Petty thefts, robberies and burglaries soar in Bakersfield and the collective shame of the litter in our community

 * ... CRIME: Did the news that the number of thefts and robberies have spiked recently really surprise anyone? There is hardly a neighborhood in town that hasn't seen an increase of petty thefts, car break ins and home burglaries. Prison realignment has dumped thousands of "non violent "offenders on our streets, but it doesn't make the person who returns home to find the house ransacked feel any better. What can we do? Police Chief Greg Williamson appealed for more community support, which to me translates into active community watch programs and constant communication with the police when you see something suspicious.

* ... LITTER: You know our litter problem here is bad when a visitor from Oregon takes the time to write a letter to the newspaper about how terrible we look to outsiders. "Of all the areas we have traveled in California as well as all over the USA, the trash around Bakersfield was deplorable. Surely the citizens care about the impression they are making," wrote Marcia Nashem of Bend, Ore.

 * ... OVERHEARD: An employee at a local grocery store is overheard telling a customer about shoplifters."The most common things they steal here are meat, cheese and coffee. Hard times."

 * ... DIETS: A recent study by the New England Journal of Medicine seems to confirm what we all know: dieters who eat earlier in the day rather than later lose more weight. In otherwise almost identical groups with the same caloric intake, those who ate dinner before 3 p.m. lost more weight than those who ate later. "Weight loss," a story in The New York Times said, "should focus not just on calories and nutrients, but also the timing of food.

* ... EAST HIGH: I have already mentioned that legendary broadcaster Don Rodewald is being inducted into the East High School Hall of Fame, but I neglected to mention the other honorees. They include Cornel Jordan, Don Galey, Rick McLeod, Manuel Oroz, Vernon Bell, Ruscel Reader, Bob Boyer, Terry Moreland, Ed Granillo, Dean Jones and Larry Press.

* ... MEMORY: Jack Moore is a third generation Bakersfieldian whose grandparents owned the Speedway Market. His own father regaled him with stories of the old Union Avenue Plunge and the mischief of his youth. "My dad was quite a rambunctious kid.  I am guessing that there were homeless people back then that lived down on the river and a friend and my dad would shoot at them with bow and arrows. He always referred to them as bums and they would get chased off.  He would also throw oranges at the cars and trucks pulling into the Orange Grove Trailer Park where they lived. My dad eventually went to Bakersfield Union High School for a year, about the time that Frank Gifford was becoming a football star."

* ... MEA CULPA: I screwed up in reporting on the success of Stacy Vanderhurst, a 2003 graduate of Centennial High School who went on to graduate from Notre Dame and is now completing her doctorate at Brown University. I erred in saying she graduated from high school a decade earlier.

Wool Growers restaurant likely to get some new love in an upcoming feature of Saveur magazine, and an old timer remembers the original Green Frog market

 * ... WOOL GROWER'S: It looks like Wool Growers, the famous Basque restaurant on 19th Street, will be getting some more love from the national press. Christiane Camou, daughter of Wool Grower' owner Jenny Maitia-Poncetta, tipped me that the editor of Saveur magazine (James Oseland) popped into the eatery last week.  "He enjoyed it so much that he had his photographer take hundreds of pictures of the food, and visited with my grandmother and myself about the history of Basque restaurants in Bakersfield," she said.

 * ... CAL RADIO: Tune in to Californian Radio (KERN1180) Monday at 9 a.m. when Assemblywoman Shannon Grove will be my guest to talk about AB 202, the school marshal's bill. In addition, I will be chatting with Cal State Bakersfield Athletic Director Jeff Konya and Runners baseball coach Bill Kernen.

 * ... HIGH ACHIEVER: Hats off to Stacy Vanderhurst, valedictorian of her 1994 graduating class at Centennial High. She went on to graduate from Notre Dame with honors and is now completing her doctorate at Brown University. In addition, Stacy is teaching an "Anthropology of Globalization" class at Brown this semester.

* ... NIGHTMARE: Here's a nightmare story on air flight that I wouldn't wish on anybody. Lois Henry, our Californian columnist, was flying back from the inauguration when she missed her 6 p.m. connection in Phoenix and was bumped to the 9 p.m. flight. That turned out to be two hours late, but it did make it to Bakersfield only to pass over the city and turn around because of fog at Meadows Field. "They initially rebooked me on the next day's 9 p.m. flight, but I was able to finagle a seat on the 11 a.m. flight. And no, US Airways did not put us up in hotels. You either had to pay for your own room, or schlump around the airport all night. If I don't see the Phoenix airport again for a good long while, it still won't be long enough!"

* ... WHAT'S IN A NAME: Cheryle DeMaro shared with me the origin of her own namne. "In the mid 1950s there were quite a few female babies (me included, except my dad changed my middle name to Jeanette in a compromise with my mom) that were named Cheryl Ann. Working in banks over the years I met a few of them in Bakersfield. I got curious and asked my mom why she picked that name. She said while in the hospital a new TV series came on and it was called 'On the Waterfront' starring the hunk at the time Preston Foster. His famous tug boat was named the Cheryl Ann. It was only on a couple of years but he had some Bakersfield women who had a crush on him. I thought maybe these 'Cheryle Anns ' would like to know. Also, does anyone know the story of the beautiful old Victorian house located behind the new Maya?"

 * ... GREEN FROG: Stan Anderson wrote to recall the old Green Frog Market that was located on the southeast corner of California and Chester. "In the early 1950s, Paul Taylor owned and operated the grocery department, and my dad, Clif Anderson, owned and operated the 'full service' meat department while Charlie Everett owned and operated the produce department  Somewhere around 1953 or 1954 Mr. Everett built the store at Alta Vista and Bernard and the Chester store closed. At this point, my dad went to work in the Alta Vista store where he worked for Mr. Everett as a meat cutter until he retired in 1974.  My Mom, Naomi Anderson, was the bookkeeper for the Bernard store from about 1955 until she retired in about 1992."

House Majority Whip McCarthy speaks of the value of education and our students, and takes a bet on the 49ers winning the Super Bowl

 Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, gives us his weekly view from Capitol Hill.

 "One of my best friends that I’ve known since childhood is Marshall Dillard. Many may remember him as a star athlete at Bakersfield High School who went on to play football at Stanford. He probably would say I was the friend who would ask him to get autographs for me when he would meet other star athletes. He has always been a role model and he continues to inspire our local students at Munsey Elementary School.

  "I visited Munsey this week to honor students for their academic achievement, and I was impressed with the eager minds of the students and the energy of the parents that were there. Our children are our most valuable asset and I know that a quality education is certainly the most important tool for them to be able to achieve their highest goals. I could not have been more honored to share the stage with my good friend and his students.

 "And as a former Bakersfield College student, I was also proud to meet and honor our state champion Renegade football team on Wednesday as well. To stand on the field of Memorial Stadium with the players and the coaching staff was a great experience.
 "As I look around our community, I am reminded of how much we have to be proud of. But I continue to have major concerns as I travel around the Central Valley and continue to hear the concerns from our local small business owners and families. Burdens from regulations and litigation remain. I will continue to fight to rein in onerous regulatory agencies that can literally tie up economic growth. For our local families to thrive, we must fight for a strong and vibrant economic climate.

 "Finally, I'm sure many will be watching the Super Bowl this weekend (or at least the commercials). It’s always exciting to see a California team go to the Super Bowl. My friend Maryland Congressman Andy Harris, who is a huge Ravens fan, challenged me to a friendly bet. I told him I would personally send him a box of Dewar’s chews if the Ravens managed to win the Super Bowl this Sunday.  On the flip side, when the 49ers win, Congressman Harris agreed to send me Maryland’s finest crab cakes.

 "Hopefully, we will celebrate a 49ers win this weekend after the Super Bowl, but I am proud to celebrate our local champions here at home.

RIP Vernon Chappel, ex Bakersfield College cheerleader, and keep Audrey Chavez in your thoughts as she battles an illness

  * ... RIP: Vernon Chappel, a legendary cheerleader who epitomized the spirit of college life at Bakersfield College and Cal State Bakersfield, has passed away. Most recently Chappel was a minister in Raleigh, N.C., but many folks remember when Vernon was an enthusiastic BC cheerleader in the late 1970s. He was at BC when the Renegades won the Junior Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and he later went on to CSUB to help cheer the basketball team in its march to the national finals. Marlene Morales, head of communications over at the Chain Cohn Stiles law firm, told me he was scheduled to return here to conduct a sermon at St. Paul's when he died in his sleep. He was just 56 years old. (photos courtesy of Marlene Morales)

* ... AUDREY: One of our community's most tireless volunteers, Audrey Chavez, is hospitalized with a bleeding disorder and is in need of blood donations. Audrey is the founder and leader of the Bakersfield AIDS Project and Ricky’s Retreat AIDS Hospice. Her blood type is A positive and you can donate in her behalf at Houchin Community Blood Bank (her account is under the number 779). The blood drive goes until February 9. Please keep Audrey and her family in your thoughts.

 * ... FIRST FRIDAY: There are a lot of reasons to head downtown for First Friday, including getting a bite to eat at one of the growing number of downtown restaurants (Uricchio's Trattoria, Muertos, Mama Roomba, Chef's Choice Noodle Bar, The Mark, Mexicali among them). One of the more impressive openings will be held at The Metro Galleries (19th and Eye streets) where the work of Betty Leonor will be featured. This is some really stunning stuff that makes Metro a must stop during your walk around downtown. Also at 6 p.m. there will be a ribbon cutting for Al Mendez's remarkable mural on the side of Front Porch Music next to The Padre Hotel.

* ... BURGLARY: There have been a rash of burglaries and break-ins in the neighborhoods up near Bakersfield College. I am told homes on Princeton, Radcliffe and Shattuck have been hit and neighbors are now alert and reporting any suspicious activity.

 * ... VETERAN: This note courtesy of reader Linda Burton: "Yesterday on the corner of Snow and Coffee roads I saw a heartbreaking sight. One of our valued elderly war veterans stood in the rain, his head held low as he rested against his cane and vehicle with a sign that read; 'life is hard, help if you can.' I stopped and gave him a card for groceries and asked what was happening. He said he’d been struggling financially, needed a new pacemaker and was trying to convince the Veteran's Administration to pay for it. I asked him to please get out of cold rain and to deal with it another day, but he refused. I felt furious and saddened that this poor man who had given so much for so many was reduced this. Then just as I was leaving I saw a young woman walk up with a bag of groceries, followed by a young man who stopped to offer cash.  It occurred to me what a wonderful community we live in spite of our broken federal system. We all need to do more for our senior citizens folks, this kind of thing should never happen!"

 * ... MEMORIES: Bernice Johnson wrote me a nice note sharing with me some of her old Bakersfield memories. The first time she had a Mexican meal, for example, was at Sinaloa when it was located in the current Wood Grower's building. It was the night before one of her girlfriends was getting married, some time in 1951. She also shopped at the Green Frog Market when it was located at California and Chester avenue, and later in the 1980s used to drive from Shafter to eat at Banducci's Corner.

 * ... TEA ROOM: And finally, Jackie Ardell wrote to with the answer to the name of the old tea room that was located on Truxtun Avenue. "I used to worked there in the 1940s.  It was Betty Lee's Tea Room." Another reader, Jean Gillian, remembers Betty Lee's as a large home with a wrap around porch. "The owner served fabulous meals but also had rooms to let for single women for it was difficult to find housing in the 1940s.  Still remember the owner for she bought her meat from a butcher and owner of Stephens Market on Chester and Fourth Street. She was a large well dressed woman and  knew what she wanted when placing her orders and watched that the butcher didn’t place his fingers on the scale when weighing the meat!"

Bakersfield Observed takes a walk down memory lane, recalling Frager's and Fontana's Pie Shop and the Plunge on Union Avenue, among others

 * ... MEMORIES: My mailbox was full of readers reminiscing about Bakersfield when it was a smaller, quainter community. I wish I could use all of the responses but here is a sampling.

 * ... OLD BAKO: Marshall Helm is the owner of Greenlawn Mortuary and recalls the old days when East Bakersfield was the business heart of our community. "I had some happy thoughts today when I read about Sinaloa once being located where Wool Growers now stands. It was sort of 'our corner.' Ernie Hashim had his speed shop on the northeast corner of 19th and Baker streets.  Across the street on the northwest corner was Wally Tucker's car lot, which later became a paint store. I had a motorcycle shop (Digger's Motorcycle Center) which was two buildings down from the southwest corner on Baker Street. All of us from that little square would meet every day for lunch at Sinaloa. There are a ton of dragster and motorcycle stories that we will never be able to tell... but it sure was a fun time."

 * ... CHINESE KITCHEN: Reader Benny Fuentez has fond memories of a restaurant called the Chinese Kitchen, which he said operated in the 1950s on Baker Street in the building that now houses Arizona Cafe. Fuentez, who attended Lincoln Junior High at the time, was a paperboy for The Californian and remembers reporting to the establishment to get his daily allotment of papers.
"All of us paperboys would meet there and eat fried rice with gravy and crackers and wait. With Wool Growers, the Pyrenees and other places close by, everybody was drunk, so you could sell five or 10 papers at a time to one person. Especially if it was raining, they would feel sorry for us and ask us, 'How many papers you got?' We'd have 10, and the papers were 10 cents back then, so they'd give us a dollar and we'd go home. Those were the good old days."

 * ... POOL: Janeen Carter-Smith doesn't consider herself an old timer but she does fondly remember the Plunge and its famous neon sign on South Uniion Avenue. "I spent so very many summer afternoons there with a favorite of sun-melted Hersey bars over French fries; how could I have possibly forgotten?

 * ... FRAGER'S: It appears we finally solved the question of what was the name of an early Mexican restaurant located near the current Wool Grower's building. Jack Ortega also remembers it was being names Frager's Spanish Kitchen, and next door was Fontana's Pie Shop."I was raised in east Bakersfield from the late 1920s to some time in 1948 and a lot of the young guys hung out at Fontana's and knew of Frager's. A great place to eat Mexican food."

 * ... PEARL HARBOR: Ann Cierley remembers the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor when she was a 10-year-old who was spending the day watching other neighborhood kids at the Kern Theater on Chester Avenue. "The lights went out - the usher went up on the stage - and announced Pearl Harbor had been bombed! The kids were already booing the interruption so we all sat noisily until the screen came back with little or no understanding of anything. Several times more the show was interrupted to more catcalls and a very annoyed me told my quizzical sisters and the kids around us that it meant we were going to get bombed and shot and now I had a group of crying kiddies on my hands to calm down... The war wasn't that far removed from the West Coast. We had air-raid drills at school and even dog tags were made for us at Beardsley. I kept mine for many years. Bakersfield had black-outs (our new Weather Bird sign was darkened), we had air raid wardens, war bond drives, gas rationing and military bases appeared like Minter Field out near Shafter. We all bought war stamps every week at school. Our mothers kept ration books. We had rubber drives, coffee can drives (I never understood that one) and all were very patriotic. Two uncles flew many missions over Europe and the Pacific. Both survived I'm happy to say. Millie Munsey helped me put on a war bond rally at Emerson in 1944 and my early years at Bakersfield High were filled with memories of being held up at the train tracks and stations by the many, many troop trains coming and going."

Cal State Bakersfield Athletic Director Jeff Konya is a finalist for the AD position at Cal State Northridge, and a ton of memories of old Bako

* ... CSUB: It looks like Cal State Bakersfield athletic director Jeff Konya is being courted by Cal State Northridge to become the director of athletics for the CSUN Matadors. Konya is apparently a finalist for the job, which came open when Rick Mazzuto left in November. Konya came to CSUB two years ago from Northeastern State University in Oklahoma, replacing Rudy Carvajal as athletic director. The loss of Konya would be a major blow to Cal State, which is now competing on the Division 1 level in college athletics and has just entered the Western Athletic Conference. Stay tuned.

 * ... GREEN FROG: From Santa Maria, Jerry Kirkland writes that he remembers when there was  a Green Frog Market on California and Chester. "When I was a junior at BHS in 1950-51, I worked there after school and on Saturdays, boxing groceries and stocking shelves. Oddly enough, we still use the term 'box boys' even though we haven't actually used boxes to take out groceries in many years.  We did in those days and it was about the hardest job I ever had since you had to literally carry the boxes to the customer's cars. Very few shopping carts in those days.  I started at 75 cents an hour but that was later raised to $1. Big money. Paul Taylor was the owner and manager and a really nice guy to work for.  Seems like maybe he was partners with the guy - his name excapes me - who had the store on Bernard and Alta Vista.  There was a full service butcher shop with sides of beef stored in a large walk-in refrigerator and the butchers would cut steaks or roasts according to the customer's wishes.  There was also a bakery in the front of the store, a Smith's if I'm not mistaken.  One day an older lady parked out front got her foot on the wrong pedal and came over the sidewalk and through the wall into the bakery section. Ruined a few pastries but no one was hurt."

* ... LITTER: Brent Stratton wrote to weigh in on the La Cresta homeowner who was upset that the Bakersfield police would not act on a man he caught littering in his neighborhood.  "I just wanted to point out that unless I'm mistaken, littering is an infraction and California law does not allow for a citizen to make a citizen's arrest (or an officer to arrest for something like this that did not occur in their presence). I don't believe it's selective enforcement, I just don't think it's legal for them to act  and would potentially open them (taxpayers) up to civil liability. Something to consider."

* ... HONOR FLIGHT: One of the most uplifting operations in town is the Honor Flight, in which World War II veterans are flown to Washington, D.C., to visit the war memorials. One of the driving forces behind the local effort is Lili Marsh, operations manager of the Petroleum Club. She told me there are two more flights planned - in the spring and in the fall - and wants more veterans to reach out to take advantage of this opportunity. "We have many applications, more than enough to fill a flight, but every time I read the obits it seems like another World War II vet has passed away. And I always think, 'I wonder why they didn’t fly with us?'" Lili can be reached at (661) 544-VETS. (photo courtesy of Jessica Frey)

 * ... OLD BAKO: Carol Owen gave me a call to answer a reader's question about the name of a restaurant that was located next door to Sinaloa, when that eatery was in the current location of Wool Grower's. "I believe it was called Frager's and it was very fancy and it featured enchilladas, tamales and fried chicken of all things," she said. "And I wonder if anyone remembers the old Tea Room on Truxtun that had the best home cooked meals. It was in an old two-story house down near the Civic and people used to be lined up at 5 p.m. trying to get in."

 * ... MEMORY: Elinor Grant also remembers the Mexican eatery that was in the current Wool Grower's location, and recalls that its specialty was a small green pepper, stuffed with cheese, dipped in batter and deep fried. "What a delight," she wrote. The memory still lingers."

House Majority Whip Rep. Kevin McCarthy: the President needs to step up and lead by backing a realistic budget, revising the tax code and bringing spending under control

 "Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield and House Majority Whip, gives us his weekly view from Capitol Hill. In his own words:


 "Those of you who read this blog know the magnitude of our growing debt crisis.  In Fiscal Year 2012, Washington took in $2.5 trillion and spent $3.8 trillion.  Our national debt has surpassed $16 trillion and is now larger than our $15 trillion economy.  This is unsustainable.

 "The first step towards saving our country from this debt crisis is having the House and Senate pass a budget. The House has passed a budget.  The Senate has refused to act.  That’s why this week, I led my colleagues in passing a bill requiring the House and Senate each to pass a budget. If either chamber fails, their pay would be withheld. The principle is simple: No budget, no pay. While the House has passed a budget every year since 2011 to outline budget and spending priorities, the Senate has failed to produce this basic framework required by law for four years and counting.  The iPad wasn’t even on the market the last time the Senate passed a budget. By passing the No Budget, No Pay Act by a bipartisan majority of 285-144, the House will hold the Democratic-controlled Senate accountable so we can begin addressing our debt crisis.

 "Working families in our local communities find ways to cut costs and save money and the federal government must also. The House is preparing a new budget with immediate spending cuts that puts us on a path to balance the budget.  And in a matter of weeks, the President will present his ideas in his State of the Union Address. I hope he tackles the issues most important to local families and small businesses I consistently hear as I travel around our communities.

 "First, I hope the President acknowledges that we face a serious challenge from our burdensome spending-driven debt. Debt hurts our nation’s economic growth by hindering private investment, creating uncertainty, and increasing interest payments that could go to more productive investments.

 "Second, I hope the President embraces growing our economy by joining Republicans to fundamentally reform our tax code. Not by raising taxes, but by making the tax code less complex, lowering rates, and broadening the base.  Let America’s best and brightest innovators and entrepreneurs compete, expand and make needed investments to grow and hire.

 "Third, I hope the President recognizes the need to rein in regulations hurting small businesses. Just talk to local small business owners about California’s regulatory climate and you’ll hear how difficult it is to stay afloat.  Unfortunately, we’ve seen major regulations balloon out of this Administration that could hurt the pocketbooks of hardworking Americans.

I stand ready to tackle these issues as we have over the past two years.  It’s time for the President and Senate Democrats to join us in taking real action to cut spending, reform entitlements, and grow our economy. If we don’t act now, future generations will have less opportunities and more debt. That is a future I do not accept. Making the Senate pass a budget is an important first step.

First design of Bakersfield's new minor league baseball stadium is unveiled and more blowback on the Bakersfield Prayer Breakfast

 * ... BASEBALL: I got a sneak peek at the early plans for the new minor league baseball stadium being planned for the corner of Brimhall and Coffee roads. The principals of the Kansas City architectural design firm (Pendulum Studio) unveiled the plans before a small group of business people at the downtown, Neutra-designed home of David Coffey Wednesday evening. The first draft shows a beautiful, compact stadium built on seven acres with the ball field dug several feet below the surface, offering spectacular views from virtually anywhere around the perimeter. There is family-style seating, a mounted grass berm play area behind the outfield and a multi-purpose room that can be used for special events. The main investors, oilmen Gene Voiland and Chad Hathaway, envision a multi-purpose venue that can be used for anything from concerts to conferences to rodeos.

 * ... RESTAURANT: Bakersfield is getting a promising new restaurant next Friday. The owners of Sushi Moon say they will open February 1 in the old Hourglass Building at the corner of Brimhall and Calloway Drive. Sushi Moon will feature fusion sushi and Korean barbecue, and I am told they also will carry a nice selection of Japanese and Korean wines.

 * ... PRAYER BREAKFAST: There was a lot of response on my earlier post about the upcoming Bakersfield Prayer Breakfast and its emphasis on the Christian view of Jesus. One reader, who is Jewish, said it appeared to exclude those of other faiths, including our sizable Sikh population. And then there was this tart response from another reader: "Tell your friend, who happens to be Jewish, if he is so butt-hurt, he should start his own 'prayer breakfast.  Your newspaper is pathetic."

 * ... BANDUCCI'S: Retired oilman Lynn Blystone is one of those who remembers Banducci's Corner, and he even recalls the help there. "Our favorite waitress at the Double Tree, Inez Coronado. was a waitress at Banducci's Corner for 22 years and could tell you some stories."

 * ... MORE BANDUCCI'S: Barbara Story wrote that Julia Banducci was her grandmother, and as a child she would help in the grocery store every Saturday. "At that time the restaurant only had the counter, no dining room.  It was so busy that a dining room was added some time after the war. Dick Porter was right about all the business done during potato and grape seasons. The customers all had their special place to sit and their special lunch order.  In high school and college I worked on weekends and summers as a waitress. We knew almost everyone that came in by name.  My sister Judy and my daughter Melinda preferred to work in the kitchen.  Our children Chuck, Patrick and Michael all had their first job at Banducci’s doing dishes, and as Chuck remembers pealing lots garlic.  In that small kitchen my grandmother supervised the making of the raviolis as well as everything else.  Melinda still makes raviolis and pickle tongue for gifts for the family at Christmas.  Many, many pleasant memories like the fried chicken cooked to order with spaghetti, minestrone soup, home made pies, pickled tongue,  pickled white beans, garlic beef dips to name just a few of my favorites. One could write a soap opera about all the happening that went on at Banducci’s Corner."

* .... OLD BAKO: Joaquin Resendez wonders if anyone remembers a restaurant called Spanish Kitchen that was located next door when Sinaloa was located in the Wool Grower's building. "They also served pyrenees bread with their salsa. I believe Wool Growers was located on 21st Street at that time."