McLintock's Saloon in Paso Robles closes due to the coronavirus, a local pastor takes on the "woke" culture, Rachelle Murcia celebrates the remission of her cancer and book burning comes back into style

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 represent any other company or publication.

 * ... MCLINTOCK'S SALOON: There is more bad news on the coronavirus front. McLintock's Saloon in Paso Robles, one of four McLintock's locations, is closing permanently, yet another victim of our long pandemic. On its Facebook page, the owners posted this: "It is with heavy hearts we announce

F.McLintocks Saloon, Paso Robles has closed permanently. Sadly, the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been too much for us to undertake. F. McLintocks Saloon, Paso Robles was our fourth location and we were so proud to extend our footprint into North County. For 23 years 1234 Park Street was a Paso Robles tradition, serving up a taste of the Great American West in our signature saloon-style setting. We’ve slung a lot of joy across our historical bar to our loyal locals and tourists alike...those were great years! We’d like to thank all of our customers and neighbors who have supported us and accepted us into the community. Some truly wonderful people have walked through those doors. We celebrated many birthdays and milestones with so many folks. Thank you for blessing us with your company…those memories will always remain with us. We wish you all happy and healthy days ahead and hope you continue to support us at one of our three other Central Coast locations. Bruce and Toney Breault"

 * ... ANGELO FRAZIER: Angelo Frazier is a pastor at Riverlakes Community Church, a chaplain at the Bakersfield Police Department and a civic activist. On his Facebook page, he posted a picture of a man slugging a woman during a protest. In his words: "A woke society will find justification for this.. An awake society will say, "We've had enough!" A woke society will tolerate mob rule. An awake society will trust in the rule of law. In the end, a woke society is godless, lawless, truthless and aimless. This is where God is powerless, man is deified, sin is emboldened and any speech that is not progressively sanctioned, inclusively validated, morally subjective is considered hate speech and thus, must be shouted down and/or exterminated.  No, this is not us. An "awake" society will say, "We've had enough!" We are about God, family, country and friends. In fact,, God allows people to not believe in Him, however, it is not His desire. Nevertheless, we are neighbors and strangers from sea to shining sea..... We will rise, we will have a revivel-- spiritual, economic and patriotic. It will be one of healing, forgiveness and reconciliation. Evil has a shelf life. It can stand only on the willful agenda of those wishing to be disobedient to the founding principles and values of our nation and God.

 *... WELCOME BACK: Rachelle Murcia, local anchor for KBAK TV who has been battling breast cancer, is now in remission and will return to the anchor desk soon. Murcia posted a video on her progress this week in which she reported she is returning to work soon to continue her recovery. And the best news: her oncologist Dr. Ravi Patel reported she is now officially in remission.

 * ... SHARLET BRIGGS: Sharlet Briggs, president of Adventist Health Hospital since 2016, has resigned from her position. Briggs has spent three decades in hospital administration and will be succeeded by Jeff Eller, former president of Adventist Health’s Northern California region.

Sharlet Briggs

* ... STEPHON CARTER: Stephon Carter was one of the smoothest shooting guards in the history of Garces Memorial High School, and he continued that at CSUB where he ended his career as the Runners' highest all-time score. Now after six years of semi-pro ball in places like Mexico and Spain, Carter is returning home to serve as head coach at Centennial High School.

 * ... BOOK BURNING: Did you see the protesters in Portland have taken to burning Bibles along with the U.S. flag as well as other books they find offensive? Eerily reminiscent of Hitler's Nazi party that embraced book burning during its rise to power in the early 1940s.

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: This about says it all.

 * ... RIP MONSIGNOR SWETT: Monsignor Ronald J. Swett, one of the longtime Catholic leaders in town, has died at the age of 78. Swett had been in hospice as he battled a lengthy illness when he died earlier this week. A native of Taft, Swett was a mainstay at St. Philip the Apostle since 1987, and he also filled in at St. Francis after Monsignor Craig Harrison was suspended after he was accused of sexually abusing several young men over the years.

 * ... SPOTTED: From the Kern County History Fans Facebook page, broken down on Highway 99 in 1919.

Bako Bits: Kevin McCarthy will appear on Meet the Press Sunday to discuss the fiscal cliff, and are people really using ashes from their dead pets to create fake diamond rings?

  * ... PROP 30: It should probably not come as a surprise but much of the money raised by the new taxes approved by voters under Proposition 30 won't go to schools after all. At least that is the conclusion of The Orange County Register, which reported the money will instead be used to bail out the underfunded teacher's pension fund. Said the Register: "It took less than two weeks to confirm what we suspected: Much of the money from the Proposition 30 tax increases approved by voters is not going to go to schools, as advertised, but to teachers’ pensions. According to CalPensions.com, 'More money for the underfunded California State Teachers Retirement System may be considered by the Legislature next year, thanks to new attention from lawmakers and a state budget deficit narrowed by a voter-approved tax increase this month.'"

 * ... PETS: Losing a pet is heart breaking, and some people will go to almost any lengths to keep that furry friend in their memory. But using their ashes to create a fake diamond ring? That's right, at least according to a story in The Wall Street Journal. It's a growing trend, in which the remains are used in the fabrication of fake diamonds so one can gaze into a ring and remember the departed. "The idea of turning the carbon in ashes into man-made diamonds emerged a decade ago as a way to memorialize humans," the paper said." Today, departed pets are fueling the industry's growth with a handful of companies selling diamonds, gemstones and other jewelry out of pet remains, including hair and feathers."

 * ... MEET THE PRESS: House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) will be a guest this Sunday on "Meet the Press" to discuss the ongoing negotiations between House leaders and President Obama to avoid the fiscal cliff. Make sure to tune into KGET Sunday morning to take it in.

* ... KBAK: More reader feedback on KBAK parting ways with anchor Lisa Krch. From Hanford Lee: "My wife Nancy and I agree with Virginia Frazier.  We are sorry to see Lisa,  John (Dabkovich), Layla (Santiago) and Cambi (Brown) leave. So we made the logical move --we now watch Channel 17 and other local news sources."

 * ... FIRST FRIDAY: Downtown's popular First Friday event returns this Friday night and this month's edition is billed as downtown holiday shopping night. Great Christmas gifts can be found at such local retailers as Kuka's Folk Art, House of Flowers, Curiosity Shop and even something for your pup at Biscuit Doggy Boutique. As usual galleries in the Arts District will be having new exhibit openings. Over at Metro Galleries artist Christine McKee's new show, "On the Homefront," premieres. This exhibit focuses on what military families deal with when their loved one's are away serving our country.  Twenty percent of opening night proceeds will be donated to NAMI Frontline of Kern County.

 * ... BAD FORM: From one of my regular contributors: "I was in the new Target on Stockdale Highway and saw a woman in the makeup aisle putting on eye makeup.  I thought it rather strange but figured she just didn’t have time to get ready to go so brought her makeup with her. Not. She was using the eye makeup from the display and when she finished her beauty routine she snapped the container shut and put it back on the display. Being a patient woman, I waited for the next clerk to walk by, showed it to her and she removed it. It is beyond my comprehension that anyone would do that."

Gov. Jerry Brown caves on meaningful pension reform, but will it hurt the chances of the tax-the-rich Proposition 30 in the November election?

* ... PENSIONS: Keep your eye on Proposition 30 now that Gov. Jerry Brown has failed on his promise of passing meaningful state pension reform this year. Prop 30 imposes a temporary sales and income tax hike to raise money for education, but it was put on the ballot with the implied promise from Brown that it would be accompanied by real pension reform. That didn't happen, thanks in no small part to the powerful state employee unions.  Instead, the "reform" package put forth fails to address escalating medical care costs (thousands of state workers have free medical care for life) and also fails to implement a more hybrid retirement plan including a reduced pension and a 401(k) type savings plan. So will voters approve additional taxes without meaningful pension reform and while the state barrels ahead with an unfunded high speed rail project? Assemblywoman Shannon Grove was among those who attacked the governor's plan, calling it a "watered down" version of his original, 12-point pension reform proposal. "The fact that it took two years for this meaningless ‘pension reform’ to be addressed gives further proof to my goal of changing this place to a part-time legislature, because absolutely nothing of real is accomplished by our current batch of ‘professional, full time’ politicians.  They will adjourn Friday night and go home for two months to campaign, telling the taxpayers to vote for their Prop 30 to raise taxes and give the Legislature even more money to spend!” (photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times)

 * ... MAYA: Meanwhile, I was at the Maya Cinemas the other day and noticed the Kern Citizens for Sustainable Government has extended its pension awareness campaign to the theater screen. The organization is sponsoring an effective ad that poses the question: is it right to cut the number of days our children are in school to pay for unsustainable teacher pensions?

 * ... COVENANT: An event to raise money for Covenant Community Services, the non profit that helps foster kids get on their feed, will be held at Imbibe Wine and Spirits on Thursday, October 18. I mistakenly reported it would be held at Covenant's North Chester office but instead will be held at Imbibe from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The cost is $25. Hats off to Imbibe owners David and Tami Dobbs who do so much for many needy organizations in town.

 * ... IRISH: The college football season kicks off this weekend and the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and their fans will be flying to Dublin, Ireland, to face Navy. And among the estimated 30,000 fans heading to Ireland are two local kids, both of them graduates of Garces Memorial High School. Brandon West is a junior at the university and Julia Berchtold is a senior. Brandon is a stunter on the Notre Dame cheer squad (he is one of the kids who hurls cheerleaders into the air) and Julia is with the band. I am always impressed with the number of local kids who head off to Notre Dame and yes, there is even a Bakersfield Notre Dame Club to cheer them on.

* ... BAD FORM: Over in Laurelglen, Lynne Budy has some advice for those who walk their dogs in the quiet neighborhood: please keep your dogs off the lawn.  "I have spotted and caught one of the dog walkers in my neighborhood allowing his two female standard boxers defecate  in my newly landscaped front yard. This has been going on since earlier this year.  As I ran out of the opened front door and down the front walk, the man looked up, grinned at me, and responded, 'You have nice new grass.'  I was so stunned, that I said nothing, but I did walk to the area next to the sidewalk to verify what I witnessed."