Could Leticia Perez be the ally the oil industry is looking for to deal with Gov. Gavin Newsom? Plus supporters of Father Craig Harrison launch a petition drive to bring him back, the Wolf Moon is upon us and remembering the mighty dust storm that hit Kern County

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 reflect the views of any other individual, organization or company.

 * ... LETICIA PEREZ: The new chair of the Kern County Board of Supervisors, Leticia Perez, may find herself in a unique position to help the oil and gas industry, which has been put on the defensive by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislature. If this sounds a bit odd, it should. First, Perez is a loyal Democrat serving in a non-partisan post, but her politics are clearly to the left of

those who traditional support fossil fuels, particularly in this state. Second, Perez is still facing a misdemeanor charge for failing to disclose that her husband was involved in the cannabis industry while she was voting on marijuana related issues before the Board. Yet, in some odd way Perez could be the best ally the oil and gas industry has as it fends off assaults from Sacramento. Appearing on The Richard Beene Show, Perez told me she is urging Gov. Newsom to approach this issue cautiously, arguing that the oil industry should "be a partner, not the enemy" in helping the state reach its energy goals. The oil industry has some of the brightest minds and engineers in the world, she argued, so why not allow those people to help us find a way to ween ourselves off fossil fuels in a responsible way. "We have it all here, Richard," she told me, explaining that Kern County also leads the state in renewable energy. In this time of chaos, our oil industry should look to people like Perez as allies who may be able to talk some sense into the environmentalists and Sacramento Democrats.

 * ... FATHER CRAIG: A petition is being circulated among local Catholics to demand that Father Craig Harrison be returned to the pulpit at St. Francis Church. While this might be nothing more than a long shot to restore Harrison to St. Francis, it speaks to the loyalty that some parishioners have toward their embattled priest. It has been nine months since Harrison was suspended by the Diocese of Fresno after allegations arose from multiple men that Harrison had touched them inappropriately, and there are few signs that he will return anytime soon. At least one police department continues to investigate allegations of sexual impropriety involving Harrison and young men, and some Harrison followers have resigned themselves that he may never preside over another mass. In fact, insiders tell me that those around Harrison are talking openly about what the next chapter is for Harrison, outside the Catholic church. And there is this: I am also told that an out of town attorney may be considering legal action against Harrison on behalf of several young men, bringing with it yet more potentially salacious details that his supporters and defense team will be forced to refute. Stay tuned. Things are about to heat up.

 * ... NUDE FOOD: The country of New Zealand has taken the war on single use plastic a step further by getting rid of the plastic bags used for fresh vegetables and fruits. That's what one New Zealand grocery store company did, calling it "food in the nude." Said one story: "The initiative is part of the war against plastic. In New Zealand the days of single-use plastic shopping bags are numbered – most supermarkets are no longer providing them at the check-out – while the government late last year agreed to regulations for a mandatory phase-out across all retailers from July 1.

 * ... WOLF MOON:  Are you read for the first full moon of the year? It's right upon us, debuting Friday, January 10 and they say it will be spectacular. It's call the full "wolf moon" and it will rise from the horizon at sunset.

 * ... POOP PATROL: This City Council has voted to renew the contract for the "poop patrol," a program that sends workers out into the city to clean up feces left by the homeless. Yes, that is what it has come to, using our tax dollars to pick up the pool left by legions of homeless. The program will be extended an additional three months and the hours per week will increase from 20 to 26. The city also moved to enter into a contract with the The action also included a deal with the Bakersfield Homeless Center to perform general clean-up services in those areas as well.

* ... JEOPARDY: You know you have made it in this world when your name becomes an answer in Jeopardy!

 * ... MEMORIES: Who remembers the 1977 historic dust storm in Kern County. I was not living here, and these pictures make be grateful I was not.

Thousands evacuate as the Kincade fire burns in California wine country, Taft College honors Bob and Judy Hampton and a walk down memory lane in pictures

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 reflect the views of any other individual, organization or company. 

 * ... KINCADE FIRE: The Kincade fire in northern California continues to burn, leading to the evacuation of the city of Healdsburg and dozens of local wineries. Thousands have fled the fire's path

(some coming here to Bakersfield to wait out the worst of it) and in the meanwhile many Californians are putting the heat on Gov. Gavin Newsom, already the target of a recall effort. Newsom toured parts of the areas devastated by the fire, putting the blame directly on PGE for decades of mismanagement, as well as climate change. "The hots are getting hotter. The dries are getting dryer. The wets are getting wetter, and the winds are becoming more and more a factor... Climate change is wreaking havoc," he said. Leaders of the recall effort will try to link Gavin to these wildfires, but it remains to be seen if state voters will connect the governor to it all.

 * ... ALWAYS A DRILLER: Congratulations to the Bakersfield High School class of 1979, which celebrated its 40th reunion in style this past weekend.

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "A dog never dies. He is just sleeping in your heart."

 * ... MORE FACEBOOK: "Is an argument between two vegans still called a beef?"

 * ... HONORS FOR THE HAMPTONS: Congratulations to Bob and Judy Hampton, who were honored by the Taft College Foundation as recipients of the Community Spirit Award. The Hamptons, longtime businesspeople in the Taft area and strong boosters of Taft College, were honored at a recent cookout on the campus. (File photos of Bob Hampton with Cynthia Zimmer and Bob and Judy Hampton with L..J. Radon)

* ... COUNTY SUPERVISORS: Mark Salvaggio, a former city councilman and a former field representative for county Supervisor David Couch, knows local politics and he keeps us all updated with his periodic email blasts. In a recent post, he talks about Emilio Huerta, son of Dolores Huerta, eyeing the seat of Couch in District 4. Said Salvaggio: "The petition in lieu period, as it is called, to avoid paying filing fee of $1,072.10 began several weeks ago with local attorney Emilio Huerta (District 4), Kern Valley resident David Fluhart (District 1), former Western Pacific Research employee Natalie Noel (District 1) and Richard Herrera (District 5) having taken out papers to gather petition signatures. Huerta reportedly has 15 people in District 4 circulating petitions for him.Supervisor Mick Gleason's District Director has announced he is running for his boss's seat. The popular Gleason is retiring after serving two terms. The rumors continue to be bandied about that Dick Taylor will run. Taylor is a former Field Representative for Supervisor Mike Maggard and retired County Director of the Department of Veteran Affairs. Taylor told me he is thinking about running. Political consultant Cathy Abernathy will line up behind Taylor with her Western Pacific Research political consulting firm juggernaut. "

 * .... CALFORNIA LIVING: Some fun memes I have spotted on social media speaking to the state of affairs living in California.

 * ...MEMORIES: Just look at this very old picture of Bakersfield along H Street, Thanks to the Kern County of Old Facebook page for posting this. The second picture shows the old Highway 99 back in 1939 looking south toward the Grapevine.

Are rolling blackouts the "new norm" in California and will Gov. Gavin Newsom pay a political price? Plus Kelly Ardis leaves The Californian to join CSUB and another trip down memory lane with some old photos

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 reflect the views of any other individual, organization or company. 

 * ... WINDS: Hey California, does it feel like we are becoming the next Venezuela, a nation-state of endless shortages, uncertainty and bloated bureaucracy? It sure looks like it when we wake up and

find the power has been shut off and the state bureaucracy is telling us to shut up because this is the "new norm" in California. It is all because of Pacific Gas and Electric, the utility that cannot seem to shoot straight, has instituted rolling blackouts during the windy season to prevent wildfires. That's right, after the lack of maintenance led to horrifying fires in northern California, the utility has decided to pass the buck to us instead of doing what we expect it to do. But here is the ugly truth: historically the utility has put the pockets of its investors over routine maintenance of its power lines, creating a system that puts shareholder profits over safety. (Thankfully that practice ended recently thanks to a federal judge), Now you know what I mean when I say California is starting to look a lot like Venezuela.

 * ... RECALL NEWSOM: So where does all this leave our Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has long been eyeing a run for the presidency at some point? Will the rolling power outages lead to more pressure on Newsom, and act as a catalyst for the "recall Newsom" movement? Recall supporters point to Newsom's moratorium on the death penalty (after being upheld by voters), his decision to take gas tax money meant to improve highways and divert it to pet rail projects, and now this. Time will tell but the pressure is growing on Newsom as the state struggles to keep the lights on.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "You're an adult now. That means nobody can stop you from putting shrimp in a bowl of melted butter and eating it like cereal. Not anymore."

 * ... MOVING UP: Congratulations to Kelly Ardis, a longtime Bakersfield Californian features reporter who is joining the ranks at CSUB in a marketing position. Ardis is the latest TBC alumni to join CSUB, closing ranks with Christine Bedell who works in alumni affairs, and head communications director Jennifer Self. Ardis will work for the school of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering, reporting to Dean Kathleen Madden and working closely with Jennifer Self, director of public affairs and communications. The school of NSME is on the rise at CSUB, having earned a prestigious engineering accreditation in 2018.

 * ... THE POLITICS OF WATER: If you live in California, you should pay closer attention to water policy and how politics plays a role in who gets this precious resources, and who doesn't. And now there is a comprehensive new non-profit that offers in-depth reporting and writing on California's love/hate relationship with water. It's called SJVWATER.ORG and it is run by award winning journalist Lois Henry, who has devoted her life to reporting and writing about water in the Central Valley. Go to the website and support it, financially, by becoming a subscriber. I did.

 * ... MEMORIES: And what do you think of this, a shot of "West side girls" back in the day. Thanks to Art Moore and the Kern County History Fans Facebook page. And check out this second photo of the old Ridge Route back in the day.