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Q: What’s going on with the median directly across from Centennial High School on Hageman? For months it’s looked as if dirt was dumped inside the concrete curbing, then abandoned. Are there plans for landscaping or bricking over?
— Melissa Howard
The dirt was left there a couple of...
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Here I go again.
Complaining about the system that feeds me.
But if there is one thing I hate about this new blogging system, it's the anonymous key.
So we get all these posts from "anonymous" and that could be one, 20 or 100 different people.
I don't care that people want...
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Comments [47] - Views [779]
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I have some good news for those of you who blog a lot. But if you're as nitpicky as you seem to be, you have probably already noticed. (And if not -- gotcha!)
The next time you post a blog entry or comment, look in the little text toolbar that shows above where you write. You'll see a little...
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PUBLISHED 8-2-2006
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to cut testing of the nation’s beef cattle for mad cow disease by 90 percent is wrong.
It is a bad food safety and public health policy that may also cause trade sanctions against U.S. beef exports,...
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PUBLISHED 8-2-2006
Give it up! San Diego Rep. Duncan Hunter has been using “disabled veterans” to further his plans to establish an exclusive hunting enclave on Santa Rosa Island.
Part of Channel Islands National Park, Santa Rosa Island allows private hunting trips. But the...
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So reporter Gretchen Wenner has a story about some bobcat sightings along the river. She even went out with a video camera to try to find one of these critters.
There is nothing like an alleged bobcat or mountain lion sighting to get the newsroom fired up. I think it has something to do with...
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Comments [10] - Views [701]
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Entertainment is the only appropriate place for this blog.
Mel Gibson has apologized and entered rehabilitation for his anti-Semitic remarks last week as he was being arrested for drunken driving.
One story put it this way:
SHAMED by his mugshot staring out from magazines and...
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Comments [45] - Views [972]
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Okay, it is probably one issue on whether teachers should have to take a test in order to meet a "highly qualified" standard and keep their job.
But what struck me in Lisa Schencker's story on the issue was a teacher and a union leader suggested that some teachers have difficulty...
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Comments [17] - Views [313]
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The Food and Drug Administration has indicated it may allow the "morning after" drug, Plan B, to be sold without a prescription to women 18 years and older.
An initial proposal was to make the pill available to females aged 16 and older, but the FDA after much review decided to set...
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Comments [29] - Views [473]
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Fidel Castro, the boisterous Communist leader of Cuba — the country he has tightly controlled for decades — passed leadership to his brother, Raul, on Monday.
Fidel Castro handed power to his brother ahead of undergoing surgery, the first time he had relinquished control...
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Comments [28] - Views [314]
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Talk about walking the walk.
Sarah Gallaher has made a summer of it, forgoing job and vacation to walk across America, from Seattle to Washington, D.C.
Her mission? To hike the nation's highways and byways as a "witness for the sanctity and dignity of all human life from conception to...
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Comments [34] - Views [522]
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Joan Houk, a Roman Catholic from Pennsylvania, is one of 12 women participating in a ceremony Monday in which eight will problaim themselves priests and four deacons.
Of course, the Catholic church won't recognize the ceremony and and women face excommunication as a result of it.
It's not...
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Comments [105] - Views [2325]
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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...
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Comments [0] - Views [266]
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Well I made up my mind to go with the iPod for my mp3 player needs. It just seemed like all the reviews and ratings favored the iPod. And even though I don't use a Mac, I figured it had to be pretty compatible with Windows, since most computers aren't Macs.
Here is a link to a great site that...
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Comments [6] - Views [233]
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As things get more expensive, the time length of loans has become longer.
The former 30-year mortgage has given way to 40- and 50-year plans.
Some people think that's bad. I'm guessing most people don't.
It's all about what you can afford in a month and if a longer loan makes buying a...
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Comments [18] - Views [382]
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On Sunday night, a group of protesters interrupted an "In God We Trust" rally at the Rabobank Arena.
As people were singing the national anthem and proclaiming the importance in this country to the 50-year-old motto, "In God We Trust," a group went in front of the podium...
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Comments [142] - Views [2030]
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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...
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Comments [0] - Views [254]
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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...
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Comments [4] - Views [335]
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Comments [1] - Views [161]
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Exxon Mobil announced near-record profits for the three months ending June 30 — $10.36 billion.
Other oil companies are also reporting multi-billion-dollar profits in those three months — the ones where gas prices have exceeded $3 a gallon.
Now, oil folks will tell you the...
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Comments [12] - Views [763]
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On the cover of the classified section of today's newspaper are two Cavalier King Charles Spaniel pups selling for $1,600 EACH!
I obviously haven't been paying attention to dog prices lately.
If you look inside the classifieds you will see dogs for sale at up to $3,000 each. And that price...
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Comments [18] - Views [489]
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It not only bugs me that Tour de France winner Floyd Landis is now under suspicion for doping his way to victory, but that the science of all this can't figure out exactly what he took.
And while Landis is fighting this latest report and has denied cheating, he's acknowledging that step B in...
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Comments [5] - Views [710]
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Of course, we're talking about a big boy Bambi with antlers and big brown eyes that could make a lovely wall decoration.
It would be wrong to plug holes into a fawn or a doe (that's a female deer, like Julie Andrews sang about in "Doe, a deer, a female deer." She was actually singing...
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Comments [54] - Views [1115]
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So I'm in the market for an mp3 player. After refusing to give in to the trend, I finally have a reason to buy one.
In both my Monte and Cutlass, I cannot install a modern CD player without cutting the dash. And that isn't an option. So I have to live with a tape player at best.
And that...
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Comments [14] - Views [601]
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So, I for one am a big reality TV fan but have so many other shows I love also! It would be hard to pick just one. I wanted to see what you all thought! What is your favorite current or past TV show?
Also, if you like reality TV, which current or past show do you like the most? By the way,...
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Comments [19] - Views [424]
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As you may or may not be aware, what we're doing with these blogs and profiles here on Bakersfield.com is getting a lot of national attention.
As I talk to more people about it, I'm hearing the following phrase more and more:
"If you can do this in Bakersfield, you can do it...
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Comments [10] - Views [315]
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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...
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Comments [10] - Views [244]
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Stephen Whitty of Newhouse News Service has written a story about the dwindling supply and need for newspaper film critics.
Apparently with the Internet avalanche of wannabe critics and the conglomeratization of the movie business — with its ability to spread rave reviews and hype about...
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Comments [3] - Views [397]
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OK, I just have to say -- no matter where you're originally from, how long you've lived here, or what kind of climate you like -- it is too dang hot for words to describe! Am I the only one who walks outside and wonders if someone set off an atomic bomb? I take a breath and the air the...
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Comments [9] - Views [688]
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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...
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Comments [22] - Views [376]
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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...
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Comments [18] - Views [264]
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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...
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Comments [10] - Views [330]
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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...
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Comments [15] - Views [449]
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The river side of Stockdale Highway near Cal State Bakersfield is getting a major facelift.New buildings will offer an upscale Chinese restaurant, a combined eatery-brewhouse, a medical plaza for cosmetic procedures and day-spa services, and a busy real estate center.The business names are P.F....
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Comments [18] - Views [1987]
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First, somebody had the frilly idea of having men wear earrings.Now, there's a market for a male nanny — "manny" as it were.A story by Brigid Schulte of the Washington Post details all this — pointing out that Hollywood stars Britney Spears, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rosie...
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Comments [7] - Views [559]
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Eye Street is looking for those who are hopelessly devoted to Olivia Newton-John, playing Bakersfield’s Fox Theater at 8 p.m. Aug. 9.Do you have a large collection of all things Olivia? Do you own every record she’s ever made? Do you know every last line from...
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Comments [2] - Views [330]
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I am not a heavy alcohol drinker. The reason is it hurts.I buy a 12-pack of beer and it usually lasts me one to two months.A new study says light drinking appears to be good for you.This University of Florida study says people who have one to seven drinks per week were 30 percent less...
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It was the oddest thing. Seconds after the Rosedale Union School District board of trustees voted to approve the hiring of two new teachers Monday, they voted to approve maternity leave for each.
Before either teacher had worked a day in the district.
Nice work if you can get it....
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Comments [24] - Views [747]
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On a recent ridiculously hot Saturday, I mustered all the talent I had and ... locked myself out of my apartment. Not only did I lock my key inside, I also locked my spare key in with it.After the customary triple-check of the doorknob to believe it really, truly was indeed locked, I clawed...
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Comments [2] - Views [244]
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Generally, your landlord's insurance only covers the actual property and nothing within it. If anything from earthquake to break-in to a stampede of elephants damages your belongings, you're on your own. Renter's insurance is a relatively inexpensive way to protect your stuff....
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Comments [2] - Views [217]
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I'm always curious about the poeple who called my current address home before I did. This time around, the previous tenant was my tour guide when I looked at the place. I was able to ask his blunt opinion on living there, and he seemed genuinely positive about it. He pointed out some minor...
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Comments [1] - Views [276]
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Its humming slowed and faded to silence. All I'd dropped in was an apple core! And why is it called a garbage disposal when it's not designed to handle trash? The foodstuffs disposals typically shred seem more like compost than garbage to me. I'd like to see a garbage...
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I generally don't mind bugs. In fact, I sometimes pause to admire the odd grasshopper on a hike. But it's different when they step into my space, though even then I'm pretty tolerant. If a many-legged critter is near a door, I sweep it back out and that's that. I don't have a...
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Comments [6] - Views [325]
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Greetings! Welcome to your source for rental tips and stories. I want to hear all about your rental adventures, so don't be shy about posting comments!
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So we just put up a story on local churches that are getting mammoth crosses on their property, thanks to cell phone companies. Turns out inside these crossses are the guts of a cell phone tower.While the practical part of me thinks this is a great idea, there is a part that asks, "Is it...
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Comments [14] - Views [677]
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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...
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Comments [0] - Views [176]
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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...
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Janet Driskell of Lake Isabella was going to take me to lunch.She was going to use a small part of $100,000 she won in a Canadian lottery. She got a $2,900 cashier's check in the mail payable on the Country Federal Credit Union in MacCleeny, Fla.She was supposed to wait 4 days and then wire...
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Comments [3] - Views [318]
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