The Christmas spirit alive and well in Bakersfield, but what happened by my old black Crocs?

 * ... CHRISTMAS SPIRIT: If you are not in the Christmas spirit, you will be after reading this note from reader Janet Fishburn.  "I just learned that people in California and Michigan have started going into K-Mart stores to act as 'Layaway Angels'.....which means someone would pay off a stranger's layaway bill so that the children in that family would be sure to have the Christmas gifts their family intended for them. We went to the Wilson Road K-Mart yesterday and were able to pay off a bill for a single mother with three children. (the gifts were still in the shopping cart so we could see them, but were ready to go back onto the shelves, because she had missed some payments).  The store manager, Patrick, was most helpful in getting this set up, and it only took us 10 minutes in the store to take care of this and write her a quick Merry Christmas note. And then Patrick called her to inform her that a 'Layaway Angel' had taken care of her bill. Hopefully, she was very happy about this.....it certainly made us feel good!

 * ... THEFT: It's easy to get jaded about petty theft, but sometimes (like when a pair of old black Crocs was snatched off my porch) it just makes you shake your head and wonder. For Olivia Garcia, editor of BakersfieldLife magazine, her surprise came when her double jogging stroller disappeared from her front porch in a desirable northeast neighborhood. "It's a sad state when you have to worry about leaving a stroller out by your front door and risk it being stolen," she said. "Really. Who steals a stroller?" Well, someone does and it may just show up at some yard sale next to my tattered old black Crocs. And now that we're on it, this is a good reminder to be vigilant about UPS or FedEx deliveries. The thieves are out there in force.

 * ... KAPPA SIGMA: An earlier blog post mentioning the Kappa Sigma fraternity drew this response from Joseph Gianquinto: "Brother Beene, fortuitous as it may seem, when I provided the information regarding the return of my sons to Bakersfield to make their lives, I did not mention their fraternal memberships, nor mine for that matter.  I became acquainted with the Five Friends and Brothers .... in 1960 at the then Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, Beta Chi Chapter.  My older son took the walk at Northern Arizona University, and my younger at Colorado University.  We are all three proud Kappa Sigma brothers, and now we know you as a brother as well."

 * ... SPOTTED: A young mother with three very small children is spotted jaywalking amid afternoon rush hour traffic on Ming Avenue near Toys 'r Us.

 * ... DUSTIN'S DINER: If you are out seeing the Christmas lights of Bakersfield make sure you swing by Haggin Oaks to visit Dustin's Diner, the hot cocoa and cookie stand that has raised thousands of dollars for the homeless over the past decade. The original Dustin - Dustin Kilpatrick - is now long gone, having graduated from USC in engineering, but his cocoa stand remains staffed by energetic neighborhood kids. It will be open until Friday, December 23.


* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You might be a Bakersfield old timer if you remember the "Chubby Steak at Tiny's on the Northeast corner of 18th and Chester, the 25-cent burgers at Burger Haven at 34th and Union, and Axelrod the Basset hound mascot of the old Flying A gas station on the same corner!" Thanks to Craig Holland for submitting this memory.

The oil patch is booming and a group of 30-somethings create a shadow group to promote good government

 * ... ENERGY: There is a lot of good news on the local energy front. Oil and gas production is booming, good jobs are being created and now I read that U.S. petroleum imports are down to just 46 percent of total consumption, compared to 60 percent just a few years ago. That's according to the Wall Street Journal which says U.S. crude oil production has risen by 18 percent since 2008. "The reason is the appearance of a new source," the paper said, "'tight oil' which is extracted from dense rocks. In 2000 it was only about 200,000 barrels per day, 3 percent of total output. Today is is about a million barrels per day." All good news for our local companies and suppliers.

 * ... GOOD GOVERNMENT: Keep your eye on a new organization in town that is supporting responsible and sustainable government. It was created by three 30-something local businessmen - John Paul Lake, Patrick Wade and Chad Hathaway - and it promises to be an important new group to hold our local politicians accountable. It's called "Kern Citizens for Sustainable Government" and no doubt you will be hearing more from these guys in the days and weeks to come. They've got the smarts, the money and the connections to make things happen. Lake works at his family's business Rain for Rent, Wade owns Precision Pharmacy and is a member of the city Planning Commission and Hathaway is in the oil business.


 * ... OVERHEARD: A young woman at a Starbucks orders two iced green teas, one with three packets of sugar and the other with 20. That's right, 20 packets of sugar.


* ... ONCE A DRILLER: Jean Park wrote to congratulate Bakersfield High School on its undefeated season and Valley Championship. "My husband, Carl Park, played on the 1951 Valley Championship team. That game was 60 years ago almost to the day. Game was in Fresno, not sure if same school, but same town. It was a good game for Carl and good day for me. First time we met and still going strong 56 years later!" (Driller photo by Henry Barrios)

 * ... LIGHTS ON: I stopped by a neighborhood gathering in La Cresta recently to watch the lighting of a huge Christmas tree outside and join in the revelry. For the past 20 years, folks in La Cresta gather along a stretch of Hermosa Drive to light the tree and enjoy the Christmas spirit. Cindy Anspach and Kathy McDermott organized the event with That's Amore Pizza supplying dinner via a portable pizza oven mounted on a trailer. Neighbors brought appetizers and desserts and it was a remarkable way to usher in the season. Other neighbors involved included Jane and Bruce Haupt, Frankie Villani, Greg McDermott, and Reed Adamson.

 * ... SPOTTED: From reader Harry Love: "At the corner of Merle Haggard Drive and Highway 65 next to the Choco Taco stand at the Shell station. Two signs: 'Now Open Unit 7 PM,' with one underneath 'Obama Bin Lyin.' Apparently tacos are political or not liked by Democrats."

Californian digital edition marketing plan rolls out with new bus wraps

 The Bakersfield Californian rolled out a new marketing campaign to focus attention on its new digital edition of the newspaper, an exact replica of the print edition. Company artist Billy Simkins designed the bus wraps.

Local Bakersfield businessman spents eight days in an adventure race across Tasmania and lives to tell about it

 * ... EXTREME SPORTS: By day Glenn Bland runs a successful solar company (Bland Solar) but the 46-year-old Bakersfield native spends his off hours testing his body in extreme athletic events. Bland just returned from eight days in Tasmania, where he completed in the World Championship Expedition Race that drew 80 of the best four-man teams in the world. It included 130 miles of hiking, 200 miles of mountain biking, 100 miles of kayaking, navigation, and sleep deprivation. The Tasmanian government granted special permission to allow the teams to traverse some incredibly rugged - and beautiful - terrain, a true wilderness adventure. Bland previously competed in a similar race in Australia.

 * ... HART PARK: I stopped by Hart Park Sunday (is there a more beautiful setting in town than Hart Park this time of year?) to catch a cyclocross race put on by Sam Ames of Action Sports. This was a warm up race before the cyclocross state championships set for January 21 at Hart Park. Pete "the voice" Wonderly provided the sound stage to announce the action and the hills were teeming with cyclists. Spotted on the course were local riders Mike Noel, David Rous, Leo Hinds, Adam Hensley, Carl Crawford, Wayne Rosenthal, Matt Clark, Anthony Finocchiaro, Jim Pappe and Gareth Feldstein.
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* ... MEA CULPA: Several readers reprimanded me for omitting Wasco High in my post about local schools vying for football Valley Championships. Though the Tigers fell short Friday night, they had a stellar year and deserve some recognition. Well done, lads.

 * ... WINNER: Hats off to Chris Laramy over at Culligan Water of Bakersfield for winning last week's Pig Skin Pick 'em contest in The Californian. He is now a two-time winner and certainly seems to know his football.

* ... FOX HISTORY: Phil Foster wrote with an interesting bit of history about his family and the Fox Theater. Turns out his father and two brothers came to Bakersfield in 1929 and all were musicians. His uncle, Roy Foster, played the organ in the orchestra pit at the Fox during the 1930s and 1940s. "The orchestra pit was on a hydraulic lift and came up during the intermissions and Roy would play for the entertainment." His father, Les Foster, taught the piano and accordion and his other uncle, Lawrence, taught the brass instruments."

 * ... MORE FOX: Emily Shapiro reminded me that St. Louis, where she lived most of her life, also has a Fox Theater that was built a year earlier than our own Fox.

 * ... SPCA: Local Realtor Patsy Sadler wrote with a well deserved pitch for our local SPCA. "When I dropped off some blankets at the SPCA I found out they operate solely on donations.... no government help!  I bet a lot of people don't realize that, so I just thought I'd drop a line and maybe people would be more giving to that organization that always need more dollars. They will keep a dog or cat until it dies no matter how old it is."

* ... BOY SCOUTS: Tom and Jack Saba asked that I give a plug to a fund raiser for Boy Scout Troop 147, and who is going to say no to the Scouts? The troop is holding its "Great American Bowl Off Junior and Adult Tournament" on Saturday, January 28, at AMF Southwest Lanes on Wible Road. It's only $20 to enter and that includes a slice of pizza, soda and bowling shoes. You need to be signed up no later than January 3. Call Tom or Jack at (661) 304-1993 or contact them at tom@sabaagency.com.
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McCarthy: President Obama's over regulation a burden to business, and now comes the farm dust ruling

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) gives us his view from Capitol Hill. In his words"

 "Did you know that the Obama Administration has 4,257 new regulations in the works, 219 of which will each cost over $100 million annually? When a rule or regulation tops the $100 million mark, it’s considered a ‘major rule’ – and there have been a lot of them proposed under the current Administration. Federal regulations cost our economy an estimated $1.75 trillion every year, and the worst part is all of them come from unelected federal bureaucrats. I have heard countless stories from local job creators about the massive costs of complying with regulations – and my colleagues and I have been listening.

"This week, Republicans and Democrats in the House passed the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which requires a congressional up-or-down vote on any ‘major rule.' Voters across the nation have loaned Congress the power to make laws, and with this legislation, the people you elected will decide whether or not major regulations get implemented.

 "One rule that could be considered ‘major’ and would particularly impact Kern County is an EPA proposed regulation on farm dust. Earlier this week, the House passed the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act, which prohibits EPA from implementing tighter standards on dust for one year and bans the agency from regulating dust that is kicked up in general rural activities (nuisance dust) if it is already regulated by a state or local entity. EPA already regulates farm dust under the Clean Air Act, and our farmers and ranchers are in compliance with the current standard.  But complying with the current rules already costs money. One Arizona cattle operation paid $400,000 in 2009 just to comply with the current standard. As one of the state’s top producers of agricultural commodities, Kern businesses, farmers and ranchers would be significantly impacted by stricter standards.

"President Obama has said that where ‘we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we will fix them.’ We’re giving the President an opportunity to do just that, and I hope he takes it.

 "This week, I had the great pleasure to spend time with “Cooks from the Valley,” founded by local attorney Tom Anton and includes a group of dedicated Kern County residents who volunteer both their time and resources to cook steak dinners at military installations here at home and across the world. They came to Washington, D.C. this week to cook a steak dinner for midshipmen and cadets before the Army-Navy Football Game, serving over 10,500 people in Annapolis and West Point. These selfless men and women epitomize what the holiday season is all about.

A CSUB fraternity pitches it to help a non-profit and a big weekend for hometown sports

* ... KAPPA SIG: The Assistance League of Bakersfield held its annual Chez Noel home tour last week and volunteer Dona Chertok said it was another success. Dona also wanted to thank members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity at CSUB for lending their brawn to help set up the group's chapter room to accommodate vendors. "Some of these young men also staffed as docents at the homes on the tour and the ladies loved them!" she said. Fraternities are not often portrayed so well in the press, so I am happy to share Dona's note. And being a Kappa Sig myself from another university in the South, it makes me proud to see these young men doing well.

* ... FOOTBALL: This is a big week for high school football with Ridgeview, Garces and Bakersfield High all going for Valley Championships on their home fields. BHS plays Bullard, Garces goes up against Clovis North and Ridgeview takes on Kingsburg. As reader Susan Chaidez  reminded me: "We have hundreds of local boys aiming for the top spot with countless hours of dedication on the field and in the classroom; blood, sweat and tears being poured into this amazing show of athletic ability and coaches who do this for the love of the game and the development of the kids!"

 * ... SCHNAUZERS: Gil Nolasco read my blog post about the small dog sipping out of its owner's Starbucks cup and recalled the time with his own mini Schnauzer did the same thing. "Too young to know about hot items that humans drink he slams his face into the cup to lap up the pungent liquid  ... (and) he immediately jerks up and shakes his now coffee covered beard to spray coffee all over me and the floor. Needless to say he learned his lesson!"

 * ... BROCK'S: Twilla Klassen was in Santa Barbara recently and dropped by a consignment store on State Street. "And what did I see but a fur coat with a Brock's label and it looked really good too!"

 * ... SABA'S: Larry Tiller wrote to send kudos to one of our community's great local businesses. "Mr. Beene, you have listed some very fine men's stores but leave off a truly great one.  Saba's Men Store was opened at 916 Baker St. in 1934 and remained at the same location until closing in 2008.  Saba's was run entirely by the Saba family during this time. As a lifetime customer of Saba's I was made to feel like family when entering the store. With their own tailor shop in the store, Saba's was a throwback to a time when customer service was a priority. We will never see the likes of this great men's store again."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Regular contributor Patsy Sadler says you might be from Bakersfield "if you remember watching the five o'clock news with Burleigh Smith, Marge Stiles and Hazel Allen advertising her face cream stating it's so pure you can eat it, swallowing a spoonful.  Was probably just mayonnaise!"

One woman's testimony to the Christmas spirit and more bad form involving cell phones at the Post Office

 * ... CHRISTMAS SPIRIT: Many thanks to reader Alice Brown for dropping me a note that brightened my day. She returned home last Sunday to find a plate of cookies left at her house with a note attached. "It said I had been RACK’ed," she said. "The card also said, this Christmas season, we are counting down the 25 days of Christmas by performing 'Random Acts of Kindness' each day. So often we get caught up in the shopping and forget the real reason for Christmas.  I just want to say thank you to the wonderful and caring person who shared this with me and I will be sure and continue this 'random act of Christmas kindness.'  Merry Christmas to everyone!"

 * ... STINSON'S: I stopped by the annual Customer Appreciation Party over at Stinson's Stationers to touch base with owner Ben Stinson. Every year he opens his warehouse to 800 customers, treating them to a barbecue lunch and drawings for dozens of prizes, including flat screen televisions. Ben takes to a microphone like a Southern minister at a tent revival, regaling the crowd with stories while promoting his business. Stinson's is just another example of a locally owned, family business that has weathered the downturn well.


* ... BAD FORM: This from former local TV anchor and now manners columnist Lisa Kimble Edmonston. She pulled up behind the downtown Post Office to mail a letter and sat there until she realized the woman parked in front of her was on her cell phone. "I got out of my car, walked my letter to the mailbox, tapped on her window to alert her that she had a line of six cars deep behind her ... and she was totally unfazed!"


* ... WHO KNEW? Did you know that the television  series “Pan Am” co-stars Bakersfield native Kelli Garner? She’s also had a number of film roles with actors like Drew Barrymore and Leonardo DiCaprio.

 * ... CROSS COUNTRY: East Bakersfield High School cross country teams of the 1960s will be honored at the "Run for the Dream" indoor track and field invitational meet, January 21, 2012.  Bob Farley, former cross country and track coach at Fresno State, researched and found East Bakersfield High School was the most successful cross country program in the valley through the 1960s. The guest speaker will be Billy Mills, Olympic gold medalist of the 1964 Olympics (documented in the movie "Running Brave"). The meet will be held at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, starting time 1:30 p.m. Thanks to  Richard Villalovos for sharing this.

* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Dennis Horack writes that you may be from Bakersfield if "you remember all the great men's stores we had when shopping for a sport coat or suit: Coffees, Caspers, Harris and Franks, Richmond Brothers, Seilers and Robert Hall. Back when dressing up for church or the office was the norm, my closet was full of sport coats and suits from the above retailers. I say out with today's casual manner of dress and back to the dress-up mode. My opinion is probably in the minority, but I am old school."

Bakersfield listed among the top unhappy cities in America, but here's a dissenting view

* ... SAY WHAT? Men's Health, the magazine that loves to compile "best" and "worst" lists, is at it again. This time it rates the top 20 "Frown Towns" across the country, places where folks are just plain unhappy about everything from unemployment to foreclosures. And sure enough, Bakersfield made the list along with Sacramento.  Florida cities led the list (no doubt because of the housing crisis) with St. Petersburg, Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville and Orlando near the top. Pardon me, but my view is Bakersfield has shown real resilience in this long recession. Memo to Men's Health: personal happiness is not determined by one's Zip Code.

 * ... OUR TOWN: To that point, here's a valentine to our fair city. Twilla Klassen wrote that she was in a grocery store when she and another shopper allowed a man with one item to cut in line. "He paid and left but when we checked out he had purchased a holly plant for each of us. What a great way to start the Christmas season. Blessings on him and his family."


 * ... TV ANTENNA: Bill Deaver wrote with this nugget about the old television antennas. "The item about the woman turning the TV antenna reminded me of a time back on the 1960s when my wife and I moved to a home on Mojave's west side. By the time we were moved in it was raining cats and coyotes (desert weather!). So I hooked the TV lead to a pair of metal pants-stretchers (remember them?), and we got a great signal until I could get up on the roof and install an antenna. It helped that the LA TV antennas were on top of Mt. Wilson which was visible from Mojave!"

 * ... SPOTTED: Woman driving a black Mercedes SUV pulls through a Starbucks drive through lane with coffee in hand, but offers her dog the first sip before moving on.

 * ... AIDS QUILT: Eight panels of the national AIDS quilt will be on display Tuesday at The Metro Galleries on 19th Street. The public is invited to view the exhibit from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. At 6 p.m. there will be a fund raising reception - hors d'oeuvres, no host bar and live music - to benefit Bakersfield's AIDS Project and Ricky's Retreat. The cost is $20 a person.

 * ... BOYS AND GIRLS: Another worthy fund raiser will be held Tuesday, December 5, at the Stockdale Boys and Girls Club behind Sam's Club on Gosford Road. It's the club's Bunco Night to benefit children living in homeless shelters. The cost is $35 per ticket and the fun gets under way at 6 p.m. For more information call Carole Cohen at (661) 496-4882.

 * ... WHO KNEW?: Did you know that the Fox Theater opened downtown on Christmas day in 1930, when movies were still called “talkies?” Other cities with Fox Theaters include Atlanta, Brooklyn and Detroit.