California universities admitting record number of foreign students, two new studies say fracking has no ill effect on groundwater and more on those Mizzou protests

 * ... COLLEGES: As our public colleges and universities struggle with tight budgets, they are admitting record high numbers of foreign students simply because they pay three times as much

tuition as California residents. According to The Wall Street Journal, a record 975,000 international students were enrolled at two and four year U.S. schools this year, representing a 10 percent jump over a year earlier. And now, predictably, some California families are pushing back, saying their own children are being pushed aside simply because foreigners pay a higher tuition. Here is how bad it is for California students: the UC system accepted 62 percent of in-state student applicants in 2014, compared to 84 percent just four years earlier.

 * ... FRACKING: Two more major studies have been released that conclude that hydraulic fracturing does not pollute groundwater supplies. The latest studies, by Yale University and the other by Colorado State, dealt with fracking operations and groundwater in northeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Colorado. According to the Denver Post, "The Yale-led study — the largest of its kind, according to a university press release — found "no evidence that trace contamination of organic compounds in drinking water wells near the Marcellus Shale" resulted from underground migration of the chemicals. The Colorado State study reached a similar conclusion. Of course, for many the debate over fracking is not based on science, but rather on emotion and the dream of a world without fossil fuels, so no doubt these latest studies will have little effect on the civic dialogue.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back."

 * ... MIZZOU: Jon Crawford weighed in on the student protect activity at the University of Missouri and Yale with this missive: "The activities of students at two universities remind me of Al Capp’s name for similar students of the 1960s and 1970s in his Li’l Abner comic strip – Students Wildly Indignant about Nearly Everything."

* ... ALIENS: Have you seen the Facebook thread about aliens falling from the sky? That's right, someone posted a picture of what looks like an animal fetus and claimed that it was an alien that had fallen from the sky in the San Jose area. Hundreds chimed in buying into the theory that the government was covering up an alien invasion. Said one post: "We see what it looks like, we know there are other life forms being generated... (but) our government works for the devil and is able to create life forms of whatever. .. God sees all and when he wants his children to know the truth it will all be revealed." Okey doke.

 * .... LOCAL HERO: Hats off to 19-year-old Abby Harwell who was shopping at Walmart near East Hills Mall when she performed CPR on a woman who had collapsed. Said her aunt Linda Daniels: "Our niece Abby Harwell works two part time jobs and takes classes at BC in the medical field... She jumped into action and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. The lady was breathing when they arrived. I think she needs a shout out for stepping in while others stood by. We are very proud of her."

Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek sends $10,000 to Taft College to fund a scholarship, downtown Bakersfield gets some love from a travel writer and the Bakersfield Californian Foundation gives out $275,000 in grants

 * ... TREBEK: Alex Trebek, the popular host of the long-running game show Jeopardy!, has developed a love affair of sorts with Taft College. Trebek has long had a fascination with oil and gas production, and in October he showed up as the emcee of the West Kern Petroleum Summit

sponsored by the Taft College Foundation. Trebek politely declined to be paid for his appearance, and instead foundation director Sheri Horn Bunk promised to create an engineering scholarship in his name. What happened next? Bunk said Trebek sent a check for $10,000 to help fund the scholarship, which Bunk called totally unexpected. "His letter to me asked if I found a good text book on drilling for oil please send that to him," she said. "The gift was unsolicited and this is one I will always remember." What's next? Trebek told Bunk he planned to return to Taft, this time to take up skydiving.

 * ... VALENTINE: A travel writer from the Sacramento Bee spent some time in Bakersfield recently, and his story cast us in a pretty good light. The piece was devoted to downtown and some of our iconic buildings and businesses: the Fox Theater, the Kress Building, the Woolworth building, the antique malls and the Padre Hotel. Said the writer: "Yet there is an undeniable charm to downtown Bakersfield’s fossilized, late-1950s feel. If you want modern conveniences – an Applebee’s and an Apple store; a Chipotle and a Nordstrom – alight to the 150-square-mile sprawl of the city’s outer, strip-mall-saturated regions. Downtown Bakersfield clings to the past with buttons and buckles, not Velcro. Sure, there’s a fancy arena and a few chain hotels anchored on Truxton Avenue. But on the grid, streets numbered and lettered with straightforward humility, the past isn’t even the past, as Faulkner wrote. This is a good thing. This is downtown Bakersfield’s charm." (photo courtesy of the Sacramento Bee)

* ... GRANTS: The Bakersfield Californian (family) Foundation awarded its Fall grants last week, handing out $275,000 to deserving non-profits. The Community Action Partnership of Kern was awarded $100,000 for a food bank solar energy improvement project, the Children First Campaign was awarded $50,000 (with an additional $50,000 in matching funds available) for a family zone pocket park, the Bakersfield SPCA was given $50,000, and the Independent Living Center of Kern $25,000. Lastly, the Lamont Women's Club was awarded $25,000 to restore the city welcome sign and the Youth 2 Leaders Education Foundation won $25,000 for a technology readiness project.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "The sole purpose of a child’s middle name, is so he can tell when he’s really in trouble."

 * ... DRILLERS: Elaine Conley added this note about the old days at Bakersfield High School. "My husband, Larry Conley, enjoyed your column  about the pep band playing 'Sweet Georgia Brown' when the basketball team warmed up. Larry was captain of the pep band in 1960-61 and remembers this very well. He said the basketball coaches didn't like it because the players started twirling the ball and acting like the Globetrotters, but nothing was ever done because it was THE Driller Band!"

 ... GOOD FORM: This note, signed simply Dee and Jean, showed up in my mailbox and is worth sharing. "This morning my gentleman friend and I went to have breakfast out at our favorite restaurant - Mel's Cafe on Knudsen and Olive. It was one of those chilly mornings where pumpkin pancakes for me and ham and eggs for my friend seemed fit.  Since we are just a little old senior couple, it was a big order. Soon our waitress came over and said our check had been paid for.  It was such a great surprise.  Made our day! We want to please say thank you to the man and his little boy for turning our day into a happy day. Sir, if you are reading this, we thank you and God bless you!"

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy raps President Obama ignores Congress, chooses to go it alone while disrespecting elected officials

 House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy gives us his weekly view from Capitol Hill:

 "We’ve all taken civics or at least watched Schoolhouse Rock, so we know that the legislative branch passes laws, the executive branch executes them, and the judicial branch interprets.

 "But I don’t think we realize the degree to which this system has been lost under the Obama Administration.  There are good reasons why the founders did it this way. It means no one branch has the power to do whatever it wants. That is a bulwark against tyranny.

 "But the Obama Administration has turned this system on its head. When faced with Congressional opposition, the President doesn’t try to reach an agreement. He goes it alone and is proud of it.

 "By design, Congress works slowly. But the President’s actions have been so blatantly wrong that the courts have stopped them before they could be implemented. From immigration to the Waters of the U.S. rule that threatened private property to regulations on hydraulic fracturing, the House worked to block the actions AND the courts said “no.” Two branches were unified saying that the other went too far.

 "And all the while precious time has been spent fighting to stop executive actions that are illegitimate and should have never been attempted in the first place.

 "The President’s disrespect for the people’s directly elected representatives, for the law as written, and for our constitutional system has become more and more obvious throughout his years in office.

 "But that does not mean Congress will stop working. As Speaker Ryan said, we will be a proposition party, putting forward big ideas done the right way. Then, the people will choose not just between two different ideas of policy, but also choose whether they want our constitutional system to work as intended or whether it will break down into rule by whatever the executive branch decides to do that day.

Supervisor Leticia Perez, a Democrat in the oil patch, takes a balanced view to the energy sector and some really good form around town on Veterans day

 * ... LETICIA: I had a nice chat the other day with Supervisor Leticia Perez, a Democrat in a conservative county who has successfully balanced the interests of the energy sector with concerns over the environment. Perez voted in favor of streamlining oil and gas regulations, despite the fact

that so many in her party have condemned fossil fuels and in particular hydraulic fracturing. How does a loyal Democrat in the oil patch explain herself to the left wing of her party? "I am raising my son here," she explained, "and I want a respectful conveyance of the facts." Among those facts: the energy sector contributes a third of the county's property tax revenue, which benefits rich and poor alike, and Kern County leads the state in the total output of renewable energy like solar and wind. That's an admirable track record that cannot be dismissed, she said. Getting off fossil fuels is an admirable goal, she added, but it is a long process and those concerns must be balanced with the interests of a long-entrenched energy sector.

 * ... EL NINO: We are starting to see the early effects of El Nino this year, and we are off to a good start. Mammoth received about 36 inches of slow during this latest storm, while Lake Tahoe recorded about a 20-inch snowfall. All this is good news for these resort areas, but we will have a long way to go and meteorologists warn we will need a steady series of storms before we make a dent in the drought. That said, the Los Angeles Times reports the wet weather will lead to fewer high smog days this year, and that itself is something to celebrate. (photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times)

 * ... GOOD FORM: Navy veteran Eugene Jackson and his wife Mavine were treated to a free breakfast at Denny's on Mount Vernon in honor of Veterans Day. "Our waitress came by our booth, picked up our ticket and said 'A young woman paid for your wife's breakfast.' We did not have the opportunity to meet her and we would like to thank her and Denny's for the breakfast treat."

 * ... MORE GOOD FORM: And Mike Swen, a veteran of the Korean War, wrote that he too was treated to a meal at a restaurant near Stine and Planz "by a young Hispanic couple that didn't look like they had anything more than we do. It was so generous." Later, at Marie Calendar's, customers insisted he go to the front of the line and someone paid for his pies. "People need to know how generous people are in Kern County," he said. "I want to thank all of them."

 * ... SEVEN  OAKS: It is easy to underestimate the impact that Castle and Cooke and its Seven Oaks development has had on the growth of the city. And now it is breaking ground on the latest extension of the master planned community with Highgate at Seven Oaks, built on 443 acres on the west side of the corner of Ming Avenue and Allen Road. No one doubts that Highgate will be a quality community, but the relentless push west, aided by the Westside Parkway, has changed the face of the city forever.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "You can go anywhere you want if you look serious and carry a clipboard."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: George Culver says you might be a Bakersfield old timer "if you remember the Bakersfield High Drillers basketball team warming up to the tune of 'Sweet Georgia Brown' when they played their home games. Not sure when they stopped doing it but it was in the 1950s and 1960s.

California poll shows those who live along the coast are more optimistic about the future, and is all the dustup about those red Starbuck cups much ado about nothing?

 * ... OPTIMISM: Would it surprise you if I told you that Californians who live on the coast are happier than the rest of us? I didn't think so, and that is precisely the conclusion of a new USC

Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. The poll found that folks who live along the coast were most hopeful about their personal finances, while those of us who live in the Central Valley and Inland Empire were the most anxious about the future. The poll found that of those Californians who had a college education, 33 percent said they were getting ahead, "while just 13 percent of those with a high school degree or less said they were."

 * ... STARBUCKS: Has Starbucks declared war on Christmas, or do we have our knickers in a twist over nothing? That's the question on social media after the company removed all references to Christmas on its seasonal red coffee cups, opting instead for a simple solid red design. One "social media personality" posted a video on Facebook on asking people to give their name as "Merry Christmas," forcing baristas to write it on the cups. The video has been viewed more than 12 million times. But not so fast. Starbucks says the redesigned solid red cups are in keeping with its policy of changing the design every year. So before we jump to conclusions, maybe a red cup is simply that: just a red cup.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I’m in a long distance relationship. Sure, some people refer to it as a restraining order, but still."

 * ... ENERGY: Here's another take on the debate over the use and future of fossil fuels, this one from Stephen Montgomery, chairman of the local Sierra Club. "The deliberate ignorance, as expressed by commentator Carole Cohen, of the important issues being addressed by the environmental community continues to be disappointing. Dismissing the issues we are addressing by calling us hypocrites for using fossil fuel in its varied manifestations foster the notion that it’s all about oil or we go back to the caves... Any intellectually honest observer can clearly see we aren’t going to solve tomorrow’s issues only with yesterday’s solutions. Citing jobs as a reason for fostering or engaging in unhealthy practices is poor policy. Dismissing science citing human impacts on global warming and air quality by some who are casting this as an ideological issue by citing so-called experts bought and paid for by the fossil fuel industries isn’t just an issue of freedom of expression or opinion. It’s dishonest... The environmental community and the vast majority of those with a sound scientific background in climatology are advocating a transition from carbon based energy to sustainable energy sources. It’s being advocated as a gradual process and attempts to accuse environmentalists of trying to shut down all fossil fuel extraction and refinement is nonsense except in the minds of the rabid right who seldom let bothersome facts get in the way of a good narrative."

 * ... MARINES: Happy birthday to the Marine Corps, which celebrated its 240th birthday this week. The Corps traces its roots back to the Second Continental Congress in 1775, which established a resolution stating that 'two Battalions of Marines be raised' as forces to land with the fleet. The Marines were on hand for the first amphibious raid into the Bahamas in 1776 under the command of Capt. Samuel Nichols. Semper Fidelis, Latin for 'always faithful,' became the Marine Corps motto in 1883.

Catholic Charities of Bakersfield dedicates a new food pantry downtown, KERO anchors Todd Karli and Jackie Parks heading east and where are those party schools?

 * ... CATHOLIC CHARITIES: Hats off to the folks over at Catholic Charities of Bakersfield who dedicated a new food pantry recently on Chester Avenue. The building was dedicated in honor of Monsignor Craig Harrison, and its opening marked the end of an extensive two-year renovation.

Beverly Camp, who serves on the board of the Fresno Diocese, said the building was totally gutted "and now it has allowed us to get going and get everything on track." The diocese held its annual Harvest of Hope fund raiser at the Kern County Fairgrounds this weekend. Last year the event raised $340,000 for the charity.

 * ... ENERGY: The debate over the role of fossil fuels in our society is nothing if not passionate. Consider this from reader Carole Cohen: "Thank you for your succinct and relevant take on fossil fuels. If your readers are truly adamant about the high risks of using fossil fuels, then I would invite them all to rid themselves of any appliance, vehicle, or other object that is either reliant upon fossil fuel to operate or was made from or with the use of fossil fuel. That will, of course, include all motor vehicles, all electric appliances, large and small, including but not limited to heating and air conditioning units, and while they are at it, they should level the house, give the clothes to the Goodwill and then stand naked on their plot of ground and enjoy life. When everyone has evolved to that state, we will then be free to replace our previous fossil fuel use with some other totally risk-free technology that is abundant and affordable enough to provide energy to all seven billion people who inhabit this planet - not just the privileged few who live in the industrial world - and has the technological potential to create a cleaner environment than already exists. Please let the rest of us know what is devised.  Incidentally, for those of you who were not alive during the 1970s, the big concern at that time was global cooling."


 * … ADIOS: Longtime KERO anchors Todd Karli and Jackie Parks are leaving the station and moving to the East coast. Karli has accepted an anchor position at WBOC-TV in Salisbury, MD., and his last day at KERO will be December 18. Parks, his wife, will stay in town until the end of the school year and join her husband then. These are two class acts in the local TV market and both will be missed.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "That depressing moment when you dip your cookie into milk for too long, it breaks off, and you wonder why bad things happen to good people."

 * ... BAD FORM: On L Street downtown a 30-something woman opens her driver's side door at a stop light and spits on the road. I could have done without that on my morning commute.

 * ... PARTY SCHOOLS: If you are getting ready to send your son or daughter off to college, you might consider this new list the nation's biggest party schools. In no particular order: Tulane University, University of Michigan, University of Colorado-Boulder, Ole Miss, Syracuse University, Florida State University, University of Wisconsin, University of Texas, Ohio University and the University of Iowa.

 * ... MORE BAD FORM: This note showed up in my mailbox from a frustrated reader: "Drivers, if you hear a fire or ambulance siren blaring pull over to the right! Chances are the ambulance or fire engine really needs to get somewhere... Once I watched a woman cross in front of the ambulance pushing a stroller."

Local theater artist David Zent suffering from throat cancer, I take some heat on my defense of fossil fuels and a shoutout to a city employee from a local business owner

* ... DAVID ZENT: I was shocked to learn that David Zent, one of our community's great creative talents in local theater, was suffering from throat cancer. Zent shared his condition in a very public way, posting a lengthy update on Facebook that triggered hundreds of prayers and positive comments. Said Zent: "I have stage four throat cancer,

involving the tonsil and tongue area, a condition which began nearly two years ago. It reached this rather dire stage because, although I applied five times for Medi-Cal insurance, I was essentially stonewalled until September of this year.... Now my life is about to change in a most radical way... I want to thank all the people out there it has been my privilege to work in theatre and music with, to know socially, to have been close friends with, to have loved. In fact, I have loved you all in my own way. Even adversaries have given me many welcome life lessons, and made me a better person." Friends have stepped up to help Zent deal with his medical expenses. To participate, go to http://tinyurl.com/pjofafd.

* … ENERGY: There are a handful of issues that seem to get folks' blood boiling (climate change, abortion, immigration among others) and I expose myself to criticism each time I weigh in on one or the other. So it wasn't surprising to get an email from Margie Bell, a retired high school journalism teacher, who rose to defend the folks from San Francisco and Los Angeles who have pledged to show up at a Nov. 9 hearing to protest streamlining local energy regulations. "Your sneering attitude towards people who may come to Bakersfield to protest the oil production fast tracking proposal is unbecoming to you as a journalist and human being. It is apparent (to anyone who knows about valley air quality issues and unacceptable oil industry practices) that you don't understand all the issues. You pander far too often to the oil industry. I'll leave it at that." Thank you Margie, I appreciate that feedback and here is my take, not necessarily directed at you: I don't awake each morning lamenting the fact that fossil fuels have helped create the world's most prosperous society, and my dreams are not focused on demonizing those who work in the sector or profit from it. Proper oversight and regulation? You bet. Hold Big Oil accountable to protect the environment and safeguard our ground water supplies? Of course. But I accept fossil fuels as part of our future until that time - and it is a long way off - when alternative energy is affordable and scalable. Devoting your life to opposing every new pipeline or power plant simply because you don't like the idea of fossil fuels (and in the absence of clear alternatives) seems foolhardy and unproductive.

 * ... NAMES: Did you know that Noah and Emma are the most popular names for boys and girls born in 2014? It wasn't long ago that those names were out of style, but they are now among a long list of "old" names making a comeback. Other classic names making a comeback include Ruby, Rose, Oscar, Josephine, Joel, Hazel, Silas, Max, Stella, Evelyn and Levi.

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

 * ... FOODIE: If you haven't tried Quig's BBQ and Catering, head over to the Garces Circle to enjoy some of the best ribs and pulled pork in town. At lunch, the aroma emanating from the brightly colored Quig's trailer makes the circle the best smelling block in town.

 * ... GOOD FORM: Linda Sheffield, owner of the Five and Dime Antique Mall on 19th Street, gave a shoutout to one of our city employees. "I am writing in praise of Bakersfield City Street Cleaning Supervisor, Damon Chow.  I called his office concerned about excessive litter around my business, Five and Dime Antique Mall, on the corner of 19th and K streets.  Within three days, Damon came to our store to personally check this out.He determined that at the time of our scheduled sweeping a nearby bar was open and using the K Street side for parking. This situation was preventing the street from being cleaned.  Also, some trees at the front of the building prevented the sweeper from getting close.  He not only got the city to come and trim the trees, but he changed the sweep schedule to come after the bar closed! This has resulted in regularly cleaned streets on both sides.  Problem completely solved in a matter of a few weeks! What a difference in the appearance of a busy downtown corner!"

Anti fossil fuel activists to descend on Bakersfield to "save" us from oil production, Conan O'Brien takes a swipe at Bako and celebrating bacon and popcorn pork

 * ... ENERGY: It was mildly amusing to read that busloads of anti-fossil fuel activists will be descending on Bakersfield soon in order to "save" us from oil production. And exactly who are these people who think we need to be "saved" anyway? And if they are using fossil fuels to get here via trains, planes and automobiles, what kind of mixed message does that send? As the Kern Citizens for Energy noted: "We strongly object to the organizations'

constant supposition that our strong community - including our Latino and other minority populations - is somehow a 'victim' of our century-old petroleum industry." And speaking of fossil fuels, I hope you didn't miss the special section in Sunday's Californian on the recent West Kern Petroleum Summit. The essay and speech by Alex Epstein in defense of fossil fuels is a must read for anyone who lives in the oil patch.

* ... BIKE PATH: John Strand of Lake Isabella wrote to comment on the idea of building a bike path up Round Mountain Road and naming it after the late ski shop owner Doug Bentz and Bakersfield College professor Norm Hoffman. "The bike path sparked my interest, not because I ride, but because Doug and I went through school together and were pretty good friends. I also knew his sister Mary Jo (now known as Marijo), his brother Tommy, and his parents Bill and Virginia. We all lived in Taft at the time. Here's my profound thought:  If this path comes to fruition, it will need a name, right? How about the" Bentz-Hoffman Parkway or the Bentz-Hoffman bike path? A fitting tribute to two stellar guys."

 * ... CONAN: Johnny Carson made a pretty good living making fun of Bakersfield, and now comes comedian Conan O'Brien following in his path. This weekend he tweeted this: "Massachusetts was named the most liberal state. Researchers almost picked California but they stopped for gas in Bakersfield."

 * ... PORK: Last week researchers told us that processed meats like bacon are bad for us. I chose to ignore that admonition and celebrated this weekend with an order of the tasty "popcorn pork" from Muertos downtown.

* ... BEST COLLEGE TOWN: No surprise here but San Luis Obispo made the Forbes list of the top ten college towns in America. The home of Cal Poly ranked seventh on the list. The top three: Chapel Hill (University of North Carolina), State College (Penn State) and Oxford (Miami University).

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I just don’t understand why Flo from Progressive needs to have an apron on to sell car insurance."

* ... FUND RAISER: Lynn Finch dropped me a note to remind us that the annual Light the Night Walk to benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society will be held at Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This is a fun event that has been expanded to include a kid zone carnival area, information booths, refreshments, the walk with lighted lanterns, and a fireworks display following the walk. All proceeds go to help with research, patient services, help with medical co-pays and other expenses.