Remembering some lives cut short while celebrating a youngster named a partner in a law firm, and our signature local eateries enjoy huge holiday crowds

* ... LIVES CUT SHORT: We've lost a lot of good people this year, and their contributions to our community should not go unnoticed. In the past week, we noted the death of Steve Starbuck, the 48-

year-old partner in the tax/audit firm of Brown Armstrong, and Ray Bishop, the former head of the Kern County Airport who helped build the Bill Thomas Terminal. Bishop was a Vietnam veteran who left Bakersfield to run the airport in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He was 69. In October, we said goodbye to Steve Ruggenberg, former head of Golden Empire Transit who left us to pursue his love of baking and cooking. Also a Vietnam veteran, Ruggenberg was 70. Three good men, now gone. As my friend Brad Barnes says: "Every heartbeat counts."

* ... LAWYER: Here's a reason to applaud those children who go away to college but return to put down roots in our community. One of them is Neil Gehlawat, who has been named a partner in the plaintiffs law firm of Chain Cohn Stiles. Gehlawat is a Stockade High School graduate who went on to attend UC Berkeley and the University of Texas School of Law. Not a bad accomplishment for this 27-year-old wunderkind.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "They don’t make pizza or beer out of celery. And that is all you need to know about celery."

 * ... HOLIDAYS: One of the great joys of this time of year are the holiday parties that showcase our community's signature restaurants. On a rainy weekend like the one we just experienced, you could barely find a seat in the iconic food joints like Luigi's Delicatessen, Noriega Hotel, Uricchio's Trattoria or Pyrenees Cafe and Saloon. Good to see these locally owned eateries doing so well.

 * ... FOOD: And did you catch the mouth watering, special Pete Tittl section of food and restaurants in the Saturday Californian? I did, and I immediately hurried over to Coconut Joe's for their signature fish and chips. Located off California Avenue, Coconut Joe's has always offered some of the most consistent food and service in town.

 * ... SCAM: We have yet another scam to worry about, and this one could destroy your credit and put you at risk in other ways. Here's how it works: you receive a check in the mail from ATT for $3,650, part of a larger gift you have "won." The letter says the check helps cover a $1,450 tax fee. This happened to reader Carla Rivas, and when she checked with her bank, she was told if she cashed the check the scammers would have access to her checking account number, routing numbers, Social Security and other information. "I am so angry because I know that some elderly people will fall for this, and they will be out the $1,450 'tax fee,' and their vital info will be stolen," she said, "After the check bounces, I have to pay the bank back and now I have sent a Western Union payment and I am out that." The lesson: if it looks too good to be true, it normally is.

Experts say the coming El Nino is attracting hammerhead sharks closer to the California coast, a classy new entree from Cafe Med and more help for those stray dogs about town

 * ... EL NINO: The coming El Nino may be bringing more than a little rain to California. According to experts quoted in The Los Angeles Times, the unusually warm water is also attracting great white sharks that are feeding closer to shore. The experts said hammerheads have been reported off the

coast the past two years "because warm water draws them and their food supply - mainly yellowtail and tuna - from Central America and Baja California." Chris Lowe, director of Cal State Long Beach's shark lab, told the newspaper that "it's a different ocean than we've been used to for the last 40 or 50 years." Be careful out there.

* ... SCAMS: Carol Craig knows a scam when she sees one, and the letter from "Walmart" but with a Spanish postal marking immediately got her attention. The letter claimed to be from Walmart and enclosed a check for almost $2,000 if Craig agreed to be part of a "quality control" program. Of course, once the check is cashed (and before your bank figures out it is fake) you are asked to wire $350 "to get started." Don't fall for this one.

 * ... FOODIE BEST BET: Cafe Med is getting some rave reviews about a new 12-inch pizza is it serving, using its signature pita bread as the crust. Starting at just $10.95, this entree item is on both the bar and lunch menu. If you have had Cafe Med's pita bread, you know this will be a can't miss dish.

* ... SPOTTED: A relevant Twitter post from my friend Trish Reed: "You know you're a grown up when you're excited about getting new tires on your car after work."

 * ... STARBUCKS: Next time you are in the drive-through lane at Starbucks, consider this note from Mike Huston: "On pretty much a daily basis, I pass through the drive-thru lane at the Starbucks on 7th Standard and Highway 65.  On two occasions so far this month, I have been treated to a 'free' cappuccino, courtesy of the driver in front of me. I doubt that this practice is isolated to this particular Starbucks, but certainly worth mentioning. And, while an early morning cup of coffee is a nice way to get your morning started, I submit paying it forward to the driver behind you will make you feel even better! If you are already a regular Starbuck’s donor, you deserve the free drink destined to come your way!"

 * ... GOOD CAUSE: Feel like doing something nice for a good cause? If so, head over to Sparkling Image Car Washes of Bakersfield Friday (today) where they will be hosting their 6th annual car wash fundraiser to benefit Camp KEEP. Half of the proceeds from the sale of all full service car washes will be donated to Camp KEEP to help send kids in need to camp. In recent years, more than $40,000 has been raised through Sparkling Image for the cause.

 * ... RESCUE DOGS: Here is a new twist in the noble effort to help all those stray dogs in town. A new thrift store, called Rags to Rescue and located at 234 H Street, is opening to help fund the HALT (Helping Animals Live Tomorrow) rescue operation. The store will feature home goods, furniture, and some gently used clothing, and all proceeds will go to support dog rescue and placement operations. The store opens Friday (today) and is looking for volunteers to help staff it. Consider this a "cause for paws and other treasures."

The long slump in the energy sector continues with more layoffs, more on that nasty run of car break ins about town and a Zippo lighter tells a soldier's story about Vietnam

 * ... ENERGY: It looks like the long slump in the energy sector is not about to end anytime soon. The big oil service companies like Halliburton and Baker Hughes (they plan to merge) are signaling

yet more layoffs as the price slump continues. Energy prices are down 20 percent over the past six weeks, thanks to expectations that new Iranian oil make flood the market. Said The Wall Street Journal: "Oilfield service providers have announced job cuts deeper than initially declared and warned of more layoffs to come. Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Inc.... disclosed last week that they cut 27,000 jobs between them, double the 13,500 announced in February. ConocoPhillips has already cut nearly 1,500 jobs so far this year but is planning more layoffs this fall that could number into the thousands... The impact of low oil prices isn’t limited to U.S. energy companies. Firms world-wide have shelved $200 billion of new-project spending, the Financial Times reports."

* ... CRIME: A resident in the Northwest awoke to find the windows smashed in on his daughter's car parked in front of the house. When the repair people came out to replace the window, they said this is happening a dozen times a night across town.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Might wake up early and go running but I also might win the lottery. The odds are about the same."

 * ... VIETNAM: Making the rounds on Facebook the other day was a picture of an old Zippo lighter inscribed with this bit of wisdom: "NAM 71-72: We the unwilling, led by the unqualified to kill the unfortunate die for the ungrateful."

 * ... SCAMS: I have mentioned this scam before, but it is worthy of a reminder. This from Judy Hanson: "My elderly parents live in central California. Someone called their home phone saying they were from Microsoft. They said that my parent’s computer was messing up a lot of other people’s computers. Microsoft needed to fix it. They convinced her to give them numbers off of her computer. They also tried to convince her to give them her credit card to charge her $150 to fix the problem. They didn’t get her credit card, but they did remotely wipe her computer and my parents had no back-up. They lost everything, address book,  photos, everything."

 * ... GRANTS: The Bakersfield (family) Foundation is now accepting letters of inquiries for its fall grant cycle. The foundation will award three grant amounts: one at $100,000, a second at $50,000 and a third at $25,000. All applications are due on Friday, August 28. There is no particular theme for this grant cycle, though the foundation is primarily interested in capital projects as opposed to funding operating expenses. The winners will be announced in November. For information go to the www.bakersfieldcalifornianfoundation.org.

 * .. DUTCH FRONTIER: I was stunned by the number of messages I received after writing about the Dutch Frontier restaurant in Ducor. It seems almost everyone from Bakersfield has visited it, and folks universally rave about its local ownership. I am told there are still some tables open for Thursday, August 6, when The Mark restaurant pays tribute to the Dutch Frontier by recreating its menu.

Monday Bako Bits: More scams about town, a shoutout to Rotary's Jim Bell and Oregon runner Blake Haney shows some good form

 * ... SCAM: Gilbert Alemao shared with me yet another scam, this one an email from "The Internal Revenue Service" informing him of a $1,900 refund. The catch? It asked for all his personal

information, bank account number etc. "I wasn't born yesterday but I have to admit the attachment is pretty impressive and official-looking. It could affect someone less wise."

* ... SPOTTED: I spotted this on Twitter: "You know what I like about people? Their pets."

* ... GOOD FORM: Here's a good example of good form thanks to Jim Walker. "My daughter,  Jill Walker, and her daughter  Kristen,  found out this week that Bakersfield niceness can cross state boundaries. While touring the University of Oregon campus recently,  they decided to visit the track and field facility where they spotted Blake Haney,  the former Stockdale High track star who now runs for the Oregon Ducks. When he found out they were there and had Bakersfield ties he interrupted his practice and spent time visiting and posing for pictures with them. Both Jill and Kristen were impressed with what a nice young man he is." Jill, by the way, was a standout distance runner for the Bakersfield High Drillers in the late 1970s. Her daughter Kristen is a member of the Valencia High track and cross country teams.

 * ... MORE GOOD FORM: Local attorney Will Winn was getting ready to check out at Lowe's on Columbus the other day when the cashier asked if he was a veteran. "I don't wear any clothing or insignia to signal that I am a SeaBee Viet Nam vet, so it kind of took me back. I answered yes and showed her my recently issued veteran's card that any veteran can acquire from Kern County veteran's services (headed up by Dick Taylor).  She replied, 'You will receive a ten percent discount.'  She continued to say that Lowe's gives this discount any day and all days to Veterans who just need to ask for it."

 * ... BAD FORM: There is one thing you can always count on if you live near the bluffs off Panorama Drive: you awake to find literally dozens of discard fast foot cups and wrappers in the gutter. Is it too much to ask for folks to take their trash home with them?

 * ... DROUGHT: Here is what the drought is doing to us. From reader John Pelham:" I can't water my lawn but the guy two houses down is power washing his house. I called to him to stop wasting water. He flipped me off."'

 * ... ROTARY: Barry Rosenfeld shared this bit of good news: "Did you know it has been 17 years since a Rotary District 5240 Governor came from Bakersfield?  I'm letting you know because Bakersfield Twilight Rotarian Jim Bell becomes District Governor on July 1! All Bakersfield area Rotarians are welcome to join in with the excitement on July 8 at the Bell Tower Club from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Along with Rotary fellowship, cocktails and hor d'oeuvres, the official banner will be unfurled; 'Home Club of District 5240 Governor.'"

 * ... TRAFFIC OFFICER: And Betsy Gosling laments the lack of Bakersfield police officers on the road dealing with violations. "I'm out and about almost every day and the illegal lane changes,  drivers driving as if there is no one else on the road, besides running red lights and going through stop signs, is unbelieveable and very dangerous. Too bad I can't call in a citation to the BPD.  Police officers have more serious crimes to investigate. I understand; but, we need the traffic officers . Also, it's obvious who's not following the watering rules. Their lawns are green.





 

Rachel Dolezal's confused identify provides plenty of fodder for social media, local anchor Jackie Parks shuts down a scammer and yet more on that mulch scam

 * ... SCAMS: KERO TV anchor Jackie Parks is not one to be trifled with, and her response to a would-be telephone scammer is priceless. Said Jackie: "I keep getting a call from a guy claiming to

be from Microsoft. I must have hung up on him five or six times. But one day I answered and said, 'No you're not (from Microsoft) and you know you're not. Why can't you apply your intelligence to something useful and stop trying to rip people off?' I haven't heard from him since."

 * ... MULCH SCAM: I have been writing about the local gardener who goes from house to house selling mulch, and then scamming folks by charging four to five times the original estimate. Local Realtor Walt Newport said he dealt with the same people recently. "Richard, I read your article this morning about the scam artist that quotes you a price for mulch then before job is done shows you the empty bags he used. Then he sells you more to get the job done knowing you won't leave it unfinished. The first time they came by I turned them down. The next time we were in front yard flower bed and they came by again. I had them quote the job and after they measured what they would need I agreed. I left the front yard for a few minutes and when I came back to front they tried to pull the scam showing me 20 empty bags. They were less than half done. I raised my voice and said they were trying to scam me and I wasn't falling for it. I told them to finish the job at the price they quoted me or rake up their mulch and leave. They finished the job and left. By the way our flowers are thriving better than ever."

 * ... GLUTEN: Dr. Gerald Tadej responded to my post about gluten with this: "I understand your column is just for laughs, but 'modern bread' is much different than what our ancestor’s ate 30,000 years ago. Your re-tweet is off by a few years, but the recent allergies are due to GMOs (genetically modified organisms). Much of our food supply has been genetically modified and is now being shown to be harmful to humans. Monsanto did not do this on purpose, they modified our foods to increase profits and the FDA does not require testing. A good book for you to read is 'Wheat Belly' by Dr. Richard Davis or 'Brain Grain' by Dr. David Purlmutter."

 * ... SPOTTED: Lots of feedback on social media on the strange story of the seriously nutty Rachel Dolezal, the white woman and NAACP executive who has been posing as black. On Twitter was this: "I eat at Chipotle twice a week. Therefore, I identify myself as being Mexican." (Dolezal also claimed she grew up in a teepee and her parents hunted for food with bows and arrows, providing yet more fodder for comedians and critics)

 * ... DOLEZAL: And speaking of Dolezal, my friend Peter Wonderly posted this on Facebook: "With all this talk about transgender and transracial issues I think it is time to come clean with my secret. I'm transfinancial, and that means I am a rich man born in a poor man's body." And the hits keep coming.

 * ... OVERHEARD: A middle aged man is sharing this story with a colleague: "Our neighbor is the scourge of the neighborhood. Every weekend her son has a party and the street is littered with beer cans. I pick them up and toss them on her lawn."

 * ... SUMMER READING: Looking for a quick read next time you are on the beach? Check out Kent Haruf's "Our Souls at Night," a bittersweet story of two people coming together later in life and dealing with the challenges that come their way.

 * ... ACHIEVER: The American Petroleum Institute handed out some scholarships recently and one of the recipients was Kolby Buller, a Liberty High graduate who is now in his third year studying mechanical engineering at San Diego State University. Thanks to his proud grandparents, Rick and Erma Giachino, for alerting me to this achievement.

More alerts on a local scam going on around town, bad form at the Cal State Bakersfield graduation and did God punish California with the drought because of abortion?

 * ... SCAM ALERT: Last week I wrote about a young woman who felt she was scammed out of $400 by a gardener who overcharged her for putting mulch in her yard. Well it looks like the same guy struck again, this time charging a woman $530 for what she thought was a $100 job. The scam

works like this: a man named Ernesto shows up at door and in Spanish agrees to mulch the yard for $8 a bag. When he is done, he charges four, five times as much as the agreed price, showing empty bags as 'proof' of his work. Christina Stark explains what happened to her mother:  "She was shocked to find that the guys completed the ENTIRE front lawn and told her they used 100 plus bags. She said no way they used that many bags. Mom was furious ... Ernesto had a fake apology for my mom and the crew looked down, trying to make her feel sorry for them. She didn't feel right about this; felt sick to her stomach. Ernesto proceeded to count bags to prove that he used a lot of bags. I believe he already had empty bags and that's how he scams people, ignoring their wishes and proceeds with his scam."

 * ... BAD FORM: You knew we couldn't get through graduation season without someone making a fool of themselves, and spoiling it for the rest of us. Deidre Schilling was at the CSUB graduation this past Saturday, and sure enough seated behind her was "the rowdiest group of low class folks imaginable," screaming so loud that it attracted the attention of the entire crowd. It turns out a couple from Oregon was there to see their niece graduate, but they missed her name being called because of the rowdies. "The nice lady from Oregon leaned over and told the rude woman that she was the most selfish person she had every seen and told her that her loud behavior had caused her to miss her niece's name," she said. "The rude lady proceeded to call this nice women every profanity she knows. The rude lady's language caused the nice woman's daughter to cry. It was heart-breaking. Loud lady stayed a bit longer then left... flipping off the nice family as she went. After the ceremony, I told the woman that I was so sorry that she couldn't hear her niece's name. She proceeded to tell me that the niece's parents are no longer here with us, so they were attending the ceremony as her 'parents.' We tried as best we could to show her that not all the people who live here are inconsiderate."

 * ... FREAKY FRIDAY: Two stories broke last Friday that come under "can you believe she really said that?" department. First, the head of the Spokane, Wash., NAACP was outed as a white woman after posing for years as an African-American, and more close to home, state Rep. Shannon Grove implied that the drought may be God's way of punishing us for abortion. I understand the concept of an omnipotent God, but this strikes me as pandering in its lowest form. Memo to my friend Shannon Grove: those dragons on Game of Thrones? They's not real. (photo of Spokane NAACP president)

 * ... DROUGHT: More blowback on the statement by California Water spokesperson Yvonne Kingman that artificial turf does not qualify for drought resistant subsidies because you have to hose it off often. Said Barbara Oberg of Tehachapi: "I installed this terrific product in my back yard 14 months ago and I am a great proponent of it. You do not use water to clean it; we just blow it clean once a week so no chemical runoff either. Does it get hot? Yes but so does concrete, sand etc ... my yard stays beautiful and green all the time. Yvonne Kingman obviously does not have the correct facts!"

 * ... GOOD FORM: Frances Sinclair gives a shoutout to a local judge: "Everyone should have the privilege of being a prospective juror in Superior Court Judge Brian McNamara’s courtroom. He gives a heartfelt civics lesson on why we need to do our duty. And oh, does he ever value our military and our teachers!"

 * ... SPOTTED: This on Twitter: “'Lazy' is a strong word. I prefer to call it selective participation."

 * ... MEA CULPA: I am blaming this one on the 'Spellcheck' function on my computer: I used 'palates' instead of 'pallets' in describing how a food store displays products. As reader Liz Keogh reminded me: "What a disgusting shopping experience THAT would be. Do they have people lying down on their backs on the floor with their mouths open so that the items for sale can be featured on their 'palates?' The palate is the roof of the mouth. f you meant to refer to those square-ish wooden (sometimes heavy plastic) thingies on which items are stacked, those are pallets."

More scams about town, the dismal lack of landscaping around the Westside Parkway, the quest for the best hamburger and will Aldi stores come to Bakersfield?

 * ... SCAM: Jenifer Pitcher is an intelligent young professional who is aware of the world around her, yet even some of the smartest among us are susceptible to scams. Last month, a group of gardeners

knocked on her door and offered to mulch her garden, at a cost of $8 a bag. After they put five bags down, she agreed they could do the rest of her garden. "About 30 minutes later I come outside as they were finishing up and they had a pile of bags they 'used.' The guy counted the bags… 88 bags! At $8 a bag? I was furious.  I told him, 'there is no way in hell you used that much.' We argued for a while, he was VERY pushy, and eventually I ended up writing him a check for $400. That was $400 I was NOT planning on spending that day. I also kind of got a little worried since now they know where I live so if I didn’t pay them anything, I was worried they would come back.  I had a horrible feeling about the whole transaction, so I immediately called my bank and stopped the check. I went to go run some errands, still didn’t feel right, went home and checked my bank account online. The $30 stop check fee was posted, as was the $400 check to Ernesto Vides. But the check number wasn’t right. I went to my bank (Kern Schools Federal Credit Union). I was frustrated to tears at this point.  Apparently, they went straight to the bank with my check at the same time I was calling to stop the check. They had altered the check number so that it went through. The manager at the Kern Schools on Coffee and Olive was so fantastic and worked so well with me, and I was able to get my money back.  It was a horrible experience. And I’m usually pretty skeptical of people in general, and the fact that I went against my gut was the worst part."

 * ... WESTSIDE PARKWAY: Well that didn't take long. The landscaping of the (relatively) new Westside Parkway between Truxtun Avenue and Coffee Road is so full of weeds it now resembles Highway 58.

 * ... FOODIE: I was asked the other day what happened to my hunt for the best burger in town. Well, it's still on (why quit now?) but if I were to decide today, it would be the Hudson burger at downtown's Muertos Kitchen and Lounge followed closely by the Sonny burger at Mexicali.

 * ... SPOTTED: I spotted this on Twitter: "Imagine being naked in a room full of people who speak a different language and everyone wants to touch you. That is the life of a dog."

 * ... ALDI: If you haven't heard of Aldi food stores, you will soon. The Los Angeles Times reports that the German-owned company plans 45 stores in Southern California. Aldi stores are about the same size as Fresh and Easy but are focused even more on deep discounts. You have to pay 25 cents for a shopping cart (you get the quarter back when you return it, which prevents thefts) and many of the specialty items are featured on palates on the floor to reduce stocking fees. No word yet on if Aldi is headed to Bakersfield, but sounds like a perfect fit for our market.

* ... BAD FORM: I don't normally like to run anonymous comments, but this one from a "concerned citizen" is worthy of airing: "To the person that dropped off the light colored pitbull on Country Club Drive on the morning of Friday, June 5: Shame, shame on you. She was a new mom, and ran all over the neighborhood, probably looking for her puppies. She cried all night, and a neighbor had to call animal control to come and get her. She was probably euthanized. You probably kept the puppies to sell, and dumped the mom when you were finished using her for your benefit. I will pray that this sweet dog will haunt your memories every single day."

Welcome to a new century of air travel, a world of cramped seats, canceled flights, angry passengers and flight attendants caught in the middle of it all

 * … AIR TRAVEL: I got a glimpse at the future of air travel and trust me, it's not pretty. On a flight from Denver to Chicago last week, I boarded a beautiful spanking new United Boeing 737 800/900, richly

trimmed with leather seats and adorned with soft blue lights. The problem: the seats were so cramped only a would-be dwarf king like Peter Dinklage from Game of Thrones could possibly find them the least bit accomodating. A flight attendant told me that United squeezed four to five extra rows of seats into the new version of the aircraft. "Please write United," she told me. "This is going to be a nightmare and we are going to take all the heat."

 * … MORE UNITED: And it doesn't stop there. On the way home, I learned passengers on a United flight from Chicago to Denver suffered a nightmarish indignity. The flight was supposed to leave Chicago at 7:30 a.m. but because of mechanical issues the passengers were loaded and off loaded three different times until the flight was finally canceled at 5:30 p.m., a full 10 hours late. "People were furious," a flight attendant told me. "One guy was throwing F bombs and two families headed to Hawaii for vacation missed all their connections." And once United finally canceled the flight, everyone had to go to customer service to rebook their own flights. Welcome to commerical air travel in the 21st century.

 * … OVERHEARD: A waitress at a coffee shop is overheard telling a customer about some advice she received as a child from her great grand mother. "She always told me that men were like shoes," she said. "You have to find the exact right size. But also, remember that just because you put black polish on a brown shoe,  it will always be a brown shoe." Sounds like good advice to me.

 * … BAD FORM: Since when did spitting in public become acceptable? A middle aged woman told me the story of driving down Chester Avenue when a woman pushing a stroller let out a huge wad right in front of her car as she passed by. Then, later the same day, another woman accompanied by her small children did the exact same thing on Columbus. "In full public I am telling you," she said. "This was no small thing. The wads were so big they were clearly visible from inside my car. It was disgusting."

* … SCAMS: If it's a new day, it must be time for a new telephone scam. Kristin Moore has received more than six calls from a strongly accented woman claiming to be from Delta Air Lines.
"She stated that she was from Delta promoting their new reservation center 'here in Bakersfield '…  They offered me two free round trip tickets within the U.S. I said great, and I was then put through to her supervisor who then went through the whole line … she asked me if I was married I said no (I am married) and then asked me about my significant other. I said I did not have one, so she then told me that they would call back. The free tickets are couples only. I questioned the legitimacy of the call then CLICK. So weird. Not sure what they were going for. The ladies actually got really mad when I challenged them. Delta Air Lines….. Sure!"

  * … JAZZ: And don't forget the 29th annual Bakersfield Jazz Festival is coming up May 8-9 out at the CSUB amphitheather. This is always a terrific two days of jazz that benefits some worthy CSUB scholarships. And trust me: you don't have to be a jazz aficiando to appreciate the talented musicians and singers that will appear on stage.



I

Monday Bako Bits: Easter in Bakersfield, more on those outrageous telephone scams and some really good - and bad - form about town

 * … WEEKEND: If you were in town and didn't get out an about this weekend, shame on you. Restaurants were full, and those with outdoor seating (like Cafe Med, Uricchio's Trattoria downtown and Tahoe

Joe's and Eureka Burger in the southwest) were particularly popular as diners ventured outside to enjoy the cool temperatures. Cirque du Soleil was playing to full houses at Rabobank Arena, there was a 10k run on the bike trail Saturday, and the Easter sunrise services were nothing short of spectacular. Enjoy these spring days.

 * … SCAM: Alice Merenbach is sure her telephone number must be on a master scam list. "This time," she said, "a call to my phone for my adult child advised me that Chris Wilcox (in a very foreign sounding voice - actually, same voice when I received the bogus call from the IRS) stated that he was with the Department of Legal Affairs for the U.S. Treasury and wanted to discuss illegal activities
on 'our end/' He suggested we call immediately to (661) 980-3960 and if we didn't, that we should have our lawyer call for us, as this was very serious.  I didn't bother to respond, but I am assuming that some people might be frightened by such a call.  Oh, and my child does not live here.

* … SPOTTED: I picked up this nugget on Twitter: "There are no bad photos. That’s just how you look sometimes."

 * … GOOD FORM: Frances Mitchell wrote to thank the stranger who came to her assistance after her car lost power on the Union Avenue exit off Highway 178. "He pushed my auto around the corner into Snider's parking lot and into the shade.  I did not get this gentlemen's name but I know his bravery/strength came with help from a higher power. This 74-year-old cancer survivor is ever so grateful as this could have been one serious accident/situation. Thank you again and God bless you and your family!"

 * … MORE GOOD FORM: Linda Welch shops at the Von's on North Chester and recently left an 80 cent can of soup on the counter. What happened next is the sort of customer service you don't experience every day. "The store manager happened to be the person who answered the phone. He asked my address and told me he was going to bring me a can of soup. He had no idea if I lived a block away or 10 minutes away. I thought he deserved some recognition." Well said, Linda.

* … BAD FORM: You know what was coming next: bad form. And this is almost too incredible to believe, but my colleague David Vanderpol insists it's true. Said David: "My wife got a robo-call a few weeks ago from a 'Christian' church in Shafter telling us if we weren't going their church we were going to Hell. Needless to say my wife had to call their office the next day… and sure enough the guy was DEAD set in his ways, and insisted the only church was HIS church. She did let him know there were better ways to get noticed, if he was trying to attract people to his church, and that she will be praying for him. He hung up on her. " Wow.

 * … SANDSTONE: One last memory of the old Sandstone store, compliments of Mary Curran-Means, daughter of Robert and Yvonne Curran and granddaughter of James and Mary Curran. "I remember when school was out, when my sisters, brother and I were little kids our mother would take us across the street to the hardware store, then located on Sonora Street.  Guard Ray would put us on the nail scale to weigh us, then down to the corner of 18th and Union we would get our hair cut and then off to Breckenridge for the summer. This was not to get out of the heat but out of the valley to escape Valley Fever and the dreaded Infantile Paralysis. The family referred to Sandstone as the 'Yard' and at Christmas time yard sticks were given to customers as gifts."

Despite attempts to save energy, the average American household using the same about of power as it did 40 years ago, and scam artists posing as debt collectors for utilities call on a restaurant owner

 * … ENERGY: I picked up this interesting tidbit in my weekend reading: Despite energy efficient appliances, better windows and an overall focus on reducing our energy consumption, the American

household is using about the same amount of energy it did 40 years ago. Why? It appears that all those savings via energy efficient homes and appliances are being offset by our fondness with power consuming electronics, larger homes and higher ceilings. Said the Wall Street Journal: "Twenty-eight percent of homes built in the 1980s have ceilings higher than eight feed. Now, more than half of new homes have high or vaulted ceilings."

 * … SCAM: The scam artists posting as debt collectors for various utilities are at it again, this time calling local Sonic Drive Ins to intimidate the local managers. Scott A. McMillan is a franchise owner and told me he was out mountain biking when he got a call from his 23rd Street location. "The text stated that a 'Stacey' from Edison had just called and that they were coming to turn off power unless we paid our account current immediately. The amount was $900. I knew intstantly that it was a scam as PGE is our power supplier in Bakersfield, not Edison. I texted her back and told her it was a scam and to not pay anybody even if they came by." Later, McMillan thought he'd have some fun with the scammers so he called Stacey back. "When Stacey answered, she asked how she could help. I thought that was nice that someone was trying to help me. I told her that my store (Sonic name NOT given) had just been called and that I owed some money immediately or my power was going to be shut off. She then proceeded to tell me the name of my restaurant, the phone number and the address…. impressive, I thought. I then asked her if she could look at my account without my account number, as I was not in my office. She confirmed that I had a $900 balance due. I told her that I was sure my account was current and was suprised the balance due was only $900 as my monthly bills this time of year for power are closer to $3,000 per month. She didn't budge from the $900. Well, at this point, I was getting bored with Stacey, so I told her, 'You know Stacey, it's funny. My energy supplier at this location is PGE." Instantly, the phone disconnected and I mean instantly! I was rather bummed with that as I wanted to tell Stacey a few more things."

* … SPOTTED: On Facebook: "Sometimes it’s just better to buy new Tupperware than to risk opening the leftovers."

 * … KINDNESS: Sometimes it is the smallest of gestures that restore our faith in mankind. Angela Barbero shared this:  "The other evening my husband and I purchased lumber at Home Depot on Gosford. We wheeled it to the car and a total stranger came over and said I'll help you with that and he helped my husband load it into the car. We moved to Bakersfield in 2000 and I have always said this town has the nicest people. Thank you again to this kind gentleman."

* … GOOD FORM: Laurie Green wrote to give props to the FFA group over at Frontier High School, where she lives. "Last night the Frontier FFA were Christmas caroling in our neighborhood. They had a truck pulling a flatbed trailer decorated with lots of lights, music playing, and carolers singing. Other students were going door to door, asking for canned goods to donate to the homeless shelter. Even Santa and his helper were walking around greeting people. I was babysitting my little granddaughter and took her outside to enjoy the music and lights. A big thank you to the FFA students for bringing Christmas joy to our neighborhood, as well as doing it to help the homeless. I also want to thank the Frontier students who live in our neighborhood for being very respectful of our yards as they walk to and from school. I live on a corner and have never seen any of them cut across our yard or any other yard, and they never drop any kind of litter. I can't say that about other neighborhoods I have lived in, so their courtesy and respect are very much appreciated."

 * … MEMORIES: This memory of a simpler time comes courtesy of reader Linda Brammer: "Another fond memory of the Bakersfield that is no more:  remember the Christmas decorations that most of the homes on Panorama would put up?  Then the procession of cars would start at about north Union Ave and Columbus Ave to drive slowly by all the homes and view the decorations.  Sadly, that had to be discontinued due to vandalism, but it’s still a fond memory of Christmas in Bakersfield."

Downtown Bakersfield gets a new bistro, and Texas Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis stops by the Californian studio to talk about his year

 * … FOODIE: Another privately owned restaurant has opened downtown, this one a cozy bistro that features soft leather couches, a comfortable, homey interior, a wide selection of drinks and light salads and sandwiches. It's called CraSh Lounge and it is located on Eye Street next to the Caribbean eatery Mama Roomba. Check out the Mephistopheles panini but be warned it is spicy. Opened by Muertos Lounge owner Shawna Haddad-Byers, CraSh should not be confused with another relatively new wine bar and restaurant called Krush located in the Northwest off Hageman Road. Both are excellent choices for a quick bite. (a panini by CraSh and a view of the inside of Krush)

* … COLBY: It was good to see former Bakersfield College standout pitcher Colby Lewis in the California video studio this week, talking to local sportscaster Greg Kerr about his year with the Texas Rangers after coming off hip surgery. Lewis managed to pick up 10 wins in a shortened year and is feeling good and back in form. Kerr hosts a new weekly show streamed live on Bakersfield.com called "The Renegade Report," devoted to BC athletics. It airs every Thursday at 11 a.m.

* …. SCAM: Dwayne Ardis shared his story about how to avoid a scam: "I was getting gas at the Chevron/Fast Trip station at White Lane and Gosford one day when a lady approached me and asked me if I could help her get back home to Tehachapi because she ran out of gas. I said sure but I also requested to see her driver’s license to verify she lived in Tehachapi. She gave me a dirty look and walked away. Scam averted."

 * … GOOD FORM: Kudos to the woman who regularly pulls a litter barrel and cleans up trash along Alfred Harrell Highway and Fairfax Road. Said a reader: "May you be richly rewarded for all your time and effort  It is wonderful to have a leisure drive up the hill on a nice clean highway."

 * … WASTE: Amid the long drought, Jon Stuebbe wonders why "the Beach Park men’s toilet still has a trough urinal with a constantly running waterfall of water? Imagine how many million gallons of water run through it in a year. Apparently the water used by the city Parks and Recreation comes from a different and inexhaustible source."

 * … BLUE STAR: The Blue Star Moms, a group of mothers of current service members of all branches of the armed forces, is hosting a blood drive from Nov. 10 to Nov. 15. The group is looking for folks to donate blood at the two branches of the Houchin Community Blood Bank and is soliciting donations for care packages for military men and women stationed overseas.

 * … PETS: Remember that Busters Pet Fund, a group that helps abandoned and rescued pets, is collecting blankets and old towels at the Petco on Gosford Road this weekend.

Monday's Bako Bits: Is anyone else sick of the political attack ads that have flooded the airways? And veteran reporter Steve Swenson shares his battle with pancreatic cancer

 * … POLITICS: Is anyone else sick of the political attack ads that have flooded the airways? You'd think there would be weightier issues than how many times Pedro Rios voted while serving on the

Delano city council, or if Andy Vidak had suddenly "sold out" to the Sacramento politicians. But polling shows attack ads work, so get ready for another couple weeks of the incessant negativity.

 * … SEVEN OAKS: Hats off to the Seven Oaks homeowner who took things in his own hands after someone's dog kept leaving unwanted presents behind on his lawn. The homeowner put a small sign in the yard reading: "Is it really that difficult to pick up your dog's poop? Be a good neighbor!!" Ah, first world problems behind the gates.

 * … STEVE: Did you catch the essay by Steve Swenson in Sunday's Californian about his battle with pancreatic cancer? Steve spent 33 years as a reporter so it's no surprise that he writes with such honesty and wit, but this piece was moving in its authenticity and candor. Here's hoping Steve has many years left swinging his golf clubs and making that birdie now and then.

* … ENDEAVOR: It was so nice to see so many organizations reaching out to Endeavor Elementary School after someone burned down its playground equipment. This is one of the many things that gives this community such heart. Said Jay Stodder: "As published in the Californian Thursday,  several groups have stepped up to help pay for Endeavor Elementary  School's playground that was recently destroyed by arsonists. Among them is my place of employment, the Gaslight Melodrama in Rosedale. We're adding a benefit performance of Witches of Westchester to our schedule: Thursday October 24, 7 p.m."

 * … SCAMS: Yet another reader weighed in on this panhandlers who hit us up for money at local gas stations. "Another funny thing happened at that same station about a year ago. I was filling my car with gas when a gentleman with a young girl walked up to me and said that his wife and son were in an automobile accident near Fresno. He and his daughter needed bus fare to go to Fresno to be with them in the hospital. About two weeks later, the same gentleman at the same station approached me and said that his mother was near death at a hospital in Fresno and he needed bus fare hoping to visit her before she died.  I said, 'I'm sorry to hear that so much tragedy has happened to your family recently. Two weeks ago you needed money to go to Fresno to see your wife and son in a hospital in Fresno.'  If looks could kill… He left the station without talking to anyone else."

* … MEMORIES: Ronal Reynier is one reader who enjoys it when we reprint old front pages of The Californian. A recent one from 1911 raised a few questions for him:  "Where have they gone?" he asked, referring to all the small communities in the valley. "In this issue they print about Toltec and the Catholic Colonization in the Rio Bravo district. In this era each oilfield and farming area had their own small village. Most are long gone or swallowed up by other cities such as Bakersfield; but the names live on. The most common live on in our daily lives as areas we know of as Rosedale, Greenacres, Rio Bravo, Smith's Corners, Greenfield, Heck's Corners, or how about Mexican Colony?  Its been in the news a lot lately; how many of you have ever been to Tupman? From a 1916 map of Kern County I counted 47 that are no longer there."

Monday Bako Bits: more scams running amok on social media, the city responds to illegal dumping and giving a shout out to Coconut Joe's restaurant

 * … SCAM: Here is yet another scam that leverages our obsession with social media. A friend's nephew is vacationing in Mexico and the lad mentions it on Facebook. Someone sees this, and calls the

nephew's grandmother (how he got the number, I don't know) posing as a Mexican lawyer, saying her grandson was in jail and he needed $100,000 to get out. The grandmother, wisely, checked on the safety of her nephew before wiring money to the would be thief.

 * … TRASH: Hats off to the city Solid Waste Division which will partner with Sean Battle and Garden Pathways’ volunteers to clean up a stretch of Fairfax Drive that is littered with discarded furniture. Said Sal Moretti, city solid waste superintendent: "The city will provide a trash truck and driver and Garden Pathways will provide the workers.  Let me know if you need any more information.

 * … THEFT: This is an example of both bad, and good, form. First the bad: a woman who had erected a small "free library" stand in her yard (the idea is to provide free books to neighborhood children to encourage reading) was upset that her stash of books had been stolen not once, but twice. Now the good: after word of the theft was circulated on a neighborhood watch e-mail list, neighbors downtown pitched it to restock the free library.

 * … FOODIE BEST BET: The very best locally owned restaurants have several things in common: consistently outstanding service and food that never disappoints. Luigi's Delicatessen and Uricchio's Trattoria are two, and you can add Coconut Joe's to that list. Try the fish and chips, among the best in town.

 * … CARL'S JR: I was surprised at the number of responses i received to a post questioning how appropriate the Carl's Jr. ads are featuring scantily clad women eating burgers atop a black car. There are too many to print, so here is a sampling. This one from Robin Kraucyk was typical: "Yes Wanda G. Reilly, we have noticed. Many friends and relatives have emailed Carl's Jr. with our opinions of their 'sex' sells hamburgers ads. We all received a 'form' email back saying, thank you for your opinion. I was not satisfied with that and wrote back again with stronger opinions stated. I then received an email with an actual name on it stating the same … thank you and we don't mean to offend anyone. We are now writing to the television stations which show these commercials.  Please join us in standing up for decency and letting Carl's Jr. know that they should stand behind their product because it is good food and that they don't have to use what constitutes as pornography catch our attention. Maybe if enough people talk, they will listen."

* … MORE: David Losa added this: "If Wanda Reilly wants to know who else is put off by Carl's Jr. TV ad, she can count me in. Remember the 'If it doesn't go all over the place, it doesn't belong on your face' ad? That, I also found disgusting and it encouraged our young to be slobs. Here I am a grandparent trying to teach my young grandchildren good basic table manners being exposed to this disgusting ad. I found this business's burgers decent but I don't take them there as a sign of a one man protest."

* … MORE: And Tim Unruh was another, saying he hasn't eaten at the burger chain since its Hugh Hefner campaign around 2003. "Obviously, this burger restaurant does not care for my demographic. The reality is that it is their choice to run the ad and ultimately my choice to ignore them. In-N-Out burgers are better anyway."

More scams involving the Internal Revenue Service make the rounds, texting while driving a motorcycle and the best meat in town? Wood-Dale market

 * … SCAM: I have been alerted to yet another telephone scam make the founds. This one involves a call from someone purporting to be from the Internal Revenue Service, claiming that back taxes are due and threatening to jail you unless the case is settled immediately. It happened to Terry Kropp of Rosedale,

who described herself ad pretty savvy about these things. "This was scary," she told me. "They were very, very convincing. I demanded to talk to a supervisor, they gave me a case number and they wanted me to admit I owned them money." Terry wisely called her attorney and then the IRS itself, which confirmed the scam. "They told me they get five to six calls a day like this," she said.

 * … SPOTTED: Motorcyclist driving down Rosedale Highway during rush hour with one hand on the handlebars while texting with the another.

* … GOOD FORM: Jayne Lee passes on this nice note about the folks over at Advanced Smog on District Boulevard. "Last week while paying for my smog inspection at Advanced Smog I noticed something out of place in a large pen behind the counter. Looking closely I discovered seven, six-week old puppies. The staff had seen a dog wandering in the busy street, took it in, and three days later the rescue had seven puppies. Homes had already been found for five of the babies. Kudos to the employees there for their care for this new mom and her babies."

 * … BAD FORM: My friend Pete Wonderly poses this question: "Folks, is it at all possible to show consideration for others (and obey the county law) by having your dogs on a leash when walking or running along the bike path or foothills? For three out of the four past Saturdays, I've crossed paths with a woman accompanied by her two Labrador Retrievers, both off-leash. My two small terriers, both on-leash, are not terribly impressed when her dogs rush them. My friends and I have patiently tried to explain courtesy and the county leash law to her, but to know avail. I'm tempted to carry an extra lead and put the woman on leash the next time I encounter her."

 * … TRASH: And speaking of bad form, it looks like Fairfax Drive between Panorama and Alfred Harrell Highway has become a new dumping ground for old mattresses, sofas and love seats.

 * … FOODIE BEST BET: It is hard to beat the freshness of the steaks, chicken and pork - all offered with outstanding customer service - at the Wood-Dale Market on Stine Road.

 * … BAD TASTE?: Wanda G. Reilly wonders if anyone else is put off by the Carl's Jr. commercial of the scantily clad models eating burgers on a car. In her words: "Is anyone other than this 80-year-old woman offended by the tasteless, trashy commercials Carl's Jr. places in prime time? I can't believe those wet bodies slithering over cars has any thing to do with eating a sandwich!"

 * … MEMORIES: A reader dropped off a version of The Californian dated July 4, 1976, celebrating the nation's Bicentennial. Some tidbits from the advertising: porterhouse and T-bone steaks were going for $1.98 a pound and an above ground swimming pool for $769.