There is good and bad in every community.  Oildale has produced much good, but, also way too much bad.  Oildale gave us Merle, but it also gave us meth.  There's a "meth head" to much of the madness that has come from that neighborhood. 

If, on the other hand, the city supports re-development in the area, maybe we'll begin to see more recording studios and fewer meth labs. 

Yep, that's what i like about being inside the city limits of Bakersfield.....thankfully there's no meth here.

 wasn't merle a coke-head,Alcoholic, womanizer? yeah real good dude! What made him good, the fact that he could sing? Or that he made lots of money.

Maybe it's not fair, but, to a degree, making timeless music, and writing and recording real country songs that come from the heart, has a redeeming even the most slimiest of characters among us. 

wasn't that ray orbison

No, it was Jerry Lee Lewis.

And it's ROY Orbison.

Actually, most of the older sections of Bakersfield fall under the need for economic redevelopment. Anything east of Highway 99 could stand a good boost. Downtown is now home to vagrants and abusers. The city refuses to do jack about the deplorable conditions that exist downtown. North Chester Avenue today is an improvement over much of Chester Avenue between 24th and Truxton. Eyesore is just not strong enough a word to describe downtown Bakersfield. Gone out for lunch downtown lately to play miss the panhandler? 

South Bakersfield is also in terrible condition with the strip malls in that area losing anchor tenants faster than a Humvee goes through a gallon of gas. Union Avenue looks bad. River Boulevard looks bad. Baker Street looks bad. Who will come to a town  and invest in a business where the median incomes are so low the people cannot afford any goods and services? With the credit crunch and equity collapse today the homeowner can no longer borrow his way to that improvement project or vacation. 

A few years back I thought this place had no where to go but up. I was wrong. It has been downhill for four straight years with the bottom nowhere in sight.

Maybe we could get the Bush administration to declare war on us and invade and have Halliburton and KBR rebuild us...yeah, that's the ticket.

There is meth everywhere. At every socio-economic level. And there are other areas of town that are run down. Oildale just seems to get the majority of the bad reputation

Ray Orbison was his bro

Sang  "Only the Baloney"

Its Politically Correct to bag on Oildale. (its considered  "white")

Just like its PC to do the same to Christians, etc.

 Its Politically Correct to bag on Oildale.

Yes, but only for those who have not gotten in touch with their inner redneck. 

Ray Orbison was his bro

Sang  "Only the Baloney"

Now that's the kind of Hee Haw humor we could all use more of.   LOL. 

Trying to beautify certain parts of Oildale would be like trying to polish a turd.  

Oildale...it's where we put the poor white people.

This area has a place for each poor group...I'm sure someone could name them all.

wow...lookit all the stereotyping going on...rednecks

hillbillies

obviously some people havent been to oildale in the last decade...many latinos and blacks call oildale home too

imagine that "progressives" and good liberals stereotyping.........wow

 Ray Orbison was his bro

Sang  "Only the Baloney"

Now that's the kind of Hee Haw humor we could all use more of.   LOL. 

OK...... they can't all be wieners.......

Hey, you're now threatening to rob me of my title as self-appointed Prince of the Pun :)

Rob as in a PC211 or Rob as in mtndewrob? ( the latter of which is the much bigger crime)

I suppose I could share the title with you.  That way no crime would be committed :)

I'd have to agree that there are plenty of areas in Bakersfield that could use help.  I'm not so sure that redevelopment will solve the problems though.  Maybe we should put that money and energy into combatting crime first?

Oildale has needed help for a very long time.  It is really run down and has been for years and years.  It is almost like it has been forgotten.  There are some areas of new development that are nice but the heart of Oildale looks trashy.  It was trashy 14 years ago when I lived there and 24 years ago when I was dating my first husband and he lived there.  Alot has to do with property owners who just don't give a rats a_ _ what their property looks like.  It makes the houses that are tended  to look bad as well.  The streets are terrible.  I would say it is about time to give the "Dale a face lift. 

Shouldn't that be "Only Baloney" with out the "the?"  It seems to flow better.

One of the problems with the run down houses in "central"  and "lower" Oildale is that most are rentals and you're not going to get tenents who will put an effort into a house they don't own and that the landlord is just using for a cash cow.  I live in a part  (North) where most of the neighbors take care of their houses and keep their lawn mowed.  Unfortunately there are two vacant houses on this block  where no one keeps the yards up and the grass is dead.  One is bank owned now and the other (in my imagination) is a CIA safe house.

It's getting better but still needs a lot of work.  I'm glad to hear that the county is finally getting on board.

lana - out of curiosity, where do you intend we put the "bums"?

We could give the "dale" a face lift but would that mean the home owners will clean up their property and keep it up?  Will the renters take care of what they call home? IDK........ Not all 93308 homes are bad, like mentioned above, it's the heart of Oildale. 

 Living in Oildale for many years I thought it was the meth capital of the world. Then moved to Casper and it seems to be meth capital.

Actually meth is EVERYWHERE there are no little areas of meth. It's bad in any neighborhood. It could be and is anywhere and everywhere.

Wyoming has a great ad campaign going about dangers of meth. OMGosh! The ads will certainly wake you up.

 Watch here: http://www.wyomingmethproje...

I suppose I could share the title with you.  That way no crime would be committed :)

No sharing. The two of you will settle it diplomatically: Poison darts at six paces.