Recent Blog Posts: Bakersfield.com

Breaking News: Deputies say Frazier Park deaths don't appear connected

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:48:12 PST

"Kern County Sheriff's deputies are investigating two suspicious deaths in Frazier Park that happened within the last month, but say so far there is no indication that are connected.

Deputies responded to the mountain community Sunday after a body was found somewhere in town. The name, age and even gender of the deceased have not been released. So far all deputies will say is that the death appears suspicious.

On Nov. 3 the body of 42-year-old man was found in a creek in the center of town. The man, identified by the Kern County coroner as Jukka Hellsten of Frazier Park, was found near Frazier Mountain Park Road and Monterey Trail at 9:55 a.m.

Neither death has been ruled a homicide, said Ray Pruitt, the sheriff's department's public information officer.

"There is no indication at this point that either case is related," Pruitt said. "It's a small community and two suspicious deaths is pretty unusual. We're just asking folks to be patient."

Breaking News: Boron man arrested for allegedly shooting at neighbor

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:38:57 PST

Subject Arrested for Attempted Homicide, Firing a Firearm at an Occupied Dwelling and Exhibiting a firearm

This is a news release of the Kern County Sheriff's Office.
Please do not contact the Sheriff's Communications Center.

Date: Monday, November 23, 2009
Time: 11:00:05 AM
Department Contact: Ronald Maniord

Details:

On Wednesday, 11/18/09 at approx.1800 hours, Mojave deputies responded to a report of a subject with a firearm in the Boron area. While enroute, deputies were advised that shots had been fired.

When deputies arrived, they contacted a subject, later identified as Charles Cross, 64, of Boron, CA., that appeared to have a weapon in his hand. Deputies had to speak to Cross over their PA system to get him to comply with their directions, which he eventually did.

Cross was detained, without incident.

Upon checking the porch area of Cross' residence, deputies found a loaded .44 cal handgun and a sword.

Deputies contacted a neighbor and learned that Cross had fired two shots at him, while he, the neighbor, was seeking cover behind a brick wall. Deputies checked the wall and located what appeared to be two bullet strikes.

Upon checking Cross' residence, deputies located 2 other firearms and ammunition.

Cross was arrested, transported and booked into the Central Receiving Facility for Attempt Homicide, Discharging a Firearm at an Inhabited dwelling and brandishing a firearm.

Breaking News: Police to hold checkpoint Wednesday, somewhere in town

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:37:41 PST

BAKERSFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT

1601 Truxtun Avenue

Bakersfield, CA

(661) 326-3815

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 23, 2009

On Wednesday, November 25, 2009, the Bakersfield Police Department Traffic Enforcement Detail will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License Checkpoint in the greater Bakersfield area.

This DUI/Drivers License checkpoint enforcement event is in an effort to reduce the number of persons injured or killed each year in DUI related collisions, as well as insuring motorists on city streets are in possession of a valid driver’s license. A major component of these checkpoints is to increase awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and to encourage sober designated drivers.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant for the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The public is encouraged to help keep roadways safe by calling 911 if they see a suspected impaired driver.

Breaking News: CHP warns Thanksgiving drivers, will start maximum enforcement Wednesday

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:40:34 PST

California Highway Patrol

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 23, 2009

CHP PREPARING FOR A SAFE HOLIDAY TRAVEL SEASON

SACRAMENTO - The Thanksgiving holiday traditionally means heavy traffic on California’s roadways. However, holiday travelers won’t be the only ones making the trip this year. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) will mount a focused campaign against safety belt violators during the Thanksgiving holiday.

“Wearing a seatbelt is the easiest and quickest way to save a life” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “It takes two seconds to buckle up.”

Thirty-three people were killed on California roadways during the Thanksgiving holiday in 2008. Among the 20 vehicle occupants killed in CHP jurisdiction, 35 percent were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.

In addition to keeping an eye out for vehicle occupants without seatbelts, officers will be especially watchful for impaired drivers during the period.

“Throughout the holiday travel season officers will also emphasize DUI enforcement to help remove these most dangerous drivers from California’s roadways,” said Commissioner Farrow.

Starting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25 through midnight, Sunday, November 29, the CHP will be implementing the annual Thanksgiving enforcement period. During this time all available officers will be out on the road.

“The roadways get crowded during the four-day weekend and on the day after Thanksgiving with holiday shopping traffic congestion,” said Commissioner Farrow. “The message is simple, drive safe, sober and remember to buckle up.”

Thanksgiving is also an Operation CARE (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) holiday. Operation CARE is a joint program of the nation’s highway patrols that places special safety emphasis on interstate highways during holiday periods. CARE highways in California include Interstates 80, 40, 15 (San Bernardino to the Nevada border) and 5 (Bakersfield north to the Oregon line).

Breaking News: Wreck injures two, slows Highway 99 traffic early this morning

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:37:23 PST

California Highway Patrol

Press release

On November 23, 2009 at approximately 0050 hours, Mike Koshkaryan, 48, of Gelndale, was driving northbound on SR-99 in the #2 lane, from Ming Avenue. Mr. Koshkaryan observed a traffic collision ahead of him and applied his brakes.

Fredrick Scott, 40, of Los Angelese, was driving northbound SR-99 behind Mr. Koshkaryan. Mr. Scott was not able to stop and he struck the rear of Mr. Koshkaryan's vehicle. All four lanes of northbound SR-99 were blocked for approximately 4 hours and traffic was diverted onto the east shoulder. Mr. Scott sustained major injuries and was transported to Kern Medical Center. Mr. Koshkaryan complained of a sore neck and was not transported.

Comments:
ednpatc commented:

Don't State of California computers have spell check???? I guess it is one more savings Arneld is doing for us .......

Breaking News: Prison inmate released Sunday, carjacks vehicle in Rosedale same day

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:34:10 PST

Bakersfield Police Department

Press release

On 11-22-09 at 6:42 p.m., two adult females exited a business in the 8100 block
of Rosedale Highway and approached their vehicle to leave. They were approached
by a black male adult armed with a black firearm, and ordered to hand over the keys
to the vehicle. Upon seeing the firearm, both females ran away in separate directions.

The driver ran back inside the business and was followed by the suspect. The suspect physically removed the keys from the driver, and fled inside the vehicle. A citizen in
the parking lot witnessed the robbery and followed the victim's vehicle eastbound on
Rosedale Highway to southbound Freeway 99.

A Bakersfield Police Officer observed the victim vehicle southbound Highway 99 at
Houghton Road at a high rate of speed and initiated a pursuit. A 25 minute pursuit covering over 50 miles at speeds in excess of 130 mph culminated when law enforcement lost sight of the vehicle at 1-5 and Highway 138. A subsequent search of the area resulted in officers locating the victim vehicle disabled on the shoulder of the roadway, and the suspect found walking in the area of the vehicle.

The suspect was positively identified as Donte Kevin Brown, 23 years old of Palmdale,
California. Investigation revealed Brown had just been released from Corcoran State
Prison early this morning. Brown was charged with 2 counts of Carjacking, 2 counts of
Robbery, Active participation in a street gang, Possession of a firearm by a felon, Felony
evading, Gang member in possession of a firearm in commission of a felony, Driving
on a suspended license, and Parole violation. Brown was booked into the Kern County Jail.

Comments:
michele1075 commented:

What a moron! Maybe he just needs to stay in prison since he was so eager to return :)

jfrancais commented:

Is this another "Hard on Hoes" gang member?

learnem commented:

probably just the prision mentality....much like the welfare mentality

no skills, doesnt want to be responsible, cant handle life in the real world, so he committed another crime to go back in

these are the type of people who piss me off subsiding in jail on MY dime

He needs to be shot, because his actions yesterday definitely said, " Im not going to abide by your rules"

I wonder where he got the gun from?

learnem commented:

probably just the prision mentality....much like the welfare mentality

no skills, doesnt want to be responsible, cant handle life in the real world, so he committed another crime to go back in

these are the type of people who piss me off subsiding in jail on MY dime

He needs to be shot, because his actions yesterday definitely said, " Im not going to abide by your rules"

I wonder where he got the gun from?

VirgilAnderson commented:

you really felt the need to post that twice ?

--virgil

Breaking News: Arrest log for Nov. 22

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:25:08 PST

Not sure what crimes these folks were arrested for? Check out our list below or click on the link below.

GERMAN    MARTINEZ    M    WASCO    CA    93280    H    22/11/2009    VC    12500(A)VC    23152(A)VC    40508(B)    KCS

HEATHER    HOWELL    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    HS    11550(A)            KCS

HEATHER    HOWELL    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    HS    11550(A)            KCS

PAUL    MARUCCI    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    22/11/2009    HS    11378            KCS    CONST

PAUL    MARUCCI    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    22/11/2009    VC    14601.1(VC    23152(A)        KCS    CONST

LAURA    DAVIS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    22/11/2009    HS    11357(B)HS    11377(A)HS    11379(A)    KCS    CLERK

JOHN    SHANNON    M    GLENNVILLE    CA    93226    W    22/11/2009    VC    23152(A)VC    14601.2(HS    11360(B)    KCS    NONE

ROGELIO    REYES    M    WASCO    CA    93280    H    22/11/2009    HS    11550(A)            KCS    FIELD    WORKER

ROGELIO    REYES    M    WASCO    CA    93280    H    22/11/2009    VC    23152(A)VC    23152(B)        KCS    FIELD    WORKER

BRYAN    GRAY    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    W    21/11/2009    HS    11364   PC    148(A)(1VC    14601(A)VC 2800.1 VC 21650    KCS    LABOR    ER

JUAN    OCHOA    M    WASCO    CA    93280    H    22/11/2009    PC    647(F) PC    853.7        KCS

BRYAN    HEADE    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    B    22/11/2009    PC    245(A)(1            KCS    SECUR    ITY

JAVIER    QUIROZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    22/11/2009    PC    272     VC    23152(A)VC    23152(B)VC 23222(A)VC 22350   VC 24601    KCS

TEODORO    LOPEZ-WENCES    M    WASCO    CA    93280    H    21/11/2009    VC    23152(A)VC    23152(B)VC    23223(A)    KCS    LABOR    ER

BRIAN    WILLIAMS    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93312    W    22/11/2009    PC    647(F)            KCS    PLUMB    ING

EDWARD    SAMUEL    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    H    22/11/2009    PC    647(F)            KCS    TOOL    PUSHER

OSCAR    SORTO    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    22/11/2009    PC    148(A)(1PC    647(F)        KCS

KAWANA    THOMPSON    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    B    22/11/2009    PC    273.5(A)PC    245(A)(1        KCS

JOHN    STEVENS    M    BODFISH    CA    93205    W    21/11/2009    VC    2800.3 VC    2800.2(AVC    23103(A)    KCS    MECHA    NIC

STEPHEN    CHEYNE    M    ROSAMOND    CA    93560    W    22/11/2009    PC    246.3(A)PC    417(A)(2        KCS

THEODORE    MEDINA    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    H    22/11/2009    PC    243(E)(1            KCS    LABOR    ER

DANIEL    DERR    M    LAKE ISABELLA    CA    93240    W    22/11/2009    HS    11350(A)BP    4140    HS    11550(A)HS 11364(A)    KCS

GABRIEL    RUIZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    22/11/2009    HS    11377(A)            KCS

GABRIEL    RUIZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    22/11/2009    PC    1551    PC    BATTERY PC    BODILY H    KCS

CESAR    DORADO    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93313    H    22/11/2009    VC    21650.1 HS    11364(A)        KCS    LABOR    ER

CESAR    DORADO    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93313    H    22/11/2009    PC    148(A)(1            KCS    LABOR    ER

JESSICA    BOYER    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    22/11/2009    PC    496(A)            KCS    LABOR

GINA    MCCANE    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    22/11/2009    PC    496(A)            KCS    LABOR    ER

BENJAMIN    LEAL    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    H    22/11/2009    HS    11550A            KCS    METRO    PCS

DAVID    VILLENUEVA    M    WASCO    CA    93280    H    22/11/2009    PC    273.5(A)PC    245(A)(1        KCS

ALFONSO    GRACIAN    M    TEHACHAPI    CA    93561    H    22/11/2009    PC    118            KCS    COOK

ANNA    GIL HURTADO    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    H    22/11/2009    US    C TITLE8S            KCS

FRANCISC    O MARTINEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93306    H    22/11/2009    VC    14601.2(VC    23152(A)VC    23152(B)    KCS    CONST    RUCTION

FRANCISC    O MARTINEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93306    H    22/11/2009    VC    14601.2(VC    22348(B)VC    16028(A)VC 5900(A)    KCS    CONST    RUCTION

CHRISANT    O HERNANDEZ    M    WASCO    CA    93280    H    22/11/2009    PC    12651(A)            KCS    ELECT    RICIAN

KEITH    KENNEDY    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    W    22/11/2009    PC    148(A)(1            KCS    LABOR    ER

KEITH    KENNEDY    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    W    22/11/2009    PC    3056            KCS    LABOR    ER

NICOLE    HROVAT    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93311    W    22/11/2009    BP    4060    HS    11364   HS    11364    KCS

DAVID    TARANGO    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93306    H    22/11/2009    PC    148(A)(1PC    243(E)(1        KCS    FORKL    IFT OPERATO

MICHAEL    JONES    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    22/11/2009    PC    3056            KCS    TATTO    O ARTISTS

SHEILA    SWEETEN    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    22/11/2009    VC    14601.1(VC    16028(A)VC    4000(A) VC 4462.5    KCS

WALLY    RAMOS    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    H    22/11/2009    PC    12316(B)PC    498(B)(4        KCS

WALLY    RAMOS    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    H    22/11/2009    VC    14601.1(VC    16028(A)VC    4000(A)    KCS

RUDY    VILLARREAL    M    MOJAVE    CA    93501    H    22/11/2009    HS    11364   PC    12020(A)        KCS

ROBERT    BAKER    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA        W    22/11/2009    HS    11377(A)            KCS    MECHA    NIC

ROBERT    BAKER    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA        W    22/11/2009    HS    11379            KCS    MECHA    NIC

ROBERT    BAKER    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA        W    22/11/2009    PC    3056            KCS    MECHA    NIC

JOSE    MACHADO    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    H    22/11/2009    PC    273.6(A)            KCS

BENJAMIN    WILD    M    BODFISH    CA    93205    W    22/11/2009    PC    273.5(A)            KCS

BENJAMIN    WILD    M    BODFISH    CA    93205    W    22/11/2009    PC    236     PC    273.5(A)PC    853.7   PC 853.7    KCS

BENJAMIN    WILD    M    BODFISH    CA    93205    W    22/11/2009    PC    853.7   VC    14601.1(VC    26710   VC 40508(A)    KCS

BENJAMIN    WILD    M    BODFISH    CA    93205    W    22/11/2009    VC    14601.1(VC    16028(A)VC    22349(A)VC 4000(A)    KCS

HUGO    MARQUEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    H    22/11/2009    PC    647(F)            KCS

HUGO    MARQUEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    H    22/11/2009    PC    3056            KCS

TIMOTHY    ODELL    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    W    22/11/2009    PC    243(E)(1            KCS

MANUEL    VELASQUEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    22/11/2009    PC    12025(A)            KCS    SHIPP    ING/REC

ENRIQUE    CARRANZA    M    WASCO    CA        H    22/11/2009    PC    597(A) PC    602(T) FG    2002    KCS    LABOR    ER

JESUS    GUERRA    M    WASCO    CA    93280    H    22/11/2009    PC    597(A) PC    602(F) FG    2002    VC 12500(A)    KCS    LABOR

GARY    VICTORY    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    23/11/2009    PC    245(A)(1PC    182(A)(1        KCS    MECHA    NIC

BRIAN    ADDIMANDO    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93314    W    23/11/2009    PC    245(A)(1PC    182(A)(1        KCS    MECHA    NIC

JEFFREY    GOODRICH    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    23/11/2009    PC    853.7   VC    23152(A)        KCS

Click here to see the full penal code or check the list below for some of the more well-known crimes.

* 187 - Murder
    * 191.5, 193 c - Vehicular Manslaughter
    * 207 - Kidnapping
    * 211 - Robbery
    * 215 - Carjacking
    * 240 - Assault
    * 242 - Battery
    * 245 - Assault with a deadly weapon
    * 261 - Rape
    * 288 - Child molest
    * 415 - Disturbing the peace
    * 422 - Criminal threats
    * 451 - Arson
    * 459 - Burglary
    * 470 - Forgery
    * 484 - Petty Theft
    * 487 - Grand Theft
    * 488 - Theft or Larceny
    * 496 - Receiving stolen property
    * 594 - Malicious mischief/Vandalism
    * 602 - Trespassing
    * 647(b) - Prostitution
    * 647(f) - Public Drunkenness or Public Intoxication
    * 664 - Attempt (usually charged together with one of the above)
    • 1203.2 - Probation violation
    • 3056 - Parole violation
    • 12020 - 12031 gun violations
Health and Safety Code
    • 11350 to 11379 possession or sales of drugs
    • 11364 drug paraphernalia
Vehicle Code
    • 12500 driving without a license
    • 14601 driving on a suspended or revoked license
    • 16028 c driving without insurance
    • 10851 vehicle theft
    * 23152 drunken driving

Breaking News: Arrest log for Nov. 21

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:22:57 PST

Not sure what crimes these folks were arrested for? Check out our list below or click on the link below.

APRIL    HARRIS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93306    B    21/11/2009    PC    3056    KCS

DANIEL    SANDOVAL    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    21/11/2009    VC    12500(A)VC 23152(A)    KCS

CHARLES    WRIGHT    M    CAL CITY    CA    93505    B    21/11/2009    PC    3056    KCS

JUAN    FLORES    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA        H    21/11/2009    PC    647(F)    KCS

LUIS    GONZALEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    21/11/2009    PC    647(F)    KCS    MOVER

RUSSELL    SISK    M    CANYON COUNTRY    CA    91355    W    21/11/2009    PC    647(F)    KCS    CONTRACTOR

ROBERT    GREEN    M    RIDGECREST    CA    93555    W    21/11/2009    PC    647(F)    KCS    ENG TECH

JOSHUA    TILLMAN    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    B    21/11/2009    VC    23152(A)    KCS    BILL COLLECTOR

JOSHUA    TILLMAN    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    B    21/11/2009    PC    273.6(A)    KCS    BILL COLLECTOR

KESHAWNE    JOHNSON    F    ROSAMOND    CA    93560    B    21/11/2009    PC    647(F)    KCS    LABORER

JOSHUA    CONNOLLY    M    SOUTHLAKE    CA    93240    W    21/11/2009    PC    272(A)(1    KCS    STEELE BUILDER

JOSHUA    CONNOLLY    M    SOUTHLAKE    CA    93240    W    21/11/2009    PC    3056    KCS    STEELE BUILDER

TIFFANY    BLAIR    F    LAKE ISABELLA    CA    93240    W    21/11/2009    HS    11550(A)PC 853.7    KCS    DISHWASHER

AMBER    SANDERS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    W    21/11/2009    PC    148.9(A)    KCS    LABORER

AMBER    SANDERS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    W    21/11/2009    HS    11550(A)    KCS    LABORER

RAFAEL    FRANCO    M    ARVIN    CA    93203    H    21/11/2009    PC    647(F)    KCS    CLERK

RONALD    CHRISTY    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA        W    21/11/2009    PC    496D    VC 10851(A)PC 496(A) PC 496(A) PC 496(A) PC 496(A)    PC 496(A) PC 496(A) PC 496(A) PC 496(A) KCS    LABORER

ERNESTO    RAMOS    M    DELANO    CA    93215    H    21/11/2009    VC    23152(B)VC 12500(A)    KCS    FIELD WORKER

PATRICIO    VASQUEZ    M    DELANO    CA    93215    H    20/11/2009    VC    14604(A)VC 4000(A)    KCS

PATRICIO    VASQUEZ    M    DELANO    CA    93215    H    20/11/2009    VC    12500(A)VC 23152(A)VC 23152(B)VC 40508(A)    KCS

MARGARITO    OROZCO    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    21/11/2009    VC    4462.5 VC 14601.1(VC 27315(D)VC 4000(A) VC 16028(A)    KCS    MECHANIC

WINSTON    ROBINSON    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    W    21/11/2009    PC    243(E)(1    KCS    LABORER

RUBEN    GATICA    M    INYOKERN    CA    93527    H    21/11/2009    VC    14601.1(VC 16028(A)VC 23123(A)VC 4000(A)(VC 40508(A)VC 40508(A    )                                            KCS    TRUCK DRIVER

RUBEN    GATICA    M    INYOKERN    CA    93527    H    21/11/2009    VC    12500(A)VC 40508(A)VC 40508(A)    KCS    TRUCK DRIVER

AMANDA    KOCH    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    VC    14601.1(VC 27315(D)    KCS    UNEMPLOYED

AMANDA    KOCH    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    VC    14601.1(VC 26708(A)VC 27315(F)    KCS    UNEMPLOYED

CURTIS    STUCKEY    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    HS    11550(A)    KCS    TILE SETTER

ROBIN    KOLLENBORN    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA        W    21/11/2009    MC    9.16.010    KCS

ALLEN    TURNEY    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    PC    3056    KCS    NONE

STEVEN    MORRIS    M    MOJAVE    CA    93501    W    21/11/2009    PC    273.5(A)PC 853.7    KCS

ABRAHAM    GONZALEZ    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    21/11/2009    PC    647(F)    KCS

JOHN    MILLER    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    PC    647(F)    KCS

GERI    ACKER    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    PC    647(F)    KCS

GERI    ACKER    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    CO    8.28.050    KCS

GERI    ACKER    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    PC    647(F)    KCS

GERI    ACKER    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    PC    647(F)    KCS

GERI    ACKER    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    PC    647(F)    KCS

SKYLER    HAMPTON    M    BUTTONWILLOW    CA    93206    H    21/11/2009    PC    594(B)(1    KCS    LABOR

SKYLER    HAMPTON    M    BUTTONWILLOW    CA    93206    H    21/11/2009    PC    148(A)(1PC 647(F)    KCS    LABOR

SKYLER    HAMPTON    M    BUTTONWILLOW    CA    93206    H    21/11/2009    PC    415(1) PC 647(F)    KCS    LABOR

DANNY    ACEVES    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    21/11/2009    VC    14601.2(    KCS    LABORER

DANNY    ACEVES    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    21/11/2009    VC    14601.1(    KCS    LABORER

DANNY    ACEVES    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    21/11/2009    VC    23152(A)    KCS    LABORER

DANNY    ACEVES    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    21/11/2009    VC    23152(A)    KCS    LABORER

WALTER    GLEASON    M    LAKE ISABELLA    CA    93240    W    21/11/2009    PC    647(F)    KCS    LABORER

BRIAN    GRIGSBY    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    PC    148(A)(1    KCS

ERICH    MASSONI    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    W    21/11/2009    VC    14601.1(    KCS

BRIAN    HENSLEY    M    MOJAVE    CA    93501    W    21/11/2009    HS    11379(A)HS 11377(A)VC 14601.1(HS 11550(A)VC 26708(A)    KCS

GABRIEL    ECHAVARRIA    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    21/11/2009    PC    148(A)(1PC 12020(A)    KCS

GABRIEL    ECHAVARRIA    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    21/11/2009    PC    212.5(A)PC 460(A) PC 245(A)(1    KCS

MITCHELL    WILLARD    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    HS    11377(A)PC 148(A)(1    KCS

MITCHELL    WILLARD    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    21/11/2009    PC    148.9(A)    KCS

ANGELICA    GUTIERREZ    F    SHAFTER    CA    93263    H    21/11/2009    PC    273A(A) HS 11364   HS 11550(A)    KCS    TIME KEEPER

EARL    ROSE    M    BORON    CA    93516    W    21/11/2009    PC    273(A) PC 853.7    KCS    WELDER

EARL    ROSE    M    BORON    CA    93516    W    21/11/2009    VC    14601.1(VC 23123(A)    KCS    WELDER

GERMAN    MARTINEZ    M    WASCO    CA    93280    H    21/11/2009    VC    23152(A)VC 23152(B)VC 12500(A)    KCS

LUIS    DIAZ    M    LOST HILLS    CA    93249    H    21/11/2009    VC    23152(A)VC 12500(A)VC 22450(A)    KCS    LABOR

RONALD    MITCHELL    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93311    W    21/11/2009    PC    647(F)    KCS

EDWARD    MULLEN    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93312    W    22/11/2009    PC    243(E)(1    KCS    ROUGHNECK

MANUEL    LIRA    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    H    21/11/2009    PC    273.6(A)    KCS

MARCELLO    BORRELI    M    TEHACHAPI    CA    93561    H    21/11/2009    PC    273A(A) PC 273D(A)    KCS    WELDER

Click here to see the full penal code or check the list below for some of the more well-known crimes.

* 187 - Murder
    * 191.5, 193 c - Vehicular Manslaughter
    * 207 - Kidnapping
    * 211 - Robbery
    * 215 - Carjacking
    * 240 - Assault
    * 242 - Battery
    * 245 - Assault with a deadly weapon
    * 261 - Rape
    * 288 - Child molest
    * 415 - Disturbing the peace
    * 422 - Criminal threats
    * 451 - Arson
    * 459 - Burglary
    * 470 - Forgery
    * 484 - Petty Theft
    * 487 - Grand Theft
    * 488 - Theft or Larceny
    * 496 - Receiving stolen property
    * 594 - Malicious mischief/Vandalism
    * 602 - Trespassing
    * 647(b) - Prostitution
    * 647(f) - Public Drunkenness or Public Intoxication
    * 664 - Attempt (usually charged together with one of the above)
    • 1203.2 - Probation violation
    • 3056 - Parole violation
    • 12020 - 12031 gun violations
Health and Safety Code
    • 11350 to 11379 possession or sales of drugs
    • 11364 drug paraphernalia
Vehicle Code
    • 12500 driving without a license
    • 14601 driving on a suspended or revoked license
    • 16028 c driving without insurance
    • 10851 vehicle theft
    * 23152 drunken driving

Breaking News: Arrest log for Nov. 20

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:19:39 PST

Not sure what crimes these folks were arrested for? Check out our list below or click on the link below.

ENRIQUE    ALAMILLO    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    20/11/2009    PC    245(A)(1PC    422     PC    148(A)(1PC    243(A) PC 148.9(A)    KCS

AARON    BRIGGS    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93306    B    20/11/2009    PC    460(A)                KCS    SSI

JOHN    HINZO    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    20/11/2009    PC    460(A)                KCS    LABORER

MARIA    MORENO    F    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    20/11/2009    PC    460(A)                KCS    FIELD LABORER

IVAN    GONZALEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    20/11/2009    PC    245(A)(1PC    664/212.PC    182(A)(1PC    148(A)(1PC 272     PC 186.22(A    KCS    LABORER

JESSE    COVARRUBIAS    M    DELANO    CA    93215    H    20/11/2009    PC    664/187(PC    246     PC    12034(C)PC    186.22    KCS    LABOR

HUMBERTO    CEJA    M    DELANO    CA    93215    H    20/11/2009    PC    466                KCS    LABOR

JASON    MCGLOFLIN    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    W    20/11/2009    VC    14601.1(                KCS    SALES

ALBERT    PENALBER    M    WASCO    CA    93280    H    31/10/2009    BP    4060    HS    11364   HS    11364        KCS    N/A

JERRY    ORTEGA    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    20/11/2009    PC    647(F)                KCS    LABOR

FRANCISCO    REYES    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    20/11/2009    VC    12500(A)VC    23152(A)            KCS

FRANCISCO    REYES    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    20/11/2009    VC    14601.2(VC    23152(A)VC    23152(B)        KCS

SCOTT    WRIGHT    M    TEHACHAPI    CA    93561    W    19/11/2009    PC    368(B)(1PC    245(A)(1PC    422     PC    422     PC 422     PC 422    KCS

FRANCISCO    SOTO    M    LAMONT    CA        H    20/11/2009    PC    1320(A) PC    602.5(B)            KCS

JESSIE    GOMEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93301    H    20/11/2009    PC    666.5(A)PC    496D(A) PC    148.9(A)VC    12500(A)VC 24600(B)    KCS    LABORER

JESSIE    GOMEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93301    H    20/11/2009    PC    148(A)(1PC    212.5(C)PC    246.3(A)        KCS    LABORER

MALO    CAMPOS    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    20/11/2009    PC    148(A)(1                KCS

NICOLE    BECK    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    20/11/2009    PC    273.5(A)                KCS    UNEMPLOYED

ARMONDO    ZAMORA    M    TULARE    CA        H    20/11/2009    PC    148(A)(1PC    647(F)            KCS

JUAN    SOLIS    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    20/11/2009    PC    148.9(A)VC    12500(A)VC    23152(A)        KCS

JUAN    SOLIS    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    20/11/2009    PC    647(F)                KCS

GLEN    JOHNSON    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    B    20/11/2009    PC    DETAINERPC    HEREUS C            KCS

ROBERT    MENDOZA    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA        H    20/11/2009    PC    DETAINER                KCS

MIGUEL    FREGOSO    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    20/11/2009    PC    243(A)                KCS    GEN LABOR

MATTHEW    BORTON    M    SAN MIGUEL    CA    93451    W    20/11/2009    PC    12021(C)PC    496(A)            KCS    CONSTRUCTION

NATE    MORENO    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    20/11/2009    PC    3056                KCS

ANDRE    ONSUREZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93306    H    20/11/2009    HS    11550(A)                KCS    ROOFER

ANDREW    GARTICA    M    BORON    CA    93516    W    20/11/2009    PC    647(F)                KCS

CHRISTINE    HILER    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    W    20/11/2009    PC    273A(B) PC    460(B) PC    470(D) PC    470(D) PC 470(D) PC 470(D) PC 470(D) PC 470(D)    PC 470(D) PC 470(D) KCS

KATHLEEN    MARTINEZ    F    NORTH EDWARDS    CA    93523    H    20/11/2009    PC    853.7   VC    14601.2(VC    23152(A)VC    23152(B)    KCS

ISMAEL    SILVA-RIOS    M    CLACKAMAS    OR        H    20/11/2009    PC    1551    PC    DELIVERYPC    DELIVERYPC    POSSESSIPC POSSESSI    KCS

ISMAEL    SILVA-RIOS    M    CLACKAMAS    OR        H    20/11/2009    US    C TITLE8S                KCS

LOUIS    GONZALEZ    M    NORTH HOLLYWO    OD CA    91607    H    20/11/2009    RT    6071    CO    5.04.010            KCS    STREET VENDOR

DWIGHT    CANADY    M    TAFT    CA    93268    W    19/11/2009    HS    11370.1(HS    11378   PC    496(A) HS    11550(E)PC 12021(A)    KCS    SAFETY MAN

ALBERTO    GARCIA    M    TAFT    CA    93268    H    20/11/2009    VC    23152(A)VC    23152(B)PC    853.7   VC    12500(A)VC 40515    KCS    FIELD WORKER

SAVAS    LANDA    M    TAFT    CA    93268    H    20/11/2009    PC    664/460(PC    647(H) HS    11550(A)        KCS    CRAIN

JAMIE    HERIFORD    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    W    20/11/2009    HS    11377(A)                KCS    LABORER

JAMIE    HERIFORD    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    W    20/11/2009    HS    11550(A)                KCS    LABORER

ARMANDO    ALONSO    M    DELANO    CA    93215    H    20/11/2009    VC    14601.2(PC    853.6   VC    23152(A)VC    23152(B)    KCS    LABOR

PAUL    BOLANOS    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    20/11/2009    PC    DETAINERPC    DEFENDAN            KCS

MICHAEL    CHAMBERS    M    BODFISH    CA    93205    W    20/11/2009    VC    23152(A)VC    23152(B)VC    14601.5(VC    23578   VC 23578    KCS    LABORER

KISHAUNA    AUSBUN    F    RIALTO    CA    92376    B    20/11/2009    HS    11350(A)                KCS    ROOM & BOARD

REYNALDO    GOMEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    20/11/2009    PC    476A(A)                KCS    LABORER

STEVEN    RILEY    M    LAKE ISABELLA    CA    93240    W    20/11/2009    VC    23152(A)                KCS    GOV CONTRACTOR

STEVEN    RILEY    M    LAKE ISABELLA    CA    93240    W    20/11/2009    BP    4060    PC    647(F) PC    853.7        KCS    GOV CONTRACTOR

GILBERT    GARCIA    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    20/11/2009    HS    11364   HS    11550(A)            KCS    LABOR

GILBERT    GARCIA    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    20/11/2009    HS    11364   PC    853.7            KCS    LABOR

KYLE    SHEPARD    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    20/11/2009    PC    3056                KCS    MAINTENANCE

TERRANCE    EDGAR    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    H    20/11/2009    PC    3056                KCS    MAINTENANCE

SHANNON    TERRY    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    W    20/11/2009    PC    3056                KCS    IN HOME CARE

JONATHAN    JOHNSON    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    20/11/2009    PC    647(F)                KCS    ELECTRICIAN

JOSE    MURALLES    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    20/11/2009    PC    503                KCS    CHECKER

JUAN    LOPEZ    M    WASCO    CA    93280    H    20/11/2009    PC    647(F)                KCS

VICTOR    RODRIGUEZ    M    ARVIL    CA    93261    H    20/11/2009    PC    647(F) HS    11357(B)            KCS    GEN LABOR

RONALD    MALLORY    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93306    W    20/11/2009    PC    182(A)(1HS    11378/11            KCS    LABORER

MATTHEW    TURNER    M    ROSAMOND    CA    93560    B    20/11/2009    PC    148(A)(1                KCS    LABOR

DARLA    MILNE    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93312    W    21/11/2009    PC    487(A)                KCS    BOOKKEEPING

BRANDY    WHITTEN    F    FRAZIER PARK    CA    93222    W    20/11/2009    PC    243(E)(1                KCS    HOME CARE

BRANDY    WHITTEN    F    FRAZIER PARK    CA    93222    W    20/11/2009    HS    11550(A)PC    FTA     HS    11364(A)        KCS    HOME CARE

Click here to see the full penal code or check the list below for some of the more well-known crimes.

* 187 - Murder
    * 191.5, 193 c - Vehicular Manslaughter
    * 207 - Kidnapping
    * 211 - Robbery
    * 215 - Carjacking
    * 240 - Assault
    * 242 - Battery
    * 245 - Assault with a deadly weapon
    * 261 - Rape
    * 288 - Child molest
    * 415 - Disturbing the peace
    * 422 - Criminal threats
    * 451 - Arson
    * 459 - Burglary
    * 470 - Forgery
    * 484 - Petty Theft
    * 487 - Grand Theft
    * 488 - Theft or Larceny
    * 496 - Receiving stolen property
    * 594 - Malicious mischief/Vandalism
    * 602 - Trespassing
    * 647(b) - Prostitution
    * 647(f) - Public Drunkenness or Public Intoxication
    * 664 - Attempt (usually charged together with one of the above)
    • 1203.2 - Probation violation
    • 3056 - Parole violation
    • 12020 - 12031 gun violations
Health and Safety Code
    • 11350 to 11379 possession or sales of drugs
    • 11364 drug paraphernalia
Vehicle Code
    • 12500 driving without a license
    • 14601 driving on a suspended or revoked license
    • 16028 c driving without insurance
    • 10851 vehicle theft
    * 23152 drunken driving

Bakosphere: Christmas lights tour -- with a twist

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:09:40 PST

Looking for something different to do this holiday season? How about seeing Christmas lights up close while tooling around on a Segway?

For those who don't know, Segways are self-balancing battery-powered "personal transporters" that travel about 10 mph. Segways are still something of a rarity in Bakersfield but there's a new local business called Seg Bakersfield that's offering tours of holiday-light displays around the Marketplace (here's a sampling of photos). Local teacher Nick Dokolas, an experienced rider who commutes to work on his Segway, is behind the tours.

Tours run from Dec. 4-30 and cost $55. Rides are about an hour, not including a short instructional session.

Go Mobile: Sign maker needs a spellchecker

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:23:38 PST

Mary Jo Riccomini of Bakersfield captured this misspelled sign while out and about. From the looks of it, this sign is on Coffee Road near Truxtun Avenue, so not sure which public agency is responsible for the creative wording.

I guess if there's an upside, maybe using one less letter save us taxpayers a few cents?

Comments:
bnfl commented:

Haha. Yeah, our family has been laughing and shaking our heads about this one for a least a week.

"Road Wideing.." Nice. And we wonder why our kids struggle w/ spelling and grammar.

I remember a few years back there was a billboard near Oak and California (a little way west of Bakersfield High) that read, "Congradulations, Grads!"

I realize we all make mistakes with spelling and grammar, but for the mistake to make it through at least a couple people and then get printed wrong is just well, wrong.

BTW, a simple use of the spell checker revealed the two mistakes. No one was able to do this before printing both signs I mentioned above, eh?

amlynam commented:

This is one of my pet peeves. It amazes me how many signs we see that are misspelled. It isn't just public agencies, it is billboards and signs in shops, etc - things people paid money to have made... spell check takes just a second to complete...

NancyII commented:

When we stopped at a traffic light in Fresno yesterday there was a young man standing on the curb of the median holding a sign asking for help. I didn't pay any attention to it until Jen said "He's holding it upside down." Then noticed it had some misspelled words.

Totally off topic, since Mark is very familiar with Fresno he had us take a short cut to the hotel which took us past the famous "tent city." As we passed the very small row of professionaly made pup tents I asked "Is that IT?" He told me that people made way too much of it and that it wasn't nearly as big as it was made out to be. I envisioned a huge encampment...not so.

siouxcityranch commented:

You mean like these??

jljackbakrrcom commented:

This is absolutely one of my worst peeves.....spelling & punctuation errors!!! And it's not only on signs, oh my friends. All you have to do is go through the various stories posted on Bakersfield.com, and you will find dozens!! When I was going to school I took Journalism, and one of the RULES was perfect spelling and punctuation in the print media!! What happened?? People are getting lazier and lazier with language....shortcut words, words that need apostrophes with none, improper use of singular and plural, etc. etc. Phonetics are fine, but they don't ALWAYS work!!!

pamg commented:

I remember an article in TBC years ago. It was in the real estate section, and the author was describing a very large, expensive "showcase" type of home, which had "rot iron" fences.

Also some years ago, the street sign at California Ave. and Commercenter Dr. was spelled "Califorina." When I sent a letter to the editor about it, TBC went out and took a photo to go along with my letter. The sign was replaced shortly after.

lanabuford commented:

LOL! siouxcityriver~(Just kidding!)

randomfactor commented:

It's very easy to misspell on a sign--you're so focused on the letters themselves that the words quite often outfox you. I used to work part-time painting signs (a verrry long time ago.) I remember once the boss was working ona tricky reverse-lettering job (white on black) and carefully wrote the wrong street name on a sign, letter by letter...

jfrancais commented:

I drove by a Burger King the other day and the marquee said "Hiring All Sh!ts".

jfrancais commented:

There's a neighborhood in Bakersfield by West High where the streets are named after Canadian cities (Edmonton, Victoria, etc.). One of the streets is erroneously spelled "Kelwona" (supposed to be Kelowna). It's been misspelled for over 20 years now.

OjoReal commented:

Before someone jumps in and blames public education for misspelled signs, allow me this preemptive defense:

Years ago, when I was teaching history, I was appalled by the poor spelling of my students. I decided to expand the scope of my corrections to include their spelling (this also considerably expanded the amount of time it took to correct papers). I circled misspelled words and upon returning papers, assigned students the homework of correcting their mistakes and writing each word ten times (I figured rote worked for me, it would work for them).

I expected, and got, a reaction from my classes. "This is history - this isn't an English class!" I tried to explain that spelling was important in all aspects of their lives, that they would likely be judged by their spelling, and even recounted an actual event from my life. A young man handed an application to the secretary in charge of hiring for a department store and after he left and as I watched, she tossed his application into the waste basket. My look registered surprise, she said, "Look at it." He had misspelled many words including the position he was applying for, "sailsman." "Would you hire him?" she asked.

What I did not anticipate was the reaction of some parents. I got several notes questioning my tactic and challenging writing words "over and over" as a waste of students' time. The principal even got a call. I was reminded that homework should reinforce instruction and that I did, after all, teach history. I stubbornly continued to circle glaring spelling errors but no longer required students to correct and write the words. I was heartened by the fact that some of my students continued to make corrections however the vast majority ignored the circled words.

The individual who wrote the words for the sign, I'm guessing, was one of those who fought to maintain his right to ignorance and if called on the carpet for his misspelling today will utter, "This is roadwork - this isn't English class!"

midterm2 commented:

Ojo: You have hit the nail on the head---several times! Our society is on a rapid downward spiral. How many of your students even had a dictionary in their house. Most of them would probably would have told you that, "If I don't know how to spell the word, how can I look it up"? I'm sure your students did not even know how to diagram a sentence, or why they would need to diagram a sentence. Your principal should have been reported to the superintendent and/or the board. Of course English (spelling) is part of history! How else did our forefathers navigate the similarly sounding rivers, glens, bends, roads, villages, and outposts to fight the Revolutionary War battles?

Stupid, unmotivated parents sire stupid, unmotivated children! We'll never change that sad fact.

lanabuford commented:

LOL! JF...Too funny!

Breaking News: High-speed chase under way

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:06:43 PST

7:07 pm Sunday: Scanner traffic indicating Bakersfield police are in pursuit of a suspect...one officer is following at 120 mph, it sounds like...

They are on 99, passing Copus Road; speeds have been reported at 130 mph...the suspect is weaving in and out of traffic.

Edit: This is south on 99, now to Grapevine, so I-5

Will update as possible

Comments:
BreakingNewsTeam commented:

Officer:

"He's about 100 yards ahead of me, we're in heavy traffic

Passing 166 at this time..."

BreakingNewsTeam commented:

Officer: "We're continuing in moderate traffic, speeds of 125 miles per hour..."

BreakingNewsTeam commented:

Scanner: Units in the Frazier Park area are in position.

Sounds like helicopter and other support is involved; they are notifying LA sheriff's department too.

Air 1 information: They're climbing up the Grapevine now...

harmanlaws commented:

chp lost suspect in the area of gorman and templin hwy.

iam monitoring chp la

tejon chp

local local law net

BreakingNewsTeam commented:

Thanks harmanlaws! I lost the signal here...let us know how it turns out...

harmanlaws commented:

will do!

suspect MAY have gone toward lancaster on the 138

harmanlaws commented:

listen to 42.420 chp tan
42.600 chp turquoise
453.725 local law tac BPD KCSO

all receivable from Bakersfield

caller to chp suspect car mat have a flat tire and is on the side of the road on 138 fwy toward lancaster, suspect car 07 dodge charger

thats all the info i have, will update when i hear more

harmanlaws commented:

last sighting of suspect car sb I-5 north of 138 at 724pm pst 19:24 hrs

harmanlaws commented:

Located suspect car on 138 east of old ridgeroute road no sign of suspect requesting airship to light up area to find said suspect

BreakingNewsTeam commented:

It's all yours harman; we're outta here for the night. Thanks for the update and hope they catch the suspect

harmanlaws commented:

One In custody 2 miles east of 138 and old ridge route road near hunt culb

bye yall

ricktracy commented:

This was the Rosedale carjacker. I also listened to the scanner and the cops could not catch up to him. He was passing cars on the shoulder at 120 plus miles and hour. It was a very scary chase. At one point they requested help from the Frazier Park units but they were tied up on a murder.

pogo commented:

High speed chases should be banned. We have plenty of other ways to catch these idiots. Too much chance for innocents to be hurt or killed. Just my opinion.

NancyII commented:

WOW, that was exciting. (yawn)

Ever notice in a restaurant or bar when low speed chase comes on from the LA freeways everyone is glued to the set? I think they're hoping the cops will shoot the guy to liven things up.

Breaking News: Homicide detectives headed to Frazier Park

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:19:48 PST

This came over at 6:15 p.m.:

SUSPICIOUS DEATH

Details: INCIDENT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY

Sheriff Homicide Detectives are enrout to the Frazier Park area for a suspicious death.

School House Zach: Week 11 (playoffs), Most important things

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:16:04 PST

It's time to admit it. My weekly "Most Important Things" post has become more of a weekly recap than anything — which is OK, but I'd like to really focus today on what is actually important about a first week of playoffs in which nearly every team that was in action is a heavy underdog to win the championship (minus Edison and Memorial from Division II, and Tehachapi, Porterville, Delano and maybe Hanford or Ridgeview from D-III). Which of the teams that had to play in Week 11 is capable of springing an upset in the quarterfinals or beyond? How many will even stand a chance next week when the top teams come back into action?

— Give Centennial much credit for finding a way to get past Clovis East — any time you get a win over another Division I team is a time for some celebration and chest-beating. But as victories go, this 16-14 conquest wasn't particularly pretty or particularly confidence-inspiring. The Golden Hawks got gift after gift from Clovis East, which gave Centennial at least nine of its points with bad punt snaps and fumbled away numerous other chances. If the game had gone another quarter, it felt like the Timberwolves were going to run away with it. But it didn't, and it's Centennial heading to Buchanan. Do the Hawks have a chance? I wouldn't count them completely out, simply because Cody Kessler can be a dangerous adversary when he's playing well and Centennial's defense has been playing very well. But Buchanan isn't going to make the mistakes Clovis East did, so it's going to take a better effort from the Golden Hawks just to stay in the game, methinks.

— Garces, on the other hand, apparently looked most impressive against a Reedley team that, as we discussed all week, was much better than a typical No. 11 seed. The Pirates were 7-3 coming in out of the tough County-Metro Athletic Conference, and the Rams made them look like they had no business being in the game. Garces led 33-0 before Reedley even scored, and it cruised in, 47-23. Jalen Sykes was again a beast, running for 147 yards and a long touchdown on 11 carries. Matt Sumlin showed the Rams still have a passing offense even without the injured Blake Campbell. Sumlin caught four of Phillip Anspach's five completions for 72 yards. Three of the receptions went for touchdowns. These are all things Frontier now has to worry about, because Garces invades Titan Stadium next Friday in the other juicy all-Bakersfield quarterfinal. It'll be interesting to see how the Rams compete in that one, because every time they've stepped up to that level, the offense has suddenly looked very stoppable. Otherwise, though, Garces has been a juggernaut since September.

— All the credit in the world goes to Foothill coach Mike Gregg and his team, which showed how far a little health, continuity and improvement can go in a season. The Trojans didn't really belong on the same field as South back in Week 4, and this Friday they beat the Rebels 21-14. Never underestimate the impact of missed scoring opportunities. Three times South ventured inside the Foothill 35 and came away with nothing. That's called stiffening on defense, and it's called leaving the door open on offense. And despite Lee West's magical season (his 24 rushing touchdowns are a new school record) and a 6-5 finishing mark, South leaves another season with a bitter taste in its mouth. As for Foothill, it seems like a heavy underdog for its trip up the 58 Freeway next week to Tehachapi. But at this point, count the Trojans out at your own peril.

— Nothing too impressive about Ridgeview's 42-30 shootout win against Hanford West. The Wolf Pack have been up and down all year, and this feels like a game it could have lost against a better opponent. Still, Tyler Dogins ran for 162 and accounted for four total touchdowns (one passing), and this is a very dangerous squad when its defense is playing well. Does Ridgeview have a shot up in Porterville on Friday? Absolutely. Can the Wolf Pack play like this again? Not if it wants the season to continue.

— Delano grinded out a 23-6 win against Highland. It might seem like the Tigers could have rolled up a bigger win, but to me, this is what the playoffs are all about. Highland came in with nothing to lose, hit a few people in the mouth and forced Delano to show it had the better team instead of rolling over. The Tigers proved it, thanks in large part to quarterback Josh Garcia, who ran for 119 yards and a couple of touchdowns, and a defense that never allowed Highland to get into the game. I'd say kudos to both teams in this one for a playoff game done the right way. Now Delano's got a much tougher opponent in Hanford, and they'll have to ramp it up a couple of notches.

— Disappointing way to end the season for for a few Kern County teams: West didn't pose much of a threat to Sanger in a 20-3 loss; the Vikings weren't the same team after Moose Cobb was lost to academics in the middle of the season. Bakersfield Christian's offensive woes were its undoing again in a 13-8 loss to SLO-Mission Prep that dropped the Eagles to 3-8 after they flew so high last year. Cesar Chavez continued its fade on offense and defense and had no answer for Clovis North in a 37-6 home loss. Independence and Mira Monte also said goodbye to their first varsity seasons at the expense of Porterville and Tehachapi. I'm sure both would have liked to compete a little more, but I'd say they've both had productive Year Ones.

— Really, the most important thing about this weekend is that the preliminaries are over. There are no more bad opponents in most divisions, and the ones that are left are rewards for top teams to feast on. Nearly every other quarterfinal should be a battle. That includes Stockdale hosting Bakersfield in a huge game (can we get this thing moved to BC? Let's pack the joint), and gut-check games for teams like Liberty, Frontier, Delano and Wasco, who have had great seasons but haven't had a whole lot of playoff success in recent years. It's time for making a good season a memorable one, or it's time for going home.

With that in mind, here are the five most juicy quarterfinals to look forward to. Much more to come on these games and others during the week:

Bakersfield at Stockdale: Don't need to say much here
Garces at Frontier: Sounds funny, but the Rams might be the second-best team Frontier has faced
Liberty at Fresno-Central: Such an intriguing contrast in styles
Ridgeview at Porterville: Wolf Pack needs to play much better to be the sleeper
Exeter at Wasco: A win completes a dream season for Tigers, no matter what happens in the semis

Comments:
timmyg commented:

zack did you forget the beating tehachapi put on garces.maybe third or fourth best team frontier has played.we will see soon

zewing commented:

Good point. That Tehachapi win makes things look awfully good for Frontier, but (1) I think Garces got much better as the season went on and (2) we saw in the South-Foothill game this weekend how much previous results mean at this time of year. I think it'll be a good game.

IBBG commented:

Garces will use their season loss as motivation to play a much better post-season game. Do not garces out.

DTFan commented:

Hey Zach,

I agree with what you said about the Hanford at Delano game this Friday. It will be a doozy. First of all, kudos to the Highland team. After seeing them play on Friday, I have a lot of respect. These guys are huge! Coach Hartnet has done a really good job with them. Now comes another tough test.

Hanford is gonna be a tough game. Zach, do you think it will be a barn burner or a close game?

pin4win commented:

Here's to DELANO: South East Bakersfield will be rooting for you to lay the wood to the Bullpups! We (Golden Valley) had a great ball game with them for 3 qtrs before our lack of depth reared its ugly head. I hope you guys come out and punch them right in the mouth from the beginning....they deserve it!

Another example of how certain teams (coaches) have no respect for the game itself: Up by 16 with right at a minute to go...with a first down at the GV 23 yard line (after an Interception), the Hanford Bullpups keep their starters in and go into no huddle and pound the ball in for yet another TD to make the score even more lopsided. And it wasn't like they made it in one play...they took 6 more plays to get the TD...including another first down!

Now I am no mathematician here, but I have seen many a classy team simply go into "victory" formation and take the knee. This insures that your starters don't get hurt and also insure no turnovers. But no, the bullpups decided to make a statement at the expense of an already beaten GV team that gave them all they wanted for 3 qtrs. There was no history between the teams and nothing during the game that would account for such actions. They then had to kickoff to us.... you should of heard the difference in the hits on that play. Stupid to put your players in that position!

Hanford, your coaches are about as low and classless as they come. I would be ashamed to have my son play on a team with morals such as yours! Real big of you to send our seniors out that way! Real classy I must say.

After the game, the Juniors on our team made a promise to those out going seniors of ours (8 starters on offense and 7 on defense return). They are looking forward to seeing you again.

Delano, run it off right tackle all night long, they can't stop it. And when you are up by 30+ with a first down at the 23 yd line... teach the bullpuppies what class looks like will ya?

I gotta run now. Going to the store to get some more WHINE with my cheese (there I said it for ya...lol)

Peace!

zewing commented:

What's the difference?

DTFan commented:

Sorry bout that Zach,

I meant to ask, do you think it will be a blowout or a close game?

zewing commented:

Oh, I definitely think it will be close. Can see things I like and dislike about both teams, so it's about who uses their strengths and exposes the other's weaknesses the best. Those are fun games.

Politics, anyone?: A Republican steps into the Parra/Florez contest

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:29:07 PST

There's still no official announcement from Republican incumbent Danny Gilmore that he's not running for his 30th District state Assembly seat.

No matter: there's a new Republican name on the list of possible contenders.

David G. Valadao (pronounced val-uh-DAY-oh, as far as I can tell from his dairy's answering machine), a dairyman in Hanford, filed intent-to-run papers last week.

I have some calls out but haven't spoken with him yet.

The Fran Florez/Pete Parra matchup will only affect primary season, of course, as they're both on the Dem side of the ticket.

Though it would be a shocker if Gilmore decided to run again, Valadao is nevertheless the first "R" to throw his hat in the ring.

- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

Comments:
mtwocats commented:

I am always shocked when reminded that Florez and Parra are Democrats.

VirgilAnderson commented:

I heard his daughter enjoys a good cigar .

--virgil

VirgilAnderson commented:

some people still think she is a Democrat.

--virgil

vanityfair commented:

Virgil, go away. She's a good person, regardless of political affiliation.

mannyb1 commented:

I like Republicans to run, but AFTER their messes have been cleaned up by a Democrat. Look around, we are not there yet.

Breaking News: Fleeing biker crashes in Lake Isabella

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:51:16 PST

Vehicle Pursuit

This is a news release of the Kern County Sheriff's Office.
Please do not contact the Sheriff's Communications Center.

Date: Saturday, November 21, 2009
Time: 11:33:25 PM

Details:

At about 1500 hrs on 11-21-2009 a Deputy attempted to conduct an enforcement stop on a motorcycle that was being driven recklessly. As the deputy attempted to make the stop the motorcycle fled. Deputies together with CHP officers pursued the motorcycle which continued to drive recklessly violating several vehicle codes.

The motorcycle crashed at Lake Isabella Boulevard and Bodfish Canyon. The driver was thrown from the motorcycle and suffered minor injuries to his back. The driver Johnny Stephens (18) was arrested and transported to KMC Hospital for treatment. Stephens was admitted in to the hospital as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.

Breaking News: Saturday's Eureka Street victim ID'd; info sought

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:49:31 PST

Homicide

NEWS RELEASE
KERN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
CORONER DIVISION

This news release is prepared under the direction of the Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator for the convenience of news reporters. Facts concerning news events of major importance, which occur after the preparation of this release, will be made available to reporters at their request as soon as it is possible to do.

DECEDENT'S NAME: Augie Gutierrez Senoran CASE #: C02190-09
CITY OF RESIDENCE: Bakersfield AGE: 43 Years
TYPE OF CASE: Homicide
DATE OF INCIDENT: Unknown TIME: Unknown
LOCATION: 1307 Eureka Street
DATE OF DEATH: Found 11/21/2009 TIME: 0501 Hours
PLACE OF DEATH: 1307 Eureka Street
INVESTIGATING AGENCY: Bakersfield Police Department

Details: On November 21, 2009 at 0501 hours, the decedent was found deceased in his residence. The decedent had suffered traumatic injuries to his face and head. An autopsy will be schedule to determine cause and manner of death.

Comments: Next of kin has been notified.

DONNY YOUNGBLOOD, Sheriff-Coroner

By: Annette Pinales, Deputy Coroner
Date: Saturday, November 21, 2009
Time: 6:46:54 PM

November 22, 2009

SPECIAL NEWS RELEASE

On 11/21/09 at about 5:01 AM hours the Bakersfield Police Department’s Communication Center received an emergency 911 call reporting the victim of an unknown type of assault in the 1300 block of Eureka Street. Uniformed patrol officers arrived on scene several minutes later and contacted the reporting party. She told officers that she had returned home after visiting friends, entered her residence, located at 1307 Eureka Street, and located her fiancé suffering from unknown type trauma inside his bedroom. Emergency medical personnel responded to the location and declared the victim deceased.

The victim is described as a Hispanic male 43 years old whose identity is being withheld pending notification by the Kern County Coroner’s Office. The victim suffered fatal traumatic injury. The exact cause of death is pending results of an autopsy and coroner’s investigation.

As of this news release there is no suspect information or motive to the incident which is being handled as a homicide.

Any person having information on this offense is requested to contact the Bakersfield police Department at 327-7111 or Detective Jim More at 326-3567.

Evans On Sports: Another beauty between BC and Hancock

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:22:10 PST

These guys always seem to have great games.

BC's 24-21 Golden Empire Bowl win on Saturday had more twists than a Magic Mountain roller coaster (OK, that's a pretty sorry cliche).

BC beat Hancock for the second time this season, and both games came down to the end. On Oct. 10, BC stopped the Bulldogs on a fourth-and-goal from the 2 with two seconds left. On Saturday, it was Josh Gallington's 22-yard field goal on the game's final play.

These teams always seem to pound each other senseless. The one thing I've noticed over the years that when the teams are evenly matched, BC seems to find a way to win. Hancock won last year (when BC had its weakest team in years).

BC had only 39 net rushing yards with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. But with the game on the line, BC ran for 101 yards the rest of the way. Ben Estill had 90 of his game-high 116 during that stretch.

BC could have scored more. The Gades failed to convert twice on fourth downs inside the Hancock 10-yard line. Estill was stopped for no gain at the 1 and a wide open Gareth Brown dropped a play-action pass when he was all alone at the 2-yard line. Brown's play was offset when Hancock didn't move the ball, punted and Rishard Matthews returned it to the 3, where Estill scored on the next play.

Montreal Harris, who had a great one-handed catch for 35 yards in the first half, dropped a sure TD pass early in the third quarter, and BC had to settle for a field goal.

But the most important element is the Gades found a way to win. Next up is a Mount SAC team ranked No. 1 in the state and coming off a 69-31 win over L.A. Pierce in another playoff game. The upset was No. 6 seed Palomar stunning No. 3 Cerritos 31-17. No. 2 Fullerton won as expected, 49-19 over L.A. Harbor.

So it's BC at Mount SAC and Palomar at Fullerton in the SoCal semis next week. The SoCal champ will be crowned one week after that, with that winner facing College of San Mateo, No. 2-ranked in the state behind Mount SAC that beat Reedley 31-20 on Saturday.

My guess is that the SoCal winner, whoever it winds up being, will beat San Mateo, which is 10-1 but couldn't put away Reedley (7-4) until late in their game Saturday.

Comments:
adampayne commented:

Thanks for the nice recap on the Renegades tough win!

koztarr commented:

Also read the Santa Maria Times article on the game and the "9-2" Gades. You rock Jeff. A larger crowd would have been nice.

marcus29fan commented:

WOW. What a game. 7,300 fans on a night the Condors played in front of half that.

Go Gades. If the weather had only been like two years ago, there would have been 10,000.

I look forward to going do to Mt. SAC this weekend with our big group of fans and taking over the Mounties stadium.

NancyII commented:

Weather doesn't keep those die hard east coast and midwest fans away..get tough Bakersfield, it wasn't even snowing. :-)

WAY TO GO 'GADES!

learnem commented:

what weather?? it was cloudy and in the 50's great football weather

NancyII commented:

Beats me, I was just going by this.. I was in Fresno in the elegant Radisson so what do I know about any weather? (Have any of you ever SEEN that place? Holey cats, it's GORGEOUS!)

" If the weather had only been like two years ago, there would have been 10,000"

I didn't know there WAS such a thing as bad football weather..lol.

No holds barred: Statement by CARB board member

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:02:48 PST

Here is a video of Dr. Telles asking that the truck rule be set aside because of problems with the researcher's credentials.

It's pretty strong.

Comments:
Observer commented:

Thank you for posting the video link.

More so than the problem with the lead author's credentials, I understood him to say that the non-disclosure of the problem with the credentials to the board prior to the vote was a basic breach in the public trust and hampered the board's ability to make an informed decision. I truly think that the problems with CARB go much deeper than one researcher.

If a board setting enforceable public policy cannot trust their staff to let them (the board) make an informed decision, then all of their decisions are tainted. It will be interesting to see what happens next.

rt2k commented:

Maybe its time to look into the research for all of their rules and see just how much more has been covered up prior to this?

learnem commented:

ITS ABOUT FREEKIN TIME

it only took them the better part of a year, feeding off of the fear of the public, who continually rattled CARB's cage regarding Tran. For them to hide the truth of this incident for so long only leads any common sensical adult to believe that, as noted above, the dead fish rots from the HEAD DOWN.

Not only does CARB need to be investigated, but also, the questionable ethics of the very politicans that created this agency, and stacked it with people whom were owed political favors by SAID politicians as well

in a way, i am happy, but still upset that the PUBLIC was (here ya go madman) RAPED mentally and financially (which is still happening as i speak...not allowed to have fires in my fireplace to warm my house HELLLL_OOOOOOOOO). All the power CARB has wielded in the last decade has effectively ran tax-generating businesses out of the state of CA, made the business climate in this state basically a slave to CARB's implementationsand drivien many hard-working economically contributing business-minded adults to seek shelter in other states.

Its a START

H8cloz commented:

I agree. For them to tell me I can't use my EPA certified clean burning pellet stove, for which I received a tax credit, is just stupid. The government wanted me to upgrade my stove to a clean burning, carbon neutral, bio fuel using, non global warming, non polluting device, then they say I can't use it because it pollutes the air. Excuse me? CARB needs to be dissolved and the "scientists" who forced this crap on us should be investigated for criminal negligence.

maybelline commented:

Lois did you mean to say long rather than strong?

Thanks for spotlighting this farce.

DogGone commented:

Thanks for the good work Lois.

No holds barred: Lies and cover ups tarnish California Air Resources Board

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:33:08 PST

It’s not the lie, it’s the cover up that’ll get you.

How many times does this wisdom have to be pounded into the heads of bureaucrats?

The scandal over how a lead researcher behind California’s new diesel truck rules lied about his credentials continues to grow.

At Thursday’s California Air Resources Board meeting, one of the board members said the legitimacy of the rule is in question because of the lie and subsequent cover up and asked for a legal opinion on what should be done next.

The problem started with Hien Tran, the lead author of the report on which the new diesel rules were based, who lied about having a Ph.D. degree in statistics from U.C. Davis.

Though the lie was brought to some CARB bureaucrats’ attention well before the vote on the draconian rules last December, it was kept “in house” until I and an editorial writer for the San Diego Union Tribune got wind of it and started hammering on it early last spring.

Turns out, not all the board members, who voted on the rules based on Tran’s report, were told of his lies.

But some were — and kept mum.

The issue was brought to the full board’s attention at its September meeting in Diamond Bar by regular citizens.

At the time, board member John Telles, a medical doctor, was quite upset, saying, “This is the first time I’ve actually been apprised that there was fraud in the organization here.

“In my world, if an article was published by somebody who didn’t have a Ph.D. and said he had a Ph.D., the whole thing would be nixed...I just find it incredible.”
Well, he did some of his own digging and at this week’s meeting he asked that CARB’s legal counsel issue an opinion on what more should be done.

Telles also laid out a stunning chronology that revealed many CARB muckey-mucks, including chair Mary Nichols, knew about the lie before the vote and never said anything.

Tran’s lie was first brought up by Dr. Stan Young in November 2008 to the California Secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency, who sent Young a letter dated Nov. 4, 2008, assuring him of Tran’s credentials.

Then on Dec. 3 and 4, 2008, UCLA professor Jim Enstrom contacted three CARB board members telling them of Tran’s indiscretion.

One of those board members, who I’ve reported was John Balmes, asked CARB staffers to investigate.

By Dec. 10, Tran had confessed. Those in the know included Nichols, Balmes and at least five other top CARB members.

The vote on the diesel rules using Tran’s report was the next day, Dec. 11, 2008 and the full board wasn’t told.

Even after the cat was out of the bag at last September’s meeting, Telles said, “Staff never mentioned that they had this information prior to the vote.”

Based on all that, Telles said, the legitimacy of the vote is in question as well as the legitimacy of the truck rule “and CARB itself.”

“How we handle this reflects on the future credibility of CARB.”

Yes, it does. Just ask Richard Nixon.

Comments:
airqualityguy commented:

Yes, they should rescind the diesel rule. They can then start over and do it right. The current rule hardly affects the San Joaquin Valley even though it is good for the port areas of the state. Next time maybe they will include all those ag trucks that were exempted the first time around. Then we might get some health protective improvements in our local air quality.

BakoBeachBumm commented:

We need to disolve the CARB all together. How many Millions of dollars could we save if it went the way of the Pontiac, we could be on the way to solving the states budget problem. The next office I would close would be the DMV. We could even sell tickets and sledge hammers to the people who would like to tear down the buildings too, it could be a big party.

No holds barred: Strange encounter ends in arrest

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:14:48 PST

I received a lot of reaction to my piece about the fellow who came to my door the other night, acted strangely and then ran off (see Wednesday’s paper or my blog at www.bakersfield.com).

Well, he was arrested Thursday evening, still in northwest Bakersfield and still acting strangely.

He didn’t do anything terribly bad and wasn’t a dangerous guy. But I feel I need to clear up what happened and point out some interesting things I learned along the way.

First, the guy at my door and the people he works with are not connected to a string of “sales calls” followed by home burglaries in south and southwest bakersfield in October.
Bakersfield police Lt. Jay Borton told me they’re convinced they caught those bad guys who, as we reported in Friday’s paper, were members of a gang.

Second, you need a peddler’s permit in the city or county to go door-to-door (Girl Scouts and other non- profits are exempt). And the permit only allows people to sell from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the city and 9 a.m. until 30 minutes after sunset in the county.

Third, the man who came to my door Tuesday night, along with a number of other young men and women that people have noticed around the city, work for a company called All Can Succeed.

The company, headquartered in Omaha Nebraska and owned by Kevin Ballard. I talked to Ballard Friday.

He said they hire young people from inner cities all over the country, train them to sell, then take them to various cities.

“We’re 100 percent legitimate,” said Ballard, who started the company in 2006.

They drop the sales teams off in neighborhoods around the city in the morning, tell them to sell, sell, sell, then pick them up in the evening

That’s exactly what a group of moms I met at Haggin Oak Park Thursday afternoon thought might be the case. The sales people were all over their neighborhood earlier in the week.

“I don’t think we’re being cased,” Kim Mishkind told me. “It seems more like these are young people who may be being taken advantage of by some company.”

One of the young men in question, Damonte Robinson, 22, said he didn’t feel that way, but it was tough selling subscriptions door-to-door.

He’d been attending community college in Los Angeles, working toward certification to service heating and air conditioning units when his financial aid ran out and he needed a job, he said.

He saw an ad for All Can Succeed and thought he’d give it a try. He, like all the other All Can Succeed member including the man who came to my door, was very nicely dressed, which Robinson said is something the company stresses.

“You learn the importance of good manners, a firm handshake, looking people eye-to-eye,” he said. He earns half of whatever he sells and said they get paid every night.

“But this is hard, especially for me. I’m not a pushy person.”

The man who came to my neighborhood, Michael Carruthers, 28, from Memphis, Tenn., had the pushy part down, but apparently not the manners.

While he didn’t say much to me, he got into arguments with other neighbors, calling them racist (even an African-American man who simply asked what he was selling).

The Sheriff’s department had numerous calls about Carruthers starting Tuesday night and became very concerned when they couldn’t find him, according to Sgt. Otis Whinery. So, when a call came in Thursday night, every cruiser in the Rosedale substation responded.

Carruthers had no identification, no peddler’s permit and he was knocking on doors after dark.

It could have been a toss-up on whether to arrest him or let him off with a warning. ButWhinery said once he became “verbally aggressive” with deputies, off he went.

Rodney Ballard, also with All Can Succeed, said Carruthers was one bad apple and that the company wasn’t aware of the business license rules. He said they were fixing all that on Friday and hoped to be in Bakersfield a while longer.

Comments:
VirgilAnderson commented:

Nice ...

Thank you, for the update.

--virgil

midterm2 commented:

What were the "subscriptions" that were being offered for sale, and how much did they cost? If a homeowner decides to purchase something, does the peddler take financial information at that point in time? Does the peddler eye the house for an alarm system, a dangerous dog, etc.? How much does the "average" peddler earn in a day? Are federal, state, and social security taxes withheld from any earnings?

Sounds crooked to me!

maybelline commented:

Subscriptions?! Really? Who subscribes to publications anymore? This has got to be the most difficult way to earn a buck ever. Further, who still sales door-to-door? I'm suspicious but still would love to return to the day of home deliveries of all sorts..

mrsearnhardt88 commented:

Thanks for the update Lois! I will continue to be cautious however...

adampayne commented:

Sad story for sad times. Thanks for the update and reporting on the probable capture of the burglars.

ronmexico commented:

The man who came to my neighborhood, Michael Carruthers, 28, from Memphis, Tenn., had the pushy part down, but apparently not the manners.

While he didn’t say much to me, he got into arguments with other neighbors, calling them racist (even an African-American man who simply asked what he was selling).

Dang, this dude just locked himself up a sweet job in the Obama Administration as the Magazine Czar...I bet he doesn't pay his taxes either. Did you axe him that, Lois?

formerflak commented:

I think that same guy may have come to my home! The man who came to my NW home was also black and well dressed and with the same organization. I couldn't understand half of what he was saying because he was mumbling and had an accent. I tried to listen to his sales pitch, but when he wouldn't tell me what anything cost I eventually lost my patience and told him I wasn't buying. Then he got really mad and downright rude and seemed to imply I was racist and made me very nervous. The whole experience made me want to hang a no solicitors sign up, but I've refrained since I don't want to discourage the neighborhood kids with their school/club fundraisers.

formerflak commented:

Also- what is up with the endless stream of Kirby vac. sales people?

Ask The Californian: Is a new southwest Body Xchange coming?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:22:56 PST

Q: For quite a while there used to be a sign on Stine Road (right off of Panama) indicating that a Body Xchange would be coming soon. I noticed this week that the sign has been removed.

Are there still plans for a future Body Xchange at this location?

- Denise Buzzini

A: We have left about a half dozen messages at Body Xchange headquarters over the last few weeks with your question and haven’t received a call back. We’ll continue to call, but wanted to let you know we’ve been trying to get an answer, to no avail.

Submit questions to asktbc@bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302.

Ask The Californian: Will The Californian allow new story commenting tools?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:20:51 PST

Q: Does The Californian have any plans to allow readers to post comments on its Web site using Facebook or Twitter accounts? Some news sites are now letting readers log-in to their sites using their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

- Travis Anthony

A: Launching story commenting as well as Facebook/Twitter integration is high on our to-do list for early next year, said Logan Molen, the senior vice president and chief operating officer who oversees The Californian's online and mobile products.

We plan to implement so-called OpenID features that will allow you to use your Facebook and Twitter accounts -- as well as others like Yahoo, Google, MySpace and Windows Live -- to do things like comment on our stories and blogs or review local restaurants.

Another benefit of OpenID is those sign-in tools will make it easier for you to use all of our local websites, which currently number more than 12 (with more to come in 2010).

In the meantime, each of our news stories and blogs features “Share!” buttons that allow you to share interesting content via Facebook, Twitter or dozens of other social networks.

Submit questions to asktbc@bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302.

Ask The Californian: Why are tractors plowing on a no-burn day?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:19:01 PST

Why is it on the first no-burn day of the season I see several tractors plowing their fields sending huge plumes of dust hundreds of feet in the air? I thought the point of a no-burn day was to reduce the amount of particulate in the air.

- Matthew Milbury

A: Scott Nester, director of planning at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, responded:

The no-burn restrictions predominantly apply to fine particulates (PM 2.5), which is a different pollutant than coarse particulates (PM 10), which is the predominant criteria pollutant emitted from plowing. The PM 10 material typically settles close to its origin, the fields being plowed, and is not inhaled as deeply into the lungs as PM2.5.

So PM 10 usually poses less of a health risk than PM 2.5. Although to protect health, the district has a year-round Conservation Management Program that reduces PM 10 from agricultural operations, including plowing, by approximately 34.2 tons per day.

Submit questions to asktbc@bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302.

Comments:
reldytina commented:

Mr. Milbury,

Farmers also have time limits placed upon them for crops such as cotton, to have those fields knocked down and disked prior to a set date in December. Farmers have already been restricted as well on burn times and situations. Many have gone to grinding dead almond branches and trees. We are strictly goverened by AQMD, and have made some very expensive changes to our farming operations. It's been tough ... but, we are out here doing our part too. :))

frankc29 commented:

And if anyone can come up with a way to prepare a field for seeding a crop that does not involve driving a tractor and moving dirt around, I am sure farmers would love to hear it. They burn a lot of money in diesel, labor, and machinery costs. They are not doing it for fun and pleasure. Plus we need to eat. There's that also.

Ask The Californian: What is the Fairfax-178 "design flaw"?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:13:03 PST

FYI, we're changing how we blog Ask TBC items. We'll post them one-by-one instead of grouped by day they run in the newspaper.

- Government editor Christine Bedell

Q: For months now it has been explained that the westbound off-ramp to Fairfax on 178 has been closed or delayed due to a “design flaw.” In all of my readings not one time has this “flaw” been explained, so can you please tell us?

- Wayne Baker

A: Here’s what city officials said:

Caltrans requires paved median area (which is called the gore area) between the ramp and the freeway to be relatively flat. This is in case a driver decides at the last minute to change his or her mind of using the ramp and crosses this area to either get to the ramp or get from the ramp back to the freeway.

This gore as constructed is too steep and does not meet Caltrans standards. To fix this problem, the ramp must be realigned and lowered.

Ask The Californian appears on Mondays and Thursdays. Submit questions to asktbc@bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302.

Comments:
witterpitters commented:

AAHHHH the best paved ramps of mice and men - quickly go ~~astray~~ uphill !!!!!

VirgilAnderson commented:

That's a great movie, by the way .

--virgil

midterm2 commented:

Why not just blanket the "gore area" with sharp spikes embedded into the pavement. Viola, no vehicle could then traverse the al gore area. Cost: probably under 20,000. It could be fixed in a couple of days.

VirgilAnderson commented:

Midterm,

what does a viola have to do with road construction?

--virgil

violet_sky82 commented:

Witters - awesome pun lol

spamcode -wowle

rt2k commented:

"This gore as constructed is too steep and does not meet Caltrans standards."

Then why did Caltrans approve the inspections during construction and wait til completion to decide it does not meet "standards"?

P6 commented:

"Then why did Caltrans approve the inspections during construction and wait til completion to decide it does not meet "standards"?

Because Caltrans does not employ well trained, experienced engineers or inspectors. The agency is well known for costly mistakes, and leaning on their shovels. A bridge built in Tehachapi several years ago cost big bucks to fix a "Design Flaw." The unfortunate reality is tax payers will continue to pay for their mistakes simply because there is little accountability in government. And where were the city inspectors while these mistakes were occurring?

MRAllred commented:

The City inspectors they were looking for their shovel they can't be out done by Cal Trans

No holds barred: PG&E smartmeters WILL be tested

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:12:28 PST

Just got this from Sen. Dean Florez' office.

YAY! (though why it took intervention from a senator to get the CPUC to get off its duff and actually treat consumer's complaints seriously is another story!)

Still, good news!

And I'm also reading that customers in the Bay Area who are just now getting the smart meters are having the same complaints we did down here in Bakoland.

One man emailed me from Fairfield about how his bill is normally $160 in the fall. After getting a smart meter it was $500 for last month. Not exactly a heat wave going on in Fairfield (which is on the delta) and certainly not at this time of year.

What's PG&E's excuse for THAT!?

Anyhow, here's Sen. Florez' release:

CPUC votes to require Smart Meter testing

Florez called for independent review of PG&E devices amid widespread billing anomalies

SACRAMENTO – The California Public Utilities Commission today declared “extraordinary circumstances” to allow them to quickly move forward with hiring an independent consultant to test PG&E’s “Smart” Meters, amid widespread reports of billing anomalies with the new digital meters, including bill spikes of double and triple normal utility payments – even in vacant homes.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) has held hearings in Bakersfield and Fresno on residents’ concerns that Smart Meters are not accurately reading their energy usage. Many of those residents reported spikes in usage while they were at work or on vacation.

In October, Florez hand delivered a list of demands to CPUC president Michael Peevey, including a call for independent testing of meters and a moratorium on new installations until such testing was completed. Peevey did not call for a moratorium, but quickly agreed to independent testing, a position made formal by today’s unanimous vote of the CPUC.

By declaring extraordinary circumstances, the agency can avoid some of the delays in the contracting process and get answers for consumers – some of whom have seen their utility bills eclipse their rent or mortgage – more quickly.

“While I would have liked to see a halt to Smart Meter installations until we can assure consumers they work, I am happy the PUC took this action to get to those answers as quickly as possible,” said Florez. “No one should be making the decision between keeping the lights on or putting food on the table while these doubts persist.”

“I also believe the public needs assurance that this testing will look at how these meters work in real life, in real homes, with comparisons to historical figures using traditional meters,” Florez continued. “Clearly the off-the-line factory testing that has occurred has not been sufficient.”

Smart Meters are ultimately supposed to give consumers real-time information on their energy usage, so they can make adjustments to save on their bills, but the technology to allow the sort of communication needed to achieve that will not be in place for years. So far, only the utility itself seems to be saving -- eliminating the labor costs of manually reading older meters -- as many consumers say their bills have increased dramatically despite cutting back on energy consumption.

PG&E has blamed the spike on summer heat, but much of the increase has come from multiple rate hikes approved readily by the Public Utilities Commission, much of that to pay for the new meters.

Comments:
goldilox commented:

Good Job ! good news!

airqualityguy commented:

Rate hike requests are also being approved this year by the PUC for so-called "clean energy" power plants here in the San Joaquin Valley. These are plants like the Mt Poso Cogen plant which currently burns dirty coal and is converting to even dirtier biomass incineration which will add greatly to our pollution problems. There is also the "clean" Hydrogen Energy proposal for Tupman which will truck into the valley and incinerate here dirty coal and pet coke as the fuel source for the hydrogen, also adding significantly to our pollution burden. In other words, we are subsidizing, with higher energy bills, the development of air polluting power plants in our over burdened air basin. The power goes to the rest of the state, we get the pollution and higher bills, and the power companies get credits for buying renewable energy. Figure that one out. But, I keep forgetting that we will accept anything here for a few jobs, tax dollars, and political donations.

Sorry this is off the topic of smartmeters but it directly has to do with current rate increases.

MRAllred commented:

aqguy

allow atomic power plants no air pollution or is it the blunt nose rat/mouse/lizard ? Or is there a tree somewhere around 20 miles that might get harmed ?

lanabuford commented:

Big deal! I wont be happy till they give me back the almost $2,000 in over charges.

ronmexico commented:

Come on now allred. We can't be having nuclear power when we can despoil hundreds of square miles earth with wind turbines and solar panels that need a backup power source when the wind doesn't blow and it is nighttime...

MRAllred commented:

Sorry I just thought common sense oooooooooooooo well never mine

MRAllred commented:

I should have said Nuclear sorry about ATOMIC or maybe fusion or maybe Horse manure yep horse manure love walking behind a horse instead of driving my truck wasting all that under ground gases the more gas we use the less the earth FARTS

qvjayne commented:

I'm with Lana Buford... I have a similar amount of over-charges that should be refunded. There is no excuse for this. Despite the decrease in the amount of power used, my bill was 3X its normal amount. Paying the normal amount hoping that PG&E would iron this out and adjust the bills was also futile. I paid the normal amount and promptly received a 15-day cut-off notice. The choice then becomes: "Do you want power at all?" Then, pay the bill as it's stated. "Exceptionally Unfair" doesn't even scratch the surface of the term I would rather use for this practice. Customers got screwed.

noholdsbarred commented:

LanaBuford and qvJayne:

You are absolutely right. This is a baby step.

We need to keep pushing the PUC on the absurd rate hikes (that paid for the smart meters by the way) and the smart meter problems.

Keep complaining, be the squeaky wheels!!! (i'm squeaking as much as I can too!)

Oh, and I like the idea of nuclear plants...thought I'd throw that in...

goldilox commented:

I also have been making monthly payments (from the astronomical summer bills we received), i send in $400 a month, and still owe $380 from before, i too keep getting cut-off notices, but keep plugging along! haha

nothing ya can do ...

BakoBeachBumm commented:

We seem to like everything European Health Care the No War ideas so why is it that we don't fallow them with how they generate their electricity ------NUCLEAR oh wait it is not that it is unsafe it is that they want us to become a third world country

lanabuford commented:

We pay $388.00 every month on the payment plan, only a little goes toward the old bill, At this rate I will never get the $2689.00 paid off! I understand I owe for electric we used...but not over $2,000 for 3 months! Every time I get my bill I have this urge to jam it down their throats.

BakoBeachBumm commented:

Why should WE have to pay for the new meter upgrade? I mean with the cost savings of Not having meter readers come out each and every month along with all the benefits that the employees got they should be saving A LOT of Money.

airqualityguy commented:

Nuclear is attractive at first sight because it is low in carbon and air pollution. But, this recent study finds the cost of nuclear energy in newly built reactors would be three times higher than what we are paying for electricity today. Who needs that? Renewables like wind, solar, and tidal are actually cheaper. I don't use much power at night ronmexico. I like the lights down low.

jfrancais commented:

Why is the state of CA even doing business with these crooks? They have a long historic rap sheet.

Wold the average person continue to do business with someone if they continually rip you off (unless forced to by the state in a case like this)?

jfrancais commented:

Can the state force a sell or breakup of this company? It's in the interest of the people of the state to do so.

Shwaine commented:

The only issue I've had with PG&E over billing has nothing to do with the meter. My SmartMeter is reading usage that is normal for my home. The problem is PG&E hasn't actually read my meter since August because my meter has disconnected from the network and they can't be bothered to send someone out to do a manual meter read (or to install a new meter to get it back on the network). Every time I call, they "correct" the previous month's bill and then continue using an "estimated read" that is 400-500kWh too high for the current month instead of sending someone out.

Apparently they've already fired all the meter readers in town since they can't manage to find one to come read my meter. At least I know how to read my meter and do that every week now. So each time I get a bill with a "current meter read" that is higher than my meter shows the day the bill arrives, I'll keep calling them up about it.

donmason commented:

“Can the state force a sell or breakup of this company? It's in the interest of the people of the state to do so.”

Sure, we certainly can, in theory.

How many remember the passing of utility deregulation back in 1996 under Governor Wilson? The state legislators had an almost unanimous vote on the issue.

Too much government was the mantra, and opening utility service to pure market forces was supposed to be the ideal solution.

As usual, few remember some simple history. Utilities by nature are monopolies, and were originally fully regulated because they were screwing the customer base. Regulation brought us over 5 decades of stable energy costs, and a reasonable return for investors.

Once deregulation occurred, many power plant assets were sold off to the free market. They started screwing the customer base once again. Gosh, how could we have known?

The legislature and more important, the people themselves, hadn’t considered that just a few large energy producers could control prices by artificially limiting supply. Remember Enron anyone?

I’m amused in a way that our local population is so irate over our present situation.

“Get the government off my back, and let the free market alone. All will be just peachy”

Well, the reality of the “free” market is here, right now. Are we happy yet?

Every state in the nation that deregulated energy utilities wound up paying much higher energy costs.

Energy corporation profits are at an all time high. Free market stockholders are ecstatic!

And now, so many here that hate big government and business regulation are screaming for the presently much less powerful PUC to do something!

The people of California made their own bed. Too bad they don’t want to lay in it.

Welcome to the real world of corporate free market business.

jfrancais commented:

Nothing like self-fulfilling prophecies.

Government is so bad that you elect people into office that hate government then they screw it up worse.

School House Zach: Week 11 (playoffs) running thread and scoreboard

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:08:36 PST

UPDATED, 11:49 p.m.: Here's what we're looking at for next week. We'll talk more about it Sunday in a Most Important Things post, but I wanted to get the matchups out there and talked about now:

Division I
(8) Centennial at (1) Clovis-Buchanan
(5) Liberty at (4) Fresno-Central
(6) Bakersfield at (3) Stockdale
(7) Clovis West at (2) Fresno-Bullard

Division II
(8) Sanger at (1) Tulare Union
(5) Fresno-Edison at (4) Fresno-SJ Memorial
(6) Garces at (3) Frontier
(10) Visalia-Redwood at (2) Visalia-El Diamante

Division III
(9) Clovis North at (1) Dinuba
(5) Hanford at (4) Delano
(6) Ridgeview at (3) Porterville
(10) Foothill at (2) Tehachapi

Division IV
(8) Kerman at (1) Kingsburg
(5) Exeter at (4) Wasco
(6) Dos Palos at (3) Taft
(7) Tollhouse-Sierra at (2) Fresno-Washington Union

Division V
(8) SLO-Mission Prep at (1) Corcoran
(5) Caruthers at (4) Woodlake
(6) Lindsay at (3) Madera Ranchos-Liberty
(7) Parlier at (2) Fowler

Division VI
(5) Orange Cove at (1) Tranquillity
(3) Mendota at (2) Strathmore

UPDATED, 11:38 p.m.: Some close games out there in the first round of the playoffs tonight, though there weren't too many upsets. All scores below are final; let's digest:

Centennial 16, Clovis East 14: Not pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but the Golden Hawks certainly will take it. That's two big victories for Centennial this year — the other against Liberty in Week 2 — and both came courtesy of the defense, not the Hawks' vaunted balanced attack. Now the concern is for a banged-up Cody Kessler as Centennial gets Clovis-Buchanan next week.

Foothill 21, South 14: It's the Trojans, not the Rebels, who will be heading up to Tehachapi in the Division III quarterfinals, which seems strange considering South won this matchup by 20 points in the regular season. But this one had a couple of elements of an upset: South blew two good scoring opportunities in the first half without points, and Foothill had a couple of monster plays in a big third quarter.

Garces 47, Reedley 23: In what could have turned into a close game, Garces got out on Reedley very early and kept scoring. This Rams offense has been something special against almost everyone in the second half of the season. Unfortunately for Garces, next week's opponent, Frontier, is not everyone else. The Titans' defensive line is big, and it'll be a test like Liberty was for the Rams. But a good win this week, and that's step one.

Delano 23, Highland 6: A couple of defensive-minded teams played smashmouth football in Delano tonight, but the host Tigers clearly had a little more flash to go with the power. The Tigers get their ninth victory of the season and move on to face Hanford, which beat up on Golden Valley. That'll be a doozy in Delano next week.

Ridgeview 42, Hanford West 30: The Wolf Pack is safely into the quarterfinals as well, though they got quite a bit of trouble from a team that only had wins against bottom-feeders coming in. Ridgeview won't be able to play around with Porterville in next week's quarterfinals. But Tyler Dogins showed again why he's one of Kern County's most dynamic players in this one, rushing for 162 yards and three touchdowns and passing for 39 more yards and another score.

I'll have one more update with next week's quarterfinal matchups.

UPDATED, 10:46 p.m.: Some scores updating below. Still looking for McFarland and Burroughs scores, if anyone out there has them.

UPDATED, 9:28 p.m.: Clovis East gets out to its 42 but faces a fourth-and-7. QB rolls out, nowhere to go with it. Incomplete. Ball fluttered out of bounds, and Centennial is going to take over and hang on to win this one, 16-14. Clovis East had spiked the ball on second-and-11, which seems strange with a rushing offense that you'd waste a down like that, time issues or not. Centennial will hang on to play Buchanan next week.

UPDATED, 9:24 p.m.: Centennial's turn to make a bizarre error. A false start on a fourth-and-1 forces them into a punt situation with 2:07 to play. Kessler was limping again, so it's ll be Cole Hallum who punts it. Bit of a shank, and Clovis East has it at its own 25, 1:59 to play and no timeouts.

UPDATED, 9:19 p.m.: Clovis East does have the wind at its back here in the fourth quarter. But the T-wolves have to get a stop for that to matter. Myren Moore, who's quietly up to 83 yards, goes for 10 on the first play from scrimmage. Then a horse-collar tackle call on the next play. Penalties have crippled Clovis East.
Good on Centennial so far for taking advantage. They've got a first down at their 49. And Moore is stuffed, but one of the Wolves hit him waaaay late. Another stupid personal foul, another first down. The Hawks just basically have to hold on to the ball at this point; Clovis East is doing the rest. Inside of three minutes to go.

UPDATED, 9:13 p.m.: Shanked Centennial punt gives Clovis East good field position and some life. But they take so long to move the ball. A pass to the end zone on first down from the Centennial 25 is broken up just before Jordan Macias came down with a touchdown.
Instead, the Timberwolves will keep moving it on the ground. Takes four plays, and they've covered the final 25 yards. Johnson-Bey now has — get this — 38 carries for 230 yards and his second touchdown. And yet, even after the PAT, Clovis East still trails 16-14. 4:25 to play. Clovis East has two timeouts left.

UPDATED, 9:06 p.m.: Centennial has done almost nothing on offense in the second half, and not much for the game, but it's in position to win this game because of defense and especially because of special teams.
Clovis East forces a three-and-out, but by the time the Timberwolves get the ball back, they'll be down two possessions with less than seven minutes to play. Centennial just burned its final two timeouts, but that won't matter if Clovis East can't rally. Punt coming, 6:56 to play.

UPDATED, 9:03 p.m.: A halfback pass from Sean Johnson-Bey to fellow wingback Khary Coleman nets Clovis East's first completion and a 45-yard gain to set Clovis East up inside the Centennial 30.
Ridgeview has pulled away from Hanford West, by the way, leading 42-22 at the end of three.
First down inside the 20 now. Clock rolling down to nine minutes. And now Johnson-Bey has fumbled again. Elijah Trail jumps on it for Centennial at its own 14. Huge play, and if the Golden Hawks can take some time off the clock, they can salt this one away.

UPDATED, 8:57 p.m.: Foothill has come back on South and leads 21-14 with about five minutes to play in the game. Surprsing result there. Ridgeview also having trouble with Hanford West; the Wolf Pack lead it 28-22 late in the third at last update.
Here, Clovis East forces Centennial to punt after the safety kick. Just about 11 minutes left, though.

UPDATED, 8:49 p.m.: Clovis East stalls, and Centennial calls timeout with 5 seconds left in the third quarter to force the Timberwolves, from deep in their own end, to punt into the wind. This is the same end zone where the snap was bad the last time.
And it's high again! This one goes over Josh Long's head and out the back of the end zone for a safety. 16-7 Golden Hawks, a huge play that makes this a two possession game. Three seconds left in the third.

UPDATED, 8:45 p.m.: Cody Kessler is back on the field, by the way, after he limped off in the second quarter. He just converted a fourth-and-1 from the Clovis East 44, giving the Golden Hawks new downs and keeping the clock moving. The clock means a lot when a running team is behind, even in the third quarter.
But now the Hawks misstep, a holding penalty and a sack forcing them into third-and-21 back at their own 47. A complete pass, but it's short and Centennial will punt. Kessler does it himself and pins CE back at its own 5. 1:54 left in the third.

UPDATED, 8:35 p.m.: Finally, here's a Clovis East drive that hasn't been marred by penalties or turnovers, at least not yet. Remember the Timberwolves were inside the 10 when they fumbled before. Right now, they've just converted a third down to get inside the 35.
Now, three plays later, it's fourth-and-1 from the Centennial 24. I think CE has to go for it here, considering there's just a quarter and a half left, and they've been getting a good push at the line of scrimmage. Out of a timeout, they line up not in their double wing but in the I formation and give to Johnson-Bey, who gets three yards. Big first down there.
It feels like the T-wolves need a TD here; a field goal doesn't help you much in an offense that takes a long time to move the ball. Johnson-Bey takes a pitch to the left down to the 2-yard line. Next play, Johnson-Bey touchdown. PAT good, and it's 14-7 Centennial with 5:35 to go in the third. Game on.

UPDATED, 8:22 p.m.: Wild start to the second half. Sean Johnson-Bey fumbled the ball away to Centennial on the first play from scrimmage, but Shawn Johnson gave it right back on the second play from scrimmage. Clovis East is not a team comfortable coming from behind late, so the T-Wolves have to get points soon if they're going to stay in this one.

UPDATED, 8:18 p.m.: Some other scores bring us Garces up big on Reedley, South up 6-0 on Foothill and Ridgeview up on Hanford West 21-15, closer than I thought it would be. Full scorelist is updating below. And what's this I hear? CSUB ahead of UCLA at Pauley Pavilion? That would be quite the coup for Keith Brown and the Roadrunners.

UPDATED, 8:03 p.m.: The half ends with Centennial ahead 14-0, a product of a brilliant final four minutes of the half. Blocked-punt touchdown, successful onside kick (really just a blooper down the sideline) that leads to another TD — this is how you win games.
Here are some first-half stats:
CLOVIS EAST — Sean Johnson-Bey, 13 carries, 110 yards (though he had 77 on his first six, so the Hawks have gotten better at slowing him down)
CENTENNIAL — Cody Kessler, 14-of-20 passing, 115 yards, three carries, 13 yards, TD; Myren Moore, 15 carries, 60 yards; Matt Castellano, 5 catches, 49 yards; Thomas Grimes 3 catches, 36 yards.
One more big stat — the Golden Hawks have ran 39 points, Clovis East has ran just 18. That's a big factor, too.

UPDATED, 7:55 p.m.: Centennial didn't take long there. A 10-yard Kessler completion to Tim Martinez plus a late hit on Clovis East (the yellow flags have killed the Timberwolves), followed by three runs makes it 14-0 with just 1:10 left before halftime. Kessler snuck it in from a yard out, but he did come off the field limping a bit. Something to keep an eye on in the second half.

UPDATED, 7:50 p.m.: Told you it would happen. But it didn't take very long after I said something. Clovis East snapped the ball over punter Josh Long's head, and when he tried to recover the ball, he fumbled it, picked it up again and had the kick blocked. Elijah Trail waited for the ball to come down and when it did, it was 6-0 Centennial. 7-0 now after the extra point, and a suprise onside kick from the Hawks gives 'em another chance before halftime, at the Clovis East 35.

UPDATED, 7:44 p.m.: Cody Kessler finds Thomas Grimes for 16 yards and a key conversion on first down. That was Kessler at his best, finding himself some extra time out of the pocket and then slipping a bullet to Grimes. The drive continues.
The Hawks drive to the 25, but then Hallum misses another FG. This one was 42 yards, and it had enough leg, but went barely wide right. Five minutes left in the half. I'm guessing someone will score eventually, but I'll keep you posted on that. I might change my mind.

UPDATED, 7:33 p.m.: Clovis East quarterback Daniel Corona keeps on the first play of the second quarter and gets inside the 10, but then fumbles and gives the ball back to Centennial. These teams can't stay out of their own way. Maybe that's why they're in the 8-9 game, but it's plain to see there's lot of talent out there, too.
Centennial gets out of its own end but now faces a third-and-15 from its 24.

UPDATED, 7:27 p.m.: The only thing saving the Golden Hawks' defense right now is Clovis East penalties. Every time the Timberwolves run a clean play, it seems like Sean Johnson-Bey is bursting through the front seven, carrying Centennial defenders with him. He's strong and fast, and that's a dangerous combination if you can't snuff out the run at the line of scrimmage.
Two straight runs of 22 and 31 yards give Clovis East the ball at the Centennial 23. A loss on the next play, though, and it's second-and-13 as the first quarter ends. Still 0-0.

UPDATED, 7:20 p.m.: Centennial not doing anything extraordinary on offense, but a nice mix of Myren Moore runs and short passes, mostly to the flat, have the Golden Hawks inside the Clovis East 30. A penalty followed by the first downfield pass of the evening to Matt Castellano gives Centennial the ball down at the CE 13. But the Timberwolves hold there, and Cole Hallum's 25-yard field goal is no good. Lots of real estate, no points for Centennial. Still scoreless, late in the first quarter.

UPDATED, 7:13 p.m.: Nothing doing early here. Centennial had a big kickoff return on a reverse to start the game, but the Hawks' drive stalled after one first down when Cody Kessler threw incomplete three straight times to turn it over on downs. But then Clovis East was hurt by penalties on its possession and went three-and-out. Only three minutes went by in that sequence.

UPDATED, 6:34 p.m.: I'm perced in the press box at Centennial, where we have the most barren (or at least late-arriving crowd I've seen all season. To be fair, this is the Division I pigtail game, the opposing team is from out of town and there was no JV game to bump up the attendance. But I got here about 15 minutes ago, and I can tell you that there were no more than 50 or so people in the stands.
That's too bad, because this one is compelling to me for several reasons. Yes, the winner will be a heavy underdog at Clovis-Buchanan next week, but both have enough firepower to cause the Bears problems if they don't play well. Besides, Cody Kessler is always worth the price of admission for the Golden Hawks, and Clovis East's double-wing attack is always formidable. And, mainly, it should just be a good, close game. Nothing wrong with one of those, especially with both teams' seasons on the line.
Clock says 24 minutes to kickoff.

ORIGINAL POST: As we settle in for the first weekend of the Central Section playoffs, let's not forget what all of this hoopla is really about: Whittling the championship field to eight in each division. Some are already waiting with byes; others just want to take care of business so they can get to the really important games down the road.

Nowhere is that more apparent than at Centennial, where I'll be perched tonight for the only first-round Division I game between the Golden Hawks and visiting Clovis East. It ought to be a good one, and I'm excited — I've never seen Clovis East play. The winner joins seven teams already waiting in the quarterfinals, including undefeated Clovis-Buchanan, who'll play the winner next week.

Elsewhere, we've got what should be a dandy in Division II between Garces and Reedley, plus three all-Kern Division III matchups between South-Foothill, Mira Monte-Tehachapi and Highland-Delano.

The full Central Section scoreboard is below, and you can imagine the way I've got the scores listed like a bracket — If a team wins the top game, it plays the No. 1 seed next week; if a team wins the bottom game, it plays the No. 2 seed, except in Division III, where Tehachapi is the No. 2. Hopefully the list isn't too cluttered. Let me know if it is, and I'll make it more readable next week.

Before we get to that, though, a quick volleyball note from last night: Frontier rallied to beat Garces in five games for the Division II section championship, and for Tehachapi, the fourth time was the charm. After losing in three straigh D-III finals, the Warriors swept Exeter last night. Congrats to those teams.

Also, don't forget to check out Week 11 rankings, predictions and podcast, if you haven't already. Should whet your appettite nicely for tonight.

(Divisional seeds in parentheses; all games 7 p.m. Friday unless noted)
Central Section playoffs
DIVISION I
(8) Centennial 16, (9) Clovis East 14

DIVISION II
(8) Sanger 20, (9) West 3
(5) Fresno-Edison 41, (12) Fresno-Sunnyside 6
(4) Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial 47, (13) Visalia-Mt. Whitney 7
(6) Garces 47, (11) Reedley 23
(10) Visalia-Redwood 28, (7) Fresno-Hoover 0

DIVISION III
(9) Clovis North 37, (8) Chavez 6
(5) Hanford 37, (12) Golden Valley 14
(4) Delano 23, (13) Highland 6
(3) Porterville 42, (14) Independence 5
(6) Ridgeview 42, (11) Hanford West 30
(10) Foothill 21, (7) South 14
(2) Tehachapi 49, (15) Mira Monte 16

DIVISION IV
(8) Kerman 24, (9) Fresno-Roosevelt 20
(6) Dos Palos 35, (11) Visalia-Central Valley Christian 14
(7) Tollhouse-Sierra 41, (10) Reedley-Immanuel 14

DIVISION V
(8) SLO-Mission Prep 13, (9) Bakersfield Christian 8
(6) Lindsay 42, (11) Fresno Christian 20
(7) Parlier 31, (10) Firebaugh 23

DIVISION VI
(5) Orange Cove 24, (4) Farmersville 12
(3) Mendota 33, (6) McFarland 16

EIGHT-MAN PLAYOFFS
Riverdale Christian 61, Lighthouse Christian 12 (Saturday)
Clovis Christian 74, Coalinga-Faith Christian 6

SOUTHERN SECTION
EASTERN DIVISION
La Quinta 31, Burroughs 28

EAST VALLEY DIVISION
Hesperia-Oak Hills 21, Kern Valley 19
Pasadena-Maranatha 59, Frazier Mountain 13

NORTHEAST DIVISION
Boron 36, Burbank-Bellarmine-Jefferson 25
Mojave 36, Murrieta-Calvary Murrieta 21

Comments:
pin4win commented:

Good luck to ALL kern county teams. Let's win every division! Whoo-a!

bryanjackson commented:

I've never seen Clovis East play, either. The only other time Centennial has played Clovis East was in the 2004 playoffs, but that game was at Clovis East, so I didn't get to go and only got to watch the highlights. This time around, its at Centennial so I'll be out there for sure. I hope it doesn't rain. Should be interesting.

BobbyShoaf commented:

Delano beats Highland 23-6.

This game was full of hard hits, big runs, and DT Defense. There just was no answer for Highland to Delano's defense. DT QB Josh Garcia surpassed 1000 yards for the season and is moving in on 1000 rushing to match Andy Del Campo's rushing accomplishment. More to come later.

bryanjackson commented:

Great game tonight at Centennial and a nice win for the GHAWKS!!!!! This was only the 3rd win over a Clovis school in Centennial's history and first against Clovis East. Good luck to CHS next week at Buchanan.

Johnson-Bey was a thorn in Centennial's side in this game, but the GHAWKS D did enough to stop CE when it needed to.

bryanjackson commented:

>>I'm perced in the press box at Centennial, where we have the most barren (or at least late-arriving crowd I've seen all season.

Zach, I was in the stands and you're right, the crowd was small. Probably one of the smallest I've ever seen for a playoff game in my 12 years of being a Centennial fan. There could have been several reasons for this: (1) the Condors were hosting the Alaska Aces (a huge rivalry in the ECHL), (2) illnesses are taking their toll, and (3) there was a threat of rain. But still, considering that there were only a couple of other games going on, I'm suprised how small the crowd was. But at least it was a very boisterous crowd.

And it seemed like a lot of Clovis East's fans arrived late, too. That's a long drive for them, though.

BobbyShoaf commented:

Interesting that you point that out bryanjackson. The Delano game had a poor showing, also (attendence wise, the team looked great). We thought it was because some of the fans felt it would be an easy win for DHS so they went to what they felt would have been a more competitive Cesar Chavez vs. Clovis North game (OBTW, Clovis North has some huge dudes). But that was not the case, there were even less people at the CCHS game. I don't know what the deal is, you would think people would be fired up about their school's accomplishments and support them by showing up.

I don't think there were too many Delano folks at the Condors game, I am sure we all figured CSUB was going to lose to UCLA, and there was really nothing worth watching on TV, SO WHERE WAS EVERYONE AT?

Hopefully the 2nd Round draws more people.

jfrancais commented:

I'll be in town for the BHS-Stockdale game. It should be a doozy!!

jfrancais commented:

Clovis East runs the most boring, but effective, offense. I wonder how good they'll be next year with their Head Coach returning to the sidelines.

bryanjackson commented:

BobbyShoaf, you make some good points, too. The CSUB @ UCLA game was televised on FSN (I saw the replay when I got home from the Centennial game and unfortunately CSUB lost). I'm sure those reasons weren't the only reasons why people didn't show up. At Centennial, attendance has been down significantly these last few years compared to when I went to Centennial from 1997-2001. Back then, when we played against our rivals (BHS and Stockdale-we didn't play Liberty until 2004 and Frontier wasn't built yet), the stands would be so full that the crowd would fill up bleachers placed along both endzones and there'd be at least 5 rows of people standing around the track near the endzones. Crowds for those games would be at times close to 7,000. Now, we're lucky to get 2,500 and no longer even have endzone bleachers. Its even worse at volleyball and basketball games, where 10 years ago, we'd draw sometimes close to 2,500 people-Centennial's gym holds close to 2,500. Now we're lucky if we get 500 people (sometimes for a big volleyball game we'll get the gym about half-full) and often times last year the crowd was so small that Centennial only put out one side of the bleachers in the gym and only filled half of those seats (especially for basketball). The schools (and the KHSD) need to do a better job promoting the games to the students.

bryanjackson commented:

And often when we didn't play against our rivals, there'd still be probably 4,000+ at the game about 10 years ago.

jfrancais commented:

When I was in high school we moved over half of our games to BC because the crowds were so big. We played South, Foothill, East, nd Highland at BC. With all the new high schools, the interest is watered down based on new loyalties and the fact that the rivalries don't mean as much.

West High (and Garces) used to be a huge rival for BHS, now they don't even play them. The new rivalries are too new and don't have any long history to them.

Anyone remember the big Garces-BHS games at BC to open up the season in the late 80's and 90's?

milo14 commented:

While not the entire problem for attendance at Centennial... I am quite positive that a great deal of it has to do with the fact that the student body at Centennial is now only around 1600 kids, due to all of the redistricting that took place in the past few years. Our AD told us about our size during the first football meeting of the year. We are now the 2nd smallest school in the HS district, just behind either Highland or Foothill... can't remember which. Compare that to the sizes of Frontier: 2800, Stockdale:2600, Liberty:2600. So now this begs to have the question asked: Just how is the justification for putting Centennial in the super league next year with these much larger schools if the Board doesn't redo the boundaries again?

jfrancais commented:

The district changes the boundaries about every year or so. Some of the zoning defies logic.

jgz6257 commented:

I may be a day late and a few dollars short, but -- if Centennial's coaching staff want a win this Friday against Buchannan, then they are going to have to come up with some trick plays and smart plays.

Good Luck to all of the Bakersfield teams. I predict Stockdale over BHS by --- 7.

Frontier over Garces by 3

Centennial and Buchannan --- I don't know.

jfrancais commented:

Buchannon is going to give Centennial the business, Hopefully it will be a showcase for Kessler to show what he will do next year as a seasoned QB. 35-17 Bears

Frontier should win by 10 over good Rams team (20-10).

BHS should put up a lot of points and it shouldn't be close if they can solve the turnover problems. 34-17

I'm picking the CW-Bullard game to be close. Rooting for the Eagles to win even though I think the Knights will squeak through. 10-7 Watch out for Kendall Brock. He's the truth. He's put up some astonishing numbers against some good teams. He ran for over 200 yards against Servite on just 12 carries. That stat says that he's one explosive muldoon.

Breaking News: Kernville man detained for alleged bomb threat

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:47:26 PST

Bomb threat at Kern River Health Care Center

This is a news release of the Kern County Sheriff's Office.
Please do not contact the Sheriff's Communications Center.

Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009
Time: 8:56:29 PM
Department Contact: Dean Marshall

Details:

On11/19/2009 at 1523 hours, deputies from the Kern Valley Substation were dispatched to the Kern River Valley Health Care Center in regards to a bomb threat. The health care center and surrounding residences were evacuated with the assistance of the CHP and Forest Service. Deputies detained Richard Hunt of Kernville. The Kern County Sheriff's Bomb Squad responded and determined the device was not an explosive. Hunt was booked into CRF for PC148.1(c), Making a false bomb report.

Breaking News: Police release photos of suspects in credit card theft

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:44:48 PST

BAKERSFIELD POLICE
DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

November 19, 2009

Bakersfield Police are requesting the community’s assistance in identifying
suspects wanted for using stolen credit cards.

On 11/19/09, the victim’s car was burglarized while parked in the parking lot at
3100 Camino Del Rio. Taken in the burglary were the victim’s credit cards, three
handguns plus ammunition.

Since that time the victim’s credit cards have been used at multiple businesses in
town.

Attached is surveillance video and still photos of two suspects wanted in
connection with some of those illegal credit card uses. The suspects appear to
be a white female with short brown hair, medium height and build, and a white
male having short or shaved hair and a very large build. These suspects could be
armed.

Anyone with information regarding the identity of these suspects or their crimes is
encouraged to call Detective Craig Checklenis at 326-3872.

Comments:
animalluvr commented:

Camino Del Rio, isn't that in the southwest part of B-town.

learnem commented:

nope...thats the road that runs by Black Angus, and back to the hotels there off 99 and Rosedale. When I used to work out At that 24 hour fitness, there were always breakins into vehicles in that parking lot...especially on Satuday, when Johns Inedible Pizza is rockin in full swing...heck cars were being broken into and stolen back when I bounced at Black Angus back in the early 1990's

Breaking News: Maricopa police bust one for meth sales

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:41:52 PST

Date:

November 19, 2009

Crime or Incident:

Search Warrant - Narcotics

Location:

Maricopa

Investigating Officer(s):

Officer Curtis Jue, K-9 Officer Todd Backer, Sergeant Derek Merritt

SUSPECTS(S) – If the suspect is in custody, any further information released will be by authorization of the Watch

Commander or the Investigating Officer.

NAME

Shelly Grimes

Maricopa Police Department served a Search Warrant after undercover Officers made a purchase of methamphetamine from the location on November 18, 2009 at 0600 hrs.

During the search warrant Investigators recovered ¼ pound of methamphetamine, 52.8 grams of marijuana, a scale, packaging for sales, and $4108.00 in cash from narcotics sales.

Investigators say that the suspect has been selling approximately 4 ounces of methamphetamine a week out of the same two bedroom trailer, undetected for over a year.

This investigation was headed by Maricopa Police Officer Curtis Jue and the warrant was served on his last day with the department. Officer Jue excepted a position with the new Mc Farland Police Department.

Comments:
drilnliftcrude commented:

Did they shoot her dog?

goldilox commented:

dril LOL

Breaking News: House fire put out in east Bakersfield

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:49:58 PST

EAST BAKERSFIELD, CA - On November 20th 2009 at approximately 1:05 A.M., a call was received by the Kern County Fire Department for a structure fire in the 1200 block of Barlow Street in East Bakersfield. Approximately 15 Kern County Firefighters responded to the incident, assisted by Bakersfield City Fire Department.

Upon arrival, fire crews were faced with a developing fire at the rear of the property. A fire crew made entry into the house to extinguish the fire; simultaneously another crew went to the roof to ventilate the structure and allow the heat and fire gases to escape. Other fire crews established a water supply and protected the surrounding properties to the South and East. The residence was vacant at the time of the fire.

Fire crews saved approximately $ 65,000.00 to the property and its contents. However, the fire destroyed an estimated $ 25,000.00 in value to property.

There were no reported injuries to firefighters.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.

For more news and information visit www.kerncountyfire.org

Breaking News: Arrest log for November 19

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:48:30 PST

Not sure what crimes these folks were arrested for? Check out our list below or click on the link below.

SHALAINA    BARTON    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93312    W    19/11/2009    VC    14601.1(VC    16028(A)VC    4000(A)    KCS    HOSTESS

JUAN    ARANA    M    HOUSTON    TX    77050    H    5/10/09    US    C TITLE8S            KCS    TRUCK DRIVER

ANTHONY    VASQUEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    19/11/2009    PC    245(A)(1            KCS

MARCUS    WRIGHT    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    B    19/11/2009    PC    459            KCS    N/A

JAMES    LEDWIDGE    M    MOJAVE    CA    93501    W    17/11/2009    HS    11378   HS    11379(A)        KCS

JEREMY    MUZZY    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    18/11/2009    PC    273.5(A)PC    245(A)(1PC    422     HS 11377(A)PC 148(A)(1HS 11357(B)    KCS    LABORER

JULIO    SANTIAGO    M    MCFARLAND    CA    93250    H    18/11/2009    PC    114     HS    11350(A)VC    12500(A)VC 4000(A)    KCS    LABOR

JULIO    SANTIAGO    M    MCFARLAND    CA    93250    H    19/11/2009    US    C TITLE8S            KCS    LABOR

CHARLES    CROSS    M    BORON    CA    93516    W    18/11/2009    PC    664/187(PC    246     PC    422     PC 417(A)(2    KCS

DIANE    RUSS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    W    19/11/2009    PC    3056            KCS    AVON REP

CHRISTOPH    ERJONES    M    ROSAMOND    CA    93560    W    18/11/2009    PC    243(D) PC    647(F)        KCS    LIFEGUARD

FLOYD    LANE    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    W    19/11/2009    PC    273.6(A)            KCS

BRITTANY    PRATT    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    B    19/11/2009    VC    14601.1(VC    16028(C)        KCS

LAUREN    ZUNIGA    F    RESEDA    CA    91335    H    19/11/2009    VC    14601.2(            KCS

APRIL    HARRIS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93306    B    19/11/2009    PC    476A(A)            KCS

FERNANDO    GALLARDO    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    19/11/2009    HS    11350(A)VC    14601.2(VC    23152(A)VC 23152(B)    KCS    CONSTRUCTION

ELIAZAR    PONCE    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    19/11/2009    HS    11360(A)HS    11359   VC    12500(A)    KCS

JOSE    VELEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    19/11/2009    PC    DETAINERPC    DEFENDAN        KCS    RANCH HAND

GREGORY    ARTS    M    TAFT    CA    93268    W    19/11/2009    PC    245(A)(1PC    245(A)(1        KCS    WELDER

GREGORY    ARTS    M    TAFT    CA    93268    W    19/11/2009    VC    14601.1(            KCS    WELDER

GREGORY    ARTS    M    TAFT    CA    93268    W    19/11/2009    HS    11550(A)PC    853.7   VC    14601.1(VC 23152(A)    KCS    WELDER

GREGORY    ARTS    M    TAFT    CA    93268    W    19/11/2009    HS    11550(A)PC    853.7        KCS    WELDER

GREGORY    ARTS    M    TAFT    CA    93268    W    19/11/2009    HS    11550(A)VC    14601.1(VC    23152(A)    KCS    WELDER

GREGORY    ARTS    M    TAFT    CA    93268    W    19/11/2009    PC    166(A)(4            KCS    WELDER

VICENTE    HERNANDEZ    M    PORTERVILLE    CA    93257    H    19/11/2009    US    C TITLE8S            KCS

SEDONNA    RUBRIGHT    F    TAFT    CA    93268    W    17/11/2009    PC    273.6(A)            KCS

RUDY    SIGALA    M    RIDGECREST    CA    93555    W    19/11/2009    VC    10851(A)            KCS    LABORER

RAMBERTO    PEREZ    M    WASCO    CA    93280    H    19/11/2009    VC    12500(A)VC    22450(A)        KCS

BOBBY    MYERS    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    W    19/11/2009    PC    245(A)(1PC    272     PC    666    KCS    JANITOR

BRENDA    SCARANO    F    FRAZIER PARK    CA    93225    W    19/11/2009    PC    647(F)            KCS

EDWARD    MASON    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    19/11/2009    PC    3056            KCS

MICHAEL    CARRUTHERS    M    MEMPHIS    TN    38108    B    19/11/2009    CO    5.76.020CO    5.04.010        KCS    SALESMAN

RICHARD    HUNT    M    KERNVILLE    CA    93238    W    19/11/2009    PC    148.1(C)            KCS

MIGUEL    LOMELI    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    H    19/11/2009    PC    245(A)(1PC    182(A)(1        KCS    MAINTENANCE

VICTOR    LOMELI    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    H    19/11/2009    PC    245(A)(2PC    182(A)(1        KCS    COOK

BRIDGET    DAVIS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    19/11/2009    HS    11377(A)            KCS    HUSTLE

BRIDGET    DAVIS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    19/11/2009    BP    4060    HS    11364   HS    11550(A)    KCS    HUSTLE

PRISCILLA    RODRIGUEZ    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    H    19/11/2009    HS    11350(A)            KCS    LABORER

DAVID    HINOJOSA    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    H    19/11/2009    HS    11550(A)            KCS    LABORER

SCOTT    WRIGHT    M    TEHACHAPI    CA    93561    W    19/11/2009    PC    368(B)(1PC    245(A)(1PC    422     PC 422     PC 422     PC 422    KCS

RAUL    RUIZ    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    19/11/2009    PC    466     HS    11550(A)        KCS    LABORER

FRANCISCO    MURILLO    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    19/11/2009    HS    11377(A)HS    11364   HS    11550(A)    KCS    FARMWORKER

LEON    BROWN    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    B    19/11/2009    HS    11377(A)            KCS

LEON    BROWN    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    B    20/11/2009    PC    3056            KCS

FRANCISCO    SOTO    M    LAMONT    CA        H    19/11/2009    PC    273.6(A)            KCS

JACINTO    PEREZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    19/11/2009    PC    288.5(A)PC    288(A) PC    289(J) PC 289(J) PC 289(J) PC 289(J) PC 289(J) PC 289(J)    PC 289(J) PC 289(J) KCS    LABORER


Click here to see the full penal code or check the list below for some of the more well-known crimes.

* 187 - Murder
    * 191.5, 193 c - Vehicular Manslaughter
    * 207 - Kidnapping
    * 211 - Robbery
    * 215 - Carjacking
    * 240 - Assault
    * 242 - Battery
    * 245 - Assault with a deadly weapon
    * 261 - Rape
    * 288 - Child molest
    * 415 - Disturbing the peace
    * 422 - Criminal threats
    * 451 - Arson
    * 459 - Burglary
    * 470 - Forgery
    * 484 - Petty Theft
    * 487 - Grand Theft
    * 488 - Theft or Larceny
    * 496 - Receiving stolen property
    * 594 - Malicious mischief/Vandalism
    * 602 - Trespassing
    * 647(b) - Prostitution
    * 647(f) - Public Drunkenness or Public Intoxication
    * 664 - Attempt (usually charged together with one of the above)
    • 1203.2 - Probation violation
    • 3056 - Parole violation
    • 12020 - 12031 gun violations
Health and Safety Code
    • 11350 to 11379 possession or sales of drugs
    • 11364 drug paraphernalia
Vehicle Code
    • 12500 driving without a license
    • 14601 driving on a suspended or revoked license
    • 16028 c driving without insurance
    • 10851 vehicle theft
    * 23152 drunken driving

School House Zach: Week 11 (playoffs) HS football podcast (YAY!!!!! EDITION)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:14:33 PST

See, I went and tried to make fun of coaches everywhere with a bunch of cliches about our podcast without checking to make sure the thing was actually going to play. It's like talking about your playoff chances without realizing two of your best linemen have swine flu. Epic fail on my part. But this one should be a full playoff preview podcast.

Comments:
blurose12 commented:

COME ON ZACK IF THATS ALL YOUR GOING TO SAY ON YOUR PODCAST ABOUT BORON WHY BOTHER ,ALSO REGGIE HEARD S FATHER PASSED WAY TUESDAY HE BEEN AT PRACTICE THATS WHAT HIS DAD WOULD HAVE WANTED ,THIS CIF RUN WILL BE FOR HIS FATHER AND FOR THE BORION BOBCAT FOOTBALL KIDS

zewing commented:

So next time you don't want me to bother? Lots of schools, little time, my friend.

FrontierFanatic commented:

Great cover Zach, can't wait to get past those apetizers :) , I'm ready for the entrees! I wish the best of luck in all the local games tonight! I'd love to whipe all the Fresno teams out, and try to have a Bakersfield match up more and more.

I'm rooting for Taft for their division, great team.

Hahaha at the Denny's thing, man that made me crack up.

BobbyShoaf commented:

How rude, Zach. Talk about missing the point with bluerose. You can be so snarky at times. You are this way with Delano fans, also. And, whats with the rant about the playoffs? If you took that out, you may have been able to focus on other teams such as Boron.

Great discussion on Delano vs. Highland, Cesar Chavez vs. Clovis North, and McFarland vs. Mendota. I am sure that the North Kern communities can look to you as a reliable source for local sports outside the reaches of TBC's current customer base. It is tough when you have such high unemployment and poverty for many in this area to read the print version of the paper, which is why many of us search online for less costly means of following the teams our family and friends play on. The only local site devoted to the programs we desire is this one. So, you really showed your colors in this podcast where 3 of the 4 schools in this region were so extensively covered.

zewing commented:

Bobby — Sorry, i don't mean to be snarky. It's just a fact you learn in this business that you can't please everyone every time. I would like to give each one of the games a few minutes; but we try to talk the most about what we think the most people will be interested in. Don't know if we succeed all the time, but that's what I aim for. The discussion about the playoffs is something that relates to every school in the section, so that's what was with it. As for Delano, Chavez and McFarland — we've been down this road before: No, I am not ignoring anyone, and I won't ignore anyone. Yes, the people who cut my check every two weeks have asked me to focus on the areas where we have the most subscribers. The teams that are successful also generate the most interest, and so they get the love too. We've talked a heck of a lot this year about Delano and Wasco, because they're winning games.

Breaking News: Police bust members of new gang, blame them for 50+ burglaries

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:09:45 PST

BAKERSFIELD POLICE
DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

November 19, 2009

Officers of the Bakersfield Police Department completed a two month
investigation regarding residential burglaries in the southeast area of the City of
Bakersfield. The investigation showed over 50 residential daytime burglaries that
occurred in this area. Detectives were able to identify a new criminal street gang
identified as “H.O.H.” or “Hard on Hoes” that were responsible for the burglaries.

On Thursday, November 19, 2009, officers served three search warrants on
individuals who had been identified as suspects. Four additional probation
searches were also completed. Three arrests were made during these searches
and stolen property was located and seized. Three firearms were seized during
the searches.

During the searches information was obtain which led officers to an additional
residence where a fourth arrest was made. During a search of that residence
officers located a marijuana grow in the rear yard. Six firearms were seized
including an assault rifle from the residence.

As of this date, 12 members of the “Hard on Hoes” criminal street gang have
been arrested for residential burglaries. The investigation is ongoing and
additional arrests are anticipated.

Arrested during today’s operation was:

DaMon McGuire 43
Christopher Witfield 19
Two male juveniles ages 14 and 17

Comments:
tfey commented:

"Hard on Hoes" - That is some rich stuff. What idiots. How about getting a job and stop ripping people off? Losers. Someone needs to be hard on their heads - Preferably the BPD

girlsmom commented:

nice to see BPD is rounding up real criminals and not picking on law abiding citizens.

PatFeelsAngst commented:

amen, good police work

syrette commented:

...whatta buncha punks. livin' the wannabe thug life in the big Btown... them, get jobs? yeah, right.

animalluvr commented:

Way to go BPD, just lock up these wanna be thugs and throw away the key. Maybe they'll learn there lesson and get job and straighten up there life. Nothing ever good comes out of being a thug, period.

VirgilAnderson commented:

It's a shame that Btown BD does not have the integrity to be trusted when they say they busted someone else.

The investigation is ongoing ...

--virgil

jfrancais commented:

These thugs aren't wannabe at all. They aren't just posing on the block. They are out jacking the neighborhood (with assault rifles!).

Breaking News: Police looking for man who groped girl

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:50:00 PST

BAKERSFIELD POLICE
DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

November 19, 2009

On 11/19/2009, at 7:30 a.m., an 18 year old female Bakersfield High School
student reported that as she was walking in the 300 block of California Avenue,
she was approached by a suspect who asked if she needed a ride. The student
refused the ride and walked away only to be contacted a few blocks later by the
same suspect who grabbed her arm and told her to go with him. The student
pulled away from the suspect who then grabbed her buttocks as she ran away.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, mid 20's, 5’8” -5’10” thin build,
having a bald or shaved head and a dark complexion, who was wearing a gray
sweater with lettering on the front and light blue jeans.

Prior to the assault the suspect was seen standing near a lowered maroon
1990's mini truck, possibly a Chevrolet, with aftermarket rims.

Anyone with information related to this offense is encouraged to call the
Bakersfield Police Department Investigations Division at 326-3846.

Breaking News: Boxes stacked on stove sets apartment building on fire

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:16:57 PST

Bakersfield Fire Department

Press release

Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 at 1026 hrs. (10:26 a.m. PST) a reinforced 1st alarm from the Bakersfield FIRE Department consisting of 3 Engines, 2 Trucks, 1 Light Engine, 3 Battalion Commanders, 1 Arson Unit, and various support units responded to a report of structure fire at a East Bakersfield location. On arrival fire officers reported smoke and fire emitting from an apartment complex at 408 Columbus St..

Engine companies extended lines to the interior to and extinguished the fire. Support companies ventilated the smoke from the house. Smoke and fire damage was limited to the apartment of origin.

The fire broke out in the kitchen area of the apartment. Upon investigation it was determined that the fire had started in boxes that had been stacked on the stove.

Comments:
Shwaine commented:

Isn't this how the fire at the Springs apartment complex a few months back also got started? Why do people keep stacking combustible items on top of an ignition source?

terisun commented:

Oh, yeah, DUH!

The book/movie "Soul Food" from the '90's had a part in it where one of the boys, I think, set newspapers or something on the late Gramma's stove, and Whoosh! the kitchen went up in flames. Of course, the money Gram's hid was revealed, but hey, that's the movies for ya! I think, though, he'd been told before not to do that...

School House Zach: Week 11 (playoffs) HS football podcast (FAIL EDITION)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:53:34 PST

UPDATED: Use this one instead. Trying to make up for my ineptitude.

Todd Camps was under the weather for this week's podcast and powered through anyway. That's what you do when you're in playoff podcasting. If we win this week, we'll be lucky enough to go to the podcasting quarterfinals next Thursday. But we're just going to take it one podcast at a time and give 110 percent. Nobody wants this podcasting championship more than us. We've worked really hard in practice, and now we hope to see that pay off for us. And if we can't win this podcast, well, then, it is what it is.

Comments:
FrontierFanatic commented:

Don't think it supposed to cut out in the middle. I listened to it twice, and it cuts out in the middle.. both at the same point. It was around the Clovis East game and Centennial, got past the point of how good of a #9 seed they are, and how they gave Stockdale hell. .

Hope to gear the rest - sounded good!

Lets go Lady Titans tonight! :)

zewing commented:

Ouch. I'll see what the problem is and try to get a clean version up. Looks like we're not going to the podcasting championship.

Breaking News: Man and woman indicted on gang murders and violence charges

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:37:46 PST

During the week of November 16th, 2009, the Kern County Grand Jury delivered
a twenty-eight count indictment charging Kerry Hastings Jr., age 23, and Markisha
Ann Williams, age 24, both of Bakersfield, with numerous charges of gang-related
crimes, including crimes of violence and weapons charges.

Both Hastings and Williams have been indicted for the murder of Leonard Banks
in the 2700 block of Fairview Road in September 2006.

In addition, Hastings is charged with the murder of Ernest Kerr Jr. in the 1500 block of Cottonwood Road in July 2007 and the murder of Anthony Daniels in the 1300 block of Reese Street in June 2009.

Hastings and Williams were previously arrested on unrelated charges and will
remain in the Kern County Jail pending arraignment on the current charges.

This indictment is the result of a lengthy investigation that was a joint effort of the
Bakersfield Police Department, Kern County Sheriff’s Office, and the Office of the
Kern County District Attorney.
###

Comments:
DogGone commented:

Outstanding citizens...

Degar commented:

Two less "THUGS" on Cottonwood Road! I am sure glad that the hunting season on "THUGS" is year round! Kudos to law enforcement and a "Thumbs down to THUGS!"

jfrancais commented:

The true War on Terror

Breaking News: Wildfire season ends

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:43:37 PST

For Immediate Release
Date:    November 19th, 2009

Public Information Officers
Contacts:    Debbie Santiago, BLM
Geri Adams, USFS
Sean Collins, KCFD

WILDLAND FIRE SEASON OFFICIALLY ENDS FOR 2009

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Tule River Reservation Fire Department (TIA) and Kern County Fire Department (KCFD) will officially declare the end of the 2009 wildland fire season on Saturday, November 21st.

This will affect all forest lands managed by the Sequoia National Forest located in Fresno, Tulare and Kern counties and include the Giant Sequoia National Monument. This also includes all public lands managed by the BLM Bakersfield Field Office throughout Tulare, Fresno/Kings, Kern, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, and all State Lands protected by the Kern County Fire Department.

Fire officials say with a change in weather bringing cooler temperatures and possible rainfall, which will significantly reduce the threat of damaging wildfires throughout our wildland communities at high fire risk. The public is reminded to continue working on hazardous fuel reduction projects around your valuable homes and stay prepared throughout the winter season.

Most seasonal firefighters are being laid off, and helicopter contracts completed. One of Kern Counties Fire Department helicopters will remain available throughout the year. Remaining fire crews from all agencies will conduct pile burns and complete fuels projects throughout the winter.

During the 2009 fire season, the Sequoia National Forest, Giant Sequoia National Monument and the Tule River Reservation experienced 175 wildland fires. The Bureau of Land Management Bakersfield Field Office responded to 83 wildland fires and the Kern County Fire Department suppressed over 650 vegetation fires.

Breaking News: Coroner identifies infant who was murdered

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:55:14 PST

Suspicioous Death

NEWS RELEASE
KERN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
CORONER DIVISION

This news release is prepared under the direction of the Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator for the convenience of news reporters. Facts concerning news events of major importance, which occur after the preparation of this release, will be made available to reporters at their request as soon as it is possible to do.

DECEDENT'S NAME: Ayonna Thompson          CASE #: C02165-09
CITY OF RESIDENCE: Bakersfield          AGE: 6 months 20 days
TYPE OF CASE: Homicide
DATE OF INCIDENT: Unknown          TIME: Unknown
LOCATION: 4700 block of Country Place Lane, Bakersfield
DATE OF DEATH: 11/18/2009         TIME: 0551 hours
PLACE OF DEATH: Mercy Southwest Hospital
INVESTIGATING AGENCY: Bakersfield Police Department

Details: An autopsy determined the decedent died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Comments: Refer all questions to the Bakersfield Police Department for details regarding their investigation.

DONNY YOUNGBLOOD, Sheriff-Coroner

Breaking News: Arrest log for November 18

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:31:57 PST

Not sure what crimes these folks were arrested for? Check out our list below or click on the link below.

SERGIO    ARREDONDO    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    20/10/2009    PC    3056            KCS

ALFREDO    CAMACHO    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93313    H    18/11/2009    PC    205     PC    245(A)(1        KCS    LABORER

MARKISHA    WILLIAMS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    B    18/11/2009    PC    182(A)(1PC    187(A) PC    212.5(C)PC 664/187(    KCS    STUDENT

MICHAEL    WORTHEN    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    18/11/2009    HS    11357(B)HS    11364   VC    12500(A)    KCS    LABORER

JAMIE    CARTWRIGHT    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    W    17/11/2009    HS    11550(A)            KCS

LUIZ    HERRARTE    M    WELDON    CA    93283    H    17/11/2009    PC    12020(A)            KCS

TODD    FONTAINE    M    ROSAMOND    CA    93560    W    18/11/2009    VC    23222(B)VC    22108   VC    5200(A)    KCS

TODD    FONTAINE    M    ROSAMOND    CA    93560    W    18/11/2009    VC    14601.1(            KCS

JOHNNIE    PINKINS    M    BUTTONWILLOW    CA    93206    B    18/11/2009    PC    243(A) PC    415(1)        KCS

ANTHONY    GAGE    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93306    B    18/11/2009    PC    212.5(C)PC    182(A)(1        KCS

RODNEY    SCOTT    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93306    B    18/11/2009    PC    212.5(C)PC    182(A)(1PC    148.9(A)    KCS

BARRON    ROBERTSON    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    B    18/11/2009    PC    212.5(C)PC    182(A)(1        KCS    CONSTRUCTION

GILBERTO    ASTORGA    M    TEVISTON    CA        H    18/11/2009    VC    23152(A)VC    23152(B)VC    12500(A)PC 853.9    KCS    LABOR

ADISLADO    MENDOZA    M    EARLIMART    CA    93219    H    18/11/2009    VC    23152(A)VC    23152(B)VC    12500(A)PC 853.6    KCS    LABOR

DELORES    RANGLE    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA        H    18/11/2009    HS    11350(A)HS    11364   HS    11550(A)    KCS    LABORER

HECTOR    ECHEVARRIA    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    18/11/2009    HS    11377(A)HS    11550(A)        KCS

HECTOR    ECHEVARRIA    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    18/11/2009    HS    11377(A)HS    11550(A)        KCS

HECTOR    ECHEVARRIA    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    18/11/2009    VC    40508(B)VC    4462.5        KCS

JOLUVINE    TRAYLOR    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93313    W    18/11/2009    PC    3056            KCS

EMMANUEL    LOPEZ-REYES    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    H    18/11/2009    HS    11357(B)VC    21202(A)        KCS

JEREMY    SHUGART    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    18/11/2009    PC    422     PC    591     PC    12022.1    KCS

JOSE    DOMINGUEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93306    H    18/11/2009    PC    273.5(A)            KCS    CONSTRUCTION

ADAM    HOWARD    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    W    18/11/2009    HS    11358            KCS    LABORER

ADAM    HOWARD    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    W    18/11/2009    HS    11378            KCS    LABORER

SHAWN    IVEY    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    W    18/11/2009    HS    11358   HS    11364   HS    11364    KCS    PLUMBER

JESUS    PRESIADO    M    RIDGECREST    CA    93555    H    18/11/2009    HS    11364   HS    11377(A)HS    11550(A)    KCS    LANDSCAPER

GOMER    STOWELL    M    RIDGECREST    CA    93555    W    18/11/2009    PC    243(E)(1            KCS    N/A

FRANCISCO    VILLEGAS-MART    INEZM    PHOENIX    AZ    85019    H    18/11/2009    PC    1551            KCS

FRANCISCO    VILLEGAS-MART    INEZM    PHOENIX    AZ    85019    H    18/11/2009    US    C TITLE8S            KCS

FRANCISCO    VILLEGAS-MART    INEZM    PHOENIX    AZ    85019    H    18/11/2009    PC    DETAINER            KCS

KELLY    WHETSTONE    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93306    W    18/11/2009    PC    422     PC    653M(A)        KCS    LABORER

YVETTE    BUSTINZA    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    18/11/2009    PC    243(A)            KCS    LABORER

JEREMY    MUZZY    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    18/11/2009    PC    273.5(A)PC    245(A)(1PC    422     HS 11377(A)PC 148(A)(1HS 11357(B)    KCS    LABORER

FELIMON    ROSALES    M    OROSI    CA        H    18/11/2009    HS    11379   HS    11378   PC    182(A)(1    KCS

JAIME    SILVA    M    RIVERSIDE    WA        H    18/11/2009    HS    11379   HS    11378   PC    182(A)(1    KCS    LABORER

JOHNNY    RAMOS    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA        H    18/11/2009    PC    1203.2(A            KCS    LABORER

JOHNNY    RAMOS    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA        H    18/11/2009    PC    1203.2(A            KCS    LABORER

KENNY    SESSIONS    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    W    18/11/2009    CC    WARRANT CC    1212    CC    708.17    KCS    CARPENTER

KENNY    SESSIONS    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    W    18/11/2009    VC    14601.1(VC    40508(B)VC    40508(B)    KCS    CARPENTER

JULIO    SANTIAGO    M    MCFARLAND    CA    93250    H    18/11/2009    PC    114     HS    11350(A)VC    12500(A)VC 4000(A)    KCS    LABOR

WILLIAM    MATHEWS    M    ROSAMOND    CA    93560    W    18/11/2009    HS    11550(A)            KCS

FELIPE    HERRERA    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    H    19/11/2009    VC    23152(C)            KCS    LABORER

RAFAEL    VARGAS    M    ARVIN    CA    93203    H    19/11/2009    VC    12500(A)VC    16028(A)VC    20002(A)VC 23152(A)VC 40508(B)    KCS

BRANDI    ANTE    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    19/11/2009    HS    11377(A)            KCS    LABOR

JONICA    BRADLEY    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    W    18/11/2009    HS    11550(A)            KCS    LABORER

JASON    YORK    M    EL CAJON    CA    92020    W    18/11/2009    PC    647(F)            KCS    LABORER

BRYAN    THOMPSON    M    YUBA CITY    CA    95991    W    18/11/2009    PC    647(F)            KCS    LABORER

BRYAN    THOMPSON    M    YUBA CITY    CA    95991    W    19/11/2009    HS    11357(B)PC    853.7        KCS    LABORER

MIGUEL    RAMIREZ    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    18/11/2009    PC    647(F)            KCS

CHARLES    CROSS    M    BORON    CA    93516    W    18/11/2009    PC    664/187(PC    246     PC    422     PC 417(A)(2    KCS

DIANE    RUSS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    W    18/11/2009    PC    653.22(A            KCS    AVON REP

JUAN    GUTIERREZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93312    H    18/11/2009    PC    273.5(A)PC    148(A)(1        KCS    CHEF

KERRI    HAYS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93306    W    18/11/2009    VC    14601.2(VC    40508(A)VC    4462.5    KCS    LABORER

SONNIE    RODRIGUEZ    M    TEHACHAPI    CA    93561    H    18/11/2009    HS    11377(A)            KCS    LABORER

CLAUDIO    ALMARAZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    18/11/2009    PC    273.5(A)            KCS

JUAN    CASTANEDA    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    18/11/2009    PC    273.5(A)            KCS    LABORER

BRUCE    HUBBARD    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    19/11/2009    PC    647(F)            KCS    LABORER

CHRISTOPH    ERJONES    M    ROSAMOND    CA    93560    W    18/11/2009    PC    243(D) PC    647(F)        KCS    LIFEGUARD

ROBERT    ALEMAN    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    W    19/11/2009    HS    11377(A)HS    11364        KCS    ROOFER

PRISCILLA    RODRIGUEZ    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    H    18/11/2009    HS    11550(A)            KCS    LABORER

DUSTIN    LANGE    M    CALIENTE    CA    93518    W    19/11/2009    PC    647(F)            KCS    LABORER

DENNIS    HAWKINS    M    WASHOUGAL    WA        W    18/11/2009    PC    496D(A) VC    10851(A)        KCS    MOVE FURNITURE


Click here to see the full penal code or check the list below for some of the more well-known crimes.

* 187 - Murder
    * 191.5, 193 c - Vehicular Manslaughter
    * 207 - Kidnapping
    * 211 - Robbery
    * 215 - Carjacking
    * 240 - Assault
    * 242 - Battery
    * 245 - Assault with a deadly weapon
    * 261 - Rape
    * 288 - Child molest
    * 415 - Disturbing the peace
    * 422 - Criminal threats
    * 451 - Arson
    * 459 - Burglary
    * 470 - Forgery
    * 484 - Petty Theft
    * 487 - Grand Theft
    * 488 - Theft or Larceny
    * 496 - Receiving stolen property
    * 594 - Malicious mischief/Vandalism
    * 602 - Trespassing
    * 647(b) - Prostitution
    * 647(f) - Public Drunkenness or Public Intoxication
    * 664 - Attempt (usually charged together with one of the above)
    • 1203.2 - Probation violation
    • 3056 - Parole violation
    • 12020 - 12031 gun violations
Health and Safety Code
    • 11350 to 11379 possession or sales of drugs
    • 11364 drug paraphernalia
Vehicle Code
    • 12500 driving without a license
    • 14601 driving on a suspended or revoked license
    • 16028 c driving without insurance
    • 10851 vehicle theft
    * 23152 drunken driving

The Grade: School council: Overcrowding leading to restroom problems

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:12:56 PST

Overcrowding in schools has been a hot-button issue in education for years. The complaint is usually that some students get left behind academically among the crowds.

At Casa Loma Elementary School, however, the problem lies in bathroom lines, according to KGET Channel 17.

The school's site council is saying students have to spend their entire recess waiting in line to use the restroom. Some have even wet themselves.

Classes must take 15-minute breaks during class so students can drink water and use the bathroom.

Enrollment is at more than 800 students, an all-time high, according to KGET, and the council says the school was built for 500.

The Bakersfield City School District said it spent more than $800,000 on improvements to the school. Six other schools in the district are larger than Casa Loma, and five of those have fewer restrooms. There have been no complaints at those schools, according to the district.

What are your thoughts? What would be a good solution?

— Jorge Barrientos, Education Reporter

Comments:
catpaw commented:

Chemical potties.

Shwaine commented:

Or rotate the recesses so not everyone is trying to use the facilities during the same 15 minutes.

witterpitters commented:

Well there you go SHWAINE...........................making sense again!!!

Bakosphere: Bakersfield not so giving, magazine says

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:05:28 PST

Men's Health magazine, in another monthly survey, is taking Bakersfield to task for its lack of charitable giving during the holidays.

The magazine gave Bakersfield a D grade and a rank of 78 out of 100 cities nationwide. Our friends in Fresno fared horribly, earning an F and a 97 ranking. Los Angeles was 95th. Yonkers, N.Y., ranked last, while Madison, Wis., earned the only A+.

In determining its rankings, Men's Health measured:

Which cities account for the largest online donations to charities (as measured by Convio, an online software provider)
The number of donations to Goodwill for December
The money collected via the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign
Number of toys donated to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation

What do you think of this survey? Do you donate through any of the four paths described above, or otherwise donate time or money during the holidays?

Comments:
catpaw commented:

Mens Health is publishing this "survey" because....?

I hope Boys Life or Hustler doesn't "take Bakersfield to task." That would really make me cry.

AudreyB commented:

Are you kidding me.

The Bakersfield Mission, The Homeless Center, The Salvation Army at every store, the City of Hope.

All I've done for the last month is write checks.

Who's not doing their share?

pogo commented:

Pax just told us not to give at the 2nd collection. Catholic Charities will only help if the entity conforms to their dogma.

Bakersfieldbubble commented:

Who's not doing their share?

The CONservatives...they are too busy being capitalist and capitalizing on other people.

adampayne commented:

Good thing Fresno and Bakersfield have each other to kick around.

bakoblue commented:

It's probably my fault. I give to The Cat People, the BSPCA and Friends of the Kern County Shelters Foundation, none of which hit their radar. In their eyes, I'm a stingy, hoarding, thoughtless, scroogy nongiver.

mentoburu commented:

Giving loses its meaning if you're getting caught up in who gives more...

Just give.

sys_mom commented:

I did not use any of the above mentioned donation methods.

I got a call earlier this month from someone with the KCSD. It seems the check I wrote to help send deserving students to Camp Keep was obtained fraudulently and without school sanction. Now I have to monitor my checking account in case the low life slacker parent who sent their child out to my neighborhood for this personal "Fund raising" event decides to compromise my account and have her own checks printed up. Look out folks scoundrels walk among us.

reformer commented:

No mention of giving to churches, synagogues, or to the myriad of ministries who are on the streets helping the poor and homeless. The Goodwill is just another profit-making "not-for-profit" that is giving just a little after building another new store. We like and give to Habitat for Humanity and many others here do also.

Condors Talk: Sharp headed to NHL, Donally headed to Bako

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:28:51 PST

Rookie center MacGregor Sharp got the call about an hour after Bakersfield's 4-3 shootout victory over Ontario early Wednesday afternoon.
Anaheim vice-president of hockey operations David McNab told him he was being called up to Anaheim where he most likely will play in his first National Hockey League game on Thursday night as the Ducks, who have a couple of players fighting injuries, host the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Sharp had a shootout goal on Wednesday and is second on the team in points with 14 in 15 games.
“He's pumped,” Condors coach Marty Raymond said. “That's good for our kids, too. It shows what can happen.”
Sharp, 24, is the third Condors player recalled directly to the National Hockey League this season, joining goaltender Justin Pogge and left wing Kyle Calder, who is currently with the Ducks.
While Sharp is departing, another Anaheim prospect, left wing Ryan Donally, has been reassigned by Anaheim to the Condors from the San Antonio Rampage in the AHL and is working his way toward Bakersfield.
Donally (6-4, 227) is in his fourth professional season and has skated in 190 professional games, 124 of which have been in the AHL. He played four games this season with the Rampage, recording 16 penalty minutes.
The gritty winger played parts of two seasons for the Las Vegas Wranglers in the ECHL, amassing 37 points and 176 penalty minutes in 53 games during the 2007-08 season.
Donally will give the Condors a physical presence they have lacked in many games this season.
Donally's assignment to Bakersfield apparently ends an agreement with Phoneix to put players in San Antonio as the three other Ducks prospects there have been reassigned to Toronto in the AHL.