Craig Harrison gets a boost in his effort to clear his name, downtown struggles with homelessness and vandalism, Adventist Health's clever marketing campaign and a walk down memory lane

Friday, July 26, 2019

 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. Send news items to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... FATHER CRAIG: Good news for Monsignor Craig Harrison this week when the Bakersfield

Police Department declined to press charges against the suspended priest for a sexual abuse allegation dating to the late 1990s. This was an important step in Harrison's long journey to clear his name, and no doubt a source of great joy for his legions of believers, but it did not come as a total surprise. Citing lack of clear evidence like a video or photograph, the BPD said it could not substantiate the allegations from a Texas man who said Harrison abused him at the St. Francis Parish when he was an altar boy. While this is clearly a big boost to Harrison's campaign to clear his name, his real hurdle is with the Diocese of Fresno, which is conducting its own investigation into allegations by five different men that Harrison touched them inappropriately. In some ways, the Diocese decision will be a political one and will break down to this simple question: is it better for the church to reinstate a priest whose reputation has been tarnished, or does the church clear the deck and move on by either moving Harrison to another position or cutting him loose? For the sake of Father Craig and our entire community, let's hope this is resolved sooner rather than later.

 * ... DOWNTOWN: With each passing day, the homeless crisis in our community worsens. And no where is it on display more graphically than downtown, where shop owners are forced to contend with vandalism and rampant thefts not to mention the parade of "crazies" who wander into stores talking incoherently and scaring away customers. The tragedy, of course, is all this falls on the shoulders of shop owners who pick up the bill when their businesses are vandalized. Take for example the Blue Oak Coffee Shop downtown, where - once again - the owners arrived to find their front window smashed. I hope some of those 100 additional police officers we are hiring are stationed downtown to bring things back under control.

 * ... MORE CRIME: Meanwhile crime continues unabated. The good folks out at Salty's Barbecue on Rosedale Highway were hit last month when a man (see on the video shot below) made off with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. The Kern County Sheriff's Office is looking for anyone who may know the suspect.

 * ... ADVENTIST HEALTH: Adventist Health (formerly San Joaquin Hospital) has a new marketing push that is clever, heartfelt and speaks to the good in our community. The hospital is highlighting local people on its billboards across town, including this one featuring Raji Jhaj-Brar, owner of Countryside catering.

 * ... MEMORIES: Here is another classic old picture of the old Southern Pacific Railroad Depot on Baker Street.

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: And how about this old photo from Art Moore and his Kern County History Fans Facebook page. Wow.

Pots holding shade trees for the downtown arts district are vandalized and The Salvation Army gets a $100,000 grant from The Bakersfield Californian Foundation

* … VANDALISM: It was distressing to awake Saturday and learn that someone took a hammer to one of the beautiful new pots that were installed downtown to beautify the area. The pots, which were

purchased via a grant from The Bakersfield Californian (family) Foundation, were placed throughout the arts district to hold shade trees. The pot that was demolished sat near the Ice Housing framing studio on 19th Street.

 * … GRANTS: And speaking of The Bakersfield Californian (family) Foundation, it awarded a $100,000 grant to the Salvation Army, Tehachapi Service Center to fund the creation of a Community Center that will serve the residents of the Tehachapi area. The Foundation has also offered the Bakersfield Homeless Center Job Development Program a matching grant of $50,00. If the Homeless Center can raise $50,000 within six months, the Foundation will match that amount with its own $50,000.

* … DIAPERS: My earlier blog post on a woman who tossed a dirty diaper into a car via the sun roof after watching a couple leave in on the curb drew applause from more than a dozen readers. This, from Gene Bonas, was typical:  "I just love it when the Esthers of the world seize this type of opportunity and act on it. Great story! If you see Esther in a future meeting, give her a great big hug for me."

* … BAD FORM: Frances Quiroz raises a point about bad form that I just happen to agree with. It happens when parents take their young children into R-rated movies. "There were at least three families with kids that I saw going in to this movie. A movie, that if you looked up it's reviews, has three scenes of nudity, sexual content and sexually suggestive scenes and fondling… Are you kidding me? This is what you want to expose your kids to? As a parent of two minors myself, ages 13 and 16, there are some movies that are PG13 that I won't let my kids watch. Maybe I'm a parent from the dark ages, but I care about what my kids are exposed to. Please tell me that I'm not the only one!"

 * … BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE: Four distinguished alumni of Bakersfield College will be inducted into the alumni association's Hall of Fame this week. On Thursday, the alumni group will hold a dinner to honor Dr. John Alexander, Peter Reyes, Bill Houser and Gerry Collis into the hall of fame. Some tickets are still available by calling (661) 395-4800. Tickets are $35. The event kicks off at 6 p.m. in the Bakersfield College Cafeteria.

  * … GOOD FORM: The folks over at Covenant Coffee on North Chester are sponsoring a Book Drive for Oildale Schools. Said Covenant's Randy Martin: "The goal is for each K-6 grade student from Wingland, Standard, Beardsley and North Beardsley to be given two books each ...we need about 4,000 books! The drive runs through Nov. 17. We are giving a free coffee with the donation of two books!" This is a good cause and, if you haven't been to Covenant's trendy coffee shop on North Chester, here's your chance to check it out.

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."