McCarthy: forget the "billion dollar boondoggle" called high-speed rail and focus on jobs, small businesses

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) and House Majority Whip, gives us his weekly view from Capitol Hill.

 "Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and Dewar’s Candy Shop and Urner’s here in Bakersfield are two great examples of that. This week, both businesses cut the ribbon for two new stores serving our community. Dewar’s has been in business for over 100 years and Urner’s for nearly a century. They are more than small businesses; they are a part of our community.

 "Ensuring small businesses like Dewar’s and Urner’s can continue to thrive is one of my top priorities in Washington, and was something I discussed this week at the Bakersfield Downtown Rotary and in a
wide-ranging Q&A session with the Public Policy Institute ofCalifornia. In addition to efforts to grow our economy and spur job creation, many of the questions surrounded energy development, California’s water supply and high-speed rail. The solutions to many of these challenges are both short and long term.

 "Take energy development and job creation for example. My colleagues and I are fighting to improve our energy supply and strengthen energy security through approval of the Keystone XL pipeline – a real ‘shovel
ready’ project that will also create tens of thousands of jobs. I’ve also been working closely with Governor Brown to ensure that permitting for Kern County’s oil producers moves forward in a timely fashion. Over the long term, we need to make serious reforms in our tax code in order to give American businesses a level playing field that promotes the competition and innovation we need to grow our economy and create jobs.

 "Solutions to California’s water supply are also short and long term. Right now, we can pump more water through the delta and focus on greater conservation, and in the long term we must look toward better
conveyance and storage. The Kern County Water Agency is a leader in water banking, and that has helped our community stay afloat during the most recent drought and the limits on water due to environmental
restrictions. The efforts our community has made are great – but we need a comprehensive solution to ensure the 37 million Californians currently relying on a water system built for 16 million people get
the water they need.

"When it comes to high-speed rail, there is really one, simple solution: let’s put the brakes on. The project blueprint and our economy are completely different from what they were in 2008 when voters approved Proposition 1A. The financing is not there now and it won’t be there anytime soon, not from the federal government and clearly not from the private sector. It’s time we gave this project some adult supervision and put our foot down, and I’ll continue fighting to ensure our taxpayer dollars are not thrown at a billion
dollar boondoggle.

Following Steinbeck's travels through Kern County and recalling an Old West shootout in downtown Bakersfield

* ... MCCARTHY: Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield and House Majority Whip, enjoyed some good press when Los Angeles Times political columnist George Skelton mentioned he might make a good senator, governor or even president. "I'm sitting wondering why McCarthy - savvy, substantive, sane and civil - and other Republican members of Congress don't run for higher office in California: U.S. senator of governor," he wrote in his Capitol Journal column. Skelton praised McCarthy for his focus on economic policies instead of divisive social issues. "I'm not saying McCarthy would be a good senator or governor, let alone president.... but he certainly has a track record in office that shows he's plenty qualified to be senator or governor."

* ... STEINBECK: One of my regular correspondents, Glenn Worrell, wrote to put some context around the idea that John Steinbeck spent some time in Bakersfield around the time he was writing 'The Grapes of Wrath.' Said Glenn:  "It is also rumored that John Steinbeck lived in the Sunset Labor Camp (under an assumed name) or spent a lot of time in the camp interviewing or talking to migrant (dust bowl people) before going back to Salinas to write the 'Grapes of Wrath.' There were a lot of Lamont residents who took strong issue with the book. It was banned in Kern County for a few years because it was critical of the Sheriff's action."

* ... OVERHEARD: On Facebook someone referred to a "nice, new car" dealership off Panorama Drive but then checks himself and says, "Oh, that's student parking at Garces."


 * ... BLOG: For those of you who read this blog online, it is back at www.bakersfieldobserved.com. Somehow I lost the ".com" address and the blog was offline for a few days, but it is back at bakersfieldobserved.com.

 * ... CORRECTION: An earlier post that referred to a shootout at "the Joss house" in old Bakersfield was apparently partly incorrect. As Margaret Lemucchi told me: "The term 'joss house' refers to a Chinese temple or shrine. When historians have used the term in connection with the shoot-out downtown I am pretty sure it also implied opium den."

  * ... JOSS HOUSE: Gary Johannesen also added some detail to the joss house story. "The date was April 19th, 1903.  Outlaw Jimmy McKinney was hiding at the Chinese joss house, having fled Arizona after killing two men.  McKinney was also wanted in Tulare County for killing two other men in Porterville.  The joss house was surrounded by seven lawmen and McKinney was ordered to surrender.  He chose to start shooting instead.  Deputy Sheriff (Will) Tibbett was killed along with Constable (Jeff) Packard in the gun battle; in addition to McKinney. An accomplice was arrested and taken to the County Jail where an angry mob tried to lynch him. Meanwhile, an additional accomplice remained hiding in the house and refused to surrender. The house was lit on fire and the second accomplice surrendered.  Obviously a sad day for the town."

* ... WHO KNEW? Did you know that East Bakersfield began as a company town named Sumner, laid out by the Southern Pacific Railroad? It was incorporated into Kern County in 1893, became known as East Bakersfield around 1900, and was incorporated into Bakersfield in 1909. Thanks to the Kern Economic Development Corporation for this bit of history.

A country crooner's tribute to Bakersfield

Las Vegas writer lobs some criticism at Bakersfield and setting the record straight on The Doors

 * ... BOORISH RANT: A friend passed along a column by a sportswriter for the Las Vegas Review Journal following the recent CSUB-UNLV basketball game.  Written by Adam Hill and full of the typical boorish rants about our community, the piece was titled "Looking down our noses at Bakersfield" and is little more than a sophomoric litany of things the writer didn't like: the half-time show, the "four, old bald guys" who sang the national anthem and even a security guard "who paced back and forth" as if he were a member of the Queen's Guard outside Buckingham Palace. Plumbing issues at a local hotel were even cited as further evidence of the dismal state of our community. I always caution my friends about being too thin skinned about Bakersfield, which certainly has its issues, but when did Las Vegas become anyone's view of the promised land? Before Adam Hill trips on his own judgmental smugness, he might remember that zip codes are never guarantees of personal happiness.

 * ... SPOTTED: Middle aged woman running across a busy Truxtun extension at midday, holding a cigarette as she waits for a break in traffic to get from the lake to the other side of the road.

 * ... FOOD DRIVE: Hats off to all the county employees who participated in the annual food drive to help the Golden Empire Gleaners. Special kudos go to the District Attorney's Office which quadrupled its contribution, going from 407 pounds in 2010 to more than 1,600 pounds of food plus monetary commitments in December. Waste Management came in first and the office of the Auditor was second. DA Lisa Green said she could not have been prouder of her office.

 * ... THE DOORS: We've finally settled the dispute between two readers about when the rock band The Doors and lead singer Jim Morrison were in Bakersfield. Charlie Wilmot remembers August 21, 1970, and Mark Elieff recalls a date in June 1968. It turns out both of them were right; The Doors visited Bakersfield twice on the dates Wilmot and Elieff remember.

  * ... URNER'S: The folks over at Urner's are opening a new location, this one focusing on mattresses and a good night's sleep. It's called Urner's Z's Please Sleep Center and it is located in the shopping center at the corner of Brimhall and Calloway Road, the same place that houses Action Sports and Prime Cut. The ribbon cutting is this Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

 * ... WHO KNEW? Did you know that  last official old west gunfight occurred in 1903 near L and 21st streets? According to accounts, lawmen were searching for Jim McKinney who was hiding out in the Joss House. He rushed out of the doors, guns ablaze, and was fatally shot several times. Thanks to Patricia Marquez of the Kern Economic Development Corporation for this bit of history.

A conversation about death with Dr. Stafford Betty and setting the record straight on when The Doors were in Bako

 * ... DEATH: How do you feel about death and the afterlife? How do your spiritual and religious beliefs affect the way you face the inevitable? These are deeply personal and fascinating questions that I will be discussing Monday (today) with Stafford Betty, a professor of religious studies out at Cal State Bakersfield, on Californian Radio on KERN 1180 AM. Make sure to join the conversation and call in at (661) 634-1410 beginning at 9 a.m.

 * ... PUPPY: I don't really care how tough the economy is there is no excuse for abandoning pets. It seems routine around here for folks to simply move discard their animals like trash. What does it say about a society that treats its pets in this way? Just the other day a neighbor found an adorable puppy in a shoe box abandoned in an alley downtown. Is this really the best we can do? (file photo)

 * ... SPOTTED: Larry Miller submitted this "digital salute" to a woman in a black Chevrolet Blazer who displayed an appalling lack of class while parking next to the medical building at Mercy Hospital.  Another driver was trying to pull into a handicapped space while "Blazer girl blocked  all traffic (and) then  proceeded to set there blasting  her horn at  the vehicles in front of her instead of backing up the three feet that would give everyone parking access. I suggest she get her sorry back-side up and leave home a little earlier if she is in that big a hurry."

* ... CONCERTS: Mark Elieff wrote to correct an earlier post on when the legendary rock band The Doors played here in Bakersfield. "The Doors were my first concert when I was 14. It was 1968. My brother Pete had tickets but had to work at Guimarra Vineyards that day (I believe in July.) He gave them to me and my sister Meegan. The tickets were about $3.50 each. The concert (really Jim Morrison) scared the hell out of me but I loved it. It was the first of about 600 courts, 40 Springsteen, 15 Rolling Stones, 15 Tom Petty and so on."

 * ... IGLESIAS: Speaking of concerts, comedian Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias was in town last week and was spotted the next day dining with his crew at Luigi's over on 19th Street, enjoying some of Bakersfield's best local food. No word on what he ordered.

 * ... DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that  Pulitzer Prize winner John Steinbeck visited Bakersfield in the 1930s around the time he was writing The Grapes of Wrath? Rumor has it he even spent some time imbibing at the historic and infamous Padre Hotel.

Memorial service set to celebrate the life of David and Karen Reis, gunned down in San Diego

* ... DEATHS: My heart goes out to the family of David and Karen Reis, the Garces High graduates who were shot and killed in a senseless incident in Coronado. The widely circulated picture of the siblings (David in his dress Navy whites and his sister next to him) seems to say it all: young, handsome and both facing such bright futures. Police will no doubt figure this out, but the loss of two promising young people is beyond heartbreaking. A celebration of life and a prayer service is scheduled today (Friday) at Garces, beginning at 10:30 a.m.

* ... SPCA: If you are a regular reader of this blog you know how fond I am of our local SPCA, which fights a daily battle to provide homes for abandoned dogs and cats. The organization will hold its 3rd Annual "Furry Paws and Foggy Nights" formal dinner with live music set for Friday, February 24, at the Petroleum Club, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Spokesman Chuck Nordstrom told me there will be a three course dinner, jazz music and a ton of silent auction items. Tickets are $85 and are available now by calling (661) 323-8353 ext. 2.  Additionally they are still accepting donations for the silent auction. To donate just call the SPCA and ask for Chuck. Formal dinners not for you? You might consider writing them a check for all the good they do.

 * ... SPOTTED: Pamela M. Wagner brought this nugget to my attention: "I was refueling my car one morning at a Chevron station when I saw the driver of a pickup empty her can of Coors light into her travel cup as she visited with her passenger.  Some people are innovative when they want to drink and drive. "

 * ... FIRST FRIDAY: It's time for another First Friday, those monthly celebrations that have really transformed our downtown arts district. These are chances to support the downtown merchants while seeing some wonderful art and hearing some dynamic music. Don Martin, owner of Metro Galleries on 19th Street, is the founder of First Friday and says they will run all year this year. So mark on your calendar and make a night of it in our emerging arts district.

* ... HISTORY: Here's a walk down memory lane with reader Jack Hood, who shares a bit of history on old Bakersfield. His parents purchased a new house on Parkway Drive in 1927. It was 1,350 square feet with three bedrooms, one bath and a two-car detached garage. The price: $6,000. At that time, all the land west of Oak Street was undeveloped. As a child, he and his friends would hop a fence and occasionally ride sheep. "There was no air conditioning or coolers.... To get ice for our ice box we would put a sign in the front window letting the ice man know if we wanted 25 or 50 pounds of ice." He also recalls the street cars that cost only a nickel to ride. "The street car had controls on each end and when it came to the end of the line it would not turn around, so the conductor would walk down the aisle and reverse the seats so that you would always be facing forward while riding." Thanks to Jack for sharing those memories.

 * ... SHORT TAKES: Scott Strickland is the owner of Sully's Chevron station over at Buena Vista and Ming avenue, where a customer complained about being charged more for gas than what was advertised. Strickland apologized, told me the digital signage is now fixed and smoothed things over with the irate customer. Also, I erred in an earlier post on the death of Rev. Glenn Puder, saying the great earthquake happened in 1953 when it should have been a year earlier. Mea cupla.

A tribute to the late Rev. Glenn Puder and some really bad behavior on our streets

  * ... SUBSIDIES: Beth Pandol is executive director of the Water Association of Kern County and dropped me a note to respond to an earlier reader's post on agriculture subsidies.  "Hats off to her for trying to minimize air pollution but her comment on farm subsidies was a bit off base. While there are farms that receive farm subsidies here in Kern, there are relatively few and our top three crops - grapes, almonds, pistachios - are not subsidized crops. Neither are carrots, fruits or other vegetables. And as for the dig at corporate agriculture, she might want to take a look at the jobs those corporate farms provide, the innovation they create and the boost they give to our local economy. Why is it people feel perfectly free to relegate agriculture to a 1910 business model while heaping praise on other corporate creations like the Apple iPad or HP laptop?"

 * ... PASSINGS: I was saddened to hear about the recent death of Rev. Glenn Puder. Rev. Puder was one of the first people I met on moving to Bakersfield in 1994 and he was a kind and decent man with a huge following. Back then, he was head of the downtown First Presbyterian Church and was active in a number of outreaches around town. Rev. Puder moved to Bakersfield right around the time of the great earthquake of 1953. The church was destroyed and he was among the team that worked to rebuild the church. He died in Napa. By way of background, Puder's wife Dorothy was a niece of the late Walt Disney.

 * ... SPOTTED: Reader Carol Black submitted this doozy. "If you are aware of your surroundings while motoring around town you will see the unbelievable. Yesterday I sat at the stop light going south on Mohawk and Truxtun. Beside me a guy in a red Ford pulled out a bottle of vodka and took three swigs before the light turned green. I couldn't call and report him because I would be driving and talking trying to catch his license number.  And today while driving on the 204 (Golden State) I spotted a quite new dark blue Chevy Impala without any kind of license, no plate, no stickers in any window.  I bet if I did that I'd get stopped within a block from home!  Just my luck!"

 * ... MORE SPOTTED: A younger woman wearing a white medical frock stands in front of Memorial Hospital Tuesday at lunchtime casually smoking. Memorial is a smoke-free campus and cannot control behavior on the sidewalk, but it's an odd sight nonetheless. Someone forgot their New Year's resolutions.

 * ... SORORITIES: Attention all sororties ladies. The National  Panhellenic Conference International  Badge Day is coming up Monday,  March 5, at the Petroleum Club. This is a celebration of sisterhood for women who were members of their sororities in college. Contact Marianne Keathley at (661) 831-8321 with questions. 

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You might be a Bakersfield old timer if you "remember when the Haberfelde Building had its own switchboard operator, just inside the main entrance. I believe her name was Edna." Thanks to reader John Strand of Lake Isabella for that piece of history.

Eight Condors spotted in downtown Bakersfield; an omen of good things to come?

* ... RESOLUTIONS: So did you dust off those New Year's resolutions yet? It's never too late to set some goals but don't forget to include charities on your list. Here's what Jayne Hotchkiss of Walker Basin has in mind. "I'm choosing the local ASPCA on Gilmore Street," she said.  "I figure humans can find help if they want it, but animals can't. Through the years I have taken in abandoned dogs, cats and  even horses that would have ended up in an auction. This will be a commitment to other animals that don't live at my ranch! I hope others follow."

 * ...  THE LIST: So what is on your list for giving this year? My list includes the pediatric care unit at Memorial Hospital, the Kern County YMCA, the local SPCA, Covenant Community Services located at 1700 North Chester Avenue and the History Department at my alma mater, Georgia Southern University.

 * ... GOOD OMEN: My downtown neighbor Keith Barnden awoke Sunday to spot what appeared to be eight California condors perched atop two tall pine trees across the street from his house. "I was shocked to look out my upstairs window to see these magnificent birds sitting there," he told me. Considering there are only about 400 known to exist, I'm taking that as an omen of good things to come in 2012. (file photo)

 * ... NEW YEAR'S RIDE: Almost 120 cyclists showed up at Beach Park for the annual New Year's Day ride up Round Mountain, where Kern Wheelmen volunteers were waiting with food and water. Too many people to name but among those I spotted were Danny Kaukola, Richard Picarelli, Greg Riggins, Jim Pappe, Kyle Lacey, Robin Ablin, Bob Smith, Greg Walker, Pete Elieff, Rogers Brandon, Kim Barker, Jack Skaggs, Hank and Patty Pfister, Brent and Cindy Bonetti, Mike Marotta, Anthony Finocchiaro, Carl Crawford, Scott Garrison, Joe Peterson, Tom Morgan, Zane Adamo, Zach Griffin, Frank Lobre, the aforementioned Keith Barnden and so many more.

* ... SPOTTED: When it comes to litter, I am never surprised by the ability of people to disappoint you. Consider this note from  Kim Bean, president of Ultra Star Industries: "Yesterday my husband and I were at the Heart Hospital visiting a family member. We were sitting in our vehicle in the parking lot when we noticed a woman getting into her newer model cream colored Audi sedan. Before driving off, she opened her door and deposited her litter which included a banana peel, a water bottle and other bits of garbage. My husband and I volunteered  five months last summer at El Capitan State Beach. Our primary duty was to pick up trash, and and we are simply amazed at how much people litter, especially here in Bakersfield. Now we notice the trash everywhere."

* ... CAVEAT EMPTOR? : Retired endodontist Dr. Robert Smith dropped me a note about some really bad customer service at the new "Sully's" Chevron gas station over off Buena Vista and Ming Avenue in Seven Oaks. The sign out front advertized $3.59 a gallon for regular gas using cash or a credit card. "So I pull up to the pump, swipe my Mastercard and the price-gallon on the pump reads $3.69 a gallon!" He cancels the sale, goes inside to tell the clerk of the mistake and "she says no, the $3.59 is for cash sale. I say, au contraire, take a look and sho'nuf, she takes a look and the sign is flashing $3.59 a gallon for both cash and credit sales. "The clerk apologizes but then says' the gal who is in charge of that is off for a couple of days so, too bad.'" Dr  Smith eventually took his business elsewhere.  "Make sure the pump price jives with the advertized price!" he said.