The special election held earlier this month produced some most interesting observations. First, the Bakersfield City Council has some new blood with the election of Willie Rivera as the people's representative of Ward 1.
It was a crowded field with six candidates all giving it their best shot at getting elected. Rivera hails from San German, Puerto Rico. It's a small town, centuries old, with a population of around 35,000. Since Puerto Rico is a U.S. commonwealth territory -- some would say colony -- the island's inhabitants are automatic U.S. citizens. That's where Rivera was raised the first 10 years of his life before his family moved to Bakersfield. Talk about culture shock.
I had never heard of adrenoleukodystrophy until I saw the movie "Lorenzo's Oil." Commonly referred to as ALD, it is a rare genetic brain disorder that strikes one in 20,000 people, mostly young boys and men. Sadly, the most devastating...
The viewer named Paul was irate. How can it be, he wanted to know, that McDonald's would place a billboard entirely in Spanish advertising its nutritious meals? In his neighborhood? While "McDonald's and nutritious" may be an oxymoron, the...
It takes political courage in this town to have a mayor publicly state that he supports comprehensive immigration reform to address the country's challenge of what to do with 11 million or so undocumented immigrants. That's what...
After so much negative publicity involving several local schools, it was refreshing to hear good news coming out of Arvin High School. In case you missed it, Arvin was extended a special invitation to participate in the national We the...
South High School graduate Maria Perez is one of the hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants to be granted temporary permission to remain in the country and get a work permit and a driver's license. The 19-year-old applied for and...
Kudos to determined residents in the city of Bakersfield's Ward 1 who displayed and practiced civic engagement in their community. This is a good example of what can happen when the community organizes and follows through to the end. In...
BY JOSE GASPAR Contributing columnist "Not in my wildest nightmares did I expect to hear anything as ridiculous as this!" said veteran teacher Pam Baugher. She was referring to the "solution" offered by numerous politicians across the...
The dust appears to have settled and the numbers are in from November's election. Locally this election produced some most interesting results for Kern County. I'd like to examine a few of these and take a look at what the future may bring...
The cooler weather is here, and I welcome it. It means leaves will turn colors and brighten up the neighborhood. It will no longer be too hot to ride a bicycle in the middle of the afternoon or take a walk. No more shorts and sandals,...
The local Republican Party is in damage control mode after it was publicly revealed that one of its own candidates, Pedro Rios, said he came to the United States as an undocumented immigrant. An uncle paid a smuggler to bring the then...
Seventy-three years can make a world of difference in a place that once burned and banned the classic novel "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck. The book was banned from libraries and schools. It depicts the plight of the Okies to...
When tragedy strikes and a family loses a loved one, it is not uncommon to discover a scenario in which the same family is still dealing with the recent loss of yet another family member. Such is the case recently that has left two local...
Sheriff's office: Man who died in custody had drugs in throat (16)
A 25-year-old man who died in Kern County sheriff’s custody Monday night had two plastic baggies with illegal drugs stuffed in his throat, the department reported.
Silva family files federal claim (11)
The family of David Silva announced Friday it has filed its long-expected federal civil rights claims against the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, six sheriff’s deputies and a sergeant, two California Highway Patrol officers, the county and the state alleging excessive police force killed him.
CSUB awards Haggard, Owens top honors (9)
He’s Dr. Merle Haggard now. The bad-boy hero of the rebel strain of music that put Bakersfield on America’s cultural map half a century ago did something Friday he hadn’t done since he was 9: He sat still in school.
Key green light for California high-speed rail (5)
SACRAMENTO -- The California High-Speed Rail Authority won approval Thursday from a federal railroad oversight board to start construction this summer on the first leg of what would be the nation's first bullet train.
Local attorney arrested in shooting of his wife
A Bakersfield attorney’s rocky marriage, marked by a divorce suit and a history of loud, public arguments, reportedly erupted into violence early Wednesday morning when police say he turned a gun on his wife and fired.
Coroner's office identifies woman found dead in garage
A woman found dead in a southeast Bakersfield garage Tuesday was identified Friday as 18-year-old Mia Ramirez of Bakersfield.
Sheriff's office: Man who died in custody had drugs in throat
A 25-year-old man who died in Kern County sheriff’s custody Monday night had two plastic baggies with illegal drugs stuffed in his throat, the department reported.
Sheriff's Office makes arrest in homicide
After a search that lasted much of Tuesday afternoon, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man on suspicion of homicide in connection with the discovery of a woman’s body in a southeast Bakersfield garage.