Bakersfield.com Viewpoints

Sounding Board: Bakersfield's general plan

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:28:50 PDT

Six Opinion section Sounding Board members were asked to comment on plans to revise metropolitan Bakersfield's general plan.

CITY, COUNTY WORK TOGETHER ON PLAN

City, county meeting will consider plan

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:59:42 PDT

Bakersfield City, Kern County scramble to keep up with metropolitan home building, commercial development

Medicare drug plan confuses, needs reform

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:01:28 PDT

As the principal caregiver for my 90-year old mother, I have firsthand knowledge of the challenges facing seniors in attempting to enroll in the new Medicare prescription drug program.

The program's basic provisions are complex and difficult to understand. Online enrollment remains a daunting task for many seniors, keeping enrollment low and confusing the very people this program was created to serve.

Planning a trip abroad?

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:01:29 PDT

Ken Hooper's article concerning his trip last fall to Tajikistan in Central Asia is present as part of the Opinion section's occasional Letters Home feature.

Hooper teaches history and archiving at Bakersfield High School. He was one of 15 teachers nationwide to participate in an exchange program between the United States and Eurasia. The program is operated by the nonprofit American Councils for International Education, which is funded by the federal Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Medicare drug plan

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:02:29 PDT

Bakersfield Congressman Bill Thomas, a chief architect of the Medicare prescription drug plan, answers questions about the program's rocky start and its future

Medicare drug plan

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:03:31 PDT

Bakersfield Congressman Bill Thomas, a chief architect of the Medicare prescription drug plan, answers questions about the program's rocky start and its future

Medicare drug plan

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:04:33 PDT

Bakersfield Congressman Bill Thomas, a chief architect of the Medicare prescription drug plan, answers questions about the program's rocky start and its future

Fight graffiti problem; don't fight each other

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:25:12 PDT

Dueling publicity events last month highlighted a split in the Bakersfield City Council and prompted readers to urge their elected official to return there focus on what really matters: Battling graffiti and not each other.

CITY RUNS BY 'CHICKEN LITTLES'

Call Mom and take her shopping today

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:25:14 PDT

Living in Ireland can be hilarious, and challenging

About Sidney Pogatchnik

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:25:15 PDT

Sidney Pogatchnik, 32, attended Bakersfield High School and graduated in 1990 from Vista High School. She moved first to Orange County, where she attended Orange Coast College, and later to Marin County, where she attended Dominican College and majored in psychology.

While she studied psychology she made her living doing accounting and is accidentally still doing that to this day.

Police keep lines open

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:25:35 PDT

Strategic planning process used to chart course for Bakersfield Police Department to take well into the next decade

Law Day activities begin today with public seminars

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:25:38 PDT

Trial by jury is fundamental to our system of justice. Every person accused of a crime has the right to have a jury consider the evidence and conclude guilt or innocence. Similarly, every person who has a dispute with another has the right to have a jury consider the evidence and conclude who is right or wrong.

Trial by jury was one of the cornerstones of our rebellion against King George III. The American Revolution was as much about our system of justice as it was about anything else.

Jury duty maintains community standards, safeguards liberties

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:25:49 PDT

"I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury."

Groucho Marx

Trial by jury

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:25:51 PDT

A right, honor, safeguard

May 2 Law Day forum highlights Americans' right to trial by jury

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:25:52 PDT

Along with the usual bills and solicitations, you may find in your mailbox a summons for jury duty and note from your dentist about an upcoming root canal. Which would you greet with more eager anticipation?

Are you a resident of Kern County? A U.S. citizen? Over age 18? Registered to vote? Licensed to drive? Or possess a California ID card? If you answered yes to any of these questions you may receive a jury duty summons about every other year.