Two local brothers have created an exercise machine they claim can give you a full-body workout without the use of weights, instead using your own body as resistance.  What do you think?  Have you ever heard of an exercise machine without weights?  If you don't believe them, check out a video of the machine.  Would you consider using one of the machines to tone up and lose weight?

Two new car dealerships are set to open next to each other next month on Industrial Parkway Drive off Merle Haggard Drive (formerly 7th Standard Road) near Highways 99 and 65. Bill Wright Toyota will add its second Toyota-Scion location and Three-Way Chevrolet will add a commercial trucks dealership.
What do you think of the expansion of car dealers away from the Auto Mall?  Will the new location be more convenient for shoppers with easy access to freeways and closer to the booming northwest?  Would you drive farther north to visit the new dealerships?  What part of town do you think needs a car dealership?

As Americans search for more healthy options and take less time for meals, fruit smoothie shops have gained in popularity both locally and nationwide.
Fruit smoothie sales in the United States have shot up more than 80 percent in the last five years, topping $2 billion last year, according to recent research.
Some use smoothies as meal replacements or as snacks.
Do you like fruit smoothies?  Have you ever substituted one for a meal?  Were you still hungry?  Do you buy smoothies for health reasons or because of how they taste?

A recent report from the American Bankers Association says that credit cards and debit cards are Americans' first choices when paying, while cash and checks combine for less than half of consumers' monthly payments.
Do you still use cash and checks?  How often do you use credit cards and debit cards?
I know people who use debit or credit cards at the drive up window for fast food purchases, which I think is a bit excessive.
I only use checks for paying bills, but I have started paying as many bills as possible online using a bill pay service through my bank, which is quicker, more efficient and allows me to pay a bill right when I am thinking about it and decreases the chance I will forget about it.
Stores have to pay extra for services allowing customers to use credit cards or debit cards and some have raised prices or added per-purchase surcharges for paying with plastic.

The union representing grocery store workers at Vons, Albertsons and Ralphs stores in Southern California have rejected the most recent contract proposal from the supermarkets and authorized a potential strike. Both sides have said they intend to return to the negotiating table.  If that doesn't work we may see a repeat of the strike-walkout that dragged on for nearly five months between 2003 and 2004 and battered both sides.
What do you think?  Do you support the workers, who say they are fighting for better pay and benefits, especially for employees who were hired since the last work stoppage?  Would you cross a picket line in order to shop at your neighborhood grocery store or would you go elsewhere?

Potential buyers and anyone else interested in taking a look inside the partially renovated Padre Hotel had a chance to stroll around the circa-1928 downtown landmark during the first of three open houses on Monday. View a video of the open house.
The Padre is listed for sale for $5.6 million. Offers for the building are due by the end of the month. Pacifica claims to have sunk more than $4 million  into renovating the eight-story, 72,800 square-foot building.
Despite sporting a refinished exterior, the Padre’s insides still have a ways to go. Many of the interior walls have been torn out, leaving exposed metal framing and pipes. Aside from holes in walls and some holes in the floor near ripped out walls, building materials and trash are visible
But some of the building’s charm remains like the original flooring in the first-floor lobby, unique architectural elements and antique fixtures in the bathrooms of old hotel rooms — one of the last remaining remnants of the historic hotel that remains.
Additional open houses are scheduled for Thursday and June 26.
What do you think of the Padre?  What do you hope the building becomes?  Could the building be part of a revitalization of downtown?

The Holiday Inn Select in downtown Bakersfield may soon become a Marriott.  An estimated $6 million renovation project to upgrade the hotel is underway and is expected to be complete by late September.  What do you think?  Is a more prestigious hotel in downtown a step in the right direction?  Would a Marriott help lure more visitors and conventions to downtown and help improve the image of downtown?

The Padre Hotel in downtown Bakersfield is up for sale again for $5.6 million.  Pacifica Enterprises LLC purchased the historic landmark building for $1 million five years ago, but the company's plan to add condos to the building never materialized and construction stopped halfway through a renovation project that Pacifica claims it sunk more than $4 million into.  There have been issues over asbestos removal and trash left in a parking lot outside the building.  Now the building may get a fresh start as condos, apartments, a hotel (again) or offices.
What do you think?  Do you think the Padre is a shining example of what Bakersfield's downtown can become or a blight on the city's skyline?  How much would a revitalized Padre help plans to reenergize downtown?  Do you think downtown is on its way back or will it take another earthquake to shake up the town's downtown?

Bakersfield explosive growth has again placed it on a list of the fastest growing economies in the nation.  Bakersfield was ranked 11th in the nation among midsize cities and 47th overall among the nation's 393 largest metropolitan areas in a recent Inc. magazine listing of the best cities for business. The ratings were based on job growth over the last decade, with recent growth given more weight.  The rankings were not an indication of the strength of the local economy and there are still some areas for concern, namely the real estate slowdown and how that may affect future growth.  The area's low worker education levels and lack of higher paying jobs could also prove to be stumbling blocks as the city attempts to grow its economy.
What do you think?  Is the local economy strong?  Because of our fast population growth, we continue to add commercial development.   Is the city growing in the right way?  What will Bakersfield look like in another 10 years?

Bob Marx confirmed Thursday that he has resigned as president and CEO of the Bakersfield Convention & Visitors Bureau after less than six months on the job.  Marx started at the convention and visitors bureau in December after previously serving as vice president of marketing for the San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau.  Marx said he resigned on May 9 after meeting with the board that oversees the bureau.  Don Jaeger resigned as president of the bureau in March 2006.  What's going on?  What did Marx and the board not see eye to eye over?  How long will it take to get a replacement?  Will this hurt the bureau's marketing efforts?

Read a recent question and answer session with Marx about his goals and challenges marketing Bakersfield,
Check out a recent blog about promoting Bakersfield.