Same sex marriage is now supported by a clear national majority, and Monsignor Craig Harrison deals with two parents under hospice care

 * ... GAY MARRIAGE: No matter how you feel about gay marriage, it's hard to deny that support for it has been rising over the last few years. National polls now show a clear majority of Americans support the right of gays to marry, and even in California - where Proposition 8 passed to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman - today fully 61 percent of California voters approve of it. The California case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. Said The New York Times about a recent survey: "The poll found that a third of Americans who support legal marriages for same-sex couples said they did not always feel that way and had changed their thinking for a variety of reasons. Among those who changed their minds, one in five said that personally knowing someone who is gay or lesbian influenced them. Other reasons volunteered by respondents included increased tolerance (17 percent) or education (17 percent) and that support for same-sex marriage is the modern way of thinking about the issue (12 percent)."

* ... VANDALISM: If you park your car in the lot across Stockdale Highway from Cal State Bakersfield to use the bike path, do so at your own risk. Yet another person has complained that their car was broken into, in broad daylight, while they were on the path walking. "We got off the path and my car alarm was blaring," one woman said. 'I think we scared them off and this isn't the first time this has happened in that lot."

 * ... MONSIGNOR: Holy week has taken on a special meaning for Monsignor Craig Harrison, who is now caring for both his ailing father and mother in his own home. Just five years after losing his sister, Harrison said both his parents are now under hospice care battling cancer. Harrison said his Easter sermon would likely reflect this important passage in his own life.

 * ... GARCES: Hats off to the Garces girls basketball team that made it to the Valley Championships, even if the team did fall short in the final. Vernetta West was one of the parents cheering on the Rams and is an unabashed Garces supporter. One of her daughters, Rachol West, is a senior and has received a full ride scholarship to San Jose State University. Her freshman daughter, Celeste West, is a six foot, three inch standout who is already on the radar of several Division 1 schools.

 * ... OVERHEARD: A middle aged woman is telling a friend about jogging in the Seven Oaks area. "I was running down Old River near Ming and counted 19 paper cups, most of them from McDonald's.  There were so many thrown out of cars I couldn't help but count them all."

 * ... SOROPTIMIST: Talk about consistency and commitment: Betty La Course of Delano has been a Soroptimist for 64 years, an engaged and active member the entire time. She and her husband owned the Delano Mortuary and then sold it to retire. She is not only a director on the the Soroptimist board, but is also a charter member of the Delano club when it was founded on March 12, 1949. The organization is devoted to helping women succeed.

 * ... GAY BLADES: From Gary Crabtree: "Oh how times have changed. Trivia question for your blog. What was the name of the East High Dance Band in 1956? Answer: The Gay Blades."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Reader Gene Bonus says you may be a Bakersfield old timer if "you played tackle football on the north lawn of the Baker Street library wearing hand sewn uniforms put together by Jesse Martinez."

Presumed GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and wife Ann are headed to Bakersfield for a fund raiser, and Californian Radio to explore gay marriage

 * ... ROMNEY: It looks like presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and wife Ann are coming to Bakersfield for a fund raiser at the home of Grimmway Farms owner Barbara Grimm-Marshall. It's being billed as "an afternoon with Governor Mitt and Ann Romney" and will be held on Wednesday, May 30. Tickets are going for $2,500 a pop, $10,000 will get you a photo session and for $50,000 you get a private reception. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) will be there along with event co-chairs Jim and Beverly Camp, Iva and Michael Hawkins and Barbara Grimm-Marshall and Darcy Marshall.

 * ... GAY MARRIAGE: Polls show the nation is slowly warming to the idea of same-sex marriage, but the issue remains has hot as ever. On Monday, I will be take on the topic on Californian Radio KERN 1180 beginning at 9 a.m. Among my guests will be a young gay man who vehemently opposes same-sex marriages. Tune in to hear him articulate his position. We'll also hear from Dr. Raj Patel, partner in Preferred Family Care Physicians, about the obesity epidemic.


 * ... REIDER: I attended the dedication of the Larry Reider Education Center this week, named after the retired Kern County Superintendent of Schools. One of the reasons Reider is so enormously popular,  outside of guiding the department during some economically turbulent years, is his terrific sense of humor. In his speech, he recalled a friend who had been promoted to chief executive of a local company. Said Reider: "So this man asks his wife, 'Honey, in your wildest dreams did you imagine me being promoted?' And his wife replies: 'Honey, you're not in my wildest dreams.'" Classic Larry.


* ... TRASH: Tami Schumacher is a relative newcomer to Bakersfield (her family moved here from Southern California last summer) and she is amazed at the amount of trash on our streets. "I was at the park with my dog and saw a car pull up and a man drop a cup out of the car.  He proceeded to go to the basketball courts without picking up the cup and a trash can was 10 feet from him!" Tami: I wish I could tell you that what you witnessed was an anomaly, but it's not.

 * ... MAKE A WISH: The Make-A-Wish Foundation does an awful lot of good locally and generally does so without a lot of press. Which is why I'm happy to promote the organization's special fund raiser next Friday, May 18, at the Crystal Palace. It's the "Silver Spur Gala" featuring a steak dinner, live auction items and of course dancing. And, you get to taste Bowen's Whiskey, the new Bakersfield-made whiskey for just $5 a pop. (All proceeds go to Make-A-Wish). Tickets are $100 each or $1,000 for a table of eight. Call (661) 634-WISH (9474) if you are interested.