Mexicali West is up for sale, Fatburger opens its first local franchise and anchor Erin Briscoe and reporter Danny Freemen leave their TV stations

Friday, August 3, 2018

 Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

 * ... NEWS AND NOTES: There are lots of news and notes around town involving local restaurants

opening and closing, and local TV anchors leaving the business or moving to another market. Let's get it started ... 

 * ... MUERTOS: Did you know that the restaurant Muertos downtown is housed in a space that once housed the horses for the city fire department? The old space, lovingly restored over the years, has long been a favorite spot for eateries. Before Muertos, it was the home of the Horse's Tail in the 1970s and later morphed into the Happy Buzzard, Suds and Azul's.

 * ... FAT BURGER: And speaking of dining, the Southern California burger chain Fatburger is coming to Bakersfield. A sign announcing the new burger joint went up at a space at Oswell and Bernard streets, saying it will be open sometime this year.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "When my husband annoys me I like to say, “The doctor said I need to lose 10 pounds. What do you think?”

 * ... MOVING UP: Danny Freeman, one of KGET TV's aggressive young reporters, is leaving town for another job in San Diego. Freeman was one of the lead reporters on the story of the potential conflict of interest involving Supervisor Leticia Perez and her husband's cannabis consulting business. Meanwhile, long-time KBAK anchor Erin Briscoe has also left the business but will apparently stay in town.

 * ... LOCAL RETAIL CHANGES: I was told by an employee at Floyd's that the venerable hardware store has been sold to a local plumbing company. Apparently owner Jan Meyer decided to leave the business and found a local buyer. Meanwhile, I have also been told that Mexicali West is now for sale (asking price is $3.85 million), leaving the original Mexicali on 18th Street the only venue for the restaurant's legions of fans.

 * ... SINALOA: The folks that own the venerable Sinaloa Mexican restaurant downtown have also put that business up for sale at an asking price of $1.9 million. Mike and Annie Munoz opened the original Sinaloa in the spot that now houses Woolgrower's, and moved to its present location on 20th Street in 1957. Prior to housing Sinaloa, the two story building houses a children's homeless shelter, Susie's Cafe and two Italian restaurants.

 * ... FOOTWEAR: Did you check out the footwear that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was wearing before an appearance on the Laura Ingraham show?

 * ... MEMORIES: And finally enjoy this old photo of three Harley riders in front of the old clock tower on Chester.

Santa Barbara bans straws and establishes punishment harder than many criminal offenses, the heat wave continues and Buck Owens' legacy at the Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles

Monday July 30, 2018

 Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place.

 * ... STRAWS: I am sure you have heard about Starbucks banning plastic straws right? And now the city of Santa Barbara has passed an ordinance last that gives restaurant employees six months of jail

time or a $1,000 fine for giving plastic straws to customers. I am not joking here. And all this hysteria because of our fear that the straws could end up in the ocean and strangle a turtle. But let's be serious here. I am as concerned as anyone else over the mountains of plastic in our oceans, but banning the straw and threatening jail time is beyond stupid. And here is the craziest part: the punishment for issuing straws is actually harder than many other "non violent" offenses in California that allow you to apply for early release. Offenses like domestic violence, first degree burglary, rape of a drugged person or a hate crime causing physical injury. And we wonder why people outside California think we are nuts here.

 * ... MADE IN AMERICA: If you are a fan of things Made in America, does this extend to your car? If it does, you will be interested in the list of cars manufactured with the most parts made in the USA. According to Cars.com, those models include the Jeep Cherokee, Honda Odyssey, Honda Ridgeline: Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Volt, Honda Pilot, Acura MDX, Ford Explorer, Ford F-150, and the Chevrolet Corvette.

 * ... HEAT WAVE: Remember how mild it was just a few short months ago? And then came July and with it temperatures in the 105 to 108 range, almost daily. But it may be too early to tell if we are on threatening to set new records for the most days at 100 degrees or higher. It turns out the National Weather Service in Hanford says the record for the most days at 100 or higher is 76, and that was sent back in 1917. And, just for giggles, the NWS says the hottest day ever recorded in Bakersfield was 118.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "It’s adorable when men think they should get half the closet."

 * ... MORE TWITTER: "I was mistaken for a hooker once. It was not my best day. I only made $50."

 * ... MID-STATE FAIR: Nobody does big time musical acts better than the California Mid-State Fair over in Paso Robles. Consider the lineup for the fair that just ended: Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Pitbull, Demi Lovato, ZZ Top, Dwight Yoakam, Gabriel Iglesias, Florida-Georgia Line and the list goes on. I was there doing a remote for KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM and asked the fair CEO, Michael Bradley, how the fair got so good booking such top notch talent. "You know who brought the music element to the fair in 1969?" he asked me. "It was your own Buck Owens. He started it and we have continued it since then." It was a big year for Buck, as it turns out. 1969 was the first year he co-hosted Hee Haw, a variety show that would go on for 15 seasons. So there you have it.

 * ... MEMORIES: How about this old shot of Chester Avenue around 18th Street in the late 1890s?

California oil production is surpassed by other states, Supervisor David Couch gets another opponent and the late restaurant critic Jonathan Gold's love affair with Bakersfield

Friday, July 27, 2018

 Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

 * ... OIL PATCH: The folks in the local oil industry are finally able to relax a bit after three years of belt tightening and anxiety over soft prices and world demand. The industry is doing well, with the

price of a barrel of oil hovering around $70 and the U.S. on its way to overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world's top oil producer. But Chad Hathaway, president of Hathaway Oil, told me that California continues to slip in terms of overall production because of a hostile state government in Sacramento and burdensome regulations. States that are now producing more oil than California, or headed that way, include Texas, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico and Colorado.

 * ... FOURTH DISTRICT: Supervisor David Couch has another opponent in his bid for reelection, Lamont Chamber of Commerce president Jose Gonzalez. Gonzelez joined Delano mayor Grace Vallejo in challenging Couch, who us running in a newly drawn Latino majority district thanks to the MALDEF lawsuit that forced the redistricting. Vallejo was the choice of a group of Latino leaders to run, but she has all but disappeared from public view, spurning offers for interviews and raising questions about her desire to run. Lamont was previously part of Supervisor Leticia Perez's district but landed in the Fourth District due to the new boundaries. (file photos of Gonzalez and Vallejo)

 * ... RIP JONATHAN GOLD: Bakersfield lost a true friend this week with the death of Jonathan Gold, the award winning Los Angeles Times food critic who was one of Bakersfield's biggest fans. Gold visited here frequently, bringing the likes of Dewar's, Luigi's, Pyrenees Bakery and Woolgrower's to his wide audience. He loved our food, our quirkiness and our people. Consider the opening of a piece Gold wrote in the LA Weekly: "I have been accused of overpraising Bakersfield, and perhaps it is true. Dewar's, across the street from Bakersfield High School, is still the best old soda fountain in the state, and even if it didn't make the world's best nut chews — little Tootsie Rolls of taffy stuffed with crunchy, salty almonds — I would still go there for the thrill of seeing the counterwomen tamping the ice cream into sundae goblets in a way that makes the marshmallow crème spurt out the sides. Luigi's may not be the oldest surviving Italian restaurant in the western United States, but it feels as if it is, and the platters of pasta and beans, the Saturday-only burgers on toast and the homemade spumoni are straight out of 1906. The Arizona Café features a style of California-Mexican cooking that feels a century old... Bakersfield, a scant two hours away, offers the not-inconsiderable pleasure of being in a place that is neither Los Angeles nor part of greater Los Angeles, a town that is thoroughly Californian but can also feel a lot like the good parts of Oklahoma. It's the home of the Bakersfield Sound, the Merle Haggard/Buck Owen/Rose Maddox thing that brought a bit of grit back to country music, and without it the radio now would probably sound even more like Taylor Swift. But mostly, at least for me, there is the old-fashioned cooking at one of the city's Basque dining halls, huge, multicourse feasts originally intended for the Basque shepherds staying at the local boardinghouses. They have become so popular that the few sheep men who show up are treated like local celebrities."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "In the event of a tornado, put some weiners in your pocket. That way the search dogs will find you first."

 * ... LOCAL CRIME: A group of thieves are hitting businesses across town in a most brazen way: they are using stolen pickup trucks to pull the glass entrances of businesses and cleaning the places out. It has happened at least four times in the last month, the latest occurring at a Cigarette shop on Stockdale and Allen Road and at the Finish Line bicycle shop across from CSUB on Stockdale Highway. The thieves, who all appear to be young white men, wear masks to hide their faces and use stolen trucks to pull off the glass entrances. They are hitting these businesses between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.

 * OILDALE: The "welcome to Oildale" sign on North Chester just can't seem to get a break. Shortly after it was installed it was destroyed by a car, and now the replacement sign has been tagged by graffiti.

 * ... MEMORIES: Take a look at this picture of North Chester, compliments of the Kern County of Old Facebook page.

Monday's Bakersfield Observed: So you think it has been hot? Well get ready for yet more near record heat, and what does the prosecution of Supervisor Leticia Perez say about local politics and our changing demographics?

Monday July 23, 2018

 Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

* ... ARE YOU HOT ENOUGH?: So you think it's been a tad hot lately? Well get ready for yet another heat wave. Consider this advisory from the National Weather Service: "Hotter weather will return to the entire San Joaquin Valley, the Kern County desert and elevations below 4,000 feet

Tuesday through Thursday. High temperatures will range from 103 to 108 degrees in the San Joaquin Valley and lower foothills and between 105 and 115 degrees in the Kern County desert each of these days. Wednesday looks as though it will carry the greatest potential heat risk. Prolonged exposure to hot weather can lead to heat stroke or heat exhaustion. To avoid heat related illness, limit your time outdoors during the hottest time of the day, stay hydrated, apply sunscreen and wear light colored, loose fitting clothing." You have been warned.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: This from my friend David Jensen: "How hot is it? It's so hot I saw a tweaker putting the copper back into an air conditioner."

 * ... SUMMER HEAT: One benefit of these hot Bakersfield mornings: there is significantly less trash in the parks because it's simply too hot for the slobs to leave their own homes.

 * ... LETICIA PEREZ: Supporters of Supervisor Leticia Perez are planning a protest march and vigil this Tuesday, yet another sign that this very public local stink is going to get far uglier in a very quick manner.  The "Stand with Supervisor Perez" rally is planned for 8 a.m. Tuesday at the Liberty Bell, and then supporters will attend the supervisor's meeting to show their support. Perez has been charged with two counts of campaign violations, both misdemeanors. These types of campaign violations are usually dealt with by the state Fair Political Practices Commission, and Perez is believed to be the first person in California to be formally charged by a local prosecutor's office. As the only Democrat, only woman and only Latina on the board, supporters are viewing this as singling out a minority who just happened to support the MALDEF lawsuit against the county that forced a complete redistricting. It is never that simple of course, and the friction among local Democrats, among the supervisors themselves and even in a very fractured District Attorney's office is unprecedented. The Perez case should be simple - did a sitting supervisor break the law and if so what is an appropriate punishment? - but these are anything but ordinary times. Instead the Perez case has come to symbolize a changing electorate, one that has different expectations, and how all this plays out will determine who sticks around and who falls by the wayside as a tsunami of change disrupts the old political landscape and ushers in a new era. Follow along because this is going to be a wild ride.

* ... SOME PERSPECTIVE: Step back for a moment and look at where we are locally with Kern County politics. The supervisors are at odds as never before because of the MALDEF lawsuit, California's legalization of marijuana has driven wedges among traditional allies and brought new forces to bear (as in the local veterans and others who rely on medicinal cannabis to relieve pain), the browning of Kern County has emboldened Latino leaders to demand more respect at the ballot box, prosecutors in the District Attorney's office are barely talking to one another after the bitter race to succeed Lisa Green between eventual winner Cynthia Zimmer and Scott Spielman, and even the Democratic Party is fracturing between those who support Perez and others who would privately cheer if she left office to make way for them to run. This is all unprecedented in what was once a clubby group of white men and women who stayed in power via their conservative credentials and loyalty to each other. Those who cling to yesterday's norms do so at their own peril, because as Bob Dylan once said, 'times are a changing.'

 As Dylan wrote:
"Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon…

* ... EYESORE: When will the city wake up and do something about the eyesore at the Chester street bridge underpass near there Garces Circle, which has evolved into a near permanent homeless encampment complete with litter, feces and trash that the wind scatters for blocks? This eyesore has been a problem for months, and it is our collective shame that our city accepts this as an acceptable sign of the times.

 * ... DIABETES: Did you know that between 30 and 35 percent of the adults over the age of 18 in Kern County are either diabetic or suffer from pre-diabetic conditions. That is a full 10 percentage points over the national average, and it speaks to our poor diet, our lack of exercise and our lack of commitment to reversing the trend. According to Dr. Raj Patel over at Preferred Family Care, new guidelines for diabetes now urge physicians to customize their treatment of the disease, providing more aggressive therapy to those who are younger and "full committed" to reversing the process.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this old photo of the Tejon theater at its opening, compliments of the Kern County Museum.

Texas leapfrogs to the third largest oil supplier in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Russia, H.A. Sala defends Supervisor Leticia Perez and the community rallies behind the Gleaners

Friday, July 20, 2018

 Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

 * ... SHALE BOOM: Just how important is the shale oil boom in the United States? Well check this

out: did you know that the Lone Star state is now the world's No. 3 oil producer, behind only Russia and Saudi Arabia? That's what a recent HSBC report said, thanks to two massive Texas oil fields and advances in hydraulic fracturing technology. Said CNN: "Much of the excitement in Texas centers around the Permian Basin. Some oil execs believe the amount of oil in the Permian rivals Saudi Arabia's Ghawar Field, the world's largest conventional oilfield. Rapid technological advances have dramatically brought down the cost of pumping oil everywhere, especially out of the Permian. Wells there can be profitable below $40 a barrel."

 * ... LETICIA PEREZ: The lawyer defending Supervisor Leticia Perez on conflict of interest charges appears to be focusing on unequal treatment under the law, and not that she was the victim of racism. H.A. Sala, one of the keenest criminal defense attorneys in the valley, told me on KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM that District Attorney Lisa Green had not presented one shred of evidence that Perez stood to benefit from her position supporting the regulation and sale of marijuana in Kern County, even though her husband, Fernando Jara, was a cannabis consultant. Instead, he said, there might be a stronger underlying reason why Green chose to prosecute. And that, he said, was because Perez did not actively campaign for assistant DA Scott Spielman to replace Green as district attorney. Further, he wondered why Perez was not treated similarly to City Councilman Bob Smith, when Smith was cited for lobbying for a client before the city Planning Commission. Both Smith and Perez, Sala said, stood to benefit financially and unlike Smith, Perez never lobbied on behalf of one of her husband's clients. Sala said he would demand a full dismissal of the charges, and if not, we are headed for a trial.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Here’s the thing, I love you but I don’t want to rearrange furniture just to see how it looks."

 * ... MORE TWITTER: "Next up, Melania holds a presser to say she thought her jacket said 'I really do care' not "I really don't care.'"

 * ... GLEANERS: You know how they say that Kern County is such a generous place to live? Well there was more evidence of that when the community rallied behind the Golden Empire Gleaners after thieves stripped its air conditioning unit of all copper. The community stepped forward with grants and in-kind donations and the unit has now been replaced. The Gleaners specifically thanks California Resources Corp., Whisler Air Conditioning and Heating and Reese's Crane Service.

 * ... CRIME: How bad is crime about town? Check out this Facebook post from a man who video taped a young man stealing items out of cars and trucks near White Lane and Old River Road: "Confronted this guy and his buddy just causally walking down the street this morning at 5:30 AM, check car doors, stealing stuff, claiming they need to feed their family. Brazen, defiant, bold. Near Old River and White Lane. The early bird gets the worm! There were several cars unlocked that they just reached inside, filled their backpack, and kept on walking. What would you do? Is it worth escalating? It's only 'just stuff' being stolen when it's not your stuff...right? I just followed them for about 30 minutes and called the police. Is it only me but does it feel like our culture is against law and order? Yes, I filed a police report."

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out these old photos from a personal photo album, take in December 1946.

The hottest place in Bakersfield is the emerging "Eastchester" district of 18th Street, a local couple run into Billy Bob Thornton on the road and the telephone scammers are out in full force

Monday, July 16, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

 * ... EASTCHESTER: The hottest area in town these days is the corridor of 18 Street east of

Chester, dubbed "Eastchester" by the downtown crowd. This new, emerging arts and restaurant district extends from Chester all the way east to Mexicali, and it includes such iconic mainstays as Bill Lee's, the Rice Bowl, Sequoia Sandwich Co. and Goose Loonies. What has made the area so hot? Well it isn't because of government incentives or planning but rather business people who have a vision and passion and the capital to make their dreams come true. People like city councilman Bob Smith and his investors who built the 17th Place Townhomes and the adjacent Cafe Smitten, where Smith's daughter Stasie and her husband Shai have created something unique and special. A few blocks farther east you have the renovated Silver Fox Starlite Lounge, where serial entrepreneurs Rod and Julie Crawford (Pyrenee's Cafe) have laid their claims to part of Eastchester's charm. More changes are coming, so stay tuned.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Yawning is your body’s way of saying 20 percent of battery remaining."

 * ... BILLY BOB: So what do you do when you are out of town bowling and in the lane next to you is actor Billy Bob Thornton? If you are Doc and Joyce Victor of Bakersfield, you strike up a conversation. Doc, president of Summit Bible College and Joyce, a retired teacher, were in Nevada when Thornton complimented Doc on his bowling game (he had thrown five straight strikes). Turns out the Victor's daughter, Selah, is an actor as well and played in "Bad Santa" with Thornton. And it also turns out that Doc Victor is an accomplished singer and he left Thornton with a CD of his new songs.

 * ... SCAM: There seems to be no end to those telephone scams. There are scammers who pose as Internal Revenue Service agents, and others who claim to have kidnapped your son or daughter. And now comes this: scammers who say they are from the Kern County Sheriff's Office. Listen to local Watson Realtor Mary Christenson on what happened to her: "Just had the scariest phone call: supposedly from the Bakersfield sheriff's office (blocked caller ID). He told me I had missed jury duty on July 9th and I was under electronic arrest, quoted me two counts of criminal citations-failure to appear, etc., and I must post a $1,000 bail bond. I must stay on the phone while I go to my bank and withdraw $1,000 cash, then he will be on the phone with me while I come straight to the sheriff's office to post this bail bond. I said I have never heard of this before. I demanded his name and ID and he got very angry and said he was sending deputies out to arrest me! I hung up and called 911 and the dispatcher said it is a scam.
That's okay, my dog would tear him apart if he came to arrest me. Charlie would make him into pulp!"

 * ... MORE SCAMS: And did you hear about the latest scam hitting people who have Medicare insurance? This one involves the new Medicare identity cards that are being issued to some 60 million Americans. The reason: the new cards will no longer display your Social Security number, replacing it instead with a new Medicare ID number. Seizing on this change, scammers are calling Medicare members and demanding payment, threatening steep fines or even jail time if people do not comply. It's all a scam, the latest example of people trying to take your hard earned money.

* ... MEMORIES: Check out this classic photo of Bakersfield circa 1958.

Chaos at Valley Plaza as thousands jostle to get a deal, RIP Lonnie Shelton and some great news coming out of Meadows Field for air travelers

Friday, July 13, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

 * ... MALL CHAOS: I am always surprised how far some people will go to save a buck. How about

standing in line with a couple thousand people, under a hot sun, with your toddler in tow to save money on a stuffed bear? Well it happened at the Build-A-Bear franchise at Valley Plaza where a couple thousand people showed up to take advantage of a "pay your age" deal. (If your child is two years old, the bear would cost $2) It was a nationwide marketing campaign that was so successful the company was forced to shut down company stores across the country, including the one at Valley Plaza and even one in London. And get this: in a scene reminiscent of Black Friday, fist fights broke out as people jostled for position at Valley Plaza. But in true American spirit, someone found a way to profit off the mess. A local Mexican restaurant, seeing the chaos at the mall, offered a "pay your age margarita special (if you were 21 years old, the drink cost $2.10).

 * ... MEADOWS FIELD: There is some good news coming out of Meadows Field. Thanks to a $500,000 grant from the Department of Transportation (arranged by House Majority Leader Kevin  McCarthy), it looks like we may get daily flight to Dallas, likely via American Airlines. According to county CAO Ryan Alsop, the county will use the money to create a package to incentivize a major airline to provide daily service. And the second bit of good news from CAO Ryan? Ryan said he is on the verge of striking a deal with Uber (and then Lyft) to service Meadows Field.

 * ... PICKLEBALL: Pickleball has taken Bakersfield by storm, and it now has eight new dedicated courts built by the North of the River Recreation district at Greenacres Park. And we are not alone: Bakersfield resident Adam Kahler sent me this poster he spotted in Driggs, Idaho.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "It’s not a successful weekend unless I’m bringing shame and dishonor to my family."

 * ... MORE TWITTER: "They say couples should never go to bed angry. That’s why married people always look so tired."

 * ... RIP LONNIE SHELTON: Football High graduate Lonnie Hill, possibly the greatest basketball player ever to come out of Kern County, dies in Los Angeles at the age of 62. This Facebook post from a friend pretty much says it all: "Tonight one of the most wonderful men you could ever meet, Lonnie Shelton, passed away in Los Angeles after being in a medically induced coma for weeks suffering from high blood pressure. Lonnie was a best friend, college roommate at OSU, and an amazing college and professional basketball star. He won an NBA championship with the Seattle Sonics in 1978. There is so much more that could be said but I struggle for words. Tonight is truly one of saddest days in my life. He always finished our phone calls with 'Love you man.' I am blessed to know such a great kind man. My heart goes out to his family."

 * ... MEMORIES: How about this old picture from the Kern County of Old Facebook page?

No Uber or Lyft service at Meadows Field in Bakersfield, Greenacres Park unveils eight new pickle ball courts and more on the medicinal benefits of CBD oil made from hemp and marijuana

Monday, July 9, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

 * ... MEADOWS FIELD: Flying out of Bakersfield is tough enough these days: very few airlines serve us, the flights are ridiculously expensive and to get anywhere you have to fly through Phoenix. But thanks to our wise local leaders, you can't even use Uber to get a ride to or from the airport.

Why? Because two local cab  companies (and don't get me started on our inefficient, chronically tardy Third World local cabbies and their run-down cabs) have an exclusive franchise to serve the airport. And how ridiculous is that? Is it any wonder that some folks make the half mile walk from the terminal to Merle Haggard Drive, luggage in tow, so they can connect with Uber? This is not a nationwide problem as The Californian called it; I cannot name a major airport in the country that does not allow Uber or Lyft to service their airports. Wake up Bakersfield, we can do better.

 * ... CBD OIL: Cannabidiol oil is an extract from the hemp plant, and legions of people across the world swear by its medicinal value. The Food and Drug Administration last week approved the first CBD oil based medicine to treat epilepsy, but CBD fans claim it can help alleviate aches and pains, anxiety, reduce inflammation and even help with nicotine craving. CBD oil is safe and legal, yet some people avoid it because it can also be produced from the marijuana plant. (Note CBD oil does not trigger a "high" like marijuana). There is one CBD oil shop in Bakersfield, on F Street near KC's Steakhouse, and owner Ted Sisco will appear with me on KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM to talk about its benefits. Don't miss this important show airing at 1:30 p.m. this Tuesday, July 10.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Licking someone's face is a quick and 100 percent foolproof way of ending a conversation."

 * ... PICKLEBALL: If you haven't heard of pickle ball, the fastest growing sport in America, you will soon. A combination of tennis and ping pong played on a smaller court using a wiffle ball, the sport has exploded in Kern County, and now there are eight new pickle ball courts available for play at Greenacres Park thanks to the North of the River Parks and Recreation District. New courts are going in at Seven Oaks and Stockdale Country Club, and the members only Bakersfield Racquet Club also has four dedicated courts.

 * ... MEMORIES: So who remembers a gas station at the base of the Grapevine called Holland's? I spotted this on the Kern County of Old Facebook page, which read: "From the 1937 Official San Joaquin Valley- Sierra Visitors Guide, an ad for Holland's Cafe and Garage on the Ridge Route Summit. From SCVHistory. com: "Originally located on the Ridge Route just south of Caswell's on what is now the Gorman Post Road, Holland's Summit Cafe started as a truck stop devoid of tourists. The site featured a Standard Oil gas station, garage, and cafe. When the Ridge Route alternate was opened in 1933, Holland's was relocated from its original location to the new highway."