Supreme Bean lives again!

Well, sort of.

Danny and Regina Martinez have leased the downtown location at 2000 F St. and plan a May 8 grand opening including half price coffee all day, as well as entertainment from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

They’ll operate it under the name Bako’s Supreme Bean to differentiate themselves from the previous incarnation of the company.

Supreme Bean coffee kiosks filed for bankruptcy liquidation in November under previous owner Coffee Exchange of the Americas Inc. The sudden filing left much of the chain’s workforce without their final paychecks.

Regina Martinez said she has rehired the previous manager of the downtown location, and is trying to track down other former employees so she can hire them back, too.

Supreme Bean’s other locations are being sold off one by one. Most remain vacant, but a few are housing new businesses. One of them is now a drive-through only Baskin & Robbins.

— Courtenay Edelhart

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A Bob's Big Boy is coming to Bakersfield this summer.

The diner will open at the former Bakers Square at 3939 Ming Ave.

And that got us thinking. What are your memories of dining at the eateries with the famous statue?

What do you want to eat?

The California Housing Finance Agency has expanded a program to help first-time homebuyers purchase foreclosed homes in Kern County.

Under the Community Stabilization Home Loan Program, first-time homebuyers are eligible for a low fixed rate loan and 100 percent loan-to-value to purchase foreclosed homes in areas with some of the state’s highest foreclosure rates.

Several financial institutions have partnered in the program and offer sales prices on select real estate- owned properties dramatically reduced from the current value.

Homes must meet agency price limits and there are income limits on participants.

In Kern County, for example, families of three or more can earn up to $80,960. The limit on the home sale price in Kern County is $322,208.

This program is only available in areas identified as among the most impacted by foreclosures in the state, including Contra Costa, Kern, Merced, Monterey, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Solano and Stanislaus counties, and a few zip codes in Alameda and Los Angeles counties.

Green Twig Nursery Garden and Design Center has opened at 7405 Rosedale Highway between Patton Way and Henry Lane.

The one-acre nursery has seven employees and eventually will have a retail store, said Bunny Merchant, a designer there.

Merchant said she’s “nervous, but more hopeful than nervous” about a new nursery’s prospects in the current housing market.

“Our perspective on it is that people are traveling less, and instead of going somewhere they’re going to put that money into their homes to beautify them and make them look like they’re on vacation somewhere,” Merchant said.

The nursery’s owner is John Gamby. It opened for business April 11.

A sports resale store has opened in the southwest.

Retro Active Sports will sell used sports apparel and equipment at 5610 District Blvd.

“Bakersfield is such a huge sports town, but with the economy the way it is, families can’t afford all the equipment, especially for kids who are going to outgrow it,” said owner Carl Salyards.

At his 2,000-square-foot store, you can buy and sell gently used gear, trading up for larger sizes as as children get older, Salyards said.

The store carries exercise equipment and gear for all kinds of sports, including snow sports, baseball, football, in-line skating, golf and bicycling.

It opened April 6.

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Lodging affiliated with Best Western International has opened in Wasco at 1704 Highway 46.

With 59 guest rooms and 15 large suites, the new Best Western Wasco Inn and Suites offers a refrigerator, microwave, 32-inch LCD television and wireless Internet access in every room.

The property also has an outdoor swimming pool and a fitness center. Rooms start at $89 a night.

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Bakersfield agribusiness company Sun World International LLC announced Monday that it soon will roll out a system designed to help retailers and consumers trace the origin and potentially the safety of its produce.

Sun World said it will put into place this spring the HarvestMark system developed by YottaMark of Redwood City.

YottaMark's system marks produce bags, boxes and selected individual items in a way that links them to up-to-date, online information as specific as when and where the produce was grown and harvested. Such data can be key to addressing food safety problems.

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Whether you're looking for a luxurious or modest home, it's selling in Bakersfield. Our latest map shows a variety of properties are selling.

See a year's worth of sales data and maps.

We regularly publish single-family home sale transactions, as well as foreclosures.

The homes are color-coded by price, with information from First American Real Estate Solutions.

Highlights for March 2 to 8:

98 homes are newly listed on the map.

Priciest? One sold for $525,000 in the 93311 ZIP code. It was 2,881 square feet.

Cheapest? One sold for $22,000 in the 93307 ZIP code. It was 835 square feet.

Any thoughts on the market?

— Christine Peterson

Bakersfield has won a bid to host a 12-week bowling tournament expected to generate $1.7 million for the local economy.

The city-run Bakersfield Convention & Visitors Bureau announced Thursday that the California State Association of the United States Bowling Congress has selected Bakersfield to host its 2010 Open Championship Tournament between May and July of next year.

As many as 800 bowlers are expected to participate each weekend at the AMF Southwest Lanes and Regency Lanes.

How much do we make?

Per capita personal income for Kern County was $27,090 in 2007, according to new figures out from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday.

That compares with $25,872 in 2006 and $24,906 in 2005.

No surprise, that’s all less than the California numbers:

2007: $41,805

2006: $40,020

2005: $37,418

According to the BEA, personal income includes pay, employer-provided health insurance, dividends and interest income, Social Security benefits, and some other types of income.

If you love numbers:

• Lowest per capita personal income? $8,579 in Loup County, Neb.

• Highest per capita personal income: $132,728 in Teton County, Wyo.

• Find data on 3,111 counties here.

— Christine Peterson

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Tracking down information on large public companies can consume your day if you let it. Fortunately, we have someone in the newsroom, Gretchen Wenner, who's a genius at finding key public info on the fly.

So after we got an e-mail yesterday from Tejon Ranch Co. stating that it has laid off 6 percent of its full-time work force -- without saying what the actual number was -- Gretchen referred us to the company's 10-K, where the company's employee count was sure to be found.

Lo and behold: The company stated in its most recent 10-K that it had 142 full-time employees at the end of last year. If no one has been hired or let go between then and the (undisclosed) time of the layoffs, then the number of former TRC folks who recently lost their jobs is 8.5 (we'll call it 9). That's not exactly the number we were given in an anonymous tip the other day, but it's pretty close.

And while we were poking around, we found something else that might be worthy of mention: The company's executive compensation looks to be on the decline. In its DEF 14A filing from March 31, Tejon Ranch said CEO Robert Stine's salary has fallen from $4.3 million in 2006 to $2.5 million in 2008. Over the same period, CFO Allen Lyda's pay dropped from about $1.4 million to $909,000, and Senior Vice President Joe Drew's annual income through the company slipped from $1.3 million to about $867,000.

The things you can find on the Internet!

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The numbers are sobering — and skyrocketing.

The Community Action Partnership of Kern Food Bank served 2,854 households in March 2007, the time of the local freeze. The same month the following year, it was 2,389 households. And now, in March of this year, 3,526 familes received its food.

“There are many, many people out there in need,” partnership spokeswoman Abby Tomlinson said.

And so, to help fill the need, the National Association of Letter Carriers will conduct its annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive on Saturday, May 9. They’ll collect non-perishable donations when they deliver mail. Postcards, sponsored by the Campbell Soup Co. and the U.S. Postal Service’s Priority Mail, will be sent to customers to remind them of the drive and explain how to help, according to a letter carriers news release.

Why does it matter? A whopping 53 percent of the county’s residents suffer from food insecurity, which means they can’t meet their nutritional needs with their income, Tomlinson said.

And for those who want to donate beyond the letter carrier’s drive, the food bank can turn a $1 donation into nine pounds of food. The Food Bank is at 1825 Feliz Drive and can be reached at 398-4520.

— Christine Peterson

If you work in the heat — or employ people who do — these free seminars may be for you.

State Compensation Insurance Fund and Cal/OSHA Consultation Service are running safety seminars on heat illness prevention and standards.

The schedule:

• 8:30 to 11 a.m. April 30, Hodel’s Country Dining, 5917 Knudsen Drive.

• in Spanish, 2:30 to 5 p.m. May 14, City of Delano Civic Center, 1009 11th Ave.

• 8:30 to 11 a.m. May 27, Hodel’s Country Dining, 5917 Knudsen Drive.

People who want to go are asked to register early because of limited seating. Call Jackie Gunderson at 664-4021 or go to the seminars page at www.scif.com.

Need help with your utility bill in these tough times?

Earlier this week the California Public Utilities Commission and utilities held a We CARE California Resource Fair in Bakersfield to let the public know about help, such as the California Alternate Rates for Energy program, which offers qualifying customers a 20 percent discount on their energy bill. 

You can still learn more by using the toll-free number on your bill or by going to the appropriate Web site:

CPUC: www.cpuc.ca.gov/WeCARE

PG&E: www.pge.com/WeCARE

Southern California Edison: www.sce.com/WeCARE

SoCalGas: www.socalgas.com
 

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Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, which entered Bakersfield with much fanfare last year, is slowing down its rollout of new stores as the economy takes its toll on consumer spending.

United Kingdom retailer Tesco had previously said it planned to invest $2 billion in the  United States over a five-year period.

The British grocery chain has opened three stores in Bakersfield so far, and plans called for five more: another three in Bakersfield, and one each in Wasco and Delano, according to the company's official Web site.

 But Fresh & Easy didn't foresee the depth of the recession, and those additional stores may now be up in the air.

"We do have a few stores that are finished (being built) but haven't opened yet," said spokesman Brendan Wonnacott. "We're looking at all our future openings on a case by case basis. It really depends on the individual store.

"It's just a matter of being prudent given the economic situation."

No specifics on precisely which stores are on hold, but here's a list of the locations the Web site says are "coming soon:"

• 1801 Planz Road, Bakersfield
• 11200 Brimhall Road, Bakersfield
• 8200 Hageman Road, Bakersfield
• Hwy 46 and Griffith, Wasco
• 611 Cecil Ave., Delano

 Stores already open for business are:

• 6601 Stine Road, Bakersfield
• 5190 Stockdale Hwy, Bakersfield
• 11100 Olive Drive, Bakersfield

 The roughly 10,000-square-foot neighborhood grocery stores sell national and private label brand foods, including gourmet items, health foods and pre-prepared meals. All checkout lanes are self-service.

In these troubled times, who isn’t looking for free stuff?

The latest: Office Depot is giving customers free job-search tools now through May 30.

The specifics: Customers can get up to 25 single-sided pages of resumes for free, as well as free faxing to five different domestic numbers, up to 25 pages in total, a spokesman said. The offer is good at all stores, including Bakersfield’s at 5600 Stockdale Highway and 8800 Rosedale Highway.

“Times are tough, and whether you are looking to make a career move or seeking your first job out of school, Office Depot is helping our customers take care of business by providing a valuable service free of charge,” said George Hill, senior vice president of Office Depot’s Design, Print, and Ship Depot said in a statement.

— Christine Peterson

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Many people have asked about the going-out-of-business sales at Gottschalks.

So I decided to check out the East Hills Mall store Monday night. Many items are marked 20 percent off. Some clothing racks had 60 percent off signs — but appeared to be the racks in the same spots that always had the deeply discounted clearance items, even before the store's January bankruptcy filing.

I overheard one customer inquire why the sales weren't "better." The sales clerk responded that the prices are in the hands of the liquidators.

On a side note, The Fresno Bee has two good posts about Gottschalks. One is about a clerk in Fairbanks, Alaska accused of givng away free stuff and unauthorized discounts to shoppers, and the other is about the paper dropping the store's stock listing.

— Christine Peterson

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You've most likley already heard or read the news:

The unemployment rate in Kern County rose to 15.9 percent in March, up from 14.7 percent in February and above the same time last year, when the rate was 10.7 percent.

We ran a poll over the weekend asking folks how bad they think the unemployment rate will get.

The results:

7% — said it will reach 16 percent. We're already at 15.9 percent and it just can't get much worse.

15% — said it will reach 17 percent, just like Fresno County hit in March.

21% — said 18 percent unemployment is possible.

33% — said it will reach 20 percent; they bet one-fifth of the county will be unemployed before this recssion is over.

24% — said it will reach 30 percent. This is going to become a full-fledged depression here and across the country. Accept it.

So, whether you voted or not, what's your take? And why?

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Homes with a wide range of price tags are featured on our latest home sales map.

We regularly publish single-family home sale transactions, as well as foreclosures.

The homes are color-coded by price, with information from First American Real Estate Solutions.

Highlights for Feb. 23 to 28:

100 homes are newly listed on the map.

Priciest? Two sold for $550,000 each in the 93311 ZIP code. One was 4,470 square feet and the other was 2,995.

Cheapest? Two sold for $40,000 each. One was in the 93309 ZIP code and was 1,118 square feet. The other, in the 93304 ZIP code, was 960 square feet.

Anyone out there buying? What kinds of prices are you finding?

— Christine Peterson

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Mauricio’s Grill & Cantina at 10700 Rosedale Highway is donating 15 percent of each party’s dinner check, from 5 to 9:30 p.m. May 5 (before sales tax), to the California Living Museum to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, according to a CALM news release.

You have to give the Mauricio’s promotional flier, which can be found on the CALM Web site at www.calmzoo.org, to the server for CALM to receive the 15 percent contribution.

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Homes with a wide range of price tags are featured on our latest home sales map.

See a year's worth of sales data and maps.

We regularly publish single-family home sale transactions, as well as foreclosures.

The homes are color-coded by price, with information from First American Real Estate Solutions.

Highlights for Feb. 16 to 22:

108 homes are newly listed on the map.

Priciest? One sold for $730,000 in the 93308 ZIP code. It was 3,100 square feet.

Cheapest? One sold for $17,000 in the 93305 ZIP code. It was 748 square feet.

Any comments on the prices?

— Christine Peterson

The Fresno Bee and McClatchy had a reporter in court today in Delaware to find out the latest about Gottschalks. Bottom line, the judge formally approved the liquidation.

The report says liquidation sales are slated to begin as early as Thursday and last about 10 weeks.

Read the story here.