A Bakersfield man with a past conviction for drug trafficking and several interesting skirmishes with the law -- including using a jackhammer on a neighbor's wall -- is in the middle of a multi-billion-dollar dispute between Chevron and Ecuador. 

According to The Washington Post, a group called Amazon Watch is questioning the integrity of former Bakersfield resident Wayne Hansen, whom Chevron says has evidence of bribery involving an Ecuadoran court. Chevron is fighting an Ecuadoran court order to pay billions in damages related to exploration work years ago. 

According to the Post, Hansen's past is colorful, to say the least. He was "found guilty and served jail time in a 1986-87 drug case for conspiring to import 275,000 pounds of marijuana. In addition, the group said, Hansen had a series of legal scuffles in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif. He lost civil lawsuits for an attack by his pit bulls on a neighbor and for damaging a neighbor's wall with a jackhammer, the Associated Press said."

One of the artists behind Mobile Haiku fond some inspiration while traveling through Bakersfield, burping out two posts that capture the weather and economy of our fair town.

The blog's tagline is "Seventeen syllables / is all you can cram into / such a tiny screen," a nod to what Webster's defines as "a major form of Japanese verse, written in 17 syllables divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, and employing highly evocative allusions and comparisons, often on the subject of nature or one of the seasons."

Here are two posts from "levinebar" titled simply "Bakersfield" and "Bakersfield II":

"Bakersfield"

South of Cajon pass
I emerge into daylight
 as if waking up

Question: "Cajon" is not really close to Bakersfield. Maybe should be "Tejon"?

"Bakersfield II"

Dimly, through the murk
nodding donkeys slurp up crude
 must be Bakersfield

Not a bad visual description.

Finally, not sure if a subsequent post titled "damnation" was inspired by Kern or not, but it's an indictment on our desire to make green things that are not:

"damnation"
Dante keeps a place
 for those who carve golf courses
 out of the desert

Bakosphere knows that is probably a dangerous question, but do you have any refreshing haiku to share? 

Several new/reasonably new songs are doing more than name-dropping Bakersfield -- they're centered around the city, its roots and reputation, and its changing face.

First off, Social Distortion has been performing its song “Bakersfield” in concert for a number of years, but now come reports that the band has polished the song to the point they’re ready to record a version in the studio for release in 2010.

Social D and leader Mike Ness are regulars in Bakersfield, and although Social D is known as one of the best punk bands ever, the Bakersfield Sound and other country influences are everpresent in many of Ness’ songs. Ness was visibly touched when he first performed in Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace a while back, feeling humbled to be on stages in Buck’s house. 

A different take on “Bakersfield” comes from Jeff Williams, who chronicles the dust and changes in the city’s look, among other things in a Sept. 30 performance at the Kern County Fair.

Finally, you can expect frequent Bakersfield references in the “Bakersfield and Beyond” radio show. The latest show featured “Bakersfield Music” by Tim Has (from the album “Bushpilot Buckaroo”).

 

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez on Saturday was taken back in time to his days in Bakersfield when an unidentified friend from Southern California gave him a memento from his days as a Bakersfield Dodger.

That memento, according to Delaware Online blogger Scott Lauber, was a baseball signed by the 1991 Bakersfield Dodgers, a team that also included fellow Major Leaguers Mike Piazza and Raul Mondesi. That's pretty good company.

Martinez, who is pitching against the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, thrived in Bakersfield but never found a groove in Los Angeles, LA later traded him, and he achieved greatness elsewhere. Now, nearly 20 years after his stint in Bakersfield, he's looking to beat the Dodgers for a small bit of revenge. As Lauber writes, the signed baseball served "as one of many reminders of what could've been."

Bakosphere has noted regularly that the regular stream of surveys, lists and the like that rank cities nationwide typically are fraught with goofy methodology, odd data sources and just plain bad info.

With that in mind, Bakosphere didn't even note the recent Daily Beast list that ranked Fresno last among "smart cities." For one reason, Bakersfield didn't make the list, which included only 55 cities. So, to Fresno's credit, 55 and last on a ridiculous list is better than 56 and lower.

But, the Contra Costa Times decided to travel to Fresno to document how the city is coping with the psychological impact of this horrific ranking and how it deals with the constant ridicule from other snooty locales (hmmm, wonder what that's like?).

OK, so far we're sympathetic to Fresno's plight in this Daily Beast silliness. ... until the end of the story, when the Times writer wonders, gee, is Fresno the end of the world or is there a place even they stoop to ridicule? Here's the predictable quote from Fresno Bee music columnist Mike Osegueda:

" 'Who do we make fun of?" says Osegueda, without hesitation. "Bakersfield.' "

Al Smith, president of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, laughingly piles on with a similar comment in the accompanying video (in which Osegueda actually comes across well; he also posted several takes on his blog and in a column defending the city).

So, here's our question: Who deserves our scorn? Is Fresno still our prime target or is it such an easy target that other places are more deserving of our ridicule? 

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An unidentified Bakersfield man is among Sidekick smartphone users suing Microsoft and T-Mobile over a recent outage that resulted in the loss of personal data.

CNET reports "One suit, filed on behalf of a Bakersfield, Calif., man 'and all others similarly situated' " accuses the companies of negligence and false advertising. "That suit seeks monetary damages as well as an order requiring the companies to fix the Sidekicks and service or offer a full refund."

As you might expect with such an inevitable story, there are some interesting reader comments being posted.

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A powerful earthquake in the Palm Springs area could create seismic waves that retain their intensity as far as Bakersfield and the southern Central Coast, a science-visualization project suggests. 

The simulation attempts to simulate the far-reaching impact of a 7.8-magnitude quake in Southern California. 

Rather than seeing the intensity weaken as seismic waves spread from the epicenter, the simulation from the San Diego Supercomputer Center and Southern California Earthquake Center suggests the energy from a so-called "Big One" quake could magnify strength as it moves outward through soft-sediment. 

The simulation forecasts intense shockwaves traveling north and west through soft sediment along the San Andreas Fault, and traveling through Bakersfield. The screen grab to the left -- from an interesting package Wired Magazine put together to recognize the best science-visualization videos of 2009 -- shows the waves hitting Bakersfield minutes after the initial jolt. 

The groups used 12 terrabytes of quake data to create their model. 

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Bakosphere stirred up some activity the other day in a post about office romance. So, it was an interesting surprise to have a local example of office romance pop up on CNN.

Laura and Joshua Meier met while working at the Klein Denatale Goldner law firm in Bakersfield, and kept their romance secret for a time until their boss spotted them and Laura's child in public. They later married, and moved to Orange County this summer.

Laura, posting as "newportmama," submitted her story to CNN's iReport, ending with this bit of advice:

"I would highly recommend dating a co-worker.  If there was a down side it was the cost of the wedding because of course we wanted all the office to be there!"

"CNN Newsroom" was scheduled to broadcast a piece on the Meiers this morning.

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Local blogger Keely Emery has written a harrowing first-person piece on a recent traffic accident in which another driver allegedly ran a red light and hit the vehicle carrying her family. There were injuries, but thankfully, everyone is alive.

The Californian reprinted Keely's original Sept. 29 post in Friday's paper (which we posted on bakersfield.com) and it's worth reading. It's not for the faint of heart, however, as Emery pours all of her emotions into recalling that horrible day in a post she titled "Nightmare." Here's one short passage:

"I have my daughter's blood on my hands. I'm shaking and crying. A lady is at Finnegan's side. Touching him. Checking him. I can't see her face, but I can hear her voice still.

" 'He's OK. She's going to be OK. You're OK. Breathe.' "

Emery ends with a powerful message we should all remember as we get in our vehicles:

"I will never be the same again. And I hope that everyone I know never will be either.

Drive safe.

Please.

Drive. Safe."

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Phil Prevost, guitarist of Bakersfield band The Blufs, and allegedly some kind of "French Fry afficionado," has given Face News his list of "Bakersfield's Best French Fries."

Topping Prevost's list of 10 recommended fry spots is Golden Ox on White Lane, followed by Root Beer King and Cindy's restaurant.

Bakosphere is partial to Tom's Famous Burgers on Rosedale Highway, which wasn't on Prevost's list. 

We know you have your favorites that may not have made Prevost's list. Head on over to FaceNews and add to the list so we can ID worthy fry stops throughout town.