Who says L.A. media ignore Bakersfield?

Why, just this afternoon, a Reuters television crew stopped by Bakersfield to ask locals — including The Californian's assistant business editor, John Cox (who actually lives in Frazier Park) — about the state of Kern's housing market.

The occasion? Earlier this week a Santa Ana-based real estate information service ranked Kern ahead of every other large market in the nation by mortgage risk. The Reuters crew — nice guys, both of them — wanted to know where the rubber was meeting the road, and how that might affect how Bakersfield votes in the upcoming presidential election.

Well, we didn't have much to say about the political end of it, but we did share our observations about the economic uncertainty created by Kern's foreclosure numbers. Hard times, we said. Not something for L.A. to envy us for.

The best part of the experience was walking up the front steps of The Californian's historic home, for the camera. We usually go in through the employees' entrance out back.