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Who should pay for development? Get 17-year-olds involved Keep July 4th safe, legal, fun Doctor’s stroke, community’s tragedy California is going up in flames Talk’s cheap, but campaigns aren’t Move on, Bruce Sons Time to weigh in on our future Put leeches to work Find the will to ‘fix’ homelessness June 06 July 06 August 06 September 06 October 06 November 06 December 06 January 07 February 07 March 07 April 07 May 07 June 07 July 07 August 07 September 07 October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 June 06 May 06 April 06 March 06 February 06 January 06 December 05 November 05 October 05 September 05 August 05 July 05 June 05 May 05 April 05 March 05 February 05 Blog RollAsk The Californian Editorials Entertainment Eye of Bakersfield Faith Forum Fired Up! Inside Sports Neighbors Right Thinking Sound Off Talk of the Town 
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PUBLISHED 8-1-2006
The idea of restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley has a dreamlike quality. But it is a practical, political and legal nightmare.
Often described as Yosemite Valley’s twin, the valley was filled with water in the early 1920s when the O’Shaughnessey Dam was built.
The dam, which is about 15 miles from Yosemite National Park, created a reservoir that holds 117 billion gallons of Tuolumne River water.
...
PUBLISHED 7-30-2006
The chomping noise you are hearing is from Californians chewing their way through an increasing number of megawatts.
The record-breaking heat wave and the resulting power outages have focused Californians once again on their electricity power supply.
Not since the fiasco of deregulation in the early 2000s and electricity generators’ cynical manipulation of the state’s energy supply have Californians been so concerned about keeping their lights on and...
PUBLISHED 7-30-2006
The SmartMeters Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will be installing soon in Bakersfield is the smart way to go — for the company and the customers.
The remotely read meters will save PG&E labor costs and allow the company to quickly pinpoint outages. Customers will be able to control their power usage and costs.
Rather than a flat rate that provides little incentive for customer to conserve by using energy during cheaper, low-demand hours, the meters will...
PUBLISHED 7-31-2006
Generous Californian readers and employees have been reaching deep into their pockets this month to help the Bakersfield Rescue Mission collect school supplies for 500 local needy children.
Having supplies and being ready to learn when the school bell rings next month is critical. But not all families have the money to provide the necessary tools.
During July, The Californian has been assisting the Rescue Mission to collect backpacks, school supplies and cash to...
PUBLISHED 7-31-2006
A home town’s honor is hard to get. Country Western icon Merle Haggard knows this well. Haggard’s bad boy reputation growing up in Oildale sometimes overshadows his musical accomplishments.
But fans who note he changed his ways and brought fame to his hometown are are pressing to have a street named in his honor. A committee formed by the Kern County Board of Supervisors is looking for an appropriate street.
To no one’s surprise, the idea sparked...
PUBLISHED 7-31-2006
How many times will this trick fail before political hacks quit pulling it?
The Democratic Party last week unveiled its new multimillion-dollar television ad campaign to “reintroduce” Treasurer Phil Angelides, the party’s candidate for governor.
Bruised from a June primary against Controller Steve Westly, Angelides needs reintroducing. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is now using...
PUBLISHED 7-28-2006
A breakthrough vaccine that promises to prevent deaths and spare women from suffering painful diseases must not be bogged down in controversy.
The federal Food and Drug Administration has approved Gardasil, a vaccine that prevents four types of sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), two of which cause cervical cancer. The four types of HPV blocked by the vaccine cause 90 percent of genital warts.
The vaccine is most effective when administered to girls...
PUBLISHED 7-27-2006The U.S. Senate’s 68-32 vote to allow Americans to import FDA-approved prescription medicines from Canada is a huge benefit for many deserving people.But the ills of artificially high drug prices are far from a sure cure, despite the action. There are two problems.The Senate bill must go to a conference committee with members of the House of Representatives to reconcile differences between their two bills.Many a good deed has come undone during political horse trading...
PUBLISHED 7-27-2006The U.S. Army has achieved its latest recruiting goals. But before the hurrahs get too loud, consider that the Army had to lower its standards to do that. These standards were set to ensure the quality of the all-volunteer force.While the Pentagon continues investigations into alleged atrocities committed by U.S. troops in Iraq, some military observers worry that the Army, stretched thin by the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars, might be enlisting young people not fit for...
PUBLISHED 7-26-2006News to Sheriff Mack Wimbish: Kern County does have a “real jail.” And it’s your job to run it. Wimbish and other sheriff’s officials are still scratching their heads, trying to figure out how a seventh inmate in a little more than a month has escaped from the Lerdo Jail.“This place needs to be bulldozed down and replaced with a real jail,” Wimbish told The Californian.Sheriff’s Sgt. Richard Wood added that escapes will...
PUBLISHED 7-26-2006It appears some folks in the Rosedale Union School District want teachers to be in a special class — a class that denies them basic protections provided other workers.Regrettably two of these folks are elected members of the school board who voted against the hiring of two teachers who are pregnant and will be on maternity leave when school starts.Sure the ideal situation is to have everyone — kids and teachers — in their places and ready to start when the...
PUBLISHED 7-25-2006Keep your cool — both for your own health and the state’s. It’s easier said than done, but both are doable nonetheless.Although the state is weathering this summer’s blast of heat remarkably well, a recurrence of 2001’s rolling blackouts is getting closer, according to the state’s Independent System Operator. “We’re keeping pace (with demand), but just barely,” says a spokesman for the ISO.The energy crisis...
PUBLISHED 7-25-2006Money talks. The Democratic-controlled Legislature — miffed at a California Board of Education decision on bilingual learning — deleted $1.6 million from the budget that would have paid for board’s staff for next year.How can a state agency function without staff? Not very well. And that’s the message the Legislature wanted to send.Unexpectedly, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the budget without restoring the $1.6 million even though he...
Posted for 7/24/06Why pick the scab off an old wound? A Bakersfield City Council committee last week considered a recommendation by City Attorney Ginny Gennaro to rescind the city’s policy regarding public involvement in annexation procedures.Gennaro correctly noted state law has changed, shifting the responsibility for conducting hearings and involving the public to the Kern County Local Agency Formation Commission. But three women who successfully fought the city over its...
Posted for 7/24/06Well, at least this latest celebrity salvo isn’t bagging on Bakersfield. But why target another valley city?Prominent Democrat and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who now hosts a radio talk show, was asked last week what Democrat Phil Angelides should do in his campaign to unseat Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.Brown, who described Angelides as “a younger Gray Davis with glasses,” advised Angelides to stay out of major TV markets and off...
Posted for 7/24Talk about a misguided tribute. Disgraced ex-Congressman Randy (Duke) Cunningham was supposed to be honored at a reception last week by the U.S. Capital Historical Society for his “hard work, service and sacrifices.”The Duke was included in a list of 38 congressmen retiring at the end of 2006. But Cunningham resigned from Congress as he headed in March to federal prison to serve an 8-year sentence for taking $2.4 million in bribes.The historical group debated...
Posted for 7/23/06The streets of Bakersfield don’t belong to thugs and violent gang members. City leaders and citizens are determined to take them back and make them safe for everyone.That’s a hopeful sign. It requires putting the thugs in the spotlight and on notice: Your rein of terror is over. Police Chief Bill Rector said gang-related shootings are down nearly 40 percent from the same time last year. But just one gang-related shooting is one too many.The city continues to be...
Posted for 7/23/06Don’t ya just love a polka? Yah? Well, not if you are a “cool” teen who would rather give up listening to rap and hard rock than admit to peers that polkas really get the toes a tapping. The Marketplace has become a magnet for teens on weekends. Pockets of teens are scattered around the attractive shopping center on weeknights. But police estimate up to 1,000 teens can be seen lounging, shopping and clogging the sidewalks on Friday and Saturday...
PUBLISHED 7-21-2006Supporters of federal funding for stem cell research must not give up the fight in the face of President Bush’s veto of a bill to provide the money.The bill Bush vetoed — the first of his presidency — would have allowed federal funds to be used for research into medical technology that holds ever-increasing promise for treatment of many devastating diseases for which there is no cure.The November election of a new Congress may provide the votes to...
PUBLISHED 7-20-2006Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich thinks the new fighting in the Middle East is the start of World War III. Few accept his apocalypse analysis. But the bloodletting has no doubt frozen the Mideast “peace process” for the unforeseeable future.The crisis was triggered a week ago by raids on Israel by Hezbollah guerillas who kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed several others. This came a little more than two weeks after Palestinian militants from Hamas...
Posted for 7/18/06One wouldn’t expect the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Rockville, Md., to be the source of a good-news-bad-news scenario. But it is.The institute reported that incidents of drunken driving have declined nationwide in recent years — thanks in part to organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Good news. The bad news: The institute reports that driving under the influence of drugs has increased.The institute’s Marilyn Huestis reports that...
PUBLISHED 7-17-2006Still sweating from last weekend’s blistering heat, we deserve a break and a bit of good news. Think snow. Think snowmobiles. Think about normally warring groups actually sitting down and reaching a compromise.Gives you warm fuzzy thoughts, doesn’t it? Or, rather cool ones.Off-road enthusiasts, environmentalists and local officials in Eastern Sierra communities have forged a plan to set aside 40,000 acres of wilderness near Yosemite National Park.According to...
PUBLISHED 7-17-2006A fast-food restaurant advertisement once asked: Where’s the beef? Look no further than Kern’s Democrat Congressman Jim Costa.Costa has a big beef with Japan over the country’s unwillingness to import U.S. beef.Costa has introduced HR 5696, which will increase restrictions on Japanese beef imports in the U.S. until “fair and even-handed trade resumes.”Costa points out that U.S. trade and agriculture representatives have agreed to step up U.S....
POSTED 7-16-2006Bakersfield has an image problem. Maybe real. Possibly the result of self-inflicted insecurities.Whatever the case, Greater Bakersfield Vision 2020 members believe a coordinated marketing strategy that includes a new city logo will help.After hiring a consultant and conducting polls about Bakersfield’s image, a Vision 2020 committee developed a signature logo and accompanying tagline: “Life as it should be.”On Monday, a City Council committee will consider a...
PUBLISHED 7-16-2006Should Bakersfield change its logo? Should city monument signs also be changed? Where should these signs be located? Tell us what you believe the City Council should do about Bakersfield’s image.Representatives of Vision 2020, a communitywide action group that spent months developing plans to address metropolitan Bakersfield’s challenges, asked City Council members to change the city’s logo, from a “squiggle” to a welcoming...
PUBLISHED 7-14-2006There is little time for voters to push state legislators to put an initiative on the November ballot to change the way political district boundaries are drawn.The redistricting process must be changed to allow truly competitive elections. This political reform is needed to restore good government in California.If SCA3 is allowed on the November ballot and passed by voters, drawing legislative, congressional and Board of Equalization districts boundaries would...
PUBLISHED 7-14-2006The generosity of people who live and work in Bakersfield is remarkable. When they see a need, they step forward to meet it.That has been the case with The Californian’s call to help the Bakersfield Rescue Mission collect school supplies for 500 needy local children. These are basic school supplies, such as pencils, notebooks, paper and backpacks. Cash donations also are encouraged so that the Rescue Mission’s staff can purchase supplies for children.On the...
PUBLISHED 7-13-2006A pledge by Kern Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Peter Byran to revise future pay arrangements with county doctors and to resolve existing pay disputes will help restore the county hospital’s credibility.For months, controversy has raged over the county’s convoluted contracts with KMC doctors, some of whom are being paid well above industry standards. The contracts are so flawed that KMC’s administrator and the county’s auditor-controller...
PUBLISHED 7-13-2006Kern residents should welcome the naming of Jack Gotcher as their new director of airports.The Board of Supervisors named Gotcher to replace current director Ray Bishop, who is moving to Jackson Hole, Wyo.But Gotcher is no stranger to the county’s network of airports. He has been Bishop’s deputy since 2003. That was critical time in the turn-around of airport operations and the resulting improvement in air service. Recent accomplishments include completion...
PUBLISHED 7-12-2006Allegations of miscounted ballots and fraud continue to swirl around Mexico’s July 2 presidential election. Conservative presidential candidate Felipe Calderon appears to have won the presidency by a scant 244,000 votes out of 41 million that were cast.Liberal presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who had a slim lead early in the campaign, is demanding a recount of all individual ballots. Earlier reviews only added up precinct summary tallies.Lopez...
PUBLISHED 7-12-2006A joint operation by the city of Bakersfield and Kern County brought a safer and saner Fourth of July to metropolitan Bakersfield.Teams of law enforcement officers and firefighters confiscated illegal fireworks and cited people using them.The stepped-up enforcement action did not eliminate fireworks-related property destruction and injuries over the holiday. But it sent a strong message to people intent on transforming a joyous celebration into a tragedy.Teams of city...
PUBLISHED 7-11-2006Dare to be GREAT. A gang-resistance program will take the place of the drug prevention prevention program D.A.R.E. in the Bakersfield City and Greenfield Union school districts this fall.The Bakersfield Police Department received a year long federal grant of $206,864 from the Department of Justice. This will allow implementation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program in the schools.Sgt. Joe Grubbs, the Police Department’s school resource...
PUBLISHED 7-11-2006The controversial decision by California Lottery officials to join the multi-state Mega Millions lottery game hasn’t turned out to be the gold mine venture they thought it would be. Combined sales of Super Lotto Plus and Mega Millions tickets are likely to reach about $1.2 billion this year, short of the $1.4 billion projected when California joined the 11-state game last June, acting lottery director Joan Borucki told the Los Angeles Daily News. In...
PUBLISHED 7-9-2006Bakersfield’s blistering summer heat combined with a cool body of water, is an attraction too enticing for many people to resist.Bakersfield city officials contend the lakes and stream at the new southwest Park at River Walk were not intended for swimming. They were designed as aesthetic amenities. Look, but don’t touch.What planet have these city officials been living on? They should have expected children and adults would jump into the park’s stream and...
PUBLISHED 7-10-2006Kern County Superior Court Judge Sharon Mettler is celebrating her 25th anniversary of being sworn in as a judge today.When Mettler was sworn in on July 10, 1981, she became the only woman presiding over a Bakersfield courtroom. She recalls that there were 11 judges in Bakersfield and about a half-dozen serving in outlying justice courts at the time. Of these judges, only two were members of minority groups.Twenty-five years later, Mettler is now one of only three women...
PUBLISHED 7-10-2006Computer maker Dell Inc. is paving the way to solving a growing environmental public health problem — the disposal of so-called e-waste. It is an example more companies need to follow.The largest manufacturer of direct-to-customer sales of personal and business computers will soon begin taking old computers off its customers’ hands for recycling at no charge.As the saying goes, “that’s a big deal.” For good reason, federal and state regulations...
PUBLISHED 7-7-2006Anytime, anywhere on-the-go connectivity could launch Bakersfield residents into cyberspace. The city is considering becoming a partner in providing wireless Internet access in Bakersfield.The question should not be whether to proceed with so-called WiFi, but which service provider to work with. There are a number of companies offering different models of the service. WiFi (wireless fidelity) allows appropriately equipped computers — typically laptops — to...
PUBLISHED 7-6-2006The first day of school approaches. Likely the night before, children will toss and turn in their beds. A new teacher, new classmates, new challenges await them.Clothes are arranged. New backpacks are stuffed with new notebooks, pencils, binders and other supplies.Children are ready to go.But for many Bakersfield families — those too poor to buy those new clothes, backpacks and supplies — the first day of school is approached with dread.Their families lack the...
PUBLISHED 7-5-2006Each time they meet, Bakersfield planning commissioners make land-use decisions — about a subdivision here, a shopping center there. These are important decisions that incrementally guide the city’s growth.Thursday night, when they consider the proposed Hillside Development Ordinance, they will leave their imprint on the entire northeast Bakersfield region, an area unique in its beauty and challenging in its development.They must balance developers’ desires...
PUBLISHED 7-5-2006California mosquito abatement districts, including Kern’s, need extra money to combat this summer’s outbreak of West Nile Virus.West Nile Virus often causes flu-like symptoms, but can be debilitating and fatal. One fatality in Kern already has been reported. The virus is spread by mosquitoes that feed on infected birds. Since the 1992-1993 fiscal year, the state has shifted local property taxes to balance its budget. Special districts that are funded by...
PUBLISHED 7-4-2006Do you enjoy all the fireworks, pomp and pageantry that goes with the Fourth of July? Or are you annoyed with the loud fireworks and parks filled with lots of people enjoying festive, holiday picnics? Well, folks, we can probably thank or blame that party animal, John Adams, for either of those kinds of reactions. OK, it may be a stretch to blame him for the big bang theory associated with July 4th. But it was Adams who called on his fellow citizens to celebrate the...
PUBLISHED 7-4-2006Beware: If you fire off illegal fireworks or use legal fireworks illegally, the long arm of the law will grab you.Bakersfield city fire and police and Kern County fire and sheriff’s departments have stepped up enforcement, including the issuing of citations that carry hefty fines.In past years, illegal fireworks use has claimed lives, inflicted injuries and destroyed homes in metropolitan Bakersfield.A police-fire task force has been formed to patrol the community on...
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