The dilemma of widening 24th Street through downtown Bakersfield: what is your take? And now is the time to trade that used car in for top dollar

* ... 24th STREET: I attended the public hearing on the proposed widening of 24th Street and got an earful from the red shirted opponents of the project. These folks prefer the "no build" option, arguing that widening 24th will divide the neighborhoods on each side of street and drive down property values. But aren't the neighborhoods already divided, and is doing nothing really an option? Here's an interesting compromise I picked up at the meeting: adopt the alternative to take a row of houses on the north side, but instead of leaving a center turn lane (turning against traffic on 24th is already a suicide mission at best) install a landscaped median with bike lanes in each direction. That way you end up with six lanes of traffic that looks more like Old River Road than Ashe Road.

 * ... STEVE HILL: The Desert Rose Band, featuring Chris Hillman and Herb Pederson, played at the Crystal Palace this week and I left promising myself I'd spend more time at this terrific local musical venue. Hillman was a founding member of the Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and in the audience was Steve Hill, a little known songwriter who co-wrote with Hillman hits like "I Still Believe in You," "Summer Wind" and"Start all Over Again." I chatted briefly with Hill, an accomplished fiddle and violin player, who told me he now lives in Lebec and is still writing music.

 * ... USED CARS: If you are holding onto a good used car and have been thinking about buying new, now is the time to do it. Quality used cars are scarce, and auto dealers are offering killer trade in deals to lure new car buyers. Two friends told me they bought new when two separate dealers offered to pay off their existing leases just to get their business. Dan Hay, general manager over at Jim Burke Ford, told me that "good, clean used cars at any price are at a premium right now and will continue so into the foreseeable future. It really doesn’t matter the price range; good used cars bring all the money and we not only buy them but give top dollar as a trade."

 * ... MORE CARS: Meanwhile over at Motor City, general manager John Pitre said trucks are still king in Kern County. "We are buying 2004 to 2011 trucks from private parties and our client base at  very competitive prices because we have buyers waiting. Our internet sales have reached new highs and we are selling cars all over the world... just exported several to Russia, the Middle East and even Mongolia. We have such great offers on new vehicles due to manufacturer incentives that the spread from used to new has never been so close, thus people can move up to a new 2012 GMC or Buick and after their trade in - there is very little difference due. Kern County is leading the recovery in California and we are at the epicenter."

 *... BELTER: I caught up with young Mallory Belter this past weekend when we ran into each other at a wedding in La Jolla. The daughter of Gary and Bettina Belter, the 22-year-old Mallory just graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles and is now working as a wardrobe stylist. She's landed her first client and is living in Los Angeles. Good to see these local kids thriving.

 * ... MEA CULPA: I goofed in an earlier blog when I wrote about Mark Parsons, who is working with the Red Cross in the Colorado fires. Ann Danforth is his sister, not his mother.

Mark Saturday, July 7 on your calendar for Wendy Wayne's celebration of life ceremony set for the Fox Theater downtown

* ... WENDY: The celebration of life for Wendy Wayne, who died last week after a long battle with non-Hodgins lymphoma, is set for Saturday, July 7, at the Fox Theater. That's the word from Wendy's husband Gene Tackett, who told me the event will take place at 2 p.m. at the historic downtown venue. More exciting news is that Gene and CSUB President Horace Mitchell are working on a plan to create nursing school scholarships in Wendy's name, and possibly even renaming the nursing school the "Wendy Wayne Department of Nursing" at CSUB. In 1978 Wendy earned a degree in nursing from CSUB and was later inducted into the university's Alumni Hall of Fame. More on this as it develops but I could not think of a finer tribute to a woman who meant so much to our community.

 * ... EXCHANGE STUDENTS: Wendy Wayne was a student of the world, from her early years with the Peace Corps (where she met husband Gene Tackett) to her later years traveling while working on humanitarian projects in Third World countries. She always had an open seat at her house for strangers, and she loved the exploration of other cultures. One program she would have admired is Horizons du Monde, a group that places exchange students with local families. Susan Peninger, local coordinator for Horizons du Monde, told me she desperately needs 10 families to place young French students July 10-31. This is an experience that will certainly enrich your life. Interested? Call Sue at (661) 332-7147

 * ... FIRES: Mark Parsons is a graduate of both Bakersfield High School and Bakersfield College and is now one of the hundreds of volunteers fighting the devastating wildfires in northern Colorado. His mother, Ann Danforth, said Mark has been working disaster relief operations for the Red Cross since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He and his wife, Sue, live less than 45 miles from the fire.

 * ... HOT SHOTS: And speaking of the Colorado fires, some 20 members of the Fulton Hot Shots fire fighting crew of the U.S. Forest Service based in Glennville have been on the fire line for more than two weeks, including Bakersfield resident Edgar Sanchez. Word is the Hot Shots may be there at least another one or two weeks. (photo courtesy of the Fulton Hot Shots)

 * ... BIRTHDAY: Happy 50th birthday to Gary Blackburn, one of the owners of Sequoia Sandwich Co. Hard to believe Sequoia opened its first branch in Bakersfield back in 1999. Blackburn and co-owner Jeff Simpson now have three Bakersfield locations and one in Clovis.

 * ... HOTEL LEBEC: Jo Ann Scroggins wrote to thank me for my recent postings on the old Hotel Lebec, which allowed her to delve a bit into her own family history with a connection to the Lebec. "My great grand aunt, Cowee Erskine, married Thomas O'Brien in 1911. Thanks to your blog, I now know how my great grand aunt met her husband! Cowee (Anna Cowee Erskine) had a successful singing career which I am just starting to research."

Red hot topic of widening 24th Street will be the topic of Californian Radio KERN 1180 on Monday at 9 a.m.

* ... 24TH STREET: A group of downtown residents is determined to stop the 24th Street widening project, which has long been planned and is now funded thanks to the Thomas Road Improvement Program. The residents don't like either option - either widening to the north or to the south to accommodate two more lanes - and instead want to stop it in its tracks. Join me Monday on Californian Radio KERN 1180 when we will talk to opponents as well as Raul Rojas, the city Public Works Director ,who will be on hand to provide background. The show starts at 9 a.m. (photo courtesy of BakersfieldNow.com KERO TV)

* ... DOWN UNDER: Hats off to two North High graduates who will be traveling to Australia with Down Under Sports to play basketball this summer. MacKenzie Odle and Brodie Smih will be making the trip and are now raising money to pay for it. Karen Odle, MacKenzie's proud mom, said her daughter has been successful in raising money by "flocking" people's yards with pink flamingos. The problem: some of the flamingos are stolen out of the yards and MacKenzie has had to replace them. "It is hard to raise money when people steal your flocks and you have to replace them.  She has lost three flocks of 12 birds since starting this fund raiser .... If you could help get the word about about not stealing the flocks that would be great." Good luck to both these North High Stars.

 * ... SPOTTED: A woman emerges from an Albertson's with a deli sandwich and a small bag of dog food for a homeless man and his mutt.


 * ... POKER: For the past eight years a group of local guys have gotten together for a little friendly poker, and now comes word that two of them are heading off to play in the World Series of Poker July 3-4 in Las Vegas. According to Jeff Adams, Tyler Palmer and Johnny Iturriria will be playing for a World Series of Poker bracelet and possibly $600,000 in cash. "The strange this about this is that Tyler and Johnny are probably the worst players in our group, but let's wish them lucky anyway," said Adams, perhaps not too seriously. The members of the Thursday night poker group include Steve Donovan (DONO), Steve Adams (ROCKET), Ken Chapman (CHAPPY), Tyler Palmer  (TAMY), Jeff Adams  (JA), Johnny Iturriria (JI), John Kadel (KADELIAN), Brian Foster (BETOFOSTER), Dave Berkshire (DAVEY B) Andy Sweeney (STICK) and Chris Bellue (DANGERBOY).


 * ... DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that Flickinger's Farm and Garden store once stood where the Bank of America building now stands at the corner of 17th and Chester? That's according to Wil and Joan Flickinger, who told me his grandfather, M.P. Flickinger, arrived here around 1900 and brought a long numerous relatives. "The property was actually owned by the Kern County Land Company, once the largest land company in the world. They begged my grandfather to buy it on his own terms, but he felt downtown was getting too congested. By 1922, he opted to build his own building out on 18th and O Street. My grandmother cried because she felt people 'would never find him way out in the country there.'  He had one of the first telephones in Bakersfield with the number of Phone 100. The Chester Avenue building eventually was replaced by a Standard Service Station that my wife's father, Lloyd Potter,  ran at one time, and part of the wood yard was replaced by the El Tejon Hotel."

Former Bike Bakersfield employee is involved in a nasty crash in Portland, and a report cites Asian immigrants as a boon to the economy

 * ... SICK BAY: I was saddened to learn the other day that a young man who once called Bakersfield home was in a horrible bicycle accident in Portland, Oregon, Mat Barton, one of the founders of Bike Bakersfield, suffered multiple spinal injuries when he flipped over his handlebars during a short track race. Word out of Portland is that he may be paralyzed from the chest down. Mat moved to Portland to join an internet bicycle company. You can keep up with his recovery by going to the Bike Bakersfield website, bikebakersfield.org. Keep this young man in your thoughts. (photos courtesy of Bike Bakersfield)

 * ... ASIANS: This will come as no surprise but a new study shows that Asians are the fastest-growing, most educated and highest earning population in the country. That's all according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited a Pew Research Report depicting Asian immigrants as a boon to the economy. Asians now account for 6 percent of the population, with the bulk coming rom China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam. Said the study: "As a group, Asians place more value than Americans overall on marriage, parenting, hard work and careers, according to the report. Irrespective of their country of origin, Asians overall believe that American parents are too soft on their children." (photo courtesy of The Wall Street Journal)

 * ... PENSION REFORM: Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton echoed my thoughts recently while questioning why the Democratic majority in the California Legislature is not moving more quickly on pension reform. Without it, Skelton said the twin tax hike initiatives on the November ballot will be all but doomed."Virtually no one in the Capitol believes that voters will approve a state tax increase unless the Legslature and governor have enacted pension reform," he noted. But taking on the powerful labor interests is not something Democrats are comfortable with, and so we wait. And wait.


* ... DIGNAN: Congrats to Brian Dignan, who has been named the new head men's basketball coach at Bakersfield Christian High School. Dignan previously worked as a coach for both Cal State Bakersfield and the Bakersfield Jam. In addition to his coaching duties, he will teach American History and U.S. Government. He is married to Melissa Dignan, the former weather forecaster at KERO TV and they are expecting their first child.

* ... SPOTTED: Middle aged, obese woman behind the wheel of an older maroon van, windows rolled up with temperatures well over 105, filling her van with cigarette smoke while two small children sit in the back.

 * ...  OVERHEARD: Two Southwest residents leave Eureka Burger after learning the wait was more than 45 minutes. "In three months you'll be able to shoot a cannon in here without hitting anyone. This town goes crazy over new restaurants." said one.

A final tribute to Wendy Wayne and to a life well lived. And, Elliott Kirschenmann prepares to succeed Sue Benham on the City Council

* ... R.I.P. WENDY: A final word on the remarkable life of Wendy Wayne, the community activist who died this weekend at the relatively young age of 64. I was among the lucky who considered Wendy a friend, and I stood in awe of her ability to rise above pettiness and to give herself to others so unselfishly. In a world that has grown uncivil and harsh, Wendy represented a soft voice of reason and understanding. She was attentive in a way that made everyone feel special. Our society has grown sloppy about being attentive - to family, to friends, to strangers - but Wendy embraced it by becoming a world class  listener.  I last shared a glass of wine with Wendy about a six weeks ago, and even then, with the cancer slowly winning the battle for her life, she turned her attention toward me and peppered me with questions about my life and children that made me feel like the center of the universe. We can all learn a lot from a life well lived. Remember Wendy today by reaching out to a friend or loved one.

 * ... WARD 2: I had lunch the other day with Elliott Kirschenmann, the young businessman who hopes to replace Sue Benham as Ward 2 City Councilman. Elliott is just 28 but has served two years on the City Planning Commission and he is already walking the precincts meeting his neighbors. He went to Bakersfield College and then on to USC where he earned his degree. Keep an eye on Elliott as the November election nears because this is a young man on the move. The only other declared candidate so far is restaurateur Terry Maxwell.

 * .... BENHAM: And speaking of Sue Benham, longtime Republican Karen DeWalt wrote to thank Sue for her years of service. "I have contacted City Council member Sue Benham on numerous occasions for a variety of problems that needed to be addressed in the Westchester area. Sue handled all of these promptly and kept me informed  as to when it would be resolved.  I want to thank her for her years of service. She will be missed."

* ... DID YOU KNOW: Did you know that if you lived in Arvin in the 1960s and wanted to call a number in Bakersfield with a prefix of 399 that it cost you a 20 cent toll charge? Thanks to Mary Louise Durham for submitting that.

* ... OVERHEARD: A local businessman is heard reminiscing about "The Judge," the 1969 Pontiac GTO that took the country by storm. Today, the most prominent product called "The Judge" is a Taurus handgun that shoots both .45 caliber rounds and a .410 bore shotgun shell.

 * ... NORTH HIGH: There is an effort under way to create an Athletics Hall of Fame for North High School. The group behind the effort is trying to raise $5,000 to cover the costs of a web design, hosting,  awards and dinner. Interested? Call Karen Langston for more information at (661) 619-6226.

Supervisor Mike Maggard gets some love from his constituents and is Bakersfield ready for loft apartments?

 * ... MAGGARD: Marjorie Boese sent out some props to Supervisor Mike Maggard, who helped her clean up a local eyesore. "I live in the Glade Street neighborhood and there is a foreclosed house with a toilet on the roof and piles of trash, and debris everywhere. It was a nasty eyesore, until Mike Maggard our 3rd District Supervisor saw the mess and said he would get it cleaned up. Ten days later it was done. All my neighbors and myself would like to give a huge thank-you to Mike Maggard, his manager Dick, and all the people who cleaned it up and boarded it up. Thank you all very much."

 * ... RADIO: Our downtown is about to get the kind of loft apartments that are so common in older, larger cities. The apartments are being built on the second floor of the building on 19th Street that houses The Metro Galleries, and is the work of Realtors Gary and Eydie Gibson and their partners. We'll talk about the latest downtown development on Californian Radio, KERN 1180, with Metro Galleries owner Don Martin. Tune in at 9 a.m.

 * ... MORE PROPS: I received a sweet hand-written letter from Therese Gaston, who wanted to pass along a remarkable thing that happened when she went to the National Cemetery on Memorial Day to place roses on the grave of her late husband. "A young couple with two boys, 8 and 10 years old, came up to me. Ryan, the 10-year-old, asked if I would like a card he made placed at the grave. It was a beautiful corrugated cardboard sign painted with a U.S. flag, the American eagle, sky and grass... Surely a day of pride and joy for me and my World War II Navy veteran husband. What exemplary parents they have!"


* ... MAMA TOSCA'S: One of our community's finest restaurants, Mama Tosca's, is celebrating its 30th anniversary of fine dining. A little history of the family: owner Luigi Rienzo, his brother Tony and their mother left Italy and came to Bakersfield in 1973. Luigi worked at the Tam o' Shanter for a few years as a waiter while he saved up enough money to live out the American dream. In 1982 he opened Mama Tosca's Restorante Italiano which is now located in the Marketplace. Said Luigi: "We are going to celebrate by providing the same great food and friendly service to our wonderful customers that we have for the last 30 years and we're looking forward to the next 30."

 * ... SPOTTED: From reader Brent Clayton: "I saw a middle aged blonde lady driving west on Brimhall with a cigarette in her left hand out the window, cell phone in her right hand held up to her ear and driving with her left knee. My kids and could not believe our eyes."

 * ... TADEJ: Local orththodontist Dr. Gerald Tadej held a patient appreciation day in which he hosted 600 patients, family and friends at Edwards Cinemas in two private theaters for a 3D showing of Men in Black.

Best places to retire? High tax California fails to make the list and more blowback from the Garces High School senior prank

* ... RETIREMENT: Forbes is out with its annual list of the best places to retire, and it should come as no surprise that California didn't make the cut. Forbes said that "high cost, high tax states like New York, New Jersey and California" were omitted in its list of the 25 top cities for retiring. Among those that were recommended were Albuquerque, N.M., Ashville, N.C., Austin, Tex., Bloomington, Ind., Boise, Idaho, Cape Coral, Fla., Fargo, N.D., Lynchburg, Va., Phoenix and Tulsa, Okla.

 * ... GARCES: A reader who asked to remain unnamed dropped me a note about the senior prank at Garces Memorial High in which some doors were glued shut and the faces of school administrators were photoshopped on a picture of Adolf Hitler and his inner circle of Nazis. "Gluing doors at Garces?  Are you kidding me? That's not a prank, that's vandalism. 'Boys will be boys'....oh please.  Mighty poor excuse for the incredibly bad behavior by whoever thought up and carried out the disrespectful photo idea and the door-gluing vandalism.  I say let the students remove the glue and pay for any repairs necessary as a result of their actions. Perhaps take a course in history to find out about Hitler's evils.   Good thing those students have already graduated.  They wouldn't be returning to Garces the next year if I were in charge.

* ... STING: Hats off to the folks over at The Guitar Center and the Bakersfield police for setting up a sting operation that led to the recovery of an expensive stolen guitar. It all started when a 1989 black Fender Stratocaster owned by musician Robert Flores was stolen. He went to the Guitar Center to alert them to the theft, and sure enough two men came in trying to sell it. The police were tipped, the police set up a sting, two men were arrested and the guitar was recovered. (file photo of a Fender Stratocaster)

  * ... LEADERSHIP: The Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce is planning a reunion of all the classes of its Leadership Bakersfield program. The 25th class of the program is about to graduate, and the reunion is planned for Thursday, October 4, at Stockdale County Club. There are some 750 local people who have been through the program, and the Chamber is trying to local everyone to tell then of the event.

* ... PHONE PREFIXES: More folks are weighing in on the old telephone prefixes and party lines. From Sarah Heinrichs: "Yes the prefix for the Oildale area was EXport 9-xxxx hence the 399-xxxx when numbers replaced the words. The area around East Bakersfield High School and College Heights had the prefix TRinity 1-xxxx  not TRiangle and became 871-xxxx when numbers replaced the words. When my family first got a phone we lived in the EMpire 6-xxxx area, were on a 10 party (rural) line but only heard the rings of four of the party lines.  Being able to make or receive a phone call at times was a nightmare.  We later moved to Oildale with an EXport 9 number but had several friends who lived in the TRinity 1 area of town.

 * ... MORE PREFIXES: This tidbit comes from Kala (Loewen) Stuebbe: "My father, Kenny Loewen, wanted me to pass on a telephone memory before even the prefixes. He remembers when his father, Pete Loewen, was a barber at the then new Padre Hotel Barber Shop in 1934 and their phone number was 164.  To contact them you would pick up the phone and a pleasant voice would say, 'Number please' and then connect you. Talk about 'hands free' (well almost). My grandfather later bought the barber shop and owned it from 1940 to 1976.  My dad loves to go to the 'New Padre,' by the way.  Lots of memories.

Downtown residents gather to oppose the widening of 24th Street and seniors at Garces Memorial High School pull off a year-end prank

* ... 24th STREET: There is a small but growing movement to oppose the widening of 24th Street downtown. A flyer being distributed to Westchester residents opposes the widening, saying it will destroy historic property and lead to a 40 percent decline in property values. The group is urging people to attend the upcoming hearings on the Thomas Roads Improvement Program (TRIP) project. Expect to hear more from these citizens. The plan is to widen 24th Street to six lanes, three in each direction, while cutting off some access to the south side of downtown by closing off some of the streets.

* ... GEESE: Darlyn Baker was heading west on Truxtun last week when traffic ground to a halt near Empire Drive. "Lo and behold, heading north across Truxtun was this family of geese.  It looked like the parents and six little ones. They made it safely across at their own pace... How refreshing to see the power of nature... to bring Truxtun traffic to a halt!" (photo by Darlyn Baker)

 * ... GUN CLUB: The Kern County Gun Club will hold its annual dinner and auction this Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Bakersfield Elks Club. This is always an interesting and well attended event featuring both live and silent auctions and drawings. Tickets are $100 each. For more information call Ken Ferra at (661) 332-4680. And speaking of the shooting sports, I ran into Mark and Betsy Ramsey at Trader Joe's the other day and they told me son Miles has taken up skeet shooting at the Kern County Gun Club. Miles is being tutored by Clifford Bolt, an ace skeet shooter and a terrific coach. Miles is thinking of entering the Junior World tournament later this summer. (file photo of skeet shooter)

 * ... SPOTTED: Driving south on Highway 99 in a pickup truck, the driver is reading the Camera Ads auto trader publication while his passenger is engrossed in texting on his cell phone.

* ... SENIOR PRANK: A group of seniors over at Garces Memorial High School posted flyers photoshopping the faces of Monsignor Michael Braun and other school administrators on a historic picture of Adolf Hitler and some of his henchmen. They also apparently glued some of the classroom doors shut to delay the final exams for underclassmen. All this was done after they had graduated but underclassmen still had a few days of classes left. This little prank was clearly in bad taste as well as being destructive, but as one parent said: "Boys will be boys. Monsignor Braun should just budget for year-end pranks like this."

* ... SWAP MEET: Reader Joe Michael was at the swap meet on Union Avenue one recent morning when he noticed a young woman wearing a matching smock and pants like a health care worker with a stethoscope in her front pocket. Michael wondered how smart it was to carry a stethoscope in such a dusty and dirty environment. "A good friend of mine living in another city had surgery ... and contracted a staph infection, which entered his blood stream, went to his heart and lungs and he died the next day..... I thought of approaching her and asking where she worked and if she planned to sterilize the stethoscope before using it, but decided against it," he said.

* ... PREFIXES: More feedback on those old telephone prefixes, this one from reader Don Edwards: "My folks bought a house in the early 1950s out by the airport. I well remember the party line and prefix days. However the EX prefix wasn't Exchange. It was Export. Just a very trivial correction."