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Reporter Vanessa Gregory headed up to Tehachapi this morning to catch up with residents of Alta Estates.

The developer of their new subdivision, Empire Land (aka Prestige Homes and numerous other entities) filed for bankruptcy April 25. The Ontario homebuider's attorney told us the company will be liquidated although it's currently a reorganization case.

Folks who bought homes in the tract this fall wonder what will happen with little things that need fixing and whether they'll have home warranties they were counting on.

Here's the full story, along with links to our other coverage of the troubled market.

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

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Talk about a good cause.

Ginger Boyd is a 32-year-old Bakersfield mother of five children, three of whom are adopted. She's single, having been recently divorced, and she works for a living.

Until this week, Boyd had no car of her own.

So her mother nominated her for the annual Mini-Van for Mom event. Every year since 2001, Auto Shopper America at 911 Oak St. in Bakersfield has given away a minivan to a single mother, preferrably one without a vehicle.

On Thursday, Boyd drove away from Auto Shopper with a silver 2000 Dodge Caravan Sport. She also took home a computer donated by San Joaquin Bank.

"We want to come alongside a working mother and help her with transportation challenges," said Tina Miller, who heads up the event.

A similar event, organized by the same people, takes place near the holidays in December.

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If stay-at-home Moms were paid for all the incredible work they do — raising children, doing laundry, shuttling kids to sports and activities, offering counseling — they'd make $116,805 annually.

A lot of that pay is driven by overtime, says the study released by Salary.com and reported on by the Associated Press, because Moms, as we know, sure don't work just 40 hours a week.

And for moms who work outside the home too, they'd get $68,405 if they were paid for their work as mothers, the Associated Press reports.

Salary.com has a cool Mom Salary Wizard that let's you plug in number of children by age, ZIP code and hours worked doing various tasks so you can personalize what your Mom is "worth." It ends with a fake paycheck. Sigh.

And what about Dad? Well, there is a calculator for him too.

Or do the right thing and deem your Mom "priceless."

— Christine Peterson

Here's a "raw report" press release from the state's Department of Housing and Community Development:

CalHome Program Workshop to be Held in Visalia

Sacramento, CA – California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) will hold a workshop in Visalia on Wednesday, May 14 to educate developers, non-profit organizations, cities and counties about the CalHome Program.

CalHome provides grants to local public agencies or nonprofit corporations for first-time homebuyer downpayment assistance and owner occupied housing rehabilitation.

The workshop will help CalHome applicants answer questions about the funding and awards process.  Approximately $60 million is available for this round of funding.  Applications are due on June 25, 2008. 

Wednesday’s Visalia workshop will be held at Self-Help Enterprises, located at 8445 West Elowin Court.  The workshop will run from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  For more information, visit www.hcd.ca.gov or call (916) 327-3646.

HCD provides leadership, policies and programs to preserve and expand safe and affordable housing opportunities and promote strong communities for all Californians.  The Department also supports increasing the supply of housing, especially affordable housing and works to improve the state’s housing conditions and the health and safety of its residents.  As the lead housing department, HCD is part of the state Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.

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Do you know the person to the left?

Find out what she accomplished in this week's People in Business column.

Want to be in next week's list? It's best to submit to bakersfield.com/yourwords.

You can also mail contributions to The Bakersfield Californian, business editor, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302; faxed to 395-7519; or e-mailed to business@bakersfield.com. Sorry, photos that are submitted cannot be returned. For information, call 395-7345 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Reporter Jenny Shearer found out that Bakersfield Wal-Marts are seeking liquor licenses from the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

No word yet on what kind of beer or wine would be sold if Wal-Mart gets the OK.

Read the full story here.

Then tell us what you think.

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Do what you know. That's what business coaches always tell budding entrepreneurs. Don't, for example, try to start your own professional football franchise if you work as a ... a ... I don't know — a newspaper reporter.

Do like Arnie Bella, is what they'd say. She's a local medical biller, but that's neither here nor there. The point is, she loves to cook, and her relatives can't get enough of her crepes. So Bella got a business partner, finance manager and New Jersey transplant Paulyn Mercado. Together they're working to open two adjoining restaurants at 5550 California Ave., just north of Stockdale Highway.

Warning: Their ideas for the restaurants are going to make your mouth water, so you may want to eat before reading on. We'll wait...

One is House of Shabu, an asian fondue place like the kind Bella loves to eat at in Los Angeles. Picture thinly sliced meat and vegetables dipped in piping hot sauces. Indoor and outdoor seating, beer and wine.

The other is Oh Goodness! Crepe 'n Gelato. Sort of speaks for itself, really. No beer or wine, but yes, outdoor seating. If all goes well, the idea will turn into a franchise and make Bella and Mercado rich.

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Our latest home sales map is ready for a peek.

No need to grab a map to find Snowdrop Drive and Rose Petal Street. (Homes on those streets recently sold.) We’ve done the work for you.

The map is updated with homes that sold in Bakersfield from March 17 to March 23, color-coded by sales price. We regularly publish single-family home sale transactions that occurred between individuals.

Since foreclosures, or bank-owned properties, now account for an increasing number of weekly sales, sales between banks and individuals are now being included. Check out what homes are going for with the information from First American Real Estate Solutions that's compiled by reporter Vanessa Gregory.

Highlights for the week of March 17 to 23:

• 76 homes are new on this map.

•¨Priciest? One sold for $1.1 million in the 93309 ZIP code.

• Cheapest? One sold for $50,000 in the 93309 ZIP code.

What do you think of the prices?

— Christine Peterson

Financial blogs in the big city can use more exciting terms, but here at the family paper let's just say we've got charts.

Kern County foreclosures and defaults. In April 2008, they set new records again.

These are from the county recorder's office, and you can enjoy the PDF files by clicking the blue boxes.

There's also a chart from appraiser Gary Crabtree showing how the pace of defaults that ultimately foreclose has swooped up since 2006.

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

Zillow's first-quarter home value report came out this morning and we're among the spots with ugly blue masses...the most depreciation.

You can find the national report here, or just focus on Bakersfield stats here.

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer