Downtown residents gather to oppose the widening of 24th Street and seniors at Garces Memorial High School pull off a year-end prank

* ... 24th STREET: There is a small but growing movement to oppose the widening of 24th Street downtown. A flyer being distributed to Westchester residents opposes the widening, saying it will destroy historic property and lead to a 40 percent decline in property values. The group is urging people to attend the upcoming hearings on the Thomas Roads Improvement Program (TRIP) project. Expect to hear more from these citizens. The plan is to widen 24th Street to six lanes, three in each direction, while cutting off some access to the south side of downtown by closing off some of the streets.

* ... GEESE: Darlyn Baker was heading west on Truxtun last week when traffic ground to a halt near Empire Drive. "Lo and behold, heading north across Truxtun was this family of geese.  It looked like the parents and six little ones. They made it safely across at their own pace... How refreshing to see the power of nature... to bring Truxtun traffic to a halt!" (photo by Darlyn Baker)

 * ... GUN CLUB: The Kern County Gun Club will hold its annual dinner and auction this Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Bakersfield Elks Club. This is always an interesting and well attended event featuring both live and silent auctions and drawings. Tickets are $100 each. For more information call Ken Ferra at (661) 332-4680. And speaking of the shooting sports, I ran into Mark and Betsy Ramsey at Trader Joe's the other day and they told me son Miles has taken up skeet shooting at the Kern County Gun Club. Miles is being tutored by Clifford Bolt, an ace skeet shooter and a terrific coach. Miles is thinking of entering the Junior World tournament later this summer. (file photo of skeet shooter)

 * ... SPOTTED: Driving south on Highway 99 in a pickup truck, the driver is reading the Camera Ads auto trader publication while his passenger is engrossed in texting on his cell phone.

* ... SENIOR PRANK: A group of seniors over at Garces Memorial High School posted flyers photoshopping the faces of Monsignor Michael Braun and other school administrators on a historic picture of Adolf Hitler and some of his henchmen. They also apparently glued some of the classroom doors shut to delay the final exams for underclassmen. All this was done after they had graduated but underclassmen still had a few days of classes left. This little prank was clearly in bad taste as well as being destructive, but as one parent said: "Boys will be boys. Monsignor Braun should just budget for year-end pranks like this."

* ... SWAP MEET: Reader Joe Michael was at the swap meet on Union Avenue one recent morning when he noticed a young woman wearing a matching smock and pants like a health care worker with a stethoscope in her front pocket. Michael wondered how smart it was to carry a stethoscope in such a dusty and dirty environment. "A good friend of mine living in another city had surgery ... and contracted a staph infection, which entered his blood stream, went to his heart and lungs and he died the next day..... I thought of approaching her and asking where she worked and if she planned to sterilize the stethoscope before using it, but decided against it," he said.

* ... PREFIXES: More feedback on those old telephone prefixes, this one from reader Don Edwards: "My folks bought a house in the early 1950s out by the airport. I well remember the party line and prefix days. However the EX prefix wasn't Exchange. It was Export. Just a very trivial correction."

Is an Apple Store headed to Bakersfield? And Westchester is hit with a rash of car and truck thefts

 * ... APPLE STORE: It looks like Bakersfield may finally get an Apple Store after all.  Apple has yet to announce it and no word on where it will locate, but it seems clear Apple is coming. Local attorney Mike Abril tipped me to a job posting on the networking site LinkedIn advertising for employees for a new Apple Store coming to Bakersfield. And Abril told me an employee of an Apple Store in Los Angeles confirmed that the company is indeed opening a new outlet here. One commercial real estate broker speculated Apple might end up in Valley Plaza.

* ... THEFTS: The downtown and Westchester neighborhoods have been hit with a rash of auto thefts, no less than a half dozen stolen in the last week. In one case, a woman who cares for rescued dogs awoke to find her 2004 Silverado pickup, hooked up to a rental trailer with 1,600 pounds of donated dog food, gone along with her black 2004 black Saab. Both cars were alarmed, which tells me this isn't the work of amateurs.

 * ... RUBIO: Join me Monday on Californian Radio KERN 1180 when I will be chatting with state Sen. Michael Rubio about the recent elections and what that means going forward. The show runs from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

* ... OVERHEARD: A local businessman talking to a friend: "She wants to take me out to lunch for my birthday but she's so broke she has to borrow money from me to do it!"


 * ... BIKE PATH: Longtime KERO TV anchor Jackie Parks has two young children and she shared with me her frustration over how some folks use the bike path. "I'm concerned and frustrated by the number of parents who use the bike path as an outing for toddlers. A few weeks ago I almost ran over a child who was learning to walk near the side of the path. And today the rider in front of me had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting a child who was walking IN FRONT OF HIS OWN STROLLER. Shouldn't there be some rule about this since parental common sense doesn't seem to be enough?"

  * ... PREFIXES: Irene Randolph poses a question I cannot answer: "Regarding Bakersfield telephone prefixes, wasn't Oildale's [EX] for EXport?  And another east Bakersfield prefix was Triangle?"

 * ... MORE PREFIXES: Gene Bonas added this thought to the discussion on prefixes: "I thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing about the phone prefixes that I knew growing up in east Bakersfield.  It also reminded me of a game a group of us would play called 'play the busy signal.'  Several neighborhood guys would get together and dial our own number.  When we got the busy signal, between buzzes you could talk to others playing the busy signal.  We'd give out our phone number and wait.  In a few minutes a girl would call and a conversation would ensue.  We met a lot of girls this way... Often they attended the same schools we did.  When we met, we usually met at the miniature golf course by the Green Frog Market on Alta Vista.  The golf course is no longer there, but playing the busy signal was some fun."

Voters kill the proposed tobacco tax; does this portend bad things for the twin tax hikes for the November ballot?

* ... TOBACCO TAX: I was surprised that Proposition 29, which would have added a new $1 tax on cigarettes, appears to be losing by a narrow margin. The tobacco lobby threw almost $50 million in misleading ads against the tax, but some experts think a general anti-tax sentiment across the state may have doomed the measure. If that is the case, it spells trouble for the two tax measures that will be on the November ballot to bail out higher education.


* ... NUT FESTIVAL: A group of folks who work hard to improve the image of our community are hoping a "nut festival" will bring Bakersfield some better publicity. It's all the brainchild of Sheryl Barbich and a small group of influential business people who are modeling the "nut festival" after the garlic festival in Gilroy and other successful events. The first Kern County Nut Festival will be held June 14-15, 2013, at the Kern County Museum. Organizers stay the event will feature a number of culinary creations using almonds, pistachios and walnuts, as well as games and activities for kids and adults. It's still being planned, but this could be just the thing our community needs to put Bakersfield in a better light.

 * ... JEOPARDY! Alex Trebek has hosted the popular game show "Jeopardy!" for almost 28 years, and there is a lot of speculation on when he might retire. In a recent interview, he dropped the idea that he may just drive up to Taft College to take a few courses. "Learning something new is fun," says Trebek. "When I finish as the host of `Jeopardy!' I'm going to go up to Taft in central California. They have a small college there that teaches you about oil drilling. I'd like to take a course," he says.

 * .... D-DAY: The 68th commemoration of D-Day brought this note from Bonnie Bogle Farrer. "On June 6, 1944,  my father sent me a telegram from 'somewhere in England.'  Six days after D-Day he landed at the Normandy beaches  in France as a major in the American Army. A medical doctor, he cared for both American and German wounded soldiers. Much later, he wrote his war memoirs about those incredible days."

* ... BILL RAY: If you consider yourself handy around the home, or if you aspire to be, head over to Bill Ray Tile on East Brundage on Saturday for a workshop on laying tile. Bill Ray Tile has an incredible selection of tiles around the world, and they will be giving away Dodger tickets and other prizes. Bill Ray is located at 6301 East Brundage and the workshop starts at 11 a.m.


 * ... EATERY: The renaissance of downtown Bakersfield continues with the opening of yet another restaurant, this one called Muerto's Kitchen and Lounge in the Wall Street alley just across from Guthrie's Alley Cat.  I stopped by the other day and was impressed by its menu and service (I highly recommend the white wine sangria and machaca tacos). Muerto's is in the space formerly occupied by Azul and the infamous Sud's Tavern in the 1970s and 1980s. It was originally a firehouse in the late 1800s and in fact the back patio area was the stable for the horses that pulled the fire wagons.  Muerto's is owned by Shawna Haddad-Byers, formally of Fishlips.

* ... BAD FORM: From Dr. Bill Farr, a physician whose office is near the intersection of Calloway Drive and Brimhall Road: "A teacher from Emerson Junior High dumped all of her class room crap all over the dumpster in my office, missing the dumpster and getting it all over the floor.  The trash (collectors) would not pick it up because it was such a mess. The pupils' grades and reports were scattered all over the ground."

Bako Bits: a scary scene at the downtown Chef's Choice Noodle Bar and lamenting the trash that is commonly strewn about town....

 * ... SCARY SCENE: There was a scary scene last Friday at the Chef’s Choice Noodle Bar downtown when a customer became ill, collapsed and fell to the floor. Eloise Higgins said she was asking people to call 911 to help her husband, Bob, when the Noodle Bar owner, Dr. Nick Hansa, came to her aid. "I realized that Dr. Hansa was there as a doctor, not only a restaurant owner. David Coffey, a customer, quickly put his jacket under my husband’s head. I’m sure he prevented a head injury. We would like to thank these three men who cared for my husband until the firemen and Hall Ambulance arrived. The restaurant obviously is the safest and best restaurant downtown!"

 * ... OVERHEARD: A Chevron employee who was recently transferred to Bakersfield telling a friend: "I've lived in a lot of places but never in a city where people leave their trash around like here! They just leave it in the park and walk away."

 * ... CHECKED BAGS: If you fly at all, you know what a hassle it is boarding a plane when so many people bring oversized bags to store in the overhead bins. Now the major airlines are studying ways to restrict those larger bags by forcing passengers to pay for bringing any bag on board larger than 10 by 17 by 24 inches. Alaska Airlines already has a gate check policy, meaning that oversized bags are diverted to baggage claims at $25 a pop.

 * ... PREFIXES: Steve McClaren is among those who remembers when home phone numbers had prefixes to denote where you lived, and party lines were common. "You could tell by the prefix which part of town the person lived. FA (Fairview) was central Bakersfield, TE (Temple) was south, EM (Empire) was east, and EX (Exchange) was north  (Oildale). There wasn't much west of Oak Street back then but most had the FA. Later these became the beginning of the 322, 833, 366, and 399 prefixes. I think if a person checked they would find that a lot of the telephone company central exchanges are still named Temple, Empire, etc. As technology has changed over the years, it's hard to tell where a person is at unless you are looking at the area code. Then you still can't be sure. ... I am 61 and have lived here all my life with the exception of four years in the Los Angeles area. It is amazing how this town has grown but has retained a lot of the little town feeling."

 * ... PEPPERINE: Dave and Tara Rippy said their daughter, Nicole, graduated from Pepperdine School of Law.  She is a product of Castle Elementary, Actis Junior High and West and Bakersfield high schools and later Cal State Bakersfield.

 * ... SCHOLARSHIP: Judi Anderson Gahagan dropped me a note to brag about her granddaughter, Amie Lauren Birkes, who was awarded a full scholarship to attend CSUB thanks to the The Gombos Family foundation. Amie graduated from North High School and plans on becoming a special education teacher. While at CSUB she plans to try out for the track team.

 * ... DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that 73 percent of the 8,000 CSUB students are first-generation college students and that women outnumber men 60 percent to 40 percent on the campus?

Ron Fraze bows out of the Ward 2 city council race to succeed Sue Benham, and Californian Radio prepares to review Tuesday's primary election

* ... FRAZE: Former city fire chief Ron Fraze has pulled out of the race to succeed Sue Benham in the Ward 2 City Council race. Fraze was one of the first to express interest in running for Council but sent an email Friday telling friends he had reconsidered. "We appreciate your friendship and your support, however, we believe God is leading us in a different direction. We intend to return all monies that were contributed to my campaign," he wrote. Others running for the seat in the November election include Elliot Kirschenmann, a member of the Bakersfield Planning Commission, and Terry Maxwell , a local restaurant owner.

 * ... POLITICS: And speaking of politics, are you ready to vote in Tuesday's primary election? Are you familiar with the issues on the ballot? We will be previewing Tuesday's election on Californian Radio KERN 1180 beginning at 9 a.m. We will also talk to Dr. Raj Patel of Preferred Family Care Physicians about the epidemic of diabetes in our community.


* ... BIOLA: Al Gutierrez wrote that that he was in the audience last week when his grandson, Michael McClain, graduated from  Biola University in La Mirada. "We then rushed back to Bakersfield Christian High School to witness the cum laude graduation of his brother, Kevin McClain. Kevin's next stop is the University of Arizona. The boys are the off-spring of Steve and Becci McClain."


* ... BAD SERVICE: Is there any worse customer service on the planet than ATT? I was forced to convert to ATT for internet service when I ordered DirecTV, and friends had warmed me about the company's reputation for poor service. But even I was dumbfounded after I spent more than two hours - yes that is correct - being shuffled around to different numbers and customer service reps just to locate a lost order.

* ... PHONE PREFIXES: Craig Holland remembers the old telephone prefixes back in the day. From Craig: "The central part of Bakersfield had the FAirview exchange, while the east side had EMpire, Oildale had EXport and south side of town had TEmple... I can still remember the first phone number my mom had me memorize: FA3-5146."

* ... LITERACY: The Kern Adult Literacy Council has found a new executive director to replace Donna Hylton, who resigned recently.  Ida Tagliente will fill the role on an interim basis and her position will be reevaluated in six to nine months. Board president Clayton Mongtomery said, "Ida’s past experience on the executive board and at Bright House Networks makes her a great fit for our team, and I have every confidence that she will guide us through this transition and into a stronger position."

 * ... BAD GRADE: And speaking of literacy did you know that Bakersfield is considered the "least educated" city in America? According to The New York Times, only 15 percent of the adults in Bakersfield hold a college degree, compared to a national average of 32 percent. Lost Angeles weighed in at 21 percent, Las Vegas at 21.6 percent, Boston at 43 percent and Dallas at 31 percent.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Local physical therapist Kyle Lacy says you have been around Bakersfield a while if you remember Fred Clad motors that featured imported auto brands like Jaguar, Porsche and others.

Out of town speculators are returning to the Bakersfield housing market, driving up prices but crowding out many local buyers

* ... REAL ESTATE: There is some good news and some bad in the local housing market. According to Coldwell Banker's Adam Belter (son of longtime Realtor Gary Belter) there are fewer than 550 homes on the market, a near all time low. That drives the prices up, which is good news, but it also has attracted a new wave of out of town speculators who are crowding out local buyers, often paying above the asking price. "We are in danger of becoming a community with more rentals than owners," he told me.

* ... COMING HOME: I had the chance the other day to catch up with plaintiff's attorney Daniel Rodriguez, who told me his 24-year-old son Marcos just graduated from Loyola University Law School in Chicago after receiving his undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Arizona.  Marcos is coming hope to join his mother, Sylvia Lopez, to practice law. He is a 2005 graduate of Garces Memorial High School where he played basketball and football.  "I’m hoping to pry him away from time to time to help me in a trial or two," he told me.

  * ... BAD FORM: Steve Illingworth is the general manager of Urner's and a friend for almost 20 years. He's not prone to hype, which is why I am passing along this note about what appears to be some bad form on the part of a Kern High School District passenger van.  "I was driving west on White lane on Monday morning, Memorial Day, and was passed and cut off by a KHSD passenger van (no students on board). I observed the driver changing lanes multiple times to get by other drivers who were observing the 55 mph speed limit. The KHSD van was driving in excess of 65 most of the distance between Wible and Old River. She exceeded 70 mph at least once. After I gestured to her at a stop light to slow down, the light turned green and she honked at me and then tailgated me at a very close distance for quite some time. When I called the district on Tuesday morning to report the incident they were able to identify the driver but they could not answer why this employee was driving so recklessly or why she would be driving a KHSD van on a holiday."

 * ... RIP COOPER'S: Steve Montgomery joined the chorus of people lamenting the passing of Cooper's Nursery, which has served our community for so many years. "This past Saturday I picked up a tree for a friend of my wife's and while in the office handling paperwork I noted on the wall vintage signs from past businesses of the family. One sporting a three-digit phone number and a much newer one with a phone number starting with a two letter prefix. Remember those?"

* ... COVENANT: I stopped by the new offices of Covenant Community Services, the local organization that does so much good to help current and former foster children acquire the skills necessary to lead productive lives. The stunning new offices are located at 1700 North Chester in an old bank building that his been rebranded "Covenant Coffee: Hope Lives Here." It is now a full coffee house and sandwich bar, staffed by foster youth who have been trained by some of our community's most prominent restaurateurs and business people. Covenant's chief is Randy Martin, who told me a second location is being planned for Taft at the intersection of 4th and North streets. Drop by for a coffee sometime to help this worthy organization.

Stunning new art show planned for First Friday this week and Steve McEvoy lands a job in sales art KBAK TV

 * ... FIRST FRIDAY: I am no expert on art, but I know what I like and I am impressed with some of the art that will be shown this Friday at The Metro Galleries on 19th Street. The show is called "Semblance" and it features a group of Southern Californian artists with some simply stunning pieces of work. Metro's Don Martin calls it "our most prestigious group showing ever." Curated by artist Mary-Austin Klein, he described the show as a "double decker group show with a nostalgic perspective on landscape and culture.". Also showing at Metro is glass artist Cameron Daugherty, son of local residents David and Pam Dougherty. He now resides in the Bay Area and works for a master glass blower. Another First Friday event will be a kids art opening at Ellie Jaye's Boutique. Two weeks ago Ellie Jaye's had an art class for 3-6 year olds and their work will be on display from 5 p.m. to 9 pm. this Friday.

 * ... TRASH: The city is running an anti-litter campaign, Mayor Harvey Hall and thrown his weight behind it yet some folks just don't seem to listen. Jastro Park is near my home, and it was distressing to see how the Memorial Day revelers left it defaced it with literally dozens of used soda cups and other assorted trash left behind.

 * ... BAD FORM: And speaking of bad form, memo to the driver of a white welding truck that almost took out six cyclists on Granite Road Tuesday morning: you might think it was a clever move coming within a foot of hitting the group, but it will be less humorous when you kill or maim someone and your employer gets the call from plaintiff lawyers David Cohn or Daniel Rodriguez.

 * ... MCEVOY: Nice to hear that Steve McEvoy has landed a job in sales with KBAK TV. McEvoy was fired from his job as general manager of KERO TV when the station was sold and the new owners brought in their own manager. The KBAK job allows McEvoy and his family to remain in Bakersfield.

 * ... GOOD SERVICE: Hard to think of another retail store in town that provides the kind of upbeat, friendly customer service that Hoggz Surf Shop does. Owner Chad Hoggard certainly sets the bar high.


 * ... ALLEN: Former Sheriff Mack Wimbush wrote that his grandson, Brock Allen, will be attending Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa, to play baseball. He was a catcher for the Stockdale Mustangs when they won back to back Valley championships in 2008 and 2009. He then played for the Bakersfield College Renegades and graduated this year.


 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You might be from Bakersfield if you remember Johnny's BMW motorcycle shop on 19th Street over near the new federal courthouse. Thanks to Convenant Coffee's Randy Martin for that one, and here's wishing him a speedy recovery. He spent Memorial Day weekend at Mercy Hospital being treated for two spider bites.

State Sen. Michael Rubio hits the streets to support Leticia Perez in her race for 5th District supervisor, and a warning about a common scam about town

* ...  FIFTH DISTRICT: I had a nice chat with state Sen. Michael Rubio this weekend when he knocked on my door while walking the precincts in support of Leticia Perez, Rubio's field representative who is running for 5th District Supervisor. Rubio was optimistic that Perez would beat her two opponents, Supervisor Karen Goh and Arvin's Tim Tarver. "As you go east support for Leticia gets really strong," he told me. Rubio, who served as 5th District supervisor himself, has been knocking on doors for Perez almost every weekend. Meanwhile, Goh continues to pick up support from important business people, including three influential local women (Cynthia Icardo, Judi McCarthy and Sheryl Barbich) who wrote letters to the editor in support of the incumbent. (photos of Perez and Goh)

 * ... SCAM: My friend Pete Wonderly posted this warning on Facebook. "If you need extra cash, try this - it's all the rage: Approach someone downtown, at a gas station, or at any shopping center. Say, 'I won't lie to you... I just got out of Lerdo (or Corcoran Prison, etc), and I'm trying to take the bus home to San Diego (or Los Angeles, etc) and it's $72 and Pastor Bob at the Homeless Center (or Rescue Mission, etc.) gave me $50, and I only need four more dollars.' People give them the money and they move to the next person and the next with the same story."

 * ... SPOTTED: On Granite and Round Mountain Road this weekend I counted four tattered mattresses, two worn sofas and two recliners unceremoniously dumped on the side of the road.


* ... DOWNTOWN LIVING: If you haven't been downtown lately, make sure you check out 1612 City Lofts, an experiment in downtown loft living in an 1893 era building that is being totally gutted and renovated. The building, at the corner of 19th and Eye Streets, houses The Metro Galleries on its ground floor. There will be nine apartment loft units on the second floor sharing a common outdoor courtyard. Exterior painting is almost done and black awnings will wrap the building. The building is owned by Eydie and Gary Gibson and their partners, who are working with gallery owner Don Martin to expand his business on the Eye Street side. I have toured the loft units and they are stunning, offering a downtown lifestyle that is rare in our community. For more information go to 1612CityLofts.com. (photo of Don Martin and Eydie Gibson)

 * ... GOOD DEED: Roy Parks wrote with this feel good story that happened after he and his wife had lunch at Famous Dave's BBQ.  "I requested the bill from our server, Sara. She informed us that a man had paid our tab. She was told not to tell us until after he left. We do not know this man. This random act of kindness was much appreciated. I would rate this stranger as one of Bakersfield's finest."

 * ... SHERWYN: I'm not an artist, or an aspiring one, but if I were I might just sign up for the Quaking Aspen Art Retreat put on by plein air artist Art Sherwyn and photographer Greg Iger. Art told me it will be a three-day retreat in picturesque Quaking Aspen in the souther Sequoia, between Kernville and Camp Nelson. The retreat runs July 9-11. The fee is $320 and includes instruction, food and camping fees. Call (661) 834-4396 if you are interested.