Are more apartments headed for downtown east of Chester Avenue? Plus tension on the Board of Supervisors and DA candidates to square off in a debate at CSUB

Wednesday April 4, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. 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. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... 18th STREET CORRIDOR: It looks like another big apartment project may be headed to

downtown Bakersfield on what I call the "18th Street Corridor" east of Chester Avenue. City Councilman Bob Smith said he is eyeing a parcel of land at the intersection of Q and 18th streets for yet another apartment complex, following the success of his 17th Place Townhomes. If the new project is built, it will mark yet another important chapter in the evolution of this important area of town that some have called "Eastchester."

 * ... BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: The federal court-ordered redistricting on the Board of Supervisors has thrown the board into some unknown territory: it has evolved from a clubby, polite group to a board where trust is in short supply. Perhaps as never before, the board is so divided that some members have a hard time making eye contact with others. The long feud between Supervisor Leticia Perez and Mike Maggard lingers, and now Supervisor David Couch feels the other four (particularly Maggard and Zack Scrivner) threw him under the bus by carving up his district to appease the federal judge's mandate.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, maybe that's where your kid should be practicing the trumpet."

 * ... DEBATES: CSU Bakersfield will be hosting a debate between Cynthia Zimmer and Scott Spielman who are running to succeed Lisa Green as Kern County District Attorney. The debate is set for Thursday, April 19, at the Walter Stiern Library. The following week, on Friday April 27, a debate featuring the top office seekers (state Assembly, Sheriff, District Attorney, judges and county supervisors) will be held at the Bakersfield Music Hall of Fame from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

 * ... APRIL FOOLS: Did you hear that In 'n Out Burger is now offering a "Cali style" burger with avocado and bacon? That was the news sweeping social media last week but before you get too excited, understand that it was apparently an April Fool's joke that got out of hand. The popular burger chain says it has no intention of changing or adding to its menu.

 * ... SACRAMENTO NUTTINESS: Did you hear about Assembly Bill 1945? Sponsored by Assemblyman Phillip Ting, the law would ban the sale and use of internal combustion engines in California by the year 2040. That's right, no more gas-powered cars and trucks. Is there a chance the Assembly could approve this bill? It's California, so go figure.

County supervisor David Couch to appear on The Richard Beene Show to talk about how he ended up the odd man out in the county redistricting. Is it over yet? He says not yet. And who remembers the old Chateau Health vitamin store?

Sunday April 1, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. 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. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com.


 * ... SUPERVISORS: So what really happened when the supervisors redrew their districts lines to

comply with a federal court order to create two "safe" districts for Latinos? One thing we do know is that District 4 Supervisor David Couch was the odd man out, and he watched (and silently fumed no doubt) when his colleagues on the board took a 12-inch Wusthop carving knife to his district to satisfy the court's mandate. Couch lost his traditional areas of strong support - Taft, Frazier Park and Pine Mountain Club - and instead picked up heavily Hispanic cities. Meanwhile, Zack Scrivner picked up Taft, Frazier Park and Pine Mountain Club and Mike Maggard emerged with a tighter, Bakersfield centric district that actually put his only challenger - Jeff Heinle - out of District 3. Couch has made no bones that he feels betrayed, and he tells me this isn't the end of it. Couch will be my guest on Monday at 1 p.m. on KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM. Tune in to hear his side of the story.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "We enter this world alone, we die alone, and we spend the time in between looking for our car keys."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "Let’s get married and have kids so instead of spring break in Cancún we can stop four hours into a road trip to clean puke out of the audio port on the iPad and hose off the car seat."

 * ... KGET: Jason Galvan has left the KGET morning show. Galvan was originally a sports reporter but moved up to the morning anchor desk after Kiyoshi Tomano left to join the private sector. No word on what he will be doing.

 * ... RIP MILT: Milton Huggs, the former school teacher and owner of Milt's Coffee Shop, Milt's Iron Horse and Milt's Ranch Inn, died last week. Milton Oscar Huggs was born on November 29, 1929, in Little Rock, Ark., and died on March 26. His coffee shop is one of the most popular in town, enjoying a loyal following for years.

 * ... ALL I WISH: Congratulations to Selah Victor, a 1999 graduate of Highland High School who has co-produced the new Sharon Stone movie "All I Wish." Victor, one of eight children, graduated from UC Irvine and studied acting in England, but she got the bug as a youngster at Juliet Thorner elementary school. She has a long list of commercial appearances, including roles in "Modern Family," "The Office," "Teachers" and on the Jimmy Kimmel Show. "All I Wish" tells the story of a struggling fashion designer who finds love - and second chances - later in life.

 * ... CHATEAU HEALTH: Who remembers one of Bakersfield's first health food and vitamin stores called Chateau Health that existed in the Stockdale Fashion Plaza in the 1980s? The owner, who worked at KERN radio under the nickname Pete Shannon, did regular radio segments called "The Health Nut" in which he would share healthy living tips.

 * ... SMITH'S: Enjoy this vintage picture of a Smith's delivery truck back in the day.

Town Hall "Uncensored" debate is set for April 27, sound walls going up on 24th Street and the new dine-in Studio Movie Grill prepares to open

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. 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. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... SOUND WALLS: The sound walls along 24th Street are going up, and they stand out for their

design and beauty. The sound walls are 12-feet high (they appear much higher) and are made out of a composite made to resemble brick. They are coated with an anti-graffiti substance that will make it easier to clean once they are tagged, which they certainly will be. The wall will be staggered - not one continuous wall - between Elm and C streets.

 * ... POLITICAL DEBATE: Mark your calendars for Friday, April 27, when a big town hall political debate will be held at the Bakersfield Music Hall of Fame. The debate is sponsored by KERN Radio and KERN CAST and will feature appearances by most of the local candidates for the top offices, including sheriff, District Attorney, Congress, state Assembly and Senate and judgeships. I will be moderating the debate along with Supervisor Leticia Perez. Questions are being prepared by both the Young Democrats and Young Republicans. This is a can't miss event to determine where the candidates stand on local issues.

 * ... CENTENNIAL CORRIDOR: And speaking of construction projects, City Manager Alan Tandy announced that the city will receive some $94 million from two separate grants to help fund the completion of the Centennial Corridor. The city has three more grant applications out and Tandy is hopeful the city will not have to borrow money to complete the project. Expect to see yet more construction on the interchange and eventual bridge over Truxtun at the Westside Parkway.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "It's funny how we say 'a bug hit my windshield' when we are the ones going 70 mph. I'll bet the bug's family describes it differently."

 * ... ZELEZNY: I interviewed the incoming president of CSU Bakersfield, Dr. Lynnette Zelezny, and found her engaging, passionate and eager to join our community after 30 years at Fresno State University. Her father was an aerospace engineer and as a youngster she lived in areas with NASA research centers. She starts her work at CSUB in late June after President Horace Mitchell retires.

 * ... STUDIO MOVIE GRILL: Is Bakersfield ready for a movie theater that offers full in-theater dining? Well it is coming in just a few weeks when the Studio Movie Grill will open over off Rosedale Highway. The theater will offer a full and robust menu with "ninja" waiters who are trained to deliver food quietly and without obstructing the view of the screen. Studio Movie Grill opens April 12.

 * ... BAKER'S OUTPOST: A young couple in town is getting ready to open a local bakery specializing in locally grown grains. Laura and Ian Journey are owners of Baker's Outpost and are already providing Luigi's with special breads for sandwiches. The retail location will be next to The Mint at 19th and M streets. In the meantime, if you want to try their bread, head over to the Haggin Oaks Farmer's Market on Sundays. Because of Easter Sunday this week, the farmer's market will be open on Friday.

 * ... BAKERSFIELD INN: Who remembers the old Bakersfield Inn on Union Avenue? Check out these old photos, and the menu, complements of the Kern County of Old Facebook page.

An "island" of trash twice the size of Texas drifts in the Pacific, Bakersfield shows up on a list of hot home markets and Jerry's Pizza is sold

Monday, March 26, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. 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. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com.


* ... GARBAGE ISLAND: Here's one result of generations of not taking care of our planet. There is now a floating island of garbage in the Pacific Ocean that stretches 600,000 square miles - twice the size of Texas and three times the size of France - and it is growing every day. It's called the Great

Pacific Garbage patch and it stands as mute testimony to the carelessness in which we treat our planet. Consider this from a story in the New York Post: "Environmentalists expressed concern in October 2016 after a team of researchers from The Ocean Cleanup Foundation surveyed the vortex of trash piling up between California and Hawaii, spotting chunks of plastic glued together measuring more than a yard. '[It’s a] ticking time bomb because the big stuff will crumble down to micro-plastics over the next few decades if we don’t act,”' Boyan Slat, founder of Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit that helps remove pollution from the world’s oceans, told Newser at the time. The size of the trash pile has nearly doubled in size since then, containing at least 79,000 tons of plastic — “a figure four to sixteen times higher than previously reported,” Scientific Reports said.

* ... HOUSING: Bakersfield has popped up on a list of the top ten hot home markets to watch. According to Forbes, the top ten markets considered "secondary" and under the radar are, in order: Spokane, Washington, Portland, Maine, Knoxville, Deltona, Fla., Boise, Jacksonville, Fla., Charleston, North Port, Fla. and Bakersfield. Said Javier Vivas, director of economic research at realtor.com: "It's pretty much Millennials who are looking at these markets because they offer inventory at the right price point. Over the next few months I think inventory in these markets may start to go quickly as the spring buying season begins. It's a trend we saw begin last year and are now seeing the pace pick up."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Never do you get a greater sense of your advancing age than when you have to find your year of birth on an online drop-down menu."

 * ... RESTAURANT NEWS: It looks like the Tower Craft Bar and Grill, the latest restaurant to take over the elegant old church on Truxtun Avenue downtown, is getting ready to open. Chef Robert Alimiraie, formerly head chef at The Petroleum Club, is planning on an open house this week and he prepares to open to the public. Meanwhile, over at the new Wood-Dale Market in Grand Island Village, they are on the cusp of opening a small dine-in area for small plates, anything from tri-tip sandwiches to barbecue.

 * ... JERRY'S PIZZA: After more than 27 years in business, the iconic downtown music and pie venue Jerry's Pizza has been sold. The owner who guided Jerry's Pizza through the years and made it a musical hotspot for young adults, said the new owners, Corina and Ernesto Topete,  will take over on April 1. Ernesto and his brothers worked at Jerry's for years and promise to retain the most popular pizzas while introducing new ones themselves.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this picture The Club Saloon located at 1302 19th Street circa 1905. Photo courtesy of the Kern County of Old Facebook page.

The beauty of our world ...

 If you live in Kern County, the drive up to Woody, Hart Flat and beyond is stunningly beautiful in a way that only westerners can fully appreciate. So feast your eyes on this photo on the road to Hart Flat, 2014, that Pep Munoz took on a visit to his family's ranch.

Father Bert Mello of OLPH dies, county supervisors struggle with redistricting and a veteran sheriff's deputy says crime is out of control here

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. 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. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... RIP BERT MELLO: Father Bert Mello, who took over at Our Lady of Perpetual Help just

three years ago, has died. His passing was announced Wednesday morning at the start of the

inaugural Kern Catholic Prayer mass to audible gasps from the capacity crowd. There is no immediate word on how he died. Mello had a compelling personal story and spoke opening of his hard partying self indulgent way of life before he turned to the church.

* ... SUPERVISOR DISTRICTS: The biggest story politically is what will the federal court rule in deciding what happens to the county supervisor districts before the November election. Thanks to the lawsuit bought by the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund and the Dolores Huerta Foundation,

the court ruled the districts must be redrawn because they were crafted in a way that dilutes Latino voting strength. In other words, the county needs a second "safe" Latino district. How that is done and which incumbent it might effectively unseat - David Couch? Mike Maggard? Mick Gleason? - is critical since campaigning is already under way for those incumbents like Maggard who face reelection. All this is unprecedented and we should know soon what the court decides. Meanwhile, Maggard and others continue to campaign hard in a district that might not soon exist.

 * ... AMAZON DELIVERY: Bakersfield has been chosen for a new distribution center that will help deliver Amazon products quicker to the home. According to Oscar Baltazar, senior vice president for Collier International, the new "fulfillment" center will be located at the Wonderful Industrial Park near 7th Standard Road. Amazon does not own the facility but rather contracts with its owner to help fulfill its mission of fast delivery.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "When my dog sniffs another dog’s poop I can only assume that it’s their equivalent to checking a friend’s facebook page."

 * ... CRIME: How bad is crime in Kern County? How about the worst as it has been in more than 30 years. That is how Kern County sheriff's deputy Martin Downs answered the question when he appeared with partner Casey Brunzel on KERN NewsTalk 96.1. Downs and Brunzel are part of the KCSO's rural crime unit that specializes in oil, agriculture and livestock crime. Why has crime spiked? "There aren't any consequences," Downs said, describing a cycle of arrest and release that leaves few in fear of the law.

 * ... KERN VETS: Some of the most interesting talk radio locally is found on a new program devoted to our local veterans. Hosting by Army Airborne veteran Chad Garcia, "KERN Vets" runs every Saturday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM. Last week Garcia interviewed two veterans of the Battle of Iwo Jima and this week his guest will be a Vietnam veteran with two Purple Hearts and a Silver Star. They will also discuss the issue of "professional veterans" who seek attention but don't tend to their own issues.

 * ... CHINA PALACE: The county health department has shut down another popular restaurant,  China Palace on California Avenue. Inspectors found cooked chicken and some vegetables were kept at improper temperatures and there was also some uncovered raw shrimp and chicken in a walk in refrigerator. No word on when it will reopen. Meanwhile, Muertos remains closed after inspectors found multiple violations about a week ago, including roaches.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this picture of Chester Avenue and 18th Street back in the day. Photo courtesy of the Kern County of Old Facebook page.

A vintage car show downtown clogs the streets and drives customers away, Traco Matthews leaves Aera Energy for another job and knowing when the small things can have a big impact

Monday, March 19, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. 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. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

 * ... CAR SHOW: I'm not a fan of car shows, but I understand those who get into these kind of things. But the days of staging these shows in the downtown area - particularly a work day - should be long gone considering the problems they create. On this past rainy Friday, it was near impossible to navigate downtown as the Cruzin Bakersfield vintage car show wound through the downtown streets. The irony here is that shows like this actually hurt downtown businesses, not help them.

When you rope off streets you are pushing people out of downtown, not inviting them in, and the local shops and restaurants suffer. What should have been a busy night at the local eateries was turned into a retail nightmare, and one restaurant owner told me it took her a full hour to get into work. The Cruizin Bakersfield car show does a lot to help local charities, but next time they should consider Stramler Park or the Kern County Fairgrounds. Benefiting charities at the expense of local restaurants and retail shops is a bad deal.

  * ...  BOULEVARD: More big news in local food and entertainment: The Boulevard, a 45,000 square foot project over off Buck Owens Boulevard, will open next month featuring gastropub style cuisine, an outdoor beer garden, state of the art bowling, laser tag, bocce ball and a ropes course. This is yet another project by the Bynum family, this time David Bynum and Trifecta Management. His brother, Don Bynum, is part of a group that runs Temblor Brewing Co.. The BLVD, as it will be known, sits in the same spot that once housed the old Home Base. It will open April 19.

 * ... TRACO MOVES ON: A big congratulations to Traco Matthews who is leaving Area Energy to become one of the Human Resource directors for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. Matthews announced the move on Facebook and we will no doubt hear from from this man who has thrown himself into our community. (picture of Traco with Aera's Cindy Pollard)

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Showing your love used to be buying them flowers or writing a poem. Now it’s just looking at them for 5 minutes without checking your phone."

 * ... EAST SIDE: Sometimes it's the little things that make a difference, and Ward 2 City Councilman Andrae Gonzales is the master of knowing that small things can make a big impact. Since unseating Terry Maxwell on the council, Gonzales has made his "neighborhood clean up" Saturday a fixture of his office, and he was out again this weekend with Ward 2 residents cleaning the streets. This week his monthly "Keep East Bakersfield Beautiful" cleanup covered the alley between Monterey and Lake Street from Williams to Beale.

 * ... SHAME ON THE PADRE: Meanwhile shame on the Padre Hotel and managers in its Brimstone lounge for putting this grand hotel in a bad light. I was dining with a friend when he submitted a $40 Padre gift certificate to pay for drinks. Our waiter told him that "management" said the $40 could only be used for food. Say what? Perhaps not coincidentally, former Valentien manager Jeramy Brown is one of the managers at the Padre now, and he was known for rejecting gift certificates when he worked at The Mark across the street. If a gift certificate is for "solid food only," perhaps it should stipulate that.

 * ... MEMORIES: This old picture of 19th and Chester looking west down 19th Street is compliments of the Kern County of Old Facebook page.

Emilio Huerta is eyeing a new Latino district on the Board of Supervisors, the battle for the iconic Silver Fox neon sign and a new radio show will honor our local veterans

Friday, March 16, 2018

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed, now online only. 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. We value your feedback. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

* ... HUERTA: What was really behind the decision by Emlio Huerta to drop out of the race

challenging Rep. David Valadao? Was it really to concentrate on recruiting more Democratic candidates as Huerta told the press? Or simply an acknowledgment by Huerta that he could not unseat the Hanford Republican? Could be, but consider this theory: Huerta realized he could not beat Valadao and his now lining up to run for a seat on the Kern County Board of Supervisors once the district lines are redrawn per a federal court order. This much is certain: there will be a second "safe" district for Latinos once the redistricting is complete, likely in time for the November elections. And once those district lines are clear, expect the son of Dolores Huerta to throw his hat into the ring.

 * ... SILVER FOX: Let's hope Rod and Julie Crawford succeed into their effort to get the old neon Silver Fox sign back on the roof of their bar, the iconic Silver Fox Starlite Lounge across from Mexicali on 18th Street. The sign was donated to the Kern County Museum before the bar was sold to the Crawfords, and now they'd like it back. Said Rod: "Drive down 18th street at night and imagine how that neon sign would look lit," he said. I agree, and with the rapid improvements to what I call the 18th Street Corridor, it would behoove the museum to return the sign to its original place. Think about all the classic neon signs around town, and how they add to the character of our town.

* ... MEDICARE SCAM: If you are on Medicare, you likely have heard that the government will soon issue new Medicare cards with new identification numbers to replace your Social Security number. It's all about privacy and making sure your Social Security number does not fall into the wrong hands. That's all good news, but with every change in Medicare you can depend on the scammers to be one step behind. Here is one scam going around town: someone calls you from "Medicare" and tells you that you need a temporary card for a small fee. They want all your personal information, bank and credit card numbers, so they can process your temporary card. The truth: Medicare would never call you and it does all communications by mail. Do yourself a favor and ignore these scammers.

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "Don't tell me you miss me. Tell me you are outside with tacos."

 * ... KERN VETS: We live in a community that honors its veterans, and for the first time ever we will now have a radio show devoted to honoring the service of our local vets. Chad Garcia, who spent 13 years in the Army as an airborne infantryman, will host "KERN Vets" starting this Saturday on KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM. The show will run every Saturday from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. His first guest will be a veteran of the battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

* ... MEMORIES: Check out this picture of the old fire station #1 at the southeast corner of 20th and K streets around 1935. The structure was demolished around 1939 when the new fire station #1 was completed at 21st and H streets.