Bakersfield.com Local News

INGA BARKS: Car impound restrictions would endanger us all

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 20:41:09 PDT

My brother was in a car accident at Real Road and California Avenue back in the late '80s. He was coming off the freeway and heading straight down Real and the car that hit him was turning left onto California, ignoring right-of-way laws and barreling right into my brother.

I was living in the Oleander area at the time and was on my way home down California when I happened upon my brother, lying in the street being treated by paramedics. He was OK, barring a concussion and some bumps.

Supervisors to consider massive restructuring of county government

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 20:00:00 PDT

The Kern County Board of Supervisors will have a chance Tuesday to launch the most substantial reorganization of county government here in decades.

County Administrative Officer John Nilon will, at the request of supervisors, present the board a plan to strip independent status from 15 of the county's 30-some departments; merge those agencies into mega-departments; and convert his job from that of an administrative coordinator to a strong CEO with hiring and firing power over many department heads.

Volunteers build park in a day

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:50:11 PDT

Almost 300 volunteers from all walks of life worked in the hot sun Friday to build a playground for the children of southeast Bakersfield.

The park was built in a single day with grant money awarded to the Community Action Partnership of Kern by Dr Pepper Snapple Group. The park, located at the Friendship House on Cottonwood Road north of East Planz Road, has playground equipment, benches and art murals and will serve an area where there are no playgrounds.

Election notebook: Committee formed to help congressional helpful capture Kern vote

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:21:21 PDT

A local committee has been formed and a headquarters opened in Bakersfield to help congressional candidate John Hernandez win the Kern County vote next Tuesday.

The group includes Hispanic community activists and business people such as Esther Manzano, Bernice Bonillas, Mary Helen Barro and Manuel Lerma, according to Manzano.

Shooting victim crashes into apartment complex

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:19:49 PDT

A shooting victim somehow managed to speed away in his vehicle but didn't make it far before crashing into an apartment complex in east Bakersfield late Thursday, deputies said.

The driver, a man, was pronounced dead at Kern Medical Center, deputies reported. His name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

RICHARD BEENE: Bakersfield Observed, a blog about life, media, politics and people

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:00:00 PDT

REAL ESTATE

There is some good news and some bad in the local housing market. According to Coldwell Banker's Adam Belter (son of longtime Realtor Gary Belter) there are fewer than 550 homes on the market, an extremely low number when compared to recent years. That drives the prices up, which is good news, but it also has attracted a new wave of out of town speculators who are crowding out local buyers, often paying above the asking price. "We are in danger of becoming a community with more rentals than owners," he told me.

Election notebook: Latinos come out for Hmong-American congressional candidate

Thu, 31 May 2012 18:17:43 PDT

Blong Xiong , a candidate for the new 21st Congressional District, announced the co-chairs of his Latinos for Blong effort with a campaign stop in Bakersfield Thursday .

Former state Assemblyman Juan Arambula and former Shafter Mayor Fran Florez will serve as the co-chairs, Xiong said.

Tax initiative to have 'profound' effect on schools

Thu, 31 May 2012 17:52:42 PDT

This November will bring the "most profound election for public education in decades," local school officials heard at a budget summit of sorts in Bakersfield Thursday.

School business leaders should be preparing for a $441 per student cut, Kevin Gordon, president of School Innovations & Advocacy, told dozens of them at the Larry E. Reider Education Center downtown.

Worth noting in business: Granite building earns sustainability honor, more

Thu, 31 May 2012 17:21:04 PDT

Granite Construction Co. is expected to receive a Kern Green Award from Bakersfield Mayor Harvey Hall Friday in recognition of the various sustainability features of the 90-year-old company's regional office at 3005 James Road.

Built with recycled materials in 2009, the 25,296-square-foot building boasts energy efficient windows and appliances, storm water retention capabilities, fluorescent lighting, drought resistant landscaping and water-saving toilets and sinks, among other environmentally responsible attributes. Employees working there are asked to print on both sides of paper sheets, use the structure's teleconferencing facilities when possible to reduce travel and avoid leaving company vehicles to idle.

Hydrogen plant agrees to union labor

Thu, 31 May 2012 16:39:42 PDT

Union workers will build the 470-acre hydrogen power and fertilizer plant proposed near Tupman, groups connected to the $4 billion project announced Thursday.

A newly signed labor agreement between a subsidiary of Texas-based construction giant Fluor Corp. and labor groups including the Kern, Inyo, Mono Counties Building and Construction Trades Council spells out details such as workers' wages, benefits and the project's total projected labor expenditures, according to a spokesman for the State Building & Construction Trades Council of California, AFL-CIO.

Education roundup: Local English learners improve, but lag state peers

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:22:06 PDT

Test scores for Kern County English learners striving for fluency leaped this year from last year, but continued to lag well behind the state as a whole, according to recently released test results.

About 34 percent of 33,000 K-12 English learners tested in Kern reached "early advanced" and "advanced" performance levels on the California English Language Development Test, or CELDT, according to state data.

Edwards acquitted on 1 count, mistrial on others

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:05:30 PDT

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- John Edwards was acquitted on one count of accepting illegal campaign contributions and a mistrial was declared on five other counts when jurors said Thursday they couldn't decide if he illegally used donor money to hide his pregnant mistress while he ran for president.

The monthlong trial exposed a sordid sex scandal that dashed Edwards' White House aspirations in 2008, and the jury's decision came on a confusing day.

Here are your latest volunteer opportunities

Thu, 31 May 2012 13:59:11 PDT

LOVE INC, which helps underserved families, needs help in the office answering phones, assisting with completing applications for callers requesting assistance and providing information. If you have legible handwriting, are a people person and compassionate and can donate just one day per week, 9 a.m.-noon, this could be the position for you. Contact Kristi Shipman at 325-6838 or clearinghouse@loveincbakersfield.org for more information.

Juvenile bear learns a lesson at school

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:24:09 PDT

Ramon Garza Elementary School students had a memorable last day of school.

A young black bear galloped through campus Thursday morning, interrupting the adjacent Sierra Middle School graduation ceremony where students, parents and guests watched in awe. The 100- to 125-pound male bear was later captured at a nearby apartment complex after about a 10-minute struggle with animal control and sheriff’s officers. Nobody was hurt.

CSUB forum seeks to address problem of school bullying

Thu, 31 May 2012 09:21:55 PDT

There's no place for bullying in schools, particularly bullying of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or questioning students. Perhaps the most effective way to stop it is for school staff to acknowledge the problem, support LGBTQ youth and intervene.

That was the message conveyed by a panel of educators, LGBTQ advocates, counselors and education agency representatives Wednesday during a forum, "A Work in Progress," at Cal State Bakersfield.