It looks like we will be skiing on Mammoth Mountain through July thanks to a heavy snowpack, The Mark to roll out a new menu and clearing up the story of Vincent Clerou and the land speed record on a bicycle

* ... MAMMOTH: I heard some good news the other day from a friend who attended an economic summit in Reno, Nevada. During a breakout session on the effects of the seasonal snowfall, there was this good

news from a climatologist:  "They are predicting we will be skiing at Mammoth through July Fourth." And, the same may be true for the closer to home Alta Sierra resort, where friends told me the snow is plentiful and the skiing spectacular. What a change from just a few years ago.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "How many boxes of these Thin Mints do I have to eat before I start to see results?"

 * ... THE MARK: Expect some big changes at The Mark downtown which will be rolling out a new menu over the next several weeks. Jeramy Brown, who proved his flair for the culinary dramatic over at Valentien's, is now running The Mark and will be putting his own personal touch on both the bar and more formal dining room.

 * ... PET LAND: Michael McGlasson wrote to weigh in on the old Thompsonss Pet Land, which he says was located on 19th and N street. Prior to the 1952 earthquake, he said that building was the Greyhound bus depot. "The buses had a covered drive through on the west side from the alley to 19th Street. One building to the east was Tourist Garage and they did maintenance on those buses.
After the earthquake many bricks were salvaged from Tourist garage by anyone who wanted to haul them off. I helped my father doing this and still have some in use."

 * ... VINCE CLEROU: Let's finally set the record straight about the time Vincent Clerou sponsored the land speed record on a bicycle in town. This note from his daughter Romaine Catherine Clerou says it all: "Just for the record, my father, Vincent Clerou, would want the facts given about the land speed record of Alfred Letourneur. My father organized the event. In a pictorial advertisement for Santa Barbara Savings, he tells about the event. According to my father, 'Then in 1941, under the sponsorship of Schwinn, I arranged an attempt at the bicycle land speed record. We built a windscreen on the back of Ronney Householder's midget racer and brought over French 6-day
marathon cyclist Alfred Letourneur. On a long stretch of Highway 99, south of town
we broke the record at 108.92 miles per hour." My father told many times he arranged with the California Highway Patrol to shut down that section of Highway 99 for that race record."

 * ... MORE CLEROU: Henry DeSimas worked at Vincent's Cyclery during the 1980s and fondly recalled those days when "I was fortunate to work in a place alongside of people like bike mechanic and former six day racer Charlie Morton, who also by the way was the captain of the US cycling team at the 1936 Berlin Olympics! Not to mention his amazing collection of antique bicycles going back to the big high wheelers that I tried and failed to handle, I guess that's why they call the modern double diamond style the 'safety bike.' As Paul Harvey would say, 'now you know the rest of the story.'"

 * ... MEMORIES: Nancy Bryant wrote to recall the days when she was a child and "there were photographers on the corner of 19th and Chester who would take random pictures of people, and then ask if you wanted to buy them. If so, you would pay a small fee, and the pictures would be mailed to you. I have half a dozen or so great pictures of members of my family, me included, walking on 19th Street in the late 1940s and early 1950s."

More bad news on crime around town, some hot new eateries cluster on California Avenue and we will put a spotlight on the sleep aid Ambien this Friday on The Richard Beene Show

 * ... CRIME: How many people do you know who have been touched by crime recently? It's

rampant all across town as petty criminals fresh from being released from prison spread out across our community. The other day, I learned the step father of a friend had died and within days, his house had been burglarized, cleaned out of valuables and trashed. That's right, it wasn't enough to take the flat screen television and assorted electronics but they went through the house throwing porcelain collectibles against the walls and wreaking havoc.

* ... GOOD FORM: Here is an anonymous shout-out to a school crossing guard who makes sure all students arrive safely: "I normally avoid all school zones, particularly at drop off and pick up time. Too hectic and crazy. My one exception is driving past Endeavour Elementary on Meacham Road. The main crossing guard handles children, parents and vehicles with aplomb. He always has a friendly smile. No problem at all driving through that bottleneck thanks to his excellent skills. Signed 'smiling lady in white pickup truck.'"

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Fact: If you report for work from 9 to 5 but just hide in the bathroom all day, by law they have to keep on paying you."

 * .. HOPE: Amid all the post inauguration vitriol and protests, I found a bit of solace (and hope) when I gazed out my back window and saw my camellias for beginning to bloom. These camellias, planted when my downtown home was built in 1934, are my steady symbol of hope, new beginnings and reconciliation.

 * ... GOOD EATS: One of the best corners for good in town is the new shopping center on California and Easton Drive where - for you old timers - Three-Way Chevrolet used to stand. It is now home to the Habit Burger, Rubio's Coastal Grill, Starbucks, the Corner Bakery and Blaze Pizza. In typical Bakersfield fashion there aren't enough parking spaces but the food is worth the search.

 * ... AMBIEN: There has been a lot of talk recently speculating that a bad reaction to the sleep aid Ambien may have contributed to the suicide of City Councilman Jeff Tkac. Do you take Ambien? Do you know people who do? Have you read the horror stories about how some of the adverse reactions to taking the drug (driving at night and binging on food and not remembering a thing)? On Friday, I will interview Dr. Raj Patel of Preferred Family Physicians to have an honest conversation about Ambien, its benefits and dangers, on The Richard Beene Show on KERN NewsTalk 1180 AM/96.1 FM from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

 * ... VINCE CLEROU: Here's some more background on that land speed record that a cyclist set back in 1941 here in Bakersfield, courtesy of local Realtor Robin Ablin: "I believe there is an exhibit at the Home Depot Center Velodrome in Carson which includes the custom Schwinn Paramount bicycle used by French pro cyclist Alfred Letourneur on May 17, 1941, out by Buena Vista Lake somewhere, and photos and plaque describing the event. Yes, Vincent Clerou was very involved. I think he was the primary organizer. Vince was a big Schwinn dealer, and very active in racing. I believe Charley Morton was also involved - he worked for Vince - and was a member of the 1936 Olympic road cycling team, and was also a professional six day racer. I think they actually boarded over several miles of railroad track southwest of town which the car and bike road on."

California lawmakers plan to turn the state into a "laboratory of resistance" to a Trump administration, good news for local eaters like Uricchio's Trattoria and Sequoia Sandwich Co. and dealing with an upswing in downtown smash and grab car break ins ...

 * ... ONLY IN CALIFORNIA: Well, you knew this was coming. Expect California to evolve into a "laboratory of resistance" (in the words of the New York Times) to resist the policies of a President

Donald Trump. The Times even went so far to refer to it as "Calexit," a clever take off on the Brexit vote when the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. But this is serious stuff and an all out war between a rebellious state and the federal government could quickly turn ugly and cost the state potentially billions of dollars in federal aide for programs like the infrastructure rebuilding that the Trump team is championing. Here is an example of what is not helpful: Sheila Kuehl, a member of the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, is urging government workers to disrupt Trump programs that don't suit California's needs in what she calls Operation Monkey Wrench.

* ... SEQUOIA: The 18th Street branch of Sequoia Sandwich Co. is within weeks of opening its new kitchen and catering site next to the popular downtown eatery. The expanded kitchen will allow greater capacity but it will also feature "to go" salads and sandwiches so folks don't have to wait in line during those noon crunch times.

 * ... APARTMENTS: The upscale new apartment downtown, called 17th Place Townhouse, has set its ribbon cutting for Friday, January 27. The 44-unit complex features apartments in the 1,200 square foot range and will put to the test the idea that people will start viewing the area east of Chester Avenue as suitable for downtown living. I think it's a good bet that this project will be wildly successful. The developers are Ward 4 City Councilman Bob Smith (a big advocate of urban infill) and his son Austin Smith.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Just realized my cat could be covered in tattoos and I wouldn't even know."

 * ... HAPPY EMPLOYEES: When was the last time you dined in a restaurant and your server gushed about the quality of the food and how each dish is made individually with fresh ingredients? Not to mention how nice and caring the owners are and how they treat their employees like family. It happened to me the other day while dining at Uricchio's Trattoria, and server Ashley Bledsoe shared her pride at working at the family owned eatery. (Bledsoe has worked at chain restaurants where meals come frozen and prepackaged and was amazed at the attention to detail at Uricchio's). All this just further buttresses my belief that the best food in town comes from locally owned kitchens. So hats off to owner Claire Porter and her late father, Nick Uricchio, who had the vision to bring quality food and white glove service to downtown Bakersfield.

 * ... CRIME: Something has to be done about the recent rash of smash and grab robberies involving cars and trucks in the downtown area. In the past month, I have heard of no fewer than six people who have had their car windows smashed while parked downtown in the early evening. These are not late night crimes but rather all this is happening in the 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. hours on 18th, 19th and 20th streets as folks are dining at places like Jin Sushi, Muertos, The Mark, The Padre Hotel and other popular downtown venues. This is the kind of petty crime that will drive people away from our emerging arts district.

 * ... MEMORIES: Lamar Kerley shared some memories about growing up and visiting the old Thompson's Pet Land, located on the northwest corner of 19th and O streets in the 1960s and 1970s.
"I think there is still a mural of a Toucan above the corner door.  Every weekend day that I could convince my mother to drive my brothers and I downtown, we would spend hours gazing lovingly at the tropical fish, the reptiles, the puppies and kittens. This store was nirvana for us, and many other Bakersfield children. We could pet the puppies and gaze at the large parrots, knowing that they might snap off our fingers if we put them too close. Looking at this store, I am flooded with the fondest of memories. I bet that I am not alone."

Another storm will bring steady rain and snow to California through the weekend, Rod and Julie Crawford take me on a tour of the Silver Fox Starlite Lounge, and Cafe Med gets some 5-star love from a customer

 * ... RAIN AND COLD: Brace yourself because we are in for yet another weekend of steady rain, snow in the mountains and possible road closures. Is this California? Is this the Kern County I have

known for so many years? The rains this winter have been spectacular - and needed - but we are desert rats here and occasionally I admit to missing those morning when it is 80 degrees at 6 a.m. Let it rain, and snow, but when the sun returns, I will welcome that too.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I love my husband. But, what really motivates me to stay married is how much weight I'd have to lose to date again."

 * ... SILVER FOX STARLITE: I took a tour of the old Silver Fox Lounge that is being lovingly restored by Rod and Julie Crawford, the couple who turned Pyrenees Cafe into one of the most popular spots in town. The couple purchased the 18th Street restaurant across from Mexicali (it had been renamed the Castaway Lounge and its iconic Silver Fox sign donated to the Kern County Museum) and are determined to return it to its nostalgic form of 40 years ago, when the best places in town were venues like The Town Casino in the old Padre Hotel, Suds Tavern, The Mint and of course the World Famous Alley Cat. "The Fox definitely won't be the dive that they once knew but not so nice that you are going to feel under dressed," Rod said. Longtime restaurateur and Crawford friend Andrew Willingham is helping in the restoration and will likely help run the place. My bet: expect the Crawfords to deliver a menu of outstanding food and service, served in a lively, homey atmosphere with plenty of outdoor seating. The new Silver Fox Starlite Lounge should be opened by sometime in February.

 * ... 18th STREET REVIVAL: The Silver Fox Starlite Lounge is just the latest in the gentrification of 18th Street, already home to Mexicali, The Goose Bar and Grill (formerly Goose Loonies), Bill Lee's and an expanding Sequoia Sandwich Co. Add the upscale new apartment complex just a few blocks west, and a new coffee house called Cafe Smitten that looks about to open, and you have an urban renaissance that is transforming 18th Street east of Chester Avenue. Will this corridor become one of the "it" places to live downtown?

* ... SPEED RECORD: Last week I wrote about a man who set a land speed record on a bicycle here in 1941. As it turns out, Harvey McCown said the late Vince Clerou was part of it. "The car not only 'paced' the bicycle, but had a wind screen mounted on it. That way the car was braking the wind and the rider only had to focus on his speed. Vince grinned and chuckled about the wind coming around and 'probably' pushing the rider to a higher speed. The car driver had to be very skilled to maintain the speed and not cause a problem for the rider. The race car driver was in town for a race at the race track at the old fairgrounds. The area is now south of Sam Lynn Ball Park. The big mound that used to be there was the grandstand for the race track. I seem to remember the name of Barnie Olfield, but that may just be the passage of time enhancing the story telling."

 * ... CAFE MED: If you think customer service is dead, consider this note from Nick Phillips who recently visited Cafe Med his wife Celeste and their 3-month-old son Adonijah. They showed up without a reservation and waited for a bit until the staff set up a fresh table for them in the deli area.
"While waiting for our table, about six passersby stopped to compliment us on our handsome baby boy. One more approached, with a friendly smile and familiar presence, to kneel down and admire Adonijah - Adonijah's feedback was a very intent stare. The food was delicious and the service great. We were amazed at how many friendly faces we had encountered in one evening, not to mention the fact that our baby had not complained the entire time!" When the check came, a stranger appeared to intercept the check, wished them a happy new year and told Phillips to save his money for a special date night. "Stunned, surprised, and slightly scared, my wife and I were feeling very blessed. I rose to give the man a hug and a big thank you, learning that his name was Kenny. We would like to thank God, for blessing us and preparing such a perfect evening. We thank Kenny, for such a thoughtful act of kindness. And we thank Cafe Med, for great service."

California welcomes the "atmospheric river" of rain and snow, what's going on at the Fox Theater and my seven month retirement ends with a daily radio show starting next week

 * ... RAIN AND SNOW: Take a deep breath and enjoy this "atmospheric river" of rain that has been pummeling California for the past few weeks. To be sure it is not enough to end the long drought, but there is plenty of good news for our lakes and reservoirs. As Louis Sahagun of the Los

Angeles Times reported: "Lake Tahoe has risen 12 inches in just the last two weeks as the storms have dumped 33.6 billion gallons of water into the massive landmark, which measures 72 miles around and has a capacity for 37 trillion gallons of water. As of Tuesday morning, 154 of the largest reservoirs tracked by the California Department of Water Resources had filled to about 97 percent of their collective average for the day ... Just a year ago, many were at or below 50 percent of average." Even Lake Oroville has risen 90 feet since December. (photo courtesy of SFGate)

 * ... GOING, GOING, GONE?: The Wall Street Journal recently compiled a list of popular products that have fallen out of favor with consumers. Among them: powder detergent (replaced by pods), processed cheese, bar soap, margarine, ground coffee (replaced by the Keurig cups), frozen juice concentrate and alkaline batteries.

 * ... FOX THEATER: What is going on over at the Fox Theater and the folks who are running the show? Jennifer Self, the Californian's longtime features editor who is plugged into the local entertainment community, shed some light this week when she questioned what happened to Bob Bender, who apparently lost his job running the Fox and booking shows at the iconic venue. So who is running this local community treasure? I hope it's not Melanie Farmer, the head of the Fox Theater Foundation who has zero experience in concert promotion. Other than telling Self the foundation was looking at being a more "hands-on operation" (what does that mean?) we are left in the dark. Memo to Farmer: The Fox is a community treasure and many of us have opened our wallets to preserve and restore it. If Bender is out, tell us what the plan is for the grand old dame of Bakersfield.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I've never done jail time, but I've been stuck in a group text with my family and it can't be much worse."

 * ... RADIO: I spent a career in print journalism but my second love has always been news radio, a more free wheeling environment that is both authentic and unpredictable. So I am pleased to announce that effective this Monday, Jan. 16, I will host my own two hour daily talk show on KERN NewsTalk (96.1 FM/1180 AM) from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (I will be the lead-in for the popular Ralph Bailey Show that comes on at 3 p.m.) Join me on inauguration week for a lineup of special guests including Monsignor Craig Harrison, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker, former Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, Reuters Washington, D.C., correspondent Bill Trott, CSUB political science professor Jeanine Kraybill, water expert Harry Starkey, Californian columnist Lois Henry, CSUB basketball Coach Rod Barnes, Californian executive editor Bob Price and many more.

 * ... FOODIE: Were you surprised that the Mimi's restaurant on California Avenue closed? Eateries come and go but Mimi's always seemed to have a steady clientele. But the food business is a tough one, and the public can be fickle in its loyalty. Across the street, I made my first visit to the Habit Burger and while it is no In-N-Out, the burger was rich and tasty and the service was excellent. I was also pleased to read that RJ's Bar and Grill had reopened and was back in business on Hageman Road.

 * ... STOLEN CARS: Car and truck theft is rampant here is Bakersfield, and here are some of the most popular targets according to the Bakersfield Police Department: 1990 through 2000 Honda Accords and Civics; 2000 through 2008 Chevrolet Silverado trucks; 2000 through 2008 GMC Sierra trucks; and 1990 through 2000 Acura Integras.

When marriages end in a most public way via social media, Bakersfield's Joey Porter is in trouble again and remembering a time when Bako was the home of a bicycle speed record

* ... DIVORCE: By sheer coincidence a number of friends and acquaintances of mine are seeing their marriages end, or at worse slowly unravel in a most public manner via postings on Facebook and other forms of social media. The indescribable heartbreak of divorce for those of us who have

been through it - as I have - is compounded by the way social media allows people to peek behind the curtain of our private lives. (One social media ritual is a Stalinesque purge of the soon-to-be ex spouse's photos, a sure sign that something isn't right at home). My advice to these folks: whatever pain you feel now will eventually be replaced by hope, new beginnings and salvation. If you have a friend going through a tough time, do as the late poet Maya Angelou advised and "be the rainbow in somebody else's cloud."

 * ... MARY: Watson Realtor Mary Christenson was out for dinner at Wiki's Wine Dive and Grill the night of the Alabama-Clemson college football championship when a stranger asked her if she was rooting for Alabama. Why? She was wearing a black checked wool wrap reminiscent of the late Alabama football legend Bear Bryant's houndstooth cap. (Full disclosure: Mary and I have been friends for years, I have used her to buy and sell homes and she is the generous sponsor of this blog.)

* ... JOEY PORTER: Why can't Joey Porter just stay out of trouble? The former Foothill High star, now a coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was arrested outside a Pittsburgh bar for assaulting a doorman. This is just the latest in a long string of incidents that seem to follow Porter.

 * ... FRIENDLY: Did you see that a driver fell asleep at the wheel and ran his car into a restaurant on North Chester that used to be the home of the Friendly Cafe? The Friendly, and its famous multi-egg omelette, was one of the first places I visited after moving here years ago. And yes, I still miss it.

 * ... SPOTTED ON INSTAGRAM: "There should be a millennial edition of Monopoly where you just walk around the board paying rent, never able to buy anything."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Filing my taxes online this morning and Vladimir Putin texted to say I shouldn't be using form 1040EZ."

 * ... SPOTTED BY PETER: Peter Wonderly spotted a young man at a local Target wearing a T-shirt that read, "I like big butts and taco trucks."

 * ... SCHWINN: My buddy Randy Martin of Covenant Community Services turned me on to this interesting factoid from a history site. In 1941, a man named Alfred Letourneur "was able to beat the motor-paced world speed record on a bicycle, reaching 108.92 miles per hour (175.29 km/h) on a Schwinn Paramount bicycle riding behind a car in Bakersfield, California."

* ... EAST HIGH: Sue Lueth reached out to me to remember Roger Chichester, a former biology teacher at East High who was so kind and inspirational to her daughter, who at one time was had a rare immune disorder and was facing a potential bone marrow transplant. "Mr. Chi in his usual graceful way, made her a  teacher's assistant during the time Physical Education classes were supposed to be held. This single act of kindness guided a scared isolated  teen to pursue a career in science. Her excitement was  invigorating and a joy to watch... We were blessed with the grace of God, to follow a much  less rigorous course of treatment, thus avoiding the need  for the transplant thanks to the incredible medical professionals at UCLA. My daughter went on to college to pursue her dreams. Ken Chichester is his father's son, and this gentle dynamic man is keeping his father's dream alive. In the obituary it lists a scholarship fund for East High  students excelling in Science. Donations can be made to: East High ASB, 2200 Quincy Street, Bakersfield, Ca. 94306 . Please write Roger Chichester on the memo section of the check.

Charles Manson ends up in Bakersfield at a local hospital, record rain hits Kern County and Karen Goh's impressive swearing-in ceremony

 * ... RAIN: Count me among those who are enjoying this long period of persistent rain. I can't

remember a time when the rain was so steady and hard, and Lord knows we need it. The irony: we expected this last year when we had an El Nino event but this year we are experiencing La Nina, just more proof that you should never underestimate a woman.

* ... CHARLES MANSON: Did you see the headline in the New York Daily News about Charles Manson being hospitalized in Bakersfield? It read: "Satan Calls For The Devil." Meanwhile, social media lit up with comments, many of them lamenting that even a monster like Manson is afforded the best health care while other Americans go without.

 * ... BED BUGS: Did you know that 10 years ago bed bugs were virtually unheard of yet now there has been an explosion of them across the country? It's something I think about every time I check into a hotel, so I was intrigued by pest control company Orkin's list of the top bed bug infested cities. (Good news! Bakersfield didn't make the list.) Here is the dirty dozen: Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York, Columbus, Ohio, Los Angeles, Detroit, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, San Francisco/Oakland, Richmond, Va., and Raleigh-Durman, N.C.

 * ... GOOD FORM: Peggy Mellon share this uplifting moment with me: "Yesterday morning, I went to Trader Joes to buy sunflowers for my neighbor, Lenor Freeland, who was celebrating her 102nd birthday. As I was being checked-out, I made mention of this to the young woman who was helping me. She smiled as I told her about Lenor who is still active and continues to be a part of our Brighton Parks Community. Then this smiling Trader Joes employee said 'Please tell her =bappy birthday from Trader Joes' as she took off the cost of the flowers from my bill. One more act of kindness that I thought I should pass on to your readers.  Keep smiling."

* ... KAREN GOH: If the turnout for Mayor Karen Goh's swearing in was any indication of how successful she will be, then she just might become one of our most wildly popular mayors. I stopped by a reception for her at The Metro Galleries on 19th Street, and the place was packed wall to wall with well wishers. The goodwill in the room was impressive, and it's clear the community is behind her.

 * ... OVERHEARD: At the downtown Post Office a woman greets a friend this way: "Did you hear Jack is back in jail? Won't get out until July."

 * ... PLASTIC BAGS: Earlier this week I mentioned that - finally - I am in the habit of remembering to take my own reusable bags to the grocery store. This prompted a friend to mention: "My new rule: never by more than I can carry out in my arms."

 * ... TRASH: Gerhard Schmidt weighed in about our trash problem. "The key to this problem is prevention. No one, including waste management people, are doing anything about this. Large item pick-up is available for free. Just look in the recycling pages of the phone book. However, the offenders probably do not read the Californian or the phone book. The solution would be public service spots on radio and TV, as well as billboards. Yes, billboards cost some money, but perhaps less than man hours required for clean-up. Advertising companies might even help with the cost, when the billboards are not reserved.  It is therefore not necessary to hoist that sofa onto a pick-up and hunt for a dump site. All that is needed is a phone call and hauling it to the curb."

A huge "hydro event" of storms and rainfall are coming to California over the next week, new gun laws restricting ammo sales are on the books and a final goodbye from Mayor Harvey Hall

* ... STORMS ARE COMING: If you thought the rains last week were something, get ready for a huge "hydro event" over the next week. Meteorologists are warning that California will experience "jaw

dropping" amounts of rain, including up to 42 inches of precipitation for the Merced and San Joaquin River basins and up to 300 inches (or 25 feet) of snowfall into the Southern Sierra Crest, including the Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Mountain areas. This hydro event has already started in the Sierras and will include heavy rains in Central California through the weekend. And speaking of storms, wasn't our New Year's Day spectacular? Bright, sunny skies with the snow capped mountains clearer than I have seen them for years. Keep your cameras ready because more is coming.

* ... GUN LAWS: You can thank the California Legislature for the surge in gun and ammunition sales at local firearms shops. The Legislature passed a slew of new laws - some won't take effect until next January - that will make it much harder for law abiding citizens to buy ammunition or even borrow someone's weapon. It's interesting that the lawmakers who pass these laws are the same ones who choose to ignore other laws that don't suit their tastes, including declaring "sanctuary cities" to avoid working with federal immigration authorities. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to pick and choose which laws to obey?

* ... END OF AN ERA: Did you catch Harvey Hall's open letter to the community in the Tuesday Californian? It was typical Mayor Hall, oozing with sincerity and all from the heart, honoring our community and the people who make this such a special place to live. Hall's legacy as mayor will be one of inclusion and unity. Let's hope his successor, Karen Goh, does the same.

* ... GOOD FORM: Digging through old emails I found this note from Patricia Basset about her commute between Lake Isabella and Bakersfield. The message was from last year (sorry I missed it Patricia) but it is still relevant. Said Basset: "Quite often the canyon is closed due to an accident, someone over the cliff, rocks in the road, etc. (Recently) there was a large rock slide about half way up the canyon and the line of cars waiting to get through was massive. It was hot, hot, hot and we were told it could be up to 10 hours to get the road cleared. While I was driving up 178, I was behind a young man in a truck, pulling a backhoe. He was waiting along with all of us until a young woman walked back down the road, after going to the slide area. When that girl told the guy in front of me about the slide, he didn't even think twice. He pulled the chains off his backhoe, unloaded it (no simple task) and took off up the hill. Within minutes, he cleared one side of the road of several huge rocks which allowed the traffic to move slowly, but steadily along. I am pretty confident that nobody thanked him, but I want that man to know my husband and I, along with all those waiting, really appreciated his being willing to go out of his way to help us get through the canyon. We do have good people here in Bakersfield."

 * ... MILESTONE: I reached a personal milestone the other day when I actually remembered to bring a reusable plastic bag into Trader Joe's.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "How dare you call me mentally unstable on this, the day of my cat's quinceanera."

 * ... TAFT COLLEGE: the annual Triple Play dinner and auction benefiting Taft College is set for Jan. 27 at the Historic Fort in Taft. Eric Byres, a former Oakland A's outfielder and now an ultra marathoner, will be the guest speaker. For tickets call (661) 763-7936.

 * ... PUZZLER: Here is a head scratcher from Bonnie Farrer: "While visiting my daughter and family in Orlando for Christmas we were all pleasantly surprised to see that the large bag of mandarin oranges on her kitchen shelf were from Bakersfield! When I returned home yesterday, I bought  mandarine oranges here. They were  from Florida. This doesn't make sense. PS: the Bakersfield oranges were seedless and tastier!"