Bakersfield Observed: A blog about life, media, people and politics
By Richard Beene
Gun control
With the Democrats holding a super majority in the California legislature, it's a sure bet that our state's already tough gun laws are about to get much stricter. So what is next? Background checks on buying ammunition? More restrictions on the types and models of weapons that can be sold? Today, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood will be on Californian Radio KERN 1180 AM to talk about gun control, the recent shooting in Taft and the Second Amendment. We will also be joined by Gene Thome, the owner of Bear Mountain Sports on Weedpatch Highway. Tune in at 9 a.m. to join a lively discussion on the hot issue of the day.
Fisher
Fisher Communications, the company that owns KBAK TV and the Fox affiliate KBFX, appears to be up for sale. Industry insiders say the company is exploring "strategic alternatives" because of pressure from billionaire investor Mario Gabelli. Fisher also owns TV stations in Portland, Seattle and Boise, among other markets. It is not certain if the company will be sold as a group or broken apart, and it is too early to tell what that will mean for the local staff and the direction of KBAK and the local Fox affiliate.
Spotted
Reader Virginia Childres submitted this about a homeless person she spotted on a local street. "I read this morning about the sign your friend saw and I remembered the funniest one I saw yesterday. I laughed again every time I thought of it: 'I'm too ugly to prostitute and too dumb to get a job. Just give me money.'"
Harvard
Joe Feghali is a graduate of Stockdale High School who is now attending Harvard University, and he has returned to talk to other Bakersfield students about getting into Harvard and other elite schools. He will speak to students at Stockdale and 15 other local high school and middle schools this month.
NRA dinner
Don't forget the annual Southern Valley Friends of the National Rifle Association dinner and auction, which is set for Friday, Feb. 1, at the Bakersfield Elks Lodge. Dinner tickets at $50 each, and there will be opportunities to enter special drawings. Call Cyndi Benson at 205-8569 if you are interested in sponsorships or donations.
Bakersfieldism
You may be a Bakersfield old timer if you remember Banducci's Corner at Weedpatch and Edison highways as a great place for lunch.
Richard Beene is president and CEO of The Bakersfield Californian. He blogs at www.bakersfieldobserved.com. These are his opinions, not necessarily those of The Bakersfield Californian. Email him at rsbeene@yahoo.com.
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About two dozen protesters stood in front of Kern County Superior Court next to the Liberty Bell Thursday morning to make a statement about police brutality.
The death of a man in custody following a prolonged struggle with Kern County Sheriff's deputies and CHP officers and the subsequent fracas over confiscated witness cellphones have gained international attention and raised concerns here that the incidents could tarnish the county's emerging...
Sheriff’s investigators served a search warrant on Kern Medical Center and the Mary K. Shell Mental Health Center seeking medical records to find possible reasons for David Sal Silva’s behavior prior to and during his encounter with law enforcement, The Californian learned Friday.
The Kern County Sheriff's Office is out of control. That's one conclusion many people will draw based on the events of the past two weeks and in the context of recent years.
Blood stains are still visible on the sidewalk at the corner of Flower Street and Palm Drive, where a Bakersfield man struggled with as many as nine officers and later died this week.
Responding to what he called a case that “has consumed the media and our community,” Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said Tuesday he has asked the FBI to conduct a “parallel” investigation into the death of Bakersfield father of four David Sal Silva, who died May 8 after he was beaten by deputies.
Classes were canceled at Bakersfield High School Monday after three small bottle bomb explosions struck campus, authorities said.
Two cellphones confiscated last week from witnesses to the in-custody death of David Sal Silva were returned Wednesday to the attorney representing the witnesses.