McCarthy: Obama healthcare reform now moves to the Senate where I will fight it

 

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) posts his thoughts on the week ended and the week ahead. In his words:

  "It was great to be home this week and join our community in thanking our brave veterans for their service and sacrifice on Veterans Day.  I am grateful for VFW Commander, Frank Pacana and the Patriot Guard Riders who were at Meadows Field to greet and thank the California National Guard's Company A, 1st Battalion, 185th Armored Regiment, returning from a deployment in Kosovo.  Our nation has troops serving and sacrificing in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world, and we should do all we can to support them.

 "Recently, I co-sponsored bipartisan legislation that would extend a tax credit for small businesses that help our soldiers by paying the difference between the salary a service member would have earned
working for his or her current small business employer and the salary he or she receives when called up to active duty.  Our brave military men and women shouldn’t have to wrestle with being hit financially
when they are defending our freedom and many small businesses have worked to address this.  Extending this tax credit is the right thing to do.

 "In case you missed it late last Saturday night, Speaker Pelosi pressured just enough Democrats (219) to pass her misguided health care bill (H.R. 3962) that could lead to a government takeover of healthcare.  I was opposed to this bill and will continue to fight so it doesn’t become law. If you were still watching C-SPAN, the 1,990 page bill barely passed around 11:15 pm D.C. time at the expense of our
local valley families and small businesses. The strongest bipartisan vote was actually a vote against Speaker Pelosi’s bill, as 39 Democrats joined 176 Republicans to oppose final passage of Speaker Pelosi’s bill.  "There is a better way forward and that is why my colleagues and I put forward a bill that could save families $5,000 per year off premiums, when compared to Speaker Pelosi’s health care bill. From a local perspective, over 70% of those who subscribe to my e-mail newsletter list also opposed Speaker Pelosi’s bill and approved the Republican solutions.  This health care vote exemplifies many other votes this Congress has taken to drive up record deficits through bailouts and risky spending programs and leave our children and grandchildren with record debt.

 "Now, the bill will be debated in the Senate, as early as this coming week.  I will continue to fight to ensure any reform helps bring down health care costs, all without raising taxes and spending trillions of taxpayer dollars Tomorrow, I look forward to being there when Evan Morgan opens the front door to his new home that Homes for Troops built for him and his family.  Evan will receive the keys to this new house as a small contribution for the life-altering sacrifice he made in order to protect our freedom.  Please join us if you can tomorrow to say thank you to Evan at 11am at 9710 Fitzgerald Drive.

Ray Karpe out at family real estate firm

 Ray Karpe has resigned as president of the family owned Karpe Real Estate Center over off Ming Avenue. Apparently Ray, who has been president for the past five or six years, had a major "difference of opinion" with his father, Bob Karpe, over the direction of the firm. I am told that employees  were stunned by the news. I reached Ray via cell phone but he politely declined to elaborate.
 Bob Karpe is the son of the founder of the 83-year-old family business and a graduate of Cal Berkeley, where he played football. More on this as it develops.

Coming home: Making a list and celebrating all the local kids who chose Bakersfield as home

* ... THOSE WHO CAME HOME: I received a lot of feedback after a recent post about young people who have returned to Bakersfield after graduating from college. So many of our best and brightest leave and never come back, opting for more exciting venues with larger and more diverse peer groups and more professional opportunities. But there are many who do come back, as I was reminded by Kelly Giblin, a former East Rotary president and administrator at the LeBeau Thelen law firm. Working at that firm alone are Nicholas Mears, Bakersfield High graduate who went on to William and Mary; Melissa Brown, Stockdale High and UCLA; Kevin Thelen, Garces Memorial High and UCLA; David Bynum, Garces Memorial and University of San Diego; and Andrew Sheffield, Bakersfield High and Cal State Bakersfield.

 * ... AND A FEW MORE: As the days wore on I received more emails about local kids who chose to come home, including Adam Icardo, a Cal Poly grad working in the family farming business; A.J. Antongiovanni, UCLA and now at Mission Bank; Dan Clifford, a University of Oregon grad working at Clifford and Brown; Ryan Hansen, Pittsburgh and now a manager at Frito-Lay; Vince Fong, a UCLA Bruin running point for Rep. Kevin McCarthy; Brian Grant, a product of Colorado State and now working at Tejon Ranch; Sarah Trichell, a Fresno State Bulldog employed at W.A. Thompson; and Chad Manning, Purdue University sales manager over at Jim Burke Ford. My special thanks to Joe Hay, a proud grad of Notre Dame and now commercial sales manager at Burke Ford, for helping me compile this list.

 * ... A DUKIE CHOOSES BAKO: I also received a nice email from Jerry Matthews of Bakersfield, who reminded me that his son Jason Matthews  graduated from the prestigious (my word, not his) Duke University a couple of years ago and is now working for Colliers Tingey. Jason is a graduate from Stockdale High School. His mother is Sandy Matthews.

 * ... EXPIRED TAGS AT EVERY LIGHT: Bob Stine, CEO of Tejon Ranch, shot me an email wondering about all the folks driving around Bakersfield with expired tags. I've certainly noticed it and like Stine, wondered how all these people get away with it. Stine thought it may be yet another economic indicator of bad times and wondered how much revenue the state was losing when folks simply refuse to register their vehicles. Next time you are at a light, check out the car or truck in front of you.

 * ... FIXING HIGHWAY 46: It was good to see work finally getting under way to widen part of Highway 46, so named "blood alley" for the seemingly never ending string of fatal car crashes. Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter) was on hand Tuesday for the groundbreaking to widen an eight-mile stretch of Highway 46 from just west of Highway 33 to Brown Material Road near Lost Hills. It can be a terrifying ride along that stretch and this is certainly welcome news.

Bako bits: a popular physician moves to Memorial, two locals undergo lung transplants and a movie price war?

  

 * ... POPULAR PEDIATRICIAN MOVES TO  MEMORIAL: I heard the other day that Dr. Madhu Bhogal, a longtime and popular local pediatrician, will be retiring from private practice and moving on to run the county's first pediatric intensive care unit at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital. Dr. Bhogal will be leaving her pediatric office, Bhogal Klupsteen and Patel, on San Dimas Street on November 15. Dr. Bhogal has a loyal following and has had a long association with Memorial Hospital, where she will now help found and run the planned "children's hospital within a hospital." Her husband is Dr. Rabinder Bhogal, an equally popular physician specializing in gastroenterology.
 
* ... FREE POPCORN? MOVIE WARS? Now here's the kind of recessionary pricing we can all celebrate. It looks like the Reading Cinemas over at Valley Plaza is challenging its rivals to a price war, introducing some creative marketing deals that may be hard to resist. Reading has lowered all movie prices ($8.50 for general admission and $5.50 for bargain matinees), a savings of 20-30 percent off the old prices. In addition, every Sunday is now "Family Sunday" where for $4 you can enjoy a family-size tub of popcorn with unlimited refills plus a free Nestle candy bar. And, hot dogs go for $1. They also will have a "Baby Boomer Thursday" where anyone 55 or older can purchase a $5 movie ticket to any show and get a free 46 ounce popcorn.


* ... TWO LUNG TRANSPLANT PATIENTS ON THE MEND: I now know of two young adults from Bakersfield who have undergone double lung transplants down in Los Angeles. The latest, 26-year-old Tiffany Kuehl Fischer, is a 2001 graduate of Stockdale High School and the daughter of Kent Kuehl, a longtime Californian graphic artist. Tiffany, who has cystic fibrosis, underwent the surgery on Friday, October 30, at USC University Hospital. Her dad says she is doing just terrific and her  husband Scott is by her side. Meanwhile there's also good news regarding Curtis Hartman, the 35-year-old local man who underwent a double lung transplant at UCLA Medical Center. He is finally on the mend and should be home for Thanksgiving. (read my previous post here) Curtis is the son of Linda Hartman, executive director of the BARC (Bakersfield Association for  Retarded Citizens) Foundation. Linda's sister, Californian human resources vice president Nancy Chaffin, told me he was "laughing and joking and looks wonderful." This was a touch-and-go operation as any transplant is, and I understand he is anxious to get back home to spend time with his wife Mary and their sons Gavin and Brock. Keep both of these people in your thoughts.

 * .... SHORT TAKES: Hats off to PCL Industrial Services, the employee-owned construction business that is giving $10,000 to the Golden Empire Gleaners this week. Dawn Alexander, marketing manager over at PCL, says the company wants to "make sure nobody goes hungry" during these lean times. Always nice to see local companies stepping up in a time of need. Meanwhile, Bakersfield hosted a cyclocross bicycle race  over at Hart Park this weekend and it was a huge success, drawing 150 riders from across the region. Sam Ames, assistant manager over at Action Sports, puts this race on and each year it grows larger and more successful.

McCarthy: Republican counter to Pelosi healthcare bill would save billions and avoid tax increases

 

 Once again we turn over the microphone to Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, for his weekly update. Feel free to post some comments.

 "Our nation had a sad week with the events at Fort Hood and my thoughts and prayers are with those that were affected.

 "No trip home to Bakersfield for me this weekend.  Instead of addressing the highest unemployment rate in 26 years (10.2%), the House will stay in session as Speaker Pelosi and Democratic leaders have decided to debate and vote on the future of health care reform in America.  I am glad there will be time given to consider the alternative my Republican colleagues and I have offered.  I believe that Congress should be a marketplace for new ideas to solve our nation’s issues; we should be able to consider many ideas before deciding on which one is the best for the American people based on its merits.

 "One way to consider the merit of different ideas is to do a side-by-side comparison.  My Republican colleagues and I offered a common sense alternative to Speaker Pelosi’s bill, which I oppose, and
I want to lay out a comparison of the different ideas for your own analysis.  The Pelosi bill is 2,032 pages long; the Republican proposal is 219 pages.  The cost of the Pelosi bill is $1.3 trillion; the cost of the Republican plan is $61 billion.  Premiums under the Pelosi bill will go up with new mandates and taxes on small businesses.  Under the Republican solution, small businesses with 2-50 employees, premiums are expected to decline by as much as 10%.  Under Pelosi’s bill, Medicare will be cut $505 billion over 10 years; under the Republican plan, there will be no cuts to Medicare.  A full side-by-side comparison of the two approaches is available on my website (kevinmccarthy.house.gov), along with links to both Speaker
Pelosi’s bill and the Republican common-sense alternative.  Also on my website, you can tell me if you approve or disapprove of Speaker Pelosi’s bill (H.R. 3962) by taking a short yes/no survey.

 "While I know it is the weekend, stay tuned in to what is going on in the House, it will be very interesting as President Obama is supposed to visit the Hill Saturday morning to lobby Democratic members that
are still opposed to the Pelosi bill, I hope the Blue Dog Democrat stay strong in their conviction of not increasing the size of government.  As for a final vote on Pelosi’s bill, I am predicting that the only bipartisan vote will be one in opposition.  To get the latest on what the House decides to do this weekend and if you have a blackberry, download the WhipCast,
(http://republicanwhip.house.gov/WhipCast) that will provide real time updates.

 Always good to see people from home, and this week the Masten Space Systems team from Mojave was in Washington collecting a check for their win in the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge sponsored by
NASA.  I posted some pictures of their visit on facebook.com/CongressmanKevinMcCarthy and if you would like to read more about their project please visit: http://www.masten-space.com/. Their achievements are an inspiration to us all!

Regulators pressured to go easier on local banks, deals at local country clubs and CSUB moves to Division I

 *.... SOFTER REGULATIONS FOR BANKS: It's too late for San Joaquin Bank, but there's finally a serious move in Congress to back off the pressure that has led to the closure of 115 community banks. One interesting aspect of this new softer attitude allows banks to keep loans on their books as performing even if the value of the affected properties have fallen below the loan amount. That's the word verbatim from The Wall Street Journal (read the entire story here), which says the new guidelines were released Friday, October 30, exactly two weeks after San Joaquin Bank was shut down. This is a stunning development because this was one of the primary issues that led to San Joaquin's downfall, and one has to wonder if the bank would have survived had these new rules been in place. All that is now water under the bridge, of course, but it has left San Joaquin directors and shareholders shaking their heads and wondering how different things might have been. And it comes at a time when folks like Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and others are waking up to the fact that so many local banks are going under while the "too big to fail" banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo are thriving after receiving billions in tax dollars for doing exactly the same thing. A couple of important quotes from the Journal story:

 "The new guidelines are targeted primarily at the hundreds of billions of dollars worth of loans that are coming due that can't be refinanced largely because the value of the properties have fallen below the loan amount. In many of these situations, the properties are still generating enough income to pay debt service.
 "Banks have generally been keeping a lid on commercial real-estate losses by extending these mortgages upon maturity. However, that practice, billed by many industry observers as "extending and pretending," has come under criticism by some analysts and investors as it promises to put off the pains into the future. Now federal regulators are essentially sanctioning the practice as long as banks restructure loans prudently. The federal guidelines note that banks that conduct "prudent" loan workouts after looking at the borrower's financial condition "will not be subject to criticism (by regulators) for engaging in these efforts.

 Every day there is a new development in this story as politicians continue to put pressure on the regulators to go easier on local banks. Read the latest installment of this saga here.

* ... GOOD NEWS OR JUST A BLIP? All the news about the recession being technically over doesn't mean much if it is not accompanied by more folks finding meaningful work. Nationally the unemployment rate is nearing 10 percent, and in Kern County it is around 15 percent, though experts will tell you those figures greatly underestimate the number of people out of work. (Delano's unemployment rate is well north of 30 percent) So when I hear any good news on the job front, I take note. Riley Parker, a local private investigator, told me one early indicator of a recovery might come in pre-employment screenings, which his wife Jane handles under the company name Pre-Employment Profiles. (check their website here) Parker told me they are in the middle of the third straight week of 20 percent increases in the raw numbers of pre-employment screenings. Good news? Let's hope so.

 * ... BARGAINS AT THE CLUB: Another sign of the economic times are the deals that local country clubs are offering to lure new members. I've already reported that Seven Oaks Country Club is now selling full equity memberships for $10,000, down from the normal $30,000. Now Bakersfield Country Club is offering virtually "free" memberships to lure members from other clubs. The catch: you have to be a member of another club for the initiation fee to be waived, you have to be sponsored by a BCC club member and of course you have to agree to pick up the monthly dues and food minimums. That's the word from Sheryl Barbich, the longtime civic activist and strategic planner who serves as BCC's membership chair. Barbich also said there is also a $1,500 program for folks who aren't members of other clubs. She said these deals will last until a certain number of new members are signed.

 * ... CSUB BASKETBALL MOVES TO BIG TIME: I had the pleasure of hearing Cal State men's basketball coach Keith Brown at my downtown Rotary on Thursday. CSUB's move to Division One status means big time opponents and national TV exposure this year. Among the schools we'll play are Santa Clara, Boise State, University of Cincinnati, Utah State, Gonzaga and UCLA down at Pauley Pavilion.

Only in Bako: three pit bulls rip into man as witness snap photos

It's a truly tragic story - three pit bulls attack a 35-year-old man and rip into him as witnesses watch in horror and one uses his iPhone to snap photos - and it has that "only in Bakersfield" flavor to it. If you haven't read Steven Mayer's account in The Californian, check it out here. Thank goodness a 69-year-old neighbor used his cane to rescue the man, but not before witness Damon Hill snapped this photo using his cell phone. Are pit bulls now the country's most popular breed, or is this a Bakersfield phenomena?

Short takes: Nail biting time for college seniors, an update on Jarret Martin and the police memorial run set for Saturday

 * ... AND OFF THEY GO: This is nail-biting time for thousands of Bakersfield high school seniors who are finalizing their college applications and writing their essays. The application deadline for the UC schools (UCLA, Berkeley, Santa Barbara, Davis and the rest)  is at the end of this month. Some of the more popular destination out of state schools like the University of Arizona, the University of Colorado and the University of Oregon have deadlines in January or later. This year's graduating senior class is one of the largest in our country's history (I believe it actually peaked last year) so the competition is fierce, particularly for the more prestigious schools. Having two girls who have gone through this, I can attest it's a time of great stress and uncertainty until the acceptance emails and letters begin arriving next April. I'll be happy to share the happy stories of acceptances and high hopes when those days arrive.

 * ... KCUHS MEA CULPA: Dick Porter, president of Porter Citrus in Lamont, took me to task for flubbing the name of Kern County's first high school. For the record, it was called Kern County Union High School (I left 'county' out in an earlier piece on the death of Bob Montgomery.) For you history buffs, KCUHS is now Bakersfield High and in the old days Bakersfield College shared the same campus. And as long as we are talking about colleges, Porter told me his daughter Brittany is now living in Waterloo, Iowa, after graduating from Indiana University and son Tucker is a junior at the University of Colorado in Boulder. "They'll never come back," he told me. Of course, many of our local kids do come back to Bakersfield to live and work, and two who come to mind are Natalie Bustamante, daughter of pediatrician Dr. Javier Bustamante and wife Laurie, and Joe Hay, son of Mikie and Dan Hay, owners of Jim Burke Ford. Natalie is a lawyer with Klein, DeNatale and Goldner and Joe is working at the  dealership as commercial sales manager. Both graduated from University of Notre Dame. I'm making a list of those local  kids who did come home and will share in another blog.

* ... AN ORIOLE FROM BAKERSFIELD: It was nice to get an update on hard throwing former Bakersfield College and Centennial High pitcher Jarret Martin who is now making his way through the Baltimore Orioles organization. (see the previous post here) Jarret is the 20-year-old son of Dana and Rob Martin of Northwest Bakersfield and earlier this year signed with the Orioles. He spent a few months with the Bluefield Orioles in Bluefield, West Virginia, but later suffered some shoulder  tendinitis. He reports to spring training in Florida in January for supervised throwing and expects to be placed on a team in April. Meanwhile, proud mother Dana Martin tells me Jarret's younger sister is opting for Bakersfield College over a four-year university citing her own frugality, even though her parents are footing the bill. "I would not pay full price for a pair of $150 jeans so why would I pay full price for college?" her mother quotes Jordyn as asking.

* ... POLICE MEMORIAL RUN: If you're a runner or just want to support a good cause make sure to remember the 27th annual Bakersfield Police Memorial Run this Saturday over at the park at River Walk off Stockdale Highway. Maureen Buscher-Dang, the former marketing officer over at the old Chain-Younger law firm, told me the proceeds are used for the education of surviving children of Bakersfield police officers killed in the line of duty. Now that is a good cause. The fee is $25, registration starts at 6:30  a.m. and the race begins at 8 a.m. You can call 661-326-3685 for details or download an entry form at www.bakersfieldpd.us.