The nation turns its attention to Rep. Kevin McCarthy as he maneuvers to become the next House Speaker, looking for common sense on the 'kiss cam' and Rotarians pitch in to clean the streets

 * ... MCCARTHY: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy started the week posing with Pope Francis and ended with him the odds-on favorite to replace John Boehner as Speaker of the U.S.

House of Representatives. This is enough to give anyone a healthy case of vertigo, and it is just beginning. To say McCarthy's rise to power has been quick is an understatement, and the national press (and public) have a renewed interest in understanding just what makes this Bakersfield Republican tick. The Kevin McCarthy we know is now under intense scrutiny by people with their own agendas, and no doubt he will have to have some thick skin to endure the inevitable arrows thrown his way.

* ... KISS CAM: Whatever happened to common sense? Consider this story about the familiar
"kiss cam" in sporting arenas, which often features couples on a Jumbotron kissing during breaks. It's an innocent and often sweet way to show an open display of affection, but it is now under attack. During a recent football game between Syracuse and Wake Forest, a man named Steve Port said he witnessed "two incidences on the kiss cam in which women indicated they didn’t want to be kissed. Yet, the men nearby kissed them anyway to cheers from the crowd." So he wrote a letter to the university and it now looks like the "kiss cam" has seen its last days at Syracuse. Said his letter: “The instances I witnessed at the game encourage and condone sexual assault and a sense of male entitlement, at best. And they are an actual instance of assault, at worst."

* ... SPOTTED: Spotted on the placard of a panhandler, who was standing atop a freeway offramp: "Ugly, Broke, and Stupid."

 * ... GOOD FORM: If the streets of downtown Bakersfield look a little cleaner today, you can think the Rotary clubs of Bakersfield whose members hit the streets this week to prepare for next week's District Conference. Rotarians throughout Kern County and the Central Coast will be coming to the Marriott and surrounding area for the conference (the first we've had in Bakersfield in 25 years), so local Rotarians pitched in to clean the streets. The clubs are also asking downtown businesses to please sustain our efforts by keeping the sidewalks, gutters, and streets in front of their establishments free of debris.

 * ... BAD FORM: On Sunday morning, at two different intersections downtown, motorists stopped at a red light simply blew through it and took a left against the red. I understand things are slow on a Sunday morning, but this is beyond reckless.

 * ... BARBECUE: Fall means barbecue fundraising season in Bakersfield. Among the biggest, and most worthwhile: the annual St. Vincent de Paul Homeless Center BBQ. Mark your calendars for this year's event - Thursday, Oct. 8 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the center, 316 Baker Street. Chefs Gary and Adam Icardo will be grilling Harris Ranch New York steaks served with all the trimmings. Tickets are available at the Thrift Store on Baker or the night of the BBQ.  For more information, call (661) 323-2942.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy shares the historic visit of Pope Francis to Capitol Hill

"Yesterday was a historic day in Congress as we welcomed Pope Francis to the U.S. Capitol. I was humbled to meet Pope Francis and wanted to share some photos of the special moments. Also, it was ​great to have Monsignor Craig Harrison in town for this historic occasion as well."

Rave reviews for Tehachapi's Grand Fondo bike century, remembering those classic lines from Yogi Berra and a new skate park is coming to NOR

 * ... TEHACHAPI: I didn't participate in the Tehachapi Grand Fondo bike ride this past week, but it is getting some rave reviews, including this one from Deb Wells: "As a long time cyclist and runner, I was not surprised by the stats you quoted in your column today about injured cyclists. This brought to mind the recent Grand Fondo, put on by the city of Tehachapi.  This was the second year I rode the

event and mentioned to my friend while riding, how friendly the people of Tehachapi were, the spacious bike lanes and clean roads. Bakersfield could take a lesson from Tehachapi to improve the cycling experience.  Also, proper bike etiquette seems to have been forgotten on the bike trail.  A simple, on your left, while passing alerts the other rider that you are passing.  There is nothing more irritating than being brushed by a cyclist that is passing too fast and not announcing themselves. Cycling is a fun sport, making a few changes can make it a great experience for all riders.

 * ... CYCLING: And speaking of cycling, there will be a one-of-a-kind event on Oct. 10-11 at the Kern County Raceway where bicyclists will be competing on the Nascar-style oval track. This is a criterium-style race, requiring great technical skills and speed. The event will benefit CSUB and the Thumbs Up, Cancer Down event. Called the Jumpstart Classic, this event is sponsored by Pat Brown Systems, Sam Barn Productions and the Kern County raceway. The race is free to spectators.

 * ... ADDICTION: Most of us have experienced addiction, or know someone in our family who has, be it alcohol, tobacco, pain killers or any other drug or psychological dependency. It can be a painful and deeply personal experience, and Friday (today) I will discuss it with Michael Hopper at 4 p.m. on The Ralph Bailey show on KERN Newstalk 96.1 FM. Hopper, an on-air personality with the American General Media radio group, will share his own experience of getting sober and how that has changed his life.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I’d be 100 percent more motivated if Samuel L. Jackson yelled at me to get things done."

 * ... SKATE PARK: The newest and largest skate park in town is being planned by the North of the River Recreation and Parks district over at Beardsley Park. NOR is planning to convert the 50-year-old Beardsley pool into a huge skate park that will rival, and be possibly larger, than the skate park at Beach Park. NOR marketing director Lisa Plank told me it should be completed in the summer of next year.

 * ... YOGI: What better way to close than by including some of the hilarious quotes attributed to the late Yogi Berra? Enjoy: "No one goes there nowadays, it's too crowded... A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore...You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six...You wouldn't have won if we'd beaten you... It gets late early out here... If the people don't want to come out to the ballpark, nobody's going to stop them... Pair up in threes... When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

American cyclists more likely to die in bike crashes, Temblor Brewing Co. opens its doors to the public and good news for the Boys and Girls Club of Kern County

 * ... CLCLING: There are few better forms of exercise than cycling - the benefits to the

cardiovascular system are well known - but there is a dark downside to the explosion of recreational cyclists on our roads. I have chronicled numerous cycling accidents in this blog, and almost invariably they involve inexperienced or "beginning" cyclists riding beyond their talent level. Surprising? Not really according to The New York Times, which reports that "per kilometer and per trip cycled, American bicyclists are twice as likely to get killed as German cyclists and over three times as likely as Dutch cyclists." Why? American motorists are largely intolerant of cyclists, bike lanes here are rare and often inadequate and American riders are simply going too fast or not paying attention.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "The first 80 years of adulthood are always the toughest."

* ... TEMBLOR: I stopped by the new Temblor Brewing Co. to see what all the buzz was about in the community. This new local craft brewery is located in a cavernous building off Buck Owens Boulevard and is run by founders Thomas Maxwell and Don Bynum, two 30-somethings living the dream of owning their own brewery. (Maxwell is the son of local restaurateur and city councilman Terry Maxwell and Bynum the son of local developer Greg Bynum). Maxwell told me there are about 30 local investors and on the Sunday I visited, the place was busy with folks tasting Temblor's line of craft beers and enjoying entrees from the kitchen. Temblor is undergoing a soft opening with the official "grand opening" set for mid October.

 * ... RESCUE DOGS: Last week I wrote about a new thrift store that has opened to benefit the HALT (Helping Animals Live Tomorrow) rescue organization. Liz Keogh wrote to remind me that some 40 years ago, the Kern Humane Society opened its own thrift shop (aka "The Antique Store" as one client at a clinic referred to it). It is located at 2111 Brundage Lane, and the proceeds from the sales are used to fund their much-needed and successful programs for spay/neuter and limited medical assistance vouchers. Good luck to both these worthy organizations.

 * ... GOOD FORM: Jason Cohen is a financial adviser who spends hours volunteering as the president of the Boy and Girls Club of Kern County. He is understandably proud of this organization,  which was named the best Boys and Girls Club in the nation recently in several categories, and he shot me a note to remind me of all the good it does. In his words: "The Boys and Girls Clubs of Kern County now has 535 incredible employees who day in and day out work tirelessly to give our 8,000 kids a day tools to be productive and caring citizens. We started this school year with 62 sites making us the largest club in California. All really amazing facts we should be proud of as residents."

 * ... NORIEGA: Longtime business attorney Rob Noriega is joining the Young Wooldridge law firm in its business law department. Noriega, who serves as legal counsel for TBC Media, has been carrying on the practice of his late father, Joe Noriega, since his retirement 20 years ago.
"I did so with a wonderful partner, Eric Bradshaw, for many years. After Eric left the firm to join the Kern County Superior Court in 2009, I became interested in joining a larger law practice. A few months ago, I was approached by the Young Wooldridge firm about joining the firm’s Business Law Department and we appeared to match up well from the beginning. I was attracted to the firm’s long history in this community, the firm’s culture, and its excellent reputation in some core areas of legal practice."

Move over Millenials, here comes Generation Z, and the eternal quest for the best burger in Bako continues with some solid entries

 * ... GENERATIONS: All you 20-something millennials need to take notice, because marketers and researchers are now looking to the next generation - dubbed Generation Z - as the "youth influencers  

of tomorrow." While millennials are now well into their 20s, Generation X are young teens who - researchers say - are "flush with billions in spending power (and) promise untold riches to marketers who can find the master key tho their psyche," said The New York Times. Those in Generation Z were born between 1995 and 2009.

* ... TRASH: As head of the city's Solid Waste Division, Sal Moretti has a front row seat on how hard it is to deal with our litter problem. But he also sees the effort so many people put into dealing with it, and I am happy to share some of his thoughts. "We have Mayor Hall who has always lead on this issue. We have homeless center crews, inmate crews, volunteer crews like Tom Burch and the Retiree’s Crew,  neighborhood crews like Dave Collins and the South Oswell Team – all cleaning up feverishly. We (the city’s Solid Waste Division) provide refuse trucks in support of neighborhood cleanup events weekly with Andrae Gonzales near Williams School, Karen Goh and Garden Pathways off 34th Street, Isaiah Crompton and Stop the Violence adjacent to Martin Luther King, among others. Volunteers, crews and our equipment are cleaning up everywhere in the city. We have very powerful education efforts aimed at our children in the schools through a KBB After School Program. We have law enforcement issuing citations. We are not Sheridan, Wyoming. We have highways coming through, communities who are struggling with more profound issues than litter, a larger homeless population that is guilty of rummaging through trash and leaving a mess, and other challenges, but we are proud of our effort at cleaning up Bakersfield and proud of how the community has responded to these challenges." Well said.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly, and for the same reason."

 * ... FOODIE: I spent the weekend catching up on some of the best burgers in town. One day I was dining on the outstanding mushroom, bacon and cheese burger at Pyrenees Cafe and Saloon and the next the under appreciated Sonny burger at Mexicali downtown.

  * ... BROOKDALE: When did Glenwood Gardens become Brookdale Riverwalk? Whenever it happened, Brookdale is now part of a national network of independent and assisted living communities that stretch from Florida to California.

 * ... BAD FORM: Bryan Kelly spotted this example of bad form when a car pulled into the parking lot of Trader Joe's. "The nice lady opens door and tosses what appeared to be a fast food bag under her car, then takes the overly full ash tray and is about to dump it when ... I am not sure what happened but she dropped the tray on the ground and as she leaned out to pick it up, a nice cool breeze came along and dusted her hands, face and hair. She looked like the ghost of Marlboro past or a new project for Ray Mish. Too bad she could not have kept the look until October 31!"

Experts say the coming El Nino is attracting hammerhead sharks closer to the California coast, a classy new entree from Cafe Med and more help for those stray dogs about town

 * ... EL NINO: The coming El Nino may be bringing more than a little rain to California. According to experts quoted in The Los Angeles Times, the unusually warm water is also attracting great white sharks that are feeding closer to shore. The experts said hammerheads have been reported off the

coast the past two years "because warm water draws them and their food supply - mainly yellowtail and tuna - from Central America and Baja California." Chris Lowe, director of Cal State Long Beach's shark lab, told the newspaper that "it's a different ocean than we've been used to for the last 40 or 50 years." Be careful out there.

* ... SCAMS: Carol Craig knows a scam when she sees one, and the letter from "Walmart" but with a Spanish postal marking immediately got her attention. The letter claimed to be from Walmart and enclosed a check for almost $2,000 if Craig agreed to be part of a "quality control" program. Of course, once the check is cashed (and before your bank figures out it is fake) you are asked to wire $350 "to get started." Don't fall for this one.

 * ... FOODIE BEST BET: Cafe Med is getting some rave reviews about a new 12-inch pizza is it serving, using its signature pita bread as the crust. Starting at just $10.95, this entree item is on both the bar and lunch menu. If you have had Cafe Med's pita bread, you know this will be a can't miss dish.

* ... SPOTTED: A relevant Twitter post from my friend Trish Reed: "You know you're a grown up when you're excited about getting new tires on your car after work."

 * ... STARBUCKS: Next time you are in the drive-through lane at Starbucks, consider this note from Mike Huston: "On pretty much a daily basis, I pass through the drive-thru lane at the Starbucks on 7th Standard and Highway 65.  On two occasions so far this month, I have been treated to a 'free' cappuccino, courtesy of the driver in front of me. I doubt that this practice is isolated to this particular Starbucks, but certainly worth mentioning. And, while an early morning cup of coffee is a nice way to get your morning started, I submit paying it forward to the driver behind you will make you feel even better! If you are already a regular Starbuck’s donor, you deserve the free drink destined to come your way!"

 * ... GOOD CAUSE: Feel like doing something nice for a good cause? If so, head over to Sparkling Image Car Washes of Bakersfield Friday (today) where they will be hosting their 6th annual car wash fundraiser to benefit Camp KEEP. Half of the proceeds from the sale of all full service car washes will be donated to Camp KEEP to help send kids in need to camp. In recent years, more than $40,000 has been raised through Sparkling Image for the cause.

 * ... RESCUE DOGS: Here is a new twist in the noble effort to help all those stray dogs in town. A new thrift store, called Rags to Rescue and located at 234 H Street, is opening to help fund the HALT (Helping Animals Live Tomorrow) rescue operation. The store will feature home goods, furniture, and some gently used clothing, and all proceeds will go to support dog rescue and placement operations. The store opens Friday (today) and is looking for volunteers to help staff it. Consider this a "cause for paws and other treasures."

A retired judge warns that those random pictures you post on Facebook may come back to haunt you, and let's end this mess at Bakersfield College and reappoint Sonya Christian as president

 * ... FACEBOOK ETIQUETTE: Think twice before you use Facebook to post pictures of your new boyfriend or girlfriend or that wild night at the local bar when you let your guard down. According to retired Superior Court Judge Sharon Mettler, Facebook postings can and have been used in court to expose the weaknesses

and transgressions of the other party. Said Mettler: "I spent 5.5 years doing family law for the Kern Superior Court after unification. Yes, copies of Facebook pages do get admitted into court with proper authentication  yes, they do have probative value; and yes, they have impacted judicial decision making. (Mine anyway. People trying to portray themselves as sober with good judgment and the other parent as a drunken partier should not post pictures of themselves actively participating in drunken orgies."

* ... BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE: Add my voice to those who want to see a quick end to this mess up at Bakersfield College involving extending the contract of president Sonya Christian. It has gone on far too long, and the lingering uncertainty threatens to damage the reputation of a major local educational institution. Christian is popular, energetic and focused, and she presides over an institution that is the only school in the Kern Community College District (Cerro Cosa and Porterville colleges are the others) that is showing steady enrollment growth. BC serves more than 15,000 students, many of whom need remedial help to pass basic courses, a fact that is not lost on Christian. The college district board needs to extend her contract and move on before even more damage is done.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Do you guys ever just stare into the sunset and think: I locked the door, right?"

 * ... WEST: Congratulations to C.J. West, the 6-foot-3-inch junior at Garces Memorial High School, who has verbally committed to play women's basketball at the University of California, Berkeley. She will be able to officially sign her letter of intent on national signing day this fall.

* ... TRASH: Susan Reep is traveling in Wyoming, visiting her daughter, and sent me this note: "I'm in Wyoming for the month visiting my daughter,  and although Sheridan is much smaller than Bakersfield in population, it's also smaller in size. I've been walking all over town on the streets and in the parks and around the schools - and have literally seen no litter. None. I don't know what else to say. Why can't Bakersfield measure up? We have great people - but our highways into and out of town are ugly and our streets full of litter."

 * ... GOOD FORM: And this bit of good form comes compliments of reader Catherine Pitcher: "I am writing to you about our mailman who has a very caring heart. The other day, I walked down to the mailbox and the mailman was sitting in his delivery vehicle. He was looking very concerned as he was staring at a house across the street. He noticed the door was wide open.  He knew that was unusal. This house had been broken into not very long ago as well as other homes in the area. The mailman kept an eye out on the house while I went and got another neighbor to check out the house.  This mailman went far and beyond the call of duty. I appreciate our United States postal workers."

 * ... FOSTER: Longtime Bakersfield radiologist Dr. Donald M. Foster, who died in 2013, has left a lasting legacy at the University of Rochester, his alma mater. The university's website said Foster established two endowed funds in his name: the Donald M. Foster M.D. Distinguished Professorship in Biostatistics and the Donald M. Foster M.D. Professorship in Biomedical Genetics.

Environmental group calls for an end to oil and gas drilling on federal lands, Haggen grocery files for bankruptcy and a little history about Larry Reider

 * ... FOSSIL FUELS: Environmental groups are calling on President Obama to outlaw the production of oil and national gas from federally owned lands and along the continental shelf. Whether this can be done with the stroke of a pen is up for debate, but groups like the Center for Biological Diversity (a group often criticized for its hyperbole) say it will go a long way to reduce the effects of climate change. The problem, as cited in a report by the news service Vice, is in the details.
Said Kathleen Sgamma, public affairs spokeswoman for the Western Energy Alliance: "It's not a serious discussion. It's not a serious point of view," noting that fossil fuels provide about 80 percent of US energy needs and calls to 'Keep it in the ground' offer little in the way of replacements. "Groups like the Center for Biological Diversity will talk about wind and solar. Wind and solar are great, except they have only to do with electricity generation, which doesn't cover transportation or heat. It's just electricity, and it's just a very small portion of electricity now."

* ... DUST MITES: If you are one of those people who don't make your bed in the morning, you may be doing something right. That's the word from the BBC which reported that researchers believe that dust mites thrive in dark places, and that leaving the bed unmade could help kill them off. Dr. Stephen Pretlove told the BBC, "We know that mites can only survive by taking in water from the atmosphere using small glands on the outside of their body. Something as simple as leaving a bed unmade during the day can remove moisture from the sheets and mattress so the mites will dehydrate and eventually die." So there you have it; you can thank me.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "There are no bad photos. That’s just how you look sometimes."

 * ... HAGGEN: Now that the Haggen supermarket chain has filed bankruptcy, its store in the Town and Country Shopping Center on Gosford and Stockade Highway (it was an Albertson's not too long ago) is being cleaned out by bargain hunters before it closes. Many items are discounted up to 50 percent off but get there quickly, because everything is going fast.

 * ... OVERHEARD: Two men are talking about the opening of the craft beer venue Temblor and the explosion of craft brews across the country. Said one: "That old bank building at Chester and 18th is perfect for a craft brewery."

 * ... LARRY: Ever wonder how folks from out of town end up in our community? I ran into Larry Reider, the affable former Kern County superintendent of schools, and he shared how, as a young college graduate, he ended up in Bakersfield in 1965. "I was at the (college) job placement office (in Washington) looking for a teaching gig and I knew I wanted to go to California. So I went down the list of cities in California alphabetically and Bakersfield was at the top of the list. There was a job in Arvin at an elementary school and I drove down sight unseen." Fifty years later, a building bears his name and Larry and wife Sandra are retired happily in the town they call home.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You may be a Bakersfield old timer if you spent "getting gold stars for reading a number of books while attending the summer reading program in the basement of the Baker Street Library."