEACHER OF THE YEAR: A big congratulations to Jolie Brouttier, who has been nominated as Kern County Teacher of the Year representing the Bakersfield City School District. The award will be given out later this year. Brouttier taught for seven years at McKinley Elementary and is now at the Downtown School. During the pandemic, Brouttier "visited" her students at their homes, leaving yard sign greetings while spending her other spare tine raising money for backpacks and other supplies for the neediest of students.

 * ... PROSECUTORS: And speaking of high achieving women, Gina Pearl has been named Prosecutor of the Year by District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer. Others in the District Attorney's office being honored were Andrea Kohler and Arthur Norris who won the Justice Award and Amy French was honored with the Support Staff Person of the Year honors.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this classic shot of cars on the old Ridge Route encountering Dead Man's Curve, a slice of the road that took many lives, and shots of the curve today. Photos courtesy of Kern County of Old Facebook page.

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: And can you stand one more picture of the old Wayne's Dairies? Not sure of the date but the employees pose here in their crisp white shirts before the dairy entrance.

RIP local cyclist Dale Northrop, readers lament pedestrian deaths and jaywalking and a new vaccine for shingles hits the market

 * ... SAFETY: Gabrielle Lopez spoke for many of us in lamenting (while expressing frustration)

with the number of pedestrians who are hit and killed by cars. Said Lopez: "I do not think that there is anything anyone can do about the
pedestrians/cars issue. I am constantly seeing people run red lights as if they are not breaking the law and they have zero shame about it. I honk at them if I am in the front of the light and they run it. I
have been given dirty looks and the finger as if I am doing something wrong. They have absolute no regard for other people who are waiting and they think they don't have to wait. And I constantly see people walking against the light mostly NOT in a crosswalk though I have seen them in a crosswalk when my light is green. I honk at them too. I just think there is an epidemic of 'it is all about me' going on. There is nothing that can fix stupid."

 * ... JAYWALKERS: Some of the worst cases of jaywalking occurs around our local high schools when classes begin and end, including the lunch period. And it is particularly bad around Bakersfield High School where students regularly dash across a busy California Avenue to beat the bell before classes.

 * ... SHINGLES: Here's a tip for those of you who have reached the age of 50 or beyond: get the new shingles vaccine recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration. According to Dr. Raj Patel of Preferred Family Care, the new drug Shingrix is more than twice as effective as an older vaccine (Zostavax) and should be taken by anyone over the age of 50 with a normal immune system. Check with your physician to determine if the drug is available locally.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I removed all the fattening food from my house. It was delicious."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "I am more likely to be sexually assaulted than I am to benefit from this tax bill."

 * ... HEALTHY EATS: I was out in the Southwest this weekend and stopped by Eureka Burger, perhaps one of the few chain restaurants I frequent. After I tried their Protein Chopped Salad, I may have to return more often. It is a delicious and healthy salad featuring romaine, kale, quinoa, roasted beets, red onion, carrot, three types of beans, sunflower seeds and a red wine vinaigrette.

 * ... RETAIL: The boutique store Fashionista has moved next door to QwikCafe and Sequoia Sandwich Co. on 18th Street. The store was previously located near the Fox Theater.

 * ... RIP DALE: I was saddened to learn of the death of Dale Northrop, one of the first people I met in the cycling community when I moved to Bakersfield in the 1990s. Northrop was an avid cyclist and was deeply involved in helping organize the annual Spooktacular century ride as well as the New Year's Day ride. I spent many hours at the 24 Hour Fitness off White Lane chatting with Dale on our stationary bikes and will miss his large smile and kind spirit. He was 78 years old.

Former state Senator Roy Ashburn leaves the Republican Party over differences on immigration and gay rights, talks candidly about his rise and fall in state politics

 * ... ASHBURN: I had a long talk with former state Senator Roy Ashburn this week and it is good to see him rebounding from his personal and political setbacks. In an hour-long, no holds barred interview on First Look with Scott Cox, Ashburn spoke candidly about his DUI arrest in Sacramento

and his decision a week later to come out as being gay. He also revealed that he is no longer registered as a Republican because of the party's stand on immigration and gay rights. Was he hypocritical while in office? "I lied and disappointed people," he told me. "I was not honest." The hardest decision after his DUI arrest: calling his mother and telling her he was gay. In another surprise Ashburn told me his younger brother died of AIDS 20 years ago, making the telephone call even harder. With the emotional weight of a secret life behind him, Ashburn is now refocused and happy. Are politics behind him? "I don't have a need to be in public office," he said. "But I wouldn't rule anything out."

 * ... SPOTTED: The rash of pedestrian deaths on our roadways is not surprising when you view something like this: An elderly Hispanic woman with five young children in tow, including one in a stroller, is seen jaywalking across a busy Ming Avenue near the Bank of America office at midday.

* ... ACHIEVER: Kudos to Dr. Lauren Rodriguez, a local girl who has started her medical career at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Lauren is a product of Bakersfield High School, Stanford University and the University of Michigan Medical School. She also has done research in Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico and Macedonia. She is the daughter  Richard Rodriguez, a music teacher at Curran Jr. High, and Cheryl, a math teacher at Warren Jr. High.

 * ... EAST HIGH: East Bakersfield High School is looking for former cheerleaders to help the school celebrate its 75th anniversary. Angie Wise says the reunion is set for October 12. If you cheered for the school, contact her at (661) 871-7221, extension 72265.

* ... MEMORIES: One last memory of Gus Ergo's Beale Park grocery store from Stan Scrivner, who grew up in a house next to the store. "Gus Ergo opened his store at 303 E Street in 1928... I remember the old gas pump out front with the glass top that we could watch the gas move around in. And there
was the canvas awning across the front of the store that Mr. Ergo would unroll every morning and roll back up every evening. Gus Ergo died December 16, 1967, and Sally, his wife, ran the store until
1974. She sold it to a couple who tried to make a go of it but, they couldn't so she took it back. Later she sold it to Joe and Josie Mendoza. They converted it into an apartment and it burned down. I loved living next door to Mr. Ergo's store, as well as across from the Ergo family, and I hated it when my dad called to say it had burned down. So many memories up in flames."