1. Richard Beene

   Bakersfield Observed: A blog about life, media, politics and people

   Amgen Get ready for a day to remember Thursday when the Amgen Tour of California cycling race comes to town. Organizers are expecting as many as 30,000 people to view the race, which features some of the top pro cyclists in the world. The 18-mile time trial course starts on the bluffs across from Bakersfield College, follows Alfred Harrell Highway out to Hart Park and returns up the steep grade...

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2. Funeral Notices

   Funeral services for May 16, 2012

   TO OUR READERS The Californian provides free death listings using information supplied by local mortuaries. The in-depth notices that follow are paid obituaries and remembrances. These listings must be purchased by 2 p.m. To place an Obituary or In Loving Memory, call 395-7302. Full obituaries are posted at Bakersfield.com at 9 p.m.

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3. Health

   Just what the doctor ordered, but why so slow?

   When there's a problem, just say so and fix it.If that were the county's regular M.O., perhaps it wouldn't have taken so long to make some painfully obvious corrections in how medications are doled out to children at the A. Miriam Jamison Center for abused and neglected kids.

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1. Local News

   YMCA to close unless new funding is found

   The YMCA of Kern County is poised to close June 1 unless a monetary miracle arrives to snatch the organization back from the brink of dissolution.

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2. Local News
   

   Blood bank supporters look forward to project completion

   Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood in a medical emergency. With the average car crash victim requiring as many as 100 pints of blood, that adds up fast.

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3. Local News

   Bakersfield cyclist died of 'multiple traumatic injuries'

   Although an official investigation continues, an autopsy has determined that the Bakersfield cyclist killed Sunday in a bicycle race near Yosemite National Park died from "multiple traumatic injuries," Mariposa County Assistant Coroner Andrea Stewart said Tuesday.

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1. Business

   Worth noting in business: Bakersfield design firm ranks among nation's biggest, more

   Processes Unlimited International Inc. has been named one of this year's top U.S. design firms by Engineering News-Record magazine. The Bakersfield-based company was ranked 208th according to its 2011 design services revenues. This is the sixth consecutive year it has made the weekly magazine's list.

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2. Business

   Oil companies agree to post fracking data

   Kern County's biggest oil producers, consenting to a request by state regulators, have agreed to share information about their fracking operations by the end of June, executives with a leading industry trade group said Tuesday.

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3. Business
   

   Commercial cherry orchards decimated by bad weather

   Owners of local cherry tree orchards are assessing the damage after badly timed unusual weather decimated this year's cherry crop. Steve Murray, owner of Murray Family Farms off Highway 58 just east of Bakersfield, called the damage to this year's crop "unprecedented."

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1. Business

   Action Line: Spell out the details in wedding vendor contracts

   Editor's note: Action Line is a weekly column from the Better Business Bureau answering consumers' questions and concerns about money and business issues.

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2. Business

   Like to shop? Outlet at base of Grapevine under discussion

   Start flexing your bargaining muscles and get that "emergencies only" credit card out of storage. If Tejon Ranch Co. succeeds, an outlet center will become a reality at the base of the Grapevine.

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3. Strictly Business

   Market Intelligence: Amgen tour draws upscale, active audience

   In addition to larger California markets such as San Francisco, San Jose, Fresno and Los Angeles, the 2012 Amgen Tour of California will once again include Fresno/Clovis and Bakersfield, drawing an upscale, active audience of event-goers. Based on the characteristics of event attendees in 2011, many Bakersfield businesses could benefit from the increased attention and traffic to our area.

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1. Richard Beene

   Bakersfield Observed: A blog about life, media, politics and people

   Amgen Get ready for a day to remember Thursday when the Amgen Tour of California cycling race comes to town. Organizers are expecting as many as 30,000 people to view the race, which features some of the top pro cyclists in the world. The 18-mile time trial course starts on the bluffs across from Bakersfield College, follows Alfred Harrell Highway out to Hart Park and returns up the steep grade...

   Read More
2. Health

   Just what the doctor ordered, but why so slow?

   When there's a problem, just say so and fix it.If that were the county's regular M.O., perhaps it wouldn't have taken so long to make some painfully obvious corrections in how medications are doled out to children at the A. Miriam Jamison Center for abused and neglected kids.

   Read More
3. Local Lifestyle

   HERB BENHAM: They're reading it; they just don't know why

   I learned something about a male friend of mine after he read my column on "Fifty Shades of Grey," the racy novel that is probably outselling the Bible.

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1. Richard Beene

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

   t Robbery Heads up on a scam and crime that is becoming all too common in our community. The latest victims are Glen and Millie Crabtree, who have been married for 68 years and have lived quietly on the east side of town. Last week, they were the victims of a robbery and scam that cost them $2,000 in cash and almost $700 in jewelry.

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2. Jose Gaspar

   JOSE GASPAR: Do we have too many school districts?

   Former teacher Carol Xavier wonders why Kern County has 47 school districts, the third most in the entire state. "I'm concerned about the administrative costs and so much duplication," she said.

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3. Sound Off

   SOUND OFF: Our Sunday mission is to answer your questions

   Reader: I just have one question. What is The Californian's mission statement? Thank you. Don Haslett Arthur: Our mission is to be "dedicated to being the strongest local source of news and information."

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1. Sports

   Amgen about to descend on Bakersfield

   The race is nigh. The Amgen Tour of California will soon be zipping along Alfred Harrell Highway as thousands cheer on from the starting point at Bakersfield College or other vantage points along the route. It's been two years since Bakersfield hosted, and with pent-up anticipation and massive advance coverage organizers are expecting even more of a turnout than in 2010.

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2. Preps
   

   Liberty rolls in baseball playoff opener

   After Liberty closed out Fresno-Central 9-4 on Tuesday at home in a first-round Central Section baseball playoff game, Patriots coach Tony Mills had a question for his club.

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3. College
   

   CSUB offense struggles in 6-2 baseball loss to Cal Poly

   Coming home didn't really change what's been happening with Cal State Bakersfield baseball. The Roadrunners' offense struggled and Cal Poly pounded seven extra-base hits in a 15-hit attack en route to a 6-2 win over CSUB at Hardt Field Tuesday.

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1. Preps
   

   Ridgeview beaten by Hanford West in final

   A couple of points here and a couple of points there made a huge impact on Tuesday's Central Section Division III boys tennis final between Hanford West and Ridgeview.

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2. Preps

   Varner to stop in Bakersfield before starting Olympic training

   Before the Olympics, Jake Varner is walking the streets of Bakersfield one last time. You can catch him Thursday night from 6-8 p.m. in the Bakersfield High cafeteria, where he'll stage a meet-and-greet in the place where his wrestling career took off.

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3. Preps

   May 15 high school roundup

   Baseball Central Section playoffs Division I No. 7 Liberty 9, No. 10 Fresno-Central 4 At LHS. W: Sinnott (9-2). L: Young. 2B: CHS (Ciolkosz); LHS (Meadows). HR: CHS (Nelson); LHS (Wright). Notes: CHS (Michael Binger 2-3); LHS (Christian Sinnott CG, 5H, 4ER, 3K, BB, 1-2, 2 RBIs; Kaidan Meadows 2-4, 2 RBIs; Jared Solf 2-3; Ross Puskarich 1-2, 2R; Kody Wright 1-2, 2 RBIs). W-L: CHS 15-15, LHS 19-10.

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1. Dining

   THE DISH: Hourglass was on cusp of greatness, but time ran out

   Rosedale was hit hard earlier this year when both The Orchid Thai Fusion Cuisine and Hourglass closed almost simultaneously. They were located across the street from each other on Brimhall and Calloway. We'll deal more with the reincarnation of The Orchid in these pages soon, but Hourglass deserves a few words of respect now that the sands have run out.

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2. Dining

   PETE TITTL: Not quite as good, but still worth checking out

   BY PETE TITTL Contributing columnist pftittl@gmail.com Sometimes people treat me like a food superhero. When they spot trouble, they send an email insisting I check out such- and-such a place. "It's gone downhill; it's nothing like you said anymore." Stuff like that.

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3. Theater

   Got improv skills? Local outfit looking for talented performers

   The CIA wants you. And lest you start worrying about alarms raised during your last flight check-in, the CIA we're talking about is the Center for Improv Advancement, which is seeking charismatic performers to increase its ranks. On May 19, interested players have a chance at 20 slots for a five-week improv competition that will crown a winner, who will pocket a cash prize that could reach $500.

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1. Community
   

   Unique run set to make colorful splash on June 30

   Bakersfield is known for memorable races -- the Volkslauf, the Pie Run, the Fog Run, Mr. Toad's Wild Run -- so how does a new run stand out? In a wash of bold color.

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2. Music

   Jazz Festival 2012: Best lineup in years

   It's a year of transition for the venerable Bakersfield Jazz Festival, and if first-time talent booker Paul Perez wanted to prove he knows what he's doing, mission accomplished. The Bakersfield sax man has pulled in some of the biggest names in jazz today, assembling the strongest lineup the two-day music festival has seen in years.

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3. Music

   MATT MUNOZ: Sky's the limit for Tehachapi talent

   It's been two weeks, but Maureen Recalde can barely maintain her composure. The Tehachapi resident and reigning regional champ in the Voice of McDonald's national singing competition has just returned home from the finals in Orlando, Fla., where she joined 15 other winners from the U.S., Canada, South America, Europe and APMEA (Asia/Pacific/Middle East) for a shot at the title.

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1. Our View

   Bank settlement funds must go to intended target

   As part of the $18 billion mortgage settlement reached earlier this year with the nation's biggest banks over foreclosure abuses, California will get $450 million in the form of a cash payment. The money was intended to fund counseling and legal services to help homeowners prevent foreclosure or obtain loan modifications. But according to his revised budget, released this week, Gov. Jerry Brown...

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2. Our View

   Reinforce cellphone law with bump in fine

   A recent UC Berkeley analysis of the state's ban on hand-held cellphone use while driving provides tremendous justification for the law. Though some critics have claimed cellphone bans have no impact on traffic safety, the study found quite the opposite: The law has saved lives. The university's Safe Transportation Research and Education Center's study found that fatalities from using cellphones...

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3. Hot Topics
   

   Should Canadian legals receive benefits like Mexico's illegals?

   Most know that the Dream Act came to us in two phases, the first many years ago, and the second initiated into law just last January. The initial process was to allow illegal immigrants to enter U.S. colleges, after high school graduation, even if they had only been in the country a few months, without paying fees required of foreign students or even out-of-state students. The argument made by...

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1. National Voices
   

   The role of religion as a partisan trump card

   Mitt Romney did not rise on the power of his rhetoric. At the Detroit Economic Club in February, his speech was swallowed by its stadium venue, overshadowed by a gaffe (his wife's "couple of Cadillacs") and weighed down by leaden language. Early in the primaries, Romney's attempts to wax poetic on the virtues of America -- often by quoting patriotic hymns -- were waxen.

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2. Letters to the Editor

   Salvaggio is a tool who gets facts wrong

   Mark Salvaggio is a self-oriented tool of the public employees' unions. The Californian trots him out and prints whatever he says ("A short history of Abernathy's well-oiled political machine," May 15) as if it is gospel -- pathetic. His assertions are particularly insulting because they imply that none of the candidates who have chosen to use political consultant Mark Abernathy has a brain of...

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3. Letters to the Editor

   Endorsement crosses the line

   I recently received a political pamphlet in the mail endorsing Karen Goh for Kern County Supervisor. I was surprised that the list of community stalwarts endorsing her included Monsignor Craig Harrison. Harrison happens to be pastor of the church I attend, St. Francis. Surprised because as a Bakersfield native, I believe this is the first time a Catholic pastor has publicly endorsed a political...

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1. Topp Stories Blog

   Mojave-based XCOR Aerospace to provide free ride to space

   An aerospace company in eastern Kern County has promised a free trip to suborbital space to a Northern California woman. In a news release today, Mojave-based XCOR Aerospace said San Francisco Bay Area resident Jennifer Brisco is the grand prize winner of a trip aboard XCOR's Lynx Mark I suborbital launch vehicle. XCOR Chief Operating Officer Andrew Nelson made the announcement at the Spacecraft...

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2. Breaking News Blog

   One arrest made in "Shoulder Tap" operation

   A underage alcohol operation yielded one arrest Monday. The Bakersfield Police Department and the Kern County Sheriff's Department Joint Vice Task Force collaborated for the "Shoulder Tap" operation in the City of Bakersfield, using two underage decoys to contact patrons of Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) licensed locations, according to an ABC news release.

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3. The Grade Blog

   Eight local school districts in financial jeopardy

   Eight local school districts have recently stated they may be unable to meet financial obligations in the next two years, according to Kern County Superintendent of Schools officials.

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1. City Beat Blog

   Ward 7 community meeting planned

   Bakersfield City Councilman Russell Johnson will host a community meeting in Ward 7, which he represents, to talk with residents and answer questions.

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2. The Grade Blog

   Results: Kern County math field day

   Rosedale Middle School distinguished itself with 10 category finalists and Murray Middle School from Ridgecrest was second with 9 among about 700 students from 26 schools who competed at the 42nd annual Kern County Middle School Mathematics Field Day held May 12 at Liberty High School.

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3. The Grade Blog

   Schools hold 'signing days' for academic achievers

   Several schools are holding ceremonial "senior signing days" for their graduating seniors to honor not their athletics accomplishments, but their academic achievements.

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Editors' picks from the last week

1. Health

   Just what the doctor ordered, but why so slow?

   When there's a problem, just say so and fix it.If that were the county's regular M.O., perhaps it wouldn't have taken so long to make some painfully obvious corrections in how medications are doled out to children at the A. Miriam Jamison Center for abused and neglected kids.

   Read More
2. Jose Gaspar

   JOSE GASPAR: Do we have too many school districts?

   Former teacher Carol Xavier wonders why Kern County has 47 school districts, the third most in the entire state. "I'm concerned about the administrative costs and so much duplication," she said.

   Read More
3. Local News

   High-tech plan to block prison cell phones 'unwise,' report says

   A deal between Gov. Jerry Brown's administration and a private communications company to deploy special equipment to block the rampant use of contraband cell phones by state prison inmates is based on a technology that is unproven and could undermine public safety, according to a new report.

   Read More

1. Dining

   PETE TITTL: Not quite as good, but still worth checking out

   BY PETE TITTL Contributing columnist pftittl@gmail.com Sometimes people treat me like a food superhero. When they spot trouble, they send an email insisting I check out such- and-such a place. "It's gone downhill; it's nothing like you said anymore." Stuff like that.

   Read More
2. Richard Beene

   Bakersfield Observed: A blog about life, media, politics and people

   t Dominic Hats off to the thousands of folks who participated in this weekend's Relay for Life. One team, Dominic's Dugout, raised more than $17,000 for the cause. The team is named for Dominic Cornejo, a promising young man who died of cancer just shortly after graduating from Garces Memorial High School. His parents, Irma and Gerry Cornejo, wanted to thank everyone who has donated in the name...

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3. Local News

   Search for the lost Phantom crew continues

   More than half a lifetime ago, a naval aviator from Bakersfield strapped himself into a Phantom fighter jet, lifted off the deck of an aircraft carrier, and in a roar of thunder, disappeared into the night.

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