California may have the fifth largest economy in the world, but we also lead the nation in poverty and homelessness. Plus more on that boneheaded call to close down streets in the arts district and the Padre Hotel shows some real class

Monday, May 7, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

* ... CALIFORNIA POVERTY: Here's something that probably won't surprise you: While California has the fifth largest economy in the world, we also lead the nation in poverty and homelessness. Think about that for a second, because it hasn't always been this way. But after decades of nanny-state government, homelessness (and hopelessness) have exploded and the streets of our major cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles look like Third World countries.
Consider this from the Orange County Register: "One in five Californians live in poverty, 20.4 percent to be exact, compared to a national average of 14.7 percent, the highest rate of poverty in the nation. By extension, California also has the distinction of having the highest child poverty rate in the nation, with an average of 22.8 percent of California's children living in poverty in 2013-15, including 5.1 percent living in 'deep poverty.'"

 * ... DOWNTOWN BAD FORM: Remember my earlier rant about the decision to close off the heart of the downtown arts district (the intersection of 19th and Eye streets) for the National Day of Prayer so a small church could have a ceremony? It was a stupid decision and it forced restaurants and businesses to close. Well now I learn that the streets were closed from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., virtually shutting down one of the busiest commercial areas in town for an entire day. Who made this decision and where is the Downtown Business Assn. which claims to represent the interests of local businesses. Are you listening Councilman Andrae Gonzales?

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "When I'm gone, my legacy will be, 'I don't know, man, she was just tired a lot.'"

 * ... GOOD FORM: Hats off to the Padre Hotel for showing some really good form in hosting the annual Tigerfight fund raiser to fight childhood leukemia. Chris Wilson, who founded Tigerfight after his 18-month-old son came down with blood cancer, said the Padre regularly donates multiple rooms so parents whose children are sick can have a night off and attend the festivities. This year's Tigerfight will be held Saturday, June 9.

 * ... OVERHEARD: A woman is telling a friend about visiting the new branch of La Costa Mariscos in the old Elephant Bar building at the Shops at Riverwalk: "It was over an hour wait, a typical Bakersfield response to a new restaurant! We'll go back in a month when things die down."

 * ... MAYA DELANO: Workers are putting the finishing touches on the new 12-screen Maya Cinemas in Delano, giving residents there a reason to stay closer to home to view a movie. The new Maya will be equipped with the bigger, leather lounge type seating that has become so popular. No exact word on when Maya Delano will open.

 * ... TREES: It was nice to see the new trees that were planted on 18th Street near Cafe Smitten, yet more improvements to the growing area known as "EastChester."

Bakersfield's poverty rate is exploding, La Costa prepares to opens its second location and check out Pickalittle Farms for organic produce

Friday, April 27, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com.


 * ... POVERTY: Bakersfield and Kern County have always suffered from extreme poverty, and it doesn't look like things are getting any better. According to a new survey by 24/7 Wall St., the poverty rates in both Bakersfield and Fresno are getting worse. Visalia, meantime, didn't make the list and

seems to be doing much better. This from the Visalia Times-Delta: "Bakersfield is one of three California metro areas with the largest increases in concentrated poverty since 2010. In the last six years, the share of the metro area’s poor population living in high poverty neighborhoods more than doubled from 16.1 percent to 32.5 percent, the largest increase of any U.S. metro area. The share of Fresno’s extremely poor residents living in high poverty neighborhoods increased by 12.8 percentage points since 2010, the second largest increase of any metro area.

* ... LA COSTA: La Costa Mariscos, the wildly popular family owned Mexican restaurant located in the old Ice House downtown, opens its Southwest location on Monday. La Costa renovated the old Elephant Bar building on Stockdale Highway and held a soft opening this week. Expect La Costa to be a huge hit in the Southwest.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I’m no anthropologist, but the ruins in living room suggest I had a nachos bel grande and six Doritos locos tacos last night."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "I just want to be appreciated the way middle-aged women appreciate air conditioning, balanced hormones, and men with excellent credit."

  * ... FARM TO TABLE: Bakersfield is growing in may ways good and bad, but one of the most encouraging signs is the move toward sustainable farming and organically grown produce. One of the up and coming local farms is Pickalittle Farms off Old Farm Road south of town, owned by Mary Jean Russell and her husband. It's only 2.5 acres, but it produces an abundance of organic produce including lettuce, squash, garlic chives, beets, radishes, artichokes, asparagus, fava beans and so much more. Check them out each week at both the F Street farmer's market and the Haggin Oaks farmer's market.

 * ... 23 AND ME: You may recognize a familiar face soon when local television starts airing a commercial for the DNA test company 23andMe. The spot, airing for Mother's Day, features the mother-daughter team of local teacher Joyce Victor and her actress daughter, Selah Victor. Selah, if you remember, is the Highland High School graduate who helped produce a move starring Sharon Stone titled "All I Wish."

* ... MEMORIES: Who remembers the old Santa Fe Hotel on the old Highway 99? This photo courtesy of the Kern County of Old Facebook page.

Bakersfield makes another Top 10 list, this one for urban poverty and remembering the Army Air Corps

 * ... POVERTY: One of the fallouts of this recession has been the spike in poverty in some of our nation's larger cities. And not surprisingly the hardest hit cities are those - like Bakersfield - that benefitted most from the housing bubble and are now struggling to recover. Bakersfield is ranked No. 3 on the list of the top ten markets with high poverty in urban suburbs, surpassed only by the Texas border towns of El Paso and McAllen. The Brookings Institute report noted that poverty "in the entire Bakersfield metropolitan area rose 23 percent from 2007 to 2009. The suburban portion of the metro has been affected far more. Bakersfield's two main industries, oil and agriculture, require a large amount of manpower. Much of this is supplied by immigrants, who often -- especially when it comes to agricultural jobs -- don't make enough money to lift them out of poverty. As of 2009, 29.1 percent of those living below the poverty line in Bakersfield were born outside the U.S. That's one of the highest rates in the country, according to Brookings." Others on the top ten list include Albuquerque, N.N., Augusta, Ga., Jackson, Miss., Little Rock, Ark., Modesto, Ca., Lakeland, Fla., and Fresno.

 * ... AIR CORPS: Edward Gaede is a World War II veteran, having served 30 months in the Pacific, and gave me a call to correct a piece in the newspaper that recalled a U.S. Air Force bombing in Europe in 1942. Edward reminded me that the U.S. Air Force was not formed until 1947, and that prior to that the branch was known as the Army Air Corps. I should know since my own father served as a captain in the Army Air Corps and was fond of singing its fight song ('Nothing can stop the Army Air Corps!). Now 88, Edward lived for years in Shafter and now resides in Bakersfield, a proud member of "the greatest generation."

 * ... ACCIDENT: A horrible accident between a bicylist and a runner led to the death of the rider, a 41-year-old Visalia school teacher. These things can happen quickly - in this case the runner turned around and ran right into the cyclists - it serves as a reminder that we all share the same road. This is the season for running and cycling, and locally both sports are enjoying a surge in popularity. In the Visalia incident, 41-year-old math teacher Scott Nelson was thrown off his bike and later died. Whether running, cycling or driving, be safe out there.

 * ... AMGEN TOUR: City leaders are busy rounding up support to lure the 2012 Amgen Tour of California back to Bakersfield. When the tour made a stop in Bakersfield in 2010 it was a huge success, with thousands of spectators lining the Panorama Bluffs to watch some of the world's best cyclists race to the finish. The Tour skipped Bakersfield this year and coordinators are crossing their fingers we will get back on the map.

 * ... HIGH ACHIEVER: Jason McPhetridge wrote to highlight his step daughter, Cynthia Begay, now a senior at UC San Diego. A Highland High School graduate, Cynthia's goal is to attend medical school (she did an internship at the Harvard Medical School in Boston) and eventually help treat Native Americans. She is half Native American and half Hispanic and recently left to work on a Navajo Reservation.

 * ... AND ANOTHER: Another local youngster heading off is Prnay Copra, an honors graduate from Bakersfield Christian High School who is bound for Northeastern University in Boston to study behavioral neuroscience. Prnay, who graduated with honors at BCHS, is the son of Caltrans engineer Ray Copra and wife Ameeta.

 * ... CALIFORNIAN RADIO: I will be interviewing Jeff Konya, athletic director at Cal State Bakersfield, Friday at 10 a.m. on Californian Radio SmartTalk 1230. Make sure you tune in as Jeff shares his expectations for the new year and we talk college sports.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield if "you've become an expert at dodging tumbleweeds during the windy season."