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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 4-2-07
Are you a terrorist or drug trafficker? Maybe not, but your name could be on a “blacklist” and you could be blocked from conducting ordinary business.
Changes must be made to the Office of Foreign Asset Control’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, which identifies suspected terrorists and drug traffickers.
It is more than an embarrassment to be denied the ability to do business simply because a person’s name or part of a...
PUBLISHED 4-2-07
Congress must put its foot down and stop the administration from taking food from seniors and the poor.
For the second year, President Bush wants to eliminate the Commodity Supplemental Food Program that supplies such commodities as rice, orange juice and peanut butter, among other things, to food banks, local senior programs and pregnant women to help feed those in need.
The Agriculture Department’s $100 million program, for example, helps the Golden Empire...
PUBLISHED 4-2-07
Changes must be made in the Medicaid rebate law that would allow college students to pay lower prices for oral contraceptives.
There’s a possibility that women will either stop using them or turn to a less effective method with the recent hike in prices.
That hasn’t happened yet at Cal State Bakersfield but it could happen at other universities.
CSUB has a deal with a manufacturer that can provide generic oral contraceptives at low cost. But if...
PUBLISHED 3-30-2007
It’s enough to make your eyes roll back into your head and force the casual observer to diagram the action — a lot of action. So much action you wonder:
If former Bakersfield City School District Vice Principal Vincent Brothers spent so much time chasing female colleagues, did he spend much time educating our children?
No wonder the district struggles with No Child Left Behind when some staff members seem preoccupied with each others’...
PUBLISHED 3-29-2007
Academic Performance Index scores for California schools have been released and there is little to celebrate.
The state’s scores have gone up, but they are still low. Only a third of California schools are achieving the 800 mark from API results, which is the state’s target.
But 800 out of 1,000 isn’t a great score. With only a third of schools meeting the target, it should not be considered being on the “right track,” which is the...
PUBLISHED 3-29-2006
An obscure state board and the agency it oversees has run amuck, placing Californians’ health care at risk.
It’s hard to separate the “white” hats from the “black” ones in the unfolding drama at the state Board of Chiropractic Examiners.
State legislators took a stab at it Wednesday, but the who-did-what-to-whom-and-why fiasco is still too confusing to untangle.
But that’s what must happen. And it’s up to Gov....
PUBLISHED 3-28-2007
It may be too late to save many “sub-prime” borrowers who are defaulting on their mortgages. But federal and state lawmakers must move quickly to reduce the number of risky future home loans.
The cratering of the sub-prime loan market has sent foreclosures skyrocketing, slashed construction of new homes, resulted in layoffs among Realtors and other members of the housing industry in Kern County and nationally. It also threatens national economic growth.
...
PUBLISHED 3-28-2007
The state must restore millions of taxpayers’ dollars lost in funding for children’s mental health programs.
Because of a massive state budget mistake, the state Department of Mental Health’s budget for children’s mental health services is $300 million in the red. The $300 million does not include federal fines that may be assessed for overbilling Washington for its share of the program.
Kern’s share of the program deficit thus far...
PUBLISHED 3-27-2007
Congress is considering a federal farm bill that places new emphasis on “specialty crops” — fruits, vegetables and nuts — that are becoming an increasing share of Kern County’s agricultural production.
California’s entire congressional delegation must help Reps. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, in pushing hard for the proposal, which will direct billions of dollars to the industry in the next 10 years and...
PUBLISHED 3-27-2007
It’s amazing what one word can do. It can make the difference between protecting or not protecting animals. A proposal to change one word in an animal protection law will require Charreadas — Mexican-style rodeos — to have a veterinarian present at competitions. Currently, only American-style rodeos are required to have a veterinarian present.
A rodeo is defined as having four or more of the following events: bareback bronc riding, saddle...
PUBLISHED 3-25-2007
There’s plenty of blame to go around. For decades Bakersfield City and Kern County officials approved one housing tract after another, claiming the roads would follow to carry the expected traffic.
They pointed to pretty colored lines on fancy looking maps. Yep, those will be the roads. Don’t worry about the congestion.
Sadly, many of those roads have not been built. But the traffic has come anyway. Rosedale Highway is the traffic congestion...
PUBLISHED 3-25-2007
Ken Weir says he hopes naming his accountancy firm’s most lucrative clients will end the conflict of interest controversy that has dogged him since he took his Ward 3 seat on the Bakersfield City Council last fall.
As all politicians must do when they take office, Weir had to file financial disclosure reports. Weir balked at identifying his clients, insisting it was confidential information.
The state Fair Political Practices Commission, a voter-created...
PUBLISHED 3-26-2007
It is clear from the latest county sting operation that many convenience and liquor stores haven’t got the message — or don’t care — that it is illegal to sell tobacco to minors.
In the most recent sting operation, the county Health Department and undercover law enforcement officers sent 24 high school students to 114 convenience and liquor stores to buy cigarettes. Slightly more than a quarter of the businesses sold tobacco to the teens...
PUBLISHED 3-26-2007
Oversight of student loan practices is needed in the California State University system so students won’t fall victims to fraud from loan lenders and colleges.
Such fraud is suspected of happening in New York state colleges and 100 other colleges across the nation. It is believed schools and lenders are engaged in deceptive lending practices that make the cost of education higher than it should be.
In essence, students are being forced to seek loans from a...
PUBLISHED 3-26-2007
Take them away and crush ‘em. That’s what Kern County should do to cars used in illegal street racing.
It will be sure to get a clear, sharp message across.
A San Bernardino County judge ordered the demolition of two Honda Civics involved in an illegal street race.
Illegal street racers have no concern for other people’s lives. If their cars are destroyed, they might start to care.
Greg Terry, Bakersfield Police Department’s public...
PUBLISHED 3-23-2007
Whoa! Talk about a last-minute surprise. Actually, call it a financial ambush. Whatever it is, join state Sen. Lou Correa, D-Anaheim, in calling it wrong.
Californians should support Correa’s bill targeting some homebuilders who are pulling a sneaky trick to soak homebuyers.
Realtor groups, including those in Kern County, are sounding the warning and urging support of Correa’s SB670, that would plug a loophole in state law that allows...
PUBLISHED 3-22-2007
It’s about time. Kern County supervisors this month directed their First 5 Kern commissioners to pay more attention.
You can debate the details of ongoing criticism of the tobacco tax-fueled commission until you are blue in the face.
But it’s obvious that commissioners’ inattention has provoked much of this well-deserved criticism about how millions of dollars of Proposition 10 tobacco tax is used in Kern County.
In 1998, California...
PUBLISHED 3-22-2007
Californians are not happy with the multi-state lottery and its lack of winning jackpots in California. To show their displeasure, they are not buying tickets.
This hurts the lottery industry and California schools that receive money from ticket sales. Public schools are required to receive at least 34 percent of the proceeds from the lottery. The money is used to buy instructional materials.
Sales for the year are projected to dip from $3.6 billion to...
PUBLISHED 3-21-2007
Our streets are under siege. Gang members are inflicting pain and fear every day in our community. They do this with deadly force.
This is a war. It goes beyond Kern County’s border. It is statewide and national. It requires a creative, intelligent and coordinated strategy to fight it.
A Joint City/County Standing Committee to Combat Gang Violence has drafted a plan to prevent and reduce local gang activity. City, county, schools and community members of the...
PUBLISHED 3-21-2007
Monday night’s joint meeting of the Bakersfield City Council and the Kern County Board of Supervisors proves how incredibly useful the sessions are.
Before a packed house in city hall, council members, supervisors and staffs of both agencies sought agreement on such important and difficult issues as reducing gang warfare; coping with metropolitan Bakersfield’s rapid development and resulting traffic congestion and air pollution; and Isabella Dam safety.
...
PUBLISHED 3-20-2007
The Kern County District Attorney’s decision not to retry two of three defendants in the Desert Counseling Clinic case is not the “final vindication” defense attorney Timothy Lemucchi claims.
In 2004 Ira Cooke, Bobbi Cumberworth and her husband, Terry Cumberworth, were accused of stealing funds from the clinic they operated. Lemucchi represented Cooke in the case.
Desert Counseling provided mental health services to clients under contract to the...
PUBLISHED 3-20-2007
A bill introduced in the Legislature recently by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, banning incandescent light bulbs for interior home use wasn’t the brightest idea in the world. It’s intent to force people to use energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs is good, but it quickly created more rhetorical heat than policy light.
Now a competing bill, AB 1109, does what is really needed. AB1109 by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, essentially does two...
PUBLISHED 3-18-2007
More than three decades ago, California voters rejected “trust me” as being adequate assurance their elected politicians weren’t lining their pockets.
Fed up with political corruption, they created the state Fair Political Practices Commission to be their watchdog. That political watchdog is now nipping at the heels of Bakersfield City Councilman Ken Weir.
Weir’s ongoing attempt to sell his constituents this lame “trust...
PUBLISHED 3-18-2007
There are many California court rulings and opinions rendered by the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission that explain why elected and appointed public officials must disclose their business ties, investments and campaign finances.
Bakersfield City Councilman Ken Weir, a certified public accountant, is refusing to reveal the identities of his most lucrative clients, as required by state law.
A California Supreme Court ruling noted that...
PUBLISHED 3-19-2007
Kern County residents have a special stake in California Attorney General Jerry Brown’s possible investigation of oil companies some claim are preventing consumers from getting what they pay for.
An investigation by the Kansas City Star revealed the manufacturer of gas pumps that accurately measure gasoline flow in hot weather refuses to sell the pump to stations in California. The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights of Santa Monica asked the...
PUBLISHED 3-19-2007
The early fits and starts of the Isabella Dam repair process seem to be more sure-footed now.
We’ll all know more when the Army Corps of Engineers addresses a joint meeting of the Kern County Board of Supervisors and the Bakersfield City Council at 5:30 tonight in the City Council Chambers.
The potential for failure of the dam is as great as ever, exposing as many as 220,000 downstream people to devastating flooding. But the latest report by the U.S....
PUBLISHED 3-16-2007
More than only three state senators were temporarily locked out of their Sacramento offices this week. All Californians were figuratively locked out , as Senate President Pro-Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, declared freedom of thought will not be tolerated in his chambers.
Perata deludes himself to think he is the elected dictator of the Senate. He is the presiding officer of the Legislature’s upper house. Californians to Perata: You’re merely a first among...
PUBLISHED 3-15-2007
Outrage over the firing of eight United States attorneys is no mere partisan dustup or a “badly handled” public relations issue.
The episode reeks of the administration’s interference for political and ideological reasons in a system designed to protect Americans and administer “equal justice.”
The firings and the emerging motives go against the values of the U.S. attorney system. It is part the administration’s pattern of...
PUBLISHED 3-15-2007
Students who are qualified, educated and ready for college should be top candidates to attend universities. But homeschooled students have been at a disadvantage when it comes to applying for admission.
The UC system recently improved its application process to better accommodate homeschoolers. Before, they would have to attend community college then transfer, or have near perfect scores on college entrance exams. Students can now submit a portfolio detailing their...
PUBLISHED 3-14-2007
In Bakersfield there’s a new twist to an old saying. In most places you can’t fight city hall, but here city hall is fighting for you in the form of community prosecution.
Since last May, the city attorney’s office has been prosecuting “low-level” or “quality-of-life” crimes that hard-pressed district attorneys typically don’t have the resources to handle.
The program is not unique to Bakersfield.
Most city...
PUBLISHED 3-14-2007
Complaints handled by the city prosecutor’s office begin with a complaint filed with the Bakersfield Police Department, 327-7111.
If you have questions about the program itself, the city attorney’s office can be reached at 326-3721.
In round numbers, here is a list of community-prosecuted crimes by ward, and the distribution of prosecution by percentages of total:
Ward 1 (Irma Carson): 85 crimes, 17 percent of prosecutions.
Ward 2 (Sue Benham):...
PUBLISHED 3-11-2007
Bakersfield is not a small, backwater city. It’s one of California’s major metropolitan areas. And it’s time we acted like one.
Bakersfield reportedly is the only city of its size in California that lacks a universal trash recycling program with curbside collection. We should be moving toward implementing one.
A good first step is to revise the monthly trash rates to encourage recycling, rather than discourage it. Begin plans for a...
PUBLISHED 3-13-2007
There’s no doubt. Childhood obesity is a health crisis in California. But Sen. Dean Florez’s proposal to require high school students to take four years of physical education, rather than just the two now required, in order to graduate will not solve the problem.
Although they share Florez’s concern about obesity, Kern High School District officials do not believe adding the graduation requirement will make California youngsters thinner or...
PUBLISHED 3-13-2007
The prospect of adding two judges will give the Kern County Superior Court much needed flexibility in handling civil cases and could reduce the pressure for plea bargains in criminal cases.
The Judicial Council of California — the court’s policymaking arm — is recommending the addition of 50 new judges statewide, with the bulk going to the Central Valley and Inland Empire. In both areas, court capacity has failed to match explosive population...
PUBLISHED 3-12-2007
The decision to ask for money that is just there for the “taking” should be a no-brainer. But local school districts aren’t sure they will be asking.
Why? They are perplexed by the way the California Teachers Association has set up the procedure for allocating grants from a $2.9 billion settlement of the association’s lawsuit against the governor.
Schools performing low on state tests are eligible to apply for the grants. Only...
PUBLISHED 3-12-2007
Is no holiday safe from the “religious wars"? Now some folks are hopping mad over the Easter bunny.
Some years ago, Walnut Creek renamed the Easter bunny the “Spring Bunny” to oversee its community events. At the time, the change was made, it raised no fur.
But a newspaper letter writer recently got noses twitching in the northern California city when she pointed out the name change.
Apparently, getting rid of a tradition...
PUBLISHED 3-9-2007
Water is a fighting word in these here dry Western states. California history is littered with bodies shot on the battlefield and lawsuits fought in courtrooms.
Water is the lifeblood of communities. Without it, cities can’t grow and riches cannot be made.
And that explains why the city of Bakersfield filed three lawsuits this week against its neighbor, Shafter, the Oildale Mutual Water Co. and the North Kern Water Storage District.
As with all things...
PUBLISHED 3-8-2007
For the first time since the so-called rape of the Owens Valley starting early in the 20th century, the second of two major water agreements may signal a welcome cease-fire in California’s notorious water wars.
An 18-year legal battle that pitted growers against environmentalists over restoration of water flows in the San Joaquin River is nearing settlement.
The San Joaquin River agreement follows closely on the heels of major progress in developing policies...
PUBLISHED 3-8-2007
The wait times in local emergency rooms can be shortened if local training programs, such as the one for nurses at Cal State Bakersfield, can be expanded. A shortage of nurses is a major reason for delays at hospitals and doctors’ offices.
There is no problem attracting students to become nurses. But a national shortage exists due to lack of instructors and funds for training programs.
To lessen the shortage, hospitals, health care offices and groups...
PUBLISHED 3-7-2007
Building 18: a dilapidated 50-room former hotel across the street from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Until Army officials scurried to address the growing outrage, mold climbed the walls and rooms were infested with rats.
Welcome home, wounded soldiers. This is outpatient housing at Walter Reed — once touted as the Army’s premiere medical facility in Washington, D.C.
A recent Washington Post exposé has drawn attention to our nation’s...
PUBLISHED 3-7-2007
An appeals court last week settled the question. Former Sheriff Carl Sparks did not have the authority to give premium pay to some of his top brass.
The sheriff was required to ask the Board of Supervisors for permission — a step Sparks neglected to take.
It is a step that has resulted in Sparks, county supervisors and a cadre of pricey lawyers tripping over themselves for far too long.
And as they trip along, county taxpayers pay the price —...
PUBLISHED 3-6-2007
Tejon Ranch Company’s ban on the use of lead bullets on its land justifiably has more than just local impact, as important as that is.
Tejon’s decision should be a model for other landowners in the state and the nation to follow voluntarily.
It could also lend impetus to the efforts of a coalition of hunters, environmentalists and biologists to have the California Fish and Game Commission ban lead bullets for hunting statewide. Similar efforts are...
PUBLISHED 3-6-2007
The drums of election reform have been beating for years, and they’re beating even louder this year. But beware: Bad reform can be worse than none.
Reform is vital. The only way to ensure that Californians get the government they really want — not what they really get — is to have competitive elections.
But competitive elections haven’t been seen in a long time. It’s usually that way, even though the Constitution requires that...
PUBLISHED 3-5-2007
It’s disturbing when GPAs are rising, but students aren’t getting any smarter.
Congressionally mandated national achievement tests show that scores have fallen nationwide. Yet, students are taking tougher classes and getting better grades.
It’s a discrepancy that needs to be fixed in the education system. Students are entering college with an idea that they have done well in high school. They have not done well and they struggle to survive in...
PUBLISHED 3-5-2007
Don’t disparage asparagus — or anything else grown in California — or you might get sued if Assemblywoman Audra Strickland has her way.
The Thousand Oaks Republican has introduced a veggie libel law — AB 698 — that can hold anyone liable for a producer’s loss “as a result of another person’s disparagement.”
A legal definition of disparagement: “A statement which is untrue or misleading and is made to...
PUBLISHED 3-5-2007
The Coca-Cola Co. and Nestlé are out to make a buck with their new drink Enviga. Weight-loss hopefuls are their target.
“The calorie burner” is written directly above the product’s name on each can.
It must mean this drink helps you lose weight, right? Wrong.
The effectiveness of this product was only tested on 31 people in Switzerland for six days. The subjects were 18-year-olds to 35-year-olds, with healthy and lean body mass index...
PUBLISHED 3-4-2007
A sweet, precious baby is dead. Her grandmother and mother are being criminally charged. All agree it was a tragic accident. But adults must be held to answer for an irresponsible — and as it turned out, deadly — decision.
Kern County District Attorney Ed Jagels acknowledged that criminally charging Kayden Stockman’s grandmother and mother was one of the most difficult decisions he has made in his three decades as a prosecutor.
Grandmother Brenda...
PUBLISHED 3-4-2007
Strapping young children into approved car seats and older children into booster seats is the law. It also makes sense. Just ask Brenda and Sandy Stockman. Likely 4-month-old Kayden would be alive today if they had done so.
Approved car seats can be purchased at many local stores and over the Internet for prices beginning in the $60 range. Family and friends also often share car seats when children are no longer required to use them.
The law recognizes no excuse...
PUBLISHED 2-2-2007
Oliver repeatedly admonished Stanley in 1930s slapstick: “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into.”
Bakersfield taxpayers should feel that way after learning Fire Civil Service Commissioner Stuart Gentry telephoned dismissed firefighter Robert Pratt during Pratt’s civil service hearing last month.
After an unusual public hearing, the three-member commission voted unanimously to uphold Pratt’s firing. But pointing to...
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