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1. 

   CAMILLE GAVIN: CSUB students take on work of Chekhov

   By The Bakersfield Californian

   Wednesday, May 22 2013 03:59 PM

   One reason I admire the Russian writer Anton Chekhov is his ability to present life as it is, not as we might wish it to be.

   In "The Cherry Orchard," which opens Thursday in Cal State Bakersfield's Dore Theater, Chekhov is masterful in the way he presents his characters' actions -- or inactions -- when they are faced with addressing a problem that affects the future of them all.

   The play is set in 1904 during an era when great changes were taking place in Russia's economic and social structure. The aristocratic families were crumbling, forced to sell their vast estates to maintain their standard of living while the peasant class, having been released from virtual slavery some years before, was rising.

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2. RICHARD BEENE: Bakersfield Observed, a blot about life, media, politics, and people

   Alarm systems Here is an important tip about home alarm systems in the city of Bakersfield, compliments of reader Gary Crabtree. "Saturday evening, we returned from dinner about 6:30 p.m. to find our alarm activated, and a message from our...
3. 

   JAMIE BUTOW: Netizens worldwide react to David Silva beating case

   There's no denying that the David Silva case is being followed world-wide, but today there's a new social media element: an online petition calling for "immediate dismissal and prosecution of officers involved in the death of David Silva,...
4. 

   HERB BENHAM: How forgiving is St. Christopher?

   I was driving in my car when it rattled one too many times and I said to myself, "That's it." I grabbed it around its metal waist and dumped it in the white plastic bag I'd been given my last time through Cruz Thru Express Car Wash. "It"...
5. 

   HERB BENHAM: If karma is real, Lance McCullah has a lot coming his way

   Thursday nights during football season, Lance McCullah, an assistant varsity coach at Bakersfield High School, takes linebackers and running backs to dinner. Pizza, sushi, cheeseburgers, it doesn't matter. What does is that players --...
6. 

   HEATHER IJAMES: A dozen years of marriage, some a cracked egg

   I always reflect on my marriage at the end of May because it's anniversary time. Twelve years now. A dozen. That's like one egg for each year, and I suppose there are some cracked eggs in the bunch. This year, however, the egg is looking...
7. 

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

   Leticia Perez, the county supervisor who is in a heated District 16 state Senate race, took me to task for saying she was "not amused" by a locally produced video promoting fiscally sound government. The video was produced by the Kern...
9. 

   HERB BENHAM: Nothing, not even the budget, can take down a wrestler

   Recently I attended "An Evening with Stephen Neal," a fundraiser at the Stockdale Country Club. It wasn't a fundraiser for Neal, the legendary Cal State wrestler, four-time all-American, and former right guard with the New England...
10. 

    VALERIE SCHULTZ: One ignorant act sparks movement on campus

    Anne Duran, a CSUB associate professor of psychology, arrived at her office one day in 2010 to find an anonymously posted biblical quote that seemed to advocate putting gay people to death. Her first instinct was to ignore it, (I imagine...
11. 

    CAMILLE GAVIN: Be lured by 'The Nerd,' a zany, quirky comedy

    Quirky characters are a key element in a successful comedy and that seems to be central to Kevin Ganger's motivation for directing "The Nerd." Ganger describes the play that opens Friday at The Empty Space as "a straight-up laugh-out-loud...

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

    Perez With just a week to go, the campaign for the 16th District state Senate race is growing predictably nasty. Frontrunners Leticia Perez and Andy Vidak have taken the gloves off, both airing scathing TV ads attacking the other. And now...
13. 

    JAMIE BUTOW: Fatal confrontation with deputies goes viral

    We've all heard the term, but what does it really mean when something "goes viral?" A commonly accepted definition is that something becomes extremely popular in a very short amount of time. That qualifies the article on the Bakersfield...

14. HERB BENHAM: 'You look retired' is shorthand for 'You look old'

    Last week Carlos poured cement along the fence in our backyard in order to create a border for a new flowerbed. He used a curbing machine rather than the old-fashioned way, which involves trenching, setting forms, pouring, scraping and...