The city of Fresno pops up on a list of 20 cities that may be headed to bankruptcy due to unfunded pensions, and the evolving and utterly weird story of the PGE implosion gets odder by the day

 * ... FINANCIAL WOES: The city of Fresno has popped up on a list of cities that could be headed for bankruptcy. According to the website Newsmax, Fresno ranked No. 3 on a list of 20 cities with

serious financial problems due to unfunded pension liabilities. Said Newsmax: "Fresno had the ratings of its lease-revenue bonds downgraded to junk-level by Moody's, which also downgraded its convention center and pension obligation bonds due to the city's 'exceedingly weak financial position.' The other cities in the top five were Compton, East Greenbush, N.Y., Gulf County, Fla., and Harrisburg, Pa.

 * ... EXPLOSION: Can this story about the disastrous implosion of the PGE plant on Rosedale Highway get any weirder? Californian reporter John Cox is now reporting that one of the subcontractors was not legally licensed, and it seems no one can figure out just who - if anyone - reviewed the plans to implode the twin plant towers. Build a wheelchair ramp on your house and you need a permit, but blow up a power plant and no one seems to know exactly who needs to review the plans.


 * ... SAN FRAN: Kern County Auditor and Controller Mary B. Bedard dropped me a note about a previous blog post noting that an astounding one in 28 residents of San Francisco are on the public payroll. She noted: "While not defending San Francisco, I would like to point out that the staffing levels at the city of Bakersfield and San Francisco are not comparable because San Francisco is organized as both a city and county in a single governmental entity. Therefore, San Francisco is providing services such as libraries, public health, district attorney, public defender, aging and adult services, child support services, and many other services that are provided to the residents of Bakersfield by the County of Kern."



 * ... BOOMERS: Did you know that this week (August 6, actually) marked the 68th anniversary of the last submarine lost in World War II? Gene Bonas, a friend who served on two different 'boomers,' told me the last sub lost was the USS Bullhead SS 332 with the loss of 84 men. "The month of August saw the loss of four subs and 241 men. One sub, the USS S-39, ran aground on a reef with all crew rescued. Another sub, the USS Cochino SS-345, was lost in 1949 due to a battery explosion and fire.  One Cochino submariner was lost and six men assisting from the USS Tusk SS 426 were lost."

 * ... JINGLE: Matt Koelzer wrote to settle the riddle on the old radio jingle advertising a business on Wible Road. He said it was the Bakersfield Swap Meet, located on the site where 3 Way Chevrolet now sits.

* ... MEMORIES: From reader Mike Stewart: "I thoroughly enjoy your column, as it brings back memories of old Bakersfield. I have a question for you and fellow readers. Does anyone remember a little neighborhood market called Gus's? It was on E Street, off Palm? I remember swimming at the Beale Park pool and then going to the small store for candy afterwards."

City of Stockton's bankruptcy was borne by recklessness and promises that could not be kept, and more memories of old Bakersfield

* ... STOCKTON: The most disturbing aspect of the city of Stockton's bankruptcy is the sheer recklessness the city made in offering lifetime pensions to its employees. The city owes the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) more than $900 million, a staggering amount of debt that the city simply cannot repay. One of the key questions before the bankruptcy court is do you continue to honor the pension promises at the expense of other creditors? The case in Stockton is a business school case study in fiscal irresponsibility, and a warning to other municipalities about being realistic about promises made to public employee unions. (photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times)

 * ... SPOTTED: From reader Candace Bumes: "To the driver of a red Mercedes SUV who did not yeild to an emergency vehicle with lights and siren: next time the paramedics could be going after your loved one. Think about it."

 * ... BUCKEYES: Sunny Kapoor is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University and took son Nigel to the Staples Center to take in the Buckeyes-Wichita State game during the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Tournament.  "As a Buckeye alumni, it was my opportunity to support my alma mater, and be surrounded by the best college fans in the country, and be entertained by the 'best damn band in the land.' Even though we lost, the experience was priceless, and we had a great time." Nigel is now a senior at Centennial High School and will be interning soon with a local engineering firm.

 * ... MEMORIES: Reader Victoria Shallock was among several folks who responded to an earlier post about old memories. Said Vickie: "I, too, fondly remember the 'Un-Lock-A-Loc' game from the local afternoon kid show with 'Meet Mitchel' (I believe his first name was really Harry?) You had to send in your entry along with the end panel from a loaf of Golden Crust Bread (another local entity/memory) and select which lock you wanted to open (there were three). I won a really cool microscope set one time! And I think one of Don Rodewald's features was a 'Come as You Are' segment on the local afternoon matinee show. Our family was called one afternoon and hurried down to the studio to be interviewed and appear on his show. I recall Don and my dad (who was a CHP officer) having a very interesting conversation about traffic laws. Great memories of wonderful times gone by when life was much more simple and uncomplicated."

 * ... FACE CREAM: And Rick Kreiser and other readers identified the woman who used to market a face cream that was "so pure you can eat it." Said Kreiser:  "Her name was Hazel Allen...a staple of Channel 10's (23) movie breaks... Don Rodewald lived in my neighborhood and I went through school with his girls, April and Judy... smart cookies, they were.  His tag line was 'half an hour before three, when it's just you and me.""

 * ... BREAD: And finally there is this from Albert Lyons: "Does anyone remember the jingle for Golden Crust Bread? I think it was a contest on a local children's program and I think Zippy was the clown and it might have been sponsored by Toy Circus. If you got on the program and was able to sing the jingle you could when a bike from the Toy Circus. "

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Randy Martin, the head honcho over at Covenant Coffee, says you may be a Bakersfield old timer if "you remember the dump located on the bluffs near where Bakersfield College now sits."

Mountain lion sighted on Seven Oaks golf course and the sound and the fury over fat public pensions

 * ... MOUNTAIN LION: Was it a mountain lion or simply an overfed tabby? Either way some folks in the Grand Island development of Seven Oaks are abuzz over the reported sighting of the big cat. Said one resident:  "It was definitely a mountain lion and not a bobcat as it was very large. He was eating the neighbor’s dog food and when he was approached he ran off, jumped the five-foot tall wrought iron fence and ran onto the golf course at Seven Oaks. We aren’t that far from the river so maybe it had wandered away looking for food?" We already know about the cougars at Seven Oaks, but this is one intruder even the gates can't keep out.

 * ... THE BUZZ: Lots of talk in our community about the number of city and county employees who are earning more than $100,000 a year in public pensions. The Californian ran a list of some of the top earners, including former county Fire Chief Dennis Thompson who is pulling down $232,547 a year. (read the entire story here) But let's not gang up on the retirees. Shouldn't our anger be directed at our elected officials who negotiated these sweetheart deals in order to buy support from the public employee unions? As one reader, Caroline Reid, said:  "With the amount of money we are paying our public officials in retirement and what we paid them while they were working, we ought to have the safest, most crime free and law abiding city in the Valley, and surrounding areas. And the farmers shouldn't have to worry so much about water for crops. And, our taxes should keep going up but they will because we have the pensions."

* ... CHILDHOOD CANCER: John Schumacher, a teacher at Lakeside School, is about to part with his beard of over 30 years to help fight childhood cancer. His wife, Joan Knowlden Schumacher, said it's all part of a St. Baldrick's Foundation event to raise money to fight cancer. Moved by the story of a young boy's struggle with cancer, he decided to shave his beard to raise $250 and he'll have his head shaved to raise another $500. "He hasn't shaved his beard in over 30 years so this is a big event," his wife said. "He and his sister are UCSB alums and challenge other alums to donate Saturday." It will all happen at the Prime Cut on the corner of Brimhall and Calloway drive.


 * ... DRUM CORPS: Hats off to 16 Bakersfield area high school and college kids who won the world championship in a drum and bugle corps competition held in Indianapolis, IN. Reader Ann Olcott said the kids, members of the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps - B Corps, practiced all summer to win their second championship. "The sound from the drums and horns just blows you away," she said. Ann's grand daughter, Jami Olcott, was a member of the winning team. She is a 2010 graduate of Bakersfield High School.

* ... TRICE: Former state Assemblyman Trice Harvey called to say he remembers the old Weather Bird that sat on the roof of a building on Chester Avenue. When it rained, the bird stayed in its house and when it was sunny, it came out and stood under the son. Trice also said that once, while a youngster, he saved a young girl from drowning at the 24th Street bridge quarry. "Everyone was so busy taking care of the girl that nobody thanked me!" he said.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From my friend Riley Parker: You know you're a Bakersfield old-timer if you "would never wear a shirt to high school that didn't come from Coffee's University Shop."

Morning report: the cover is removed on our public pensions

 Some notes from the news in our community this morning:

 * Make sure to check out the story in today's Californian that shows that more than  174 city and county employees are pulling in more than $100,000 a year in public pensions. Former county Fire Chief Dennis Thompson tops the chart with a pension of $223,547 a year. Former city Police Chief Bill Rector's pension is $160,557.

 * Sad to hear that a recent graduate of Garces High School, Dominic Phillip Cornejo, lost his battle with cancer. He was 19 and a product of the Catholic education system, including Garces and Our Lady of Perpetual Help. A Rosary service is set for Friday at 7 p.m. and a Mass will be held this Saturday at 10 a.m., both at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church on Columbus Street.

  * The City of Shafter has long been known for its progressive policies and now it's tackling the complex issue of raising the educational standards for its children. Read Lois Henry's column on this innovative program.

It's the summer of burglaries and break ins and more stink over those sweet public pensions

 * ... GO IRISH: Heard from the "Notre Club" of Bakersfield that six local kids are heading to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend this fall. They will join a freshman class of only 2,035 students selected from more than 14,500 applicants. Two graduated from Wasco Union High School-Moises Martinez and Daniel Sanchez. Others include Nicole Madrilejo, Daniel Yi, Eric Andrew Whittington and Brandon West from Garces Memorial High. Thanks to Dean Bears for bringing this to my attention.

* ... CRIME WATCH: The summer of burglaries and break-ins continues. In the past week I've heard of a burglary on 20th Street in Westchester (committed mid morning), two in La Cresta (one of them another mid morning break-in) and two cars broken into, one near Bakersfield Country Club and the other at Beach Park. Be careful and keep those alarms on.
 
* ... PUBLIC PENSIONS: Few topics have aroused such a spirited response as the debate over public pensions, highlighted by City Fire Chief Ron Fraze's pending retirement. Most of the responses have been highly critical of these sweet public pensions, but not all. Reader Irene Edmonds gives her own spin. "I speak with some knowledge on this issue. My husband was in law enforcement for 37 1/2 years, my oldest son was in law enforcement for 15 years and now owns Interquest Canines of LA and my youngest son was a firefighter in the Air Force before becoming a firefighter with LA County. Twenty five years working for the police department or the fire department in reality is like working double years.. How many years would it add to your job to go to autopsies and watch a body being dissected up so that you could testify in court?  How many years would it add to your job to have to handle a really bloody murder scene, one where the sons killed their parents? ... Each and every firefighter or police officer has lived through experiences that you would not understand. I am the wife and mother of police and firefighters and I know

it angers me to hear these things said."

 * ... ACTION SPORTS: Reader Kim Wiens weighed in on my earlier post (read the full post here) regarding the remarkable number of kids who have worked for Kerry Ryan at Action Sports and gone on to successful professional careers. "Both of my sons, David and Robert Wiens, were lucky enough to work at Action Sports back when it was located in the Town and Country Center. I can't thank Mr. Ryan enough for all that he taught them about hard work, customer service and running a business. That real work experience has served them so well in every job they have had since. David is currently enrolled in the Full Employed MBA program and UCLA and working as an engineer for a steel company. Rob is a bartender at RJs." 

 * ... CSUB GRADS: Nice to hear that two graduates of CSUB's nursing program have been accepted to the University of San Francisco Doctor of Nursing Practice program. They are Cynthia Jane Anderson and Ashley Lorenzo. According to the students, only 10 applicants were accepted into the cohort, with two of them from CSUB nursing.

  * ... EAST BAKO: From reader Larry Miller, recalling old Bakersfield. "Interesting note about Fred Schaffer's Stamp and Coin Shop in east Bakersfield.  He was originally in a tiny store front shop on 20 Street between Chester Avenue and K Streeet across the street and around the corner from 'Painless Parker's' (he wasn't)  second story dental office above a Thrifty Drug Store. Fred also sold model airplane kits that I loved to build. I was in junior high school and  liked to stop in Fred's shop to see what new model kits were available. This was after making deliveries of false teeth and dentures after school on my bicycle to various dentists around town. These dentures were made by S. R. Creasy in the same building as 'ol Painless.'  I earned $5 a week if I got there every day, and half a day on Saturday if I got there on time; but if I was late, then the old tightwad would dock me a dollar. 

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield when "the stranger who stops you for directions is looking for a prison."

More on the city's sweetheart pension deals and a Realtor says don't blame the banks for the housing mess

* ... HOUSING MESS: I received a thoughtful note from local Realtor Sally Morrison on the housing crisis. She recalled a meeting in 2001 at Hodel's Restaurant that was hosted by lending institutions, right before the housing run-up. At the time the government was pushing for more home ownership and loosened regulations to make it easier for people to qualify for loans. "So what does the federal government do? They tell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that they no longer have to require an affidavit be signed by all parties that there are no other loans on the purchase of the property. So here come the 20 percent second and sometimes the 25 percent second to cover the closing costs... Everyone is happy. The real estate agents are selling houses like crazy, the lenders are making two loans at the same time, the price is going up 10 percent a month, appraisers can't keep up with the work and investors see that real estate is doing much better than the stock market so they are driving up the price a little more." Her point? "Saying that the banks are greedy and unscrupulous is not fair. The federal government wanted the banks to do just what they did. Saying banks should not make money is like putting fifty 21-year-old men naked in a Hooter's with naked waitresses and telling them there are no rules, and then wondering why there are all these newborn babies in nine months.... if the federal government would have left good enough alone we would be fine today... To own your own home requires a little integrity. You have to save some money or you have to do service for your country in the military and learn integrity there. But if you stay in school and get a good job and make a habit of saving money a home of your own will come." Well said, Sally.

 * ... SWEETHEART PENSIONS: You wonder how the stink over City Fire Chief Ron Fraze's retirement will affect the November ballot measure that would reduce pensions for future police and firefighters. Voters are up in arms and the unions are terrified that they might see their pensions reduced. We can thank our City Council for failing to deal directly with this issue and putting it on the ballot.

 * ... OVERHEARD: A man who owns a home on the Kern River across from Hart Park said every Monday homeowners are greeted with a tsunami of trash (soda cans, diapers, fast food wrappers) washing up on their property from the weekend crowds at Hart Park. "If my wife and  I can keep a couple acres clean ourselves, why can't they pick up after themselves?"

 * ... STREET SCENE: Spotted near Cafe Med on Stockdale Highway was a person celebrating the overturning of Proposition 8 with a sign that read, "Ken Mettler Don't Hit Me!"

* ... OLD BAKO: Reader Johnnie K. Adams has called Bakersfield home for 64 years and his family has been here since 1911. He shared a few remembrances: "Remember the old quarry at the 24th Street bridge where you'd be walking in two inches of water and then walk into a 50-foot hole? A lot of lives were lost that way. I still can't go into the river there. And about Mother's Bakery. They had jumbo, jumbo cream puffs (real cream, only) but you could only buy them in winter. Remember the asparagus fields on Real Road? And remember mushrooming at Stockdale and Brundage on Kern County Land Co. land? You would walk from Brundage to the river."

 * ... OLD TV: Local television pioneer Don Rodewald wrote to say how pleased he was to see his name in this blog regarding his 17-year afternoon show on KERO-TV. "Everything was live, film or slide. The two black and white cameras were tube and four lens. The KERO studio was a small section of the El Tejon Hotel at Truxtun and Chester Avenue. There were three announcers-George Day, Harry Mitchell and Don Rodewald, the last one alive. But cable hadn't arrived yet so people still remember those early days. Some even remember when my wife and I spent two weeks in a bomb shelter at 18th and Chester during the Cold War. Sorry to ramble but fun to reminisce."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Reader Walter E. Stewart says you know you're from Bakersfield "if you remember Starbuck's small one-room neighborhood grocery stores in the four hundred block of Monterey Street, circa 1920 and 1930s).

Fire Chief Ron Fraze seeks to sweeten his own pension ... where's the outrage?

 It looks like Bakersfield Fire Chief Ron Fraze may seek to fatten his already generous city pension by claiming a disability. He sure doesn't look disabled but turns out he may claim an old injury as a way to get his pension tax free for life. If you haven't read Lois Henry's latest take on this, read it here. One wonders how moves like this could affect the November ballot measure that would reduce future pensions for police and firefighters.

Anger at the sweet pension deals for public employees and a local kid heads to the Ivy League

* ... PUBLIC PENSIONS: The retirement of Bakersfield Fire Chief Ron Fraze triggered a harsh reaction from a handful of readers, reflecting a growing anger at what many see as the sweet deal enjoyed by public employees. Reader Stacey Brown's reaction was typical. "The fact that Chief Fraze can even entertain the idea of retirement after 25 years is a slap in the face to all of us that do not have a generous, taxpayer-funded retirement (including health care benefits). I'd be giddy too if I could have retired after 25 years of work. Instead I have the pleasure of working until I no longer physically am able to, in order to pay for my own retirement and health care. Perhaps you see Chief Fraze's retirement as a notable event; let's remove the rose colored glasses and remember that the majority of your readers aren't as giddy as Chief Fraze as they continue to slog through yet another week, another year, another 10 years of work ... and if they are lucky, might actually get to experience a day of 'just relaxing'. Oh wait-we can relax when we're dead."

 * ... PUBLIC TV: Fresno-based KVPT (Valley Public Television) seems intent on gaining a foothold in Bakersfield and the South Valley. First, it appointed former First Five commissioner Esther Brandon to its board of directors, and now it has engaged the Arts Council of Kern to do some research into how the station is perceived locally. And that is precisely the problem. Most viewers cannot distinguish between Los Angeles-based KCET public television and KVPT. Both have strong signals here and both stations are carried on local cable outlets. And at least to date, neither has done much south Valley programming but KVPT seems intent on building a stronger relationship here. Only time will tell if KVPT's effort is focused on raising more money here or actually focusing more content on south Valley issues.

 * ... IVY BOUND: Always happy to share news of our high achieving kids, and here's one story that should impress everyone. Gordon Morris Redmond, a product of West High School and Bakersfield College, is headed to the Ivy League and Columbia University. He actually earned his AA at Orange Coast College, and he did it while working at Trader Joe's and finding time to donate bone marrow for a 40-year-old mother with young children. He is the youngest of 11 children to parents Stan and Janice Redmond. His sister, Camille Grider, wrote to say her family is loyal to St. Francis Parish. "Now today," she wrote, "Bakersfield has a 27-year-old intelligent, selfless, determined product attending a wonderful Ivy League school in New York City this fall."  That's what I would call an inspiring story.

 * ... FIRST FRIDAY: It's time for another First Friday celebration downtown. What better way to spend a warm evening in the Dog Days of summer than taking in the art galleries and a meal at one of our downtown eateries? Make sure the old standbys like the Metro Galleries, the Padre Hotel, Mama Roomba's and Uricchio's Trattoria are on your 'to do' list. Metro Galleries on 19th Street will feature some new works of art by Gita Lloyd and Nicole St. John as well as a continuation of Barbara Reid's "Seasons of Her Life" exhibit. (Barbara Reid art shown below)

 * ... MORE EAST BAKO: Reader Donald Kurtz, owner of Donald Kurtz Investigations, continues with a few memories of growing up in East Bakersfield. "Used to get my hair cut by 'Gus' the barber. Hasham's automotive a hot rod shop. Baker and East 19th Street, a great place to hang out during the Winter Nationals. You also had a couple of five and dime stores with lunch counters and a candy counter! Got one of my first jobs working at Mayfair Market on Kentucky Street. East Bakersfield was the 'place' especially for kids growing up in the 1950s."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Submitted by reader Riley Parker: You know you're a Bakersfield old timer if  "you celebrated your 21st birthday with a Picon Punch at Woolgrower's."