Anyone who uses Twitter in Bakersfield probably knows Keandra Sandifer. She's a real estate marketer who uses Twitter both for business and personal reasons. She has lots of followers, and posts frequently.

Her latest venture is videoblogging via her "Real"Bako blog. Her first video was, as she admits herself, a little rough. Much better is her second, in which she starts out by promoting the reopening of Central Park (see Bakersfield.com story for background) but which soon turns into a blast on the nearby Parkview Cottages. In Keandra's eyes, the cottages are well-meaning but totally out of place in Bakersfield and "downtown urban living." She questions the white picket fences and New England style. 

 Not sure if future Keandra videoblogs will tackle other angles in local real estate, but we'll keep an eye on it.

Amber Rene Smith, a reporter with the CSUB Runner Online, has posted a fun video documenting the recent "CSUB Idol" competition. The contest was a month ago, but Bakosphere is just seeing it for the first time.

Like "American Idol," the performances from the 10 finalists -- age 13 to adults -- are inconsistent. We'd love if "Wind Beneath My Wings" were banned from all singing contests, but there's some talent worth hearing.

There were three winners: the judges' choice, the audience's choice and a combo judge-audience winner. But if you had to pick one, which of the performers do you think deserved to win?

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We've been at the bottom -- or top -- of any number of best/worst lists, as faithful readers of Bakosphere can attest. But worst skin?

Yep, some site called TotalBeauty.com analyzed "the places residents are most likely to have a "Bad Skin Day." Of course, we finished No. 1, or worst in the entire United States. Houston was second worst, followed by Pittsburgh, PA.

Here's what TotalBeauty had to say about Bakersfield and its skin factor:

"The American Lung Association ranks Bakersfield as the city most polluted by year-round particle pollution. The area's dry, stagnant weather doesn't help matters either (nasty pollutants and no fresh, cool air to blow them away). This combined with Bakersfield's record-high sunshine and heat makes this Cali locale a combat zone for your skin. As Dr. Kunin explains, the actual particle pollution obviously isn't good for skin, but what's even more damaging is when the pollution depletes the ozone layer and allows stronger, more damaging UV rays to reach us (Bakersfield is the second most ozone-polluted city)."

Conveniently, the site features all kinds of beauty products to help us Bako freaks help ourselves. Score!

The best place: Anchorage, Alaska (although the news release says Cheyene, Wyo.). 

The site also provides a list of Bad-Hair Cities. Bakosphere didn't take the time to check to see if Bakersfield was on that list, but it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to find us there, too.

It's been a crazy news day today. Proof can be found on the 15 posts to the Breaking News blog on bakersfield.com and in 14 posts to The Californian's "tbcbreakingnews" feed on Twitter.

Unlike the more formal breaking news email and SMS alerts, The Californian's breaking news updates on Twitter are less formal and often simply fleeting glimpses at the underside of our community (my favorite from months ago is the dispatcher traffic informing police searching for a suspect named Elvis that "Elvis has left the building").

There's been little fun, however, in the "tbcbreakingnews" posts so far today. Lots of holiday traffic updates, fatal accidents, murders and general mayhem. You can sense the frustration in the latest post, from about 9:15 p.m.

"Oh for heaven's sake...now there's a homicide investigation under way in Bodfish. 6 this weekend? Who can count anymore..."

Keep up the great work, news folks.

We know water is a boring topic. But boring or not, water is probably THE most important factor in the future of California -- and Kern County, and The West for that matter -- which is why we're kinda geeky about it here.

Here's an interesting story from the San Jose Mercury News that documents how the Tejon-Castaic Water District in Kern County received contracted state deliveries of water -- then resold that same water back to the state as part of environmental efforts to protect the Delta. In other words, the state was shipping Northern California water to Kern when it knew it needed to keep the water to meet environmental requirements. Some observers are questioning whether buying back water that was going to be stored anyway is a waste of taxpayer money.

No one is saying Tejon-Castiac did anything wrong. As a paying member of the state water system, they're contracted to receive specified water shipments (Kern is to get 1 million acre-feet per year). But critics are questioning whether it's good business for the state to knowingly give up water it needs elsewhere and whether the state has promised more water than it knowingly can deliver, particularly in drought years.

There's no easy answer, and the problem isn't going away. it's one reason why Assemblywoman Jean Fuller, vice cair of the Assembly Water Committee, sent out a direct-mail flier last week hollering about statewide water issues.

Without clean, consistent water supplies, there is no California as we know it, let alone Bakersfield and much of Kern County, a natural desert on either side of the Sierra. And as we enter our third straight drought year, you can bet the scrambling for water among major cities and entities is going to get even more fierce. And those cities and entities have their eyes on Kern County, home to large and powerful water districts and some deep acquifers.

This blast is directed to the crazy older woman driving the wine-colored Lincoln Town Car  today who passed another car that slowed down for a school zone: Don't be so stupid and selfish. Thank goodness there were no children running across the street thinking sane people were on the roads. 

Bakersfield has its share of angry and anxious drivers. But there's absolutely no justification for people who drive dangerously through school zones.  

This woman was tail-gating the car that slowed for the 25 mph school zone near Franklin Elementary. She veered to the right (18th Street is only one lane in each direction, so she was straddling the gutter) then sped ahead. Here's what frosts me: She was in a big hurry to get to the downtown post office. Are you kidding me? Her crazy moves saved her less than 10 seconds! 

Sadly, we've had kids die in town because drivers veered around cars that were slowing or stopped for children. I'd love to out this woman totally (her vanity license plate starts with the letters "CJ"), but won't. Let's hope she learns a little patience and courtesy before she kills someone. 

For the rest of us drivers, let's try to use our blinkers, don't tail-gate, don't expect the driver in front of you to hit 40 mph as soon as the light turns green, etc. Be good humans. 

OK, vent over. 

There's something fishy about this.

KERO is reporting that a 14-year-old Beadsley Junior High School student was expelled for alleged cyber-bullying related to a video posted months ago on YouTube. The girl said she was only just recently expelled and will be unable to participate in graduation ceremonies.

The KERO video accompanying the story contains what the girl says is the video that got her expelled. The fuzzy video shows a student -- not the girl expelled -- approaching another girl in an outdoor hallway, lightly tapping her shoe, then running away.

School officials, citing privacy laws, didn't comment, so we don't know the full justification for their decision. Context can be everything, we know, but the "bullying" in the YouTube video seems flimsy at best. Makes us wonder if we're getting the full story.

Stumbled across this fun commercial for Bear Mountain Sports that's a few months old but getting some viral buzz online. Talk about a spot that plays well in the Bakosphere.

Does it seem like everyone in Bakersfield has a clean car? Siri Ved Khalsa thinks so.

In a post on her just-launched Breath by Breath blog, Siri also questions why we in the Bakosphere don't like the inside lane of left-turn lanes. Maybe it's the high medians, she wonders.

"This little thing, these assertive medians, is another way of keeping us all in line, in our shiny cars. I tell you, I'm feeling a little spooked," she writes.

Siri has several posts on a variety of issues, including a surprise ending to a frustrating trip to a dry cleaner.

You may remember Siri for her November 2008 post on OurTrueTales that Bakosphere dramatically proclaimed "... hands down one of our favorite local blog posts ever written."

Welcome back, Siri.

Ran across this interesting story over the weekend, in which a reader asks the Better Business Bureau how far employers can go in spying on their employees? 

There certainly are workplace safety issues to consider, but how much leeway do you think employers should have in monitoring what their workers are doing? Are there some things that obviously warrant monitoring and other things that you think are overboard? 

Media love to report on anniversaries, and during so-called sweeps periods, you can bet the unsolved disappearance of an exotic dancer will certainly be revisited. 

KBAK updates the case of Azita Nikooei, a Bakersfield mother who disappeared in 2004. Her boyfriend, Nathan Mowers, remains the prime suspect but the case remains unsolved. 

 KBAK has some security-camera video showing a violent scene in which a Fastrip clerk confronts someone allegedly stealing a case of beer. The suspect and several other people then assault the clerk. 

Several other clerks then come to his aid, and armed with a broom, help get the suspects out the door. A clerk then goes back outside, drawing a mob back to the door, where they crack safety glass trying to get inside. 

The suspects then try to drive off, but when clerk Gerardo Munoz -- now outside and running after the truck  -- throws something at their car, the group returns and attacks him. Munoz was stabbed, suffering a punctured lung.

Police have made two arrests.  

Unreal.

OK, so the "Star Trek" movie is out, which means Trekkies are in their element. 

Which explains this post on Jaunted: The Pop Culture Travel Guide that details locales in and near Kern County that have a connection to the movie. 

For example, in addition to recommending the Doubletree (the warm cookie is a draw) and the breakfast at 24th Street Cafe, Trekkies are encouraged to visit Highway 119 and Enos Lane, which filmmakers decided was a perfect stand-in for Iowa, Capt. Kirk's home state. (More detail on that shoot can be found at Trekmovie.com). 

Jaunted also suggests a drive south to Agua Dulce, which served as "Vulcan exteriors." 

So, question: Given Kern County's rich movie history (including other "Star Trek" shoots), might it be time to get serious and put together travel packages that target Trekkies and other movie fanatics who are interested in seeing this stuff? 

The fliers are arriving in Northwest Bakersfield mailboxes today encouraging residents to contact their city councilman in support of the 255-acre Bakersfield Commons project off Coffee and Brimhall roads.

The project touts "retail stores, theaters and restaurants in an open air environment where people can come to shop, relax, see a movie, or just spend time with friends and family. Later stages will include office space and housing." There's also a reference to parks. (The flier also features a big ol' photo of Bob Hampton without detailing Bob's connection, so not sure what's up with that).

Sounds kinda pleasant, right? Maybe a Marketplace for those north of the river? In fact the developers chose the pleasant but firm domain name "CommonSenseBakersfield.com" for the project's website, where you can find high production values touting  "5,600 permanent new jobs," "$400 million direct investment" and $17 million in annual city and county tax revenues. They even include a page of 40 reasons why the project "makes common sense for Bakersfield."

Here's the downside, and the reason for the snappy fliers mailed this week: The city has concerns over traffic and air quality, according to this Bakersfield Californian story. That's understandable, given the long-stalled Riverwalk project not too far away and future freeway construction along the Kern River. 

What do you think? Is this a good spot for such a large development? 

Has the Bakersfield housing bubble hit bottom? Sure has, according to our pals at Bakersfield Bubble. 

In a post today, BB is officially "calling bottom," saying that with the price of median homes 2.6 times the median home price (compared with 8.1 during the boom), now is a great time to buy IF your finances are in good shape. 

In related news via Twitter, JR Lewis of Karpe Real Estate says 66 local home sales closed within the last 24 hours! The median price was just under $140,000, so there's lots of deals out there. 

The city of Bakersfield may have told its employees to lay off Twitter, but the Kern County Fire Department appears to see value in the microblogging tool. Good for it! We like that attitude of serving the public. 

The KCF posts so far are pretty straightforward alerts, but many include links to details on the department website. 

Amid all the frenzy over swine flu, it's easy to forget how far society has come in terms of preventing epidemics. Each death these days is horrible, but the current pandemic pales when compared with the influenza epidemic that killed millions of people less than a century ago. 

Local historian Gilbert Gia wrote this piece a few years ago that looks back at how Bakersfield and other Kern County towns weathered the 1918-19 flu epidemic that killed 195,000 Americans in one month alone.  

Can you imagine? 

We can't make this stuff up. 

It's been, what, a week since the Bakersfield Jam announced they were folding? Now, one passionate fan is trying to drum up interest to buy the team. Hard to tell whether it's a joke or not, given the mix of humor and seriousness that runs throughout the post from "Ridiculous Upside" and responses from his homies and others on the SB Nation blogs.

One of the more recent comments, from someone proposing to move the team to San Jose, includes this gem: "You know why they lose money …the team is in freakin Bakersfield." 

Upside's post did prompt this separate, serious post on what it would take to run a team in the D League). It's an interesting question. If the price were right would you go in with some buddies to buy a minor league sports team?

I doubt this new site for the Bakersfield Biggest Baddest Barbecue Championship is the longest url in existence but it might take the cake for a Bakersfield website.

I'm waiting for the first typo to come through on a news release. I mean, seriously, who's going to remember that tongue twister without a cheat sheet? They got it right with their Twitter feed (twitter.com/bakersfieldbbq) but not so much on Facebook.

Here's our version, which might be easier to remember: http://bit.ly/zEqHp

All kidding aside, when my stomach is grumbling, I'm down with tasty barbecue, no matter how you spell it. And this event benefits a good charity. So, with any luck, this post will help other barbecue fans find the main site.

BTW: As I write this, the www.bakersfieldbbq.com domain is available. Wonder how long before someone buys it? 

Nick Belardes at Face Bakersfield has an interesting take on the Bakersfield Jam's decision to shut operations.

Nick raises many good points, but at the core is this question: If you believe the Jam owners' claims that the economy had nothing to do with their decision, should we blame "the very people in Bakersfield who complain 'there’s nothing to do here' and the people who sit on their asses watching basketball on television, yet were not motivated enough to support their community related to a game they love."?

Although Nick questions whether the Jam were ever positioned to succeed, he suggests that complacency in Bakersfield runs much deeper than local sports. It's an interesting debate, which has triggered a good thread at FaceBakersfield (scroll to the bottom of the story).