Three great students, three great speeches.

Check out the following graduation speeches from BHS, Golden Valley and East.

Sebastien Bauge for East.

Melissa Morris for BHS.

Gabriel Guimte for Golden Valley.

Check out this video of a father who goes to great lengths to see his daughter graduate from BHS.

Or, add your voice to a local blog bemoaning the lack of decorum at an 8th-grade graduation.

And find the few remaining gas stations selling gas for under $4 a gallon on our interactive map.

Finally, view some wonderful cats and dogs for adoption at local shelters at out Your Words section.

Gas prices. Food prices. Food prices. Gas prices.

Is that all people talk about nowadays?

So we have to eat less and drive less. Is that really anything we shouldn't be doing anyway if we're concerned about our health and the health of our planet?

I'm still riding that grueling 2 miles to work and back almost every day and I was feeling pretty proud of myself until I came across this story:

Man saves money, bikes 42 miles to work.

So far, he's saved $400 a month on gas. My weekly savings have been around $3.88 (or a agallon of gas).

Here's my original post written on May 16, National Bike to Work Day.

— Andrew Mockett

We've got the Basque on our minds after attending Sunday's Basque picnic on Union Avenue and eating a Memorial Day lunch at Chalet Basque, so this Thursday morning post is dedicated to the food and family traditions of the Basque.

First, this NPR article on hidden Basque kitchens, titled "The Sheepherder's Ball."

And here's a few photos from Sunday's picnic.

And lastly, the Inside Guide link to our favorite Basque restaurant in town, Noriega's. Read and write your own review at this site.

Check out our story about a Mojave Ford dealership and its unusual radio ad.

And read what The Underground Believer blog has to say about it here.

And here's another blog on the same topic.

And if you need a new (or used) car, here's the dealership's Web site.

Anyway, it's a moot point because we all know if Jesus was going to drive he'd drive a Christler.

This off-road enthusiast is contemplating a move to Bakersfield and is searching for some information before he packs his bags.

Can you help him?

Read his blog post here.

And check out a February Bakosphere post on off-roading.

A Condors team official bemoans a recent Californian reader survey which voted the Kern County Fair above a Condors game for best family entertainment.

Read the blog here.

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We got word today that a former reporter from The Californian had been found dead at his home in Arizona.

Chris Page, 29, was an entertainment writer and columnist at The Californian from 2000 to 2003. He left to cover theater for the East Valley Tribune in Mesa.

He was laid off a few weeks back along with 10 others.

The Phoenix New Times has a detailed piece on Chris' death.

Matt Munoz, of Mento Buru and Bakotopia, also has posted on Chris' death on Bakotopia and there is a intense discussion going on at Bakotopia's blog here on Bakersfield.com.

You gotta love the culture of Bakersfield. Others may wonder about us, but we know the truth!

Help this blogger learn a little about Bakersfield — the name of which scares her because of Stephen King's scary Annie Wilkes in "Misery" came from Bakersfield. And Korn scares her. And towns with mundane names scare her. Let's invite her over for dinner.

Speaking of dinner, The Burnt Fork Boys, a group that calls itself "Bakersfield's Own Competition & Benefit BBQ Team," is hosting an RVQ competition at the Bakersfield RV Resort June 20-22. Do you have what it takes to enter? Check out the rules here.

Getting hungry? Ever stopped at the McDonald's in Barstow? Apparently someone thought it interesting enough to post a photo.

And for more photos, check out these from the Kern County Basque Club picnic. Where can I get me one of them costumes?

Jonah Freedman with Sports Illustrated has written a behind-the-scenes tribute to Mets catcher Mike Piazza, who retired Tuesday. Jonah says he feels, in a way, he discovered Piazza when he and his dad drove up to Bakersfield from Los Angeles in 1991 and watched the young player hit the ball over Sam Lynn Ballpark's left field wall.

Read the rest of this gem on SI.com: http://sportsillustrated.cn...

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If you love trains and are dying to see one up close and personal right now this very minute, you'll want to go to this link:

Kern County Train a Comin'

If you are prone to motion sickness, migraines from loud noises, or don't like trains, DO NOT go to this link.

And here's a spoiler: The video ends as interestingly as it begins.

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Remember a couple of years ago when incarnations of Bakersfield Barbie were making their rounds on the Internet? My personal favorite was Tehachapi Barbie — two Barbies holding hands with a rainbow flag in front of a Suburu. Love her!!

Well, Barbie is now back with her Central Valley friends. They look eerily similar to the Barbies from Kern County. (Oakdale Barbie looks a lot like Oildale Barbie — complete with confederate flag and six-pack of beer!) But these Barbies are from towns up and down the Valley — and Taft Barbie is compared to Modesto Barbie (she comes with her own Meth lab kit).

For some real fun, check out this Jibjab video of Gangsta Bitch Barbie and her honey, Thug  Ken.

I still have my 30 Barbies in a box in my garage that I played with as a child. Someday I'll have to pull them out and give them an updated look.

— Jennifer Baldwin (aka Oleander Barbie)

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David and his dog, Chiva, rode through Bakersfield, gave a couple of presentations and then rode out again. The pair are exploring the world together.

His blog post is here. Click around, he seems like a cool guy.

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In these 'recessionary' times, it comes as no surprise that American Airlines has taken the plunge and will now charge for the first checked item of baggage. They already charge $25 for the second, so look for some unwieldy-looking carry-on bags as passengers try to stuff their duty-free vodka bottles into a bag designed for toiletries and a magazine or two.

But as we sit and moan about $4 gas and $4 milk, let's not forget how bad things were in Bakersfield during the 30s. Luckily, we have eminent local historian George Gilbert Lynch to remind us in his latest submission to Your Words. Check out his engaging story of life in Bakersfield during the Great Depression here. There's some amazing photos too.

Our Cheapskate blog will ease the pain though, with local deals galore and a whole lot more.

Massive apologies to the person who relies on Tuesday's Radio Free Bakersfield podcast. It got lost in yesterday's monster dust storm. Here it is and it comes with the obligatory language warning. Good listening nevertheless.

We love this place too, so we were pleased to see a favorable review for Los Tacos De Huicho on some restaurant review site. Gotta love the big spinning stick. We'll get tarred and feathered if we don't mention our Inside Guide, so here's what reviewers wrote on that site.

This blogger calls Bakersfield a 'hellhole,' but he's not bashing it.

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Feel that sharp pain? It's movie marketers forcing "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" down your throat, so unhinge that jaw and make room! Sixty-five-year-old action hero coming through!

A check of Fandango shows tickets are still on sale for tonight's 12:01 screening at The Marketplace -- ironically, well past the bedtime of the people young enough to appreciate the movie and the people old enough to star in it.

Nevertheless, locals are excited, including this blogger who happily recounts committing truancy to see "Temple of Doom" back in '84.

Inspired enough to impose your love of Indy upon an unsuspecting child this Halloween? Get tips from a Bakersfield guy here.

Going to the premiere? Any fond memories of Dr. Jones to impart? Know of any other local fan sites/blogs? Let us know here.

Had it not been for L.A.P.D., the Kern County Sheriff's Department may never have realized 20 handguns were missing from its property room.

Read the story here and check out the sheriff's news release which contains this disturbing line:

The Kern County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the handgun was supposed to be in the Kern County Sheriff's Office property room.

Meanwhile, across town a BPD officer was apprehending a man who had stripped to his boxer shorts as part of a KLLY radio show contest.

The story is here, and it explains why the man spent some time in the back of the police car:

The officer saw Smith taking his clothes off and was worried he might strip down completely.

And you absolutely must listen to the radio broadcast which gives a play-by-play of the incident. It includes this classic on-air line from the DJ on location:

"Uh-oh. C.K.'s going in the back of the squad car right now."

Talk about miserable. We bypassed the rest of spring these past few days and landed smack dab into the middle of the worst summer temperatures.

104 degrees. That's not a gentle reminder that summer is on its way, it's a boiling beatdown, the kind of surprise that keeps us inside, AC unit humming, homegrown vegetables wilting, dogs panting, steering wheels too hot to touch, you know the drill.

This local family's swimming pool is already 86 degrees! We always wonder why people in this town choose a dark surface for the bottom of their pool.

The heat didn't stop this bike race, but it sure made it tough.

And one local guy's long, yellow cure for the scalding heat.

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We got a call a few minutes ago from a gentleman in Tucson, Arizona.

He said he had been watching the news this morning and had seen a story out of Bakersfield about an invasion of frogs. He said something along the lines of, 'they were marching through neighborhoods, taking over gardens and homes.'

The religious extremists would tell you that someone high up wasn't too thrilled about the gay marriage ruling yesterday, but plagues are so BC.

We had no idea what he was talking about until staffer Steve Swenson remembered he had seen something on a local TV station.

Here's the story.

And while we're on the subject, all you ritzy Rosedalians who were planning on eating the appendages from said frogs, keep this Florida story in mind.

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In honor of today's National Bike to Work Day, I decided to get on my bike and ride (as those T-shirts I see around town have been imploring me to do lately).

(Bike Bakersfield has all you need to know — funnily enough — about biking around Bakersfield. Check them out here)

Here's what I saw on the gentle 2-mile commute into work:

• Gardeners blowing dirt and dust from one location to another.

• BHS kids walking to school in togas and Julius Caesar outfits!

• A Bud Light can in my gutter.

My girl made me a patch with the words "ONE LESS CAR" scrawled rather militantly in black paint on a white piece of cloth and affixed it to my backpack. I felt like Cesar Chavez or Martin Luther King, Jr. or Banksy.

What I didn't see on my ride was anyone else biking to work.

The struggle continues.

Note: Just because I didn't see any other cyclists doesn't mean they weren't out there. In fact when I got to work at 7 there were four bikes on the bike rack. Usually at that time, mine is the only one.

Note 2: My car gets 16 miles to the gallon. I cycled to work 4 times this week, 2 miles each way. I estimate my weekly savings to be around $3.88. If that's not reason enough to dust off the huffy, I don't know what is.

— Andrew Mockett

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We could see that swimming in the ocean off Santa Monica or in Buena Vista Lake might be bad for you, but Cayucos? Clean, sleepy, misty Cayucos?

We know loads of people from Bakersfield vacation in this lovely little Central Coast town because we see them when we're there — drinking it up in the saloon or eating tacos at the Smokehouse.

Seems that Cayucos has dirty ocean water and swimmers and surfers are being advised to stay out.

By the way, speaking of the Smokehouse, it reminds us of a wonderful article in the New York Times a couple of years ago when a writer traveled the California coastline in search of the perfect taco. He found one at two different eateries in Cayucos. Read the article here.

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This afternoon/evening sees the CIF track and field championships at Liberty.

Our prep writer, Zach Ewing, wrote a marvelous preview of the event in today's paper focusing on two local throwers who heavy favorites in today's meet. Read his preview here.

Zach's quick-hit preview can be found here.

And his blog on all prep sports-related topics is here.

For a team preview, respected prep athletics site, dyestat, has some interesting predictions. Check them out here.

Pictured is Foothill's Chris Schwartz, one of the area's most dominant distance runners in recent memory.

From orange packing sheds in Edison to a neat tunnel at Bealville, check out these words and pictures from a railroad buff.

We found this local blog post very interesting.

It's about kids begging at the Northwest Promenade. Read it here.

Working downtown we get hassled for handouts on a daily basis on our short walks to get coffee, but surely this isn't going on in the northwest? By kids? Outside Target Greatland?

On the 13th of every month believers head to the desert in search of serenity, visions and miracles. They've been coming for 20 years.

Check out the Los Angeles Times story here.

Want to know more about this eastern Kern County community. Read about California City here.

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Thank goodness. After last week's absence Radio Free Bakersfield is back with its weekly podcast, promising (and delivering) nearly "60 minutes of TWANG, CRUNCH, OOMPH."

Listen to it here.

And while we're on the subject of nifty multimedia offerings, we urge you to watch and listen to our "Week in Pictures." Our photo editor picks his favorite local photos of the week and explains his choices.

Check it out here.

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Just when you get accustomed to these lovely spring days, cycling to work, gardening in the mid-afternoon sun and sitting outside at one of our nice restaurants, the inevitable happens: 100º days.

They're coming this weekend.

Soon it will time to hibernate for the summer, shuffling diligently from air-conditioned house to air-conditioned car to air-conditioned office.

Then late-September will be upon us and Bakersfield will once again be a lovely place to live.

For a different perspective, Weedpatch blogger Sam Heath is a big fan of summer. A really big fan. In his latest blog post, he explains why, using Huck Finn and Harper Lee (and many others).

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The Golden Empire Classic and SCNCA Road Race Championships were held in Bakersfield and Oildale this weekend.

Here are a few blog postings from the cycling races.

A cyclist enjoys the start, but not the second climb.

The same rider reflects on the race a day later.

A cyclist takes a nasty spill, but is gracious enough to pose for a picture!

This rider was happy with his 10th-place finish, but he has concerns about the cattle guards.

And finally, check the results out here.

It's almost a year old, but this is a fascinating interview with Korn's Jonathan Davis. He talks about his love for Bakersfield, his kids, being picked on in school and a wide-range of interesting topics.

Meanwhile, meeting men in bars never goes anywhere for this Internet dater.

And finally, a cyclist recalls his crash at this weekend's road race in Bakersfield.

On Mother's Day when I was younger and washing dishes or cleaning her car, I used to ask my mother when children's day was. She chided me for my insolence and replied that 'every day is children's day.'

Whatev!

What mom doesn't like slithery snakes and itchy natural grasses? Moms get in for half price at CALM.

There's other events to choose from here.

Or you could write a tribute to your mom (and include a photo) which would live forever in cyberspace. Our Your Words feature has a special section for all mothers. Find it here.

And in conclusion, check out Time Magazine's best and worst moms ever list, including Mrs. Robinson (one of the worst) and Dumbo's mom (one of the best).

Someone's looking for a conservative Catholic church in Bakersfield. Can you help them?

Meanwhile, personal excellence (for women only) is just a phone call away.

And finally, a man needs help with his old Harley.

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The LA Times is reporting that the Tejon Ranch Company has struck a deal with national environmental groups to go ahead with its plans for development without fear of lawsuits.

As part of the deal, the company will set aside chunks of land to create a state park, add to the Pacific Crest Trail, and continue providing habitat for the California Condor.

Tejon Ranch spreads from the base of the Grapevine in Kern County southward into Los Angeles County. Some call it the most important piece of pristine land left in California.

What do you think about the deal? Do you look forward to a Tejon Ranch State Park someday? Do you dream of living in one of the communities that will be developed? Are you worried about the approximately half of the 38 California Condors living in the wild, which make their home on Tejon Ranch property?

Here's a link to the full story: http://www.latimes.com/news...

A mere 28 years after the sighting, a woman recalls her face-to-face encounter with a hairy half-man, half-beast in the forest of Tehachapi.

"When I looked a round, still on my horse. That's when I saw Bigfoot. He was really tall, black and so human like. He looked at me, but was not scared. I said to myself that's bigfoot. Bigfoot had one hand and arm leaning against a giant tree, and he looked to be both man and ape. Bigfoot looked right at me, and we both just looked at each other. I was so scared I turned around and went back to the ranch."

(If it was still traipsing around Tehachapi now, the residents would probably tell it that it wasn't welcome to play in the winter snow)

Read the entire encounter here.

A local blogger raves about our new product, Raising Bakersfield.

OK, so she used to work here.

We're a small town OK?!

Here's her post.

And here's the Raising Bakersfield site.

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Bill Perryman has accepted a job in Bakersfield at a large insurance firm. He's excited to move his wife and kids to California after years on the East Coast. He decides to log on to bakersfield.com this morning to get a snapshot of his new home. The following are excerpts from the 9 headlines on our Latest News section:

... breaking point

Pedestrian killed ...

... child beating ...

... edgy ads ...

... beer festival death

...  sex with minors

... man found dead ...

... baby dies ...

... blasts Rosedale development

Of course, Mr. Perryman is a figment of our imagination, but my goodness, what would a newcomer think?