Dealing with Cal State's image problems and another successful Cioppino Night with West Rotary

 * ... MORE CAL STATE: There has been a lot of feedback on Cal State Bakersfield's decision not to provide a senior discount for Roadrunner baseball games. And the fact that I raised the issue at all has led some to believe I am attacking the university. So let's be clear: I am a big fan of CSUB and believe it is an integral part of our community. The "senior discount" issue for Roadrunner baseball is albeit a small one, but indicative, some believe, of an insular view of the world held by certain administrators. Certainly these strained town-gown relationships are not uncommon in college towns across the country, but they can cause substantial damage among potential donors and supporters. This has never been more true than today, when CSUB and other universities are increasingly dependent on the generosity of alumni and local donors to make up for severe state budget cuts. And if perception is reality, CSUB does have an image problem. As retired educator and CSUB alum Craig Holland wrote me: "It is great that someone is finally stating what those of us who have been in town for 30 plus years have known."

 * ... CSUB: Along those lines, reader and CSUB volunteer Adele Davis wrote to point out that ticket prices at CSUB events are determined by each department. The Music Department, for example, has always offered a senior discount while students with ID are allowed in free. "There is a general admission price, a senior/faculty/alumni price (usually the same but not always) as well as a student price which includes any students over 12 from any school. Since we stopped charging CSUB students, our CSUB student attendance was increase greatly," even if they are not attending to complete course requirements.

 * ... CIOPPINO:  West Rotary held its hugely successful "Cioppino Night" Saturday  at Monsignor Leddy Hall at Garces Memorial High School. If you don't attend any other fund raiser, this is one that is well worth the $75 ticket price. Fresh clams, salad, cioppino, wine and dessert and all for a good cause. The profits went to the Pediatric Care Unit at Memorial Hospital, the Ronald McDonald House and the West Rotary Foundation. Among those West Rotarians I spotted were President Jim Darling, president-elect Rikki Foster, past presidents John Wells and Mike Rubiy, Bruce Jay, David Gay, Rick Kreiser, Kevin Burton.

 * ... MOVERS: Ed Taylor, community banking president for Wells Fargo Bank, is leaving town to take another position with Wells in the Washington, D.C. area. Ed has been a friend of the non profits and will be missed. Over at KGET, morning co-anchor Katie Harlan has left the set to join the communications staff at Pacific Gas and Electric. Lastly, Bryan Burrow has left his vice president job at Bank of America to join IES Engineering.

* ... CSUB TENNIS: Here's a cause worth supporting: a golf tournament to raise money to help maintain the women's tennis program at Cal State Bakersfield will be held Monday, April 4, at Seven Oaks Country Club. The cost is $125 a golfer and tee sponsorships are available for $100. There will be auction items from some of the top tennis players in the world, including Rafal Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters. Call Regina Kuger at (661) 706-8858.

* ... MUSEUM: Good news from the Bakersfield Museum of Art where three events drew record crowds. Museum marketing director Beth Brookhart Pandol said the Western Day event drew 1,400 folks last summer, Dia de los Muertos packed in 1,600 this fall and the recent Freedom Day attracted 750. "Thanks to the many partnerships, including those with the Bakersfield Californian, KERO, Buckley Radio and Bright House Networks, plus many, many others, we were able to branch out to new audiences to provide them with a cultural experience and entertainment," she said.

 
 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Jemina Rowe shared this gem from her youth when she worked at the old Wayne's Drive-In located on North Chester by the river. She worked there during her college years, 1940-1944, and remembers when an Army unit leaving Northern California would call in an order. "They wanted 200 hamburgers, 200 cheeseburgers, 400 fries and 400 milkshakes. They said they would pick them up by 5 p.m. as they were going to camp across the street. We would put the order together, freeze the milk shakes and put the burgers in the warmer. Sure enough, between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. three or four Jeeps would arrive to deliver them across the street. I've often wondered if anyone got what they ordered."

CSUB holds firm on its "no senior discount" for baseball games while an anonymous donor steps forward to donate his season tickets

 * ... RUNNER BASEBALL: A few days ago I wrote about 77-year-old Jean Sherwood, who wondered why there wasn't a senior discount to attend the Cal State Roadrunner baseball games. Unlike other schools that do (Fresno State, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State and Stanford among many others) school spokesman Rob Meszaros called the $7 ticket a fair price and reiterated the "no senior discount" policy of the school. But Jean Sherwood and her 80-year-old husband can take heart, because an anonymous donor contacted me and offered the Sherwoods his own season tickets, on behalf of the team. "Wow!" Jean told me. "I am overwhelmed! People are so giving and my husband and I are very thankful."  The donor told me he was concerned the CSUB administration was out of touch with the community and what it takes to compete on the Division 1 level. "There is a sense of superiority as well," he said. "I sometimes think that university administrators believe that the lack of relationship between the community and the school is a result of the community lacking sophistication rather than the school's lack of effort and engagement.... That's why Ms. Sherwood was treated the way she was." I would only add this: No university can afford to squander the goodwill of people in the community who want to support it, and that's the position the CSUB administration finds itself in. That's called biting the hand that feeds you.

 * ... LEVAN'S GIFT: In contrast to the CSUB's position, you might want to consider what happened Thursday up at Bakersfield College. Yes, it may only be a two-year school but that doesn't seem to matter to Dr. Norman Levan, the local dermatologist who is donating $14 million to BC for scholarships and other initiatives. This is one of the largest gifts from a private citizen to a community college ever in the United States. BC is known for its rabidly loyal alumni, and you have to wonder what the school has done over the years to engender such goodwill. One thing it does do is to reach out to seniors. When the BC Foundation holds its annual barbecue to raise money for BC athletics, it offers a senior discount.


 * ... WAR BIRDS: Don't be surprised if you look into the sky on Monday and spot a couple of old war birds flying low overhead. A lovingly restored B-17 "Flying Fortress" bomber and a rare Curtiss P-40 Warhawk will take to the skies Monday afternoon. It's all part of the Liberty Foundation's "Salute to Veterans" tour to remind people of the sacrifices made to protect our freedoms. On April 2, the public will be invited to view the planes at Meadows Field.

 * ... DUTCH HOLLOWAY: Reader Jim Barton wrote that he was pleased to read about the old Dutch Holloway air field that sat where the Green Frog Market on Bernard Street now stands. "My mother, Beatrice Barton, recalls on her ninth birthday, May 7, 1920, Dutch somehow learned she was a birthday girl and gave her a free celebratory ride. The family was living on Pacific Street back then and of course when the kids heard his aircraft they would all run down to the landing strip. The birthday girl will be celebrating number 100 in a few weeks."
 

 * ... WAYNE'S: And speaking of the drive-in of the past, reader Dave Parker asks "has anyone mentioned the one that used to be on the southwest corner of Chester Avenue and Fifth Street?  I think it was Wayne's. It was within walking distance of Bakersfield High School  (known as Kern County  Union High School at the time.)"

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're a Bakersfield old timer if you remember the old Frontier Days parade downtown. Regular contributor Glenn Worrell was six years old in 1938 when he sat in the window sill on the second floor of the Hay Building (between Eye and H streets) and watched the parade coming down 19th street. "It was celebrated for several years but never came back after World War II. The ladies wore long dresses and bonnets and the men wore western."