By Publisher Ginger Moorhouse -- Aug. 5, 2007 -- It’s August. It’s hot. And the search for shade is on. Like many people, I try to run a few errands at noon or after work. But most of my time is spent trying to find a leaf of shade in local parking lots. I don’t mind walking a distance to shop, as long as there’s some shady green relief when I return to my car.

Some Bakersfield business owners instinctively know that people are more likely to shop in or visit their stores or dine in their restaurants during the summer if they can find a cool place to park. When the car is under shade, groceries don’t melt the instant they hit the car; getting kids in and out is more comfortable for both parents and children. No one wants to return to a sweat-drenching sauna.

While city requirements call for a 40 percent parking lot shade canopy, the gangly shrubs and poorly pruned trees in some lots  leave us out in the heat. It’s sad to see trees, planted more than 20 years ago, still looking like spindly sticks.

Some grocery store owners say they plant shrubs because they don’t want trees to block their signs. I wonder what they are thinking. Studies show that most people grocery shop within a half mile of their homes. Hey, everyone already knows where their neighborhood grocery store is.

According to an article in the July 18 Californian, city and county planners say they can do little to enforce shade requirements once the development is occupied. They can send a letter reminding owners of their responsibility to provide shade, but there’s no pressure to comply with the shade ordinance.

So I’m asking you to help me and other readers of The Californian.

• Recommend parking lots with good shade so we all can find cool spots during the heat of the day. (Attach photos with your postings, if you wish.)

• Identify property owners who have taken the time and made the investment to landscape their lots with grass, flowers and shrubs,  as well as shady trees to make the shopping experience more pleasant.

• Identify those lots with little or no shade, and where owners have made little or no effort to protect their customers from the blistering heat that radiates off the asphalt.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could avoid those lots and opt, instead, for the leafy green of the Chinese elm, the cooling shade canopy of the Chinese pistache or the rippling leaves of the Sycamore?

Ah, I’m feeling cooler already.